SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD ^_[1]

JESUS PRAYS FOR GLORY

1.  In the shadow of the cross, Jesus climaxes his last instruction to the twelve apostles by petitioning God for glory. Jesus' priestly prayer in the Upper Room is a majestic hymn of grace, a meditation on the glory of the divine father-son relationship. Our Holy Father, John Paul II, has designated this year as the Year of the Father.  For our divine lesson today, we will explore the relationship shared by God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, the Son. We will contemplate the importance of spiritual fatherhood and why it is necessary for a healthy human father-son relationship. Shortly before his confrontation with the principalities and powers [cf. Eph 6:12; Col 2:15] at Gethsemane, Jesus prays, "Give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you." Within Jesus' hymn of glory is woven a counter-melody of suffering. He feels estranged from the world. The world refuses to know him as the "true light that enlightens every man".  [Jn 1:9]  Jesus' proper home was humanity, and specifically the nation of Israel. Yet his own people repudiate the true light and thereby offend their own humanity and condemn themselves before God. Jesus, who remains a stranger to the world, prays for his apostles, that is to say, those who belong to him in faith. He will not pray for the cause of those who reject him. The world which does not know Jesus cannot receive God's message. Without the Good News, the world forfeits its share in the coming glory. The veil covering the mind of man remains firmly in place.  [cf. 2Cor 3:7-4:1]  Pride blinds man and renders him incapable of seeing, that is, knowing Christ. As an act of hubris  (Gk. entrenched arrogance), he rejects the divine prerogative of God to choose when and how he makes himself known. That the Father does not reveal the fullness of his true and unrecognizable essence except through the Son is considered, by sinful man, a provocation.^[2] Convinced of his own divinity, he presumes that he and God are equals, and that his recognition of the divine actually confers upon God an increase of excellence. Man demands to be his own mediator, to choose and impose terms acceptable to himself. Renouncing divine grace, he imposes upon himself meaningless suffering. By idolizing his human nature, he chains himself to the earth. In this condition, man forfeits his participation in divine glory. Without Christ, he commences a futile effort to maintain equilibrium as his natural powers decline. At the Feast of Passover, Jesus prepares to carry the cross for those who follow him and those who reject him. He will bear the heaviest burden possible, a weight on his shoulders unmatched by any person in the whole of human time. Hence, we are not surprised that the Hebrew word for glory, kabd, suggests weight and heaviness. To the ancient Hebrews, glory was the substance of material blessing: money, herds, flocks, and lands. And so we may interpret Jesus' request for glory in tangible terms. The Father, who is blessed by the Son's offering of his passion and death will, in turn, bless the Son with resurrection from the dead and ascension into glory.

HOUR AND THRESHOLD

2.  Our Lord's priestly prayer invites us to consider the nature of spiritual fatherhood^[3] which originates in the heavenly Father. God directs man to situate himself in a family, the human embodiment of the spiritual communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father has begotten the Son. The Father loves the Son who, in turn, receives the Father's love and returns it. From the perfect community of Father and Son proceeds the Holy Spirit, the mark of divine life and love. The Christian revelation teaches that the grace of spiritual fatherhood builds on natural fatherhood. Both are irreducible precisely because they are an amplification of human personhood which bears the image and likeness of the eternal, unchangeable God.  [cf. Gen 1:26]  A true father is first a good and loving husband to his wife. When conception occurs, in the course of married love, the husband consecrates his fathering by embracing spiritual fatherhood.^[4] Fatherhood achieves its proper dignity and perfection in the unbroken unity of the family whose origin is sacramental.^[5] The Christian father models his father-son relationship on the intimate union enjoyed by Jesus and the Father he addressed as Abba.^[6] By taking up his cross and following Christ, the human father grows in the knowledge of God. He matures as a spiritual son of the heavenly Father. The Christian father trusts Christ to lead him to the heavenly Father, principally by prayer, sacramental worship, charitable service, and study of God's Word. A strong spiritual life motivates the Christian father to be present to his son. Keeping his eyes fixed on heaven, the Christian father fully participates in his son's life that through him the personhood and fatherhood of God may be revealed. The Christian father brings his son to Christ, that Christ may lead him to his heavenly Father. In this, the father-son filiation images fully the relationship enjoyed by Christ and his heavenly Father. By knowing Christ, by putting on the mind of Christ  [cf. 1Cor 2:16], the human father invigorates the father-son relationship and unlocks its spiritual potential. Spiritual insight enables a father and son to understand that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross transforms man's suffering into gain. Further, they realize that glory obtains its meaning in the suffering and resurrection of Christ. As Christianity is vital for the world, so is a strong faith life essential for the individual family. Through the eyes of his father, a son interprets the world according to God's moral and ethical standards. By observing his father's example, he learns to discern the world's good and evil. Additionally, a spiritual father guards against his son being overwhelmed by the power of his physical appetites. While shielding his son from the influence of evil, a spiritual father teaches him to see the world as it really is. Christ prays, "Father, the hour has come." Certainly Jesus' use of the word hour is more than a terse confession that time has run out for him and that the moment of death looms near. Man tends to view death as a kind of brink or edge over which he topples at the instant of his demise. Hence, we naturally focus on the moment when Jesus declares, It is finished and offered up his spirit.  [cf. Jn 19:30]  It is crucial, however, to realize that even as Jesus celebrates the Passover with his apostles, and prays extensively for them, he already is crossing the threshold that separates heaven and earth. Hour and threshold are synonymous. 

CIRCLE OF THE SON

3.  Five steps, consisting of Jesus' Passover celebration, passion, death, resurrection and ascension, frame the threshold over which our Lord must depart the temporal world and enter the spiritual realm. In the larger sense, these steps complete the gospel circle of the Son beginning with Jesus' incarnation,   encompassing the whole of his ministry and life, and culminating in his ascension to the Father's right hand. To be sure, Jesus' ascension is not an evangelistic or quasi-historical addendum employed by the early Church to smooth out difficult post-resurrection questions. Nor should the ascension be considered a gospel variation of a story with a happy ending. Far from being a subordinate experience in salvation history, the ascension of Our Lord validates the new covenant made in his name. In primordial time, God cleansed the order of creation by a great flood which destroyed all living creatures save Noah, his household, and the animals housed in the ark. As a sign to Noah and his descendants, God placed a bow in the clouds and promised that the waters would never again rise to destroy all living creatures. The new covenant in Christ's body and blood achieves its consummation in Our Lord's ascension: Death shall never again be a flood to destroy all flesh. As a sign to Peter and the apostolic household, the Father sets his Son in the cloud. Thus the Father reveals to Christians, those privileged to witness the Son's exaltation and all who await the good news of redemption, This is the sign of the new and everlasting covenant which I make with you in my Son's name. Absent Our Lord's ascension, his rising from the dead (no matter how spectacular) would be devoid of essential meaning.^[7] The ascension of Jesus Christ is man's assurance that the resurrection is credible. It is the climax of God's plan of salvation, begotten in the Son who was himself begotten:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  [Jn 1:1]  Within the Logos is the light of divine being and knowing, the Truth that seeks proclamation, all creation awaiting rebirth, and the Father's will that man, formed in his likeness and image  [cf. Gen 1:26], be raised up from death to share in his glory. What was initiated at the moment of Mary's conception has achieved its fulfillment. Christ's being raised to heaven is mortal man's definitive proof that a heaven awaits and its threshold extends to the corporeal world in which he lives. Jesus prophesied, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."  [Jn 14:6]  The Greek world understood glory in terms of both substance and recognition. Glory required a heavy price, that is to say, the right to receive reverence and veneration was bestowed only after a man could demonstrate his substantial accomplishments.^[8] To appreciate what Christ means by praying, "Father...give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you", we seek to grasp the evangelists intent. In Johns gospel, our Lord's understanding of glory is substantial; he understands that he must pay a great price to complete his mission. This price to be paid awaits him at Golgotha. The recognition for which Christ prays to the Father is his own resurrection. Through this unprecedented supernatural intervention, Jesus followers are able to recognize the Father who reveals his divine love, his substantial form, and his incontrovertible power before men. The disciples are the recipients of glory, the heavy price of Jesus passion and death; they are heirs to the ultimate benefaction, Christ's resurrection from the dead. [cf. Jn 17:10] 

HONOR GOD WITH SUBSTANCE

4.  Some examples from Sacred Scripture help to clarify glory in terms of substance and recognition.^[9] The prophet Moses, nearing the end of his leadership over the Hebrew people and his own death, conferred a blessing upon each of the twelve tribes. Speaking of the tribe of Levi, Moses prayed:  "Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands."  [Deu 33:11]  From Israel's wisdom tradition, the Book of Proverbs associates the substance of the land and its bounteous harvest with the honor of God:  "Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."  [Pro 3:9-10]  St. Paul summoned the Church at Colossae to remember the substantial gifts borne by Christ to those who love him: the fullness of life, a heart made of flesh, baptism, resurrection through the ministry of Christ, the forgiveness of our trespasses, nailing death and the accusative Law to the wood of the cross, and rendering impotent the ruling powers of darkness. The discerning mind is speechless with the recognition that, "These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."  [Col 2:9-17]  The author of the Book of Hebrews clearly identifies the substance of Jesus' accomplishment as abnegation of divine prerogatives and acceptance of suffering and death:  "But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.  For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering."  Heb 2:9-10]  Jesus, resurrections pioneer, welcomes his disciples to share in his substantial suffering and death through the Sacrament of Baptism. By accepting the salvation of Christ, they participate in resurrections glory. Joining with the Son, they offer adoration and praise to the Father in whom the mysterious plan of redemption originates. St. Paul saw in the example of Abraham a prefigurement of Christ. Abrahams wife, Sarah, was barren. Both were advanced in age. Paul observes that God gave life and descendants to Abraham and Sarah through their son. The Lord who delivered Isaac from the altar of sacrifice in the land of Moriah  [cf. Gen 22:2]  raised Jesus from the dead:  "It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.  Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God."  [Rom 4:24-5:2]  Christ's gratuitous gift of himself has won peace. His followers "gain access to this grace"  [Rom 5:2]  and rejoice in the hope of everlasting life. 

HIS SON MAY COME TO KNOW

5.  Inviting man into his presence, God asks man to accept the personhood of his divinity. When man approaches God, he acknowledges God's perfect being and knowing. Man, as a person, must relate to God as person. Moreover, he must emulate the unprecedented father-son relationship which Jesus shares with Abba, his Father. Proclaiming God as Father, Our Lord taught that he is the Father's Son. Fatherhood and sonship, therefore, is the essence of their filial relationship. The foremost duty of a Christian father is to develop the daily habit of praise and prayer. Prayer assures him that he remains in meaningful relationship with God. Spiritual discipline keeps his soul pliable, sensitive, and receptive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. For what should a Christian father pray? He prays unceasingly for his own personal sanctification. He prays that his son may come to know the fatherhood of God through the Sacraments and his own example. He prays that his son receive the full harvest of blessings in his future. Mindful of St. James cautionary advice, "so faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead"   [Jam 2:17], the Christian father incarnates the fruits of his prayer life into the relationship he shares with his son. Steadfastly obedient to will of the Father, the Christian husband cares for his wife and children as Christ cares for the Church. The Christian father accepts willingly the weight of his parental role and family responsibilities. He accepts willingly the sacrifices he must make for the good of his family. Every day he renews his pledge to Christ that he will die to himself, casting away his old nature of compulsive anger, rage, spite, slander, and all manner of profanity. Each day he dies to lying, gossiping, stealing and sexual promiscuity. He lays down his life for his family. He shows his abiding love for his children's mother. Striving to cultivate a humble spirit, he empties himself of pride and self-centeredness. He imitates his son's childlike and youthful spirit. God the Father will confer upon him the name Christian. In the spiritual father, the world will know the glory of the Son and the splendor of his Bride, the Church. Jesus' priestly prayer reveals the intimate relationship he enjoys with Abba, his heavenly Father. Through the two-fold witness of divine personhood and sonship, Our Lord empowers his followers to know the Father, insofar as the Father permits man to understand him. To glorify God is to recognize him as Father and provider. To glorify God is to do his will. Having emptied himself of his divine prerogatives, Our Lord consents to be the offering of first fruits from salvations harvest. His land is the cosmos, his flock is the Church, his wealth is the redemption of souls. Not only does Jesus give the substance of himself on the cross, he takes the colossal weight of sin and death on his shoulders as well. Thus glory is not only resurrection and renown to come, it is precisely the substance of Jesus' passion and death! Thus Jesus priestly prayer, "Father...give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you", may be understood as Father, give the resurrection to your Son, that your Son may offer his passion and death to you as wealth! 

FOR MY SON

FATHER IN HEAVEN, you have graced me with joy in the covenant of marriage. And today you bless me in the life of my son; for this I will be always grateful. I kneel before you as a father. Send your Spirit to consecrate and protect my son, for I entrust him to you. Open his heart to the miracle of your fatherly love. Father, enfold my son into the mystery of the cross. Free his spirit to welcome Christ, his elder brother. Temper his nature with gentleness and discretion; teach him to regard others with respect and compassion. Strengthen his body and character. May he shoulder freely the weight of his just obligations. Help me, loving Father, to guide my son wisely across the threshold of his youth; may he take his place as a worthy son in your household of faith. Grant him the sweetness of childhoods first fervor throughout the years to come. May love prevail and your will be done. Heavenly Father, I pledge to pray for my son always, through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the love of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

FOR SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD

ETERNAL FATHER, you have graced me with the vocation of spiritual fatherhood. Grant me wisdom to understand that duty and sacrifice are the substance of a father's love. Give life and truth to my son, that my sacrifice for him may be a spiritual offering to you. Help me bear the weight of fatherhood gracefully and with a cheerful countenance. May I not take for granted my rights and privileges as a father. Heavenly Father, teach my son to honor the family he will receive from you. May his children know that he cherishes their mother, as Jesus himself rejoiced in Josephs love for Mary. Inspire my son to work diligently and to persevere in adversity. Father, these things I seek in faith. O God, in the shadow of Christ, I make my home. The Spirit makes me cry, Abba, Father! Saints, angels, and heavenly host, build the wall! Stand in the breach for me! Through the merits of Christ, ever faithful over God's house as a Son, I offer this prayer. Amen. Saint Joseph, father of the Holy Family, pray for me, that I remain obedient to God and charitable to all.  Amen.