A fortnight ago, I started working at the Jesuit Institute South Africa. On my first day, one of my colleagues introduced me to some of the work that the Institute does. He shared with me that the theme of this year’s Living Theology series is Our Father? The shadow of father: Reimagining fatherhood, healing wounded images of God.
The meaningful exchange of ideas we had about the social understanding of fatherhood compelled me to call a married friend from Zambia, whom I hold in high esteem. I called my friend intently to find out how fatherhood has impacted his faith journey.
He explained how God has transformed his life through his wife, especially during their dating years. He recalled how
his wife requested that he fulfil one condition before their marriage: letting go of the unforgiveness and vendetta he held towards the relatives on his late father’s side.
He explained how the relatives unjustly sold everything his father owned and never gave him his rightful inheritance when he was young. This made him develop a broken relationship with them.
However, through
many encounters with spiritual directions that his wife introduced him to, he finally decided to relinquish his unforgiveness, reconcile with his relatives, and start life anew. He explained how he equates knowing his wife with finding a treasure and how that has helped him learn the cost of sacrificial love.
In what ordinary life experiences is God surprisingly inviting you to respond to his call of interior
freedom?
What possessions in your life do you consider valuable, and what makes them worthy of your admiration?
Is God the source of your joy and measure of what you consider valuable?
