J. Michael Laidlaw - "Comes Christ the Tiger" (August 21, 1983)

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	(uplifting trumpet and orchestral music)	0:08
	(trumpet and orchestral music)	3:34
	(dramatic trumpet music)	5:38
	(organ music "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee")	7:37
	♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee ♪	8:17
	♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪	8:22
	♪ Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee ♪	8:27
	♪ Opening to the sun above ♪	8:32
	♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪	8:37
	♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪	8:42
	♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪	8:47
	♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪	8:52
	♪ All Thy works with joy surround Thee ♪	8:59
	♪ Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays ♪	9:04
	♪ Stars and angels sing around Thee ♪	9:09
	♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪	9:14
	♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪	9:19
	♪ Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea ♪	9:23
	♪ Singing bird and flowing fountain ♪	9:28
	♪ Call us to rejoice in Thee ♪	9:33
	♪ Thou art giving and forgiving ♪	9:41
	♪ Ever blessing, ever blest ♪	9:46
	♪ Wellspring of the joy of living ♪	9:51
	♪ Ocean depth of happy rest ♪	9:56
	♪ Thou our Father, Christ our Brother ♪	10:01
	♪ All who live in love are Thine ♪	10:05
	♪ Teach us how to love each other ♪	10:10
	♪ Lift us to the joy divine ♪	10:15
	♪ Mortals, join the happy chorus ♪	10:23
	♪ Which the morning stars began ♪	10:27
	♪ Father love is reigning o'er us ♪	10:33
	♪ Brother love binds man to man ♪	10:37
	♪ Ever singing, march we onward ♪	10:42
	♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪	10:47
	♪ Joyful music leads us Sunward ♪	10:52
	♪ In the triumph song of life ♪	10:57
-	And it shall come to pass afterward,	11:11
	that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;	11:14
	your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,	11:18
	your old people shall dream dreams	11:22
	and your young people shall see visions.	11:25
	Now in the spirit of love and forgiveness,	11:30
	let us confess our sins in the presence of one another	11:33
	and before Almighty God.	11:37
	Let us pray.	11:40
	In your presence oh Lord, our disguises and pretenses	11:54
	do not avail, and under the line of your holiness	11:58
	we know ourselves for what we are: mean and petty creatures	12:03
	who seek our own in spite of our noble pretensions.	12:08
	Have mercy upon us.	12:12
	Give us the grace to see our faults more clearly	12:14
	that we may truly repent.	12:18
	We acknowledge that the world's sin is our own.	12:21
	That the greed which we condemn when it results	12:25
	in obvious inhumanity, is in our own heart.	12:28
	That the world is unjust because none of us loves justice	12:32
	with sufficient abandon.	12:37
	That the vices of civilization are compounded	12:40
	at the lust of us all.	12:43
	Give us grace to look into our own hearts	12:46
	before we cast a stone of condemnation.	12:49
	May we receive the grace of true humility in your presence	12:53
	so that we may cease to defeat your will	12:58
	for the world by our self-will.	13:01
	May the vision of what we might be convict us of what we are	13:04
	so that your mercy may redeem us of our sin.	13:09
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord.	13:13
	Amen.	13:16
	The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance	13:39
	that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.	13:43
	In the name of Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven.	13:48
	Let us then give thanks for God is good	13:53
	and God's love is everlasting.	13:56
	Thanks be to God, whose love creates us.	13:59
	Thanks to be God, whose mercy redeems us.	14:04
	Thanks be to God, whose grace leads us into the future.	14:08
	We welcome you to worship here with us	14:14
	at the Duke University Chapel.	14:17
	It is now the 13th Sunday after Pentecost	14:19
	and we all know that full summer and the heat are upon us.	14:23
	We especially want to welcome today,	14:29
	members of the 1983/84 football team,	14:31
	coaches and friends who have come to join you.	14:36
	We thought we might compete with the heat	14:40
	that you've been suffering	14:42
	during your practices on the field.	14:43
	We wish for you success this year,	14:46
	not only on the football field, but in your lives	14:48
	and studies and your influence here at Duke University.	14:52
	We're glad that you've chosen to come and worship	14:56
	and be with us this day.	14:59
	We also want to welcome members of the NROTC	15:02
	who are here with us as a group today.	15:06
	We are delighted that you have come and chosen to worship	15:09
	with us here in the chapel.	15:12
	We have already enjoyed the beautiful music	15:16
	that is being provided by the Festival Brass Ensemble	15:19
	and we look forward to hearing and sharing in their gift	15:24
	of music more, during our service of worship today.	15:27
	We are grateful to you for coming	15:32
	and the music that you come to share with us.	15:34
	I would like to invite each of you to remain	15:39
	after the service of worship this morning	15:41
	for a brief service of the Holy Eucharist, communion,	15:44
	here in the Memorial Chapel.	15:48
	It will be immediately following	15:51
	the service of worship this morning.	15:52
	Our preacher for the day is the Reverend John M. Laidlaw,	15:57
	assistant minister to Duke University.	16:01
	And his sermon title is: Comes Christ the Tiger.	16:05
-	Let us pray.	16:18
	Oh Lord our God, you have given your word to be a lamp	16:23
	unto our feet and a light unto our path.	16:26
	Grant us grace to receive your truth in faith and love	16:29
	that by it we may be prepared to every good word and work.	16:32
	To the glory of your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord,	16:36
	Amen.	16:39
	The Old Testament lesson is from Jeremiah, chapter 38,	16:42
	verses one through 13.	16:46
	The words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people.	16:49
	Thus says the Lord: he who stays in this city	16:52
	shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence;	16:56
	but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live;	17:00
	he shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.	17:04
	Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given	17:07
	into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon	17:13
	and be taken.	17:15
	Then the princes said to the king, "Let this man	17:17
	"be put to death, for he is weakening the hands	17:19
	"of the soldiers and the hands of all the people,	17:22
	"by speaking such words to them.	17:27
	"For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people,	17:29
	"but their harm."	17:32
	King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands.	17:34
	"For the king can do nothing against you."	17:38
	So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern	17:41
	of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court	17:44
	of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes.	17:48
	And there was no water in the cistern, but only mire.	17:52
	And Jeremiah sank in the mire.	17:55
	When Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch,	17:59
	who was in the king's house, heard that they had	18:01
	put Jeremiah into the cistern,	18:03
	the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate.	18:06
	Ebed-Melech went from the king's house	18:08
	and said to the king, "My lord the king, these men have done	18:10
	"evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet,	18:14
	"by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there	18:17
	"of hunger for there is no bread left in the city."	18:21
	Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian,	18:25
	"Take three men with you from here,	18:28
	"and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern	18:31
	"before he dies."	18:33
	So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to the house	18:35
	of the king to a wardrobe of the storehouse,	18:38
	and took from there old rags and worn out clothes,	18:42
	which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.	18:47
	Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah,	18:51
	"Put the rags and clothes between your armpits	18:54
	"and the ropes."	18:56
	Jeremiah did so.	18:58
	And they drew Jeremiah up with ropes	19:00
	and lifted him out of the cistern.	19:02
	And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.	19:04
	Here ends the reading of the Old Testament.	19:08
	The epistle lesson is from Hebrews,	19:11
	Chapter 12, versus one through six.	19:13
	Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud	19:18
	of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin	19:21
	which clings so closely.	19:25
	And let us run with perseverance the race	19:27
	that is set before us, looking to Jesus,	19:29
	the pioneer and perfecter of faith.	19:32
	For the joy that was set before him endured the cross,	19:36
	despising the shame,	19:40
	and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.	19:41
	Consider him who endured from sinners	19:45
	such hostility against himself,	19:47
	so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.	19:50
	In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted	19:54
	to the point of shedding your blood.	19:56
	And have you forgotten the exhortation	19:59
	which addresses you as sons?	20:00
	My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,	20:03
	nor lose courage when you are punished by him.	20:07
	For the Lord disciplines him who he loves,	20:11
	and chastises every son whom he receives.	20:14
	Here ends the reading of the epistle lesson.	20:18
	(solemn orchestral music)	20:29
	Will the congregation please stand	22:25
	for the reading of the Gospel lesson.	22:27
	The Gospel lesson is from Luke, chapter 12,	22:34
	verses 49 through 53.	22:37
	I came to cast fire upon the earth,	22:41
	and would that it were already kindled!	22:43
	I have a baptism to be baptized with,	22:46
	and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!	22:49
	Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?	22:53
	No, I tell you, but rather division.	22:56
	For henceforth, in one house there will be five divided:	22:59
	three against two, and two against three.	23:03
	They will be divided father against son	23:06
	and son against his father, mother against daughter	23:09
	and daughter against her mother,	23:13
	mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law	23:15
	and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.	23:18
	Here ends the reading from the Gospel lesson.	23:21
	(solemn organ music)	23:26
	(congregation singing)	23:55
-	Praying together.	24:34
	God of all truth, let your word fall upon us	24:39
	like a rough and cleansing wind.	24:44
	Dispersing our sins, scattering our vanities,	24:48
	uprooting our indifference,	24:56
	that shaken loose from our illusions	25:01
	we shall be open to your love and overtaken by your truth.	25:03
	Even Jesus the Christ, your logos and our Lord.	25:10
	Amen.	25:20
	In the juvenescence of the year, the poet urges us	25:29
	to believe in the juvenescence of the year	25:34
	came Christ the Tiger.	25:39
	Well, perhaps, perhaps.	25:44
	We shall see.	25:50
	But first there is that other picture.	25:53
	Realistic, less poetic, full of gritty detail,	25:57
	disturbing even.	26:03
	That picture of a man up to his knees in mire and muck.	26:06
	And up to his neck in trouble.	26:12
	It is a picture at once sufficient	26:16
	and insufficient, I believe.	26:20
	Sufficient because it is honest,	26:24
	as Jeremiah himself had been honest.	26:27
	Telling Yahweh precisely what he thought	26:32
	and telling his neighbors and his friends and frankly,	26:37
	just about anyone who would listen,	26:40
	precisely what he thought Yahweh thought.	26:42
	And not telling them dispassionately either.	26:47
	But always, always speaking with a word that is almost	26:51
	crazed and embarrassing because of its fervor.	26:55
	An insufficient picture though, because of what's missing.	27:03
	And what's absent I think is the solace of a comforting word	27:06
	or a gesture or a miracle from God.	27:10
	There is in that story, no guiding hand,	27:16
	no ravens to feed the prophet when the bakery shuts down	27:20
	and the bread runs out.	27:25
	Neither eagle nor angel sweeping down to snatch Jeremiah	27:28
	out of the pit and out of his misery.	27:33
	No dramatic flourishes to tell us,	27:38
	to tell us that somewhere, somehow, in some way,	27:42
	in the midst of all of this, God is doing something.	27:46
	And so while it might be adequate as a story	27:55
	about an obstreperous prophet of God,	27:58
	it is inadequate I believe, as a story about God himself.	28:02
	Because what I want to ask when I read this story	28:09
	as I hope you are asking, where?	28:12
	Where in the midst of all of this is God to be found?	28:16
	Jeremiah had asked for it, Lord knows.	28:25
	Had asked to be there in that cistern where he was.	28:28
	Had asked for it, if not outright and literally,	28:32
	then asked for it by his queer behavior	28:36
	and odd and troubling and troublesome proclamations.	28:38
	Winston Churchill once remarked about one	28:48
	of his political foes, Sir Stafford Cripps,	28:50
	"There, there but for the grace of God, goes God."	28:54
	Folks in Jerusalem had reason	29:03
	to feel that way about Jeremiah.	29:05
	And Yahweh I suspect, could be heard from time to time,	29:09
	muttering similar sentiment, "There, there	29:13
	but for the grace of God, there but for the grace of God."	29:17
	There was that irritating habit, for example,	29:24
	that Jeremiah had of getting under the king's skin.	29:27
	Reminding him among other things, that his insensitivity	29:31
	to the oppressed and the poor	29:35
	was simply not acceptable to Yahweh.	29:37
	Practicing oppression and violence	29:42
	was Jeremiah's phrase for it.	29:45
	And I've a hunch that that fellow in the royal oval office	29:49
	had had it up to his royal keister	29:53
	with such insufferable remarks as that,	29:57
	practicing oppression, insensitivity to the poor.	30:00
	And the bishops, the bishops were none too pleased either	30:08
	when Jeremiah pointed out that the temple	30:11
	just might be called a den of thieves.	30:13
	And what was passing for worship was in fact,	30:18
	something more akin to idolatry.	30:21
	It was not the presence of the chapel, he said,	30:26
	or even their presence in the chapel that gave them a claim	30:30
	to be a righteous people,	30:34
	but rather their doing justice.	30:37
	Don't deceive yourselves, Jeremiah told them,	30:43
	by saying this is the sanctuary of Yahweh,	30:47
	the sanctuary of Yahweh, the sanctuary of Yahweh.	30:50
	But if you amend your behavior,	30:56
	if you treat each other fairly,	30:59
	if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan, the widow.	31:02
	If you do not shed innocent blood,	31:08
	then, here in this place,	31:12
	in this place I shall stay with you.	31:17
	And you can imagine, can't you, the furor	31:23
	and the bewilderment of the local fraternity men	31:26
	when the impudent prophet explained to them	31:30
	that Yahweh was doing a new thing.	31:33
	And the new thing that Yahweh was doing	31:37
	was the bringing into being of a new age.	31:39
	A new age	31:44
	when a woman protects a man.	31:47
	And then, as if that weren't enough,	31:54
	Jeremiah decided to take on the defense department.	31:58
	In the midst of the battle that was going on in Jerusalem,	32:03
	what he said was this, folks if you stay and fight,	32:06
	you'll die.	32:10
	If not by the sword, then from starvation,	32:12
	and if not by the sword or starvation, then by an epidemic.	32:15
	In other words, surrender and survive.	32:21
	Stay behind, fight and you will perish.	32:25
	And then to add salt to the wound, Jeremiah suggested	32:31
	that in surrender to the enemy, in surrender to the enemy,	32:35
	of all places, would be found God's blessing.	32:38
	The architects of Jerusalem's defense program	32:46
	were surely right when they accused Jeremiah	32:49
	of demoralizing the troops	32:53
	and causing confusion in the town.	32:56
	My God,	33:02
	what vested interests had he not alienated.	33:05
	The oval office was upset;	33:10
	the clergy were distressed;	33:13
	the defense department was angered;	33:16
	and even Yahweh, even Yahweh came in for a share	33:20
	of Jeremiah's complaint, "Oh Lord thou hast duped me."	33:24
	Said Jeremiah, "Oh Lord thou hast duped me.	33:29
	"You have outwitted me	33:33
	"and I have been made a laughing stock."	33:34
	Though the Jerusalem Bible I think intimates a better	33:40
	translation, "Lord, you've made an ass out of me."	33:44
	And so, it's no wonder that the clergy wanted	33:54
	to put Jeremiah in the stocks and the military wanted	33:56
	him put to death and the king wanted him disposed of	34:00
	in any way that was swift and private and convenient.	34:04
	Nor is it any wonder that Jeremiah, when he saw	34:11
	what the towns folks had in mind for him,	34:15
	what he had done to them, it's no wonder that he would	34:19
	lament, "Cursed, cursed be the day on which I was born."	34:23
	What is a wonder I suppose, the miracle of it all,	34:29
	I suppose, is that Jeremiah lasted as long,	34:34
	survived as long as he did.	34:37
	But still, still there is more.	34:42
	Even the king would inquire of Jeremiah, in secret,	34:46
	if not in public, "Is there any word from the Lord?"	34:50
	And still, still Jeremiah had a few friends who thought	34:56
	they knew his worth and would post his bail	35:00
	whenever he got into trouble.	35:03
	And still,	35:07
	still it was this tempestuous poet to whom Yahweh said,	35:09
	"I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.	35:13
	"All to whom I send you you shall go,	35:21
	"whatever I command you to speak, you shall say."	35:25
	And so it seems there is more	35:31
	than human mischief and miscalculation	35:35
	in Jeremiah's eccentric doings and sayings.	35:38
	Which brings us to the life	35:46
	and the words of that other prophet,	35:48
	"Do you suppose I came to establish peace on earth?	35:52
	"Indeed not, I have come to bring division."	35:57
	And then Jesus proceeds to describe the family feud	36:03
	that will follow.	36:07
	Contrary to popular opinion, this is not,	36:12
	this is not a theology of war	36:16
	nor is Matthew's even sharper protest,	36:20
	"I have come not to bring peace, but a sword."	36:23
	The sermon on the mount remains central	36:29
	and all that follows must be interpreted in light	36:33
	of its demands.	36:36
	Luke has it right when he has Jesus say, "I bring division".	36:40
	Which is to say my truth creates a for	36:44
	and my truth creates an against.	36:47
	Breach, yes.	36:53
	Division, yes, but not war.	36:56
	We should have known, I suppose, what he was up to	37:03
	when he preached that first sermon in Nazareth	37:06
	and the home town crowd wanted not only to run him	37:09
	out of town but to throw him over a cliff for good measure.	37:12
	We should have known.	37:15
	We should have known because he was	37:18
	so straightforward about it all.	37:20
	Good news to the poor is what he said	37:24
	that he had come to preach, good news to the poor.	37:26
	We've every reason to believe that the poor then	37:33
	needed the good news just as much as they need it now.	37:35
	And as if that weren't disruptive enough,	37:42
	liberty for the imprisoned, setting the prisoners free.	37:45
	And if the two together weren't sufficiently threatening	37:51
	then freedom for the oppressed.	37:54
	It was indeed a sermon preached	37:56
	with a theology of liberation.	38:02
	His text of course, was Isaiah.	38:06
	But things might have been alright	38:09
	if Jesus had sat down and shut up,	38:12
	but he didn't.	38:17
	The sermon was short enough as sermons go	38:19
	and it was full enough of gospel as gospel goes,	38:23
	but it wasn't exactly the good news	38:27
	that those pious religionists had expected to hear.	38:30
	And it certainly wasn't the good news	38:34
	that they wanted to hear.	38:36
	"In your very hearing this text has come true",	38:41
	is what he said to them next.	38:45
	Which is another way of saying, I'm the chap,	38:48
	I'm the fellow through whom all of this is going to be done.	38:52
	And still, he might have been given the benefit of the doubt	38:57
	if he'd stopped there.	39:00
	For Luke tells us that in that congregation,	39:03
	there was a stir of admiration.	39:06
	But like so many preachers, Jesus didn't know when to stop.	39:10
	Instead he went on to say something about prickly truth	39:16
	proverbs and how unwelcome prophets are	39:19
	in their home country and about lepers and widows	39:23
	and skies that never open.	39:28
	And to make things worse, he had to tell that blue-nosed	39:32
	congregation that God had graceful designs	39:35
	on the non-Israelites as well as on themselves.	39:39
	All in all it was a sermon and a preacher not well received.	39:46
	The whole congregation was infuriated,	39:54
	is how Luke puts it.	39:59
	And there is no nastier mob, I'm told,	40:02
	than an infuriated congregation.	40:05
	Or so it was with Jesus.	40:09
	And then there was that sermon on the mount,	40:13
	as Matthew called it, or the sermon on the plain	40:17
	if Luke is to be believed, or maybe Jesus preached	40:21
	a variation of the same sermon twice.	40:25
	At any rate as a job description for Christians	40:28
	or anyone else for that matter, it's a bruiser.	40:33
	All of which is to say, we should have known.	40:39
	The signs were there right from the start.	40:44
	No slouch this one, no lazy prophet, no easy grace,	40:47
	no anemic discipleship, no wide path to glory.	40:52
	None.	40:57
	And now Jesus is telling us that if there's any doubt,	41:00
	any doubt at all about who he is or what he's up to	41:03
	or who he's up to it for, then just give a listen.	41:06
	"Do you suppose that I came to bring peace on earth,	41:11
	no I have come to bring division."	41:16
	Came Christ the Tiger.	41:24
	It is the right image, when we think about it.	41:28
	When we listen with ears that really hear what's said	41:34
	rather than what we hope was said or will be said	41:37
	or will sometime be said if we just listen hard enough.	41:41
	It's the right image I think because it's at once	41:47
	so full of promise and so full of threat.	41:50
	With my coming, he says, comes also dissension.	41:56
	And we know, you and I, we know the truth of his words.	42:01
	And we know too, the sort of world that he comes into.	42:07
	And when we know this, then we know don't we,	42:12
	why it is that such as he, and only such as he,	42:15
	must come into this world.	42:20
	Capitol Hill takes its bickering to Africa,	42:25
	pronounced one of last Thursday's Washington Post headlines.	42:28
	Capitol Hill takes its bickering to Africa.	42:35
	It's at least a bickering world.	42:37
	U.S. to allow Argentina nuclear aid,	42:42
	declared another Post headline.	42:45
	It's a least a threatened world.	42:48
	Texas coast areas brace as Alisha gathers strength.	42:53
	It's at least a threatening world.	42:59
	Think about it, urges William Faulkner,	43:04
	think about the earth and all of the blood,	43:07
	hot and strong for living, pleasuring,	43:09
	that has soaked back into it.	43:12
	It's at least a bloodstained world.	43:16
	It's a puzzling world, at times it's a comic world.	43:21
	It's a world I think, that can be described	43:24
	as a clash of the ages.	43:27
	One old, one new,	43:31
	one dying, one being born.	43:36
	I'm afraid that I've got a vested interest,	43:42
	I'm sorry to say, in the one,	43:44
	in the old age.	43:48
	I'm scared as hell of the other.	43:51
	And comes now Christ the tiger,	43:56
	"I have come to bring division."	44:01
	Comes now the son of God, pick up your cross.	44:03
	Pick up your cross and follow me.	44:08
	Strange though they may be, these are our hope.	44:13
	This is our hope and this is our obligation,	44:19
	there are no others.	44:24
	Oh yes, there are other offerings of course,	44:26
	but no other hope.	44:29
	In a world where the poor are poor under starvation,	44:32
	where peace is fragile and justice is a scarce	44:37
	and fleeting thing, in a world where the prophets	44:41
	are still put to death and where life and love collide	44:46
	in a most electric way, with death and rancor,	44:49
	this alone is our hope.	44:52
	Comes Christ the tiger.	44:57
	In a little while, we'll pray that prayer	45:05
	which we like to say that Jesus taught us.	45:07
	But I wonder.	45:12
	I wonder if we have learned it really.	45:14
	I wonder if we'll mean it.	45:19
	I hope we will, but I wonder.	45:22
	It's a dangerous prayer.	45:28
	It's a dangerous prayer.	45:31
	Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.	45:34
	Where? Here on earth,	45:38
	as it is in heaven.	45:43
	Pray it boldly, if you pray it.	45:48
	Pray it fearfully also, for as I say, its a dangerous prayer	45:52
	and pray it too expecting to be surprised.	45:58
	But don't, don't pray it at all,	46:03
	unless you intend to be the means towards its end.	46:07
	Comes Christ the tiger.	46:15
	"I have come to bring division", he said.	46:19
	Follow him and you will know the truth of his word	46:24
	and the promise of his life	46:31
	and the compelling threat,	46:35
	the compelling threat of his roar.	46:38
	In the name of the Father, and of the Son	46:44
	and of the Holy Spirit.	46:48
	Amen.	46:51
	(solemn organ music)	46:58
	(congregation singing)	47:57

	(lively organ music)	0:03
	(congregation sings)
-	Now as the people of God,	2:30
	let us affirm what we believe.	2:32
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	2:35
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	2:40
	to reconcile and make new,	2:44
	who works in us and others by the Spirit.	2:47
	We trust God who calls us to be the church	2:51
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	2:55
	to love and serve others,	2:58
	to seek justice and resist evil,	3:01
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	3:04
	our judge and our hope.	3:08
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	3:10
	God is with us, we are not alone.	3:15
	Thanks be to God.	3:18
	The Lord be with you.	3:21
	(congregation mumbles)	3:23
	Let us pray.	3:24
	Oh Lord our God, giver of every perfect gift,	3:42
	you who created sunshine and rain,	3:47
	planting and harvest even life and death,	3:50
	we come into your presence with praise	3:55
	and thanksgiving for your great and mighty deeds.	3:57
	We come as your people	4:02
	to worship in your presence,	4:05
	to sing praises to your holy name,	4:07
	to ask forgiveness of our sins,	4:10
	to hear and receive your word	4:14
	and to open ourselves to your blessings.	4:18
	Oh God, come now and comfort us in our daily struggles.	4:23
	Heal us in our sicknesses and our weaknesses.	4:28
	Lift us out of gloom and despair	4:33
	to the light of your love and truth.	4:36
	Help us to follow the footsteps of your son,	4:40
	our savior and Lord Jesus Christ.	4:44
	Open our ears anew this day	4:48
	that we might listen and hear your stirring	4:51
	in our hearts.	4:55
	Grant us your peace	4:57
	as we pick up our lives made new by you every day.	4:59
	And let us not be ashamed to speak your name	5:05
	or to witness to our faith and life together	5:09
	as your people.	5:14
	Give us strength and courage	5:16
	to meet all our tomorrows	5:18
	for we pray in the name of the Christ	5:21
	who taught us how to truly live.	5:24
	Let just join together now in the Lord's prayer.	5:28
-	Our Father, who art in heaven,	5:32
	hallowed be thy name,	5:36
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	5:38
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	5:41
	Give us this day our daily bread	5:44
	and forgive us our trespasses	5:47
	and we forgive those who trespass against us	5:50
	and lead us not into temptation	5:53
	but deliver us from evil	5:56
	for thine is the kingdom and the power	5:58
	and the glory forever.	6:02
	Amen.	6:05
	(tranquil music)	6:21
	(lively music)	10:35
	(lively organ music)	13:20
	(congregation sings)	13:41
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	13:53
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	13:56
	(congregation sings)	14:01
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	14:15
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	14:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	14:21
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	14:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	14:28
-	All that we have we have from you, oh God,	14:47
	our creator, thus accept these gifts	14:50
	which we now bring before you	14:53
	and help us to make the whole of life an offering	14:55
	and every thought a prayer	14:59
	in your presence through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	15:01
	(lively organ music)	15:09
	(congregation sings)	15:47
-	And now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,	19:07
	the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	19:11
	be with you this day now and always.	19:15
	Amen.	19:21
	(lively music)	19:28
	(people murmuring)	24:12

Item Info

Title:

J. Michael Laidlaw - "Comes Christ the Tiger" (August 21, 1983)

Description:

The preacher paints a picture of the prophet Jeremiah as one whose hard teachings make him unpopular with those around him. Then he shows how Jesus is in this line of prophets, as one whose truth brings division. Paradoxically, however, it is this hard truth of Jesus that is our hope in a world of suffering and oppression, for it is good news to the poor and oppressed, even if it may sound like destruction to the oppressor. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 25:29. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 46:54.
Key quotation: “In a world where the poor are poor under starvation, where peace is fragile, and justice is a scarce and fleeting thing, in a world where the prophets are still put to death and where life and love collide in a most electrifying way with death and rancor, this alone is our hope: Comes Christ the tiger.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r43f4m267

Date:

August 21, 1983

Speaker:

Laidlaw, J. Michael

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0165
ref7853_ze1
uachapelsermaud
duke:320522
dcrau001156
ark:/87924/r43f4m267
ef5aa005-3aad-4777-9ae0-a9172808ace8

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings

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Language:

English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

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Educational Use Permitted

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This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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J. Michael Laidlaw - "Comes Christ the Tiger" (August 21, 1983)

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