Note: The following below was my sermon at this year’s Boyceville High School Baccalaureate service. I think you might like it. And if you don’t, then it won’t be any different than my previous columns.
Note 2: I did not actually write out this sermon. I had this idea a year ago during the Baccalaureate service. I came home and wrote down the following: “Selfies” and “I am with you always.” I just went off of that. So, this is my best shot at remembering what I said four days ago.
You all might not realize this, but I founded the selfie. It’s true. Before you could take a hundred pictures and delete them on your phone, or before Kim Kardashian put out a best selling book of just pictures of herself, I took selfie’s with cameras that had this strange thing called “film” in them. If you had a camera and you left it or handed it to me, I would take a picture of myself. Hold on, I’m going to do that now. (take picture). I once took 20 pictures of myself at a friend’s wedding, who had 20 disposal camera’s on the tables of their reception. They were super happy to see my face so many times.
A selfie, is of course, a picture aimed at just the person taking the picture. It is focused solely on the self. It is pointed inward. And today, as you get ready to graduate, you probably feel like everything is pointed right at you. Why shouldn’t it be? We are here to celebrate this important event, this achievement that you have done. We are here to celebrate all that you have accomplished during your high school career and at your parties, your parents will be proudly displaying all sorts of picture, your awards, your achievements.
But I bet that none of you accomplished those awards and achievements on your own. I bet that if you looked closely, you would see that you had help along the way. You had friend who studied with you for tests, teammates who helped you achieve your goals, cast mates in plays that helped everything go well. You had parents and coaches that instructed you and inspired you and supported you. You had parents and family members who were there for you. You were never alone. You had people with you every step of the way. And, you had your Savior Jesus Christ with you.
In our readings tonight, God makes promises to you. To be your shepherd, to be your God, to always love you, and to be with you always till the end of the age. No matter where you go or what happens in your life, God in Jesus Christ will be there. To forgive you, to save you, to lead you of through the valley of the shadow of death, to surround you with a great cloud of witnesses. There are going to be amazing highs in your life and dreams will come true. And there will be times of unimaginable sorrow and sadness, where dreams are crushed and life is dark. In all of it, you will not be alone. You will not be alone because God has promised to be there. Always. ALWAYS. Life is never just a selfie, but a group picture because Christ is always there.
Do you know what the most tweeted selfie of all time is? A group one that was taken at the Oscars two years ago. May you know that you are never alone and my you remember that Christ will be with you always. Amen
Note 3: At this point, I took group selfies with the class. You can see them on my Facebook page