Sermon by Pastor MaAn
Honoring Graduates
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“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. – Jeremiah 29:11-14, New Living Translation
On this second Sunday after the Holy Spirit empowered the fledging church, we come together as a community to recognize and celebrate our graduates and their achievements.
A few weeks ago for many, but a few months for some, a number of young people with connections to our congregation, graduated. Some graduated from high school; others from college, and still others like Danielle, graduated with a doctoral degree, a few more years after she graduated from college. Some graduated cum laude, that is, with distinction, with honors,like Jessie and Andy. Like us, despite the hard work they put into it, some students graduated magna cum pellidentium, that is to say, by the skin of their teeth. Be that as it may, the reality is that honors or no honors, they all graduated and we are here to celebrate their success and to speed them on.
Graduations differ in time and place; but one thing they all have in common is the fact that graduation is not an end but a beginning. That is why graduation ceremonies are often referred to as commencement exercises.
The dictionary gives the following synonyms for commencement – a beginning, start, origination, inauguration, instigation, initiation, dawn;
And exercise has the following meanings – a movement, workout, training, drill, maneuver.
Sometimes graduation makes graduates of all those who walked with them all the way, parents and grandparents alike .... sometimes graduation makes us feel that our graduates have arrived. “Wee! It’s over,” we say with relief. But the truth of the matter is, to borrow a phrase from a favorite song way back when, with their graduation, the young people we honor today and next week, have “only just begun...” To put it more precisely, with graduation students are but beginning another phase in this journey we call life.
For whatever graduates decide to do or wherever you decide to do it after the summer break you are now enjoying, for those of you who just graduated from high school the journey is toward greater responsibility, and more independence is just beginning. Though giddy with excitement now, there will come a time in the near future when the reality that you are leaving the comforts of home, family, church, the community you’ve grown up in, the familiar faces of friends you grew up and hang out with will not be there anymore.
It can be real scary out there in the beginning as you take the first steps toward greater freedom and greater responsibility. It can be scary out there even for college and even post- college graduates who will now have to find a job in the current economic situation of fierce competition as jobs continue to remain elusive. However, as Christians, you have no need to fear.
As the prophet Jeremiah reminded the Hebrews who were deported to Babylon, living in exile away from their homeland, so he reminds graduates today not to be anxious and fearful. For the Lord said and he says to you now:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope...” (Jeremiah 29:11, New Living Translation)
But for this to happen, graduates must do their part. You need, as John Wesley admonishes us to this day, to “stay in love with God” as we all do. Contrary to what many believe, our relationship with the Lord does not end with confirmation. Nor does our relationship with the Lord end with graduation. As a matter of fact, the Lord expects the bond between him and us to be strengthened as we go deeper into the adventure we call life. The Lord himself makes the promise, according to the prophet. The Lord said –
“In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:12-14a, NLT)
Life after graduation is both adventure and challenge for both graduates and those who support them. To take life’s journey with integrity, we all need to continue to stay in love with God. We all need to remain attentive to God’s Word as God speaks to us in different ways and often at the most unexpected times and places. And more importantly, having received the wisdom of God’s Word, we all must act on it courageously.
Graduates, congratulations. Soon, you will be spreading your wings. You will fly into a world of greater challenges and possibilities. As you do, always be mindful of who and whose you are. We assure you of our continued prayers and support. And remember, whenever you are home again for breaks and vacation, we would love to have you again with us even as we trust that you will find a faith community to worship and be in ministry with while you are away from home. God bless and God speed. This one’s for you.
“Dream Big”
Author unknown
If there were ever a time to dare,
To make a difference
To embark on something worth doing
It is now.
Not for any grand cause, necessarily –
But for something that tugs at your heart
Something that is worth your aspiration
Something that is your dream.
You owe it to yourself
To make your days count.
Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch.
Dream big.
Know, though,
That things worth doing
Seldom come easy,
There will be times when you want to
Turn around
Pack it up and call it quits
Those times tell you
That you are pushing yourself
And that you are not afraid to learn by trying.
Persist.
Because with an idea,
Determination and the right tools,
You can do great things.
Let your instincts, your intellect
And let your heart guide you.
Trust.
Believe in the incredible power
Of the human mind
Of doing something that makes a difference
Of working hard
Of laughing and hoping
Of lasting friends
Of all the things that will cross your path
Next year
The start of something new
Brings the hope of something great.
Anything is possible
There is only one you
And you will pass this way but once.
Do it right.
And the people of God said.
Amen.
