Well Pleased Fathers
A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
June 17, 2018
at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Zuni, Virginia
Proverbs 23: 19-25
2 Peter 1: 16-18
Let us pray,
Help us to see despite our eyes
Help us to think outside of our minds
Help us to be more than our lives
For your eyes show the way
Your mind knows the truth
Your being is the life.
Amen.
I have to admit that
Father’s Day crept up on me
Reminded by Pete,
Wednesday, “Do you give a good Father’s Day Sermon?”
Had thought to
continue the Romans series this week
Redo the bulletin,
Father’s Day it is. . .
So what about Fathers?
Did you know that the
word Father is found in the Bible 1103 times?
You have to wonder how
many of those are referring to God as father
And how many are referring
to Fathers and sons. . .
Which is a tricky relationship, a tricky record. . .
Probably the worst record in the Bible is brothers,
what with Cain and Abel,
Jacob and Esau,
Joseph and his brothers,
Aaron and Moses, might be an exception, but they weren’t raised
together. . . no Moses was raised with Pharaoh – and yeah not the best
Then David with all his brothers, and then all of David’s sons,
have problems with each other too, but it seems to all stem from David. . .
And if you look at the issues that brothers have in the Old
Testament it usually revolves around a sibling rivalry over love and affection,
or missing or uneven love and affection from a Father. . . so yeah it is a
tricky record.
So yeah many times our own human father’s aren’t always perfect,
either, our situations aren’t always perfect, but our father in heaven is, and
many men in our lives do show us the way. . .
Sometimes people have
a barrier
between themselves and God because they have not had a perfect father
relationship, so the “God as Father” metaphor, doesn’t mean anything to them
Or is an overall negative
Also it is possible that people have a problem with God stemming
from wondering how God could let this or that happen? Where was God when. . .
So this morning I want think about our father’s and also think
about God as father, that somehow by looking at both we can get a clearer
picture of each, no matter what our circumstances are. . . or have been
I
wanted to share something that I wrote a few years ago for my father. . .
Deeply Imprinted
(for Dad on his 65th
birthday)
When a son becomes a
father
He can’t but look to
his own
Father, his own
raising, to know
What to do, how to be,
why
It all matters, and
where to start.
And so have I, and so
do I,
And there, in you, I
find
Treasured memories of
example,
Of work, of respect,
of duty,
Of love, the blessing
from which
All things flow, and
so
In times of doubt or
fear,
Of indecision, I can
look back
In my memory and see a
path,
Not perfect, nor
smooth, nor straight,
But worn with
footprints of feet
To follow, pressed
deeply marked clear
For the burden is
heavy to bear,
But each print is a
testament
That it has been
walked before,
And as my feet follow,
now,
And in the future,
going forward,
My steps, the fact I
take them,
Also shows the path’s
promise
Is secure, and not
forsaken,
Nor taken, alone, on
my own.
Instead, a cloud of
fathers and sons
Are present in the
relationship
Of we two, and so my
Dad,
The love you gave, I
cannot
Just give back to you,
I do,
But though I do, the real
gift,
The real lesson and
proof
Of love is the father
I am,
The man and teacher I
am,
As a reflection of the
father,
You are, and as we
walk the path,
Of fathers and sons
and daughters,
Now together, as two
fathers,
I’m glad to carry my
burden,
Take my turn, walk
those prints
With your arm around
me still,
For our steps continue
together,
And will forever,
Amen.
~ Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
You see I know I am one of the lucky
ones, and I have had a father I can look to, and still do, and like the poem
said, as a father I am working out through example what being a father is, and
what it entails.
And much of what I know of fathers
has come from him
But it also comes from studying the
Bible, and seeing God there as a father
This morning I want to use God to
help us get at the bottom of some of our troubles with Father’s and then
I want to use Fathers to help us get
another look at God and how he may be working in our lives, even when it
doesn’t appear he is.
But
first lets look at the goal, or what success looks like, as being a father. . .
This I think is the goal, what Father’s want for their children.
. . the Bible works here to put into words what seems so natural. . .
first the Old
Testament, Proverbs 23: 19-25
9 Listen,
my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22 Listen
to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!
We have hope that our
children are wise. . . buying the truth, wise in instruction and insight. . .
learning and common sense. . . and to be loving to their mother. . . simple hopes
And we see that coming forth in the New Testament, God and his
own son. . . listen to this, here in Peter’s account of it from one of his
letters, but it is found multiple times in the gospels, reporting of this very
scene, here it is, 2 Peter 1: 16-18
New Testament
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told
you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the
Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my
Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”[a] 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came
from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
That powerful phrase, “This is my
Son, who I love’ with him I am well pleased” How we fathers long to be able to
say that. . . and we as children, how we long to hear it from our fathers, but
the way to that place is not easy. . . but Isn’t that the goal. . . but of
course our children are not Jesus and our father’s are not God. . . but there
is much we can grab from perfection and find in our fallen version. Like such a
goal. To be able to stand at the end of the day, and say, I am truly pleased. .
.
But how do
we get there?
I want to talk about Presence and Absence,
Interestingly
opposite, but them both crucial in their own way.
When we look
at the Bible, especially in the Old Testament we see God and steadfastness. . .
presence
Again and
again we see God as steadfast, present, forgiving, but there, he shows up, he
is always there, sometimes caring, sometimes correcting, sometimes challenging,
sometimes punishing, sometimes providing, sometimes testing, sometimes guiding,
making deals, rewarding. . . again and again God the Father is there,
throughout the Old Testament. . . and the New.
I am in that
stage now with my kids, and I want them to know above all else that I am there
for them. . .
For Coralee, Clara, and Susanna when
they dream. . .
Sweet
dreams, I pray unto you, child,
May
they be winsome, wondrous, mild,
Pleasing
to your mind with fairies styled,
All
pink and flowered dressed.
May
your mind throughout the dark of night
Be
bathed in the beauty of pastel light,
That
nothing to your mind affright,
So
you can get your rest.
May
your dreams be holy pleasant things,
The
joy of never ending springs,
The
sweetest song the sparrow sings
Because
she knows she’s blessed.
May
you dream of all the tales of old,
Of
secret jewels, and buried gold,
Of
lovely wonders to behold,
Like
faithful knights on quest.
May
your hopes be ever there fulfilled,
In
visions sweet and candy frilled
The
faith your mom and I instilled
In
teachings we’ve impressed.
But
when the light has gone away,
And
the silenced fears of day,
Rear
their heads and want to play,
A
most unwelcomed guest.
Those
monsters looming in your mind
As
ghostly fears of every kind,
And
you wonder what on Earth you’d find
Hiding
behind the toy chest.
While
in those dreams you wail and moan
At
the secret world your mind has shown,
But
just as you feel you’re all alone,
Remember
Daddy’s request.
Though
all alone you surely seem,
I
will hear your slightest scream,
And
be there beside you as your dream
Fades
slowly in the mist.
Though
Queen Mab has her darker charms,
You're
safe and secure from her nightly harms,
When
you are held in your Daddy’s arms,
As
all yester-nights attest.
Yes,
child, when the darkness does appear,
And
you are overcome with fear,
Always
know, child, I am near,
And will hold you to my breast.
Can God
serve as an example to Father’s in how to be present with their children? Can
God become present in our lives when our Father’s are absent? Absent either in body
or in mind or in attention? Can that void be filled? It’s a hard thing, I know I’ve
seen it again and again and the scars that it can leave. . .
But as much as God is present, there
are also times when God seems absent
we can look at the Psalms and find
questions like, where are you God, when will you be again, . . and the same
questions and vulnerabilities come again.
It can feel
empty . .
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as
the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and
not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of
the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
Lord you
have always given bread for the coming day
And though I
am poor today I believe
Lord you
have always given strength for the coming day
And though I
am weak today I believe
Lord you
have always given peace for the coming day
And though
of anxious heart today I believe
Lord you
have always kept me safe in trials
And now
tried as I am today I believe
Lord you
have always marked the road for the coming day
And though
it may be hidden today I believe
Lord you
have always lightened this darkness of mine
And though
the night is here today I believe
Lord you
have always spoken when time was right
And though
you be silent now today I believe
Why this absence? If God is Good?
There must be a reason, we looked to
God for how to be a present father and maybe looking at the father child relationship
can help us understand a little more about what God is doing. . .
I was
listening to the Lion King this week. . . Simba, has lost his father, and is
himself lost, and sings
You promised you’d be there, whenever I needed you,
whenever I call your name, your not anywhere,
I’m trying to hold on, just wanting to hear your voice,
one word just a word will do, to end this nightmare. . .
I used to
tell my students that if they wanted to understand Hamlet, they should watch
the Lion King. . . it is the same story, except for this one huge difference. .
. the Ghost of Hamlet’s father won’t let go and let him live his life, he wants
him to continue his. . . and the distraught son, stays in that shadow. . .
never comes out of it, ends in tragedy, not well pleased. . .
Reminds me of
one of the new Garth Brooks songs. . .
You can cry
for 'em
Live and die for 'em
You can help them find their wings
But you can't fly for 'em
'Cause if they're not free to fall
Then they're not free at all
And though you just can't
Bear the thought of letting go
You pick 'em up, you dust 'em off
You send 'em on down the road
Live and die for 'em
You can help them find their wings
But you can't fly for 'em
'Cause if they're not free to fall
Then they're not free at all
And though you just can't
Bear the thought of letting go
You pick 'em up, you dust 'em off
You send 'em on down the road
The goal
must be independence, freedom, responsibility, standing on their own two feet,
and so it comes time for the Father to change his stance, still present, but in
a new way, one that may seem distant. . . if you are going to get to the point
where you can stand back and be “well pleased” they must do that on their own.
The
Reiver’s, never Whip a Mule. . .
Think about
this for the child. . . I wish they would just whip me, then I’d know where I
stand. . . but know you have to work it out for yourself,
Look at God.
. . the freedom that God gives us. . . sometimes we like Simba, cry out,
looking for something, something to take it away, to reality away, take freedom
away, why God, why could you let this happen? Why would you forsake us like
this?
But perhaps it
is to make us realize the amazing potential he knows we have in us, because he put
it there. . . the father pushing their child
to independence is an act of faith. . .
