Greetings,
This Sunday is Father’s Day, a day which honours fathers and celebrates fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society. According to Wikipedia “in Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on St Joseph’s Day since the Middle Ages”. It is also a day on which we remember other men who have been significant influences in our lives.
Father’s Day was always a special day when I was growing up, a day when we gave my dad something we’d made at school along with something practical (socks or hankies)
and a treat (ginger chocolates is still one of his favourites!) What made it special was his
excitement as he opened the hand-made gifts we presented, because he made us feel so
special even though our handcrafts often left a lot to be desired.
While I have special memories of Father’s Day I am well aware that this is not the case for everyone. Some are reminded of the father who was absent, or gone too soon. For some it’s the father that never seemed to be proud of them, or the one they still don’t have a good relationship with. For others it might be that circumstance has meant that they are not able to be the father they want to be to their own children.
Traditionally the church has referred to God as Father, and Jesus certainly did this. Yet this image can be troubling for some. In more recent times we are re-encountering God as Mother. Yet some are also uncomfortable with this. In the movie The Shack one of the lead characters is a woman named Papa who plays the role of God (the Father). In the novel Papa self-discloses “I am neither male nor female”.
The fact of the matter is that whatever names we use for God, the Trinitarian God that we worship is vastly more than we can ever understand or imagine. The relationship of God the Father, Son and Spirit (or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer if you prefer) is something so complex that we try and understand and explain God using human attributes. John 4:24 reminds that “God is spirit, and those who worship him [her] must worship in spirit and truth”.

As you move through this Father’s Day and the week ahead, may God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the One who Mothers us all, travel with you.
Blessings – Rev Heather.