Here’s a prayer of commissioning and blessing for graduates from Prof.
David Balzer at Canadian Mennonite University. It draws inspiration from N.T.
Wright’s Surprised by Hope.
Graduation
Prayer
O
Lord, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth. (Psalm 8:1)
With
the Psalmist we stand in awe and humility, O God our Creator,
of
the good gifts you have given us in these graduates.
You
have instilled in them an insatiable curiosity
about
your world, your people and your earth.
This
curiosity, this thirst for truth
has
led them here to this place,
and
we are so grateful for the privileged years of friendship,
of
diligence and struggle, of new insight and discovery.
And
now, as they go from here
we
ask that you would graciously continue to fill them
with
a deep and abiding knowledge of your love for them.
And
we ask that, by your Spirit,
they
may tend to the world and help set it right once again.
Give
them open hearts to feel its pain,
and
courage enough not to be overwhelmed by its suffering.
May
they taste the joy of seeing your kingdom come
in
every corner of this planet.
And
we ask that, by your Spirit,
they
would add to the beauty in your world.
Fuel
them with an imagination as artisans of word, song and deed,
that
comes to terms with both the wounds of the world
and
the promise of the resurrection.
And
we ask that, by your Spirit,
they
may be nourished and renewed by hope,
the
good news that God is God, that Jesus is Lord,
and
that the powers of evil have been defeated,
and
that God’s new world has begun.
May
mercy, beauty and hope be theirs, in this world for your glory.
And
now we speak this blessing on them:
Numbers
6:25-26
The Lord bless you
and
keep you;
the Lord make his
face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his
face toward you
and give you peace.
In
the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord, Amen.
~
written by David Balzer (Assistant Professor of Communications and Media), for
the 2014 Convocation at Canadian Mennonite University, with inspiration from N.T.
Wright’s Surprised by Hope (2008).
