She stood before a vast audience, microphone in hand. She knew the piece by heart and her lips moved, but no words came out. Instead she heard a mournful wail. The sound escalated in volume until she woke up. A storm siren was going off. It was 2:00 and rain was beating against the window.
She put a hand over her chest, took a deep breath. Don't scare me like that! As she had come to expect lately, Sophia had a fresh new post waiting for her. What was it this time?
Matthew 12:36-37: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
Her eyebrows shot up. That sounded ominous... And the song? "Last Graduation" by Bryan Duncan. She felt like she should know it, but she couldn't remember why. Maybe she would remember if she played it? As the opening notes played, it all came flooding back.
***
She saw herself in a sparkling red dress, luxuriant raven curls cascading down her back. She had just turned sixteen. It was the final round of choir concerts for her sophomore year. She had auditioned for and been granted a solo of her own choosing, with which to close out the year. She had always been a little on the peppery side, but tonight she was on fire. The song behind her teeth was a Molotov cocktail, selected with intent to make the scoffers and the scornful squirm in their seats. Her eyes flashed and lightning seemed to jump from her fingertips as she lit into the audience, her voice a smoldering alto.
You've been invited to remember the alumni / You check the calendar, electing to go / Let's buy a tie, just to honor this reunion / I'll show the side of me I want them to know
When they say / Where have you been since the last graduation? / How have you changed the world you are in? / Is life a party or a sad revelation? / What do you do with the time...in your life?
You find it hard to avoid interrogation / You clear your throat to tell them a lie / Why should I deal with this cross-examination? / What does it matter what I do 'til I die?
Still it haunts you / Where have you been since the last graduation? / How have you changed the world you are in? / Is life a party or a sad revelation? / What do you do with the time...in your life? / What have you done with your life?
They voted you Most Likely to Succeed and / You were headed straight to the top / Where did the time go? / What were the reasons? / When does this questioning stop?
What have you done with your life? / What have you done with your life?
Now you're invited to a final invocation / There'll be a time you're elected to go / You won't be able to cancel this appointment / You aren't at liberty to say yes or no
And you'll hear / Welcome tonight to the Last Graduation / How have you changed the world you were in? / My only Son is the hope of your salvation / What did you do with Him...in your life?
...
What have you done with your life? / Welcome tonight / To the Last Graduation...
***
Her jaw dropped. She had sung this, at the zenith of her youthful passion for God and for holiness...and now her younger self had her cornered and was mercilessly beating the excuses out of her. Where had she been? How had she changed the world she was in? What had she done with her life? Where did the time go? What were the reasons? And what could she honestly say that she had done with Jesus in her life, after this point? Virtually nothing. Only six months later, in fact, she had begun her descent into sin made all the deadlier by the fact that almost nobody called it what it actually was.
Was this, in fact, the Last Graduation? Was she the wicked and slothful servant who had assumed the worst about his Lord and buried the talent with which he had been entrusted? Would she hear the words, "Well done," or would there be wailing and gnashing of teeth?