Tyndale Chapel Podcast

Thank you, Christy and Matt. If you haven't met them yet, Christy is this year's president of the Seminary Student Council. And Matt is the president of the Undergraduate Student Council this year. And we are grateful for the leadership that they are, have assumed for their peers.

I've titled my message today, "Legacies, past, present, and future". When I began preparing this message in August, I had no idea we would gather today so very aware of the legacies of Dr. Tang and Dr. Kessler. But the truth is, I've been thinking about legacies over the past several weeks, the legacies that we leave. It might seem a bit of a strange topic for the start of the year, for our Commencement Chapel, for a community gathered today that includes a number of young adults who are just starting your university education, because talk of legacies is usually reserved for those who are approaching the end of the race.

But the legacy comes after everything that has gone before. So I think it is best to think of legacies sooner, rather than later, to nurture them now, rather than hope they will somehow just emerge in a positive way, after the fact. So my reflections today come from a few sources, the scriptures that were just read to us, absolutely, and I will come back to them. Surprisingly, perhaps, some of my thoughts for today also came from a more unexpected source, the entertainment industry.

First of all, while I was on my vacation this summer, I saw the musical Hamilton. In the closing song, the refrain repeats "who lives who dies, who tells your story. And when my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story?" It's a very poignant moment in the production, not terribly sad or depressing, in and of itself, but poignant. And strangely, as I sat there in the audience, for me as a Christian, it was both challenging and encouraging. Because really, these are the great questions for humanity, and for our faith. What is the value of a life lived? What is the story we leave behind? What will people remember, of us? That was the first thing.

The second also over the summer, I was watching one of my preferred TV programs, the British detective series "Endeavour". For those who don't know, Endeavor is the prequel to The Inspector Morse series. And in Endeavor we encounter the young detective Endeavour Morse. The episode I was watching was focused on a few faithful characters, Chief Superintendent Bright, Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, Detective Sergeant Jim Strange, and our hero, Detective Constable, Endeavour Morse. They are a small group, who have determined to take on and address a system of corruption that was involving elected officials, police at various levels, and the typical criminal element. It's dangerous. They are few against many, and everything is at stake, their careers, potentially even their lives in the scene before they take their stand, Chief Superintendent Bright, a man who has seen a lot over the course of his life, looks out his window and quietly says to himself, "a moments courage, or a lifetime of regret. That's always the choice." And that led me to think of Joshua.

Joshua is one of my old testament heroes. And I've made mention of Joshua chapter one in several recent gatherings with faculty, students, our cabinet and leadership team, and others. Three times in the first nine verses of chapter one in Joshua, God says to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous." And in the last verse of chapter one, the Israelites commit to following Joshua everywhere and anywhere, as long as he is strong and courageous.

Courage, honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. That is the stuff of which legacies are made. But legacies don't just suddenly happen for most of us, they are developed over time, for better or worse, through each small or large individual choice and decision we make. We are formed by the choices we make. A friend of mine is known for saying, integrity is what we do when no one's looking. We have to practice the character we want to develop, and the people we want to become, whether we are well along the journey, in the middle of it, or perhaps just beginning the transition into young adulthood with your entire lives ahead of you. A legacy is practiced over time. Who will tell your story? Who will tell my story, and what will it be?

So let's come back now to those scripture passages that we looked at a few moments ago. First, back to Jeremiah, chapter nine. Let me repeat that. "This is what the Lord says, Let not the wise boast of their wisdom, or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches. But let the one who boasts, boast about this, that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on Earth. For in these, I delight." The prophet Jeremiah brings these words from God. Knowing God means knowing that He is the Lord of kindness, justice and righteousness on Earth. It's easy, I think, to focus on the justice and righteousness components of God's character, and they are both true and very real. Often, however, both within the church and outside, we often see the words justice and righteousness used in the context of judgment and condemnation. The first word God used to describe himself here is kindness. The kindness of God, contextualizes God's justice and righteousness. So where is kindness in the legacies that we are forming?

And then we look to second Corinthians chapter nine. In the last few verses, verses 12 to 15. Paul gave the Corinthians a reminder, and he says to these words, this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people, but it's also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God, because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ. And they will praise God for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you, their hearts will go out to you because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. Generosity is always founded in kindness. And so in these verses, we are reminded that generosity is to be our response to the gift of grace, God has given us. His kindness becomes seen in our kindness and generosity. And then a few excerpts from Philippians chapter three, starting at verse 12. Paul says, "not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Sisters and brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal, to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." And then if we jump ahead to verse 16, "only let us live up to what we have already attained." I find these verses reassuring, we are not expected to know everything right now. We do not have to be perfect right now. We do not have to have an ideal legacy. Right now.

There is time for apologies, forgiveness, correction when and if that is needed. All that we're being asked to do is to faithfully press on in Jesus, and to live up to what we've already attained through knowledge, experience and faith. It does assume, though, that we are moving forward in what we are attaining. So what does this mean for us at the start of this academic year? As the Tyndale community, we stand on a legacy that is almost 130 years old. Our vision for Tyndale University is as a flourishing Christian University, like trees planted by streams of water. We have a mission statement at Tyndale that we bake into everything we do. It's why we're here. And this is what it says. "Tyndale is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, to excellence in teaching, learning and research, for the enriching of mind, heart and character, to serve the church and the world, for the glory of God."

Everything we do is to equip people to serve the church and the world for the glory of God. That is why we are here. Flowing from the vision and mission, we have a set of five values that declare how we will collaborate and work together to jointly undertake this mission and achieve the vision. They are not about things we value. They are about how we do the work together. And our five values are diversity, people, academics, faith and learning and stewardship. From the mission, vision and values, we have a strategic plan with six strategic themes. And from those themes, for the year ahead, we have set four key priorities that feed into all six of our strategic themes, and enable us to move forward on our vision and mission. Here are the highlights of what we will actually do in the year ahead, and how we will focus our attention. First, we will continue to grow and expand our academic offerings. We will continue to enhance our stewardship and the sustainability of all the resources that are entrusted to us. That includes people systems, space, property, finances, and our impact on the climate, to name a few. Thirdly, we will continue to grow and sustain enrollment, both domestic and international. And we will continue to nurture holistic student development and a strong positive student experience. All of this is good. It's needed, and it has value. And it will contribute to the continuing legacy of Tyndale university. But what is the legacy that we are each developing for our own lives? How will you and I use the year ahead to practice the character we want as our story? We don't just leave a legacy at the end of life. In April, when we finish this academic year, what will our legacy for this year be? Who will tell your story? Who will tell my story? And what will it be? The year ahead is wide open with possibilities. Let's walk well with God and with each other as we enter into it. God bless you.