Blessed be God.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit—fill our hearts with joy, set us ablaze with Your presence.
Happy Father’s Day.
I did something bold for Father’s Day…
I shaved my beard.
And it was just getting good too.
I had finally teased it out, filled it in, even used a little of my son‑in‑law’s beard makeup.
I walked into Lowe’s feeling proud of that thing.
But while I was there, two little kids—maybe two or three years old—pointed at me and said,
“Santa Claus! Santa Claus!”
Then the cashier said,
“Come on up here with your Santa‑Claus‑looking self.”
I went home and shaved.
Because Santa Claus is supposed to be incognito during the summer…
and because that beard was hot…
but mostly because I don’t want my family to see Santa Claus.
I want my children and grandchildren to see a father—
someone who protects,
who quiets fears,
who helps make things right.
And that brings us to the heart of today’s Gospel.
Jesus says:
“Do not be afraid.”
Those words can change a life.
They can change a family.
They can change the world.
Recently I heard a woman on a podcast say something heartbreaking.
She was drowning in fear, anxiety, and self‑hatred.
So overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world that she said humanity should go extinct.
“There’s too much violence,” she said.
“The world is running out of water.
The climate is getting hotter.
We’re destroying everything.”
It is frightening that a person could think that way—
but many do.
Many live with fear.
Many live with anxiety.
Many feel hostility pressing in on every side.
And that is exactly how the evil one wants the world to feel—
hopeless, overwhelmed, afraid.
But that is not the truth of God.
Jeremiah knew fear.
He knew betrayal.
He knew the whispers:
“Denounce him… let us trap him.”
Yet he stood firm and said,
“The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion.”
Jeremiah’s courage
And that same God stands with us.
Because beneath the surface of our lives are currents—
of quiet anxieties, unseen pressures,
old wounds, and hidden sins.
Like Self‑hatred. Insecurity. Unforgiveness.
Bitterness. Jealousy. Shame.
Apathy toward God.
The voice that says, “You’re not enough.”
These are real wounds.
But they are not stronger than God.
The Psalmist cries out:
“In your great mercy, answer me, O God.”
And God does.
Saint Paul tells us that sin spreads—
but grace does not merely match sin.
Grace overflows.
Grace that overflows
And then Jesus speaks directly into our fear:
“Do not be afraid…
Even the hairs of your head are counted.”
Not because the world is safe—
but because we are seen.
We are known.
We are held.
We do not live without fear because we are strong.
We live without fear because God is our Father.
The world threatens,
but God sustains.
The world wounds,
but God heals.
The world accuses,
but God vindicates.
The world intimidates,
but God emboldens.
This is who our Father is:
The One who rescues the poor.
The One who confronts sin with mercy.
The One who counts every hair on our heads.
The One who walks with us like a mighty champion.
Because God stands with us, we stand.
Because God hears the cry of the poor, we listen.
Because grace is stronger than sin, we repent.
Because disciples live without fear, we witness.
So today, on Father’s Day, we bring our sins into the light—
not because we deserve forgiveness,
but because mercy is the joy of our Father.
And then we ask for the grace
to treat others the way God treats us—
with compassion before judgment,
with mercy before merit,
with love before fear.
Because the God who walks with us
is stronger than the fear around us
and stronger than the sin within us.
And in His strength,
we rise.
We stand.
We witness.
We refuse to be afraid.
Let the goodness of God shape your life.
Let His holiness take root in your heart.
Let your life preach the Gospel—
by the way you love,
by the way you forgive,
by the way Christ is seen in you.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
