Baccalaureate Address

When Mr. Jeffery asked me to speak to you - the Woodstock School class of 2005 - at your bacculaureate service today, he mentioned to me that - in general - the School has three criteria when considering whom to invite to speak at this annual ceremony. First, he said, the speaker should have an ongoing connection to Woodstock School. This I believe I may claim to have as a member of the School's Board of Directors.although I would point out that my connection does not extend to being an alumnus, as flatteringly but erroneously reported in last month's edition of the Brown and Gold. I wish I could claim that distinction - which you will soon be able to do - but I cannot. Secondly, Mr. Jeffery said the speaker should be able to address you from a Christian perspective since, after all, a baccalaureate service is a religious service. And our School's ethos and very being is deeply rooted in the Christian faith. In this regard, I hope that I can claim some small ability. Thirdly, Mr. Jeffery mentioned that the speaker should be able to address you - the Class of 2005 - in an interesting enough manner so that you don't fall asleep! Well, that isn't exactly what your esteemed Principal said, but - in a nutshell - that is what I heard. How successful I am in holding your attention and interest, we shall find out in about ten minutes hence by your state of animation.or your state of repose!

In this historic hall, each of you has heard over the years many sermons, homilies, formal speeches, informal talks and student-led debates. You've listen to day-to-day announcements. You've seen - and many of you have participated in - concerts, plays, musicals, and other sorts of presentations. Many of these events are etched in your minds, and no doubt they will flash back to you now and again, once you leave this lovely place that is Woodstock School. Obviously, I cannot guarantee that this particular ceremony will be for you one of the most memorable of the many occasions you've celebrated here in Parker Hall. But it just may be - certainly not because I am speaking to you - but because of the momentousness of the occasion itself. This is, after all - and for all time - the only bacculaureate service at Woodstock School that is yours alone. It belongs to you. It's your moment, your day, your special time in the special history of Woodstock School. I congratulate you upon your graduation and thank you for allowing me to be a part of this observance, which recognizes the importance and relevance of religion in our lives. On this important occasion, I would like, if I may, to leave you with just a few thoughts, which I hope will interest, encourage and challenge you.

I wish to take as my reference two verses from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. I read from Philippians, Chapter 4, versus 8 and 9. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Here, in these two verses, St. Paul is presenting the people at Philippi - and us - with a very tall order. We are enjoined to not only think about but to put into practice in our lives ".whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.excellent or praiseworthy." A tall order, indeed, but certainly not one to which only Christians are called, for of course other religions exhort believers to this same high road.

But, what is "true"? What is "pure" ? Surely what is "lovely" to one person is not always lovely to another. What is "admirable"?" Excellent"? "Praiseworthy"? I certainly cannot always answer these questions even for myself, let alone for you. Of course, each of us has ideas or notions of what is embodied in these values. And some interpretations are more commonly accepted among us than others. After all, those of us who are touched by Woodstock do share many common beliefs and values. As simple examples, we can certainly all agree that it is not praiseworthy to steal or do drugs, and that it is admirable to render service to others. But where do we come out, for example, in defining what is "true"? Your generation, more than any other generation before you, is daily bombarded by differing versions of what is called "truth", what is called "right". How does one decide? What does your own, personal moral compass tell you? What does your common sense tell you? And what does your mother tell you?! And what your moral compass and your common sense tell you, may not be what I read in my own set of tea leaves, so be speak. So where does this leave you? Where does this leave any of us? Are we all reduced to relativism? Does it all come down to, "If it feels good, it must be okay, it must be right. it must be true, it must be admirable?"

I think not. Over the sixty years of my own life, my Christian faith has been nurtured in the Episcopal or Anglican tradition. (Now, before I go any further, for those of you who may be confused by what an Episcopalian is - since I don't believe there have been so many of them roaming around this hillside over the years - I will give you a very simple explanation. An Episcopalian is a Protestant who kneels when he prays in church. The ones who don't kneel are called Presbyterians. But more on them later!)

Anyway, what I want to say about the Episcopalians is that, in general, they are great advocates of something called " discernment". Believe it or not, they even go so far as to have "Discernment Committees" (Such committees are meant to help people in churches to better decide - in consultation with others - what their particular role can best be in a parish).Now, Webster's dictionary defines discernment as "keenness of insight" and this of course is something on which no one holds a monopoly, not even we Episcopalians with our committee structure. Discernment is a characteristic that I hope - I believe - you have been able to develop in your years here at Woodstock School. Thankfully, yours has not been an education that is "values neutral". You have been instructed in the humanities and sciences from a particular perspective.a perspective rooted in the Christian faith and which binds you irrevocably to all that is good.and to act out this goodness in your life. You have been taught to question assertions and not be led astray by fades and fashions or cults and crazes. You have been encouraged to think critically.and for yourself. You have learned to better recognize what is beautiful and good (and what is evil and not good). In short, you have learned discernment. As you go on to college and out into the world, I hope that each of you consciously takes with you this ability to look into a thing - to look into a matter - and prayerfully decide for yourself where you rightfully stand with regard to the many complex questions that will face you. If you do, St. Paul's injunction to ".think on these [good] things..and act on them" will live in and through you as you seek and find your own special place in the world.

And as you head out from here, may I also remind you yet again - as your teachers have reminded you again and again - to remain receptive to new arguments and new ideas.for, after all, the generations before yours certainly haven't come up with all the answer to a better world, to say the least. The other day, as I was waiting at a stoplight on Lodhi Road in south Delhi where I live, I looked up - as I always do at this particular light - at the electronic message board on the so-called Productivity Building. I'm not at all sure what they do inside the Productivity Building, but I do know that they display wonderful sound bites. These are much better, say, than the ones on the Habitat Centre screen that are always telling you how bad the air is that you have no choice but to breath! Anyway, on this particular day, the Productivity Building sign said this: "The mind is like a parachute, it only works when it's open". Now, I thought that was a fine kernel of wisdom.and neatly packaged in neon too! If we are going to be discerning, if we are going to be keen in our observations of what is going on around us, if we are going to decide wisely, then we certainly need to keep an open mind. We obviously need to look at things from every perspective, and then consider for ourselves where we stand. But, at the same time, we should be sure to remember that an open mind isn't a garbage can with its lid off! As you already know from your education and training here at Woodstock, some ideas out there are pretty goofy - some even downright nasty and probably sinful - and they really don't need to take up a lot of your time, except perhaps in opposition to them. When St. Paul says, ".think about such things.and put[them] into practice.", he is emphasizing the good in the world and calling us to it.

Lastly, I would like to suggest that "accepting differences" among ourselves - and accepting them graciously - is something to which we are all summoned.for it is truly an admirable and praiseworthy thing. You soon-to-be Woodstock graduates have learned at a relatively early age the joys of accepting differences. My own school days could hardly have been more different from what you've experienced here on this hillside. I grew up in rural America where there were very few distinctions among us in our little community. We were all white. We were all Protestant. We all spoke the same language (well, more-or-less). Economically, we were all middle class. But, true to our human frailty, we did nonetheless sometimes draw out distinctions among ourselves. I will relate one childhood story that - forgive me for a minute here - brings me back to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians. This sort of incident that I am about to relate happened regularly, during my school days, on what was our equivalent of Hanson Field. I was reminded of it when Rev. Erik Templeton, Rev. Anita Templeton and I were recently driving up to Mussoorie from Delhi and were wiling away the time talking about this and that.

Well, kids like to tease each other. We all know that. And the Presbyterian kids at my school liked to joke about our Episcopalian prayer habits. They called us "Piscys", short for Episcopalian. (Just to make this story more real for you I will take the liberty of pointing out to you - if you don't already know this - that your Deputy Principal, Ms. Kaye Aoki, is a Piscy.) Anyway, the Presbyterian kids would taunt us, "Piscy, Piscy, down he bends, on his knees and back again." Well, this was rather annoying. So, we Episcopalian kids would verbally strike back at the Presbys. (Again, an example in your midst of a Presby is your Academic Dean and my fair cousin, Ms. Kathy Hoffman!) So, we Piscys would shout back, "Presby, Presby, too proud to bend, sitting upright on man's chief end." and then we'd run off before some big Presby guy came and beat us up!

Well, these were actually rather fun childhood games that played on minor differences and did no real harm. But, a few years later - when at the age of 21 I found myself a school teacher in the Himalayas of Nepal - I began to see the tragedy - and also the beauty - of more significant differences among us. In the village where I lived, it was terrible to see firsthand the high caste moneylenders with their usurious interest rates ripping off the tribals. Yet it was wonderful to see the moneylender's kid and the tribal kid happily playing together on our school grounds. It was disheartening to see the literate shopkeeper take unfair advantage of villagers who could not read in any language and probably couldn't do sums in their heads. Yet, it was wonderful to see their joyously coming together on feast days. And today, we see differences among us increasingly highlighted to the extent that tragedy multiplies upon tragedy. Protestants and Catholics often still struggle with their differences, rather than emphasizing the commonality of their faith. The Sunnis and Shias often do the same, sometimes to the point of violence and death. Here in India, true communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims continues to elude us. And certainly the Americans have some considerable way to go before the inequalities based on colour are forever eliminated. God blessed us with the beauty of diversity, but all too often we choose to shatter this beauty with prejudice and hate. No, Woodstock Class of 2005, your parent's generation and their parent's generation have not done such a good job of graciously accepting the differences among us, of - as it says in St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians - keeping ".the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Ephesians: 4.3). But, in your years here, you have learned the joy of the diversity that has surrounded you. You have learned to live and learn and have fun together in this unique place where diversity abounds. You have learned respect for each other. And you have been educated to make a world of difference, to make a better world by going from here to serve God and your fellow men and women. As you leave these halls, I challenge you to improve upon the performance of generations past - to improve upon our performance - and help us all to better learn and love the beauty of diversity that God has put before us.

Discernment, open-mindedness, gracefully accepting our differences, serving others.these are, I believe, key attributes that you have learned and that will lead you - as you go from this place - to where St. Paul was trying to lead the Philippians.to what is true, to what is noble, to what is right, to what is pure, to what is lovely, to what is admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. And what you have learned here and received here, please, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you!