Jesus' Commencement Address holds out the promise of a God who doesn't just wave from the porch and wish us luck, but who lives and works in our hearts and in our homes. My friend Gayle, a United Methodist pastor in the Dallas area, has a teenaged nephew named Luke. When he was a little boy, he had a lot of questions about God. He decided to write his questions down and give them to God. So he would write one at a time on a small piece of paper, ready to hand over to God. "Where should I leave the note?" he asked his mother. "On the porch, or is God too big to come inside?"
"Let's ask Aunt Gayle," said his mother. "She's a pastor. She'll know." When they called her, Aunt Gayle said, "Put it on the coffee table in the family room. God is not too big to come into the house."
Commencement speeches often keep at a distance from listeners, waving from the porch as the graduates drive away into their futures. "Good luck! Stay in touch! We hope you turn out well! " But Jesus' commencement speech shows us that God is not too big to come in the house of our fears, our dreams, our futures. God is not too big to help us struggle with the enigmas and tragedies of life. God sends the Spirit to support our godly goals and to calm our troubled souls. Jesus' commencement address is my personal favorite of all the speeches I've ever heard. Because it not only promises, it delivers.
Sources Consulted:
Raymond E. Brown, The Anchor Bible Commentary on the Gospel of John XIII-XXI (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970).
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