Davison's Doodle

To live consciously

This morning I had the honor to say a few words at a congregation’s celebration of their graduating high school seniors.  Though it has been a while since I graduated from high school (early 1980’s) I have memories of the Senior’s Lunch that Central Christian Church in Waco, TX hosted.  Somewhere I have the bible and concordance that was I received as a gift.  Sometimes these kinds of gatherings feel like just another thing to attend or make happen, but these are good moments in congregational life.  Here is the text of my remarks this morning.

Think about what you saw.
The next time you see injustice
The next time you witness hatred
The next time you hear about genocide¹

Think about what you saw.

That is good advice at any transition in life.  It is a poignant reminder for you and all of us.  The world in which you have grown up is full of moments: complex, brutal, and beautiful.   If Shakespeare is right and “all the world’s a stage,” you are finishing up an off-Broadway performance called “high school.”  That musical or play contained all the ingredients of a big Broadway production.  With the help of family, friends, your church, the teachings of Jesus, and your faith, you’ve prepared for the next role: adulthood.  As you take a bow and exit the high school stage, I trust you will remember and think about what you saw and learned from minor players, lead performances, parables and prayer that have helped shape your character.  Many labored to set you on a path that only you can walk, sometimes into the spotlight, but most often it is a supporting role.

Rev. Dr. Fred Craddock was one of the greatest preachers of the 20th Century, and he was a Disciples minister.  He spoke with Chi Rho & CYF youth at our General Assembly in Portland back in 2005. He was asked if he had a favorite verse of scripture to which he replied, “No, but I do have favorite hymns.  I’m not much of a singer, but music helps shape memories.  Some of the old hymns really help me get through life.  They tell a story about where I was when I sang it.  Hymns help tell the Christian story.”  One of his favorite hymns was, “O God Our Help in Ages Past.”  You’ve had lots of experiences in this church, on youth group trips, mission trips, and lock-ins.  The melody of your favorite hymn or praise song will go with you into adulthood and help you remember the foundation of faith you were gifted in this congregation.

In these next weeks you will hear many words of wisdom, cliche’ about success, and living a meaningful life.  And like you heard me say many times on IAS, “smile” and always be aware of your surroundings.  So, here are a few pithy quotes about success.

“We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.”
Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook)

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou (Author/Poet)

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady of The US , 1933 – 1945)

“Your dad and I raised you the best we could.  We know, that you know, right from wrong. We know you will not go off and embarrass our family, but you are going to embarrass yourself from time to time.  That’s becoming an adult.”
Yvonne (Michael’s mother. August 1983)

“It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
J.K Rowling (Billionaire Author)

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa (Philanthropist/Charity Worker)

I witnessed an example of Mother Teresa’s wisdom this month.  My companion, Lisa, and I usually go on holiday (vacation) during Holy week.  The Saturday before Palm Sunday, April 8, we were trying to fly from Tulsa to Fort Lauderdale.  On Palm Sunday we were boarding a cruise ship. Trying to fly that Saturday because Delta was still dealing with lots of cancellations that began on Wednesday of that week when storms shut down the Atlanta airport for a couple of hours.  Delta had lots of headaches for seven days trying to move passengers and the crews to fly the planes.

By mid-afternoon, Lisa arrived in Atlanta and I was waiting for my connection in Charlotte.  At the far end of terminal B there are six American gates.  All of them swarming with people watching for a place to sit or watching the screens at each gate roll through the stand by list.  I walked up and noticed that my flight at gate B13 had 30 names on the stand by list.  I moved closer to the boarding area and could hear a voice over the buzz of the waiting swarm.  A tall man’s voice echoed off the wall behind the gate agent.  “I must get on this flight.  You cannot make me wait any longer.  Get a supervisor right now.  I’m not taking this anymore. I cannot believe Delta didn’t make these arrangements.”  There are another fifteen people waiting their turn with the agent whose voice was low enough not to be heard, though his face was flush.  I wondered when security would arrive.

A woman, maybe five foot-five, approached from the seating area.  Standing next to the tall man at the gate desk she spoke clearly to be heard over the buzz.  “Please stop yelling.  I’ve been waiting like you.  We all have.  I have a seat on this flight. I’m going to see a family member in the hospital in Fort Lauderdale, but I can wait if you need to get there that bad.  What I’m saying is you can have my seat.”  The tall man looked down at her.  His shoulders dropped.  He breathed deeply.  The gate agent has this stunned look of disbelief as he whispers something into the phone, then hangs it up.

The tall man, looks at the gate agent and then the woman.  “That’s not necessary.  I’m sorry.” He turns and walks away, but the woman doesn’t let him off that easy.  She follows him through the maze of standing people into the chair area across the room.  His wife moves a backpack so he can sit.  The two kids are deep into their screens.  The woman bends over to speak.  The swarm remained in their own worlds and the buzz of people block out the words spoken between them.  I looked away so not to intrude.   When the flight is called I looked back and she had already said here goodbye.  I didn’t see her on my plane, but she must have been there somewhere.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

The book, This is Water, ends with these words:

It is unimaginably hard to do this — to live consciously, adultly, day in and day out.   Which means another cliche’ is true: Your education really is the job of a lifetime, and it commences — now.²

Stay curious.  Read a variety of authors and subjects.  Find friends that are different from you, listen, study different points of view.    Continually rekindle the spark of God that is within you.  Some verse from Maya Angelou’s, A Brave and Startling Truth, is a good reminder that you are a gift.

A Brave And Startling Truth³

Maya Angelou

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

Notes

1. United States Holocaust Museum: www.ushmm.org

2. David Foster Wallace, This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occassion, about Living a Compassionate Life. Little, Brow, and Company (New York) 2009. 135-37.

3. Maya Angelou, A Brave And Startling Truth. June 1995.
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-brave-and-startling-truth/