Matthew 10:26-33| Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time | Year A

In many cultures, parents are often identified through their children. In a similar way, God becomes known through those who call themselves his children. In the Old Testament, he is introduced as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex 3:6). In the New Testament, Jesus teaches us to call him “Our Father” (Mt 6:9).

Yet what image of the Father do we actually carry within us?

Jesus often spoke about the Father, but many of us think more about Jesus than about the Father himself. Sometimes God appears in our minds as a distant old man in the clouds. Sometimes as a strict judge. Sometimes as loving and forgiving. Our image of the Father often changes.

Perhaps the parable of the Prodigal Son offers a clue (Lk 15:11-32). The younger son experienced the father as compassionate and forgiving. The elder son experienced the same father as demanding and unfair. The father did not change. What changed was the heart of the son who looked at him.

The father has not changed. What differs is the heart of the one who looks at him. Could it be that our image of the Father also reveals something about ourselves?

The more we try to secure ourselves, justify ourselves, and control our lives, the more difficult it becomes to come before God with freedom. The younger son discovered his father only when he had nothing left to defend. He returned with empty hands.

Perhaps this is why Jesus says, “Do not be afraid” (Mt 10:31). Fear keeps us at a distance. Love draws us near. Mary, too, discovered this freedom. She entrusted herself to the Father’s will, not because she understood everything, but because she trusted the One who called her.

The question is not whether God is truly a Father. The deeper question is whether we are free enough to approach him as children.