Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
In the culture of ancient Israel, a father was obligated to circumcise, teach Torah to, acquire a wife for, and pass on a craft to his sons. This was even a greater priority when it came to an only son.
Sons showed reverence by not standing or sitting in a father’s place, contradicting his words, or opposing him in a dispute. In other words: reverent obedience at all times.
As a father of four all I can say is, “All in all a good deal.”
Sons would have addressed their fathers as “abba.” “Abba” is commonly translated as “daddy,” but this was not strictly so. It is a combination of both “daddy” and “sir,” both intimate and reverent.
In today’s readings from Tobit & Mark, we encounter two model “only sons” who revere their fathers— Tobias son of Tobit & Jesus of Nazareth. Both are sent by their fathers on life and death saving missions.
Old Testament patriarch Tobit sent only son Tobias to secure protection for their family. Tobias is called the “staff of our hands.” The “staff” represents service, security, and protection.
Tobias dutifully obeys. Likewise, Jesus is sent by patriarch YHWH with a mission to serve, secure, and protect not only his family, but the entire human family. Today’s Marcan parable of the vineyard workers clearly illustrates this.
Only-son Jesus wields his staff just as Jewish hero Tobias modeled centuries beforehand and, like Tobias, his will is the will of his “Abba.” His mission is to bring the human family back from the abyss of separation, division, and death. In our parable, obedient son Jesus adheres to the patriarchal will to the point of death and in so doing destroys death itself, humankind's greatest and oldest enemy.
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us” (St. Augustine). In Christ, we are all sons and daughters of the same Father, each holding within us the blessing and weight of an only offspring. We, too, are to be obedient to the will of our “Abba,” sharing in the restorative work of our sibling Jesus. In other words, “the staff of the Father’s hands.”
Is our “staff in hand,” in the day-to-day, where the rubber meets the road? Do we accept the mission our Abba God has sent us on? Serving? Restoring? Securing? Uniting? What form does this take in the trenches where you live?
-Timothy J. Cronin