Love The Glory That Comes From God: Commencement Address, Class of 2019
May 11, 2019
Dear Ashley, Libby, Sam, and Sienna -
Congratulations. I hope you know how proud
everyone here is of you. Your parents have treasured you from the moment they
knew you were coming. They changed your diapers, held your hands as you learned
to walk, and tenderly washed scraped knees. Countless sleepless nights and long
days were poured into nurturing and guiding and teaching. Today's ceremony
marks both a celebration and a loss. Even as you still have to finish some
coursework, today we also celebrate your readiness to enter the world: the hope
and dread of every parent who still sees in your eyes the same baby they held
in their arms when you first arrived. Take to heart the words of scripture:
honor your father and your mother.
It is customary in such commencement speeches
to share words of inspiration and motivation. But, for those of you who have
read Winnie the Pooh, I'm afraid I'm more of an Eeyore than a Piglet. What I
bring for you is a sentence - breathed out by God - that amplifies a silent
struggle inside us all. And it is my prayer that this sentence would be branded
into your mind as you turn your face to the horizon for life's next sunrise.
Here it is.
"For they loved the glory that comes
from man more than the glory that comes from God."
Right after the triumphal entry, and right
before Jesus meets privately with his disciples in the upper room we find this
short yet striking comment by John on the belief of the people…
"Though he had done so many signs before them,
they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet
Isaiah might be fulfilled:" [and then John quotes two prophecies from Isaiah that are
fulfilled in the unbelief of the people. But despite that, he writes, there was
some belief.] "42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities
believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that
they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory
that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." (John 12)
They loved the glory that comes from man more
than the glory that comes from God.
And just like that we get straight to the
bottom of the mess. They were afraid of the rejection. They were afraid of the
loss of prestige. They were afraid of the shame of be being different. They
couldn't bear the thought of publicly being put out of the synagogue - like
being excommunicated from church, marched out on a Sunday morning in front of Sunday school
teachers, friends, and people they’ve come to respect.
And the reason for the fear, John tells us,
is that they loved the glory - the praise - that comes from other people, more
than the glory that comes from God.
And someone might get up and lecture on how
foolish these men were, because God's glory is supremely better than man's. How
man's glory is fleeting, and God's glory is eternal. How praise from mankind is
deceitful and praise from God is honest. How you should love one, and how they picked the wrong one.
But I wonder if John didn't put this here,
didn't word this in such a way, that when we think of these authorities, we find
ourselves looking into a mirror.
They loved the glory that comes from man more
than the glory that comes from God.
It's a bit too honest, isn't it? A bit too
abrupt. It doesn't make a nice sermon - it makes a terrible graduation speech! But for someone who believes, and who really wants to love God, it makes us
pause.
What I love about Scripture is that honesty overshadows idealism. And
that gives me freedom to be honest with myself. But it makes me terrified to
answer the question hidden in that phrase. Because the question isn't whether I believe or do not believe -- the belief is a sure thing. The question is that
- believing - which do I love more?
They loved the glory that comes from man,
more than the glory that comes from God.
The four of you are in ministry through Youth
Group's student leadership, if not in other areas as well, and I would just say to you that ministry is a dangerous and deceptive road. Because the waters of whom we
serve easily become muddied. Much of society around us honors us rather than
rejects us for the time and ministry we do. It feels good when people like and
appreciate us. And the danger is we can grow accustomed to this, and it becomes
an essential part of our diet. And we start trying to find ways to get more of
it. But when it comes time to confront someone, or to speak out about sin, or
to criticize cultural values that are not godly - when the message or direction
from the Lord is unpopular, we find ourselves in a tough spot. Will we embrace the rejection, or will we silently duck under the wave so as not to disrupt being
liked?
The men in this passage chose to remain
silent. They loved the glory that comes from man, more than the glory that comes from God.
Have you ever swam in the ocean, and a big,
rough wave is thundering towards you - and you duck under the wave so that the
turbulence passes over you, but underneath the wave it is calm and safe. And
when you pop up, the wave has passed - and so has the rough water. That’s what
these Pharisees were doing. If they just kept silent, maybe the whole thing
would pass by just like that wave.
For fear of the Pharisees they did not
confess him… for they loved the glory that comes from man, more than the glory
that comes from God.
Jesus was the antithesis of this, wasn't he?
Contrary to popular opinion, I would argue that Jesus was not very influential -
not by today's standards. His message was too demanding. Every time a large
crowd would follow him, he would up the ante and say something crazy, and
almost everyone would leave. His family thought he was going mad, the Jewish
authorities thought he was a lawless blasphemer, and the Romans thought he
wasn't much more than a fly on a wall, harmless and maybe a little senile.
But
Jesus didn’t come to be influential – he came to honor the Father. And he was
met with frequent rejection.
Do you want to be honored by the Father? Then serve the Son! But don’t forget the context of the verse. If anyone would serve me – he must follow me. There is a cost. The rejection of the world is harsh, unless we pad it with the acceptance of man.
It brings to mind an old poem by a woman who was missionary in India for 55 years.
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet, I was wounded by the archers, spent.
Leaned me against the tree to die, and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound?
No wound? No scar?
Yet as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole. Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?
In Matthew 16, Jesus had asked Peter who
people say that he was. Some were saying John the Baptist, others Elijah, and
some said the prophet Jeremiah. None of these men were popular. All three of
them confronted governments and kings, prophesying judgment upon sin. Each of
them had been given a task by God and were rejected by men.
Each of them certainly loved the glory that
comes from God rather than the glory that comes from man. But it cost them
dearly.
Elijah was often exhausted. Some speculate that he suffered from
depression.
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because of the tears he
shed for his people at the coming judgment – if they would only return to the
Lord! Yet they would not listen.
John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod.
Jesus died on the most shameful execution
rack known to the Roman world at the hands of the Jews, the very chosen people of
God.
Hast thou no wound? Or do you love the glory
that comes from men more than the glory that comes from God?
Remember Peters words about Jesus - a living
stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.
"If you are insulted for the name of Christ," Peter says, "you are blessed". "I have given them your word," Jesus says when
praying to the father, "and the world has hated them because they are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world."
After Jesus ascends into heaven, his
followers continue his message. The same leaders who had sentenced Jesus to
death, the highest court of the Jews, drag Peter and John into the courtroom, and
they charge them not to speak or teach at all in the name of jesus. And Peter
and John are severely threatened. And when they get out, incredibly they don’t
ask for the persecution to stop. They ask for more boldness: “And now Lord,
look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your
word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and
wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts
4:29-30).
But those people who were afraid of the
Pharisees… they loved the glory that comes from man, more than the glory that
comes from God.
So I hope this sentence burns itself into
your minds. I hope that your stomach churns and your mouth goes dry. I hope
that I keep you up at night. Because I hope the tension is real. And hope that
our devotion to Christ will find us one day honored by the Father. And that
until that day, that the Lord would grant us all to speak truth boldly to this
broken world – even if they hate us for it. Because I hope we love the glory
that comes from God more than the glory that comes from man.
I am so proud of you. You have made it so far, and you have so much ahead of you.
Honor your parents.
Honor the Father.
And serve the Son!
And serve the Son!
Comments
Post a Comment