"Be
Persistent, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable"
by The Reverend Kerry J. Smith
Delivered in
Memorial Hall
Oh this hallowed hall! This sacred
space from our past, steeped in the souls of those who went before us, a
harbinger then, of things to come and a reminder now, of things that have
passed. How fitting that we gather here,
as family, to remember those of our brothers who have left us for their final
reward, just as the others so reverently remembered here.
During my life in Bancroft Hall, this was a safe haven for me. A refuge of peace and quiet in the cacophony
that usually permeated the rest of these esteemed quarters. I spent many an hour in this place during my
brief four year stay here, thinking about those heroes who had gone before me,
sung and unsung, of large deeds and small,
all heroes, none the less. And
the question that filled my mind more often than not, was that same question
asked by Micah in our reading this morning ". with what shall I come before the
Lord".
Never in my wildest imagination did I dream that someday I would be back
here, honoring other heroes with whom I had shared this famous home, 58 Classmates, who at this young age have
been "poured out as a libation", to use Paul's words. Some heroically, some tragically, and others
quietly, all having "fought the good fight, and finished the race".
I can't help but feel that, could they speak to us now, and I'm sure many
of us have been spoken to in the sacred silence of this hall, they would
encourage us with the words of Paul's timely message to
39 years ago, in this place, we embarked on a four year journey to hone
our values and forge our characters.
Back then, physical strength, stamina, courage, toughness, endurance,
mental acuity, punctuality, and being squared away were most highly
valued. These attributes defined our
standings and were used as predictors of our futures- futures as disciplined
warriors and leaders that have carried over into business careers and careers
of service to others. These attributes
were emphasized to prepare us for specific types of challenges, conflicts and
adversities that we may face in the defense of our country. Some of them have diminished for us as we
have aged, but the values and character that were forged here have grown and
strengthened over the years.
As we gather here, after all of those years, we are at a different place
in our lives. We have met the
challenges, resolved the conflicts and overcome the adversities for which we so
carefully prepared here, and we have prevailed, one way or another, which has
allowed us to gather, once again as brothers, but facing new and different
challenges, conflict and adversities in our lives - challenges, conflicts and
adversities for which we were not necessarily trained during those halcyon days
of our youth and bravado, and for which we may feel unprepared - challenges of
loss, more frequent and personal than before.
Losses associated with our roles, our health, our capacity, or our loved
ones. I am not as strong, as mentally
sharp, or confident as I was then. I
don't see as well, hear as well, or have the stamina that I had as a young
ensign. But I have more wisdom,
experience and a broader perspective of the world. We can triumph against the new challenges of
very personal change that we will face, if we persistently fall back on the
character traits and values that were forged here and that we have polished
over the many years since our graduation.
Some of us now have partners who can help and strengthen us as we face
these challenges (if we let them). Some
of us are going it alone, either by choice or misfortune, but it is important
to have someone to rely on when our challenges seem too great, just like we
relied on each other all those many years ago.
That's where a strong faith in God comes in. A personal and close relationship just like
those strong and valued relationships that brought us back here after 35 years.
Today, as we gather to share our feelings of loss for our fallen
classmates, we need to be mindful of how we handle our losses and remember to
be persistent in dealing with them in a mindful and constructive manner. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they are part
of our life cycle, and it is not as much what our losses are, but how we handle
them that will determine how well we finish out our lives.
In the Hindu tradition, there are three phases in life: Youth, a time for learning; Middle Age, a
time for raising a family and building a career; and Maturity, a time for
applying all of our learning and wisdom in the betterment of our society and
the world. Unfortunately, our modern
society doesn't always seem to grasp this third phase of life. I know many
extraordinarily intelligent, experienced and gifted people who end their
military or business careers, and are lost, feeling that their lives are
over. I have also seen many people who
have lost spouses, or physical capacities and instead of grieving in a healthy
way, have dropped into the depths of depression and self-pity, never to return
and never to actualize their God given gifts during this important phase of their
lives. My father, a retired Navy Captain
and a captain of the commercial Nuclear Power industry, was one of those
people, so I observed this process first hand.
"Be persistent, in times favorable and unfavorable." We must be strong enough to get help to
grieve our losses in a healthy way and to continue running our personal race
all the way through the finish line. Oh
how our world, and particularly our country, need what we have to give. We must strengthen ourselves for the new
challenges we face, so that we can continue to be productive, helpful and
effective when we are called. We must
prepare, just as we prepared here for the challenges of our future. We must strengthen our faith through prayer,
whatever our persuasion, and learn to rely on our God when the burdens seem too
great for us to handle alone. We must
look at our new changes as opportunities for new life experiences, all the way
up until the final change. We must be
persistent in pursuing constructive change, always looking to make the best
contribution we can with whatever resources are available, just as we learned
here so many years ago. We have much of
our lives to live and a great deal more to contribute. I'm sure those we memorialize here today
would love to have the opportunities we have before us today.
Among the most important and most frequently avoided changes we must
prepare ourselves to deal with are end of life issues, because we will be
dealing with them more frequently.
No-one lives forever, I face that fact regularly in my line of
work. We must be prepared, so that we
can be a strong and calming presence when the time comes, either for us or for someone
we love. We must learn the facts about
end of life issues and how we can be helpful during this unavoidable stage of
life. We must be persistent in our
courage and moral strength and prepare, as we prepared here, to be a helpful,
strong and calming presence in situations we cannot control.
The messages we shared today from both Micah and Paul are very relevant
to the worlds we face as we leave this joyous gathering. Give some thought, in the upcoming weeks, to
what you plan to come with when you come before your God. Then be persistent in preparing for that
meeting in both favorable and unfavorable time.
Always remembering, that God is there to help when the
burden seems too great, just as we were always there for each other, oh so many
years ago.
Amen
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