Happy Father’s Day
Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 19, 2022
Isaiah 65:1-9 • Psalm 22:18-27 • Galatians 3:23-29 • Luke 8:26-39
Happy Father’s Day to all who are fathers or grandfathers or stepfathers! Five weeks ago, we observed Mother’s Day and offered the Eucharist for our moms. Today, on this Father’s Day, we are doing the same – offering our dads, living or dead, to our Heavenly Father asking blessings on them. Rather than preaching on Jesus sending demons into the pigs, as our gospel passage relates, I would like to reflect on Fathers Day.
The observance most similar to our Father’s Day was the ancient Roman Parentalia, an annual family reunion to remember and commemorate departed parents and kinsfolk. The originator and promoter of Father’s Day was Mrs. Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Her father, William Jackson Smart, had accomplished the amazing task of rearing his six children after their young mother’s death. Mrs. Dodd’s suggestions for observing the day included wearing a flower — a red rose to indicate a living father and a white rose for a dead father. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge made the first Presidential proclamation in support of Father’s Day, and in 1972, President Richard Nixon declared the third Sunday in June a National Day of Observance in honor of fathers.
A day to remember our Heavenly Father and our Rev. Fr. Pastors: Father’s Day is a day to remember, acknowledge and appreciate the “World’s Greatest Dad,” OUR HEAVENLY FATHER (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6) Who is our spiritual Daddy, actively involved in all areas of our lives. It is He on Whom we lean in times of pain and hurt; it is He on Whom we call in times of need; it is He Who provides for us in all ways — practical, emotional, and spiritual. Many of us pray the “Our Father” day after day, without paying attention to, or experiencing, the love and providence of our Heavenly Father. Let us pray the Our Father this morning realizing the meaning of each clause and experiencing the love of our Heavenly Father for us. May all earthly fathers draw strength from their Heavenly Father! On this Father’s Day, please don’t forget to pray for us, your spiritual Fathers, – men who are called to be pastors, vicars or even long term supply priests.
We also celebrate Juneteenth, the day commemorating June 19, 1865 when a union general arrived in Texas to announce to the slaves there that they had been freed. This was two years after they had actually been freed.