Faith, Fear, and Fatherhood
What a desperate plea in the Gospel of Mark teaches us about love.
Fatherhood rarely looks like the pristine, greeting-card image we parade out every June. Behind the backyard barbecues and the new neckties is a much heavier, far more complicated reality.
To be a father—whether you’re raising a family in the States or providing for loved ones back in the Philippines—is to live with your heart permanently walking around outside your chest.
It is the terrifying realization that you brought a child into a fractured world, and despite your deepest instincts, you don’t possess the power to keep them completely safe. Real fatherhood isn’t about being invincible. It’s a grueling, high-stakes endeavor in carrying weight you are never entirely sure you’re strong enough to bear.
There is a moment in the ninth chapter of Mark’s Gospel that strips away the usual religious facade and perfectly captures this struggle. The narrative bypasses the image of a poised patriarch effortlessly governing his home.Rather than presenting a composed lead…
