Father’s Day
June 17, 2007
Pastor Jim Wood
“The Danger of Turning Mountains Into Molehills”
Luke 7:36-50
In this morning’s reading from the Bible, we have the privilege to be part of a very powerful story. Jesus accepts the actions of a woman who lavishes rich ointment on his tired feet after she washes them with her tears and dries them with her hair. Simon, a Pharisee and Jesus’ host, is upset by the actions of this “sinful” woman and Jesus’ acceptance of her. However, Jesus refused to let Simon’s criticism prevent his efforts to help restore a sense of value and potential to a woman whose character had already been questioned.
Today is Father’s Day. Do you know it came to be celebrated? Contrary to what some think, Father’s Day was not an invention of the merchants trying to sell neckties or aftershave lotion. It all began in March of 1890 in the Big Bend Country of Washington State when William Jackson Smart returned home from his wife’s funeral and tried to explain to his six children why their mother wouldn’t be coming back again. He told them that he would try to be not only a father to them, but would strive to be their mother as well as he cared for their needs. One of those six children, a daughter named Senora, twenty years later heard a sermon in Spokane, Washington, about the important role of fathers and started the movement, in honor of her father.
In 1910, when her father was 68 years old, Senora suggested such a sermon to her own pastor. Later, the City Ministerial Association took up the cause and that was followed by the Spokane City Council passing a resolution concerning Father’s Day. Eventually there was a proclamation by the Governor for a statewide observance. The movement spread with President Woodrow Wilson giving recognition to the day in 1916, and then President Calvin Coolidge made it a national day in 1924.
In a congregation like ours, Father’s Day probably brings about some mixed feelings. It’s a very difficult time for some as are other days we celebrate—Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, or even anniversaries and birthdays. Some of these days call forth some painful memories. However, there’s something positive to be said about observing Father’s Day. Among other things, it enables us to reconsider the values that we who are followers of Jesus Christ consider important for living.
What’s worthy of noting is that Father’s Day was given to us as a way of expressing appreciation to those persons who respond to the needs of others. I know there are persons here this morning who’ve had or have wonderful fathers and only the best memories of a father’s love. I also know that the opposite is true as well. I come to this day not so much praising the virtues of fatherhood, but rather reminding all of us of the potential of our influence, and in that sense, I speak to everyone here this morning.
We’ve often heard or even used the expression, “Making a mountain out of a molehill,” and the meaning is clear. Some of us tend to make a big deal out of something rather unimportant more than we realize, but it seems to me that there’s an even greater problem when we turn a mountain into a molehill. By that, I mean, when we reduce some great mountain of value or virtue into a meaningless molehill. One of the great mountains of value or virtue is the way we Christians influence others for good. Let’s consider more carefully this issue of reducing our mountains of influence into molehills of insignificance.
We always need to remember that God can work through our lives. That’s our first word this morning. One of the distinguished clergy of the United Methodist Church was Harold Bosley. He served some prestigious pulpits during his ministry. He served the First United Methodist Church in Evanston, Illinois, for many years and then followed Ralph Sockman at Christ United Methodist Church in New York City. Following Sockman was a challenge.
Ralph Sockman had been at Christ Church for 44 years. A colleague tells of attending worship there some time after Harold Bosley had been appointed. The service started with some people quietly conversing before worship began. Then, without any warning, the congregation became silent and heads turned to the center aisle. “God,” in the form of Ralph Sockman, was coming into the sanctuary. Dr. and Mrs. Sockman slowly and stately walked in and took their place in the very front of the sanctuary. It was a very clear signal that worship could now begin. After the service, my colleague said that he and his wife did what most people do, they made their way to the door of the sanctuary to greet Harold Bosley. He said it was a sad moment, for it was just the three of them standing at the door. Practically everyone else had moved to the front of the sanctuary and were surrounding the Sockmans. This ritual went on week after week.
After a few turbulent years, Harold Bosley suffered a series of heart attacks, which ultimately took his life. Those close to him often lamented that he didn’t die of a heart attack but rather from a broken heart. None of that, however, prevented Harold Bosley from being faithful to the proclamation of the Gospel, and his influence for social justice was extraordinary. One of the participants at his funeral was Rabbi Arthur Schneier, who commented on Bosley’s great sense of social justice by referring to Psalm 15. This is part of what was shared by the Rabbi:
[Harold Bosley] believed in this world; he believed in people; he believed in humankind and would travel thousands of miles pleading, arguing, protesting for the right of persons to be free. He was held in respect and esteem by the humble and the mighty. Harold, that tolerant and understanding man, who could relate to [all people] … could also become impatient and intolerant in the face of injustice. He had no patience in the face of evil; and he had no patience in the face of injustice ... We can ill afford to lose a spiritual giant, but I am convinced that the psalmist in describing who shall abide in God’s sanctuary and who shall dwell upon God’s holy hill, is defining that it would be a person who walked blamelessly and did what was right, and who spoke the truth from their heart, that the psalmist was referring to a person of Harold Bosley’s qualities.
In a day when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find good role models and good examples, all of us need to be reminded of the powerful potential of our influence as followers of Jesus Christ. It could never be said that Harold Bosley ever reduced the mountain of his influence to some insignificant molehill. The call’s still there to remember that God can and does work through our lives to influence others for good.
Oh, I know, there’s always the temptation to say, “But my life will probably never influence anyone.” This is precisely why observing Father’s Day is so critical. You and I may never know when our influence may radically affect the life of someone else, and this is the second reason why we should avoid reducing our mountains of influence into molehills of mediocrity.
Several years ago, a pastor was appointed to a church in Pottsville, Iowa. There the pastor faithfully carried out his ministry, which included working with the youth of that church. He took particular notice of a young boy who worked in his father’s lumberyard. The teenager had a great interest in reading so the pastor loaned him books from his personal library. He encouraged him to have an interest in the intellectual pursuits of life. One day the boy confided to his pastor that he would very much like to go to college. The pastor was then able to help convince the boy’s parents.
The boy did go away to college and that was the beginning of the remarkable career of John R. Mott. Who’s John R. Mott, you ask? He was the founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association. Mott was also responsible for the early beginning of the ecumenical movement in this country. He had a great gift for developing programs for college students that spread throughout the U.S. It was often said of him that no one had more influence on students than he did. However, isn’t it curious that no one seems to remember the name of the Methodist minister of Pottsville who saw the seed of Mott’s potential?
It’s dangerous for us to minimize the significance of our influence on others. You may not feel that your influence is much, but in the eyes of someone else, it may be a mountain of grandeur and you ought not to reduce it to a molehill.
Finally, days like Father’s Day (and Mother’s Day and Grandparent’s Day, as well) are all reminders that ask, “If not you, then who’s influencing our children today?” This shouldn’t be a day of hurt nor should it be a day of guilt. Rather, it should be a day of helping all of us to convey those Christian values that are not only critical for the strength of the family but for our nation as well. Whenever we reduce our mountains of influence into a molehill of irrelevance, we run the great risk of failing to be everything we could be for our children. We should never minimize this impact.
Comedian David Brenner came from a very close and yet poor family. He relates a most unusual and yet unforgettable gift his father gave him when he graduated from high school:
My father reached into his pocket and took something out. I extended my hand, palm up, and he let my present drop into it—a nickel! One lousy nickel! My dad said to me, “Buy a newspaper with that, son, and read every word of it. Then turn over to the classified section and get yourself a job. Get into the world! It’s all yours now!” Brenner said, “I always thought that was a great joke my father played on me until years later when I was in the Army, sitting in a foxhole and thinking about my life and my family. It was then I realized that my friends had only gotten new cars and clothes. My father had given me the greatest gift of all. My father had given me the whole world!”
This morning’s reading from the Bible is a beautiful story of how Jesus saw the potential of somebody. Most persons, I think, want to be somebody of value or worth. Our task as followers of Jesus is to set someone free to realize their potential. As fathers, mothers, foster parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and significant others, we don’t want to reduce the mountain of potential influence of the children in our lives into some molehill of inconsequence. It falls to each one of us to help every child of God to fill their potential.
This is a day to think about the best about families—to savor cherished memories. It’s a day of working toward reconciliation. It’s a day to celebrate. But most importantly, it’s a day to hold on to Christian values that are important. Some of our families may be fractured, but this day reminds us that there’s always hope for healing. I hope you realize that we’re a family here at Sun Lakes, the family of God, a community of faith, where the value of every person is very important. That’s one mighty big mountain that ought never to be reduced to a molehill. Let us pray:
Our gracious and loving God, we thank you for our fathers, whether they be living or dead. We thank you for them, even when they failed to meet our needs or care for us as we had hoped. We hold up to you all who are fathers and grandfathers. We have need of your wisdom. Let your love move through us to our sons and daughters, to our nephews and nieces, to our grandchildren and those over which we have special influence. We pray that we might play a special role in their lives and that faith, hope, and love will characterize their days upon this earth. In the name of Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen!