In the midst of the excitement of a graduation, whether that’s from high school or college or even graduate school, as family are gathering and pictures are being taken—in the midst of all of that wonderful excitement, there is still this quiet, lingering dread over the commencement speech. How long is it going to be? How many clichés are going to be repeated? Well, the very best commencement speech I ever heard was by Dr. R. Kirby Godsey. Dr. Godsey was at one point the president of Mercer University, and he is a prominent Baptist scholar, and when he stepped up to the microphone, he immediately telegraphed that he would not speak long. And then he talked about sitting at a restaurant in New Orleans thinking about what he was going to say in that commencement address.

He was sitting at Mr. B’s Bistro in the heart of the French Quarter where food has a résumé. Mr. B’s Bistro was founded in 1979. It had grown this widespread reputation for its gumbo. And he sat at a table just outside the restaurant listening to the sounds of the city when he decided to simplify his commencement address to three words, thought, passion, and grace. That we were to always be thoughtful in what we did because blind faith is dangerous. And that we should always rekindle our passion for what we do to continue to fall in love with it. And finally, we should extend grace wherever possible because grace is necessary in all of life. Then he called the waiter over and asked for a large stack of napkins. And on all those napkins that say Mr. B’s Bistro, he wrote down thought, passion, and grace. And he wrote it on thousands of napkins so that when every graduate, as his or her name was called, and they came forward to receive their diploma, they were also given a napkin with those three words on it.

I don’t know how many people still write things down on the back of napkins. Perhaps we just send ourselves a text message or jot something down in our notes app. But if you are looking for a way to remember something important, writing it down on the back of the napkin is not a bad option. Because it’s something we can hold in our hand. We can put it in our pocket and take it with us when we leave the table. That it is a concrete reminder of something we do not want to forget. And even if we forget that it’s in our pocket, we find it when we put those jeans on again, crumpled up in the same place even after it’s gone through the wash.

And when the prophet Micah wanted to simplify what it is that is important to God, he pulled out a napkin and he wrote down three words, justice, kindness, and humility. And he shares those words with the people of God when they are struggling to feel grounded, that they are still reeling over the Assyrians invading the northern kingdom and all that it means for them. They are questioning what really matters. They keep asking, what is it that God wants from us? What are the offerings and sacrifices that God desires? What gifts do we need to bring where we will find favor with God? Micah pulled out a napkin and said, God desires for us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.

It would not stretch our imaginations too far to consider and wonder whether Jesus had those three words in mind when he shared the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Because the beatitudes are longer than three words, but they seem to be built upon justice, kindness, and humility. And the Beatitudes are very different from the superlatives we find in the yearbook. Jesus did not talk about the best dressed or the most likely to succeed or the most outgoing. Jesus talked about the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted. And nobody wants their picture next to those superlatives. But they are built on doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.

Because we see them throughout the life of Jesus. That Jesus said, all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed. The poor in spirit, that he grieves to the point of death in the garden of Gethsemane. Those who mourn. And when he was tempted and offered the power of all kingdoms in the world, he chose meekness. And he said, ask, seek, and you will find hungering for righteousness. And he spoke of mercy, telling Peter to forgive not seven times, but 77 times. And he shared the golden rule, calling us to be pure in heart towards our neighbors. And he said not only to love our neighbors, but also our enemies as peacemakers. And he knew what it meant to be persecuted by others. That those three words that the Beatitudes are built upon remind us to always be mindful of the needs of the most vulnerable. That for Jesus, they were not gifts or offerings to bring. This was a way of life.

And as we gather around this table, we might consider what we would write on the back of a napkin. Because the table is about a way of life. That at a table we create friends, we build community, we serve our neighbors. So we might write down justice, kindness. and humility. And every time we gather around this table, it is to call us to remember. In many ways, it’s like the beginning of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. You know, where Mr. Rogers walks into the room, he puts on a sweater and he changes his shoes, and he’s singing along the way, it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine? But before he puts on that sweater, before he launches into song, there is a scene at the very beginning of every episode where you just see a traffic light. And it is always flashing yellow, inviting us, calling us to slow down and to remember what matters the most. And when we pull up a chair around this table, it is to slow us down. to what is most important. Justice. Kindness. Humility. that it is a way of life. As Fred Craddock writes, The measure of our faith is not who we will feed. It is who we will eat with.

I still remember playing the game of memory as a child and with my children, where you turn all the cards face down so you can’t see the pictures on them. And the goal is you want to find the most pairs or matches. And I always found this game so difficult. So I decided I was going to focus on one pair at a time, that I would turn over a card and see the picture. And every time it was my turn, I would turn over the same card until I found its match. And only then would I move on to finding the next pair. And that’s not the best way to play the game. Or the only way to play the game. I didn’t win much. oh but sometimes in life. We need to simplify our focus. There are so many things we can do and we can’t do them all that we need a short, simple list that grounds us in God’s Love.

As you came into worship this morning, along with the bulletin, you were given a napkin. I invite you to take out that napkin and find a pen. If you don’t have a pen, there are pens in the pew racks. And on your napkin, write down those three words. Justice. kindness, humility. and put that napkin in your pocket and take it with you when you leave this table today. And every now and then, pull it out and remember what grounds us in God’s love. Maybe it will change who we eat with. Maybe it will change much more. Amen.