"Call no one on earth your father"

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,

"The scribes and the Pharisees

have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,

but do not follow their example.

For they preach but they do not practice.

They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry

and lay them on people's shoulders,

but they will not lift a finger to move them.

All their works are performed to be seen.

They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

Call no one on earth your father;

you have but one Father in heaven.

Do not be called 'Master';

you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Some evangelical, fundamentalist, Bible thumping Christians find in Matthew 25 1-12 proof positive that the Catholic Church has gone off the deep end because they call their preachers "father."  It appears when you read the passage that they are correct, but are they?  

If I said "yes" to my rhetorical question, that would end the discussion right here and this would be my shortest blog entry ever.  Sorry, the evangelicals are not correct. But, does it not say in plain English to not call anyone on earth your father?  It most certainly does say that. But, Jesus is using hyperbole or exaggeration to make a point.  The point He is making is not prohibiting the title of father, otherwise, what do you call the husband of your mother?  

In order to understand this passage of scripture you really have to read it from the beginning and see what Jesus is actually telling us.  He tells us the Scribes and the Pharisees make up rules that they themselves do not keep.  It is for this reason, that He says to not call anyone Rabbi which is another word for teacher.  When it comes to the word father, we have to call no man father who does not deserve that title. 

In the Bible itself, there are instances where the word father is used by personages such as Paul.  For example, we have this passage: 

 "I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel" 

(1 Cor. 4:14–15).  (*)

And we hear from Peter, the prime minister of the Kingdom who does not have any problem assuming the role of a father:

 "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark" (1 Pet. 5:13). (*)

We also hear from the Apostle John: 

John said, "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1); "No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth" (3 John 4). In fact, John also addresses men in his congregations as "fathers" (1 John 2:13–14). (*) 

So we can see that the Apostles themselves were not against being spiritual fathers.  The New Testament has other examples from the mouth of Jesus where he refers to "Father Abraham."  So, it is not with the title Father that we should have trouble but we should be wise in who we bestow the mantle of the office upon.  

This is another example of what our evangelical friends miss when they hold to a strict reading of the words of the Bible without taking into account the context of the passage and how the people of that time would have interpreted the story. If we take the Bible and interpret everything according to how we think, act, and learn now we are going to make mistakes.  

For me, I will take the interpretation of these passages from my Fathers in faith in the Catholic Church.  The body that kept the Bible pure is the organization that is fit to translate it.  If we don't trust the Church and begin to interpret the Bible ourselves, we could end up with thirty thousand Christian denominations...oh, wait, we do have that!