This is a clear case of taking a Scripture passage very literally on one’s own interpretation instead of that of the Church, which the Bible states is the “pillar and foundation of truth” (Timothy 3:15). For example, Jesus also said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:28). Did Jesus mean for us to take this literally? If He did, then most of us would be blind, wouldn’t we? Of course that is not what He meant. Therefore, it is very possible that when He said, “call no one your father,” He also meant something else.
When Jesus said in this passage to “call no man father, Master or Rabbi,” He was issuing a command not to seek teachers other than God. Their teachings and traditions should not replace the Law of God as the Pharisees did. The passage is also a charge against those who seek power for the earthly pleasures that it offers. Clearly, the entire chapter is a condemnation of the practice of the Pharisees. They were the teachers (spiritual fathers) of the day, but they erred because they exchanged the teachings of God for the teachings of men. The Pharisees named their own teachers as the ultimate fathers. They fed on their own spiritual food and no longer sought God's perfect food. They elevated their teachings over the Law of God.
We find that the word father is used in the New Testament to mean a teacher of spiritual things, someone by whom the soul of man is born again into the likeness of Christ (I Corinthians 4:14-15; 2 Corinthians 12:14; 1 John 2:1; 3 John 4; Galatians 4:19). The apostles are called “fathers” in the New Testament (1 Peter 5:13; 1 John 2:1; 1 Corinthians 4:15,17; 1 Timothy 1:2,18; 2 Timothy 1:2) and they referred to fellow Christians who were not their natural offspring as children or sons. They called themselves “fathers” because they fulfilled the biblical requirements of being a father. They formed churches and people, they fed churches and they maintained them.
By preaching the Word of God, the apostles continued the work of showing forth the Fatherhood of God to the rest of the world. Today, the Catholic Church teaches that the bishop or priest “images” this same “fatherhood.” They bring us into the Church by baptism; they feed us the Word of God and the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and by doing this they maintain us in the Church. St. Paul himself instructed Timothy and Titus in the requirements for a priest by telling them that they should be good “fathers” (1 Timothy 3:4-5; Titus 1:6).
© Copyright 2002 Grace D. MacKinnon
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.
