Thomas J Parlette
“The Commencement Address of Moses”
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
2/12/23
On June 4th, 1977, Dr. Seuss gave the commencement address to the graduating class of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. It was titled, “My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers” And of course, it was written in Dr. Seuss’s signature style:
“My uncle ordered popovers
From the restaurant’s bill of fare,
And, when they were served, he regarded them
With a penetrating stare…
Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom
As he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,” said my uncle,
“You must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid…
BUT… you must spit out the air!”
And… as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
That’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.”(1)
That’s great advice for those graduates as they left the world of academia to find their place in the real world.
You know, whenever one of our sons leaves the security and safety of our house to go out into the world to school, or work, or swim practice or whatever it is, I say one of two things to them:
“Have fun… storming the castle,” from The Princess Bride.
Or, “Make good choices,” from the movie Pitch Perfect.
But Dr. Seuss’s, “Spit out the hot air, and be careful what you swallow” just might make the rotation now.
Good commencement addresses usually share some characteristics.
First, they spend some time recalling the great events and achievements of the graduates lives, congratulating them on reaching this milestone.
Second, they review some of the great life lessons learned, either in the process of their own education or the lessons learned by the speaker as they pursued their careers.
And then commencement speeches remind the new graduates not to forget the important lessons they have learned as they venture forth into the real world.
Recall. Review. Remind. All the great commencement speeches do that somehow.
And that’s exactly what Moses does here in this passage from Deuteronomy. This text reads like a commencement address as Moses prepares for his coming death and sends the Israelites into the Promised land without him.
Indeed, the whole book of Deuteronomy is organized as a collection of speeches and addresses that Moses gives as the people wandered in the desert for 40 years. Throughout its 34 chapters, Moses recalls the great events of their desert adventure and appeals to the people to remember how God has led them through the wilderness.
Moses also reviews the important things they have learned. He reviews the Ten Commandments, especially the importance of the First commandment, “Worship no other God but me.” He also reviews one of the key verses in the book, the Shema, as it is known in Hebrew – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Then Moses reminds the people of the meaning of God’s covenant with them. Basically – I will be your God and you will be my people. Obey my commandments.
So, in our passage for today, Moses lays out two choices for God’s people. In his opinion, it’s not complicated. Obey God. Keep God’s laws. Turn your hearts to God. You know it, you can quote it, so now obey it.
I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand. Or death and adversity on the other. That’s the choice. One or the other. Life or death. I urge you – choose life.
That phrase “Choose Life” can mean different things to different people, depending on your age. For movie buffs, they probably recall “Choose life” from the 1996 movie Trainspotting, in which the main character rather sarcastically uses it as launching point for a long monologue about the societal pressure to choose various products in a culture dominated by consumerism.
For me, having grown up with the music from the 80’s, “Choose Life” brings to mind the joyous music video that went along with Wham’s hit song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” The words had been printed in block letters on T-shirts in 1983 by a fashion designer named Katharine Hamnett to preach against suicide as well as drugs. She, in turn, had been inspired by Buddhist thinking, exemplified by nuclear disarmament advocate Daisaku Ikeda in his “choose life” dialogues with British historian Arnold Toynbee in the 1970’s.(2) Then along came Wham!, with that infectious tune and in the video they were all wearing “Choose Life” T-shirts. I like them so much, I went out and bought one. That challenge, that call to action can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For Moses, it clearly means choose to obey the Lord and follow God’s commandments – that is the way to life.
Moses commencement address reminds us that we still have this choice to make today as well. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “We are our choices.” The Headmaster of Hogwarts would agree. Dumbledore once famously said to Harry Potter, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Choosing life can take many forms. Loving God with all your heart, mind and strength can be done in many different ways.
Learn things you have told yourself you would never learn.
Enjoy simple things. Play with children. Learn a new game.
Laugh often, long and loud. Cry when it is time to cry.
Be patient with your own imperfections as well as the imperfections of others.
Surround yourself with what you love – whether it is family, friends, pets, music, nature, or silence.
This is choosing life.
Walk around the block. Turn off the television Read a book of poetry. Quit doing what is not worth your t time. Do something so someone else won’t have to do it. Be the first to stop arguing.
Apologize, even if it was mostly their fault.
Forgive someone, even if they don’t deserve it.
Believe that God loves you. See Christ in the people around you.
Open your heart to the Spirit. Search for something beyond your own comfort.(3)
Find the wonderful in today. It is then that you have “Chosen Life”.
Many of you probably remember the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It’s the story of an adventurous archeologist, who goes on a search for the Holy Grail with his father. The Holy Grail is the cup that Christ drank from during the Last Supper, and people have been searching for it for centuries, but it remains a mystery. The Grail was rumored to have supernatural powers so that a person could live forever if they drank from it.
Toward the end of the movie, Indiana Jones finds a secret chamber, guarded by an ancient knight, containing a variety of chalices and cups – some made of gold and precious jewels, and some rather less impressive. The ancient knight offers Indiana a choice. If he chooses the correct chalice, he will live and he can use it to heal his father who was dying just outside the chamber. But if he chose the wrong cup, he, and his father, would die. It was literally a choice between life and death.
Indy weighs his options – and makes his choice. He chooses an ordinary wooden cup, because it looks like a cup that would belong to a carpenter. And the ancient knight guarding the grail says, “You have chosen…. Wisely.”
I think I see a glimmer of Moses reflected in that ancient knight’s face. Both presented a choice between life and death. You must choose. Moses himself is waiting and praying for the people of God, then and now, to choose wisely. Choose life.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Dr. Seuss, “My Uncle Terwilliger On the Art of Eating Popovers”, Hold Fast Your Dreams, edited by Carrie Boyko and Kimberly Colen, Scholastic Inc. 1996, p199.
2. Patricia K. Tull, Connections, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p242.
3. Brett Younger, Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p343.
