Our God is not impersonal God
We Catholics do not believe in an impersonal God or nameless Reality, a “Tad” or a “Nirguna God”. We believe in God the Father. Observe carefully we do not say God “as” Father for such an expression would mean putting on a show of being the father, acting like a father and so on. What we believe is in God whose name is the Father (in Scripture of the New Testament whenever the expression the God is used, it always refers to the Father and not to some impersonal reality); that is his real name not an adopted name! How do we know this? It is from the revelation given by Jesus Christ that we know that there is God the Father.
Till then the Jews only thought of ONE God who is just ONE person. Jesus spoke of himself as the Son who has come from this Father. You notice from the Gospel of John how this relationship of Jesus the Son is special and different from the relation we have with such a Father in heaven. Observe John 20. 17c where Jesus the Risen Lord tells Mary Magdalene to go and tells his disciples: “…I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”. In the Gospel of John, passages such as: John 5.30 +36 (“…I seek the will of him who sent me” + “…these very works which I am doing, bear me witness that the Father has sent me”); 6. 29 +57 (“…This is the work of God, that you may believe in him whom he has sent” + “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me”); 17.3+8 speak of Father sending the Son; normally we speak of sending another, we do not speak of sending oneself. Therefore it stands to reason that the Father who sent Jesus the Son is distinct as the Sender is distinct from the Sent i.e., the Father is distinct from the Son.
Jesus during his earthly life spoke of this God the Father who is his Father in a very special way, so much so that the early Church delighted in calling the Father as “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 1.3. Through the Holy Spirit we are given the privilege of being the brothers/sisters of Jesus; therefore Jesus wanted us also to call his father as Our Father in heaven.
Some of the sayings of Jesus in the Gospel about this Father in Heaven (look up the full passages in the Bible):
1. Mt 6.25-34 Jesus tells us not to be anxious about tomorrow. The Father who looks after the birds of the air (which do not sow or reap or gather in barns), who gives beauty to flowers (which do not spend time and energy in weaving), who gives greenness to the beautiful but lowly grass, will he not look after you? Jesus asks: Why then are you anxious about tomorrow what we would eat, drink or wear and try to provide for yourself these things even at the cost of wrong doings like giving and taking bribes, cheating others, refusing to return loans taken, working ourselves bone dry, spoiling our health by doing two or three jobs not even resting on Sundays? Jesus recommends that we seek first the kingdom of God i.e., give the first place to God the Father in our life, allow him to be the ruler of our life and seek to do what he tells us and we would get enough and more for our lives.
2. Mt 7.7-11 Jesus tells us to go to the Father and ask him in simple faith and we would surly get it if it is indeed for our real good because the Father is a loving Father who knows what to give and when to give to his loving children! “Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
3. Mt 10. 29-31 Jesus tells us not to be afraid in our life to proclaim the goodness of God. Nobody can really harm us because even the number of hair on our head is known to the Father; neither they nor even a lowly sparrow will fall to the ground without the Father knowing it or permitting it! “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, thereof; you are of more value than many sparrows”.
4. Mt 6.7-15 Jesus tells us not to multiply our words in praying to the Father thinking that we could wear down the Father by plenty of words but he taught us the simple prayer “the Our Father” which has two parts: in the first we praise and thank God, in the second part we pray for what we need and ask pardon for our sins. (Read CCC 2777 to 2854)
5. Mt 5.43-48 Jesus tells us to pray for all even for our enemies because God our heavenly Father does good to all: to the good and the bad, making his sun to shine on both and the rain to fall on both. Jesus holds up his Heavenly Father as a good example to be imitated in this regard. “…so that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise on the just and on the unjust. … You, therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5.45 +48).
6. Above all it is the Father who has loved us so much that he gave his only Son for us and for our salvation and did not even hesitate to hand him over when people wanted him to be crucified: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believe in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3.16) and he raised him up alive on the third day and constituted him as “Lord” that he may continue to be life giving for us through the Holy Spirit (Rm 1.4). The Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father through the Son was also sent out on the day of Pentecost for us so that we may come to bear witness to the Lord and find life and life (Acts 2.1-39).
7. Finally observe that this good Father is generous and rewards more than what we deserve. He matches our generosity by even more generosity from his part. Cf. Lk 7. 37-38 “…good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.”
Read CCC 232 to 267; also 2779 to 2796.
To be continued next Thursday…