As I was reading the readings preparing this sermon an old Sunday School hymn kept coming into my mind.

Today is Father’s Day.  We give thanks to all fathers, grandfathers, adopted fathers and all the men who have helped to mentor and support children and young people.  Richard Rohr reminds us how precious is the relationship between parent and child, between father and son, just as it is between mother and daughter, and between father and daughter and mother and son.  The extraordinary opportunity many people have, to love a child, to raise them, to bless them in their daily lives, supporting and encouraging, guiding and enabling them, is life-giving and life-changing for everyone.