Today is Father’s Day. First proposed by Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909 after listening to a Mother’s Day sermon, it caught on pretty quickly. There’s not the usual schmaltz that goes along with Mother’s Day in June, but marketing forces were quick to capitalize on what it saw as an opportunity to make money.
I have to admit in many ways I have some of my father’s traits. Sisu heads the list, the Finnish combination of moxie, perseverance, and a willingness to take on challenges that others would eschew. My father had an insatiable curiosity and a willingness to ask questions. An avid reader, his home was always full of books and magazines.
But, most of all, he was generous with his time and money. He spent hours teaching English to a French speaking immigrant using only paper and pencil and his memory of French from his college days at Gallaudet in the early 30s. So, today, let us celebrate the fathers who helped to make us who we are.
Prayer for the Day
Searching for truths you would impart to us, O Holy One,
We place our minds and hearts before you this day;
Seeking to discern the meaning of your Word in our lives,
We come in humility and gratitude for all you have given us.
Open our minds to new possibilities in our day and time,
Making us unafraid of where our questioning leads us.
In the name of the One who always asked questions,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The master key of knowledge is, indeed, a persistent and frequent questioning.
Peter Abelard, theologian (1079-1142)
If he is old enough to ask the questions, he is old enough to receive true answers. I am not putting the thoughts in his head but helping \him to unfold those already there.
Louisa May Alcott, from Little Women (1832-1888)
Does not wisdom all, and does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way, she takes her stand;
Besides the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
“To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live,
O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, or I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right;
For my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips
Proverbs 8: 1-6