A Reflection for the Graduates of 2020

Class of 2020, I have to admit that I have no idea what to say to you. 

This should not be that hard.  I have delivered quite a number of these Baccalaureate sermons over the years, and usually they are about going forth into the future, confident in the gifts that God has given you, so that you can made a difference for God in the place that God has chosen for you!  But, that is a sermon for…like…a whole three months ago. 

That was a sermon for students who went to prom, finished out their sports seasons, had their last band and choral performances, built their last projects, and got to shine in the spring musical.  That was a sermon for students who had an idea what the future was going to hold. 

Admittedly, the move from High School to the wider world has always been a mystery to students…a new, unknown adventure…but it was always a move that parents, teachers, and school councilors understood very well.  At least we, the adults, knew what you were moving into, even if you did not!

But, that is so early March.  That is a lifetime ago.  And, now we have parents and teachers and school administrators who do not know the answers to your questions about the future any better than you do.  And, we have pastors who do not know what to say at baccalaureates. 

I have a story about my Grandpa Herbert that was only vaguely related to the classes before you, and really does not relate to you now.  I could tell that!  What do you say to a people of God who have lost so much?  What do you say to a people of God who do not know where to turn?  What do you say?

I guess, you say, you are disciples of Christ.  And, what I mean by that is that the first disciples of Christ also once found themselves without direction, lost, and without a clue how to take a step forward when their hope, their teacher, and their source of love died on a cross.  They did not know what to do.  Most ran from the scene.  Some women stayed and wept.  Ten of Jesus’ most trusted disciples locked themselves away in a room. 

Have you stormed away, locking yourself in your room lately?  Well, you are in good company.

So, I guess in a time when we do not know what the future will hold or even have a clue what it is all going to look like…when we are grieving the opportunities that have been lost and have trouble seeing through the pain to focus on where the road forward even lays, I guess we can take comfort in the fact that all the great disciples of early Christianity were in the same boat.  That boat might be sinking, but at least we are in good company.

And, I guess we can take comfort in the words that Jesus gave those disciples right before they faced their uncertain future.  The words of Jesus from the gospel of Matthew sound like this: “after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 

And, the words of Jesus from the gospel of John say it like this: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” 

And, the message, again and again echo scriptures like the one from Deuteronomy that promises, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."  And also the words from Isaiah that promise, “I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.” 

And, they are all words that promise that even though you have no idea what you are heading into in this world and even though I do not have any clue how to guide you through the wise words of a Baccalaureate sermon, there is someone who does. 

There is someone who is already there on the other side of all this mess.  There is someone who has prepared a place for you on the other side of the struggle that we are all now facing.  And, that someone, Jesus Christ, has promised that “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”

You are not alone in this.  Not only are other disciples like myself and your parents and teachers stumbling through all of this alongside you, but Jesus has already traveled the path.  He knows where you are going.  He is already there on the other side of the dark valley, and he has promised to take you there where there is new life and new opportunities.

Have courage friends, not because you know the way forward, but because you follow the one who does: Jesus Christ our Lord, out of whose hand you cannot be snatched.  And, also be thankful that you did not have to hear about my Grandpa Herbert.  God bless each and every one of you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Isaiah 45:2-25

I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

Matthew 26:32

But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

John 14:3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

Reflection on Acts 2:1-21

The fire started with a bath. 

A number of years back, around this time of year, I took a bath in our large garden tub.  It was nice.  I let out the water.  Little did I know, our septic tank was full of water from the spring rains. 

Why is that important to know?  Because, adding a garden tub full of water to a full septic tank means that you get a flooded basement. 

I ran outside and grabbed the bucket that we keep outside by the fire pit to put out our campfires.  I used it to scoop up the water. 

After an entire day’s worth of work, we cleaned up the basement, which included emptying all of the soaked cardboard boxes that contained our store items and moving the items into newly purchased totes.  I took the boxes out to the fire pit and doused them in lighter fluid.  There were many boxes.  I lit the boxes on fire. 

The fire was huge!  The heat from the fire created a mini whirlwind of flames.  The flaming mini whirlwind sent small pieces of flaming boxes high into the air.  Those faming pieces came down and rested on newly, wind dried leaves on the ground.  A fire started. 

No problem; that is why I keep a bucket outside by the fire pit. 

Wait?  Where’s the bucket?  What happened to the bucket?  Well, needless to say, that is how you start a property fire with a bath.

That fire spread faster than I could have ever imagined.  I have always been careful to contain my fires, but some fires just cannot be contained.  Some fires spread to places that you would have never imagined, or have even wanted it to spread.  Some fires are more than we asked for, but they burn none-the-less.

God’s fires are no different.  Some of us try to contain God’s fire, but God has a way of refusing to be contained.  It is as if Jesus does not want to be contained in a grave.  It is as if the heart of Jesus desires to burn anywhere and in anyone it chooses.

I once read about a small congregation that served God, mostly in a poor neighborhood in the middle of a city.  The people were poor, but they loved each other and helped each other spiritually and monetarily as they were able. 

The pastor preached as Jesus did in the gospel of Luke, sharing good news for the poor…but that inherently means that there is also doom and gloom preached toward the rich.  It is easy to preach the doom and gloom when the rich are not present. 

Well, one day a couple of middle-aged men in business suits showed up to church.  The pastor looked out at the crowd before worship and spotted the men immediately because their nice clothing stood out in their poor neighborhood the same way that ratty clothing stand out on Wall Street. 

The pastor said to the worship assistant, “I don’t think they are going to like my sermon.” 

The worship assistant said, “If it is in the Bible, it is the truth.  You preach it.” 

Preach it she did.  After the worship service one of the sharp dressed men walked up to the pastor and said to her, “Sometimes, guys like me need to hear to truth also.  Thank you.”  The two continued to come and participate in the mission of that poor little church.

You see what I mean?  The Spirit of God, the fire of God, the truth of Jesus Christ will burn wherever it wants, and it will not be contained.  But, not only that, the Spirit burns in order to bring people together.

The first time we see that fire creep outside the fire pit in the Christian Scriptures is on Pentecost, the day we celebrate today.  On that day, just short of 2,000 years ago, a group of Jesus’ followers were gathered in the upper room of a house, kind of like when we are gathered in church.  They were keeping to themselves, causing no trouble at all, and having a nice little gathering of friends, when, suddenly, the Spirit of the Lord rained down on them a heavenly fire.  It was a fire caused by a bath.  It was a baptism of fire that did not stay in its fire pit, and it burned fast and furious.

You see, that fire lit a spark in the people of God that they did not even know they had.  They started speaking all sorts of different languages. 

Now, I have to tell you, the Holy Spirit was working overtime that day, because at the same time, it blew thousands of people gathered from all over the known world to celebrate the harvest festival over to that little house, and they all peered up at the upper room and listened in.

Now, as a preacher, I get nervous when I see a crowd of strangers.  I wonder, like that preacher from the poor neighborhood, if they will like what I have to say.  And, I venture to guess that it is the same for you; that you get nervous when asked to pray in public, horrified that you might sound stupid. 

But, the Holy Spirit does not care about any of those trivial attempts to contain a fire.  The Spirit burns as it wishes. 

And, burn it did among the disciples!  People heard about Jesus’ amazing wonders in their own languages.  In their own languages!  The message of Jesus Christ drew these different people together.

You can hear the Spirit’s gathering powers at work when a humble fisherman, Peter, stands up and gives a expert sermon to the people; starting by calling his hearers “Israelites,” then “fellow Israelites,” and finally towards the end of his long sermon, “brothers.” 

You see!  The Spirit will burn where it will and it will unite brothers and sisters created by God even as the world tries to divide. 

The Spirit will give everyone the truth to share in their own language.  And, the Spirit will spread like a bath fire, and burn everywhere we think it should not.  It will burn through the Greeks, Arabs, Romans, Africans, and Asians, no matter what we think of them.  It will unite the world under the one name under heaven by which the world is saved; Jesus Christ. 

And, our world could use a little uniting right now.  Am I right?  You might say, the world needs a little less fire pastor, our cities are burning up, but I say that the world needs more fire…the right kind of fire.  It needs the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Because, just as God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, transformed one man’s death (Jesus’ death) into something that drew thousands people back together just days afterward…even some of his enemies…so too the Spirit is able to do the same today.  Just keep reading Acts, you will see it happen. 

The Spirit is able to draw us together under Jesus so that we can live in a world filled with an eternal sort of love.  Young men and woman shall prophesy and see visions and dream dreams, and they will dream of a future where division is not what unites small pockets of people who sit at tables glaring at other tables with small pockets of people, but the love of Jesus Christ will draw all people together to sit his table of compassion and mercy.

It will bring a couple of rich, completely out of place, businessmen into a struggling, but loving community.  It will unite enemies under one holy cause.  And, the Spirit will burn with God’s grace, touching places we would have never imagined possible. 

The Spirit burns even in you…even in you.  Go and burn beyond the fire pit.