Sermon on June 28, 2026
“Graduation Sermon”
By: James Hochbrueckner
Hello my name is James Hochbrueckner. I’ve been at St. Martin’s for the past three years and you may have seen me dabbling in everything from acolyting, to convention, to choir. As you may have guessed, either from the announcement or that I’ve been here suspiciously long for a college student, this is my Senior Sermon and soon I’ll be heading off to Argentina and Uruguay to do a service year with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program. As with any major or sometimes quite minor changes in life, I feel like I’m on the edge of a cliff and have to leap to the other side. One could call it a leap of faith.
Some of you may know that the term leap of faith is attributed to the Danish philosopher and theologian Kierkegaard, and used in many works including “Fear and Trembling.” (I know not the type of title you want to hear when considering leaps of faith) Now when I think of a leap of faith, my mind instantly goes to Indiana Jones and the last crusade where Jones encounters an apparent chasm on his way to find the chalice of life with no way to the other side. Jones, realizing there must be a hidden pathway he cannot see, leaps (or somewhat steps tentatively) into the void and stumbles on a pathway. However, the literal leap/step Indiana Jones takes is not what was meant when Kierkegaard said a leap of faith. It is not using faith to justify an action, but instead a radical acceptance of something that is not provable using any rationality or reasoning, a change in thinking that could only be described by a leap. In summary it is not a leap of faith, but more of a leap into faith. Back to Indiana Jones’ for a moment. Indiana did have a leap into faith; however it wasn’t the actual step. Instead it was in the moments before, where he accepted he must trust himself against all of his senses and all his reasoning.
Since Kierkegaard was around in the 19th century, he unfortunately didn’t talk about Indiana Jones in his mediations. Instead he used the next best thing: the Binding of Issac. Kierkegaard starts off his extended meditation (fear and trembling) by retelling the story of the binding of Isaac 4 different times. In each of the times, Kirkegard modifies something so that the story goes awry. The first modification is that Issac finds out earlier than he’s supposed to that he is going to be sacrificed and pleads with his father to spare him. To ensure that Issac doesn’t lose faith in God, Abraham pretends to have a psychotic break and tells Issac that this sacrifice is his own will. The second is that the story goes on as normal, but Abraham is seized by an intense guilt that he was willing to sacrifice his son to God and lives haunted for the rest of his life. In the third variation, Abraham decides it was wrong for him to be willing to have sacrificed his son, and repents to God, but also second guesses his repentance, creating an insecurity of what was actually the written thing to do. Finally, in the last retelling, Abraham raises the knife but instead with a hopeful continence is distressed by despair and fear. As a result, Issac loses faith, no longer comforted by his father’s demeanor.
In each of these scenarios, the story of Abraham feels more tangible and more realistic, but it also loses the core component of the story: Abraham’s genuine faith and the absurdity that it is. And I truly mean that Abraham’s faith is truly absurd to me here, as well as the whole story. Abraham doesn’t try to negotiate with God like he did at Sodom and Gommorah, He doesn’t weep, doesn’t complain, and even though he is about to kill his son, his most beloved, the promise which God had made to him. He seems calm and even hopeful. For me, it is so much more understandable for Abraham to go insane with this request than for him to go about it in the way he did. Especially since God didn’t even say that Isaac would survive.
What Kierkegaard believes was going on in Abraham’s mind is that he held two beliefs simultaneously together. The first, that Issac would die and that he would kill him. After all, it is pretty sound reasoning that knife plus flesh does not usually end up well. However, the second belief, which Kierkegaard believed was truly remarkable, was that somehow he would be restored. That his son would either be returned to him or not die. Even though God makes no such promise in his request.
Abraham could not have come to hold that belief through reasoning or any logical thinking
and that is what Kirkegaard says is the leap of faith, not resignation, not obedience to God, but jumping from a state of rationality, to a state of radical belief regardless of all the facts. And that’s what makes Abraham so incomprehensible but also so admirable.
I think this drastic jump is reflected excellently in our Psalm for today. Psalm 13 is a very short Psalm with the first 4/6 lines being that of abandonment and lament. However, the last 2 lines suddenly jump to that of reassurance and trust in God seen in a leap into faith. Now let me tell you, if you’ve ever actually jumped off a cliff or anything for that matter, at least my brain goes, oh shoot, this is crazy, I’m not gonna do that, okay I can do it. Jump. It’s the last two lines that make your jump, not the doubt beforehand.
So how do we make these leaps into faith; well I nor Kierkegaard can tell you that. But I would like to point out that we practice it a lot more than we think. For example, I feel that College was a big leap into faith for me. I had no certainty what college would be the best fit for me, if I would find my community, succeed, or even just be happy, and yet I felt myself change and stop thinking so hard, and sent in my acceptance to Davis. I would even say that living a meaningful or a life that is appealing to me is a leap of faith or at least requires them constantly. You do not know if you will die today or tomorrow or in 10 years and yet we still get up in the morning and live and commit ourselves to things that won’t fully be realized for years upon years. In life that is appealing to me; we don’t do this with infinite resignation or obligation, but instead with the belief that this day will be worth living and that in the long term this act will be worth it. This calls to mind the verse: This is the day which the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Now I have done a lot of rejoicing these past couple weeks, especially after my last finals were done. However, now I have to leap again, and I’m both so excited and terrified. However, I just want to take a moment and thank St. Martin’s and everyone who makes this community. St Martin’s has been a great landing after the leap of college. Thank you.
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