Deep and Durable

Last month we celebrated Mother’s Day.

And today we celebrate Father’s Day.

So, happy Father’s Day to those who are fathers.

With St Joseph as our patron we have a special place in our hearts for all kinds of fathers.
Foster fathers, step fathers, spiritual fathers, grandfathers--all who serve in the fatherly role.

Of course, many of us are not parents.

But we’ve all been children.

And we all have parents to visit or call or remember on these days.

Our parents may rank as great, or just so-so, or as not very good at all.

But with the benefit of maturity and hindsight, 

We might see that we didn’t always make their job easier.

So, if our own parents rank less than perfect, or even far from perfect, 

We can cut them some slack.

Those of us who are parents get a little advantage in seeing how hard a job it can be.

We get to experience the joys and the pains of the parent-child relationship from both sides.

If we’re grandparents we get yet another perspective.

We see our children dealing with raising our grandchildren.

And we can take satisfaction in watching them all grow through that process.

We might even contribute our sage advice—if asked.

It’s hard for parents to know when to be unyieldingly strict and when to give in.

When to step in and when to hold back.

When to be protective and when to encourage independence.

Some parents keep a tight reign on their kids—some too tight.

Some parents let their kids run wild; let them get away with murder.

How can we figure out this parent-child relationship—from either side?

God help us.

Indeed, God does help us.

He gives us an example we can follow; a model we can examine.

As Jesus once said: Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father, in heaven.

God made us, God provides for us, God is in charge, God is truly our ultimate parent.

We can learn by looking at His relationship with His children.

What we see there can help us better understand our human relationships.

In turn, what we see in our human relationships helps us appreciate our relationship with God.

King David was one of God’s kids.

It seems that he was one of those kids who was given everything.

One of those kids who was allowed to get away with murder.

David had everything.

But he wanted more.

He wanted Bathsheba.

But she was already married to Uriah.

So he had Uriah killed.

And today we hear Nathan the prophet speaking for God and admonishing David.

But the bottom line, after the admonishment, is: You’re forgiven.

Another one of God’s kids is that woman we meet in today’s Gospel.

She didn’t literally get away with murder.

But she did get away with acts that made her notorious throughout the city as a sinful woman. 

The Pharisee knew of her reputation; Jesus knew her guilt.

And yet the bottom line from Jesus was:

Your sins are forgiven.

So what’s the lesson here?

What can we apply to our relationships with our children and our parents?

What can we apply to our understanding of our parent-child relationship with God?

God’s total forgiveness of the notoriously sinful woman was very generous, 
But not too surprising.

His total forgiveness of David was a bit more surprising.

David was guilty of one of the most serious sins imaginable.

The premeditated, wanton, unnecessary murder of a loyal, innocent servant.

Did God really let David just get away with that?

In the most important sense, yes, he did.

David’s act did not cost him his own eternal life, God forgave his sin.

But God did not shield David from the natural consequences of his sin.
From the evil and violence his murderous act brought into the world.

He still had to suffer those consequences in this life.

As God said through Nathan:

The sword shall never depart from your house.

And indeed, David and his house did suffer greatly.

His first son with Bathsheba died a few days after birth.

His son Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

His son, Absalom, later killed his brother Amnon.

And years later, Absalom led a revolt that sought to kill David.

Yet, when Absalom was finally killed by David’s men, David mourned inconsolably.

How could a parent be so loving and forgiving and committed to a child like Absalom?

It’s just one example,
Of the extreme depth and durability of human parental love and forgiveness.

An example that helps us understand how God can love His children so much.
So much that He's willing to forgive everything.

All four of our scripture readings today focus on forgiveness.

The Good News message is that there is no sin so great that God won’t forgive us.

He’s our Father, and His divine love and forgiveness for each of us is unbounded.

There’s also a corollary to that message.

And a way for us to show God our gratitude and love for Him.

We may not be able to match God’s divine love and forgiveness.

But we know there’s also a great human capacity for love and forgiveness.

We’ve seen it, and hopefully experienced it, in human parent-child relationships.

And now we’re called to extend that love and forgiveness to all of God’s children.
Just as He does.

To all of our brothers and sisters.

On this Father’s Day, let’s give special thought and commitment

To the prayer we’ll be saying together in a few minutes.

Our Father who art in Heaven …

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mt 7:36-50                                    Read this Scripture @usccb.org