"GRADUATED FAITH" June 24, 2018

I Samuel 17: 8-11, 40-49 Mark 4:35-41 This is The Day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! You will recall, that, in each of the Gospels, Jesus says “Let the little children come to me, do not withhold them, for unless you come as a child, you have no place in the Kingdom of God”; yet in Ist Corinthians 13, Paul says “when I was a child I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child, I acted like a child, when I became an Adult I gave up childish ways” Today, GRADUATING, we are both children and adults… So which is it, are we to be the child within, or be Grown up? When we were in Chemistry and Home Ec, whether last week or 50 years ago, we used what are called Graduated Cylinders or Graduated Measuring Cups. The purpose of which was not just to hold a sum quantity, but to recognize that 100 milliliters is more than 50, more than 10. A Weight Scale gives only a Total amount, where Measuring Cups that are Graduated demonstrate when you have 10 milliliters plus 40, plus 50 for 100; and if needed you could pour off or boil off excess, precisely back to any “graduated” level. Today, your name is called before the community, a sheepskin parchment is placed in your hand, you move a Tassel from one side to the other and you are “Graduated!” I am so to disillusion your parents, but several believe “Thank God, We are done!” While at 18, you are no longer Minors, our relationship for each other does not end because you are Graduated, in some ways our relationships and responsibilities get more expensive, both with College, and the problems you are able to get into! But being High School Graduates, or College Graduates, or Married, or Singing in the Choir 50 years, we can remember all the Gradations along the way… Remember your Junior Prom… Remember Crossing over from Middle to Hi School… Remember Going to State Street… Remember riding the Bus for your first day at Waterman, or in the Bus Garage for Kindergarten? And as you do, we also remember the gradations, not only as Educational memories, but as you were Baptized and entered on the Rolls of The Church, as you were Confirmed as Adults, You were claimed as Members of the Body of Christ, and we will always re-Member You. When you were 5 or 7 years old, things made sense, differently, than today. I remember my first Sunday in this Church, we read this much of the story of David and Goliath, and a 7 year old insisted that we had to finish the story, AS HE TOLD ALL, that David the Shepherd Boy, took the Sword of Goliath, cut off his head and raised it up in Victory! To him that bloody, gory, gruesome detail, was essential. We can each recall when what we were intrigued by was a favorite part of a story, a favorite line of a song, a favorite scene in a movie. Yet, Graduated, to where we are today, we sometimes return to see that reality, only to see that the lockers we had at State Street really were not as big as we recall, or your teachers were not as old as you thought. For that 7 year old, we can still remember that raising up the decapitated head of Goliath the Philistine of Gath, was as required as knocking two more times after rapping Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock; HOWEVER, as Graduates, we now hear the story and pay attention differently, as well. The last two weeks, as Pastor Mario has had his Flat Jesus, I have been waiting for someone to send us a Photo of their swimming under water in the Lake, holding up Flat Jesus as if Walking on the Water! Because, the point of the Gospel is not that Jesus floats, as much as people have been awed by that for Centuries. At first we see the face value, of an underdog standing up against a Bully, of a Shepherd boy with a slingshot and 5 Smooth Stones against a Combat Veteran; but as FAITHFUL GRADUATES we also search beneath the surface. What we suddenly hear, is that after Israel demanded to have a King, in our reading two weeks ago, the Army of the Philistines drew up against the Army of King Saul in battle-lines for War, because that is what “The Armies of Kings” do. Goliath stood some 6 Cubits, Nine feet Tall, with numerous powerful heavy weapons of War and Armor, a Shield and Javelin, a Spear and Sword. Goliath shamed and taunted the Army of Israel, calling “Instead of all my Philistine soldiers fighting, I will take on the mightiest warrior of King Saul, winner take all!” But is this, are we, the Army of King Saul, or the People of God? Is righteousness dependent upon who is biggest, strongest, who has the most powerful weapons, and who is the most afraid or shamed? Little David went out, to defend the honor of God. David was not a soldier of King Saul. David was a Shepherd, a boy who wanted to defend his father’s sheep against beasts, bears and lions. For David, this was not about Nations or Kings, Armies, Weapons, Fear or Shame. Night and Day, out in the world beyond the Walls of the City, a Shepherd risks his life against Beasts, not only to defend themselves and the flock, but to rescue even a remnant from the jaws of a monster. This was to be the image of the Real Future King of Israel, the Good Shepherd of the Flock of God. According to the Gospel, Jesus had already been Baptized by John with the Heavens opening and Almighty God declaring “This is my beloved Son, I am Well Pleased”. Jesus had stood up to Temptation in the Wilderness. Jesus had called his disciples and Preached and Healed people. And still people doubted, not just the Romans, not just the Crowds of Palestine and Galilee, not just Jesus’ own family, but even his disciples doubted and were afraid. Whether you know it yet, or are about to discover this going outside this bubble, we have lived a charmed life. The rest of the world is not just like Skaneateles. What we have witnessed on a regular basis are miracles, miracles of faith. And no matter what, this community has stood beside you. No matter what, this community of faith has prayed for you, by name. No matter what, you have been loved. I pray that sometime soon, we each open our eyes to the reality, that even the Winds of the Holy Spirit and Seas of Chaos have obeyed God! That nothing, nothing ever can separate you from God’s love! We have been and are incredibly blessed, which is not the reality everywhere in the world. This day, not only do you become Graduates of this High School, you are graduated in Christian Faith, able to re-member that you were Baptized and loved. Able to re-member that you are accepted as an essential part of the Body of Christ. Able to re-member that you can see both as an adult and still as a child of God. Many of you have run Track and Cross-Country. In Relay-races, there are various legs of the race. During the first leg, we carried you, and during this second, we have run along beside pacing you as you have excelled! Now you carry the baton forward, as we witness and cheer you on. A secret, many do not understand, the goal is not simply to WIN at your leg of the Race, but instead as part of the marathon, who are you going to chose to pace and teach and pass your Baton along to, on their journey?