Last summer, I was invited to write my son a letter to be delivered during his weeklong stay at summer camp. As I sat down to write, I was surprised by my intense emotional response: I was being called to exercise my fatherhood through affirming my son and then exhorting him to greatness. There is something weighty and powerful about putting such words in writing.
Another surprising part of the experience was the recognition that I exercise my fatherly role to affirm and exhort much less than I realize. Given my temperament and the busyness of life, the work of affirmation requires a greater level of intentionality. In our family, my wife typically plays the exhorting role, and our children are blessed by her. Yet, as I wrote my son that letter, it became poignantly clear that I, too, am called to affirm and exhort our children.
I also remembered that in meditating on the Gospel of the baptism of Jesus, I have always placed myself in the position of the son receiving the affirmation. It is true that we need to receive the Father’s blessing before we can share it with others. To be a father, I must hear the affirmation of my beloved sonship. But in sitting down to write that letter, I realized that I had never imagined being God the Father bestowing the all-important blessing, “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (cf. Mt 3:17).
