Posted on 08/03/2007 12:45:26 PM PDT by NYer
In Matthew 23:9, Jesus emphasizes the primary role of Our Heavenly Father. He created us in His image and likeness (cf. Gen. 1:26-28). He made us His children through Baptism in the death and Resurrection of His Son (cf. Rom. 5:12-21; 6:3-4; 8:12-17). Because God created us in His image and likeness, we share in the attributes of God. Insofar as men share in the attributes of the Father, they participate in the one fatherhood of God.
DISCUSSION
In Matthew 23:9 Jesus says, "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven." Many people interpret this to mean, "Do not call a priest "father," and do not call your dad "father." Some who hold this opinion go further and believe that calling a priest "father" violates Scripture because it seemingly involves the rejection of a direct command from Jesus. This is a common objection to the Catholic Church. But, if we believe the conclusion that it is wrong to call others "father," then what are we to make of the Scriptures that contradict this one? For example, in Mark 7:9-13, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and scribes for not honoring their "fathers." Furthermore, calling the apostles and their successors "father" was common within the early Christian communities (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15; 1 Jn. 2:12; Acts 7:2; 22:1). As in the case of all scriptural interpretations, we must understand this passage in light of the rest of Scripture (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20; 3:16). This interpretative principle is called the analogy of faith (Catechism, no. 114).
HONOR THY FATHER
In Deuteronomy 5:16, God commands, "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the Lord your God gives you." God made this command after telling us to honor Him. With this in mind, it seems reasonable to conclude that God Himself considers others to be "fathers." Jesus upholds this commandment in Mark 7:9-13. In this passage, He berates the scribes and Pharisees who used traditions to rationalize not providing assistance to their fathers. Similarly, in Matthew 19:16-19, Jesus includes honoring one's human father as a prerequisite to attaining eternal life. A father is one who begets children. Biologically, to beget means to give the seed from which a child is conceived. A man begets and a woman conceives. In the act of begetting, the man shares in the attributes of God's fatherhood by participating in the creation of this new life. In turn, God is the author of life who actively creates a soul and infuses it into the child at the moment of conception. It is important to remember that a child does not choose its biological father. The father gives the child life. Just as God gives life to all men, and so deserves our honor and reverence, so a child owes its life to its father, and the father deserves honor from the child. There is a spiritual sense to fatherhood as well. In John 8, Jesus identifies spiritual fatherhood in terms of whom one honors. If we honor the father of lies, the devil is our father; if we honor God, He is our Father (vv. 44-49). Thus, Jesus calls the devil a father of some, and He calls God the Father of others. Those alive in Christ owe their new life to God. But those who are in bondage to sin owe their enslaved existence to Satan. In light of this passage, we can best understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 23:9.
TEXT AND CONTEXT
Matthew 23:9 is part of a larger passage in which Jesus comments on the example of the scribes and Pharisees. St. Matthew devotes the entire chapter to this discourse. While reading the entire chapter is most helpful in understanding this passage, the first 12 verses provide adequate context to begin the discussion:
Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. In the remainder of the chapter, Jesus expresses disgust with the many hypocrisies of the scribes and Pharisees. He ends by giving a lament over Jerusalem for killing the prophets and ignoring the Word of God. While there are many things that can be gleaned from this passage, we can see that Jesus does four things here: (1) He identifies two authorities; (2) He explains the proper response to authority in general; (3) He condemns acts of pride and selfishness committed by those in authority; and (4) in doing all these things, He is preparing the crowd for the New Covenant ratified in His blood.
WHO'S WHO?
In verse 2, Jesus notes that "the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat." By this, He recognizes that they have an obligation to teach the people as Moses taught the people. Because he received the Law from God and then gave it to the people, Moses was the mediator of the Sinai Covenant. The scribes and Pharisees cannot add to what Moses did, but only teach it. As teachers of this Law, they must be respected. This is the first authority identified, and it is rooted in the Sinai Covenant. "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth" (Num. 12:3). And when Miriam and Aaron spoke in pride saying, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" (Num. 13:2), God punished them (Num. 13:9-16). Unlike Moses, from whom they claim authority, the scribes and Pharisees used their positions for their own profit and glory. And so while Jesus tells the people to follow the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees, He warns them not to follow their prideful practices. As God punished Miriam and Aaron for their pride, so Jesus warns the scribes and Pharisees of punishment for theirs. One such act of pride was to be called "teacher," "father," and "master." As in other places of Scripture, Jesus emphasizes here that one who seeks to be a teacher, father, or master must serve the rest, and not seek their own glory or power. He does this by introducing a second authority, which would be rooted in the New Covenant ratified in His blood. In Matthew 23:9-10, Jesus identifies fatherhood with the Father in heaven, and authority with the authority He received from His Father. In a different way, He had already done this in Matthew 10:40. In that passage, Jesus commissioned His twelve apostles and sent them out in His name. Jesus told them, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me." In this way, the apostles knew they acted not on their own authority, but on the authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Furthermore, those who accepted them were accepting Christ and His Father in heaven (see also Mt. 18:5; Mk. 9:37; Lk. 9:48; Jn. 13:20; 12:48; Gal. 4:14). Thus, our "father" is the one whom we choose to honor. In Matthew 23:9, Jesus exhorts us to choose His Father and those who act in His name.
PRIESTS OF THE NEW CONVENANT
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His Church the gift of the ministerial priesthood. He gave His apostles the authority to act in His person with the authority given by the Father. Jesus had made this clear in Matthew 10:40 as noted above, and He reemphasized it in John 17 when, while praying to the Father, He said, "While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me . . . As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (vv. 12,18). This Sacrament of Holy Orders makes present the graces necessary for our spiritual rebirth and sustenance in Christ. For it is at the hands of priests that we are baptized, confirmed, and receive the precious body and blood of Our Lord. The title "father" does not confer upon priests the same status proper to Our Heavenly Father alone, nor does it diminish God's absolute and universal fatherhood. However, it is incorrect to interpret Matthew 23:9 in an exclusively literal sense. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says, "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." St. Paul calls himself "father" because he recognizes his cooperation with God in begetting the spiritual life of the community entrusted to his care. There are several other passages, such as Acts 7:2; Acts 22:1; Corinthians 4:15; Galatians 4:19; 1 John 2:12; and Philemon 10, which show that the title "father" was applied to others besides God and biological fathers in the New Testament.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
We cannot interpret Matthew 23:9 as prohibiting reference to dads or priests as "fathers" without contradicting other scriptural passages in which the word "father" is used. Such an interpretation would render the commandment "honor your father" meaningless and would diminish the authority of the apostles and their successors. Admittedly, it is easier for a Protestant to accept the title "father" for those who beget children biologically. To use the title for others would imply the recognition of Jesus' intention to establish a ministerial priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
However, our lives of faith are conceived by the acts of those who sow the seeds of faith. The apostles and their successors were commissioned by Christ Himself. They bear His Word in our lives and are ministers of His grace through the sacraments of the Church, beginning with our spiritual rebirth in Baptism. By sharing in the high priesthood of Christ, bishops and priests share in the attributes of the Father. As there is no father but the one Father in heaven, and no teacher or master but Christ, we properly understand that these men, having been commissioned by Christ to act in His person, also represent the Father, whom the Son reveals (cf. Jn. 1:14-18). Insofar as they uniquely participate in the spiritual begetting of God's children, bishops and priests are our fathers. For they share in the mission of Christ who reveals the eternal Father. St. Ignatius of Antioch, who knew the apostles, expressed this well when he wrote: "Let everyone revere . . . the bishop as the image of the Father" (as quoted in Catechism, no. 1554).
When addressing this issue with those who do not agree, we do well to point out the various opposing Scriptures and ask them to explain the meanings. Remind them that God cannot contradict Himself, so the Scriptures, which are His Word, cannot be contradictory. After hearing their answers, charitably question any contradictions. Most importantly, find common ground through which you can further an understanding of fatherhood. This common ground will probably be at the level of biological fatherhood. For on this level, interpreting Matthew 23:9 in an exclusively literal sense would undermine the Fourth Commandment. Most will recognize that in no way does this title take away from the ultimate power and authority God has over human life: "Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb" (Ps. 139:13). Rather, we recognize that all fatherhood comes from God, as St. Paul teaches in Ephesians 3:14-15: "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. . . ."
In this context, we can explain the fatherhood of a priest. Rather than bearing the authority of man and providing an example of pride as the scribes and Pharisees, a priest bears the authority of God in the New Covenant sealed in the blood of Christ. With such a commission, the priest is obligated to live in service to others.
Thus, whether we are speaking of biological fathers or spiritual fathers, we understand men in both circumstances to be participating in the one fatherhood of God. This is a gift from God, and must be lived in a godly manner. Only in this way can they raise their children to be children of light.
Gray, Philip C.L. "Call No Man Father: Understanding Matthew 23:9." Lay Witness (June 2000).
Reprinted with permission of Lay Witness magazine.
Lay Witness is a publication of Catholic United for the Faith, Inc., an international lay apostolate founded in 1968 to support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.
No more priests, no more sacrifices, we have direct access to Jesus.
And that the ministerial office of priest does not appear in the New Testament. Deacon, bishop, elder, apostle - yes. Priest - no.
That’s almost correct. The word hiereus (priest) is not used of church leaders in the New Testament, but the cognate verb hierourgeo (to act as a priest) is used in Romans 15:16. There Paul speaks of himself in these words: "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." Paul’s use of "to act as a priest" (hierourgeo) fits with the Catholic Church’s understanding of a priest as one who intercedes for the people of God as an intermediary. The priest today, like Paul, offers the people back to God in union with the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the great high priest.
as opposed to meet and great access?
I think that the author relies on the entire New Testament, leaning heavily on the Gospels. I realize that many folks here excerpt small passages from this epistle or that and construct entire theologies upon them, patting themselves rather contentedly on the back that they are entirely Bible-based.
Also, Hebrews 5: 1-4, which was my inspiration to become a priest.
No it isn't...And when you to take up that much space to defend your position, you can bet there's something wrong with your position...
Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Should this be taken literally??? Of course...
In God's Kindgom, there are no Rabbis...We're all brethern...No one above another...
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Do we take this literally??? Absolutely...Although one may assume the role of a Rabbi or a master, they are not be addressed as such since there is only one Master...We are all brethern...There is no 'priestly' class...
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Is this literal??? Without a doubt...Although we all have fathers, there is only ONE to which that title goes...That's not anyone with a long robe or anyone that sits above the rest on a throne in Rome...And that ONE is our Father in Heaven...
And why does Jesus tell us this??? So that we recognize there is no longer a 'class' of priests...Not for my church...Not for yours...We all all brothers...
No one above another...
And what did Paul emphasize on the matter??? That he was the very least among us...
You think Peter sat on a throne with crowns, jewels and gold trimmed robes??? That would be the joke of Christian history...
Everyone has a father...You can call him dad, daddy, pop, papa, pappy, old geezer, or whatever...But don't call your father, father...And especially, don't call a minister of the gospel father because he is your brother...
We don't even call Jesus father, for there is ONE father in heaven...
Good article.
This is an interesting article. Why do you believe there is the difference in Jesus telling us to call no one Father, except God, while other scripture seems to point out something else?
Some religions have priests who assume the title of Father. This is wrong because of the instructions given by Our Lord in [Matthew 23:9]. The usage implied here would be of a sacred connotation. Jesus was referring to the Pharisees of his day and their love of self righteousness, pride and vanity. They expected others to address them as "Father" or "Rabbi" as a show of sacred respect. They deserved none!
God is our only spiritual "Father" and it is blasphemous to use this title with a sacred intent on a mere mortal. [Psalm 111:9] tells us that "Holy and Reverend" is his name also, and Reverend means: 3372. yare' (yaw-ray')a primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere;cause to frighten.....worthy of worship. Any man who would take a title belonging to God will one day have to stand before him and explain why.
When one is referring to his earthly "father" he is not using it in any form of religious...or sacred context.
That explanation makes sense. Thank you for taking time to explain.
......Ping
When the veil was rent in two, we thoroughly now understand that every believer, through faith in Christ, is a priest. Our Lord and Savior is the High Priest who provides the atonement and propitiatory sacrifice for us to have fellowship with God, again through faith in Christ.
No other man throughout human history, today acts as an intermediary between any other man and God other than our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
Likewise, the spiritual gifts provided by God, come from Him, not by other men.
There are many who seek a counterfeit spirituality, appealing to fallen spirits and other persons to act as counterfeit intermediaries, but there is only one God and only one Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
The Baptism which regenerates the human spirit is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not some counterfeit religious fraud in robes claiming he is the substitute for God, flicking his finger in water and claiming he bequethes spiritual power to others. Such behavior is manifest by those who worship the Adversary, seeking a counterfeit to His plan for all His believers, those who comprise the true Church, the body of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, simply through faith in Him as He remained faithful to the Father.
Spiritual gifts include the gift of pastor-teacher and the gift of evangelism, but those spiritual gifts merely are the gifts of that person, enabling them to comprehend spiritually from God the Holy Spirit certain aspects which they in turn may communicate to others.
Too often, men seeking worldly systems seek to elevate their authority by trying to mislead those of lessor worldly rank into placing faith in them rather than through Christ. Any system of organized religion has its credibility called into doubt when they convolute Scripture to such a point that they brazenly violate direct orders from our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. There are many believers who happen to be Catholic, but I know no Catholics who condone the use of the name ‘Father’ to recognize local church leadership, who remain in fellowship with God through faith in Christ when they encourage such language. Even worse, how can one help but question the veracity of senior members within that denomination who condone and promote such practice when their first domain includes tasks to lead those younger believers who have not yet studied such matters.
I opt not to judge them, but find their influence to be more counterfeit and in opposition to remaining in fellowship with God through faith in Christ, than educating their flock in the Word.
In a nutshell, the command to not call any other Father is very simple and easy to understand. There isn’t any need to rationalize Scripture away simply to elevate local church leadership positions. A devout leader within the church will, if anything, be more concerned with inappropriately misleading their flock by use of such language than insist upon defending a worldly tradition. Unless, of course, the group of people being defended themselves have more respect for worldliness than simple belief in God through faith in Christ only.
You and Diego have cleared up those questions for me and I appreciate it.
Thank you both....Ping
I opt not to judge them........not some counterfeit religious fraud in robes claiming he is the substitute for God, flicking his finger in water and claiming he bequethes spiritual power to others...
...good job of not making any judgments...I’d hate to see what you’d say if you were being judgmental...
That of course is exactly what it means. In the spiritual realm we have only one Father, which is in heaven. We have no spiritual father on earth. To call a priest "Father" is in direct contradiction to the command of Christ. By elevating the Priest, we bring down Christ.
In the New Testament, the theology of the spiritual fatherhood of priests comes in Paul’s statement, "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).
Peter followed the same custom, referring to Mark as his son: "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark" (1 Pet. 5:13). The apostles sometimes referred to entire churches under their care as their children. Paul writes, "Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children" (2 Cor. 12:14); and, "My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!" (Gal. 4:19).
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).
By referring to these people as their spiritual sons and spiritual children, Peter, Paul, and John imply their own roles as spiritual fathers. Since the Bible frequently speaks of this spiritual fatherhood, we Catholics acknowledge it and follow the custom of the apostles by calling priests "father." Failure to acknowledge this is a failure to recognize and honor a great gift God has bestowed on the Church: the spiritual fatherhood of the priesthood.
Catholics know that as members of a parish, they have been committed to a priest’s spiritual care, thus they have great filial affection for priests and call them "father." Priests, in turn, follow the apostles’ biblical example by referring to members of their flock as "my son" or "my child" (cf. Gal. 4:19; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; Philem. 10; 1 Pet. 5:13; 1 John 2:1; 3 John 4).
All of these passages were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and they express the infallibly recorded truth that Christ’s ministers do have a role as spiritual fathers. Jesus is not against acknowledging that. It is he who gave these men their role as spiritual fathers, and it is his Holy Spirit who recorded this role for us in the pages of Scripture. To acknowledge spiritual fatherhood is to acknowledge the truth, and no amount of anti-Catholic grumbling will change that fact.
and no amount of anti-Catholic grumbling will change that fact...
...and unfortunately no amount of cogent responses such as yours will ever change the amount of anti-Catholic grumbling that goes on in this forum...
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