The Gift of Fathers

Homily on the Fathers Day on Mark 8:1-10 (Barton Hill, 15th June 2008)

It is Fathers Day yet again. As we pause for a moment amidst the mad rush of life to thank the Lord for the gift of Fathers, some of us still have the privilege to literally go to them, touch them, hug them and say- thank you for who you are. For some of us, fathers are a sweet memory, we will take this time to travel back in memory lane to really take stock and see how much we ought to thank God for who they were. I am particularly cautious of the presence of a few here who have never seen their fathers and for some of us fathers are a haunting thought too. Despite all these realities we celebrate today the gift of fatherhood.

God had entrusted to fathers (perhaps with the guidance of the mothers) the responsibility to build a heritage having a strategic plan for the generation next entrusted to their loving care, guidance and blessed protection.

Mark 8:1-10 is familiar story of the feeding of the four thousand. I would like to draw eight characteristics very important for fathers that we find in Jesus in the text.

• Jesus had compassion - The masses were with him for three days and they were all tired. The disciples would have preferred to send them away. But the Scripture points out that Jesus had compassion on them. The Greek word used here is splagcni,zomai splagchnizomai {splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee} which means to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity) . To release love from the inner core of ones being and reassuring the recipient of this love is a typical paternal trait.

• Jesus had a deep sense of concern and responsibility - He was very categorical in saying that he could not send them away hungry. Their hunger and their need is surely my concern, he asserts and it would be my responsibility to address the same. Jesus says that if they are left alone they would be tired. evklu,w ekluo {ek-loo'-o} is the Greek word used here to mean tired. It could also mean to have one's strength relaxed, to be enfeebled through exhaustion, to grow weak, grow weary, be tired out, to despond, or to become faint hearted . A father cannot allow this to happen. Exhaustion be it physical, spiritual or emotional has to be addressed and a good father knows how.

• Jesus transcended the wilderness limitations in resolving to help a people in need - The question of the disciples was very clear, 'Where could anyone get these people enough bread to eat in a deserted place?' But evidently this was not Jesus’ limitation. Similar wilderness experiences are part of every home. evrhmi,a eremia {er-ay-mee'-ah} literally mean a solitude, an uninhabited region, a waste-land. It could be a physical reality or a somber existential reality. Some people easily give up saying this is physically impossible. One great trait of fathers we celebrate in the form of our being today is the fact that they never gave up on us and never gave up because of us. At every wilderness they encountered they had resolve the chart a way through and a way out. We must remember that had they chosen to give up we would have withered in the parching heat of the wilderness then and there.

• Jesus was more concerned about what they had and not what they did not have - His question was how many loaves have you? Mobilizing the available resources and managing it for the entire need is a specific skill indeed. Many a life fails because they fail to plan to make both ends meet with what is in fact available for them. Many do not recognize the vast resources that are possibly available and many fail to manage the available resources. Our fathers were different and perhaps they took a cue out of the life of Jesus as we see here.

• Jesus then engaged in a genuine spiritual Eucharistic experience - He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them to share in community. The word euvcariste,w eucharisteo {yoo-khar-is-teh'-o} gives a sacramental sanctity to this event. There was an experience of thanksgiving in every act of life. And this thanksgiving created a total trust and dependence on God. This helped in having the courage to break what was available so that everyone could be benefited. The lack of moral strength to break the available resources to be shared among all is the basic reason of injustice being able to thrive. We learned lessons of just distribution and the essence of fairness in our homes, did’nt we?

• Jesus did not allow the small fish to miss his attention - He blesses the small fish so that it could be a blessing to all those who were present. The word ivcqu,dion ichthudion {ikh-thoo'-dee-on} has a very special connotation of smallness associated with it. Yet he saw it and he blessed it. Blessing the small was clear trait of the Father we have all experienced. The small never found itself as unworthy but always as worthy of blessing. It was made useful to all who were present.

• Jesus saw to it that everyone ate and that they were satisfied - corta,zw chortazo {khor-tad'-zo} has an element not only of filling but also being of satisfied. Not all our needs and wants can be satisfied, but all the four thousand men who were present were satisfied with what was available. Distribution of resources justly so that all are satisfied is a very important characteristic typical of fathers. The lessons learned from the multi colored coat of Joseph in creating disharmony among the brothers must be read alongside this fair intervention of Jesus.

• Jesus did not allow the leftovers to go waste -The fragments kla,sma klasma {klas'-mah} which is the remnants of food were gathered up. He was careful about wasting, “waste” and waste management. The remnants that were gathered up in seven baskets cannot even be called waste, they could be resources useful and helpful for others. Even when all present were fed is not Jesus being concerned about those absent?

Conclusion

These eight traits could help us in three ways.

Primarily it could help us look back at our fathers, thank the Lord for them and be reminded of our responsibilities towards them

• To all of us who are fathers now, this could help us re-evaluate our fatherhood and help us resolve to be better fathers.
• To all of us who are yet to be fathers this could help us plan to be good fathers and prepare a mission statement of fatherhood. I remember reading somewhere, “Like a CEO without a strategic plan, a dad without a mission-plan is unlikely to succeed”.
• To all mothers this could help refocus our expectations of fatherhood. After all, All men are not fathers and all fathers are not men!!!!! Amen.
  

Rev. Vinod Victor
Presbyter-in-Charge