"FIVE SMOOTH STONES"

(Dedicated to Jeremi David Green on the occasion

of his graduation from high school, May 31,1998.)

Jeremi--your day has come--high school graduation:

that time when the law says you have survived enough tests of knowledge

to enter the world of experience.

The joys and triumphs of this day

are shared by each of us;

for there were times when we feared

that "good night" would rob us of this day; times when we stood by helpless

as your body writhed in pain

from forces beyond our control.

You survived the night

and now you shine brightly in the day –

­testimony in blood that God is real!

Yes, I used the G word-­

though it is not fashionable to do so after Time has declared it passe' --

­replaced by chip, digital, and cyberspace. Yet, your being here this day.

bears witness that God still lives

and continues to pass out blessings!

You are living proof that God's reality

depends not on Wall Street, Fleet Street or Silicon Valley.

When you ascend the stage

and receive your diploma,

keep in mind that each letter,

each symbol of punctuation,

has been etched there by the hopes

and aspirations of all those who have

had charge of you during the score less two years of your sojourn:

teachers, parents, friends, and yes, your sister.

Remember them when temptation arises

to surrender to the foolishness of the day;

Remember them and the nights and days

spent weeping by your bedside;

the moments during which they cheered you to make the winning basket.

For you to ever live less than a full, authentic child of God is to

tarnish their memories and to make light of their sacrifices.

And so, on your graduation from high school,

I give you five smooth stones with which to slay the giants

now gathering at your lifegate.

To slay the giant of cynicism,

I give you the stone of truth-­

not the truth of opinion polls and surveys;

but that truth which is as perennial as the grass-

­the greatest of which you have already discovered-­the reality of God.

For the giant of expediency,

I give you the stone of righteousness. Ever about you will be those who will offer a "better way," or a shortcut. Shortcuts often lead to longsuffering!

Do what is right even when it hurts,

for as difficult as right sometimes is-­right is never wrong!

Against the giant of confrontation,

I give you the stone of peace-­

not the peace of not doing

but the peace of being:

in control of the direction of your life,

firm in the presence of shifting sands,

cool in the heat of passion,

and deliberate where others seek happenstance.

To combat the giant of covetousness, I leave you a stone of faith-­

faith in the God who made you,

the Son who redeemed you,

and the Spirit which sustains you. Ultimately, the universe is absurd-­

the only order is in the continuity of its disorder.

All that you can see and imagine

will someday pass away-­

all that is, except the Order

beyond the chaos.

To overcome the giant of narcissism,

I grant you the stone of Golgothic love.

It is the love born out of the great

tragedy at Calvary-­

where God was held upright

and humanity nailed to the crossbeam. Greater love cannot be found than

at the moment where life dies for life.

Do not be afraid to feel with your heart

and to touch your neighbors lying streetside.

Baptize yourself in the pool which flows from Calvary

and emerge a new creature with eyes looking out not in.

Finally, on the day you were conceived

a certain giant started its trek towards you; there were times when its shadow was very near though now it seems ever so far away.

You cannot slay this giant-­

though with a final sling of all five stones

you can transform it-­

from a grave to a door,

from darkness to light,

from finitude to eternity!

Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and love:

five smooth stones

when used with the sling of personal responsibility

will slay an army of giants.

I said earlier that these stones are my gift to you-­

not so, all I have done is to remind you of them

for these gifts were given to you a long time ago

by persons not often recognized as wise by young people--­ your parents.

Use these stones wisely, Jeremi

and with eagle wings

you will soar beyond Mars and Venus to a place

where the leaves never fall and the grass never withers

and all things end at the beginning.