Face of the Father

Seeing God's Face in our human father's faces

06/16/2024

Mk 4:26-34 Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day, so this homily will be a little bit of a shout-out to my dad. If you don’t like it, tell your son to become a priest and maybe he’ll do that for you. This year my father reaches the milestone of 90 years of age, so this Father’s Day is extra special for us. He’s a great father, and has given me a glimpse of Face of God the Father. That is the purpose of every human father: to reflect the love, wisdom, strength, and holiness of the heavenly Father. No father on earth is perfect, but my dad is about as close as you can get. Okay, maybe St. Joseph is a little closer.

My dad came to the United States in 1976, when he was already 42 years old. Can you imagine if when you were 42 you moved your whole family to a foreign country to live there permanently? I have learned so much courage, sacrifice, and perseverance from my father’s fearless example of immigration. When things have gotten hard for me, I think of what my father did and say to myself, “Suck it up, Buttercup!” My dad never said that but he didn’t need to. His actions spoke louder than his words.

My father worked in the Indian government while living in New Delhi. In those days a government job was a great job. When he arrived here it wasn’t easy for him to land a high-paying job, so he started selling insurance. He pounded the pavement day after day, and knocked on door after door. But surprisingly, lots of people welcomed him inside because they loved to talk to him.

They were intrigued by his appearance: He wasn’t exactly black but also didn’t look very white and he had this great Indian accent people loved to hear. Some thought he was Arabian. They would buy the insurance just to keep him around and talking, and my dad loves to tell stories. My father sold enough insurance to put three kids through Catholic schools and later college. That’s a lot of insurance.

What I love and admire most about my father is how much he loves my mom. Most Fridays I go visit my parents in Springdale, and we celebrate Mass in their home first thing in the morning. Dad reads the Scripture readings as the lector, and his job is the ring the bell at the consecration as altar server. But he rings it a few other times when he shouldn’t so our altar servers aren’t alone! Then at the Our Father, my parents hold hands, and at the Sign of Peace, they give each other a kiss.

But long before that, back when my mom worked as a nurse at UAMS in Little Rock, she would come home at 11 p.m., my dad would stay up and listen to how her day had been. Even though he was exhausted himself, he wanted to be present to help mom unwind from a stressful day at the hospital. These are a few ways how I glimpsed the Face of the heavenly Father every time I looked at the face of my earthly father.

In the gospel today Jesus presents a parable to explain the Kingdom of God. And he uses the example of a seed. Our Lord describes how a tiny mustard seed eventually blossoms into one of the largest plants where birds find shade in its branches. So, too, God’s Kingdom would begin with the Seed of His Son, the Word made Flesh, whose Kingdom now covers the whole world and everyone can find shade, that is, spiritual health and holiness in the branches of its seven sacraments.

My father, a little like God the Father, should also feel some satisfaction because he, too, has planted the seeds of his two sons and one daughter in this world, who have in turn born much fruit. My brother had four kids, my sister has five kids, and I have six thousand kids. I win! (It’s always a competition.) Recently, I met a couple I had married shortly after I arrived at I.C. They are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this year.

They have two boys, and I jokingly said to the oldest: “You know, I am responsible for you being here!” He didn’t laugh, so I quickly added, “hey, I’m just kidding! I am the priest who married your parents!” I wanted to say, “I am your father, Luke!” but he probably wouldn’t get the reference. And my father’s grandchildren – natural and spiritual – will one day also bear fruit. Here again we see in human fatherhood a snapshot of the goodness and love of heavenly Fatherhood.

I hope you still have your father with you on earth so you can tell him you love him and can give him a big bear hug today. If he has passed, I hope you remembered him in our Novena of Masses for Father’s Day. It’s always ironic how the stack of envelopes for Mother’s Day is always twice as tall as for Father’s Day. But dad needs our prayers more than mom does! There is only Dad who is perfect, so be patient with any weaknesses or failings of your earthly father. Most of us will never know the sacrifices they made for us so we can enjoy the blessings we have.

As my father turns 90 this year, I am extremely grateful for every year he is still with us. But one day, he will have to set sail for what Shakespeare called “the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns,” namely, heaven. Just like 48 years ago, in 1976 he left India to set sail for this country, America, and blazed the trail for us. One day he will do that again and the angels will have to figure out if he’s black, white, or Arabian. But most importantly, please God, he will see God the Father Face to face. And I have a sneaking suspicion there will be a remarkable resemblance.

Praised be Jesus Christ!