Homily:
Trinity Sunday 2014 & Fathers Day
1st
Reading: Exodus 34;4b-6; 8-9 – If I find favor with you O Lord, do come along
in our company
2nd
Reading: 2Cor. 13: 11-13 – Mend your ways, encourage one another
Gospel:
John 3: 16-18 – God so loved the world that he gave His only Son.
A young boy had just gotten his driving permit.
He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss his use of the
car. His father said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your
grades up, study the bible a little, and get your hair cut; then we'll talk
about it."
A month later the boy came back and again asked
his father if he could use the car. His father said, "Son, I'm really
proud of you. You brought your grade up, studied the bible well, but you didn't
get your hair cut!"
The young man waited a moment and then replied,
"You know dad, I've been thinking about that. Samson had long hair, Moses
had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair."
His father
replied gently, "Yes son and they walked everywhere they went."
Today
is Father’s Day, a day in which we express our love and gratitude for all
Fathers living, as well as those who have gone before us. We thank them for
their love, their guidance and all that they do, or have done to form us into
the persons that God intended us to be. And
like the boy in the story we all have probably tried at one time or another when
we were younger to bend the rules or put one over on our Fathers, only to
realize later in life that Dad was only trying to teach us something we needed
to know. It is also recognized that not
everyone has had a father figure for one reason or another whom they could look
up to but the assurance that we all have is that all of us have a Father in
heaven. A Father, who loves us
unconditionally and has created each one of us as his own unique and uniquely
gifted child. It’s with this thought in
mind that today we also celebrate Trinity Sunday. Today, while we are reminded of the mystery
of God as a community of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we shouldn’t
spend too much energy trying to wrap our minds around how this is possible. Rather, I think that it is more appropriate
that we reflect on the trinity within the role of a Father’s love for His
children and how understanding this should enhance our celebration of Father’s
Day.
The mystery of the Trinity is something
we cannot understand in this life, but the love of Father for Son and Son for
Father; a love that is so deep that the this love becomes personified in one we
call the Holy Spirit is something we can relate to particularly if we have as a
model the love of husband and wife. When
a husband and wife give themselves totally one to the other; that love is so
deep, so intense that it overflows and becomes personified in their child.
It is
also important to realize that the love of a Father for his children, as well
as, a Mother’s love are born of God.
They love their children because that is their purpose. That is what God made them to do.
But since this is Father’s day I want
to share a couple of thoughts about the importance of being a Father and/or a Father
figure because for some people it may be an Uncle, an older brother, a cousin
or some other male presence who has fulfilled the role of father for them.
The first thing I would say is that “Father’s
you are not alone”. Taking seriously the
responsibility of Fatherhood and trying to do it right can sometimes be
stressful, and sometimes it can be lonely. But as I said earlier, we all have a
Father in heaven who we should to turn to every day for guidance and strength,
for wisdom, and patience. We know this
to be true because Jesus taught us to call God our Father; our Dad.
We also
need to be reminded daily that the way in which the Father loves us is the way
that we are called to love our children.
It is important to remember that God
the Father sent His Son not only to save us but also to show us how to be good
Fathers. Jesus came to earth to pass on
a message from the Father for us His
adopted children. “Tell them I love
them, and that they are to carry that love into the world.” And this message from the Father for all
earthly Fathers is communicated by His Son the living Word, through the power
of the Holy Spirit. In His message to all earthly Fathers, He
commands them to reach, to teach, to lay down their life for their
children. So Fathers, teach your sons how to be Godly
men who love the Lord. Teach them to be men who show the utmost respect for
women most especially their mother.
Teach them to be men who work hard, and are grateful every day to God
for all He provides. Fathers teach your
daughters by your own example what they should expect from a man who would be
her spouse. They should expect
unconditional love, respect, and self sacrifice. They should expect him to be a man of
faith. Fathers teach them that they
should not settle for less than a man who loves God, because only in loving God
can she be sure that he will love her.
I have been fortunate to have three
earthly Fathers. My birth Father who was
formed me for the 1st 12 years of my life, until he died; my Father
who adopted me and guided me into adulthood, and my father-in-law who showed
unconditional, self-sacrificing love in caring for my mother-in-law during some
15 years of strokes and progressive debilitation. He died 6 years ago, just two months after
she went home to the Lord. These three
men instilled in me much of the faith, the values, the responsibility I’ve
tried to pass on to my children. This is
what I believe a Father is supposed to do.
To live out the commission that Jesus gave us. “As the Father has sent me, so I send
you”. And teach them all that I have
commanded you”.
Our Father in heaven has passed on the
mantle of Fatherhood to us through His Son Jesus. Fathers need to reclaim their God-given role
to provide for, to protect, to guide, and to teach those placed under his
care. Society needs Fathers who carry
out their God-given responsibilities with great joy and great love. When our society sees an earthly Father
fulfilling his mission in a sense they also get a glimpse of the face of God.
