As the Father Loves Me
Last Sunday, a gentleman, after service and in response to my homily, shared with me his understanding of a father’s love. His story is - his father passed away when he, the gentleman, was 35years of age. His father never told him he loved him. Yet as the years passed, he came to realize the very act of his father coming home everyday after work, was his way of saying ‘I love you’. Now as a much older man, he related to me, I often long for my father to appear, at my door, after work, in the cool of the evening.
Such a poignant story. It got me to thinking of The Father’s love. In this week’s Gospel Jesus says ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you’. We also do not hear Jesus nor the Father say ‘I love you’, but like the gentleman we are left to interpret the Father’s love. The story made me believe that often we only recognize and appreciate love in hindsight.
Just as the gentleman longs for the comforting presence of his father at his door, we, too, yearn for the simple gestures of love from persons long gone. Often we fail to recognize the love expressed through simple acts, only to understand their significance later on?
It prompts us to reconsider the ways in which love manifests itself in our lives—sometimes silent, sometimes subtle, yet always profound. Moreover, it invites us to reflect on our own capacity to love others in similar understated yet meaningful ways, mirroring the divine love that permeates our existence.
In the quiet moments of contemplation, we may find ourselves echoing the sentiment of the gentleman, yearning for the presence of a loving person, whether earthly or divine, to comfort and reassure us along life's journey.
NOTICE
Today I hope to post a welcome video to the Bible Reading and Study membership program. Please consider joining the program. You can access the program at the link below.