The Bungee Cord. 10-6-25

Hello,

I returned yesterday from a trip to Hinsdale, Illinois for my 50th high school reunion. I have kept in light contact with a handful of my classmates over the years, but for the most part our paths have not crossed for a half a century. As one would expect, the town has drastically changed, and our high school is hardly recognizable in its current state of high technology and creature comforts. Most of the people had transformed into folks that didn’t look a great deal like the graduation picture that was on their nametag. Not knowing what to expect as I traveled there, I was extremely surprised how monumental an event it was for me.

I was touched by the generous welcome by people with whom I ran around in high school, and those who I hardly knew (there were 600+ in our class). Our conversations were deeply engaging. Our remembrances were heartwarming. The boundaries of cliques that divided in our high school days were erased, and there was a commonality of bumps and bruises that we shared as we shared our divergent journeys.

I was given the honor of reading the names of those who have died from our class (55 of them), to offer a prayer for them, to offer another prayer for the struggles that we all carry, and (most importantly) say grace before the meal. I was asked to say something before the reading of the names, which I have decided to share with my Bungee Cord readers. It went something like this:

“The world in which we live tells us that our worth is based on what we have done. The more successful our deeds or the more important our deeds, the more worth we hold. It is one of those fun things that we get to do at reunions like this, to share the peaks of our journeys. But I have come to understand that there is something far more substantial that establishes our worth than what we have done, successes and failures, and that is who we are. The verse in the Bible that has become the focus of my faith is 1 John 3:1. “See what love the Father has given us, that we might be called children of God, and that is what we are.”

We are children of God. That is what God has declared us to be, and what could make us of any greater worth than that. As we spend this time together, maybe that is the greatest gift that we can share, to see the immeasurable gift that we are to each other as Children of God. And as we remember those who are no longer among us, we count them as treasures who have adorned our lives, not because of what they have done in life, but rather because who that have been in life. Children of God. Treasures.”

And in the following minutes I slowly spoke their names, giving time between each name for people to silently raise up memories of these beloved of God. A pin drop could have been heard.

I’ve returned from my 50th reunion with my sight adjusted, adjusted to see the treasures that I encounter every day. People of unmeasured worth….not because of what they have or have not done, but because of who they are: Children of God.

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called “Children of God”, and that is what we are.”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger