Hall of Fame Dads

Robert Lewis, in his book, Real Family Values, tells a story about a remarkable discovery workers made at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

While renovating a section of the museum, they found a photograph that had been hidden in a crevice underneath a display case. The man in the picture had a bat resting on his shoulder. He was wearing a uniform with the words “Sinclair Oil” printed across his chest. His demeanor was gentle and friendly.

Stapled to the picture was a note, scribbled in pen by an adoring fan. The note read: “You were never too tired to play ball. On your days off, you helped build the Little League Field. You always came to watch me play. You were a Hall of Fame Dad. I wish I could share this moment with you.  Your Son, Pete.”

Isn’t that beautiful? A son named Pete found a creative way to put his dad into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Now I know that our church calendar says that this is “Trinity Sunday.” And I know that many of you came to worship today yearning for a deep, theological treatise on the meaning of the Trinity. You were, weren’t you? But doesn’t the doctrine of the Trinity say to us among other things that the first Hall of Fame Dad was God? After all, the first two persons of the Trinity in traditional religious language are the Father and the Son.

So today we salute our fathers. The most common image that Jesus used in describing God was that of “Father.” It makes me think that Joseph must have been a very special kind of dad.

Jesus had a very keen knowledge of Scripture. In the Jewish home it was the father who had the primary responsibility for his son’s religious instruction. Of course we know that Jesus had a unique relationship with God. Still, I have to believe that Joseph, though barely mentioned in the Gospel narrative, was probably an influential role model for Jesus. Why else would Jesus have chosen the imagery of “Father” to portray God? Why would he also have taught us to address God as “Abba” – “Daddy”? My guess is that Jesus had a wonderful relationship with both his earthly father and his Heavenly Father.

So what does it take to be a Hall of Fame father?

Years ago, Dr. Charlie Shedd held a contest called “One Neat Dad.” He asked contestants to send in letters recommending their dad for this great honor. The number one attribute that young people put at the top of their list about what they appreciate about their Dad was, “He takes time for me.” Other qualities which these young people appreciated were: “He listens to me.” “He plays with me.” “He invites me to go places with him.” “He lets me help him.” “He treats my mother well.” “He lets me say what I think.” “He is nice to my friends.” “He only punishes me when I deserve it.” “He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong.”

How did you do on that pop quiz, Pops?

The first attribute for a Hall of Fame Dad is that he makes time for his children.

He also makes certain that his children know the difference between right and wrong.  I know that there are many influential people in our society who no longer believe that there are any absolute values – which is absurd! I’ll bet you would become a convert to absolute standards of conduct if someone stole your car, bullied one of your children, or ran off with your spouse. You’d feel that something sacred had been violated – and you would be right.

Notice what it says in today’s Gospel. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the Holy Spirit that is to come upon his disciples. He says:  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

Isn’t this a primary characteristic of a Hall of Fame Dad? He leads his children into truth?  It’s important that we bring up our children as people of character and honor, people who know the difference between right and wrong, people who tell the truth. We’re not going to get role models for such upright behavior out of Hollywood or Washington, are we? If our kids don’t see models of character and morality in their own home, then heaven help them.

There was an interesting story on television’s “60 Minutes” a few years ago. The park rangers at a South African wildlife preserve were concerned about the slaughter of 39 rare white rhinos in their park. It turned out that the rhinos were killed not by poachers but rather by juvenile delinquents – teen-aged elephants.

The story began a decade before when the park could no longer sustain the increasing population of elephants. They decided to kill many of the adult elephants whose young were old enough to survive without them. And so, the young elephants grew up fatherless.

As time went on, many of these young elephants roamed together in gangs and began to do things elephants normally don’t do. They threw sticks and water at rhinos and acted like neighborhood bullies. Without dominant males, the young bulls exhibited aggressive behavior. A few young males grew especially violent, knocking down rhinos and stepping or kneeling on them, crushing the life out of them. An elephant named Mafuto, the gang leader, eventually had to be killed.

The park rangers theorized that these young teen-aged elephants were acting badly because they lacked role models. The solution was to bring in a large male to lead them and to counteract their bullying behavior. Soon the new male established dominance and put the young bulls in their places. The killing stopped. The young males were mentored – and saved.

Does that sound familiar to anybody? Do human gangs ever display such behavior? We need Christian dads who are willing to take time for their children and to help our boys and girls to understand the difference between right and wrong.

Finally, we need dads who will show their children how much they love them.  It’s great to see a young father who is able to express his love physically for his children. Fathers in our parents and grandparents’ generation often were not able to do that.

Comedian Ray Romano, who starred for so many years in the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, was asked in an interview if his parents were funny people. He remarked that his mother was very creative, but his father was more eccentric. Ray’s father loved him, he said, but he did not express that love very easily. As Ray remarked, “I used to say that if my father had hugged me once, I would be an accountant. I wouldn’t need to do comedy.” Of course, some of these fathers of earlier generations expressed their love in other ways.

Back when I was a kid, every Sunday night my dad would take me to Ralph’s Pizzeria.  I would stand there with him and watch the guys toss the dough in the air and make the pizzas.  We would get our large cheese pizza and I had the honor of carrying it out and putting it in my lap for safekeeping during the ride home.  Then we would enjoy the pie together, with mom. It was a weekly ritual that I always looked forward to.  And dad always made it happen.

There are many ways a father can communicate his love for his children. I hope those of you who are fathers are exploring every one of them.  Let’s be Hall of Fame Dads by showing our kids the love of Jesus Christ, who showed us how much His Father loves him and how much His Father loves each of us.  Happy Father’s Day!