Grace and Grit

[Butch Ritter]

My last Annual Conference as an active clergy begins tomorrow. We have different interests, and I confess Annual Conference is not one of mine. I enjoy seeing friends, acquaintances and meeting new people. More often than you would think, I appreciate the various worship services. We celebrate the entrance

Of new clergy into ministry and the exit of those who died. The services can be powerful reminders of who we are called to be. They can also be tedious. You never know at the beginning. Wednesday evening it is my turn to retire.

                I did not know the preacher at the service when I was first ordained. I don’t know the preacher at the retirement service. Clearly, things change slowly.

 

                Tufts University invited a Navy SEAL to be the commencement speaker this year. We don’t hear many from military service speak to graduating classes. His name is Eric Greitens. He is a 38-year-old Rhodes scholar who has served several tours overseas. The recipient of several military awards is today the CEO of the Mission Continues, a nonprofit foundation that helps wounded and disabled veterans find ways to serve at home. His challenge to the graduates was to find ways to serve, to think beyond themselves. His focus was not feel-good advice. Martin Buber wrote, “All education ‘worthy’ of the name is education of character.” Greitens talked about vocation, not jobs. He spoke of vocation, not salary. “The best definition I have ever heard of a vocation is that it’s the place where your great joy meets the world’s great need… We need all of you to develop your joys, your passions, and match them to the world’s great needs.” Instead of what do you want to do when you grow up? We should ask Whom do you want to be? What ideals do you want to serve?

 

                Let us make our lives a Te Deum, not a tedium.

 

Butch