Father is the name Jesus teaches us to call God. Father in the community of faith was the name reserved for God.
Calling God Father is empowering now, as it was then. It cuts across those who would wield the power of the father. It removes the status and privelege of the patriarchy and challenges the Roman institution of paterfamilias for the community of the faithful. Call no one father, entretes Jesus, Matthew 23:9 NRSV,
And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven.
(https://bible.com/bible/2016/mat.23.9.NRSV) and no one in the family of Jesus is to be father, moreover all are brothers, sisters and mothers, Mark 3:35 NRSV, Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. (https://bible.com/bible/2016/mrk.3.35.NRSV) although the omission of father could relate to the fact he had no earthly father.
This directly challenged Roman law, where the head of the household had real power over those over whom the father had patronage, which was revolutionary. The church sadly seems to have ignored this teaching and accommodated paterfamilias into the role of Bishop. This is an opinion, and, if not true, certainly the church has behaved as if it was and still does. Further, Jesus’ declaration that his kingdom is not of this world, wrests kingship out of the hands of those who would seek to rule over the faithful, but soon Bishops lived in palaces and now are driven in limousines. The roots if this are not in Christ.
From very early on the question was asked whether the church needed an earthly institution as Jesus preached a heavenly kingdom: John 8:23 NRSV,…You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. (https://bible.com/bible/2016/jhn.8.23.NRSV). The organised church seems to contradict the words of Jesus as its leaders assume worldly authority..
The descriptor catholic was added to church by theolgians so as to emphasise and reinforce the beyond earthly form of the community of the faithful; a faith that encompases the whole. It sadly seems church organisations adopt the priestly paterfamilias structure for worship and the worldly status of rulers where leaders are needed, writing out female leadership and evolving Jesus into an ideal male and call this catholic. It seems the church has worked to limit the word catholic to define who’s not part of the whole rather than embracing the whole.
It is a wrong path that has sanctified the cultural or traditional organising of the faithful. The teachings in the letters of the Bible are more there to control the exercise of societal power than lay the foundations of a tradition. But for example some of us have ended up with the paterfamilias pattern in our eucharistic worship, which could not be further from what Jesus left us with. The breaking of bread and sharing of wine is in the context of a real yet religious meal. The inclusion of women disciples and leaders is passed over by some, sanctifying the patriarchy where originally Jesus and his followers challenged it and undermined it.
We are left with tokens of the truth embeded in traditions. The leaders in some places dress up as Roman fathers, insisting on male privelege, but why?Some ask us to call them Father or priest, minister, pastor, reverend or Bishop as a status moniker, again, why?
Jesus has nothing to do with this. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong unless prideful. We have a problem. Jesus in this iteration, being co opted into a power structure, has become abhorrent; he is not a friend, not a brother, not a heavenly king but a tyrant. His teachings have been perverted in their recording, translating and teaching to confirm church governments and power structures. This is not Jesus’ way.
Jesus declares he is Father, John 14:9 NRSV,
Jesus said, “… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…” lhttps://bible.com/bible/2016/jhn.14.9.NRSV), and is encountered in a relationship in which we find truth and call nobody else teacher ( see Matthew 23 above). This is the foundation; Jesus is the cornerstone, the rock on which we build our gathering. The Jesus of the scripture is an impression of the reality but the perfect revelation is seen through the Spirit and recognises God, born, alive, crucified and risen.
I agree Jesus preached a kingdom not a church and founded the catholic faith. So we ask, what then must we do to be saved? I make the assertion that the answer has nothing to do with the church but means everything to a community of faith calling itself church.
The church is a small part of the catholic way, and there are manifold ways of organising community and none are sacred. The sacred in Christianity is communion with Christ bringing us into an everflowing family with only one Father, Jesus. Our only teacher is the Spirit, Jesus. The mystery of the cross, releases us into deeper relationship that gathers us around a table to find a shared truth, love God and love our neighbour.
Neighbour love opens us up to forgive as a practice, care for the weak, needy and marginalised, and love our enemies. All are called to this and this is the light that shines in and through humanity. The Word that is Jesus creates communities that incarnate God, Trinity and all are called. Paul asserts with a catholic call to the faithfulness of God, moving from inclusion of Greeks in the community of faith to inclusion of all who call out;
Romans 10:6-13 NRSV …the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
https://bible.com/bible/2016/rom.10.8.NRSV
Takeley Chapel 