Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. – Exodus 28:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 16, 2012): Exodus 28

The movie “Courageous” centers its plot on a group of men that decide that they will be the leaders of their responsibility. They will be the husbands and fathers that their families need desperately. In essence, they will become the pastors and spiritual leaders that God has called them to be right in their own homes.

It is a very old idea. Up until the beginning of the building of the tabernacle, it was expected that the father would be the priest of the family. He would be the one responsible for taking care of the spiritual needs of the family – not just the physical needs. Today we sometimes think that the idea of the father as priest is more than a little archaic – and often it is more likely for the mother that will take on the task of being the spiritual leader. And the change seems to link back to the beginning of the official priesthood – as God set up the terms for a professional priesthood, the fathers seemed to consider themselves released from the responsibility. And we have been suffering for that lack ever since.

Maybe it is an artifact from a patristic society that is slowly fading into the past, but experience still points to the need for fathers to be involved in the spiritual life of their families if the children are to exude a healthy spirituality. Or maybe in a culture that increasingly values equality between the sexes; the reality is that it takes both a mom and a dad to be the spiritual leaders of the family.

No matter what the reason, the evidence suggests that we need more than just a “professional” priesthood for the spiritual health of our families – fathers have to get involved. It is not that the professional priesthood is unnecessary any more than mothers are – it simply takes us all.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day – and a group of local fathers are going to commit to be the fathers and spiritual leaders that God has called them to be. And I am proud of every one of them.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 29