June 16, 1996	Fathers of the Church	Genesis 12:1-9

Romans 5:1-8

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Our Gospel lesson for today fits really well into a Father's Day theme, quite simply because the text talks about how Jesus went forth through all the towns and villages, teaching and preaching. And we are told that he had compassion upon the people because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. And, so, Jesus' response to this was to send his disciples into the villages, to act like shepherds (or pastors) to the people. And we are even given the list of the names of these disciples who were sent forth: Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas.

Of course, we know that there were women among Jesus' disciples. But, in a very real way, these first disciples were like fathers to the church. For in the years to come, with the exception of Judas, they would be the ones who would nurture the church, following Jesus' death and resurrection, and see it grow. They would be the ones who, like loving fathers, would love the Church, guide the Church, suffer for the Church, and even die for the Church.

But I think that the instructions which Jesus gave to these disciples is especially pertinant for those of us who would strive to be good fathers. Listen to what Jesus told these disciples as he sent them forth to care for the people of Israel. He said: "Go to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

Basically, I have summarized what Jesus said to the disciples into four short phrases: Quite simply, he told them: Go after the lost, heal the sick, confront evil, and be generous.

Do those four things and you will be good disciples of Jesus Christ! Do, these four things, and you will be a good father, as well.

But, let's take a closer look at the first of these four instructions. Do you remember what it was? It was, "Go after the lost." The fact is, you never know what you're going to find when you go after someone who is lost. You just don't know! There is the story of how many years ago there was a shipwreck off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. A crowd of fishermen in a nearby village gathered to watch the ship as it was being smashed on the rocks. A lifeboat was sent out to rescue the sailors on the ship, and after a terrible struggle the rescuers came back with all of the shipwrecked sailors, but one. As they brought the boat in, one of the rescued sailors explained, "There was no room in the lifeboat for him. So we told him to stay by the ship and someone would come back for him."

Immediately, a young man by the name of "Jim" stepped forward and called out to the crowd of fishermen, "Who among you will go with me to get him?"

But, as he spoke, a little old lady cried out, "Don't go, Jim, my boy. Don't go. You are all I have left. Your father was drowned in the sea; your brother William sailed away and we've never heard from him; and now if you are lost, I'll be left alone. Oh, Jim, please don't go!"

The young man listened patiently to his mother's pleading, then said, "Mother, you know I must go. It is my duty. I have to go!"

The onlookers watched as Jim and several other men rowed the lifeboat back out to the wreck. Anxiously Jim's mother wept and prayed. They saw the boat start back, a frail little shell tossed about by the angry waves. At last it came close enough to hear, and the people on shore shouted, "Did you get him?"

Jim shouted back. "Yes! And tell my mother it's William.

A good disciple of Christ always goes after the lost. And a good father, a loving father, will always go after his children who may be lost.

Most of us may remember Louis Pasteur as the great French scientist who made many discoveries concerning bacteria and viruses. What we may not know is that his work was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War which began in 1870. His only son was in the army. Earlier Louis Pasteur had suffered the personal tragedy of losing three daughters to sicknesses. But now his son was gone to the front and weeks had passed without news. Pasteur left his work in the laboratory and set out to find him.

The war for France was a total disaster. As Pasteur made his way north he found the roads full of the defeated soldiers and stragglers; "the retreat from Moscow could not have been worse," he wrote. When he finally located his son's unit, he became even more disheartened and desperate; an officer told him that of the original twelve hundred men of the battion fewer than three hundred had survived.

You can imagined how emotionally shattered Louis Pasteur was at hearing this news. But, undaunted, Pasteur went on through a nightmare of winding roads choked with dead horses and men suffering from freezing cold and gangrenous wounds. Finally, Pasteur recognized a gaunt soldier, weak with hunger, wrapped to his eyes in a large overcoat. And, father and son, too moved for words, embraced in silence.

But, not only does a good disciple and a good father go after the lost, good disciples and good fathers also are concerned with healing the sick. Too, often our society has portrayed mothers as being the only one in a family that has any ability to heal her children. But, in fact, fathers can be just as powerful as healers for their family as mothers can be. I was listening to one of those talk shows on the radio a while back. They were having an interesting conversation; and the point was made that for the past few decades women have been learning that they were capable of doing many of the same thing that men can do. It was pointed out that we now have women doing police work, news work, construction work, truck driving, delivery work. Indeed, women have learned to do most of the things traditionally thought to be men's work. But, then a very interesting point was made: "It is now time for men to learn that they can do many of the things that have been traditionally reserved for women." Men can learn how to be nurturing. Men can learn how to be healers for their children. Man can learn, and thereby teach their children, how to solve an argument and heal relationships by talking things out rather than by getting angry and fighting. Men can learn how to sit with their children, and hold them, and rock them, and sing to them, and nurse them, and clean up after them. Unfortunately, society laughs at men who may do these things with their children. If I held up a picture of a Michael Jordan sitting in a rocking chair, with a burp cloth on his shoulder, holding a bottle to a baby's mouth, we'd think it was funny. It would look so out of place. And, yet, these are the very things we need to be teaching our boys, our young men, and our fathers to do if the world is going to be a better place.

I believe that it is only after a father has learned the importance of going after the lost, and the art of nurturing and healing that he is qualified to do the third thing that Jesus instructed the first fathers of the church to do. And what was that? Confront evil. Normally, of these four instructions of Christ this is the one that society has stressed the most, especially for men. Confronting evil, identifying the opponent, learning the opponent's weak points, becoming familiar with the weapons of confrontation, studying the tactics and rules of engagement are taught to our boys and men. And as our men grow up these lessons are used over and over again (without much variation) in business, in personal relationships, in recreation, in war, not to mention in their relationships with their wives and children. The problem with this is that in our haste to teach the third instruction of Jesus – "confront evil" – we forget the first two instructions of Jesus – which are "go after the lost," and "be a healer/nurturer." And if we if we can't do those two, then we'd better not do the third. A person who doesn't give a hoot for the lost; and person who is so calloused that he can't be a healer/nurturer, has no business confronting evil. For where you have evil being confronted by those who do not care for the lost and have little regard for nurture there will always be visions of innocent people being blown up by those who thought they were fighting evil. As long as those who fight evil forget these things, there will be the Oklahoma City bombings, the burning of churches, terrorism, the slaughter of the innocents.

Nevertheless, confronting evil is important. Jesus wanted the fathers of the Church to drive out demons. But, the weapons were non-violent. Their weapons were the word of God and the name of Jesus. For their greatest concern was to be for the welfare of the lost and for healing the sick. And there's little point in confronting evil if it only results in the death of the lost and the demise of the sick.

For the Christian, confrontation with evil is always pro-life. If a Christian disagrees with someone he or she does not try to destroy that person, but will seek to enhance the life of that person through love and nurture. That is why Jesus taught, "Love your enemy," and "Pray for those who persecute you," and "Walk the extra mile."

But, not only did Jesus tell the fathers of the Church to seek the lost, and to be healers, and to confront evil. He also told them to be generous. "For freely you have received," he said. Therefore, we should freely give.

Freely give. What does that mean? Is it conditional? No! It is absolutely unconditional. Nevertheless, how many of us are reluctant to give unless all of our conditions and demands are met? But, Jesus said, "Freely you have received, therefore freely give." God has given to you without any conditions, whatsoever. And now you do the same.

How important that lesson was to the first fathers of our Church! And, how important it is for today's fathers to remember this lesson, as well! For God has given so greatly, and so generously to us.

There was a young man who got up at a meeting and shared the following remarkable story about himself: He recalled how he had been rebellious as a teenager and ran away from home. For eighteen years he had begged on the streets for a living. But, then, on a dreary, cold, rainy day, he touched a man on the shoulder and said, "Mister, could you please give me a dollar?" The man turned towards him. As soon as he saw his face, he recognized his father. The father threw his arms around him, and cried, "I have found you! All I have is yours."

Can you imagine such a scene as that? There he was, a tramp, begging his father for a dollar, when for eighteen years the father had been looking for him to give him everything he had!"

And so our heavenly Father is waiting for you and me. So, what is keeping any of us from receiving God's unsearchable riches in Christ, today?

Christ has shone us the way – Go after the lost, heal the sick, confront evil, and be generous. It is the way for all good fathers, as well as for those who would be Christ's faithful disciples.

Amen.