I Believe in God the Father
When my son Xavier was very little, I tried to teach him the “Our Father.” I would say to him, “Ok Xavier, let’s pray the Our Father.” And he would get a big smile and full of confidence he would say “Our Father, Our Father, Our Father,” certain that he had mastered the prayer. Though he was a long way from learning the whole prayer, I realized he had mastered the most important part, God is our Father! If we would let that reality sink in it would completely transform our lives – but we have not let it sink in and we really live like orphans. So today we need to meditate on God the Father.
ONE
Jesus tells the best story of the goodness of God the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
A man had two sons. The younger said to his father; "Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me". So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said; "How many of my father's paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say; ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you, I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.’" So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said; "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate. The father said; "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.
TWO
Think of what the Father had given the son. Life, a privileged upbringing, a secure future, an estate…The Father had given him his very sonship and all the benefits that go with it. The younger son took it and threw it away and forgot about his father.
Think about all you have done for your children or that your parents have done for you. It is mind boggling, all they have given us and the sacrifices they made. And it is almost nothing compared with what God has given us.
While he was still a long way off – still having a long way to go to convert - his father saw him. Even though he forgot about his father, his Father never forgot about him. Though we turn away from God, Our Father never turns away from us.
He was moved with pity. Our Father is Mercy and Compassion itself.
“And he ran” – in excess of joy the Father did not wait, but ran to meet the son, showing the greatness of his love. We think we are searching for God – but really, he is always running toward us. We just need to stop running away.
“And fell on his neck and kissed him” – signifying pardon, reconciliation, love and good will…
The best robe, the ring, and the shoes signify the Father restoring the young man to the full privilege of being a son of the Father.
The sacrifice of the fatted calf signifies the mind boggling sacrifice God the Father makes to save us – the sacrifice of his only begotten son Jesus.
The father said; "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. This is what God our good Father says to us!
THREE
God is Father who by his nature just wants to share His life with sons and daughters.
Why did God create the world? God has no other reason for creating than His love and goodness. St. Thomas Aquinas says that creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand.
God the Father created the world so that he could create angels and humans with whom he could share His divine life and make us his adopted sons and daughters.
And the glory of God is man fully alive.
All God the Father wants is for us to allow Him to pour His divine life in our souls so that He can raise us up to His divine level and live with him forever in heaven.
God wants to make us like himself – divine.
"The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods" writes St. Thomas Aquinas
Through faith, baptism, and especially by receiving the Eucharist we share in the life of God!
FOUR
Our Father can handle a lot – so why don’t we trust Him?
There are upwards of 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone and possibly 200 billion observable galaxies in the universe. Those are just the ones we can see. God Our Father created that colossal universe and holds it in His hands, yet we have such a hard time trusting Him. How could we need more proof that God could take care of us than just by looking at the stars in Heaven. I guess we don’t look at the stars in Heaven enough…But if we did, we would begin to realize that if God can handle that universe, He can certainly handle our lives.
The Catechism (2778) says there is one word that captures perfectly the attitude we should have toward God Our Father – that word is parrhesia which means a:
● Straightforward simplicity w/God
● Confident trust in God’s Providential care
● Joyous assurance
● Humble boldness
● The certainty of being loved
● That is the attitude we should intentionally cultivate and practice every day
FIVE
Jesus taught us humble boldness when we speak to God our Father; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
God revealed to St. Faustina that He desired from all souls this straightforward simplicity and bold trust; “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and this is – trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is My desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts.” (Diary of Faustina 1578)