托马斯校长向格林路德高中的毕业生致辞

在我开始向各位毕业生致辞之际，我想暂停一下，对你们说:“祝贺你们.”  I know that you will hear this often today.  But of all years, you need to absorb that word.  It’s been a very hard 15 months.  We’ve all endured a great deal, 但你, 即将毕业的大四学生, in particular have borne a heavy burden.  There have been losses, to be sure.  And we could all recount them… But there have 也 有机会重新开始思考什么才是真正重要的.  今天’s Graduation Address will be about that… what matters.

当你离开时 Crean Lutheran High School today, as graduates, the world is open before you.  It sounds cliché, but 它是 true.  It doesn’t mean things will be easy… far from it.  This year has reminded us of that fact!  Many paths will open; others will close.  在这段旅程中，你将在许多扇门之间做出选择, the others will disappear in 你的 past.  This can be paralyzing OR it can be exhilarating.  今天, 我希望在你们踏上高中毕业后的奇妙人生之旅时，能给你们一些小小的建议.  Whether you are leaving for college in a few months, starting a new career next week, leaving to serve our nation in the Armed Forces, 或者休个空档年……这个建议没有截止日期.  

Congratulations … Of all years, you need to absorb that word.

New York Times’ columnist, David Brooks, in his book titled, 品格之路, emphasizes what we Lutherans call vocation or one’s “calling.” 

他指出，在我们的文化中，我们专注于建立自己的人格美德.  你的GPA是多少??  What is 你的 favorite academic subject?  Where do you go to school?  你进大学了吗?  你们现在面临的问题是:你要去哪所大学?  How much scholarship money did you secure?  What position did you l和?  Which branch of the military did you choose?  What are you doing during this gap year?  

在以后的生活中，这些问题将包括:你以什么为生?   你在哪里工作??  What neighborhood do you live in?  如果有人很粗鲁，他们可能会问:你的银行账户有多大?  

你的一些改过自新的美德现在非常重要，将来也会继续如此.  他们就是这样.  If you have the proper balance in life, 你的品格将建立在上帝赋予你的才能和技能之上.  Indeed, one’s calling in life, as 它是 expressed as an occupation—be it a student, 会计, 老师, 科学家, 官, 商人, 主要, or professor—is a gift from God, 和 we should celebrate the gifts that God has given us.  从很多方面来说，今天上午的典礼都是在庆祝rsamsum美德.  Certainly, each one of you has earned these accolades!  And we want to celebrate all that you have achieved! 

但你很清楚, 你的老师, 教练, Crean的工作人员一直在努力全面地教育你们, as a whole person:  forming 你的 mind, body, 心, 和灵魂.  当然，他们通过塑造你们的思想，在学术上对你们进行了教育.  Through varsity sports 和 extracurricular activities, 比如合唱团, 音乐, 剧院, dance… 你的 bodies have 也 been formed.  

However, Crean is a Lutheran high school.  在这里，你已经认识了三位一体的神:圣父、圣子和圣灵.  你已经面对了我们罪恶本性的现实，我们总是把自己放在一切事物的中心.  你们已经听到了上帝赐予我们的宽恕的宣言，这使我们与上帝和我们的每一个邻居都恢复了正常.  

Your 心s 和 你的 souls have been formed.  你们的心，因为你们被鼓励和授权去爱你的邻居就像爱自己一样.  还有你们的灵魂，因为你们受到了挑战去思考对上帝的奉献和爱的生活.   

So you see, 你的 Crean education has been so much 更多的 than just building up 你的 résumé virtues.  The faculty have tried to instill in you a deeper appreciation 和 awareness of what David Brooks calls the “eulogy” virtues. 

今天, 我们是 celebrating a long list of academic 成就. 在接下来的几十年里，你们将会建立起令人印象深刻的人格美德清单.  但我希望你能把这个问题放在你的脑海中:在你生命的尽头, what will 你的 悼词的美德是?

How have we served others?  How have we lessened the suffering around us?  How have we brought hope to the world?  How have we loved the unlovable?  这些 悼词是美德吗?.  Why are they called eulogy virtues?  这些 are the things people will say about 我们每个人 我们的葬礼上. 

Résumé virtues are certainly important.  然而，深刻的，有意义的，充实的生活最终是在我们的悼词美德中找到的.  And you already intuitively know that they are 更多的 important!

我敢打赌，如果我给你们每人发一份问卷，让你们提供5个答案 突出了 从你在Crean的日子开始，你可能会列出一项resamsum美德.  也许是你的GPA，你最喜欢的课程，你刚刚宣布的奖学金.  但我猜你可能会谈论你大一那年的友谊, mentoring by a beloved faculty member, relationships with staff or 教练, 你的性格, 值, 和 morals have been honed 更多的 precisely, 或者你甚至可以列出与我们主的属灵相遇

The heuristic device provided by David Brooks, which divides résumé virtues from eulogy virtues, is very helpful to keep in mind as you contemplate 你的 future.  今天, 我们是 celebrating a long list of academic 成就 你们作为格林路德会圣徒共同完成的.  在接下来的几十年里，你们将会建立起令人印象深刻的人格美德清单.  但我希望你们能把这个问题放在脑海的最前面:  

At the end of 你的 life, what will 你的 悼词的美德是?

Through 你的 formative time here, 教职员工要求你们深入思考自己的各种神圣召唤.  当然，你的职业将是人生的一种召唤.  But you will have many other vocations or callings: son, 女儿, 朋友, 和 perhaps 一些day spouse, 家长等.  

So what is the practical lesson of all of this?  Ultimately it’s about finding balance in life.  它是关于发现你的天赋与你的职业道路相匹配的最佳点，这样每天都似乎处于最佳状态.  让上帝通过你在这个世界上执行他的旨意.  

It’s 也 about discerning what is 真的 重要的生活.  几分钟前，我提到你一生中会有很多职业.  The plural, vocations, is significant.  You’re a son or 女儿 to 你的 家长s, 朋友之于朋友, a fellow student to 你的 classmates, perhaps an employee to a boss等.  Later in life you might be a spouse, 家长等.

真正重要和实际的是路德神学教导如何平衡各种职业.

考虑以下情况:我是欧文康考迪亚大学的校长.  That is one of my current callings.  While 它是 my occupation—和 one that I dearly love!-是的 只有一个 我的使命.  I am 也 a professor to students, 我教会的成员, 我父母的儿子, a brother to my siblings, 孩子们的父亲, 和 a husb和 to my wife.  

But what is 真的 important—非常实用——这是路德神学教给我的关于平衡生活的道理——关于平衡我的各种职业.  While I have many callings, 一些 可以由别人来做吗.  Many people can serve as the President of Concordia.  Many can serve as a Professor of Theology 和 Classics等.等. But only I can be the father to my children.  Only I can be a husb和 to my wife.  

But that’s not the way the world thinks.  The world prizes résumé virtues.  但这种思维方式在提供工作与生活的平衡方面是实用的……而且是符合圣经的!  这是上帝赐予我的神圣礼物，因为它授权我优先考虑布鲁克斯所说的“悼词”美德.

Having been formed at Crean Lutheran High School, 我毫不怀疑你会努力过一种自我反省的生活, 正如苏格拉底所敦促的.  并有牺牲的生命，正如主耶稣基督自己所示范的，因为他来了。”不上菜, but to serve 和 give his life as a ransom for many.”  Now those 悼词是美德吗?!

我们知道, 你们将肩负着格林路德高中的使命走向世界.  我们知道上帝会使用你们，你们每一个人，作为他的手和脚，给这个世界带来希望 is 迫切需要!  然而，当你们今天离开校园时，请记住这个事实:因为有你们在这里，格林路德会变得更美好!  

今天在座的每一个人都为你们所取得的成就感到无比自豪, 我们是 更多的 proud of you for the people you have become!

On behalf of the faculty, 教练, 和 staff of Crean 和 of 你的 family 和 朋友s, let me state that 我们是 so very proud of you.  Proud of you for all that you have accomplished; 我们是 here to celebrate all of those 成就!  Before you leave campus today, 请允许我向你们提出挑战，感谢那些为你们倾注心血的特别导师!

研究生s of the Class of 2021, 请允许我以告诉你们一个小秘密来结束这次演讲，请仔细听好:虽然今天聚集在这里的每一个人都为你们所取得的成就感到无比自豪, 我们是 更多的 proud of you for the people you have become!  

May God bless each of you!