ST. JUDE AT GRADUATION

+
The first reading for today's mass (Saturday) is from the letter of Jude. It seems that this short letter (only one chapter long) was written in response to the threat posed to a Christian community by outsiders who were preaching some sort of false doctrine. The selection in the lectionary is from the end of the letter, in which the writer encourages the members of the community to stand fast against the false preachers. 

"Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude v. 21)

St. Benedict's Prep includes girls

As I reflected on this sentence this morning, I thought of last night's eighth-grade graduation ceremony, and how so much of the program was aimed at encouraging the new graduates, or, to use the words of Jude, to "build them up." 

"Build yourselves up" could well be translated "Encourage one another." It's not telling individual Christians to engage individually in some sort of spiritual exercise program, but rather is instructing the community to mutually strengthen one another.

The Greek word for "build up" is based on the ordinary word for "build,"  (as in "to build a house"), and makes for a nice image of members of a community mutually strengthening one another.

Jude's advice to that beleaguered community remains good advice for members of any community today, whether a family, a religious community, or a parish. 

The divisive and competitive atmosphere in which we're living poses the same sort of threat to our communities as the destructive teachings that were dividing the Christian community addressed in the Letter of Jude. 

It isn't only eighth-graders that need to learn how to "build up one another" instead of tearing one another down or competing against everyone. 

At this time of year we hear lots of commencement addresses

telling the graduates that they are now prepared to go on and compete with others (and, supposedly, win). How about a commencement address to graduates at every Christian institution encouraging the graduates by telling them that they are now prepared to go out and build up one another? We could simply quote the Letter of Jude:

"Build up one another in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ."