Matthew 5:1-12a
Blessed are You: Commencement Edition
Last Sunday, my family and I sat in the fog and rain for hours at my godson Ian’s college graduation. Covered in clear plastic ponchos, we sat through the ceremonial procession of graduates, the ho hum speeches and the reading of 1400 proud names. Crossing the stage with a grin as wide as his 6-foot-tall frame, our Ian waved his diploma and disappeared into the crowd. Thank goodness for Jumbotrons so we knew which tasseled head was his! No matter how far the drive or flight, Commencement rituals are those you do your best to show up for. Like weddings and dare I say, baptisms, these milestones of new beginnings invoke something deep and true in the human soul. They bless us and remind us of our place in the community of the world and celebrate the promise of new life and unfolding vocation.
They also charge our young future leaders with a wisdom and a social responsibility that can feel pretty weighty, especially in a world such as this: Just this week alone, we learned of two school episodes of violence, as well as shaky peace negotiations on the world stage. Closer to home, Malik, Zahida and Roniya still live in sanctuary imprisoned in our basement. As our chair of Immigration, Lina Tuck, reminds us, there is NOTHING NORMAL ABOUT ANY of THIS So, living in a time of NOT NORMA What commencement wisdom can we share with our graduates? Is there a Word or Two to build a new life by? As people of faith, what do you need to hear today All faith traditions share in this summons to go forth and contribute to something larger than one’ self. To foster an ethics of human dignity and respect. Rumi, the ancient Persian poet, put it this way:
“Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.
Help someone’s soul heal.
Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Rumi
In this season of Pomp and Circumstance, our scripture today is a commencement address par excellence. In Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 5:1-12), Jesus has begun his teaching and ministry in the Galilee. By the time we hear the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ has been calling disciples, healing the sick and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God –a counter-cultural message where all kinds of folks are welcome. Jesus’ Sermon of Beatitudes offer a series of blessings, blessings for a world where gentleness, compassion, justice and mercy are the rule of the day. Jesus’ ancient audience in the late 1st century isn’t comprised of the privileged classes of the Roman Empire or from the religious establishment. Instead, the Beatitudes speak to those on the margins, those vulnerable ones. Jesus offers these not because of his disciples’ achievements or social standing in society. What matters is who they are –and whose they are God’s own people gathered in community on a mountainside. The Greek word for “blessed” in the Sermon on the Mount is ma-ka-rios, and its meaning is bigger, more nuanced than wishing someone well or happiness. It’s akin to wishing them a wholeness, a joy that is as wide as God’s mercy.
We hear:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…for you shall be filled.”
Jesus’ litany of 8 blessings tell the story of a God who chooses to be on the side of the poor and wounded, the forgotten, those mourning the state of the world, as well as those seekers of justice, and the peace. Jesus is framing the whole of his ministry here, it’s a call to discipleship and to bless one another Whatever life paths we may choose! We bless one another all the time, of course Here at church we bless each other through prayers ad presence. We bless our going out and our coming in, the bread we eat, the water we use to bless in a baptism, the people we meet The language of blessing is for everyone and in the spirit of the gospels, are an invitation to go deeper to live a conscious life full of possibility, generosity and joy. Central to the action of blessing is that once we receive it, a blessing is meant to be shared with others.
Writes author and minister, Barbara Brown Taylor, when you practice the art of blessing things, you begin to see how the “most ordinary things are drenched in divine possibility.” And you learn to look with compassion on everything there is and the holiness already there, embedded in the very God givenness. Whatever directions our young high school and college leaders choose, like our current graduating senior, Conrad French …. we can be sure, our fractured world will be in blessed, capable hands. Tonight, over 20 of our youth and adults are heading into New York City for the annual Midnight Run. Since 1998, our church has packed up clothing, sandwiches and toiletries to share some of what we have with the city’s homeless. What happens at these late night runs though is more of a mutual blessing, a feeding of the hungry but also a feeding of human connection. This immersion experience of real life in the trenches, is one of the many ways our church seeks to live out the beatitudes in our ministries. We seek to create what with what Dr. MLK calls “the beloved community” here and now. As we send our graduates out into the world to pursue their dreams, Let us keep mentoring them in the way of the Beatitudes and share what it means to hear “Blessed are you…Blessed are you…Blessed are you.” “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. To Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Rumi
The Rev. Laura Fitzpatrtick-Nager