The Commencement Address

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

10:2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

10:3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.

10:4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.

10:5 Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!'

10:6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.

10:7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

10:8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;

10:9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

10:10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

10:11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

10:16 "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

10:17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!"

10:18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.

10:19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you.

10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
 

As pastor, I have spoken at a variety of events.

In fact, my first act as an ordained minister was to attend a political event and to give a benediction prior to a speech given by the Governor of South Carolina.

In the years since, I have offered prayers at ribbon cutting ceremonies at grand openings of stores, offered prayers at football games, and prayers at naturalization ceremonies. 

I've given speeches to Kiwanis, Lions, Senior Citizens and Youth Groups. 

I've bravely faced a group of other ministers and tried to lead them in a seminar on how to improve their ministry.  I've even been invited to give participate in the blessing of a shrimp fleet, and in the blessing of the hounds at a fox hunt – even though it was probably the fox that needed the blessings more than the hounds.

But the one thing I have never done, and truly and earnestly hope I never have to do, is to give a Graduation Speech.  You know, a commencement address.

I've graduated from Middle School, Senior High, College, Seminary, and earned a doctorate, and everyone of these events had a  commencement address, and the only GOOD thing you could say about any of them was --- “I sure am glad he didn't talk long.”

There are lots of reasons why I would NOT want to give a commencement address. 

The students, who have just spent some 4 to 12 years listening to teachers, are not interested in listening to a speech from a stranger.  And Mom and Dad are not that interested either.  They just want to see their child get that diploma.

Besides, what can you say at a time like that?

Well - it is interesting to note that in our New Testament lesson, Jesus is giving a commencement address -- or at least -- sort of.

       Jesus has been training 70 disciples. He has been training them to go into the towns that he will later be going into -- sort of an advance team.

  

The 70 have been trained. And now they are ready to graduate and to commence with their work.  There are no robes, no motar board hats with tassles, no diplomas, but Jesus does give a sort of graduation speech.

And the commencement address that Jesus gives is not that much different from the kind of commencement addresses we could hear today.

       Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Go!  I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." 

       In other words, you've been trained to do a job, well, it's hard work, but go to it, and be careful, because it is a cold cruel world out there.

       Among the things Jesus says in this commencement address is that some towns will receive them, and others will reject them. 

       And Jesus gives very clear instructions about what to do in both cases -- whether the people receive or reject them.

       If the people are receptive, the disciples are to minister to the physical needs of the people in the community, and they are to proclaim a message.  It is a very clear and important message -- "The Kingdom of Heaven Is Near."

       But what if the people are not receptive?  What if a pair of disciples goes into a town and they are rejected?  It could happen. 

After all, in the passage in Luke that comes right before our New Testament reading for today, that very thing has happened -- not to a pair of the disciples, but to Jesus himself.  More than likely, it will happen time and again, and Jesus warns his disciples -- "I am sending you out like lambs among the wolves."

       In case of rejection, says Jesus, the disciples are to proclaim a message.  It is a very clear and important message -- "The Kingdom of Heaven Is Near."

       I find that so very, very interesting.  In either case, the message is the same. 

       You go to a town and the people are receptive, and you say, "Wonderful news, the Kingdom of heaven is near."

       You go to a town and the people reject the Gospel, and you say, "Watch out!  The kingdom of heaven is near."

       This is the truth. 

It doesn't matter if you are a town that accepts the truth, or rejects the truth.  Either way, the truth is the truth.  The message is the same -- The Kingdom of Heaven is Near!

The truth of the Gospel is always the same.  It doesn’t change from place to place, or circumstance to circumstance.  It doesn’t change on the basis of whether or not people accept it or not.

Years ago I had to sit with a family following a major airline crash in Miami.  Shortly after take off the jet went down in the Everglades, resulting in the loss off life of everyone on board the plane.

The mother of one young man had the most difficulty moving from denial to acceptance.  At one point she said that as long as she refused to admit that he was dead, then he was alive.  Finally, she was able come to the painful reality and she told me that she had come to accept that it didn’t matter what she believed or what she said, the truth was the truth, and she could not change it.

The truth is the truth, and none of us can change it by ignoring it or wishing it was different.

       I guess we are all somewhat guilty of trying to change the truth.

       A student caught cheating on a test tries to convince the teacher he wasn't cheating.

A taxpayer looks at the 1040, and she creates a few extra deductions.

  

A car salesman exagerates the performance of the 10 year old used car.

  

Manipulation of the truth is an art form.  In politics, they call it “spin.”

  

This is always a problem, but it is never more so than when we try to bend and shape and change religious truths.

  

In Luke's Gospel, many of the people try to bend and shape and change the truth.

  

Christ is the Messiah, some will say.

  

No he is not, others will say.

  

God is alive and God loves us, some will say.

  

No he isn't and no he doesn't, others will say.

  

  

And it is not just in Luke's Gospel, it is in our own world today -- people will try to bend and shape the truth.

  

Some say there is a God, others say there is not.

  

Some say prayer works, others say it doesn't.

  

Some say the Ten Commandments are valid, others say, 9 out of 10 is good enough.

  

But it doesn't work that way.  The truth is the truth, no matter what we say.  We can't bend the truth, we can't reshape the truth.

But the truth CAN reshape us.  We can't change the truth, but the truth CAN change us.

  

In Luke's Gospel, if you receive the Good News of the Gospel, then the message is "The Kingdom of Heaven is Near!"

  

But if you reject the Good News of the Gospel, then the message is "The Kingdom of Heaven is Near!"

  

It doesn't matter how we respond.  The truth is the truth, and we can't change it.

  

The only thing that can change -- is the one who hears the truth.

  

We can accept the truth -- or reject it.  We can't change the truth, but the truth can change us.

  

In Luke, when the disciples go into a city and their message is received, then it is a blessing.  "Wonderful news!  The Kingdom of Heaven is near."

  

But if the people reject the message, then that same message is a curse. "Oh no.  The Kingdom of heaven is near."

  

Accept the Gospel, and you move through life in the blessing.

  

You face another Monday morning at work but you say to yourself, "It's alright.  After all, the kingdom of heaven is near."

  

You celebrate the joys of life and the wonders of love with your family and friends, and you say to yourself "This is only the beginning.  After all, the kingdom of heaven is near."

  

You argue with your wife or husband and you say to yourself, "It's alright.  After all, the kingdom of heaven is near."

  

You sit in the doctor's office, and listen as the news of a terrible diagnosis is given, and you say in your sadness, "I don't understand, but it's alright.  After all, the kingdom of heaven is near."

  

Accept the Gospel, and the message elevates you, sustains you, nurtures you through your life.

  

But reject the Gospel, and the message encumbers you, oppresses you, and frightens you through your life.

  

For the same person sitting in the same doctor's office, hearing the same disturbing news, if the Gospel has been rejected, then you say to yourself, "Oh my God, no.  The kingdom of heaven is near."

  

We move through our lives trying to bend and shape and change the truth.  But the truth doesn't change. 

  

       The kingdom of heaven is near.  Believe this.  Accept the Gospel.  And be blessed by it.