Our Father in Heaven
Last Sunday after Epiphany, February 19, 2023, Matthew 6:9
Pastor John Kim, Lakeridge Lutheran Church
May all of you gathered here find comforting peace in God.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus refers to God as our Heavenly Father. Why did he use this title, and what does it mean to us?
During the time of Jesus, addressing God as “Father” was an extraordinary term. Today, we might use a friendly term like “Papa” to refer to God, but in Jesus’ time, people were very cautious when using God’s name. For instance, because there were no copiers back then, professional scribes had to manually copy the Bible. Whenever the word “Yahweh” appeared, the scribe would stop, break their pen, and get a new one before continuing. They would also take a bath before starting again to ensure that the name of God was treated with reverence and respect. This shows just how much people feared God at the time.
However, Jesus chose to refer to God as our Heavenly Father, indicating that we have a personal and intimate relationship with God. Titles are incredibly significant. For instance, addressing me as “Pastor John” versus “hey, John!” creates a vastly different impression. Similarly, when Jesus referred to God as “Father,” he aimed to dispel the distorted image of God as a merciless judge perpetuated by religious leaders. Instead, Jesus sought to instill a true image of God in their hearts.
Even to this day, many false images have been associated with the word “God.” When you address God as “Father,” what kind of image comes to your mind? The truth is, the idea of a father or mother in this world is far from perfect. Some individuals have suffered emotional wounds from their parents. Furthermore, the societal construct of gender has also become a factor in our perception of God. Masculine and feminine identities, which are often unequal and in constant conflict, do not accurately represent the true character or image of God.
Some pastors and theologians have taken these issues seriously and refer to God not only as Father but also as Mother. Meanwhile, some church leaders choose not to use gendered language at all, instead referring to God simply as the Creator. These decisions demonstrate a true sense of nobility and thoughtfulness.
While I do not intend to diminish the efforts of those who refer to God using non-gendered language, I would like to shift the focus to the intention behind the title “Heavenly Father” that Jesus used. Rather than thinking of God in terms of the flawed father and mother figures commonly found in the world, it is worthwhile to delve deeper into what Jesus meant by this term and the kind of person God is.
The image conveyed by the term “Heavenly Father” may be completely different from the typical notion of a “Father” that comes to mind. While heaven is often thought of as a place, it holds a deeper significance beyond its physicality. From a scientific perspective, it may represent a new dimensional realm beyond the three-dimensional space that we are capable of perceiving and experiencing, extending beyond the fourth and fifth dimensions. Although this notion remains a hypothesis, it has become a key theory in the development of semiconductors. Likewise, we cannot understand the 11th dimension, this world may already be in a dimension beyond the 3rd dimension we perceive. To put it simply and figuratively, we often make the mistake of a blind man touching only an elephant’s trunk and easily defining this animal as a snake. We are not in a hurry to define God. Even if we want to do that, we cannot grasp all of God with our narrow thinking ability. We will only create another false image of God. We just need to put down our preconceived notions as much as possible and humbly accept God’s grace. God will reveal himself to us in his way. If you read the Bible with such an attitude of mind, you can meet the heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father is the one who bestowed upon us the truth, as a result of his boundless love. Becoming a pastor has allowed me to delve deeper into Heavenly Father’s love and better understand his heart each day. I genuinely wish all of you well. This is God’s heart. I pray that everything runs smoothly for each of you. With this in mind, when considering the scope of God’s love, it becomes clear that my heart is merely a speck of dust in comparison to the vast universe. Take, for instance, the strict requirements God placed on those living in the desert to purify their bodies. One crucial reason for this, aside from the religious dimension, was that soap was not available at the time, and cleanliness directly impacted their livelihood. Similarly, why did God differentiate between clean and unclean animals and dictate which could be consumed? Was it to derive pleasure from trapping those who couldn’t adhere to the law? Did he offer the complicated laws to enjoy punishing them? Not at all. While religious and spiritual connotations exist, the primary purpose was to ensure that those in the desert didn’t die from consuming contaminated food. In essence, the foundation of the law isn’t based on judgment or condemnation, but rather on supporting the vulnerable and displaying unconditional love.
Heavenly Father is the source of transcendent love that surpasses all human understanding. In the Old Testament, King David expressed this notion when he wrote in his Psalms, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.” (Psalm 27:10) While the Bible doesn’t directly state whether David was ever abandoned by his parents, it is crystal clear, he found comfort in God, who cherished him more deeply than his physical parents. Here is an example of this: to determine who would succeed King Saul, Samuel invited Jesse and his family to a special dinner filled with worship ceremonies. Jesse and his sons attended, but God didn’t choose any of them to be the next king. Curiously, the youngest son, David, was tending to the sheep and didn’t attend the gathering. Jesse didn’t even bring David along to the ceremony. Why not? We cannot be sure, but it’s clear that Jesse didn’t hold high expectations for David. Regardless, God chose David to be the next king. Throughout David’s life, he remembered who made him a king when he was at his lowest. Then, he relied solely on God’s love and grace.
Allow me to introduce my older brother. He is a devoted husband, a romantic at heart, and a respectable father of two boys. Once, I asked him how he managed to be such a great dad, given that our father was not very good at expressing his love for us. We never blamed our father, of course. Sadly, our grandfather passed away when our dad was just three years old, so he had no father figure to look up to. When we came along, he was unprepared to be a father and had no clue how to take care of us. I have few memories of him, and we never went on camping trips or played sports together. Not surprisingly, my brother’s childhood was similar to mine in that respect. However, his answer to my question was enlightening. He said that he experienced God’s unchanging love in his twenties, which changed his life completely. Though our biological father’s love also nourished him, it was through his encounter with the Heavenly Father that my brother was able to ground his soul in God’s infinite and transcendent love.
Let us abide in God’s loyal love. As you meditate, God will restore the distorted and broken image of Himself within you. He is always good, all the time. May you be filled with the perfect presence of our Heavenly Father and His love not just now, but also throughout the coming week.
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