WE ARE NOT SIMPLY PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED
Our readings today speak of end times. To many, the challenges we are facing as a church and country feel like manifestations of the words we have heard today. There is a fear in the passing of what was – in our church, country and even campus. And yet, we are also told to have hope – not hope that some day the church and country will be better, but hope in Jesus Christ. And that is a particular kind of hope because Jesus is literally the embodiment of transformation. Jesus is the bridge from who we have been to who we are called to be.
As a university, we are called to bring Christ into the conversations about who we have been and we are called to be. As a chapel community, we are called to help the world see the difficulties of our age through a sacramental world view: a view that sees beyond the surface, beyond the skin tones, beyond the economic-status or nationalities; beyond the sexual orientations; beyond the political agendas and affiliations – and see the soul within. What we do here is practice seeing the heart – the essence – the stories that define us.
The gift of a university is that it brings people together from so many different backgrounds which fundamentally deconstruct the notions of what we once believed are absolute. In the encounter with each other, our world expands; and as it does, we begin to see the world as God does. We are see a world that loves diversity and sees unity.