Baccalaureate Sunday
THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
John 13:31-35
I have long been fascinated by the five senses. Sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. The chemistry and neurology behind them are so interesting. Those five senses are how we experience the world and God. They leave us with tangible memories; the softness of a pet’s fur, or the sound of a piano playing. And who hasn’t seen a beautiful sunset and felt God?
What about the intangible ways we experience the world and God? What about thoughts, emotions, or even prayers? How do I feel when I play the piano? Where do I feel God in nature? The intangible parts of an experience are what is left when the physical sensations are gone. When a person moves, goes away or dies, their physical self is no longer with us but their emotional impact remains. This is evident in the Gospel for today. Jesus prepares his disciples for his death in the most tangible way; he dines with them. Tasting and smelling food, hearing conversation, and maybe affectionately touching his friends, Jesus is physically present at the Last Supper. Knowing of his imminent departure and the transition they will have to get through, he leaves his disciples with his “new commandment” — to love each other as he loved them.
Is there anything as intangible as love? We have physical manifestations; a birthday gift from a friend or a hug from a family member. But can you actually touch the love represented by those tangible items? Is the love between God and us truly tactile at its deepest? The sacraments we use in church are tangible representations of the body and blood of Jesus. The tangible we experience in church helps orient us towards the intangible of God.
Take away those physical sacraments, and we can identify Jesus through love. With his commandment to love, He gives his disciples, and us, a method of both coping with his exit and remembering him. In times of change, or when people leave, or even when people are simply absent, their love is embedded in our memories. My little sister India passed away a few months ago. Even though she no longer roams our house or is with me on my drive to school, the love she has left in our hearts has remained. My memories remain, my feelings remain, and the love my family and I have for her remains. While she physically is not here, that love fills the house, the car, and our memories.
In a few months, my friends and our families will feel this also. As the class of 2022 transitions to our post-high school plans, all of us can turn to Jesus for guidance in the absence of a child or friend, or sibling. Remember that Jesus goes with us in changing times. We experience our lives through the tangible, just like Jesus did. However, in the coming transition, we will try to move through it by the intangible. Focus on the memories, not the physical things that we will leave behind. I remember India would always get on my nerves by pressing her nose against the front window waiting if we expected people at the house. She would always leave prints on the window, but looking back I am so glad she did. Even though those smudges on the window have been cleaned off and are no longer there, I have the memory and hindsight to see how excited she got over small things, and I miss that once-annoying act. Now, I rely on my memory and emotions to remember India, instead of the physical prints.
India’s intangible emotions manifested in smudges on the window, and my memory of that tangible smudge reminds me of the excitement and love she left behind. Letting the intangible be the thing you cling to in times of transition is more revelatory than you realize. When the things we know and experience change, there is always the intangible that will not change.
Transitions can be aided by Jesus’s words of reassurance; although he states that “Where I am going you cannot come”, he lets us know that we can be identified as his disciple through love. Love, which can help us heal wounds created when people leave and can guide us through new places and experiences. Because Jesus knew and felt the disciples' pain at his leaving them, we know that God is with us in that pain too, through love. Maybe Jesus was sad at his departure. Even though he was the Son of God, he was a human and felt the same things we feel. What does this mean for us? Jesus’s own experience with grief and loss assures us that grief is holy and okay to feel. A teacher of mine told me that being sad and nervous just meant you cared and loved something. For those who are leaving what they care about, love can guide us through new places and experiences. While we might rely on the physical and tangible things around us in ordinary times, the intangibility of love will get us through big changes, like death or leaving home.
So, as we move through life right now, think about what you are bringing with you. Is it tangible? Do you have physical reminders of what is left behind? Or is it the intangible; memories, emotions, and reminders of what is left behind? While both have their place in our lives, the intangible does not change - and that stability, the stability found in memories and feelings like love, is something we can lean on in times of instability and change.
As you proceed through whatever lies ahead, even though the physical and tangible will be new, remember what Jesus commanded us to do; love each other as he loves us. Tell your friends you love them. Hug your siblings. Do something in honor of someone who has passed. In times of change, transition, or loss, the love of our family and friends keeps them with us, even when they are not physically present. And a love of Jesus ensures that we will never be alone in our sadness, loneliness, or grief. The intangibility of love makes sure it will never leave.
© 2022 Fiona Eggleston, FHS Graduating Senior
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Fayetteville, Arkansas