Sunday, June 15, 2008

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

On Mother's Day, we explored love in many of its facets in honor of the first person from whom we learn love. A father's love is no less important. In order for us to become "fully human," it is important that we embrace the masculine aspect of ourselves, just as we must embrace the feminine, as embodied in father and mother. For some, this also means seeking a more balanced view of the divine, one that is both/neither father-god/mother-god.
The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonor's Father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

Readings

What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The Patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ...Dad

Author unknown, http://www.morningglow.com/holidays/father/father.html

Quotations about Fathers

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at h ow much he had learned in seven years. Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi," Atlantic Monthly, 1874

Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. -Author unknown

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. -John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

Never raise your hand to your kids. It leave your groin unprotected. -Red Buttons
http://www.quotegarden.com/dad-day.html

Readings from the Gospels

Matthews 5: 16, 45, 48

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
...so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 12: 50

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.

John 20: 17, 21

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father , to my God, and your God."

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (LeLoup translation)

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you!

Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: "Here it is!' or 'There it is!' For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him. Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom."

Call to Conversation