I have almost no associations with the word “glory,” said repeatedly in these first words of John. The only one, really, is the song from the movie Selma… sung by John Legend and Common One day…. When the glory comes. It’ll be ours, it’ll be ours.
When I sing it, I hear their voices & then the voices of the choir joining… Glory… and I get goose bumps. I see those protesters moving as one body through the streets, showing together that the arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
There will be “glory”—God is and will be present. God will take their hands and lift them up.
That’s my connection… but it turns out that “glory” appears in the Bible multiple times.
It’s present in the first parts of creation. It’s present as the angels sing at Jesus’ birth.
And it’s present here, in these words of Jesus that follow his most important action—
Which most important action? – washing feet – that is what Jesus is doing as he says:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
As I have loved you, love one another.
The commandment to love was not new. It was at least as old as Leviticus… Love your neighbor as yourself. Self love is important.
But the humble love that Jesus expresses and lives out is what is new.
And it’s new, over and over again, as each of us takes up the invitation to love like that.
Maybe you’ve seen the photos on Instagram - The Foot Washing Series[1]… they are art depictions of Jesus washing the feet of everyone… our heroes, our enemies, little children, elders… at the home site it says, “Be prepared for Jesus to flip the tables of your heart. It’s not about who’s on the seat, it’s about Who’s washing the feet.”
By this everyone will know that you are with Christ, if you love one another.
Grads, the work of high school is nearly done… the end is so close, you can almost taste it.
So what does Jesus have to say to you and to us, as you go out into the world in new ways?
Well, you know it… in the little video we made together, you said it.
You said that it’s important to try when it counts, to do your best and be involved in things…
But not to be so worried about accomplishments that you miss the present, that you miss community, that you miss being with each other.
You embody this in so many ways, in ways I’ve seen and in ways I’ve heard about… and in ways that you know about but we don’t yet… and we are so glad to celebrate you five and all that you have already shown us about how to love like Jesus does.
We’re so glad to celebrate all that you already are… and we’re filled with hope about the adventures that will be coming next for you.
Here’s the things about adventures and next steps. There are a lot of emotions.
That’s true in kindergarten and the first trip to camp and the first day of high school and it’s true now… there’s so much excitement and also fear, wondering….
And so as you go off into a hopeful future, with lots of unknowns, we have some hopes for you.
Spirituality is all around us… but we want you to find a community that has seen some things, a community that will notice whether you’re there or not, a community that will bring you meals if you are sick or face set-backs, a community that will hear your milestones and be with you when one of your beloved ones dies.
We have been your faith community… whether you’ve been here most Sundays or not… and for those who are moving far, this is the kind of community we hope you’ll find where you’ll be for the next years… a community that will love you in a humble, foot washing way.
A community who will love you no matter what.
When parents say goodbye to their own kids at college or when they move into their working lives, they might say this, “You have everything you need… and if you need anything, you call me.”
And that’s the kind of message we want to convey to you today—WOW, we think you are amazing and ready for these next steps… and we are here for you.
In the wonderful book Braiding Sweetgrass, in a chapter[2] about saying goodbye to her own graduating daughter, Robin Wall Kimmerer says this, “I had known it would happen from the first time I held her – from that moment on, all her growing would be away from me. It is the fundamental unfairness of parenthood that if we do our jobs well, the deepest bond we are given will walk out the door with a wave over the shoulder.”
In this chapter, she shares this great scene where after they have moved her in and said their goodbyes, Robin’s daughter calls out with her projecting voice, across the parking lot… “Mom, if you break down in uncontrollable sobs on the highway, please pull over!”
Mom made it home to her empty house, though, to a pile of unexpected gifts at her door from her close cousin … “Take comfort” the note said. She left eighteen notes and presents, one for every year of her mothering (her daughter).. A compass: “To find your new path.” A packet of smoked salmon: “Because they always come home.” Pens: “Celebrate having time to write.”
And then Robin wrote this: We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gifts and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back.”
In a few minutes, Graduates, we will bless and send you—true gifts, truly loved—and you will soon go into the working world, to the University of MN, to Luther College, to New York, to California. Each and every step, we want you to know that God is with you, Love is with you, we hope you find real community along the way… and one day… Glory… we’ll get to hear from you again about the ways you are living and moving and loving, passing along the gifts that will always come back. It’s not new… to love one another. And at the same time, it’s all new.
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