2025.03.09 BIG TENT/LENT SERENITY. Lyn G. Brakeman, Spiritual Lemons, blog post.

The Serenity Prayer—all of  it, written in 1951 and still so needed!

God, give me grace to accept with serenity 

the things that cannot be changed, 

Courage to change the things which should be changed, 

and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. 

Living one day at a time, 

Enjoying one moment at a time, 

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, 

Taking, as Jesus did, 

This sinful world as it is, 

Not as I would have it, 

Trusting that You will make all things right, 

If I surrender to Your will, 

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, 

And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

Noted American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr was born over in Wright City, MO on June 21, 1892. He graduated from Eden Seminary in 1913 and also earned degrees from Yale Divinity School (1914, 1915). At Eden, Professor (later President) Samuel Press, who is the namesake of the school’s main building, particularly influenced Niebuhr. Ordained in the Evangelical Synod in 1915, Niebuhr was a pastor in Detroit and went on to teach at Union Theological Seminary. He authored books like "The Nature and Destiny of Man" and "Moral Man and Immoral Society."

2020.05.17 A Near-Perfect Graduation Speech

I have attended many graduations, some my own, some my children’s, some my grandchildren’s, some my steps, and others I had to attend. I have heard many graduation addresses—most lumbering, long, and forgettable. I have never been invited to address a graduating class.  If I were, here’s what I’d say:

You have been told many times how great you are, how great your school is, and how happy we all are for your graduation. I have no more words, so I just offer one piece of practical wisdom, one prayer, and one blessing, slightly revised by me.

THE WISDOM:  Stop! Sit down! Shut up!

THE PRAYER:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
         the courage to change the things I can,
                 and the wisdom to know the difference.

THE BLESSING:  Life is short. We do not have much time to gladden the hearts and minds of those who travel the way with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind. And the blessing of Love Almighty be with you this day and always. AMEN.

(Attributions:  Luke Timothy Johnson, New Testament professor, on prayer; Theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, Serenity Prayer;  Henri-Frederic Amiel, Swiss moral philosopher.)

In my mind, as I stepped down from the podium, leaving everyone stunned, then jubilant, I would mutter a small prayer: And for godssake, and your parents’, do not get drunk-to-oblivion or pregnant tonight. Oh, in case of a pandemic lockdown, flip your tassel and the bird at once.