Dr. Henry Mitchell, noted black theologian and homiletician says that "Blackpreaching is a powerful art form carried out in the idiom, imagery, style andworld view of a particular people." My seminary experience has helped meembrace this particular part of my culture and preparing for this afternoon'saddress threw me into quite a quandary. Would you be a willing participant?
The sermon in the black church context is a creative partnership and you, thelistener, have a part to play. I didn't come to preach to you but rather, toenter into a conversation with you. So, please feel free to respond as if wewere having a conversation. Don't be afraid to say "amen," laugh, cry or shoutif the spirit moves you. I don't know about you, but I've come to have a goodtime.
Rejoice, seniors, for it is almost over. In less than 24 hours, you will bereceiving your diplomas and my guess is that a sense of a bittersweettransformation has already begun to take shape in your life. This movementdidn't begin when you breathed a sigh of relief after receiving notice that youwere definitely graduating. To some extent, it began that hot and hazy day inAugust 1992 when you arrived on the Hill for Orientation. The gentle breezes ofchange were in the air. The activities of the next week would seem like awhirlwind and you were caught up in the flurry. There were new institutionalexpectations of you, residence hall rules and regulations to embrace, aroommate or two, campus traditions and rituals to explore, parties to attend,and new culinary delights to taste. Yeah, right! Then classes began and thegale force winds of academic inquiry swept you off your feet. The years thatfollowed saw you blown about like tumbleweed. You brushed up against new ideasand constructs, cultural diversity and ways of knowing that challenged all thatyou had come to hold dear. The unwillingness to embrace difference ushered inthe prevailing winds of hostility. All because we believe if we have to change,there must be something wrong with the way we are. The issue is not right orwrong. The issue is: is it helpful? The perceived best can always be better.The fast can be faster. The great can be greater. Everything mustchange!
To the ancients, the invisible movement of the wind had a divine andmysterious quality. The wind was thought of as God's breath. Our New Testamenttext tells us, "the wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it,but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes." (Jn 3:8, NSRV) TheGreek for wind is pneuma and the Hebrew is ruah which is alsotranslated as spirit. This text engages in a clever play on both meanings. The"sound of the wind" could actually be the "voice of the Spirit." Hence, thedivine and mysterious quality. The "voice of the Spirit" must be heeded if weare to get to the right place. You may not espouse that theory, but don't writeme off just yet. Stick with me.
The African-American writer Ralph Ellison said, "It takes a deep commitment tochange and an even deeper commitment to grow." You have been challenged atHamilton to grow and perhaps the "sound of the wind" has aided you in yourgrowth process. Change means identifying what you are doing, recognizing whenyou are doing it, and gently guiding yourself to do something else. Manymembers of this community have supported you as you've made these transitions:the trusted RA who listened when no one else would; a faculty member whodemanded more than you were willing to give; and a director of multiculturalaffairs who challenged you to see difference as a gift worthy of celebration.
The rewards of those who work in settings such as Hamilton are the changesthat take place in all of you between the time you arrive and graduation.Growing pains are a reality; no pain, no gain. We see you grow through yourthoughts, words and deeds. I ask you, have you noticed the change inyourselves? Your local meteorologist, Rich Luterman, tells me that DopplerRada
