Two
Rivers Pastoral Charge
Sunday May 18 – 5th Sunday of Easter
Scripture: John 13:31-35
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Convocation at the Atlantic
School of Theology and celebrate with the graduates. The graduation ceremony is held in a church
each year, as there isn’t a space on campus big enough to accommodate it; and
because it is a theological school, it always feels like a cross between
graduation and a worship service. Last
Saturday, 13 students graduated with their Master of Divinity degree, 6
students graduated with their Master of Arts in Theology and Religion, and 27
students graduated with various diplomas and certificates. It was a grand celebration, with singing and
prayers and moving speeches and a reception in the church hall afterwards.
And for all of the students who graduated, it marked a turning point in their
lives. Most of those who graduated with
their Master of Divinity will be ordained in the coming weeks in different
Regions and Dioceses across the country which makes graduation almost like
stage one of the turning point, but for all of the students, no matter which
program they were graduating from, the celebration marked a change. They are no longer students, no longer
writing essays, no longer listening to lectures or participating in
seminars. At the end of the ceremony, a
commissioning and benediction were offered, just like we end all of our worship
services – a sending out into the world with God’s blessing, to do God’s work. The graduates have been sent from the
university into the world, to take all that they have learned and use it to
serve God’s mission.
So how does all of this connect with our gathering today? The passage that _____ read for us from
John’s gospel comes from the last day of Jesus’s life. You might remember how this story goes – “on
the night before he died, Jesus and his friends gathered around a table…” In John’s version of events, there is no
bread broken or wine poured out – or, quite likely there was bread broken and wine
poured because they were sharing a meal, but John doesn’t attach any
significance to the act. Instead, John
shows us Jesus, washing the feet of his disciples, and then telling them that
they should serve others by washing their feet.
And John also shows us Jesus teaching his disciples. Through the second half of chapter 13, then
all of chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17, Jesus teaches his disciples – in the
section that _____ read for us, Jesus is just getting warmed up! These chapters include some of the best-known
statements of Jesus – things like, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to
you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid”; or “In my
Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have
told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”; or “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life.” Scholars like to
call this part of the story Jesus’s Farewell Discourse – he is saying goodbye
to his beloved friends, his beloved students, and giving them their final
instructions.
And so in some ways, this part of the story is almost like the disciple’s
graduation ceremony. They have been in
the presence of Jesus, watching what he did, listening to his teaching,
learning from him. But now this period
of time is coming to an end. After
tonight, their teacher isn’t going to be with them anymore, at least not in the
same way. The time has come for them to
take what they have learned from the Jesus-school and carry it into the world,
and start living the way that they have learned.
And the commissioning that Jesus gives to them?
Love. Love one another as Jesus
has loved you. Throughout the 4 ½
chapters, Jesus comes back to this theme again and again. Love one another and love the world. Serve one another and serve the world. It’s almost as though Jesus knows that this
is his last chance to teach his students, and he wants to send them out into
the world with love ringing in their ears.
The disciples aren’t going to be left alone.
Their learning isn’t over, even as they are graduating from the
Jesus-school, just as last weekend’s graduates will all be life-long
learners. They are going to encounter
the risen Christ on the other side of Good Friday; and even in the farewell
discourse, Jesus promises them that the Holy Spirit will be with them. But this final meal together marks a turning
point.
And we too, we are descendants of those first disciples. We are living in the post-graduation world
that they are stepping in to. We aren’t
going to have a chance to watch Jesus healing people, or be part of the crowd
that receives the miraculous loaves and fish.
We don’t have the chance to put our hands in Jesus’s wounds the way
Thomas did, or to feel Jesus’s arms literally wrapped around us. We don’t have a chance to ask our questions
and hear Jesus’s voice answering them… at least not yet.
But, like those first disciples, we have the stories that Jesus told, the
teachings that he gave, the miracles he performed – even though we didn’t get
to see them first-hand, we have the witness of God’s people that we can turn to
any time.
And like those first disciples, we also have the Holy Spirit with us, guiding
us, nudging us onward, and transforming us more and more into the image and
likeness of Christ.
And like those first disciples in a post-Easter world, in a post-graduation
world, we have Jesus’s words of commissioning ringing in our ears: “I give you a new commandment, that you love
one another. Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another. By
this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.”
I invite you to take a moment to imagine yourself standing on a graduation
stage. If you can remember your own high
school or university graduation, you can imagine yourself on to that same
stage, or maybe you want to imagine something different.
You are standing there with all of your classmates, all of the other followers
of Jesus. Imagine Jesus standing up there and saying to you and to everyone
else: “I love you. Now go into the world and love everyone you
meet in the same way that I love you.”
You all know that the work hasn’t ended – it is only beginning. Know that the learning hasn’t ended – it is
only beginning.
Now imagine that it is your turn to cross the stage to receive your
diploma. Imagine crossing the stage,
walking towards Jesus, and he hands you a rolled-up diploma. Look into his eyes. What words does he offer to you directly in
this moment? Does he offer you words of
encouragement? Does he give you a
specific mission or commissioning? Does
he simply smile his love into your soul?
And as you and your classmates turn to walk off the stage, Jesus’s parting
words to you are the same as the words he began with: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must love one
another.
Listening to inspiring
words from this year’s Valedictorian
AST Convocation – May 10, 2025
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