Graduation Homily 2022

 

CKA Graduation Homily 2022

You Can’t Do This

 

            This is the time of year when you will receive cards and plaques from well-meaning family and friends that have slogans that look like they were pulled from cheesy motivational posters. Slogans like, “You can do it!” “You can do anything you put your mind to!” “You can go out and change the world!”

            So, I’m here to tell you the truth, and the truth is this: you CAN’T do it. You’re not smart enough. You’re not talented enough. You CAN’T change the world…on your own.

            Look, don’t get me wrong, you guys are great. But the challenges you will face in high school or college are going to eat you alive. The world’s problems are WAY bigger than you…but they’re not bigger than God.

            And here’s what we’ve got to remember – without God, we’re nothing. But with God, we can do all things.

            Consider the heroes of the Scriptures. Moses meets God in a burning bush, and He tells him that he needs to go up to Pharaoh and tell him to let his people go – and by the way, Moses is a murderer who stutters. Not exactly the best or the brightest. So Moses objects – but does God say, “Oh, Moses, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve got this! You can do it!” No, He doesn’t…rather, He says: “I am with you. Do not be afraid.” Or when Gideon is given the mission to take 300 soldiers to fight an army of 150,000, and he begins to question God’s wisdom in giving him this mission, God doesn’t say to him, “Oh, don’t worry about those Midianites, just look at the strength of your army! Look at their commitment, their superior weapons, their courage!” No, God doesn’t say any of these things. He says instead, “Do not be afraid. I am with you.” God never focuses on the talents…or lack of talents…of the people He calls. In fact, He often calls people who were a mess – Peter, whose cowardice denied Jesus three times…Paul, who was a murderous zealot with a serious temper…John, who was too young…Matthew, who was a public sinner. He chooses these people, not because of their personal strengths, but because He can work powerfully in people who know they’re not strong, and who need to rely upon Him for everything.

            You will face a myriad of challenges in high school and college. Difficult classes, peer pressure, the temptation to give up your prayer life because it’s “just too hard”, the drama of friend-groups and relationships, living away from home for the first time, whatever other struggles might come your way. If you try to tackle these challenges with your own strength, relying on your own talents and gifts, you’re sure to fail. But with God, you can do all things.

            Jesus makes that clear in John’s Gospel. He says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” Not “some things,” not “oh, I’ll help you out a bit”….without Him, we can do nothing. Take that to heart – and stay close to the Lord as if your life depended on it, because it does! It’s only through our intimate union with Him through the Sacraments, through daily prayer, through a life oriented towards Him, that we find our strength.

            So, as you prepare to receive all sorts of accolades and awards and congratulations, allow me to speak the sober truth: you can’t do it. You’re not good enough, you’re not strong enough. But He is – and He loves you, and He is with you – so do not be afraid.