President’s Baccalaureate Address 2016
Shalom!
Good morning! Welcome, everyone, to the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University and to the Baccalaureate service for the Class of 2016.
Graduates, you look fantastic this morning — all dressed up, the men have their hair combed, the women have their makeup on and some of the highest heels I think I’ve ever seen. And it looks like you all have gotten some sleep. All those worry lines are gone. I love you all, but you were looking pretty tough last week.
I am so pleased that you and your family members chose to begin this important day here, in this place, The Chapel of the Resurrection. A place built as a monument to Jesus Christ and the promise of new life. A place of worship and prayer. A place of peace and hope. A place of promises fulfilled.
Maybe you are Lutheran, and this Chapel has been a regular part of each week at Valparaiso University. Maybe you are Christian, but not Lutheran, worshiping or attending events here sporadically. Maybe your faith tradition is not Christian, or you have no faith tradition. Maybe you lost your faith or your belief in any organized religion. And maybe you do not believe in the concept of God.
Regardless of your beliefs, your presence here today is symbolic in several ways. It is symbolic of our collective acknowledgement that, in moments like these, we ought to stand before the presence of our Creator, a force that we cannot fully know nor comprehend. And it is fitting that we should gather together to sing songs of faith, and praise, and thanksgiving, and to pray with and for one another.
For Christians, this gathering is symbolic of a return to our baptism, a reminder of God’s Spirit poured out on all who believe, and a re-dedication of our lives and our futures in service to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our presence here today is also symbolic of Valparaiso University’s commitment to faith and learning as a University under the Cross, to be that nexus where Athens and Jerusalem meet, to prepare graduates who will lead and serve in church and society.
And for some of you, at least, it’s hard to imagine how you even got to this moment. Wasn’t it just yesterday when you were carrying all your stuff from the car to your new dorm room, saying goodbye to your parents and your sibs, and worrying about what college was going to be like? And in the blink of an eye, here you are all dressed up and worrying about what this next stage of life is going to be like.
Of course, you weren’t the only ones who worried. There were plenty of your Valpo professors and staff members who worried about you. I lost a few nights’ sleep worrying about some of you. Parents, friends, and loved ones, you’ve probably had your share of worries too.
We worry a lot these days. Fear seems to have gripped every facet of our society. Fear about the economy and jobs. Fear about the direction our nation is taking. Fear about violence and terrorism. Fear about people who don’t look like us, or talk like us, or worship like us, whoever that us might be. So it’s tough, even on a day of celebration and reflection, to hold the fear and worries of this world at bay.
And in response to all of our worries and fears, Christ says, “Shalom.”
Shalom. That soothing Hebrew word that means both hello and goodbye. Shalom. The word for peace. A peace that means more than just figuring out how people can live alongside one another without resorting to violence. Shalom. A peace that is complete, harmonious, tranquil, prosperous, peace which transcends human experience. A peace that is both within and beyond. (Strong, 1890)
In today’s Gospel lesson from the book of John, Jesus bids his disciples Shalom. “Peace I give you, my peace I leave you.”(John 14:7)
The disciples gather with Jesus that evening in an Upper Room, a quiet, private place above the din of the crowded street below. Clearly, it is an evening of great significance for Jesus, as he conveys important final lessons to his disciples. He washes their feet. He breaks bread and offers it to them, saying that this bread is his body, broken for them. He passes a cup of wine among them, saying that this cup is his blood, a covenant between God and God’s people, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
The disciples sense that Jesus’ signs and symbols hearken to something beyond them, something not of this time or of this world. But they cannot fully comprehend what Jesus is saying to them. Sensing something beyond, but not understanding. It is this sensation that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians when he writes, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Theologians and philosophers describe this concept as “transcendence.” God transcends our capacity to understand, because God is distinct, set apart from all that God has made, including you and me. Or in the words of Isaiah, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
The transcendence of a supreme being permeates ancient philosophy, Christian theology, and many of the world’s religions. Aristotle and Plato refer to God as a transcendent force, ultimately unknowable for those of us bound by time and place. Yet, both suggest that we are offered glimpses of the divine here on earth.
For Aristotle, the act of contemplation is the human activity most akin to the divine and, therefore, most likely to bring one happiness. (Bartlett & Collins, 2011) Plato describes ideas like “beauty” and “goodness” as something that transcend this world, but when manifested in our world, are imperfect in form. (Plato, 2007) Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism—each of these world religions attempts to grasp in various ways the concept of a Creator’s transcendent knowledge as Truth with a capital “T,” something that exists beyond our human capacities, something that we can only sense from time to time and with great discipline.
During your years at Valparaiso, you and your professors have engaged together in a common pursuit of Truth. Inherent in that metaphor is the elusiveness of Truth, something that is worthy of chasing, but is always just out of our grasp. Last Sunday, in his sermon here in the Chapel, Professor Fred Niedner described his college journey in this way: I entered as a freshman with all of the answers and graduated as a senior feeling as though I had just begun to learn the questions. Perhaps that has been your experience as well.
If Truth, then, is continually emergent in our lives and ultimately elusive; if, as Plato suggests, the idea of that which is Excellent, is imperfectly realized in our temporal lives and actions, then how ought one to live? In this post-modern age, when the answer to every question seems to be, “it depends,” how are we to know what is true, and right, and just? If the ground keeps shifting on us, where do we stand?
Sociologist and Notre Dame professor Christian Smith and his colleagues at the national Center for the Study of Religion and Society have been studying these questions among emerging adults for more than a decade. Two facets of his work focus on how emerging adults operate religiously and how they view morality. And the findings are fascinating.
Smith argues that, among young adults, two religious creeds operate concurrently. First, is the professed religion — that is, the religion one claims to be — Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and then, perhaps, Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, agnostic, or even no religion. Second, is one’s tacit or actual religion, or that cognitive schema one actually uses to make sense of God’s relationship to the world and one’s relationship to God. Based upon extensive research, Smith describes the tacit religion of many emerging adults as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” (Smith, 2005)
Despite the creeds one might profess in Sunday worship, here is how many young adults would describe their tacit creed:
- People ought to be morally good (that’s the moralistic part);
- Faith helps people to feel good about themselves (that’s therapeutic); and
- God is good and helps us when we need him, but is otherwise distant and not particularly involved in the details of our lives (hence the label, Deism). (Smith, 2005)
Smith’s research suggests that, for many emerging adults, being morally good and feeling good about it might be the way many people are navigating the shifting sands of post-modern society. But what do emerging adults mean when they aspire to be “morally good.”
In surveying and interviewing young adults, Smith and his research team conclude that a substantial number of young people consider morality to be a matter of individual decision; that right and wrong are determined more by an individual’s opinion rather than a set of fixed principles that ought to govern everyone’s behavior in a society. And when sticky moral issues cannot easily be sorted into categories of right and wrong, more often than not, young people default to an individualistic perspective. Consequently, to a number of young adults, there is no such thing as an objective moral fact. Rather, morality is subjective and relative; perspectives become quasi-true solely because an individual believes them to be true. (Smith, 2011)
When confronted with the question of what is true, what is right, what is just, the answer becomes: “it depends on what I think is true, right, and just.”
In this construct of individualistic morality, then, judgment becomes taboo. Jesus’ words, “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) get taken literally. In this mindset, nobody has the right to tell another person what to think or do. Therefore, if I think someone else may be doing something immoral, I must keep my thoughts to myself. Pope Francis’ words, “Who am I to judge?” strike a chord with many young adults because, for many, judgment connotes self-righteousness, superiority, condescension, and condemnation. (Smith, 2011)
At Valpo, your professors have labored to help you comprehend the value of judgment in your religion, your profession, and your social interactions. Judgment involves the disciplined exercise of discernment, a process of evaluation, the use of critical thinking to grow in understanding and self-awareness. (Smith, 2011) Here, you have been taught the increasingly necessary and uncommon skills to assess and critique intelligently the various claims that are made in this world. Ultimately, we hope that you have learned how to arrive at a thoughtful and nuanced understanding of a concept or a situation prior to forming an opinion or making a decision.
So, let us return to these questions: If in the absence of certainty about Truth, if I am occupying a world filled with people who increasingly subscribe to the principle that what one believes to be true is a proxy for Truth itself, in a presidential election year rife with spectacular displays of moral bankruptcy, if the process of discernment is publicly equated with self-righteousness and declared taboo, what is right living and what is wrong?
To gain a glimpse of the answers, we return to today’s Gospel lesson and that group of confused disciples who are trying to grasp the significance of Jesus’ words and actions.
Days before, Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem by multitudes of people with palms and shouts of Hosanna. From the perspective of his disciples, Jesus’ reign on earth was about to begin. Yet now, here they are, gathered upstairs, confused by Jesus’ talk and the foreboding sense that he is bidding them farewell. This man for whom they abandoned everything, this man whom they love — rabbi, prophet, mentor, friend — says, “soon I am leaving you. You cannot follow me to where I am going.” The disciples are filled with worry, wrought with fear over the uncertainty of what lies ahead of them, bursting with unanswered questions.
To which, Jesus responds with this promise: Though I will leave you soon, the Father is going to give you an Advocate, a Spirit — that can’t be seen. A Spirit that will live with you and be inside you. The Spirit of Truth. This Advocate, this Spirit of Truth is going to teach you things, like I have done, and this Spirit is going to remind you of what I said after I am gone.
I can only imagine what the disciples must have been thinking. Jesus’ answer to their questions and confusion is a riddle. An invisible Spirit who will serve as an Advocate. An “advocate,” someone who will plead on God’s behalf. A Spirit, an invisible force, who will intercede when needed. The disciples realize that Jesus is not going to answer their questions. Instead, Jesus only offers them a promise. Their faith is shaken. Their fears and worries multiply exponentially.
It is in this moment of confusion, worry, fear, that Christ bids his disciples, Shalom. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” he says. (John 14:7) “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
What is this Peace that Christ offers? It is a peace within us that comes from God and not from this world. And it is also a peace that is beyond our understanding. (Phillipians 4:7) It is a peace that silences our worries and calms our fears. It is Shalom.
We know, of course, how things turned out for the disciples. Jesus’ promise was fulfilled. Today’s lesson from the second book of Acts describes that day of Pentecost, when indeed the Holy Spirit descended from above. A violent wind filled the house in which the disciples were gathered and fire came down from the heavens. Tongues of fire appeared above the head of each disciple and each was “filled” with the Holy Spirit. The disciples spoke of the wonders of God, each speaking in a language different from his own. Jesus’ promise to the disciples that night in the Upper Room was that same promise foretold by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy…”
Which leads us from the transcendence of God to the immanence of God. That is, God within all things. God within you. God within me. The promise that Jesus made to the disciples, the promise that was fulfilled, is also a promise to each of us who are baptized into Christ. God’s promise is that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all people. That we, as believers in Christ, will be filled with God’s spirit.
The Holy Spirit, this Spirit of Truth, is our advocate, our answer to the question of right living in a world filled with chaos, deceit, and despair. This is God’s Spirit within us, pleading God’s case throughout our lives. Interceding on God’s behalf whenever we go off course. Arguing within us about how to live the excellent lives we are called to live. Igniting the fire within us to build God’s kingdom here on earth. Teaching us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)
I pray that, as you make your way in the world, you will always remember how you were shaped at Valparaiso University, a place filled with people who believe in both God’s transcendence and God’s immanence. In this place, you learned that the world presents more questions than answers. Here, you engaged in the pursuit of Truth with many others who brought different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences to that quest. At Valpo, you learned the value of discernment — how to distinguish fact from opinion, how to exercise effective judgment through disciplined assessment. And I pray that, while you were here, you experienced the blessing and the power of Christ’s promise fulfilled — the Holy Spirit, God within you — as your advocate, guiding your exploration of vocation and encouraging you to lead an excellent life.
This is a community dedicated to excellence. We strive here to be our most excellent selves, not for ourselves, but out of gratitude for God’s abundant mercy. For we know that it is only by God’s grace that excellence is possible in our lives and in our work. It is only by God’s grace that we gain new insights and discover new knowledge. It is only through God’s generosity that we master and fulfill the potential of our physical bodies and minds and leverage the talents of our colleagues to complete that successful project, to win that important game, or perform that difficult piece of music. It is only by God’s grace that we transcend the ordinariness of human existence and are offered fleeting glimpses of paradise when we love and serve those in need, or in moments like these, when we gather for worship and prayer. And it is out of gratitude for God’s abundant and endless mercy that we, in turn, seek to glorify God by striving to live excellent lives, individually and in community. This is Valpo. This is who you are. Now, take that light that shines within you and offer to others that glimpse of the divine.
The world will give you many things that do not last — careers, money, possessions. But Christ offers you eternal life. The world gives you lies, deception, betrayal. But Christ promises you the Spirit of Truth. The world gives you fear and worry. But Christ brings Shalom.
Today is a day of promises fulfilled. Trust in the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:2) Stand not on the shifting sands of this world, but stand on the firm foundation that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And now, may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phillippians 4:7)
Shalom.
Mark A. Heckler
May 15, 2016
References
Aristotle. (2011) Nicomachean ethics. (Bartlett, R.C., & Collins, S. D., Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Plato. (2007) Six great dialogues: Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Symposium, The Republic. (Jowett, B., Trans.).Mineola, NY: Dover.
Smith, C. and Denton, M. L. (2005) Soul searching: The religious and spiritual lives of teenagers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, C., Christofferson, K., Davidson, H., and Herzog, P.S. (2011) Lost in transition: The dark side of emerging adulthood. New York: Oxford University Press.
Strong, J. (1890) The exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.