April 20, 2008 I don’t know when or where I first read this passage, but I wrote it down for future reflection. I suspect it was written by a seasoned editor of a newspaper. I picture him reciting the line at a graduation from journalism school, or at a fancy dinner of a big city Press Club. His brow is furrowed, his hair gray, his speech deliberate. Here’s the phrase. “As a journalist you’re green until you have certain experiences. When you get your first subpoena to appear in court; when you’ve dealt with a newsworthy death; then, you’ve earned your stripes.” I imagine the speaker hoping the young journalists in the crowd will take courage and live up to their sacred calling.
A similar speech might well be given by a doctor or a nurse though the “experiences” would be different. Likewise, it could be delivered from the podium at the graduation at a school of business or political science.
I think it can also be proclaimed by a bishop at the ordination of priests. Perhaps here is where I can add color to the experiences. My first priestly assignment was at Saint Patrick Parish in Eau Claire. The parish welcomed a young, eager, green and inexperienced lad to serve the people and to immerse himself in their human and spiritual struggles. Over the years a priest picks up a few skills; he tries to sharpen his listening, works at composing his homilies, learns how to prepare a classroom presentation for children in grades K through 12. Over time he discovers a little of what’s in the air at a hospital, how to find his way around a nursing home, and he might find a few helpful words to comfort in the confessional. Sometimes, since we attend so many of them, we learn how to keep a meeting moving along and make it productive. We pick up a few tricks from other priests, but for the most part we learn from the people of the parish we serve.
Still, the question remains, “How do we earn our stripes?” I think the answer has to do mostly not with what we do as to what happens to us. What happens to us is that we come face to face with the family of a suicide victim. We encounter a marriage that is falling apart and are sought after for help. We enter a college classroom to speak about responsible sexuality. These are the areas where we earn our stripes. Of course, we call upon certain skills here, but it’s not the skills that give us our stripes, if we earn them at all. It’s the fresh encounter of the mystery of human life; we realize that no suicide is ever the same, every divorce is unique, and every human being is a fresh mystery of God. Patterns of behavior and skills are alright in their place, but what shakes our timbers is the discovery every day of the unique mysteries we encounter at the altar of God and in the face of a human person.