I have always said that Father’s day is a tough day to preach. You can’t ignore it because it is not in the Liturgical calendar and you have to be careful to preach the Gospel so that the kids that don’t go to church but show up on Father’s Day to appease the old man at least hear about Jesus. It is tough because it can easily turn into a bash Dad fest. The fact is that Father’s from a Biblical perspective are the spiritual priests of their house hold and they usually fail miserably. Luther’s conception from the Small Catechism is that the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine should be taught to the family by the Father. Now we just say the “head of the family” for pretty obvious reasons.
There is a lot of Law that can be preached on Father’s Day and the examples of Fathers in the scriptures are pretty sad. Rev. Carl C. Fickenscher II, PhD, professor, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana wrote in “Preaching on those “Special” days, says that the lessons that usually are read on the Sunday when Father’s Day falls are “are unfavorable: the father who betrays his child in Matthew 10:5a, 21–33 and Adam in Romans 5:6–15 (both Year A), and David in 2 Samuel 11:26–12:10, 13–14 (Year C). There is plenty of Law for fathers, with Christ still providing the Gospel. On the other hand, few passages depict fatherhood as sweetly as Galatians 3:23–4:7: “Abba! Father!” (also Year C).
So Dad’s come to church Sunday even though you would rather be on the golf course or fishing. You might get bashed, but prayerfully you will hear about Jesus who allows Fathers, even the not so good ones, to call on God as Father through HIs suffering death and resurrection. His death meant that we can call God our Father without fear and trepidation.
