Lutheran Westland Commencement Address 2023

Brothers and sisters in Christ, faculty and staff of Lutheran Westland, honored guests, proud parents and family, and our beloved class of 2023,

It is my honor to stand before you tonight.  I have been a life-long lover of our Lutheran Schools. I come from a family of Lutheran School supporters and educators who have collectively spent near a century teaching in our grade schools, high schools, and universities. To speak before this body of brothers and sisters here in this beloved Lutheran School on the night of your commencement, is a true joy.

Can you believe that 1st grade was 12 years ago for you.  Do you even remember what it was like?  Did your mom dress you up in a cute outfit for your first day?  Did you have Anna and Elsa on your school bag?  Or was it the Spider-Man?  Do you remember your first friends as this journey began?  Are any of them still your friends today?  Maybe even here at Westland with you?  

Can you believe you have not only made it through the years of grade school but you've also made it through these four years of high school. Did they go fast for you? Does it still feel like you were just a freshman yesterday? Well fasten your seat belts, ask your grandparents just how fast life will get as the years go by. 

Knowing Someone

[Originally published in the Monroe News on May 26, 2023]

How well do you really know someone?  Do you have to spend time with somebody to get to know them?  Can you know someone by writing through the mail or over the internet?  The ways of communication in our day and age have really stretched this question to the limits.

Consider how we use social networks, I follow a number of athletes and other public personalities.  Many share their personal stories, their highs, their lows, even some about their family. You almost get the sense you know them. By following somebody like this you might learn their favorite vacation spot or their favorite food.  If I follow someone who shares a lot I might begin to give myself the sense that I’ve come to know them.  I’ll form opinions about them.  I’ll assume I know the way they think about things. But do I really know them?  If I met them on the street would I be able to pick up with them like old friends? Of course, the answer is no.  In all of this there is an inescapable point: this is one-sided.  I might think I know them, but they certainly don’t know me.

And the truth is, I almost certainly don’t know the other person as well as I think.  When it comes to social media, people tend to be very selective in what they share about themselves, giving a picture of a life that is quite likely far from reality.  It isn’t hard for me to share all of the good things I do and the highlights of my life giving the impression I’ve got it all figured out, while at the same time hiding all the lows and the challenges and struggles.  

Forbidden Fruit

[Originally published in the Monroe News on April 28, 2023]

I imagine you might be familiar with the idea of the forbidden fruit.  Its origins, of course, come from that all too unfortunate moment in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve partake of the forbidden fruit. God had forbidden them to eat of the fruit on the tree in the midst of the Garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and after some temptation from the serpent this is the very fruit that they choose to eat.  Ever since this terrible fall into sin, we have all been party to history repeating itself as we too partake of forbidden fruit in our lives  The true nature of our human nature has revealed itself in that we are constantly drawn to and tempted by the very things which are forbidden for us. 

Psychologists have deemed this the “forbidden fruit effect.”  They say it boils down to man’s curiosity and this desire to learn about things unknown and to explore the consequences.  It also has something to do with our rebellious side and our innate desire for freedom without restraint.  Mark Twain once described it “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.”

While this forbidden fruit effect can be seen in many facets of our life from children challenging the limits of their parents authority to us as adults exploring unhealthy relationships, it is perhaps easiest to understand by sticking to the realm from which it all started: food.  We spend much of our lives telling ourselves we shouldn’t eat certain foods because they are bad for us.  We even make pacts with ourselves to give up certain foods which are particular vices for us.  Most diet plans revolve around groups of foods that we choose to deny ourselves with the hopes of improving our well-being.  

The Hospital for Sinners

[Originally published in the Monroe News on March 24, 2023]

Just recently I found myself at the hospital on a Saturday afternoon making a visit to one of the members of my congregation.  This was a fairly typical thing for me so I wasn’t expecting to notice anything out of the ordinary.  Nonetheless, I was struck by something as I wandered the halls of the hospital that Saturday.  I was surprised at how many sick people were in that hospital.  It was as if the hospital had open doors and sick people could just wander in and seek help.  I mean every floor of the hospital was full of people recovering from a myriad of illnesses and diseases.  What a place!

Ok, I hope you can sense I’m being a little facetious in this surprise.  It is with good intent.  One might point out the obvious here that one should expect the hospital to be full of sick and ill individuals.  That is the very purpose of the hospital to provide a place of healing and recovery for those who are not well in the body.  This we all know.  But I have also come to learn in life that we can’t always expect the obvious to be, well, obvious.

Amazing Grace 250

[Originally published in the Monroe News on February 10, 2023]

250 years ago a curate in the Church of England wrote the words “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come; His grace brought me safe thus far, His grace will lead me home”.  These words were a part of several verses written by the author.  They were written to help illustrate a New Year’s Day sermon.  It is unlikely the author would have realized at the time the life these words would have or that the world would still be loving them and singing them 2 1/2 centuries later.

If you haven’t recognized those special words yet, they are one of the verses of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.  They were first written by John Newton.  They, like most of the hymn itself, tell a bit of his story and his relationship with God.  They are also part of one of the most well known and beloved hymns of all time.