“Whose Daddy is You”

When I was in the seventh grade, I found myself walking to school because I was not feeling well that morning and my mother kept me home. Now, just so you will understand, to stay home, there had to be signs, physical evidence that you were not well. Just saying I do not feel good was not sufficient to miss school. In any case, that day approximately 10:00 AM I felt better and wanted to go on to school. I told my mother I was feeling better and I thought I could walk to school, which was approximately a mile from the house. The road between home and school is a major road even though there is not much traffic on it. The point here is that there were no sidewalks. I had to pass a number of houses and watch for dogs. I got to one house where a man was standing out in front. He looked at me and then asked, “Whose daddy is you?” At that time, that was a strange question for me and I said to myself, “cannot he see I am a young boy. I am nobody daddy.”  Therefore, I did not answer, assuming he was drunk or mentally challenged, I walked faster and closer to the other side.

Being Identified

Since becoming an adult, I have thought about that encounter a number of times, wondering why such a question. Now, as I look back on that scene, I realize that he was really asking me who was my daddy. He was trying to identify me. He knew he did not know me but suspected he knew my father and if he knew my father, then he would know to whom I belonged, which would give him some sense of who I am. John describes such an encounter between the Pharisees and Jesus. [Read more…]