This Sunday my congregation will celebrate and congratulate those who have graduated from High School, College, and Graduate Schools. It is a way to mark this great accomplishment and to pray God’s blessing upon them, that God might be present with and use them as they begin their next phase in life.
‘Tis the season for graduations, and my guess is that we all have friends, neighbors, and
acquaintances who are affected by graduations. Whether it is the child of a friend, our own children or grandchildren, the beginning of June is a time when “babies leave the nest,” graduates become post-graduates, and post-graduates are conferred and carry with them the title of “doctor.” It is a special time of year.
I have been thinking about the whole concept of graduation and what it means. Packed into the term are all kinds of emotions. Some are good and some are bad, but for many the term implies change. Often that change seems to imply a dramatic or drastic change. Change of environment, change of status, change in how one is viewed by the world, and even change in how one views the world. And yet, it is called “graduation.”
I looked up the term and, beyond the often associated definitions pertinent to academic achievement, the term has to do with arranging and sorting according to degrees, levels, or ranks. Not quite so dramatic. One might think of a “graduated cylinder” from chemistry or a “graduated measuring cup” used in baking. In thinking on this, it’s not so much a dramatic change, as much as it is the filling of or building upon a foundation.
When something is graduated, it is added to and measured to a certain level, then that is used as either an additive or as something which enhances or changing an environment. It is prepared for use in other things that will often enhance situations, enrich food, or bless others.
Toward the beginning of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount,” in Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus
preaches about our call to salt and light to the world. That those who follow Jesus have had something poured into our lives which is intended to be shared with others. He says that we are invited to share ourselves and add zest to life, and that we were intended to bring light to those in the darkness. In a way, Jesus says that we are to be “graduated” life enhancers, and we can be because God has poured Himself into us in good measure.
The Church, especially the United Methodist Church, has always placed emphasis on education, and in fact the founder of the UMC, John Wesley, established a tradition of founding schools. This has always been a part of religious tradition because people of faith have always understood the importance of “putting in the good stuff” of life, because what goes in will manifest itself when it comes out.
This is true when it comes to what we read or watch on TV, what is preached from a pulpit or shared around a Sunday School room, to where we surf the internet. What goes in affects drastically what comes out, and what comes out has the possibility of changing lives and situations...changing the world...for good or bad.
Thus, when we celebrate on Sunday as a church, we are saying to our graduates, “You’re now at a different level. God has blessed you with knowledge and poured into you things that God needs you to share. God has given you the gift of an education, and what has been poured in is mean to be used to reveal God’s love and truth. You are a ‘graduated vessel’ of God’s grace, and as such the expectations are a bit higher, but so are the possibilities for being blessed and being a blessing to the world."
In a way, however, everyone who is reading this is a graduate. Either you have a degree from an institution of higher education or have been measured and graduated by the school of hard knocks, but the reality is, because of our 'graduation,' we are called to be salt and light. We are invited to put into ourselves that which will enhance the world when it comes out. We are commanded to share that with which God has blessed us, because when we do, and God uses what we share, God can change the world, even through us.
How has our graduation affected our lives?
More importantly, how has it affected the lives of others?
‘Tis the season for graduations, and my guess is that we all have friends, neighbors, and
acquaintances who are affected by graduations. Whether it is the child of a friend, our own children or grandchildren, the beginning of June is a time when “babies leave the nest,” graduates become post-graduates, and post-graduates are conferred and carry with them the title of “doctor.” It is a special time of year.I have been thinking about the whole concept of graduation and what it means. Packed into the term are all kinds of emotions. Some are good and some are bad, but for many the term implies change. Often that change seems to imply a dramatic or drastic change. Change of environment, change of status, change in how one is viewed by the world, and even change in how one views the world. And yet, it is called “graduation.”
I looked up the term and, beyond the often associated definitions pertinent to academic achievement, the term has to do with arranging and sorting according to degrees, levels, or ranks. Not quite so dramatic. One might think of a “graduated cylinder” from chemistry or a “graduated measuring cup” used in baking. In thinking on this, it’s not so much a dramatic change, as much as it is the filling of or building upon a foundation.
When something is graduated, it is added to and measured to a certain level, then that is used as either an additive or as something which enhances or changing an environment. It is prepared for use in other things that will often enhance situations, enrich food, or bless others.
Toward the beginning of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount,” in Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus
preaches about our call to salt and light to the world. That those who follow Jesus have had something poured into our lives which is intended to be shared with others. He says that we are invited to share ourselves and add zest to life, and that we were intended to bring light to those in the darkness. In a way, Jesus says that we are to be “graduated” life enhancers, and we can be because God has poured Himself into us in good measure.The Church, especially the United Methodist Church, has always placed emphasis on education, and in fact the founder of the UMC, John Wesley, established a tradition of founding schools. This has always been a part of religious tradition because people of faith have always understood the importance of “putting in the good stuff” of life, because what goes in will manifest itself when it comes out.
This is true when it comes to what we read or watch on TV, what is preached from a pulpit or shared around a Sunday School room, to where we surf the internet. What goes in affects drastically what comes out, and what comes out has the possibility of changing lives and situations...changing the world...for good or bad.
Thus, when we celebrate on Sunday as a church, we are saying to our graduates, “You’re now at a different level. God has blessed you with knowledge and poured into you things that God needs you to share. God has given you the gift of an education, and what has been poured in is mean to be used to reveal God’s love and truth. You are a ‘graduated vessel’ of God’s grace, and as such the expectations are a bit higher, but so are the possibilities for being blessed and being a blessing to the world."
In a way, however, everyone who is reading this is a graduate. Either you have a degree from an institution of higher education or have been measured and graduated by the school of hard knocks, but the reality is, because of our 'graduation,' we are called to be salt and light. We are invited to put into ourselves that which will enhance the world when it comes out. We are commanded to share that with which God has blessed us, because when we do, and God uses what we share, God can change the world, even through us.
How has our graduation affected our lives?
More importantly, how has it affected the lives of others?
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