To Our Graduates: Keep Crooning, Clapping, Cleansing and Convening

I offer four verbs of advice to our graduates, inspired by today’s Bible readings: to croon, to clap, to clean and to convene. Those who croon, clap, clean and convene consistently and continuously will have a full and abundant life.

Crooning: that’s a word you may not even be familiar with. It’s what Bing Crosby did. I chose it for the alliteration with the other words. It means to sing with all your heart as an expression of your love for someone else. Consider the power of Paul and Silas’ crooning in our first lesson this morning. Even though they had been treated unjustly, cruelly and criminally by the civil authorities in Philippi, flogged severely, their feet bound by stocks in the innermost prison, Paul and Silas did not allow their circumstances to defeat them. They were more than conquerors through Jesus who had died for them and who was alive and present with them in the prison. And so they sang. They crooned. I like to think they sang, “Kumbaya”. You know that the world loves to joke and even scorn those who, when life becomes challenging, think that holding hands and singing “Kumbaya” will do any good. Paul and Silas remind us that there will be times when singing a song of faith, expressing our love for God, will be the most powerful action we can take in the face of the outrageous injustices and sufferings that are a tragic dimension of earthly life. Singing can set us free, even when we are beaten and imprisoned. Your youth group will sing an Irish Blessing at the end of today’s service as a way of reminding you to keep on crooning, to sing that song again, or hum it to yourself, or some other song, when you need to be reminded that despite all evidence to the contrary, Jesus Christ is alive and is in charge of your circumstances, and Lord of all, no matter how desperate your life may be.

Crooning and Clapping: today we applaud you for realizing some of your God-given potential, for rising above the limits of your childhood and your natural immaturity to graduate from high school or college or law school, to become more of whom God created you to be, to take the next step in assuming your rightful and intended place in the world and in God’s plan and purposes for your life.

Psalm 47, which we recited this morning, is what we call an enthronement psalm. It’s what a Jew would sing when a new king takes his rightful place on the throne of God and is adopted as God’s son. For us as Christians, this psalm signifies the enthronement of Jesus, his ascension to the right hand of God, to a heavenly throne above all earthly thrones. Jesus reassures us in the gospel that it is right for us to clap for his ascension, and not to be sad or frightened or even jealous of his departure, because by returning to his rightful place, he will be able to send us his Spirit so that we can rise and ascend to our own rightful places.

So accept and rejoice in our applause today. Allow our clapping to raise you up and support you as you go forth into the world. And make it a habit to clap for those who have brought you to this day as well as those in the future who will continue to help you realize your full potential. Clap for the professor who will inspire you to find and embrace your vocation. Clap for the political and social and economic and religious leaders who will be invited to speak on your campus, as well as the musical, theatrical, artistic and athletic performers who will inspire you to discover and begin to reach your own level of excellence. And above all, continue to clap for Jesus as he makes his presence known in your life through the lives and the examples of others.

Crooning, Clapping and Cleaning: at the end of the book of Revelation we are reminded that those who wash their robes will be blessed because they will be able to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, to satisfy their deepest thirsts and longings. College and young adulthood can be a messy and dirty time as your explore your freedom. It can leave stains on your character, your credit score, and even the criminal justice system, some of which may take years or even a lifetime to remove. So don’t forget to do your laundry, both your physical and your spiritual laundry. Remember that the word of God and the blood of Jesus have the power to clean and remove any stain you may suffer. That is why, in part, we worship each week, to wash our robes by letting the word of God sink in, by making our general confession together, and by taking the very Body and Blood of Jesus into ourselves to cleanse our souls and renew our faith, our hope and our love. So find a spiritual Laundromat wherever you go, as well as a regular washing machine and dryer. And use them.

Crooning, Clapping, Cleaning and Convening: convening reminds us that the whole purpose of this life is to come together and to be in union with Christ and with all those who believe in him, so that the world might also believe that he is indeed alive and sits on the throne of God, above every earthly power and authority. That is why the Spirit and the Bride, which is the church, say “Come.” That is why everyone who hears the Spirit and the Bride also says “Come.” And this coming together, this convening, is both a coming together of all believers and also the coming again of Jesus from his throne back into this world to welcome and to claim his Bride, you and me, his church, and to take us to that eternal place which he is preparing for us even now.

Just as it seems counter-intuitive that Jesus’ ascension, his departure, he going away, should be the very means by which he convenes and unites all believers, so it may seem counter-intuitive that your graduation and the commencement of the rest of your life should actually be the first step in subsequent reunions down the road as well as the great and final reunion at the end of time. That is why we can send you forth with our blessing and with God’s blessing, because we know that as you find and take your place in life we will all be drawing nearer to that moment when we will all be one again at the ultimate convention, the fellowship of the saints in heaven.

And so our constant prayer, even as we watch Christ ascend and as we watch you go, is “Come. Come back.” Come again when the time is right. Come again, Lord Jesus, to unite us forever. And may your Spirit continue to come daily to guide us and to strengthen us as we croon, clap, clean and convene with you and with our brothers and sisters in the faith through the hearing of God’s Word and the sharing in his sacraments.

God bless you, Patrick, Peyton and Morgan! AMEN.