Is “Father God” a Distant God?
by Rev. Cory Coberforward
Readings
Revelation 14:1-3
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
Proverbs 23:22-26 (responsive reading for live service)
Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.
My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
Read the written message below with music videos
On Father’s Day we celebrate our fathers and fatherly figures, celebrating how Divinity shines through the diverse expressions of masculinity and fatherhood, just as it shines through femininity and motherhood in infinite ways as the source of these qualities (as well as gender-neutral expressions). Indeed, the Christian Bible often describes how Christ used “Father” to denote God when speaking with his family and friends two millennia back, although it is hard to say if these ancient Jewish people used the term more broadly at the time. Christ seemed to be expressing how close we are to God by using this important familial distinction, emphasizing that we are all children of God, and expressing that God is the seed of all life – particularly, the source of “the light of the world” and love itself. And, like a good father, this day in particular rejoices in the empowerment of freedom and the light of love in many diverse ways, as we also celebrate Juneteenth and New Church Day today.
Our reading today is the last instance that “Father” God is mentioned in the Bible, seven chapters before the end. And although this may seem like a slight to some, it largely fits the motif established by the Bible that the mode of God called “Father God” is a transcendent God – what some might misconstrue as being “absent.” Perhaps this is one subtle reason why Christ used the term “Father,” given that it is often our dads that are lost to war, conflict, obligation, selfish action, and on. But like many of these fathers, God’s love transcends any sense of separation and even death.
You see, the invisibility of Father God in the Bible speaks to our typical sense that we cannot see God (as compared to God as expressed by the Son or even the Holy Spirit, as well as some other traditions’ expressions of God as Kali, Krishna, and other bodily incarnations), which may translate to feeling distant from God. But on the contrary, the transcendence of God connected to this term speaks to the very infusion of God into life itself, closer to each of us than our ideas about God or those about even ourselves and life. When we start to turn to God through this lens, knowing that God is the root of our very beingness and awareness, we find a sense of freedom as well as come to celebrate the transcendent gifts that we received from our earthly fathers – no matter how close or how distant they seem. We, quite literally, carry part of their bodily expression around through DNA, and also carry the very light of perception thanks to them (among others), as well as all the profound wisdom and love that we’ve been blessed with through their lives as well.
My father is a huge source of the blessings in my life, from my interest in spirituality to my sense of goodness and appreciation for nature. He has taught me many things, both directly and indirectly, and his example has helped me become attuned to the freedom, heart, and dedication possible in life. Even the challenges in our relationship have been a great source of growth, as it is often our challenges that teach us the most – thanks be to God for that. Ultimately, the Divine Father has taught me many things through my father, even in the times when I didn’t believe in either one.
I think the celebration of today is meant to help us appreciate and remember all the things our fathers have done for us and been for us, even the things that we might have taken for granted. A father’s abiding presence is there for us even when we discount it, just as our Divine Father is. It’s a blessing beyond words to have a good father in our lives, and even for those of us who’ve had no father around, little do we know the great and transcendent part our Holy Father continues to play, even as he is known by many names across traditions and even when he is not believed to exist at all. Indeed, God’s part in our lives is not a separate thing from the light of life itself, even when we often look outward for something that can be at no distance from us at all. God is the light of the world itself, and although we often discount it, he teaches us that turning to the light of love and awareness within can help us find true freedom in this life and the next.
It's interesting that also on this day (June 19th, 2022) we celebrate the start of the Swedenborgian tradition over 250 years ago, calling it New Church Day, because the unintentional father of our tradition wrote that the Lord had marked the day in heaven by sending his disciples out to share the good news. In particular, this good news was the widespread sharing of a more open and spacious Christianity on earth, one that emphasized the oneness of God and the importance of turning toward the light of truth and love in our being and acting to find freedom. Sounds nice! Further, June 19th is also known as Juneteenth, celebrating the emancipation of the enslaved peoples of the United States over 150 years ago. A holiday that I relate quite closely with and celebrate, as you may as well! Interestingly, these two holidays also highlight the great mission of the Divine Father in history, which is the liberation and freedom of his people – so, it is wonderful that we get to celebrate all three of these holidays on the same day this year!
That is ultimately what many of our father figures want for us in this life, freedom. Even some of their more misguided lessons can often be attributed to wanting freedom for us, seeking to teach us how to be strong enough, smart enough, or whatever enough to not be held down by the circumstances of life. Our fathers offer of themselves in many ways, and even those that walk away may think they are sharing a valuable life lesson and freeing us from sentimentality and ignorance, as well as giving us the example of their own type of freedom. Sometimes physical distance from someone is the greatest gift that they think they can provide.
Our Divine Father also seeks our freedom, just as the incarnate Christ and many other sages and depictions of God have taught us and offered us. The tricky thing here is that historically we eventually start to misconstrue this “salvation” as one from a hell that we aren’t already making for ourselves, making the name of our God or our tradition the password to get into heaven. But the bouncer at the gates of heaven idea draws our attention away from the heart of God’s teaching, which is that we are called to turn to the transcendence of God the Father, the Mother, the Son, the Daughter, in every moment in order to find true freedom. This transcendence can only be known in our very awareness itself as its own transcendent love and spaciousness, not something to be perceived as much as it is meant to just be. God is no object to be grasped and can only be seen (as Christ said) by turning to the light of the world itself, the light of consciousness and love; not something to be imagined but noticed as the very space that we perceive things within, closer than even our self-image, the shared marker of humanity and all life itself.
This brings us to today’s practice, which is one of gratitude. Gratitude is often underrated, and often we get in the habit of many modes of non-gratitude. Today we’re called to open ourselves to gratitude for all the things our fathers are and have given us, perhaps including the gifts of Juneteenth and New Church Day. The blessings are beyond number! And further, even the challenges that our fathers sometimes offer are their own type of blessings, often teaching us or motivating our need to turn to the light of God at our root. Indeed, we don’t often know exactly what to be grateful for, and so the act of just giving thanks for everything can help us open to the many gifts of the Father.
And so, on this Father’s Juneteenth New Church Day, we have much to be thankful for. Our Divine Father is the very image of patience and light itself, that is, no image at all! And yet we each have seen God through that very light shining through our fathers in their diversity, including through our great teachers and the one known as the Son (but also called the Father), Jesus Christ. The terms themselves only serve as fingers pointing to these beings and their transcendent truth, which is no different from our very source of life. It teaches us that we are all one Being, not apart from the light of the Father itself. It teaches us that no matter our challenges, God is always with us offering true freedom and love, and only seeks us turn to his light for our own peace, love, empowerment, and wisdom – like a good father.
Peace and love shine from you,
Rev. Cory