Holy Father, Great Creator

When the organ introduced the processional hymn this morning, I was hurled back to my early childhood in my Episcopal church in southern Arkansas. Something about "Holy Father, Great Creator" (# 358) sent my memory back through the decades and I was in a pew beside my mother in that lovely church watching the sun stream through those gorgeous stained-glass windows. At those moments, I am grateful that my parents brought me up in a tradition that I found attractive enough to claim as my own as an adult. 

I am deeply concerned about the chasm between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in our country today. The Gospel reading today was from Matthew 9, known by many as the Great Commission, when Jesus sends the 12 Apostles into the world to carry out His work. In her sermon, the preacher brought "cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons" forward into our time by suggesting how we can bring kindness and compassion into the lives of the sick in spirit, those who are dead to faith in God's love, the marginalized (our lepers), and those whose lives are brought low by demons, be they addictions, sinful behaviors, or other barriers to a life in Christ. It is a blessing that continues to unfold that the church of my childhood addresses the concerns of my adult heart.

My beloved dad was also a participant in the life of that church, as I remembered him on this Father's Day. He was an usher, a choir member, and a vestry member. He designed the parish rectory (he was an architect) as his gift to the church. Tomorrow would have been his 99th birthday. While few make it to that age, he was robbed of much life when his 3rd heart attack killed him at 38. I have missed him dearly for 60+ years.

Father God, Creator of the Universe, hear my prayers for Your church on this day. Speak to us through each other and through Your ordained ministers. May the blessed Holy Spirit prepare our hearts and minds to hear what you have to tell us, and may we find the energy and grace to follow Your call to service. While we cannot do all the work, we can do what you put before us on our path. Rejoice with those who have loving fathers, comfort those who miss their fathers, and heal those whose fathers hurt them in any way. Bless those who have stepped into the breach for fatherless children, especially Max Methvin, Charlie Moseley, and Carey Clark.

Amen