Readings: 1 Thessalonians 2.9-13; Psalm 138/139; Matthew 23.27-32
One of the most intriguing statements in the gospels is that which speaks of John the Baptist as the new Elijah who will 'turn the hearts of fathers to their children' (Lk. 1.17). It comes from the final statement of the prophecy of Malachi, that Elijah would return and would do this, turn the hearts of parents to children and of children to parents (Mal. 4.6).
A situation where this would not be the case might well seem unnatural to us - why would it be necessary for a prophet to come to help people do what ought to come naturally? Parents love their children, surely, and children their parents?
On the other hand there is usually also a kind of rivalry or threat which each generation can represent for the other. Turgenev's 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, regarded as the first great modern Russian novel, deals with this question: the tensions and difficulties that can arise between generations, even when the bonds of kinship and friendship are in place and are strong.
The readings at Mass today also raise the question. Paul describes his care for the Thessalonians as that of a father for his own children. He is anxious to ensure that he was not a burden to them. He is anxious to ensure also that they have come to appreciate the most valuable things he wanted to share with them: that they receive his teaching not simply as 'human words' but as the Word of God, at work in them through Paul's words and example.
In the gospel passage Jesus also speaks of fathers and sons but negatively, saying that the scribes and Pharisees are hypocritical in trying to distance themselves from the persecution of the prophets perpetrated by their fathers. You are their children, he says, you are saying this yourselves. The implication is that they would have acted in exactly the same way. Their veneer of goodness and integrity is just that, a veneer, but inside they are the same as their fathers. It is salutary to remind ourselves of this when we think we would have treated Jesus differently to how the generality of people treated him at the time. It is salutary to think of this when we are tempted to reject or even despise our fathers, the generation before us.
'You search me and you know me' is the illuminating response to the psalm. It reminds us of the heavenly Father, who knows his children through and through. So don't waste time trying to present yourself to yourself as something you are not. Don't get depressed either when you remember what there is inside that you would prefer to keep hidden. Paul's way of 'fathering' the Thessalonians is the model for how the heavenly Father treats us: impeccably right and fair, teaching us what is right, encouraging us, appealing to us to live the best possible life, a life worthy of God.
How do we know that the heavenly Father is like that? Because the Only Son, who is nearest the Father's hearts, has made him known to us (Jn 1.18). And he has shown us, through his own impeccable treatment of us, that that heart is always turned towards us. All he wants in return is that we keep our hearts turned towards him, towards Jesus and towards his Father, seeking in every moment to serve their kingdom.
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