“Faithful
Fatherhood”
A Father's Day Sermon Preached by the
Rev. Jean Niven Lenk
First Congregational Church of Stoughton, United Church
of Christ
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Text: Psalm 18:1-6. 31-35, 49-50
This
being a Father’s Day worship service, what a great idea it would be to lift up
some of the exemplary fathers we can find in the Bible, men who set an example
for us not only as fathers, but also as faithful men.
You
know, men like….
Noah, who was a blameless and righteous man in a world taken over by evil,
violence and corruption. In fact, Noah was
the only follower of God left on
the earth. Over and over again, in the
account of Noah's life we read, "Noah did everything just as God
commanded,” and he diligently followed God’s instructions for building an
ark. Sounds like Noah is a promising
biblical father to talk about today!
Except… we read in Genesis [9:22-23] that he had a weakness for
wine. In fact, he once became so drunk
that he passed out in his tent naked, bringing great embarrassment to his sons.
Maybe we should keep
looking…
OK, here’s a promising
candidate for exemplary biblical father: Abraham. He was a man who loved, obeyed, and served
God and is without question one of the outstanding figures of the Old
Testament. Abraham’s name means “Father
of Many Nations,” and he certainly appears to be an appropriate figure to lift
up on this Father’s Day. Abraham is
second only to God as the archetypical father in the Bible, and today, Jews,
Christians, and Muslims – more than 3 billion people – regard Abraham as a
father of their faith.
In Genesis, God promises
to Abraham as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. The problem is, no descendants come along. And
so, he and his wife Sarah take matters into their own hands. Their impatience produces much unhappiness
for themselves and their maid, Hagar, by whom Abraham has a son named Ishmael. When jealousy and competition create a
dysfunctional dynamic between Sarah and Hagar, Abraham casts Hagar and their
son Ishmael out into the desert.
Hmmm, maybe Abraham is
NOT a good model for fatherhood.
So, how about the Mighty King David, who was courageous and strong in
battle and trusted in God for protection.
But David was sometimes a lax or absent father to his children and
failed to discipline them when they needed it.
Even worse, in 2 Samuel, David commits adultery with Bathsheba, tries to
cover up her pregnancy, and then plots to have her husband Uriah killed.
Three towering biblical figures – yet, three less-than-exemplary biblical
fathers.
The fact of the matter is, we could go through every father, every man, indeed
every person in scripture, and we would have trouble finding one who was a
model father. As I often say, there is
only one perfect person in the Bible. But
we can nonetheless learn lessons from Noah, Abraham, and David.
The story of Noah's drunken transgression reminds us that even the most
godly people have weaknesses and can fall prey to temptation and sin. Our wrongdoings not only affect us, but they
have a negative influence on those around us, especially our family members.
Abraham’s weaknesses included impatience, fear, and a tendency to lie under
pressure. But we learn from his story
the crucial lesson that God can and will use us in spite of our
weaknesses. God will even stand by us
and rescue us from our foolish mistakes.
And in David’s story we see how honest self-examination is necessary to
recognize the way we separate from God and God’s people and God’s purpose for
our lives – and that we must then repent of it, because although we may try to
fool ourselves or others, but we cannot hide our sin from God.
No, these are not perfect fathers, or men, or people. But what makes them such towering biblical figures
is their relationship with God.
Noah's life revealed qualities of patience and persistence, and his
faithfulness to God was singular and unshakable in a completely faithless
society.
Abraham’s relationship with God was tested through the trials of famine and
war. But over time, as Abraham grew in
relationship with God, he also grew in faith, and he learned to trust in God to
direct his steps. God called Abraham to
leave all that was familiar for a land that God would show him, and Abraham went out in faith, not knowing what he was getting into but
trusting that the God who called him would continue to walk with him.
And David’s own words in this morning’s scripture lesson from Psalm 18
powerfully express the importance of his relationship with God:
“The
Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I
take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my
refuge and my savior – from violent men You save me.”
David’s
relationship with God was personal, and his words speak of God protecting and
rescuing him. David came to know God in
this way through his trials and difficulties, entering many battles, not
knowing if he would make it out on the other side. But those trials made his faith deeper, for
they forced him to let go of fear and insecurities and completely trust God to
see him through.
Noah,
and Abraham, and David were certainly not perfect, but they each had a
life-giving, life-transforming relationship with God.
And that’s what faith is all about
– it’s a relationship with God. It is a
trusting response towards God who has entered into a relationship with us.
So
too fatherhood, like faith, is a relationship. “To father” a child simply
means participating in the procreative process.
But
being a father has a completely different understanding. It requires a relationship. Granted, sometimes the relationship between a
father and his children does not live up to God’s intentions. There are fathers
who abuse or abandon their children. Abraham
himself was an absent father to his son Ishmael.
But
in the best of scenarios, the relationship between a father and a child has
love at its heart. The perfect example of this is between Jesus and God, whom
he called “Father,” underscoring the depth of love and intimacy which was at
the heart of their relationship. And God
wants our relationship with God to be as close and as direct as that between
any parent and child.
It is hard being a parent. I have
found myself brought to my knees by the challenge and responsibility of raising
children, and I suspect many of you have, too.
And
so listen to these words of wisdom from Mother Teresa: “We are not called to be
successful. We are called to be faithful.” None of us are called or expected to be
triumphant, successful, or perfect fathers or sons, or mothers or daughters, or
anything else. We are simply called to
be faithful. Noah, Abraham, and David
were far from perfect; none comes close to matching our ideal of a father, let
alone God’s. And yet, God still chose to
work in and through them to bring blessings to the world, and they endure as shining
examples of faith.
Father's
Day is a good day for us to remember that we are spiritual descendants not only
of Noah and Abraham and David, but even more so of God, who is the loving
Parent of us all. May we learn from their
stories that God can take ordinary people like you and me, and do extraordinary
things with our lives – despite all our imperfections, doubts, and
uncertainties. And just as God called
Noah, Abraham, and David, God calls us into faithful relationship, that we will
find the life and purpose and blessings that God intends for each of us. Amen.
