Jesus as Friend or Father?

[Lux_et_veritas]

I’ve been chewing on something again. This time it is the concept of Jesus as “friend” or “father”. I once thought he could be both and I think I was mistaken. I’d like to get some thoughts on this.

First, I’ll share mine thus far…and the “Father” bit is based on the ideal father.

M.A.D.D. doesn’t need to make commercials suggesting that fathers not let their children drive drunk. However, friends need constant reminders and even then, it doesn’t work.

Friends don’t always tell you what you don’t want to hear out of fear it will ruin the friendship. Fathers don’t mind telling you what you don’t want to hear at all. In fact, they don’t mind asking you questions you don’t want asked, thereby challenging you to become better.

This leads me to something else…

Should I ever consider my pastor to be my friend, or should I look to him as a Father? I have concluded for me, it is the latter based on the above. I don’t want him to ever feel he cannot challenge me.

With that, when I went for a first ever, face-to-face confession with a priest I had not met before, I told him I needed a father and not a friend in my confessor. I suggested the biggest mistake I ever made was to consider Jesus my friend when he is the father.

It became easy to say, “Hey, Jesus will understand if I do this or that - he’s cool.”

See where I’m coming from?

 

[birdie74]

Jesus is a master, and we are his slaves. However, these terms shouldn’t make us afraid of him since he came into the world as an infant, and remains in the world as bread, both very vulnerable things. His appearance is very unassuming, and that is so we can feel comfortable talking to him about ANYTHING. In that way he is a friend. But he is always the master. He’s there to teach us how to get closer to the Father, by imitating and following him. So he’s not there to help us rationalize our laziness, nor is he there to condemn. When we confide in him, he teaches us. When we disobey him, he is offended, but he forgives us. He listens to us always, but he also judges us.

I guess the same principles would apply to priests. I’ve had two spiritual directors in my life. One of them I never saw. He was always “wise father”, and I only ever saw him from behind the confession screen. My other one was one whom I would exercising with sometimes, eat meals with sometimes, and also confess to and receive direction. I have to say, overall I liked the second situation better. I was very vigilant with myself because I didn’t want to confess embarassing sins to this man who had become my friend. There were also awkward times when I would wonder outside of church, “is he thinking about my sins now?” And when I did have something serious, I just went to another priest so I wouldn’t have to tell. Despite all that, I grew spiritually very much, and it helps immensly to have a holy person as your friend. I was able to be a bit more open with the first director, but I never felt the accountability because there was no human shame on me when I sinned. I know there is the shame from offending God, but I am not that advanced, and not that much “living in the spirit”, so I think I need that human shame!

 

[Prometheum_x]

Jesus is definitely friend, according to John 15. He is certainly *not *the Father. He is Lord, he is Master, he is Brother, he is Friend, but he is not Father.

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

Prometheum_x:

Jesus is definitely friend, according to John 15. He is certainly *not *the Father. He is Lord, he is Master, he is Brother, he is Friend, but he is not Father.

I see the technicality of it. Maybe I should use better phrasing.

I just know that when I have had priests that are friends, I can’t be as honest with them and I don’t always feel that they could challenge me the way a “father” would.

 

[springbreeze]

Dear friend

I like your question, I like any question that has me thinking.

My answer to your question is that Christ Jesus is both Father and Friend to you:

‘To have seen Me is to have seen the Father’ and ‘You are my friends, and the greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them’

Your question is really a question about the nature of the Divine Person Christ Jesus (His Divinity and His humanity) and The Holy Trinity.

Christ Jesus is not God the Father, He is God the Son, the Persons of the Trinity are three distinct persons. But they are the same in Divine Nature and Will, they are One, One God. God the Father sent His Word, Christ Jesus to lead us, save us and bring the Law to fruition, in this Christ Jesus reveals God the Father in Himself, So as Priest He is Father but He is not to be confused with God the Father. Really this is just assessing the different meanings of Father.

Christ Jesus is also Friend. The True meaning of friendship, not as the friendships of this world work in the fallen nature of them. Christ Jesus reveals to humanity within His own humanity how we are to be a ‘friend’ to God and to each other. Christ Jesus is the fully human and fully Divine friend and so in both HIs Divinity and His humanity He reveals how we are to live in friendship with God and with each other.

The Friendship of Christ Jesus is Love.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa