Fri., June 9, 2023
let joy be your guide
The Rev. Nathan Bourne
On Sunday, May 28, 2023, we celebrated the seniors in our community. It was the final Sunday of our Program Year, and Pentecost. During the service, Ashley Wade read an excerpt of the letter below, penned by The Rev. Nathan Bourne, now the Rector of St. George’s in Durham NH. We offer this letter today as this is the day many of the seniors will walk at their graduation ceremonies, and parents will witness their children completing a task they have been heading towards for many years. The message is one of hope and encouragement, with wonderful reminders for all of us. Thank you Nathan, and congratulations graduates!
Dear St. John’s graduates,
In the church’s calendar, today is the Day of Pentecost. It’s the day when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise that God will be with us every moment of our lives, surrounding us, guiding us, and protecting us. I can think of no more appropriate day to celebrate all of you who are graduating and making the transition to a new stage of life. At the end of the service, one of the clergy will say something to the effect of “Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit!” Those are words for the whole church, to carry the joy of God’s Holy Spirit with us. But I think those words may have a special meaning for you who are about to graduate and pursue new opportunities in life.
In those words is an invitation to let joy be your guide. In the coming years will have to make so many decisions—decisions about jobs, majors, classes to take, relationships, internships, posters to hang in dorm rooms, how to spend your summers, how to spend your money, who to vote for, what to wear, what to believe, and on and on and on. Some of those choices will be easy—the right job offer coming along at the right time or a course catalog telling you what you need to take in your first semester of college. Many of them won’t be—whether to stay in a long-distance relationship, deciding between courses of study that will send you in very different directions, balancing pursuing your passions and financial realities. The right way won’t always be clear. And sometimes there may not be a single right way. I hope that in all those decisions you will let joy be your guide, asking yourself, “of these choices, which will bring me joy?”
Joy and happiness are not the same thing. When we talk about rejoining in the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re not talking about feeling happy all the time. That’s an unrealistic expectation for any of us. Joy is something deeper. Happiness can feed joy, but joy is about so much more. Joy is about a life well-lived. It has as much to do with a sense of meaning and purpose, connection to other people and belonging to a community as it does with happiness. Pursuing joy is about seeking that sense of fulfillment, not just making choices that will be satisfying in the moment, but that reflect your values and contribute to your hopes and dreams. It’s about being motivated by your own understanding of yourself instead of what people around you tell you that you should want or do. Only you know what brings you joy.
I say all this as someone whose joy you’ve contributed to. I am so grateful to have been your priest for four years. It has been such a joy to watch you grow and transform into the people who you are today. Many of you were in the first Rite 13 group I led. I spent more than a week on a Mission Trip to North Carolina with some of you. I’ve watched you perform musicals and cooked alongside you in the Thaxter Hall kitchen. My life is richer because of all that. You all represent a wide range of gifts and talents, diverse senses of humor and passions. But in all of you I have experienced generous spirits, kindness, and openness that have reminded me what living a joyful life is all about. Thank you for all the gifts you have given me.
I wish you all the best on what lies ahead of you. May God’s blessing go with you on all of your life’s adventures, and may joy be your guide each step of the way. All I have left to say is this: “Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit!”
Blessings,
The Rev. Nathan Bourne