A Commencement

        Last week I had the privilege of attending Commencement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where #1 Son received a Master  of Business Administration degree, and I received bragging rights and reflected glory.

        Very much indeed like the twinned weddings the graduation was full or ceremony and of course Pomp and Circumstance, both literally and figuratively.

        At MIT the Chief Marshall lead the procession carrying the ceremonial mace given to the Institute by the Class of 1907 on the occasion of its 50^th reunion. The mace, designed by a member of the Class is silver gilt with an eight bladed head topped with a beaver – the MIT mascot and engineer par excellence.  The shaft contains a series of octagonal decorative “knops” embossed with symbols for physics, mathematics, biology and other expressions of technology in the service of humanity.

        The academic robes follow the standards of the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume.  MIT’s doctoral robes are gray with distinctive cardinal red stripes, but MIT does not award hoods for Master’s degrees, so #1 son is hoodless while The Daughter has a Master’s degree hood from Washington University.

        Who knew?

        Again, the tradition and the ceremony are how we vest significance in the event.  The mace is a message from the Class of 1907 to the Class of 2010 and those who will come after.  The tradition of the dress, the procession, the music is all part of a collective experience shared over time of how we label something as Important.  It was a great joy to participate.

Ritual Sanctification - Two Weddings And

         I have been to two weddings in the past weeks. One was secular and the other religious, but it seemed to me that the similarities outweighed the differences.

        In a world where propriety sucks both weddings were formal and traditional. 150 people all dressed up in suits and dresses sat in rows while chamber music played. The officiants waited while the processionals unfolded in customary order. The brides appeared in their white dresses escorted by parents to the alter. After the officiant addressed the couples they exchanged vows, rings and the customary kiss and the processionals reversed as Trophy Wife cried and I grinned like an idiot. In both beautiful rooms I could feel that everyone was just simply happy. 

        The major difference of course was God’s absence of from one wedding and presence at the other, but on reflection, while I’m certain that the participants might feel differently it seemed to me that the formality itself, the ritual, the knowing how this is done is the real essence of the ceremony.  I thought that this is our community – family and friends, new families joined together and expressing in the customary way our approval, encouragement and in a real sense sanctification of the marriage.
  
        I felt no loss in the difference between the secular wedding and the religious wedding, and that was the point. The ritual itself is an art form vesting and conferring meaning on the event and sanctifying the marriage, and the vesting and sanctification is by the assembly, the congregation, the community.

        I do not know that the marriage ceremony is of long term use or reduces the incidence of divorce or anything like that, but I believe it is we who seek to create meaning in significant events by sanctification through rituals. I liked them.