:
“stand fast forever and ever,” (Psalm 111:7-8) because He makes “all things
new”? (Revelation 21:5)
Think about the things in our lives that we want to last forever. What if the
friendships you forge today are really about giving your friends the confidence
to reach out to others as they grow and change? What if the record you set on
the athletic field or court is there to give next year’s students something higher
to aim for, something greater to surpass? What if the vision of those founders
137 years ago was laying the groundwork for transformations beyond what
they could ever have imagined?
One of the books of teachings for the New Church, Divine Providence,
tells us that God’s providence “is working” “in constancy and change alike,”
“in marvelous ways,” “all the while remaining hidden.” (212) And our readings
this morning gave us a beautiful image of how what matters most to us in life
both lasts forever and continually undergoes change. It’s the timeless image
of a tree, growing from a seed, spreading to its height, and then dying away
so that its seeds will grow into other trees, which in turn will drop their seeds
and make way for still new trees, forever and ever. (The True Christian Religion
290)
What seeds will grow from this moment? From this educational vision?
One day, even this mighty granite stone will crumble. What will become of this
Academy? Will you, and the generations of students who like you have sat in
this hall, have transformed the ideas of your education here into new gifts for
the world?
Maybe after graduation you’ll leave
this place far behind. But maybe an
idea we’ve asked you to consider here
will stay with you somewhere in the
back of your mind. Maybe it’s the idea
that God is one, known throughout
cultures across the world by different
names and in different forms, but the
same God, reaching out with nothing
but love for every person ever born. A
God who walks with every one of us
in every joy, every defeat, every trial,
every reassuring touch.
Maybe that idea quietly shines in
you as you take your education and
go far afield, to seek a cure for cancer,
or HIV, or ALS. Or as you take your
education and work on governmental
What seeds will grow
from this moment?
From this educational
vision? What will
become of this
Academy? Will you,
and the generations of
students who like you
have sat in this hall, have
transformed the ideas of
your education here into
new gifts for the world?
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