2026-06-21 Father's Day

Scripture Readings

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! Father’s Day is another great reminder that none of us would be here without you! It really is fascinating when you think about it. God Himself instituted fatherhood and motherhood for the purpose fulfilling the original “great commission” at the dawn of creation: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:27-28). Just as God created life and rules over it, He invites humanity to do the same. Be fruitful - pro-create. Multiply. Become Fathers and Mothers. “Have dominion” the text says. This isn’t ‘dictatorship.’ Rather, the mandate is to cultivate, to create order, and develop creation’s potential. Think of a gardener “subduing” wild land through care and meticulous labour or the pioneers who came to Canada and tamed the wilderness, broke the land and brought forth crops and prosperity.

This is God’s master plan for life. He could have accomplished this goal in a zillion different ways. In His Divine Wisdom, He has chosen to do this through Moms and Dads. People who will be brought together and blessed in marriage, and God willing, fulfill the ancient mandate of multiplication. But it’s not only that. It’s not simply ‘make more people.’ It’s the mandate to cultivate. It’s to mentor that next generation in faithfulness. Psalm 22(31) spells it out for us “They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.”

Our Proverbs scripture reading for Father’s day drives this point home: “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life” (6:20-23). In fact, these short verses really encapsulate very well the mandate to cultivate faithfulness.

I saw an internet meme the other day. A meme is what the kids these days call a picture that normally has some text on it. Generally these things are funny or pithy and perhaps kind of bizarre. Like the one picture of a grinning husky dog and the text says “What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef!” This kind of stupid stuff that gets circulated around the internet. The one I saw though was more proverbial. It had picture of a dad and kid boxing and the text said “Every father should remember that his son will follow his example, not his advice.” Very wise words indeed.

For herein lies the issue with commandments and teaching and Torah: people are sinful. They tend not to heed wisdom. They tend not to keep commandments. They tend to ignore teaching. These are the consequences of humanity’s spiritual death way back in the garden. The mandate to cultivate will be difficult. For Mothers, God says “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen 3:16). This isn’t just the birth part. It’s all the sleepless nights. The worry and stress your kids will cause you. Likewise for Fathers, God says “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (3:17-19). Cultivating life will be painful and difficult, fraught with thorns and thistles. God’s mandate to humanity is now challenging to say the least! But the meme is right, your actions truly speak louder than words. And the kids are watching and emulating your example all the time.

Now if it was all up to us, and our fallen human power to accomplish this great task, it would be an abysmal failure. There are no perfect human fathers or mothers. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And so we confess our sins and failures as people and parents. We look to the cross of Christ our Lord for His free forgiveness. His grace washes over us in our Baptism. His body and blood in, with and under the bread and wine remove our sins from us as far as the East is from the West. Our Heavenly Father upholds us with His Fatherly hand and equips us with everything we need to fulfill the mandate He gives us with faithfulness.

“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life” (6:23). This is an amazing verse for Parents and Children alike. Think about a lamp or a flashlight. It illuminates the darkness. Life is chock full of moral fog and hidden pitfalls. Biblical and Parental wisdom doesn’t remove the darkness of our fallen world - it equips us to walk through it safely. The lamp shows us our next step while the light reveals our destination and dangers.

The verse also highlights the value of correction. We just got finished with Track and Field season in our house. And like any sport, you strive to do your best all the while the coach is pointing out your weak spots. This is where your bad form is preventing you from throwing the discus that extra few meters. This is where your timing isn’t allowing you to jump as high. Many people will get offended when being told that what they are doing isn’t right or optimal, resisting reproof. But our Proverbs verse insists that loving discipline and correction is life-giving. It is the road of life that leads to flourishing. Without correction, we drift towards destruction.

Earthly fathers and mothers function as God’s delegated guides in this way. Like coaches, they point out where we need to improve. Their consistent commands, teachings, and corrections mirror our heavenly Father’s loving discipline. We heard about it in our Hebrews reading: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (12:11). Imperfect human parents point us to the perfect Father whose Word is flawless light.

Rules, boundaries, and “no’s” are not mean — they are lamps. They are lights for our dark world. As parents, speak them clearly and consistently. Live them out yourself, as the kids are watching. They will follow your example more than your advice. Pair correction with instruction and the hope of glory. We treasure parental wisdom and the Scripture as precious light, not burdensome rules. Bind them to your heart.

In counseling, parenting, or mentoring the next generation we are wise to use both illumination to teach the truth of God’s word and correction to repent of our sins — these two things work together like the rod and the staff of our Good Shepherd. Even when we struggle, even when we fail, we look to Christ, the Light of the world who took our darkness so we could walk in His light (1 John 1:5–7).

Our Proverbs passage reminds us that true freedom and life come not from rejecting authority but from embracing wise, corrective guidance. This is a Fatherly gift from God — both through our earthly parents and through His eternal Word.

And when we look at the whole story of Scripture, we see this fatherly calling fulfilled perfectly in Jesus. The same Savior who is the Light of the world (John 8:12) was once a little boy protected by an earthly father. Joseph rose in the night, obeyed God’s command, and took the young Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous rage (Matthew 2:13-15). In Joseph we see a picture of what faithful fatherhood looks like: protective, obedient, and willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of the child. Imperfect as he was, Joseph points us to the perfect Father who sent His own Son to rescue us.

So on this Father’s Day, we give thanks for every dad who is trying—however imperfectly—to shine the lamp, give the light, and walk in the way of life. To the fathers here: keep going. Your presence, your example, your loving discipline, and your repentance matter more than you know. The kids are watching. And the God who called you into this high and holy vocation will not abandon you in it.

To every child, young or old: honor your father and mother. Receive their instruction as light. And where they have failed, look higher—to your heavenly Father who never fails. And to all of us: when we fall short, when the thorns and thistles of parenting - or being parented - press hard, run again to the cross. There the perfect Son took all our failure so that we could be called children of God. There grace abounds. There we are forgiven, renewed, and equipped once more to be fruitful and to cultivate faithfulness in the next generation. Amen!