Call no man Father
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 151
Call no man Father.
Let’s knock this one out before we try to go any further. The scriptures today have other important lessons, but I can’t imagine moving on to discuss those without first addressing this one.
We call Father Jacob, “Father.” Some people point to this scripture, and think we do not know or respect scripture. So, what does Jesus mean? Does the Catholic Church know and respect scripture, or are we off-base?
It is always prudent to understand how the early Church, the first Christians, and especially the human authors of the Bible understood scripture.
In this case, we have the example of Jesus and the apostles themselves. Biblical scholar John Bergsma points out eleven different occasions after this instruction that Jesus or the Apostles use the term father or fathers to refer to someone other than God the Father.
Among these, Paul writes to the Romans that the purpose of the covenant of circumcision was to make Abraham “the father of all who believe,” and thus, “he is the father of us all [who share the faith of Abraham].” He writes to the Corinthians to say “I became your father in Christ Jesus…” Saint John writes to the churches in Revelation, saying “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning… you know the Father.”
That last one is interesting, because John writes not to literal fathers, but to elders, Presbuteroi – the word from which we derive the English word “priest.” He writes to priests, and calls them fathers. This is the first time we have a written record of this specific formula.
So, if you are challenged about this instruction to call no man Father, be sure that you are safely following the example of the Apostles.
