Here’s
a prayer of blessing offered by parents at Canadian Mennonite University’s
Baccalaureate service in 2014. It references 1 Kings 19:9-23; Matthew 11:2-6.
Prayer for Graduates
(references 1 Kings
19:9-23 and Matthew 11:2-6)
God
of Elijah; God of John and his disciples; God of each one of us:
Thank
you so very much for questions: What ARE we doing here?
We
are up here this morning with Elijah in a high place
a place reached after years of hard
work, long nights,
some sweat, some tears, some
anxiety, some exhilaration;
Years
of being asked questions with the expectation of finding answers.
Up
here in that high place, poised to
step out and step into… whatever is
next.
And
You ask another question: What are you
doing HERE?
Lord,
I pray that each of these grads
having drunk deeply from the wells
of knowledge
so abundant in this place of
learning
will
hear your question of them today
and
will have learned the wisdom to do as Elijah did –
to
watch and listen and to wait
in the face of uncertainty and
adversity
even
in the face of certainty
through the mighty winds and
unsettling earthquakes
and the passionate fires of their
living;
May
each have learned
to
watch and wait and listen for your still small voice:
to comfort them when they are
distressed
to distress them when they become
too comfortable;
To open their eyes to the many signs
and wonders
that daily proclaim your
active presence
in
their lives and in our world;
To open their hearts to those blind
and lame and leprous ones
for whom You have a
heart;
To keep asking questions of faith
and life
of meaning and purpose
of justice and peace
of Your will and Your
love.
Wise
ones through the ages have taught us
that such earnest seeking after You
and Your lifegiving Presence
is the beginning of Wisdom.
May
the love of learning being celebrated by each grad here today
blossom
into that deeper and abiding wisdom.
For this this day;
For the next day;
For every day.
AMEN. May it be so.
~
written by Paul D. Bergen of Edmonton, Alberta for the 2014 Baccalaureate
service at Canadian Mennonite University.
