Don't be a star -- be a galaxy

In May, it was my privilege to share this final charge with Messiah College’s undergraduate Class of 2017:

Class of 2017, you have distinguished yourself as bridge builders and peacemakers – as people who seek to identify and address areas of significant need in the church and society. In these turbulent times, the testimony of your lives offers great hope for a promising future.

Today, as you graduate, consider the advice of Peter Gloor, a research scientist at MIT, as reported in a CNN segment “Is Collaboration the Future of Invention?” He says, “Don’t be a star—be a galaxy. If you embed yourself in a galaxy you can go so much further.”

As graduates of Messiah College, you are called to embed yourself in an even greater reality than the galaxy—the very Word that spoke the galaxies into existence. Therefore, live each day in the light of Christ’s love and His prayer for all believers:

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one . . . so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22 – 23, NIV)

My charge to you is to answer this call so the world will know and experience God’s lavish and unfailing love. Therefore, root your lives in Christ through steadfast study and prayer. Invite the Holy Spirit to breathe God’s passion and guidance into your journey. Read the Scripture with the expectation that it will inspire and challenge you to learn and to love.

Second, pursue unity. Dream beyond individual achievement to what it means to pursue interconnected lives of meaning and purpose. Your class has valued cross-cultural learning and the establishment of enduring friendships across racial, ethnic and class boundaries. More than half of you have studied or served in international contexts during your time at Messiah College. Continue to pursue the knowledge of and experience with different cultures and communities.

Just as you have sought to deepen understanding through the rigorous study of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, continue to seek knowledge and wisdom. Be people of intellectual engagement and compassionate conviction. 

Finally, as you build relationships, break down barriers that promote division. Listen not to persuade but to gain understanding. Open yourself to empathy and even affection toward those with whom you differ. Lead the way in raising questions that pierce through simplistic and temporal ideas or solutions. Live countercultural lives characterized by Christ’s abundant love for those who are broken, marginalized and forgotten.

And now, go forth from this place secure in your identity as beloved children of God; prepared for a lifetime of continuous learning and growth; grounded in the Christian virtues of hope, humility and hospitality; and filled with courage to work for peace, justice and reconciliation.

And, most of all, go forth prepared to inspire a world beguiled by darkness and despair. May you always be ready to demonstrate that there is love and hope in the light of Christ. God bless you!