"My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. God is love and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God but God's love for us. God sent his son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other."
     1 John 4:7-11

AMEN!

Sunday, June 15 was Father's Day in our society. A day when we honor and celebrate those men in our lives who parent us with love. The one you honor may not actually be your father, but someone who has loved you and taught you and served as a parent through celebrations and joys. Or perhaps Father's Day is a day of sadness for you because your father has died or isn't a part of your life or worse yet, violated the word father by unspeakable actions toward children. Or maybe your sadness is because you are not able to be a father. If that is the case, talking about fathers and setting aside a day to honor fathers is rather painful.

Often we talk about God as father. God as loving parent who cares for all his children with tenderness and devotion, leading and guiding in ways that are life-giving. Father is the way Jesus taught us to address God in prayer. There has been much discussion over the years as to whether this way of talking about God is helpful in understanding God or whether, for some, the image conjures up images that only produce fear, hurt or sadness. Your use of the image of God as father will probably depend on your experiences with fathers (your own or others). One woman who is an abuse survivor tries to recapture the image of a father God in her prayer called "Daddies". Her name is Catherine J. Foote and her book is called Survivor Prayers: Talking with God about Childhood Sexual Abuse. Her prayer calls on God to be the father, daddy, that she didn't know; the perfect father who knows only love and protection and care for his children. May her prayer be answered for each of us.

Daddies.
Daddies hold their babies,
daddies hold them soft.
Strong daddy arms hold babies up
and gentle is the hold.
 
Daddies laugh with babies,
daddies smile with love.
Warm daddy eyes meet new eyes
and easy is the laugh.
 
Daddies care for babies,
keep them covered safe.
Big daddy eyes reach baby hands
and tender is the care.
 
Daddies and their babies,
Eyes and arms and smiles and love.
 
Then a daddy hurt a baby
Baby cold with fear,
baby crying new tears,
baby frightened, lost.
No more smiles for baby,
No more shelter here.
 
And God, they call you Daddy,
God, they say you care.
Do you hold your babies?
Do you dry their tears?
Do you match them smile for smile?
Do you shelter safe?
 
God, that daddy stole your name.
God, that daddy made me mad.
God, I want a daddy back.
(daddies hold their babies).
God, please daddy me.

Contributed by Pastor Tracie
Published Monday June 16, 2003
Week 29 of Liturgical Year B