(soft chanting) 

- Duke University Chapel, Service of Worship October 1, 1978 (joyful music) (solemn music) (solemn music) (joyful music) (joyful music) ♪ Beautiful Savior ♪ ♪ Lord of all the nations ♪ ♪ Son of God ♪ ♪ And Son of Man ♪ ♪ Glory and honor ♪ ♪ Praise, adoration ♪ ♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪ ♪ Now and forevermore ♪ ♪ Be thine ♪ (joyful music) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) 

- Let us pray. Almighty God. On whom to our hearts our open. All desires known. And from whom no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit. That we may perfectly love thee, and the worthily magnify thy Holy Name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Ye that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins. And are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in His holy ways, draw near with faith. And take this holy sacrament to your comfort. And make your humble confession to Almighty God. You be seated. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all people. We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness. which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings, the remembrance of them is grievous unto us. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honor and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all them that would hearty repentance and true faith turn to thee. Have mercy upon us. Pardon and deliver us from all our sins. Confirm and strengthen us in all goodness. And bring us to everlasting life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

- The Epistle lesson is the first Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, the 11th chapter, the 20th through the 29th verses. When you meet together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One is hungry and another is drunk. What do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing. What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you. That the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed took bread. And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. "Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. "Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment upon himself. May God bless to our understanding, this reading from His Word. Where do you find Jesus in Indianapolis? That question was put by the English Shakespearian director Ronald Eyre at the beginning of the PBS series, "The Long Search." Incidentally, this BBC series on world religions is carried every Sunday this fall at two p.m. on public television. An alternative, if you will, to the endless professional football games. And on this Sunday particularly, many of us may not want to be reminded of football. Ronald Eyre pursued this question, "Where do you find Jesus?", and Jesus through three Indianapolis churches. A huge, what I would call, Fighting Fundamentalists Independent Baptist Church. A so called, main stream United Methodist Church. And a lively church, also Baptist, in the midst of a Black ghetto. The Fighting Fundamentalist Church seemed to be interested primarily in such things as confuting the theory of evolution. The Methodist Church was obviously interested in fighting teenage crime and other social ills. But it was in the Black church, in the other Baptist church, and in its combination of spirited worship and social outreach that Eyre thought Jesus might be found. Indeed, had been found. I was struck, as you may have been if you were watching the program, with the quickness and the directness with which Eyre got to the question of Jesus. It is often seemed to me that secular religious programs avoid talk about Jesus like the plague. But Eyre obviously saw that talk about Christianity or Christian churches leads inevitably to the question of Jesus. Where do you find Jesus in Indianapolis? Where do you find Him in Durham? Where in Duke Chapel? Today we come together to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Here Christians down through the centuries have found, or sought to find, Jesus. Jesus and the salvation that he brings. We do well to remind ourselves of whom and what we seek before we proceed further into this service. The Christians of Corinth about whom we have just read, obviously forgot to do this, or neglected to do it. According to Paul, the celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Corinthian Church had become something of a mob scene. The reasons for this may be obscure, but they're not important to us. In any event, the situation had deteriorated so that the purpose of the service and of the occasion had been lost. And Paul writes, When you meet together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. Then after a suitable upbraiding of the Corinthians for their misbehavior, Paul knew nothing of indirect method of counseling or admonition, he rehearses once again, the familiar words of institution of the Lord's Supper. The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed, took bread. The reader is reminded that in partaking of the Lord's Supper, one partakes of and participates in the body and blood of Christ. To eat and drink without discerning the body, as Paul says, is to profane the elements, and thus to insult Christ himself. The result is not participation and fellowship, fellowship in the body and blood of Christ, but dissolution and condemnation. Because of this, Paul's injunction to examine ourselves and to partake with discernment is always worth our hearing. But let us turn our attention to the grounds of Paul's exhortation to the Corinthians. This is, after all, the foundation of the new covenant. Jesus is in some very real sense present in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Probably these import of 16th century debates over the means and mode of Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper is lost on many or most of us. Especially if we're low church Protestants. And yet we can at least appreciate a central point of that controversy. Christians debated vigorously these questions because they felt that the reality of Jesus' presence was at stake. The Lord's Supper answers to the perennial question put to and by Christians. Where do you find Jesus? Where do you look for Him? Around the Lord's table, we find an answer to that question. Now perhaps that's enough to say, but I feel impelled to expand briefly upon that answer, as well as to emphasize it. The Christians' quest for Jesus is in fact always in danger of becoming simply a quest for our own security and our own tranquility. Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. The intention of that gospel hymn, may be quite sound and valid. But the expression of is it not without its dangers. Jesus cannot be used for our purposes. When Paul begins to recite the words of institution, he says, "The Lord Jesus, "on the night when he was betrayed." And thus Paul sets these words in their proper context: the death of Jesus. That death was a public event, as well as a private experience. And as he speaks of the death of Jesus, he reminds us of who Jesus was and what He did. That is He reminds us of the light of Jesus. "Do this in remembrance of me," says Jesus. Who Jesus is can never be separated from who He was. And as we learn who Jesus was, we know that to find Jesus is to find one who disturbs our own peace in order to give us a peace of a different order. We cannot command him. He commands us. I read the Religion columns of Newsweek with great interest. About two weeks ago, Newsweek reported a fresh investigation of the famous Turin Shroud. And that was the Turin Shroud was allegedly the burial robe of Jesus himself. On that shroud, as you may have read, there seems to be visible, the life-sized imprint of the face and figure of a man. The shroud is thought to be ancient. And the imprint, also ancient, not the result of painting or other artificial reproduction. And the question is, what caused it? Newsweek suggests the possibility of a quasi photographic process brought about by some brilliant flash of light. Such light, as is traditionally associated with the glorification and resurrection of Christ. All this, of course, awaits further testing. Naturally, profane, as well as Christian curiosity is fascinated by the prospect of some dramatic scientific confirmation of the reality of Christ and His resurrection. And yet, as even the editor of Newsweek points out, faith in the resurrection is something more and other than this. The faith that is distinctly Christian does not hinge upon such signs and wonders. That faith, that faith, finds its vindication, its proof, if you will, in a congregation in Indianapolis which feeds thousands of poor people turkey dinners on Thanksgiving, and runs a vocational training center in an abandoned school building. The pastor of that church says, says very simply, "Unless we love one another, we can't have faith. "We can't find Jesus. "We cannot command his presence whether by scientific proof, "or by our religious rights. "Jesus becomes real for us as we obey His command "to love one another." That is certainly true. If anything in the Gospel is true, that is true. But it doesn't nullify what we do here today. Rather it justifies and interprets what we now do. For around this table, we celebrate Jesus. Who he was, and what he means. Moreover, Jesus Himself commands this celebration. Do this in remembrance of me. Our celebration is not simply the memorial of a great historic figure. But neither is it some mystical or magical transaction whereby we assure ourselves of the kind of salvation that we would like. In the presence of one another, and in the presence of the scriptural word about Jesus, we gather around His table. Where do you find Jesus in Indianapolis? Where in Durham? Where in Duke Chapel? Jesus may or may not be found in any of these places. But He is to be found as we wait upon the gift of God's grace, in the partaking of bread and wine. The body and blood of the Lord Jesus, which is given for you. Amen. 

- As forgiven and reconciled people, let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God. (soft music) (muffled singing) (solemn music) (joyous music) ♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ 

- Be seated please. May I say two words before we continue with the Liturgy and our worship? One, a practical word, and one a personal word for all Christians today. We were not informed that changes would be made in traffic patterns this morning. Nor that the buses from East Campus would not be operating. So for all of you who have been inconvenienced this day, because of those changes, let me offer an apology. And say that I hope it will not happen again. I assure you that I will do all to keep in touch with those responsible, to see that it does not. Today is Worldwide Communion Sunday. All of us, particularly those of the Roman Catholic faith, were shocked and aggrieved by the death of Pope John Paul I. It seems to me that, in any Christian gathering this day, it would be appropriate, but particularly as we celebrate the sacrament of our Lord's Supper, it would be most appropriate, for us to remember him and his life, and all our fellow Christians who share this moment of sorrow together. Will you join with me and with others as we remember him. Gracious God, for Pope John Paul I, for his goodly gifts and kindly ways, his gentle humanness for all that he has meant to your church and to your world, we give you thanks and praise. We ask your blessing on those who mourn in special ways. His family and those who share leadership in the church with him, we pray that your direction will be with those who assume responsibilities that have been his and those who follow after him. May our hearts and minds and spirits remember the gifts of faith, hope, and love which he has brought to the world. In the name of Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen. Lift up your hearts. 

- We lift them up to the Lord. 

- Let us give thanks unto the Lord. 

- It is meet and right so to do. 

- It is very meet right and are bound and duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord. Holy Father, almighty everlasting God. Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee O Lord most high. Amen. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy did give thine only son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. Who made their by the one offering of Himself a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. And in institute and in His holy Gospel compels us to continue a perpetual memory of His precious death until His coming again. Hear us, O Merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee. And grant that we receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine according to thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ's holy institution in remembrance of his passion, death, and resurrection. may be partakers of the divine nature through him, who in the same night that he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and give it to his disciples saying, "Take, eat. "This is my body which is given for you. "Do this in remembrance of me." Likewise, after supper, He took the cup. And when He had given thanks, He give it to them saying, "Drink ye all of this. "For this is my blood of the new covenant "which is shed for you and for many "for the forgiveness of sins. "Do this as oft as you shall drink it, "in remembrance of me." Amen. Let us pray together. We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord. Trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of this sacrament thy Son Jesus Christ. That we may walk in newness of life. May grow into His likeness, and may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen. Because there is one loaf, we many as we are, are one body. For it is one loaf of which we all partake. When we break the bread, is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? 

- When we give thanks over the cup, is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? 

- The body of Christ broken for you (faintly speaking). The blood of Christ shed for you (faintly speaking). 

- The body of Christ broken for you (faintly speaking). The blood of Christ shed for you (faintly speaking). 

- It is our custom as we share the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in Duke Chapel, to do so by gathering around the table of our Lord. The choir will come first and will receive the first table. The ushers then will assist you to gather around the table. We gather in two concentric circles all the way around, symbolizing both our oneness together and our gathering around the table of our Lord indeed. We invite you to share in this blessed moment with us. (solemn music) (solemn music) 

- Dear people of God, Go with assurance that God's grace and mercy sustains you this day and everyday. Amen. (solemn music) (solemn music) (solemn music) 

- Our Lord has said, "A new commandment I give unto you. That you love one another. My dear friends in Christ, as we have received now this blessed gift of the love of Christ, I invite you to go now. Loving even as our Lord loves us, rise and go in peace. And may the peace of God be with you. Amen. (solemn music) 

- Beloved in Christ, go in peace with the assurance that God's peace is yours this day and forever. Amen. (solemn music) (solemn music) 

- For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son. And whoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Dear friends in Christ, we have now received again that most blessed gift of the body and blood of our Lord. As we arise and go from this place, may we go with the love of God and the presence of Christ. Rise and go in peace. And may the peace of God be with you. Amen. (faintly speaking) There's those persons seated in the congregation who wish to be served where you are, the ministers will now come. And if you will simply indicate, we will be pleased to serve you where you are seated. As we have broken bread and drunk from the cup together, let us now rejoice together as we pray together this prayer of thanksgiving. Let us pray. Almighty and ever living God, we most heartily thank thee that thou dost feed us in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of thy son, our Savior Jesus Christ. And dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us. And that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom. And we humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen. (solemn music) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) (muffled singing) 

- The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and with those whom you love this day and forevermore. ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ (joyous music)