What our faculty are saying ...

The following remarks are from Christopher Duncan, Ph.D., given at the 2005 Chaminade Scholar Brunch. Dr. Duncan is a professor in the UD Department of Political Science.

Welcoming Remarks
August 21, 2005

The people will say amen!

The people will say AMEN!

“Amen” means to confirm the words and fulfill them. You can’t mumble—you have to really want it.

Catholics are bad at this. Being part of a faith that is two-thousand years old can make you a little complacent. You can see it at Mass sometimes in the tenor of a congregation. Take the recitation of the creed for example; you see some people standing silent, others just mouthing the words, others who are just one beat behind because they are not sure of the words, and most of the rest of us just trying to keep in time with the priest—and this is something we do every week! I can see people who cringe when the priest turns off his microphone because their own voice may now be more perceptible. We tend to try to avoid being noticed.

Don’t even get me started on the singing!

There is often a tentativeness to our expressions of faith and an uncertainty in our own rituals. It seems as though a number of us lack confidence—not in the faith itself—but in the way we present it to others. If we were just a humble people who went about out Father’s business with a quiet and constant vigor and kept our tone down that would be one thing. But, I fear that too many of us are also tentative in how we approach and practice our faith as well. That, I am afraid, will not do.

Let me ask you an odd question that I borrow from the theologian Father Michael Himes: Is God in Hell? The answer to that question—strange as it sounds to many of us—is YES. What, you may wonder, is God doing in Hell? The answer, as simple as it is profound, is that God is in Hell loving the damned.

If Christians are right when they claim that God is love, then this should not be a real stretch. We can reject God, but we do not have the power to make God reject us. As Father Himes teaches us, God loves Satan every bit as much as he loves Mary—the only difference is that Satan hates God because of it and Mary is thrilled by it.
I think God has a tough job.

It’s hard enough for me to love the people who love me back sometimes (and I know for a fact that I make it tough for them to love me!)—ask my wife. Loving those who hate me, loving those who would persecute me, loving those who seem unlovable; that seems too difficult. I could not even begin to imagine what it would be like to try and love people who killed my son. Yet, God does. He loves the haters, he loves the persecutors, he loves those who seem unlovable, he loves us all—whether we return the favor or not.

God does have a tough job.

If that job came open with that sort of job description—love everyone, period—I don’t think I would apply. I’d rather have one of those modern jobs where you just get to think you’re God—professional athlete, rock star, politician, some doctors and professors I’ve known— the pay is usually better and the job is much less demanding. When you just think you’re God you only really have to love yourself.
Christians, however, don’t have that option. We are called to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. But, because we are human beings who live in a particular time and place with unique circumstances and other people, as well as our own particular challenges and opportunities, we are forced to figure out exactly how to do that in our own particular way. We must learn how to love the world as God loved the world and all the people in it in a way that works for us. But, there are a whole lot of givens—things we do not control—that we also have to contend with.

Being a Christian is a tough job too; rewarding, noble, honorable, and joyful—yes, but not easy by any stretch. Unless its just me.

What makes it even tougher, is that it’s a job that you have to do in conjunction with all your other jobs—parent, spouse, student, doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, accountant, musician, nurse, senator, butcher, electrician, CEO and so on. If I want to be a Christian, I must try to always be a Christian, in whatever I do. Ecumenically speaking, I would imagine that the same holds true for members of most other religious traditions. Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists are not allowed to check their religion at the door any more than the Christian is. That’s the deal, and sometimes it can be pretty inconvenient, to say the least.

Among the many things that makes a Catholic-Marianist university like UD different from most other contemporary universities are the kinds of questions we put at the forefront of the university experience. UD students in general and Chaminade Scholars in particular must face up to questions like:  How can I pursue my education, my career and my life as a person of faith and conviction without compromise or apology?

Or: How can I use the talents and skills I have been given in the context of my particular time and place to better love and serve the world and others? Simply put, we try to help our students discern their vocation—that place where their great love meets the world’s great needs— at the same time they discover subjects like art, science, literature, language, business, engineering, education and so on. As a Catholic and Marianist university, we must by virtue of our own vocation ask more of our students, faculty and staff than most other schools. And, most days we do.

But, in asking for more we are also obligated to provide the support, care and expertise necessary to help our students succeed in this rather large endeavor. This is exactly what the Chaminade Scholars Program is meant to do. The program is designed as an integral part of a student’s university education and asks that they come to “understand their lives in a more theologically informed way,” that they “deepen their sense of Christian vocation,” and that they learn to “make commitments on the basis of that understanding.” “It seeks to expose all UD undergraduates to the concept of vocation and how their religious convictions relate to their life’s work,” and it asks that they be “dedicated to their academic and spiritual lives and to the development of leadership skills that will help them make a difference as thoughtful and committed Christians.”

To accomplish all of this requires not only intelligence and hard work; to do it right, to do it as a person of faith in the manner and with the intention of a person of faith, requires that they do it with love. Love for others, love for their families, love for their communities, love for their work, love for strangers, love for the world, love for their God, and even, if necessary, love for the damned.

It is tough work, and it is not for the faint of heart—but it is the work that we as Christians are called to and made for. It is not the work of the arrogant, the haughty or the proud, but it is work that demands that we be confident and resolute. It is work that demands that we do not weaken.

Chaminade scholars along with the faculty and staff at the University of Dayton are asked to “explore and discover what God calls them to be” and to be prepared “to say YES! to that calling.” It is sometimes difficult and draining work, and the temptations to avoid it are numerous. But, if we are truly about our Father’s business, then we must embrace the work because it is hard, because it asks so much from us, because only in the giving over of one’s self to the most important work of all can we ultimately become who and what we were made to be. Any university education that asks for less will typically get less, and any person who settles for less deserves what they get.

We must always remember that the opposite of love is not hate—it is indifference. The line between indifference and complacency is exceedingly thin. While today it is certainly true that “hate” harms the world and creation, I believe that it is the indifference and complacency of those charged to love it that is responsible for the deepest wounds. My fervent hope for all of you, all of UD, and especially those students who have made this important first step in choosing the Chaminade Scholars Program is that you never succumb to indifference or complacency as you practice your faith, pursue your education, your vocation and your life itself. The world and God are calling, we are glad you have chosen to answer. But, remember that it is a call that must be answered again and again, moment by moment, day by day and year by year.

I and the rest of the UD family look forward to joining with you in this critical work and on your particular walk of faith. May God bless you, guide you, and be with you and in you always as you make your way in the world.

The people will say AMEN!

Thank you.