Happy Father's Day! I remember qualities my father possessed in abundance (qualities that all good parents possess): love, commitment, support, forgiveness, communication. We went to church together whenever we could and spent time together, especially at the family meal table. And so, I invite all fathers here to stand for our applause.
You may have heard about a youngster who asked his parents separately, "Where do people come from?" The mother replied, "Well, Joey, God made Adam and Eve and they had children and that's where we came from."
Later, the youngster asked his father. The father answered: "We probably evolved from apes over millions of years." The confused youngster went back to his mother and said, "Mommy, you said God created people, but daddy says people came from apes." She quipped, "Well, Joey, I told you about my side of the family." There's something not quite right about that answer!
The word of God takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus. Ezekiel saw the collapse of the Kingdom of the South. Babylonia conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple and deported many Hebrews.
Yet, in the midst of this national trauma, Ezekiel prophesizes that God will raise up a tender shoot, a majestic cedar tree, a leader, a Messiah who will bring blessings upon the people. Ezekiel challenges us to hope in God despite the challenges we may face in life. When we’re depressed, “down on our luck,” so to speak, Ezekiel inspires us to hope in the future, to do the best we can to make for a better tomorrow.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, challenges us to please God, to walk by faith. We are accountable to God for how we live and behave. An old gospel hymn sums up this Pauline passage well: “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through; my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door…”
Now, I once read a headstone in a cemetery, inscribed: “Remember, you who pass by this stone; as you are now, so once was I; and as I am now, so you will be; prepare yourself to follow me.” And below that someone scribbled: “To follow you is not my intent, unless I know which way you went.” Now that’s something to think about!
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God through a story, a parable. Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a seed you plant, the tiniest of seeds, and what you get is a plant bigger and better than you ever expected. The Kingdom of God, in other words, is better than we can imagine, beyond our wildest dreams! Heaven is the unimaginable come to life.
And so, with that aspiration, I would like to reflect on Paul’s letter which instructs us to “please God.” In other words, make sure we have our priorities straight. Seek first the kingdom of God.
Leo Tolstoy, the celebrated novelist, philosopher and reformer, noted that there are only two important questions: “What shall we do and how shall we live?” Yes, how shall we please God? St. Paul would likely advise us: by being men and women of moral character, of integrity.
There’s a difference between character and personality. Personality on the surface puts us in a category – cheerful, or moody, or excitable, etc.
Character, by contrast, is singular and defines who we are, at the core of our inmost self.
Personality is emotional. Character is ethical. Personality is neither good nor bad. Character, by definition, is either good or bad. By character, one stands out from the crowd. That takes courage.
Few will be called to the courage involved in, for example, rescuing someone from a life-threatening situation. Yet there is another, everyday level of courage to which all of us are called. It manifests itself in the choices each of us must make about the fundamental values or virtues by which we live.
Here's how an author put it: If we have the courage to discover meaning through what we experience, especially family life and good friends and what we do, our work or career or whatever it is, if we see ourself and others as blessed briefly with earthly life and promised eternal life, if we are true to our inner best self, we will be able to overcome moments of anxiety that sneak up on us from time to time. Ours then will truly be a wonderful life.
A person of moral character will choose fair-mindedness, the dignity of the person, a respect for human beings, a willingness to go the extra mile to make something “just right” because it’s the better thing to do. People of character, in short, will choose what is true and good and right, in decisions small and great, that affect family life, work, career, and social life, raising children, relationships with others, even leisure time. Children especially are an incredible gift from God and parents have a unique opportunity to transform them into men and women of integrity.
St. Paul pleads with us today to “walk by faith,” to please God by the way in which we live and behave. Especially in light of his message to the Corinthians today, all of us are called to seek not what is “fashionable,” not what is expected by others, but simply to seek what is right and true and good.
And having found what is right and true and good: as the advertisement says, have the courage to just do it. Amen
