The word "graduation" comes to us ultimately from the Latin "gradus", a step as on a ladder or stair. It is the act of transitioning from a lower step on the journey of life to a higher one. It is a recognition that you have changed from someone you were before to someone with more experience and knowledge and wisdom. This is a good thing - something to be celebrated! Our graduates, Vincent, Griffin, David, Brody, Kaitlyn, Katie, and Sam, have worked hard and persevered to earn this moment. They have pushed their boundaries and woken to new depths within themselves. I wish you all sincere congratulations on this accomplishment.
But, like any transition, graduation can also be fraught with anxiety and uncertainty. Imagine the apostles as Jesus prepared them for life after his crucifixion.
"Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me...'Where I am going, you cannot come.'"
Jesus taught the apostles for more than three years. He led by example, he lectured with parables, and he advocated for the powerless. He instilled in them the knowledge that he was the way and the truth and the life. The apostles were on the verge of graduation into a post-resurrection world, but Jesus still had another lesson to teach.
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."
These have always been some of my favorite lines in the Bible. Jesus knew that anxious and uncertain times were coming for the apostles, and he framed his best advice as a commandment, perhaps with hope that the imperative would better foster adoption of his words. You see, the best way to deal with graduations - with transitions - is to love one another as Jesus loved us.
As you graduates step out into the world with both the burden and the benefit of new knowledge and wisdom, you will be challenged. Market forces and political machinery will pit you against each other. Fear and the unknown may undermine your courage and strength. But the answer, as with so many other problems, is love. Support each other with the safety and certainty of love. Wrest back control with the power of loving each other. Heal and strengthen and vitalize each other with love.
Alone you graduates stand as individuals on a higher rung. You leave behind who you were and face new challenges. Woven together by the threads of Jesus' love and love for all, you can find your footing. This love can be your cornerstone. It can remind you of the basic rights of human dignity, to advocate for the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and the imprisoned. It can remind you to see and speak out when faced with injustice. It can remind you to focus on God's plans and not human concerns. The love that Jesus had for his disciples was not passive but active. It was a love that pushed forward, that encouraged spiritual growth, that named and cast out damaging beliefs.
Today we celebrate Vincent, Griffin, David, Brody, Kaitlyn, Katie, and Sam, who dedicated themselves, knuckled down, and gritted out this graduation. It is your time to go out into the world with a perspective changed by all that you have seen and heard and learned and done to get to this point. Remember this. Jesus loves you. I love you. St John's loves you. Love each other, just the same.
REFERENCES
“John 13 | NRSV Bible | YouVersion.” YouVersion | the Bible App | Bible.com, www.bible.com/bible/3523/JHN.13.NRSV.
Words: 2025 Keith E. Freeman, Madison Heights, MI, USA. All Rights Reserved.
Video: 2025 St. John's Episcopal Church, Royal Oak, MI, USA. All Rights Reserved.