Father and God

Lk 15:11-24

 

1. Today, we celebrate Father’s Day. But it is quite different than Mother’s Day. It was made official only after more than a half century later than Mother’s Day. Telephone companies report that they have the most long distance calls in Mother’s Day, but they have the most profit in Father’s Day because of so many collect calls. 

2. Fathers are so poor people on the earth. They do all the bad and hard jobs for the family, but they have no good skill to get the reward and popularity among children. Mothers take it. It is especially so in our times. A father is attacked from four sides. Wives are liberated and challenge their husband’s leadership in the family. Children do not respect their father’s authority but demand endlessly with complaint and comparison. Society takes more time from father away from home and mass culture takes more time from children away from father. Postmodern age makes traditional fatherhood meaningless. They have to work harder and harder in the more competitive society to support their family but they cannot meet their ever-increasing demands enough to be a satisfactory father to them. They are often disrespected, complained, hated, isolated, and even abandoned. Of course, fathers have lot of mistakes, shortness and problems. But even such a father was not treated like this in the long history of the past. 

3. The parable of a prodigal son is very famous among the parables of Jesus. We find here the agony of father that is common both in the earthly father and heavenly Father. First, a father is challenged by their rebellious children. When children are young, they love their father and make him happy because they feel that their father is so strong, wise, and powerful—almost omnipotent. But when they grow older, they see the weakness and problem of their father. They often ignore, criticize, and even challenge their father. Finally, they compete with their father and attempt independence from his influence. It is the destiny of father who has fallen children. Even though father is the source and foundation of life, now they deny their dependence. Here, younger son pursued independence: “Father, give me my share of the estate.”(12) Strictly speaking, it was not his property but his father’s. But he insists that it is “my share”. Everything is father’s and God’s, but a prodigal son insists that it is his own. His body and soul, his food and clothes, his intellect and energy, all came from father. There is nothing that is really his own. In America, it costs about 300 thousand dollars to raise a child up to college. But money is not everything. So much time and energy, tears and anxiety, prayer and sacrifice are required to raise a child. But a rebellious child one day declares independence and no debt to father, and sadly rewards with criticism, regret and loneliness. There is a difference of degree among children, but it is more of less the destiny and agony of father and God. Older son stayed home with father and looked obedient and respectful to his father. But we find here that his heart was not so. In fact, both children had the same mentality of independence and distrust to their father. In this Father’s Day, confess your dependence to your father and God and thank him for everything he gave to you.

4. Second, a father allows their children to leave him. He does it to make him grow through hardship and suffering of life experience without fatherly protection. Maybe, his mother cried and asked not to allow her son’s leave. But father was different. He might know that the heart of his son is already left from him and it is wise to let him go his own way. An affectionate mother concentrate in the present and cares emotion, but God gave father to see forest than tree and lead his children into right direction. A father sees a bigger picture and wider world. His son’s rebellious plan to leave home and live an independent life could contribute very positively for the distant future. God allowed our leave to the world in spite of his power to prohibit it. So, this father “divided his property” and gave it to this younger son. He allowed his leave with a hope for the better future. When a son goes to military service, a mother cries because she is afraid of his hardships and separation, but a father simply says that it will help him to be a strong man. In my childhood, I attempted to disassemble a big clock and it exploded. While my mother worried about my hurt, my father smiled at me, imagining that it will help my growth and development for the future. A father always thinks a bigger picture and farther future. Therefore, we learn our life structure more from our father than mother. A mother operates delicate things of family such as food, clothes, or decoration, while a father cares its structural matters such as planning, repair, direction, or safety. A father is the guide for our life with right direction, morality and structure. A father always checks such things, while a mother checks their emotion and delicate things. Researches show that a good self-concept, higher esteem, and strong self-confidence are associated with a positive and continuous relationship to one’s father. James Dobson, one of the most influential leaders of American Christianity, said that “Our very survival as a nation will depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in the home.” However, it is our reality that 50 percent of all American children live without father and only 20 percent of inner city children lives with father. CBMC research shows the following results: When the father is an active believer, there is about 75 percent likelihood that the children will also become active members. But if only the mother is a believer, this likelihood is dramatically reduced to 15 percent. Because a father sees a bigger picture and allows adventurous leave, he has the destiny of waiting.  

5. Third, a father welcomes the return of children and celebrates with joy. This parable reads that “the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”(13) After he spent everything and passed a miserable life, finally “he came to his senses.”(17) He learned a great lesson that he could not be happy and meaningful with independent life to depart father and deny his own foundation. Now, he repents and thinks to return to his right place, that is, his home where his father is, where his true happiness happens: “So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”(20) Father heartedly welcomed his returned son, his failed and humiliated son, with joy and compassion. Even though he was a prodigal son with miserable failure, this father might think that his son did not fail but finally succeeded, not wasted money and time but educated more than all those things. His son said that he is no longer worthy to be called his son and asked to make him one of his hired men: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”(21) But his father welcomed this son more than a son, better son than previous son. So, he invited people and celebrated greatly. Our father and God is waiting and waiting for this wonderful reunion. 

6. Even though some feminists challenge to stop to call God our Father, the Bible consistently called God as Father. Jesus called God as His Father. Theoretically God has no gender, but God Himself asked for us to call Him our Father. Why? I guess that God gave fundamental and structural importance to family. No other religion calls God as Father. No other religion’s God is said to have the Son. Maybe, God intended both directions: God wants for us to relate Him like our father, and God wants also for us to relate our human father like God. For a father is the starting point and final destiny of every human being, in spite of human resistance, rebellion and departure, it is the father to return. Even though many children hate and leave their father, what they really want is to be recognized by their father, though it is not easy. When Keith Hernandez, a baseball MVP told his father: “Dad, I have a lifetime 0.3 batting average,” his father said that you could have done more. Like our Heavenly Father, our human fathers always have even higher expectation for us, even though he is so proud of us even with a small achievement. Even though children do not recognize but even deny their similarity, they will sooner or later recognize it. When we return to our Father and live with Him peacefully, we discover our true home, true happiness and true life. In this Father’s Day, call and say “Thank you, Dad!” to both your earthly father and your Heavenly Father!