Microburst
June 03, 2025
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
~Isaiah 64:8
Our Father
Last week I went to the grocery store proudly holding a coupon — $3.00 off two very-fancy-brand greeting cards. I was ready to make someone’s special day — actually two people’s special days brighter with beautifully-crafted correspondence. I chose two birthday cards and proceeded to the counter. Alas, as I prepared to pay for my purchase, my coupon would not work! “This coupon is for two Father’s Day cards,” the cashier told me. “Oh,” I said. “I don’t need two Father’s Day cards.”
Then the cashier and I spent some time talking about who might need two Father’s Day cards: a family with two dads, a spouse who gets one Father’s Day card for their partner and one for their own father, or someone organized enough to buy cards for two subsequent Father’s Days. The cashier and I decided the coupon made sense (not that anyone asked us), but it didn’t make sense for me that day. I’ll have to go back to claim this coupon another day.
This upcoming Sunday is both Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday, a day where we honor two kinds of fathers. The Trinity is a magnificently complex and yet invitingly accessible way that Christians understand the experiences of God. As we saw this past Sunday at 11 a.m., we baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Father’s Day, an opportunity for us to give thanks for the fathers in our lives, is also complex. Family relationships hold so much, and holidays like this can magnify many sides of those relationships.
Besides “Our Father,” which Biblical images or descriptions of God help you understand more about who God is? A mighty bulwark, a comforting mother, the faithful covenant keeper, the forgiving father, a mother hen, our creator, the potter … these are just a few that come to mind for me.
I wonder what you would write about Father’s Day if you had two cards. One for the people fathers, and one for God described as many things and present in all things. Shelley will share a sermon this week on the Trinity, wisdom, and all the ways God is working in and through our lives. We’ll see you Sunday.
