I began this series of reflections assuming the Gospel of John might have been written with the priesthood of the New Covenant as its central theme; however, I found myself drawn from its opening passages to the Book of Genesis and have remained there ever since. Meanwhile, I have found the reason why the name of the Father appears so frequently in the Gospel of John. That has been a great reward. 

After reframing my understanding to recognise that God, who forbade humankind from taking and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, is our Father, I re-read the story of the first two humans who disobeyed God in Chapter 3, and the account of Cain’s murder in Chapter 4. In doing so, I began to see in these narratives the image of a father struggling to manage his children’s misdeeds and a father striving to save his children who have sinned, facing them head-on by any means possible. 

This understanding led me to the meaning of Jesus’ words in his prayer at the Last Supper: "While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me" (John 17:12). For us believers, these words of Jesus suggest that the very act of calling God ‘Father’ holds within it immeasurable potential. 

Furthermore, we can understand that calling God "Heavenly Father" is also a way of calling upon Jesus because Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The name "Jesus" embodies the fact that the hidden meaning revealed to Joseph by the angel in a dream—"He will save his people from their sins"—and the very essence of the name, "God with us," were both realised simultaneously in Jesus (cf. Matthew 1:21–23).

Jesus calls us to call God, who planned this, "our Father in heaven." I believe the passage in the Gospel of John that states, "And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16), expresses Jesus’ desire to ensure that we remember, above all else, that God is our Father. Indeed, Jesus was the one who was sent by the Father and revealed the Father. 

God is our Father. This sense, nurtured by the words of Jesus, draws our attention to the phrase "he gave power to become children of God" in the passage which states, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:12). 

By following Jesus' formation and calling God our Heavenly Father, we can respond to His grace, accept Jesus, believe in His name, and preserve the "power to become children of God" that has been granted to us. We have something to preserve. I believe recognising God as our Heavenly Father is proof that we are the people to whom the priesthood of the New Covenant has been given. 

Together with John, the author of the Book of Revelation, we can pray: "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 1:5-6). 

Maria K.M.