If you live in an academic world like I do, commencements
come around annually. Actually, some
bigger schools have more than one commencement per year. By now I have done countless
commencements. It would be interesting
to know how many students I have seen walk across the stage to shake someone’s
hand (usually the President’s hand) and receive a diploma. I am always happy for them.
Commencements have a great deal of ritual that makes the
ceremony more interesting. One of the
obvious rituals is the school’s alma mater.
Not all of these songs are great music, but they do have interesting
phrases about the history and hopes of the school. There are also other distinguishing features
that help the graduates feel a sense of connection to their schools.
I have “heard” too many speeches at commencements! Many of those speeches were given by some
rich people who would be given an honorary degree. Of course, I understand any school’s need for
outside financial resources. I
understand the need to cultivate good will in the community and positive vibes
for the school. I am not cynical about
the function of these speeches nor the honorary degree given. They simply are part of the commencement
scene.
However, commencements are fairly complex affairs if you exam
them. Naturally the centerpiece of the
commencement is the diploma. Diplomas
are crafted for an institution to indicate a particular person has satisfied
the requirements for a particular degree.
The Bachelor’s degree is typically the first college degree. If I have a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree,
my personalized diploma will attest to that.
It will have my name, date, and signatures of two of the dignitaries of
the college or university. The diploma
becomes a symbol. I can hang it on my
wall or in my home.
When someone comes into my home or office and sees my
diploma, it instantly communicates to the person that I am a graduate. It “tells” them that I have done the
requisite work to have earned the degree.
It validates me. It is a
guarantee of sorts. I never thought
about it before, but in a way it is like a warranty for a car or other
appliance. It testifies that I have
learned and I am capable.
But that is precisely where it can be misleading. And at a commencement, nobody talks about how
misleading the diploma might be.
Commencements celebrate and honor all the achievements of the graduates. And this is appropriate. I have no problem with that. I have a few degrees of my own and theoretically
they validate me.
What worries me a bit is not the commencement, but the
diploma. I like academic commencements. I like the ritual, the hoopla, and the
festivities. I approve of all the
accolades offered to students. I approve
of all that commencements aim to celebrate and symbolize.
What worries me is the diploma. I worry a bit that it often promises more
than the person can deliver. It seems to
me the diploma suggests that because someone took “x” number of classes and
fulfilled all requirements that he or she is capable of all that the degree
promises. I am cynical enough to think
that passing classes is not the same thing as education. And education, after all, is what college is
all about.
Allow me to interpret what I would hope a diploma suggests
and, perhaps, promises. I would hope a
diploma says that someone has spent enough time in a college setting that he or
she knows how to learn. And more
importantly, the diploma should say that learning is a life-long endeavor. I would hope it promises the holder of the
diploma is committed to doing all the college-kind of things that further the
holder’s educational effectiveness in the world.
And then the analogy hit me.
What if our spiritual pilgrimages were somewhat like school? We might not get diplomas, but often we have
to do some specific things to join a church or similar group. Like an academic commencement, this should
not signal the end, but the beginning of our deeper journey into our faith.
Something further hit me when I pursued this analogy. I realize I can tell someone that I am a
Christian. That is a bit like saying
that I am a college graduate. It suggests
and promises a great deal that might or might not be true of me. I can say that I am a Christian, but that may
be as far as it goes. To say that I am a
Christian might not mean that I do one active thing that Christians ought to
do. Sadly, I could say that I am a
Christian and have no actions that Christians should do…like love, work for
justice, etc.
I have enough diplomas.
I want to work on my faith. I
want to actualize my faith. I want to
make my faith more than simply some creedal statement. I want my faith to cash out in some
action. Commencements are one-day
affairs. My faith is an every-day affair. Tomorrow I have another chance to practice my
faith. The word, commencement, means to
“begin.” Tomorrow I will commence
again…commence to turn faith into action.
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