There’s been a lot of tragedy in the U.S. lately. It seems that’s all that’s been in the news in the past week, senseless death. Most notably the 50 people in Orlando, Florida who lost their lives so tragically. First a two-year-old boy killed by an alligator while on Vacation at Disneyworld; people asking Could it have been prevented? How could something so horrible happen to someone so young and innocent? Then another 49 innocent people killed in a brutal, senseless attack at that nightclub in Orlando: the ripple effects in the wake of that destruction affecting thousands of others. The inevitable question so many people ask is “Why”. To those who don’t believe in God, or doubt his existence, they point to tragedies such as these along with all the suffering in the world as their proof that God doesn’t exist. And even many Christians, with a shaky grasp of their faith ask how God can allow such suffering. “How can he be a compassionate God if he allows such suffering?” Throughout the centuries tragedies & catastrophes with the resulting grief and sorrow, along with illness, and death have all agitated and troubled man’s mind. Suffering is, however, a universal phenomenon. All people sometime in their life know suffering. But its times like this, in our brokenness, that we especially need to turn to God. Only by disentangling ourselves from our worldly concerns and giving ourselves to God can we find solace in some of these vexing and otherwise insoluble problems. Our Christian faith teaches us that God cares enough for us that he sent his only son to be with us and to suffer with us. We can trust God despite our suffering because he shares our wounds and our suffering. He suffers with us and has suffered for us; to the point of dying on a cross for us. There is no adequate answer for all the questions of why the reasons for pain, suffering and sorrow may be far beyond our knowledge and understanding in this life, but our faith tells us that there can be meaning in suffering, if only to bring us closer to God. We are taught to offer up our suffering in prayer. Who better to understand our sorrows than the God who created us? But our Christian faith points beyond our suffering in this world to a far greater hope in the next.

Now on a lighter note, I’d like to say “Happy Fathers’ Day” to all the fathers here. Today we pray for all our dads, living and deceased; grandfathers, fathers to be, stepfathers, father-like-figures, and for our spiritual fathers. I myself am a father four times, and a grandfather of 12; my newest grandson being just over a week old. Dads deserve a lot of credit. Being a dad isn’t easy.  We often hear about a “Mothers’ instinct” and how it comes naturally to them, but what about fathers? Dads have a little tougher time, especially with their firstborn. As we often hear about newborn babies, they don’t come with operating instructions. And that becomes painfully obvious when a first-time dad tries changing a diaper for the first time. They didn’t tell us that “some assembly was required.” But dads learn and grow into their role as fathers. Today’s society, however, tries to diminish the importance of fathers. With so many single parent households in our society the question has even been raised whether fathers are even needed. But I’d like to share a few startling statistics I read recently in an issue of Deacon Digest magazine. The first one concerning the prison population in the United States which I was particularly interested in since I’m involved in prison ministry. According to a survey 65% of felons in the U.S. prison system do not know who their fathers are. That alone should give us a pretty good clue about the importance of a father’s role in our society. A theology professor by the name of Dr. George Worgul has stated that fathers do two things in our society that can’t be done as well by anybody else in the world. For boys, good fathers protect their sons from the world, while also protecting the world from their sons. And for daughters, a father teaches them that it is possible to be wholly and fully loved by a man without physical intimacy.

A mother’s role will always remain primary in terms of care, and nurture. No father can replace that relationship. Just ask any big, burly man who has a tattoo dedicated to the love of his mother. But by the same token a mother can’t replace the role of a good father. Studies show that when children begin to transition from a life at home to becoming more engaged with society, they look increasingly to their father for their role model. And when a father is absent that transition becomes much more difficult. And I’m just guessing here, but that probably has a lot to do with the statistic I just related about the prison population.

Now spiritually and religiously, fathers play an even more important role. In the same issue of Deacon Digest a survey reported the statistics about adults remaining faithful to their Christian upbringing as children. The results were based on whether both parents went to church and were instrumental in the faith formation of their children, or whether it was just one parent and whether that one parent was the mother or father. Of course, ideally, both parents should be involved with the faith formation of their children, and the studies showed that, but the interesting part was about those who had been raised in faith by one parent. The percentage of those remaining faithful as adults was more than double if they were raised in faith by their father.

That leads me to the question we heard Jesus ask of his disciples in today’s Gospel, “Who do you say that I am”.  That’s an eternal question for all Christians, including us today. Who do we say that Jesus is? Who is Christ for us? Is Jesus just someone we read about in scripture here on Sundays, or do we invite Christ into our daily lives, to be our guide and our shepherd? Do we invite Christ into our homes, no matter how broken those homes may be? Do we see Christ in those we meet every day, and do we reflect Christ to the world around us? And more importantly, as fathers——-and mothers “Who do we teach that Christ is to our children?” One day they’ll have to answer that question for themselves.

So, we fathers can take heart. Despite the kidding we receive, and the seemingly lack of respect from society, the role we play in the lives of our children, especially their spiritual lives is greater and more important than we think. It’s an awesome responsibility and one that often comes with little or no thanks for many years, except on Father’s Day.

May God Bless everyone today, especially our fathers.