Bates College, May 29, 2000

Thank you. Mr. President, honored graduates, faculty, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, and others.

What a glorious, glorious occasion. And although some of us might claim to have a hotline to heaven, we haven't yet done anything about weather. [Laughter]

Good morning. [faint "good morning" response from audience] Oh dear. I thought what a very warm welcome from yourselves, and now...I know you're shy. Let's try again. Good morning. [loud response] A slight improvement.[laughter]

Thank you very, very much. I have never quite fathomed why people have to be put through the hoop of listening to commencement addresses. [laughter] Because really, what all of us have come for is to see our beloved strut up here and get their degree. [laughter] And here I am wasting your wonderful time, for when this ought to be happening.

I'm afraid you are a captive audience, and I am going to use a few moments of your time. I have been told to be reasonably brief. Now clearly, whoever said that forgot that I am a preacher. [laughter] And so you are warned.

There is the story of the little boy who went to church with his mommy. And over the sanctuary was a red lamp suspended. And the preacher went on for a long time. And the little boy turned to his mommy, and said, "Mommy, when it turns green can we go home?" [laughter]

I too want to congratulate you most warmly and fervently, you graduating Class of 2000. You have come today to receive the plaudits of all of us, for the splendid work you have done. Although you will be getting a clap each time each one of you comes up here, I think the time is right for this grand, grand audience that is here today to give you a very, very special ovation. Can you give them a special ovation? [loud applause]

Thank you very much. For you have invested in them, and they don't look like a bad investment. [laughter] Many parents vicariously are now basking in your reflective glory. And your parents, your family, your relatives all are feeling good today because of what you have done over the four years. And they believe in you. And we want to thank the faculty, as the president has done. One or two people have been saying to me, one of the things that is distinctive about this college is the quality of its faculty. And you see that in the kind of student who ultimately graduates from here. And so we thank you faculty and other staff for all you have done to help in the production of these splendid people sitting in front of me here.

I have a great deal of time for young people. Sometimes there are those of us who tend to write young people off because a few of them may get off the rails. You see Columbine and other instances of violence. You see some young people perhaps abuse substances. And then, you step aside, and in a very wide generalization, say, "Young people are...."

Well, I want to say that I have been to many very poverty stricken countries. And it has been an incredibly experience, whilst one was there to see quite a few young people, especially from the United States, working away in remote, obscure villages where there was no chance of television or newspaper reports being splashed about how these young people, as members or agents of the Peace Corps, were giving of their time freely on behalf of people with whom they had no real connection. But your heart was roped to know that here were young people ready to give of their time voluntarily in this fashion. Others are involved with Habitat for Humanity. No, I have a great deal of time for young people.

I used to come to this country in the '80s, visiting college and university campuses. It was at the height of the repression of apartheid. And at many of these university campuses, students ought to have been worried about grades, and about degrees, and about commencement. And it was fantastic that they weren't! They were concerned about us 10 and more thousand miles away. For on many of these campuses, the students in those days were participating in demonstrations, seeking to force their universities and institutions to divest from businesses that were involved in apartheid South Africa. And those young people in those days, with the help of others, helped to change the moral climate in this country. For it was a time when the White House was opposed to sanctions being imposed on South Africa. They helped to change the moral climate to such an extent that Congress did pass the anti-apartheid legislation, and they even managed a presidential veto override.

And look at us today. We are free! South Africa is a free, democratic country. South Africa is a country seeking to be nonracial and nonsexist. And to a great large extent, it was due to the participation of many young people in our struggle against the awfulness of apartheid. So I have a great deal of time for young people. I want to say to you sitting here in front of me. Dream. Dream. Be idealistic. Don't allow the cynicisms of such as ourselves to infect you. Dream. Dream about a new kind of world. Dream as you have dreamt that it is possible for peace to reign universally. Dream that it is possible to have a new kind of society where people matter more than things, than profits. Dream. Dream that it is possible for us to realize God's dreams, because God is saying to you, like Martin Luther King Jr., God says, "I too have a dream. I have a dream that my children one day will recognize that they are family." Not as a figure of speech. But as a most real thing about all of us, that we are family. We are those who are able address God as Abba ‹ daddy God ‹ because we belong together. We are family in a family that has no outsiders. All are insiders in God's family.

God says, "I dream that one day my children will know they are family, that there are no outsiders." Whether you are rich or poor. Whether you are educated or not educated. White, red, black, yellow. Whether you are beautiful or not beautiful. Whether you are gay or lesbian or straight. "You belong," God said, "you belong in my family. All, all, all are my children."

And you know, the ethic of family is a radical ethic. In the family that you come from, you don't say, "Oh, dear granny: the contribution that you are making to the budget is minimal. Baby: you are a nuisance most of the time; you make very little contribution to the family budget. You will get from the resources of the family, in proportion to what you put in." You never say that! You don't say about family that you get only in proportion to what you contribute. No! In the healthy family, it is from each according to their ability; to each according to their need.

And God says, "For goodness sake, my dear, dear children: Realize that you are family." If we are family, how can we possibly go on spending the obscene amounts of money that we spend on our record defense budgets. How can we do that, when a small proportion is enough to ensure that God's children everywhere will have clean water, good health, education, will have enough to eat, will have a safe environment. If we are family, how can we ever be worrying about what to do with budget surpluses? Well, you say, "Budget? We have a budget surplus?" And you say, "Ah, where are our sisters and brothers who are hungry? For God has given us these resources, not for us to be working for our self-aggrandizement. No! God gives this to us as God's stewards. God says, "I dream, I dream of a new kind of world where there is compassion and gentleness, where there is caring and laughter. Where there is sharing. I dream, I dream of a day when my children will know that they are family, when they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. I dream of a time when the lion will lie again with the lamb. I dream, I dream of a time when all will know that is it better, better, that each one counts, each one is precious, that each one is a God carrier. I dream, I dream of a time when my children will know that they are made for goodness, that they are made for beauty, they are made for the truth. That I made them for the transcendent.

"I dream of a time," said God, "when they will say, 'How can we allow some of our sisters and brothers in so-called Third World countries, to continue to groan under the burden of unpayable debt?' I dream of a time when all my children will say, 'Yes, we will support Jubilee 2000. We will work for the cancellation of debt.'"

And God says, "I have no one except you. And you, and you, and you and you to help me to realize my dream." God says, "I depend on you. Go for it. Reach for the stars. Dream. Dream God's dream." Thank you.

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