The week of college commencement brings a mixture of emotions on campus. There are all sorts of events and activities packed into those final days. As I go about my tasks that week, one thing I know is that I will carve out intentional time to work on the final benediction.
It is a wild and holy thing to be the one entrusted with sharing the final words with our graduates — to hold the space between not quite ready to wrap things up and finally ready to say goodbye. It is a privilege and a gift.
When I first began in my role as college chaplain, I used to offer a more traditional benediction. I would spend time crafting all the things I thought I should pray for these graduates as they left their alma mater for new adventures. Those prayers were lovely and carefully written as I sought the right balance of grace, care and humor.
But several years ago, a student walked up to me and said, “It would be great if you could use Tupac in your prayer. I’d love to see you try!” I accepted the challenge. I began thinking about lyrics, music and poetry — works of art that are prayers of their own. Then I wondered: Wouldn’t it be fun to create a mash-up of artists and Scripture for this final blessing?
There was nothing quite like that first commencement when I stood at the podium and said, “Receive your final blessing with a little help from the prophet Micah, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Tupac and your chaplain.” Laughter erupted from the graduates, accompanied by puzzled looks from some parents. My faculty colleagues looked on in anticipation.
Weaving together words of wisdom, art, life and Scripture into a prayer as unique as the graduates has become a ritual for me. I assumed it would be a one-time experiment, but the following year, students came to me with a list of artists they wanted to challenge me to include in their final blessing. It took on a life of its own and became something we now create together.
One of the joys of this tradition is never knowing whom the students will ask me to weave into the prayer. It isn’t every day you get to pray with words from Pope Francis and Pope Leo bookending lyrics from the Jonas Brothers. Each year, as I begin, “Receive your final blessing from…,” and start listing artists and prophets, students beam as they wait to hear how those voices will come together. Parents still look on with curious expressions, while my faculty colleagues delight in trying to guess who is a prophet and who is a musician.
This ritual carries me from the exhaustion and chaos of commencement week into an intentional pause to think, remember, bless and pray for my students. As I listen to songs, read Scripture and assemble their prayer, I think about their faces and the memories we’ve shared over these few short years. Those memories guide the prayer and prepare me to say goodbye on commencement day.
I am never truly ready for that goodbye. It gets harder every year to watch these students move from their journey with us into the next chapter of their lives. But crafting this prayer helps me bless them, pray for them and prepare my own heart to let them go.
This year was no different. I found myself crafting a benediction with words from George Strait, Pope Leo, Sabrina Carpenter and more. Like years past, I sat down during my carved-out time to write, read, edit, search, and listen, wondering whether it would all come together. Eventually, it did.
As I stood on that commencement stage, I looked out and read these words: “Class of 2026, receive this final blessing from me, with some help from George Strait, Sabrina Carpenter, Ella Langley, Wendell Berry, Pope Francis, the prophet Micah and Lil Wayne.”
There were smiles. There was laughter. There were tears. Above all, there was joy as I shared these final words with our graduates. It was a gift to stand there once again and offer a prayer — both for my students and for myself.
A benediction for the class of 2026
I never saw the end in sight. Fools are kind of blind. Thought everything was going alright. But I was running out of time. If we could just stay this version of us. But I know it is time to say goodbye. And don’t you dare bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice. So, take my words to heart and keep them close by.
It was all I could do to keep from crying, when you learned the reality of the world here. The world is half terrible; for every kind stranger, there is one who will break you. And so, you have come to know that it is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.
With everything happening today, you don’t know whether you’re coming or going. But you think that you’re on your way. And dear ones, you truly are your way. So, take in this very moment. Take a look around. Take it all in. And know that even with all the brokenness, you can make this world a beautiful place because you have made this a beautiful place.
Serve the forgotten. Uplift the broken. Speak plainly when others stay silent. Do all the good you can for everyone you meet along your journey by enacting justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Build the kingdom not with walls, but with love. Knowing that somedays you will be the light for others. And some days you will need light from them. As long as there is light, there is hope, and there is a way. For it is in the shelter of each other that we live. It is in the shelter of each other that we thrive.
Reshape our world by doing things that do not compute to those around you. Pray for the hungry. Then feed them. That’s how prayer works. Love the Lord. Love the world. Love someone who doesn’t deserve it. Ask questions that have no answer. Expect the end of the world. Laugh, for laughter is immeasurable. Cry. And never apologize for your tears. For tears cleanse our souls for a variety of reasons. And if you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.
All I’m asking of you in this life is that you show up. Be late. Be scared out of your mind. Be awkward. Be a hot mess. Just be present. You can figure out the rest as you go. And when you face adversity, remember to remain calm. And if you’re not calm, may your freak-out be as graceful as possible.
As you go out from this place today, to live your one wild and precious life: May God bless you with restless discomfort with easy answers, half-truths, and superficial friendships so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world. Amen.
