“Fatherly Wisdom to Live By: BE KIND”
By Rev. Dr. Carla A. Romarate-Knipel
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …”
– A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
-Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
“… I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?”
-Genesis 45:3b, The Holy Bible
My father was raised by a single mother, a widow, whose husband died when she was 30 years old. Shortly after her husband’s death, World War II broke out. My father became his mother’s assistant. He carried. heavy loads while walking over 30 miles on foot from one town to another, hiking up the mountains to hide from occupying forces. He learned how to forage for food in the forest, do odd jobs for farmers, and take care of carabaos (water buffaloes). His family did not stay in the same town for a long time but would travel and stop in towns where they stayed with relatives. Most of their relatives were generous and caring, but not all were kind to them. But I never heard my father complain or speak badly about those who had not treated him and his siblings well. Even with these difficulties, my father shared that his mother, he, his younger brother and sister had some happy times together.
The most important lesson that I learned from his stories can be summarized in two words:
“BE KIND.”
And what he meant by this was, be kind even to those who have not been kind to you or treated you badly. When I got older I began to recognize that although my father was not a perfect man, he tried to do his best to follow Jesus’ example of compassion and kindness.
In the biblical story of Joseph, the moment he revealed his identity to his brothers showed how Joseph’s experience of injustice, suffering, and loss, did not embitter him. Instead because of his close relationship with God, Joseph became a person who was able to forgive and show kindness even to his brothers who treated him as if he were not family. Their plot to murder him and eventually sell him as a slave caused him many years of suffering. By God’s grace Joseph survived all the trauma and pain that he went through and emerged as a kind and compassionate man. Yes, he did hide his identity at first and gave his brothers a hard time, but he was only human after all! Ultimately, God was redeeming and transforming him to be instrumental in saving his family. God was also fulfilling his promise that through his people the Messiah would come to save not just their nation but all who believe in him from every corner of the world.
Joseph’s story reminds us that injustice, oppression and vengeance will not have the last word. God is sovereign and is working things out so that righteousness, compassion and the truth will prevail. As followers of Jesus, the Messiah, we are to shine our light of faithful witness and neighborly love in a time when hatred and unkindness are encouraged by those in power. Even when things look bleak, we can choose to trust God and persevere in doing God’s mission entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
This month of June, when we celebrate and honor our fathers as well as our graduates, many of us can recall words of wisdom from our fathers and those who showed us fatherly love. We are also blessed to have a heavenly Father, who through our faith in Jesus, has welcomed us into his family with grace, forgiveness and love.
Having been so blessed by the wisdom of our Heavenly and earthly fathers, I would like to encourage everyone to remain steadfast in following Jesus, who is the head of our household of faith and has sent us out into our community to be his hands and feet. We do so confident in our heavenly Father who provides our needs, and the gift of the Holy Spirit who empowers and guides us every step of the way. Let us move forward trusting God to lead us in showing kindness to all, especially to those in God’s family.
God bless our Fathers and Graduates!
Yours in Christ’s love,
Pastor Carla
