Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)
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| (organ music) | 0:03 | |
| (organ music) | 4:17 | |
| (organ music) | 8:17 | |
| All ears. | 12:59 | |
| It was in 1923 that the concept of this chapel | 13:01 | |
| was made when Duke University was started. | 13:06 | |
| Seven years later, the chapel began construction, | 13:10 | |
| and in 1932, the first service was held here. | 13:14 | |
| So basically, we have been planning | 13:17 | |
| for this particular service today, | 13:19 | |
| for those of us who are here, for 59 years. | 13:20 | |
| I welcome you on behalf of Jesus Christ, | 13:24 | |
| on behalf of Duke University, and the staff of this church. | 13:27 | |
| All of you today are guests, as all of us, guests of Christ. | 13:32 | |
| We do have a special group worshiping with us today. | 13:38 | |
| It's a band from the Northeastern High School | 13:41 | |
| in Elizabeth City, and from this distance, | 13:43 | |
| I cannot spot the members of that band, | 13:46 | |
| and maybe you can't either. | 13:49 | |
| Would they stand so that we can see where you're seated? | 13:50 | |
| Oh, they're all over the place. | 13:55 | |
| We welcome you to, especially today, | 13:57 | |
| from Elizabeth City down on the coast. | 13:59 | |
| The preacher for today's service is Nancy Ferree, | 14:03 | |
| who is the Assistant Minister to the University Chapel. | 14:06 | |
| Elector is Susan Booth, and now we will engage | 14:09 | |
| in the most important thing any of us will do this week. | 14:13 | |
| That is the worship of almighty God. | 14:17 | |
| (organ music) | 14:26 | |
| (organ drowning out voices of choir singing) | 15:00 | |
| It is never easy to ask forgiveness. | 18:08 | |
| The more we need it, the harder it is to ask, | 18:14 | |
| but God provides opportunities like this | 18:20 | |
| to meet our most basic spiritual need. | 18:23 | |
| Let us offer our prayer of thanksgiving, | 18:27 | |
| our prayer of confession, let us all pray together. | 18:30 | |
| Oh God, the source of our being, our very destiny, | 18:35 | |
| the God of our pilgrim days, by your power is Jesus raised | 18:41 | |
| to be savior of all people, ruler of all nations, | 18:46 | |
| but now we confess other allegiances. | 18:52 | |
| Too often, we give substance to capture the mirage, | 18:55 | |
| our affections to things that perish. | 18:59 | |
| We are careless in our relationships with others, | 19:03 | |
| so now we cry pardon for our idolatries, | 19:06 | |
| mercy upon our failures. | 19:10 | |
| Make us a people whose lives praise you. | 19:13 | |
| Women and men who heed Christ's call | 19:17 | |
| to a lively discipleship, in the name of Him | 19:20 | |
| who is the Lord of the creation | 19:24 | |
| and head of the church that is His body, amen. | 19:26 | |
| Hear the word of God as it came to Solomon | 19:36 | |
| and as it now comes to us. | 19:41 | |
| If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, | 19:44 | |
| and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, | 19:49 | |
| then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin | 19:57 | |
| and heal their land, amen. | 20:01 | |
| Let us give thanks, for God is good, | 20:08 | |
| and God's love is everlasting. | 20:11 | |
| (congregation mumbling) | 20:15 | |
| Will you join in the prayer for Illumination? | 20:37 | |
| Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 20:41 | |
| by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 20:45 | |
| so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 20:48 | |
| we might hear with you what you would have us | 20:52 | |
| to say to us this day, amen. | 20:55 | |
| The Old Testament reading is from 1 Kings 19:9-18. | 21:00 | |
| "And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; | 21:08 | |
| "and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, | 21:13 | |
| "and he said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' | 21:17 | |
| "He said, 'I have been very jealous for the LORD, | 21:22 | |
| "'for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, | 21:28 | |
| "'thrown down thy altars, | 21:32 | |
| slain thy prophets with the sword; | 21:36 | |
| "'and I, even I only, am left; | 21:39 | |
| "'and they seek my life, to take it away.' | 21:43 | |
| "And he said, 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount | 21:47 | |
| "'before the LORD," and behold, the LORD passed by, | 21:52 | |
| "and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, | 21:58 | |
| "and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, | 22:02 | |
| "but the LORD was not in the wind; | 22:07 | |
| "and after the wind an earthquake, | 22:10 | |
| "but the LORD was not in the earthquake; | 22:14 | |
| "and after the earthquake a fire, | 22:18 | |
| "but the LORD was not in the fire; | 22:22 | |
| "and after the fire a small still voice. | 22:25 | |
| "And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle | 22:30 | |
| "and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. | 22:35 | |
| "And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, | 22:40 | |
| "'What are you doing here, Elijah?" | 22:44 | |
| "He said, 'I have been very jealous for the LORD, | 22:47 | |
| "'the God of hosts, for the people of Israel | 22:51 | |
| "'have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, | 22:55 | |
| "'and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I | 23:00 | |
| "'only am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.' | 23:05 | |
| "And the LORD said to him, 'Go, return on your way | 23:11 | |
| "'to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, | 23:15 | |
| "'you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; | 23:20 | |
| "'and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint | 23:24 | |
| "'to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat | 23:27 | |
| "'you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. | 23:33 | |
| "'And him who escapes from the sword of Hazael | 23:37 | |
| "'shall Jehu slay; and him who escapes | 23:41 | |
| "'the sword of Jehu shall Eli'sha slay. | 23:44 | |
| "'Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, | 23:48 | |
| "'all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, | 23:52 | |
| "'and every mouth that has not kissed him.'" | 23:55 | |
| This ends the Old Testament lesson. | 23:59 | |
| Will the congregation please stand | 24:04 | |
| for the Reading of the Psalter? | 24:06 | |
| Lord, open our lips. | 24:16 | |
| Thou mouth shall proclaim your praise. | 24:19 | |
| Show us your mercy, oh Lord. | 24:23 | |
| And grant us His salvation. | 24:25 | |
| I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, | 24:29 | |
| for He is speaking peace to His faithful people | 24:32 | |
| and to those who turn their hearts to Him. | 24:36 | |
| Truly, salvation is near to those who fear Him | 24:39 | |
| that his glory may dwell in our land. | 24:44 | |
| Mercy and truth have met together. | 24:48 | |
| Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. | 24:51 | |
| Truth shall spring up from the earth, | 24:55 | |
| and righteousness shall look down from Heaven. | 24:58 | |
| The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, | 25:01 | |
| and our land will yield its increase. | 25:05 | |
| Righteousness shall go before him, | 25:08 | |
| and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. | 25:11 | |
| (organ music) | 25:14 | |
| (organ drowning out voices of choir singing) | 25:22 | |
| The Epistle lesson is from Romans 9:1-5. | 26:22 | |
| "I'm speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying. | 26:31 | |
| "My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit | 26:36 | |
| "that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, | 26:40 | |
| "for I could wish that I myself were cursed | 26:46 | |
| "and cut off from Christ for the sake | 26:49 | |
| "of my brethren, my kinsmen by race. | 26:51 | |
| "They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, | 26:56 | |
| "the glory, the convenants, the giving of the law, | 27:01 | |
| "the worship, and the promises. | 27:06 | |
| "To them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, | 27:09 | |
| "according to their flesh, is the Christ. | 27:14 | |
| "God, who is over all, be blessed forever, amen." | 27:18 | |
| (organ music) | 27:32 | |
| (organ drowning out voices of choir singing) | 28:19 | |
| A gospel reading from the gospel according to St. Matthew | 32:00 | |
| and the 14th chapter. Here we encounter the disciples | 32:05 | |
| and Christ immediately after the feeding of the 5,000. | 32:10 | |
| "Then he made the disciples get into the boat | 32:17 | |
| "and go before him to the other side | 32:22 | |
| "while he dismissed the crowds, | 32:25 | |
| "and after he had dismissed the crowds, | 32:28 | |
| "he went up into the hills by himself to pray. | 32:31 | |
| "When evening came, he was there alone, | 32:36 | |
| "but the boat, by this time, was many furlongs | 32:40 | |
| "distant from the land, beaten by the waves, | 32:44 | |
| "for the wind was against them, | 32:48 | |
| "and in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, | 32:52 | |
| "walking on the sea, but when the disciples | 32:56 | |
| "saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, | 33:01 | |
| "'It is a ghost," and they cried out for fear. | 33:06 | |
| "But immediately, he spoke to them, saying, | 33:11 | |
| "'Take heart, it is I, have no fear,' | 33:15 | |
| "and Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, | 33:19 | |
| "'bid me come to you on the water.' | 33:23 | |
| "He said, 'Come,' so Peter got out of the boat | 33:26 | |
| "and walked on the water and came to Jesus, | 33:31 | |
| "but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, | 33:35 | |
| "and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' | 33:38 | |
| "Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, | 33:44 | |
| "saying to him, 'Oh man of little faith, why did you doubt?' | 33:48 | |
| "And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, | 33:54 | |
| "and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, | 33:58 | |
| "'Truly, you are the son of God.'" | 34:02 | |
| Here ends the gospel lesson, let us pray. | 34:07 | |
| May the words of my mouth and the meditations | 34:16 | |
| of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. | 34:20 | |
| Oh God, our strength and our redeemer, amen. | 34:25 | |
| Nobody that I know likes to leave | 34:37 | |
| a good party too early, myself included. | 34:40 | |
| So why should the disciples of Christ be any exception? | 34:44 | |
| It's not everyday that a person gets in | 34:49 | |
| on the feeding of 5,000 people | 34:52 | |
| when the only source of food was five loaves and two fishes. | 34:55 | |
| Not only was it a miracle, it was a celebration. | 35:00 | |
| The scripture reads, in today's gospel lesson, | 35:05 | |
| "Then he," meaning Jesus, "made the disciples | 35:08 | |
| "get into the boat and go before him to the other side | 35:13 | |
| "while Jesus took a little time out to pray." | 35:17 | |
| Who can blame the disciples | 35:21 | |
| for their apparent reluctance to leave? | 35:22 | |
| Their spirits must've been soaring | 35:24 | |
| as they discussed among themselves | 35:26 | |
| the mystery of what Jesus had done. | 35:28 | |
| Perhaps he would soon wipe out all dreaded disease. | 35:33 | |
| Perhaps he was about to find a way | 35:37 | |
| to feed all the hungry people. | 35:39 | |
| Perhaps his following could even grow | 35:42 | |
| to become a political force with some real clout. | 35:45 | |
| What could it all mean? | 35:49 | |
| And so the conversation goes, we might imagine, | 35:52 | |
| while the boat which they had boarded | 35:56 | |
| drifts further and further out to sea, | 35:58 | |
| and as the wind begins to rise, the party was over indeed, | 36:02 | |
| for now the disciples were truly vulnerable to the elements. | 36:06 | |
| Experienced sailors they were, | 36:11 | |
| no neophytes at the helm of a ship, but the level of anxiety | 36:14 | |
| rose rapidly as the wind howled | 36:19 | |
| and the waves crashed across the deck. | 36:22 | |
| When else could the disciples have been less prepared, | 36:25 | |
| yet more ready to see Jesus? | 36:29 | |
| They were frightened already, soon to become terrified, | 36:33 | |
| when they saw a figure emerging in the darkness. | 36:37 | |
| "It is a ghost," someone cried. | 36:41 | |
| It was finally the familiar sound of Jesus's voice | 36:45 | |
| that broke through the horror of the night. | 36:49 | |
| "Take heart, it is I, have no fear." | 36:52 | |
| Like so many things Jesus said, | 36:58 | |
| these words must've had a hint of the preposterous | 37:01 | |
| in them to his hearers, relax, take a deep breath. | 37:03 | |
| Even though you're in the midst | 37:08 | |
| of a life and death situation, take heart. | 37:09 | |
| Jesus certainly had a flair for the dramatic, | 37:13 | |
| not to mention the unlikely. | 37:16 | |
| What were the disciples supposed | 37:18 | |
| to make of all this excitement? | 37:20 | |
| Not surprisingly, it was Peter | 37:23 | |
| in his usual impetuous manner, who first responded. | 37:26 | |
| He wanted to walk on water, too, | 37:30 | |
| like you and I dream of performing the miraculous, | 37:34 | |
| and walk on the water he did, | 37:38 | |
| until he saw the wind and was afraid. | 37:40 | |
| Never doubting the source of his strength, however, | 37:44 | |
| he called on Jesus and was saved. | 37:46 | |
| While suffering a terrible embarrassment, | 37:50 | |
| he climbed back into the boat, | 37:52 | |
| all the wiser for having tried. | 37:54 | |
| The rest of the disciples, meanwhile, | 37:58 | |
| their eyes big as saucers, cried out in amazement. | 38:00 | |
| "Truly you are the son of God! | 38:04 | |
| "Not only does he heal the sick and feed the hungry, | 38:07 | |
| "but he comes to us in our distress in mysterious ways." | 38:11 | |
| This passage, for all its mystery and enigma, | 38:19 | |
| still brings a relevant word to us modern day disciples, | 38:23 | |
| for truly, we find ourselves sailing on stormy seas. | 38:28 | |
| Whether or not we've ever attempted to walk on water, | 38:33 | |
| we all have known that sinking feeling | 38:36 | |
| that goes with the experience of fear | 38:39 | |
| at one time or another, in one form or another in our lives. | 38:43 | |
| Fear that the results of the biopsy will be positive. | 38:49 | |
| Fear that crime will strike in our home next. | 38:53 | |
| Fear that our deepest and most precious relationships | 38:58 | |
| are vulnerable to strife and even to irreparable division. | 39:01 | |
| Fear that the world will literally go up in smoke. | 39:06 | |
| Fear of change, fear of our own death. | 39:11 | |
| It's a chronic human condition, | 39:14 | |
| this business of being afraid, | 39:16 | |
| which oftentimes controls us more than we know. | 39:19 | |
| Consider the lengths to which we go | 39:23 | |
| to avoid facing our own fears. | 39:25 | |
| Popping a few pills to get through a flight, | 39:28 | |
| having a few drinks to face a lonely night, | 39:32 | |
| avoiding a certain topic to get through a conversation, | 39:36 | |
| living even with nuclear weapons | 39:40 | |
| in hopes of getting through another generation. | 39:42 | |
| Fear and faith, what is their connection? | 39:46 | |
| I'd like to share with you two examples of Christians | 39:51 | |
| whose lives exemplify something | 39:55 | |
| about fearlessness and faithfulness. | 39:57 | |
| The first is a man named Joel Filártiga. | 40:01 | |
| Dr. Filártiga, with the help of his wife, Nidia, | 40:06 | |
| and his children, operates a free medical clinic | 40:09 | |
| in a remote region of Paraguay for the poorest of the poor. | 40:12 | |
| There, people come from great distances, | 40:17 | |
| walking or riding in little horse drawn carts | 40:20 | |
| to ask help for their many diseases. | 40:24 | |
| Dr. Filártiga has an unusual capacity | 40:27 | |
| for understanding his people, not only the illnesses | 40:30 | |
| of their bodies, but also the afflictions of their spirits. | 40:34 | |
| While he listens to their souls cry out, | 40:39 | |
| he picks up his pencil and he draws. | 40:42 | |
| Drawings, which are sometimes staggering in the way | 40:46 | |
| of the agony of his people, as expressed. | 40:48 | |
| Dr. Filártiga's outspoken defense | 40:53 | |
| of the poor made him very unpopular | 40:55 | |
| with the Stroessner regime in Paraguay. | 40:58 | |
| On March 30, 1976, the police kidnapped his 17 year old son, | 41:02 | |
| Joelito, and within a few hours, tortured him to death. | 41:07 | |
| Joel's and Nidia's grief did not drive them | 41:15 | |
| into silence and seclusion, however. | 41:17 | |
| Instead, they cried out in fearless protest, | 41:19 | |
| doing so at the risk of their own lives. | 41:22 | |
| Instead of dressing their son's electroshocked body | 41:26 | |
| in fine clothes to cover over the horror of his death, | 41:30 | |
| they laid it naked on the bloody mattress | 41:34 | |
| on which it had been found. | 41:38 | |
| I first met Dr. Filártiga three years | 41:41 | |
| after this tragic event. | 41:45 | |
| He had brought several of his drawings to display | 41:47 | |
| in exhibits around the US | 41:50 | |
| as a means of protesting such oppression. | 41:52 | |
| Each time he left the country, | 41:56 | |
| he took the risk of not being allowed to return. | 41:57 | |
| His life was constantly endangered, | 42:01 | |
| yet he embodied a depth of compassion and fearlessness | 42:04 | |
| which could not be snuffed out. | 42:09 | |
| Had there been a body of water before him, | 42:12 | |
| I feel sure he somehow could've walked across it, | 42:15 | |
| had he needed to, such was his faith in God, | 42:18 | |
| even in the face of life threatening elements, | 42:22 | |
| even in the presence of excruciating pain. | 42:26 | |
| Under very different circumstances, | 42:32 | |
| I met Sylvia, a woman afflicted with down syndrome, | 42:34 | |
| who, in her own way, also walks on water by faith. | 42:39 | |
| Sylvia is a member of L'Arche, a Christian community | 42:44 | |
| which seeks to create opportunities | 42:47 | |
| for persons with mental handicaps | 42:50 | |
| to live in community with other Christians. | 42:52 | |
| In the context of life together at L'Arche, | 42:55 | |
| the everyday activities of cooking, eating, | 42:58 | |
| cleaning, working, praying, celebrating, | 43:01 | |
| worshiping, loving, and laughing are shared. | 43:05 | |
| Sylvia, though happy to be at L'Arche, struggles | 43:10 | |
| with the feeling of being excluded, worthless, and unloved. | 43:13 | |
| Such feelings seem to be especially common | 43:20 | |
| for people in our society who have been pushed | 43:22 | |
| to the margins and are not valued for who they are. | 43:25 | |
| Sylvia, having spent most of her life in institutions, | 43:29 | |
| suffers from this burden in a special way. | 43:32 | |
| Often, her behavior is uncontrollable | 43:36 | |
| as she strikes out violently at the world around her, | 43:39 | |
| including her own community. | 43:43 | |
| It was a great joy for me, as a guest in their community | 43:46 | |
| for a few days, to experience the ways | 43:49 | |
| in which total acceptance is the backbone of L'Arche. | 43:52 | |
| The kind of acceptance which assures us | 43:56 | |
| we are loved by others, even as our limitations | 43:59 | |
| are acknowledged, making us better able to love ourselves. | 44:03 | |
| In a rather amazing way, the fear of simply being oneself | 44:08 | |
| is therefore overcome at L'Arche. | 44:12 | |
| It is displaced by a celebration of life, | 44:16 | |
| a song of thanksgiving to God, which nourishes | 44:19 | |
| and renews the community to face the suffering | 44:23 | |
| which is a part of everyday life together. | 44:26 | |
| Thus, Sylvia took on a special glow | 44:30 | |
| when she shared with the community | 44:32 | |
| that she had an occasion for everyone to celebrate, | 44:34 | |
| for you see, for the first time in over 20 years, | 44:39 | |
| she would be visited by members of her own family, | 44:43 | |
| and what a celebration it was. | 44:48 | |
| For days, both before and after the visit, | 44:50 | |
| everyone affirmed Sylvia and her long awaited | 44:53 | |
| family reunion, rejoicing with her for this time of healing, | 44:56 | |
| even on the days when it might've been easier | 45:01 | |
| not to relate to Sylvia at all. | 45:03 | |
| Such a way of relating is not uncommon at L'Arche. | 45:07 | |
| Symbolic of their commitment to bear one another's burdens | 45:11 | |
| and share one another's joys, the community of L'Arche | 45:15 | |
| has its own ritual of remembering, | 45:19 | |
| helping a person like Sylvia to recall | 45:23 | |
| not only the names and faces of her own family, | 45:26 | |
| but helping her to recall what it is to be human, | 45:30 | |
| to be a child of God, to be valued for who she is, | 45:34 | |
| and to do so in the face of nearly overwhelming hardships. | 45:39 | |
| This is fearlessness, exemplified not just | 45:44 | |
| by exceptionally gifted individuals, | 45:47 | |
| but by an entire community of faith. | 45:50 | |
| One which finds its strength in weakness. | 45:54 | |
| As the founder of L'Arche, Jean Vanier has written, | 45:58 | |
| "In community life, we discover our own deepest wound, | 46:01 | |
| "and learn to accept it so our rebirth can begin. | 46:06 | |
| "It's from this very wound that we are born." | 46:11 | |
| Is this not a remembering of Christ's | 46:16 | |
| own example of fearlessness? | 46:18 | |
| One which the church is called to remember in his name? | 46:21 | |
| These two very different examples of discipleship | 46:27 | |
| provide their own commentaries about the fearlessness | 46:31 | |
| which is part and parcel of faith. | 46:34 | |
| The willingness of these individuals to take risks | 46:38 | |
| enables them to step forward into unknown territory | 46:42 | |
| to become disciples of Christ. | 46:45 | |
| Their ability to trust in God provides sufficient strength | 46:49 | |
| for persevering in the face of very trying circumstances. | 46:53 | |
| Their lack of self-consciousness allows them | 46:58 | |
| to focus on Christ's call to obedience, | 47:01 | |
| and not on their own anxieties. | 47:05 | |
| Their ability to remember how to live | 47:08 | |
| as sisters and brothers in community | 47:10 | |
| provides a vision worthy of the risk which they take. | 47:13 | |
| Are these not the essential elements of walking on water, | 47:18 | |
| which Christ himself represented? | 47:21 | |
| Aspects of faith which require us | 47:24 | |
| as his body on earth to give up on our fears | 47:27 | |
| as we embrace his call to discipleship. | 47:31 | |
| Giving up on fear, no matter how badly we want to do it, | 47:36 | |
| is guaranteed not to come easily, | 47:40 | |
| for it serves too many useful functions, | 47:44 | |
| which we are naturally reluctant to give up. | 47:46 | |
| After all, without fear, what excuse could we find | 47:49 | |
| for distrusting those who are different than we are? | 47:54 | |
| What good reasons would we have left for dreading the un-- | 47:58 |
| - | It seems that we're prone to treat our fears | 0:04 |
| like good friends taking them with us | 0:07 | |
| wherever we go and it would feel unnatural | 0:09 | |
| to leave them behind. | 0:12 | |
| Even if this is your reaction | 0:15 | |
| to the notion of giving up on fear, | 0:17 | |
| let us think for a moment about Peter. | 0:20 | |
| Peter who had the desire | 0:23 | |
| but imperfect faith. | 0:26 | |
| Peter the rock who seemed to struggle | 0:28 | |
| by his very nature to stay afloat. | 0:31 | |
| I feel the urge to come to Peter's defense today | 0:36 | |
| for it seems he always gets the short end of the stick | 0:39 | |
| in sermons about this passage. | 0:43 | |
| Too little faith we're quick to criticize | 0:45 | |
| while we shake our fingers at him. | 0:49 | |
| Yet is it possible | 0:51 | |
| that sinking may not be so great a sin | 0:53 | |
| as failing to step out at all? | 0:57 | |
| Peter's brash behavior and his fearfulness | 1:01 | |
| are well known to us. | 1:04 | |
| His attack on the high priest's slave in the garden, | 1:06 | |
| his denial of Christ, | 1:10 | |
| his fear on the water. | 1:12 | |
| Yet at the same time, his fervent desire | 1:14 | |
| to follow Jesus made Peter the one | 1:17 | |
| to recognize Jesus as the Christ. | 1:19 | |
| Made Peter the one to establish the church. | 1:23 | |
| Made Peter the one to die a martyr's death | 1:26 | |
| for Christ's sake. | 1:30 | |
| Lest we feel inadequate in our faith, | 1:33 | |
| while comparing ourselves to such fearless saints, | 1:36 | |
| let us remember that the faith | 1:40 | |
| which grew in Peter was not born | 1:42 | |
| in the total absence of fear, | 1:44 | |
| rather he had to start somewhere | 1:47 | |
| in his pilgrimage | 1:50 | |
| and that was by giving himself | 1:51 | |
| in all of his zealousness and his fearfulness | 1:53 | |
| with total abandonment to God. | 1:58 | |
| Imperfect as Peter's faith was, | 2:01 | |
| Christ accepted him for who he was | 2:04 | |
| and still chose to give Peter the keys | 2:07 | |
| to the kingdom of Heaven anyway. | 2:09 | |
| Meanwhile, it took Peter a lifetime | 2:12 | |
| to grow into the perfection | 2:16 | |
| which he had so eagerly sought | 2:17 | |
| since the day he first met Jesus. | 2:19 | |
| Giving up on our fear runs counter for us like Peter | 2:24 | |
| to our usual predispositions. | 2:29 | |
| By nature, we cling to our fears | 2:33 | |
| rather than giving them away | 2:35 | |
| yet faith by its very nature requires us | 2:37 | |
| to come to Christ with empty hands, | 2:41 | |
| clinging to nothing, | 2:45 | |
| leaving all our possessions, | 2:47 | |
| even our fears behind us. | 2:49 | |
| The question is are we willing to give a lifetime | 2:53 | |
| like Peter in order to learn how? | 2:57 | |
| Let us begin, each of us, | 3:03 | |
| by reflecting on our own experience. | 3:06 | |
| Recall for a moment the last stormy night | 3:10 | |
| that you endured. | 3:12 | |
| What were the circumstances? | 3:15 | |
| Were you alone? | 3:18 | |
| Were you with someone you love? | 3:20 | |
| Did God's presence seem near or far from you? | 3:24 | |
| Of what, if anything, were you afraid? | 3:29 | |
| "Take heart, it is I," Jesus said. | 3:37 | |
| "Have no fear. | 3:40 | |
| "Wouldn't you like to take a walk on the water?" | 3:43 | |
| (lively organ music) | 4:01 | |
| (congregation singing) | 4:33 | |
| - | Let us affirm what we believe. | 6:45 |
| - | We believe in God | 6:49 |
| who has created and is creating, | 6:50 | |
| who has come in the truly human Jesus | 6:54 | |
| to reconcile and make new, | 6:57 | |
| who works in us | 6:59 | |
| and others by the Spirit. | 7:01 | |
| We trust God | 7:03 | |
| who calls us to be the church, | 7:05 | |
| to celebrate life in its fullness, | 7:08 | |
| to love and serve others, | 7:10 | |
| to seek justice and resist evil, | 7:13 | |
| to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, | 7:16 | |
| our judge and our hope. | 7:19 | |
| In life, in death and life beyond death, | 7:22 | |
| God is with us. | 7:26 | |
| We are not alone. | 7:28 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 7:30 | |
| - | The Lord be with you. | 7:32 |
| - | And also with you. | 7:34 |
| - | Let us pray. | 7:36 |
| Eternal God, | 7:49 | |
| we come to this place of worship | 7:53 | |
| and to this time of prayer | 7:56 | |
| with a lot of things on our minds. | 8:00 | |
| Down inside, many of us carry burdens | 8:05 | |
| of brokenness too deep for words. | 8:08 | |
| By your Spirit, | 8:12 | |
| heal the fragmented pieces of our lives | 8:14 | |
| and make us whole. | 8:17 | |
| Some of us are in love with a past | 8:21 | |
| that can never be again | 8:23 | |
| or with an imagined future | 8:26 | |
| that can never become. | 8:28 | |
| Help us to hear your call in this present moment | 8:32 | |
| and to serve you faithfully in the here and now. | 8:36 | |
| Many of us are tired of seeking to maintain an image | 8:43 | |
| of self that no longer exists, if it ever did. | 8:45 | |
| Shape us after the image and likeness of Christ | 8:51 | |
| who sets us free to be real people. | 8:56 | |
| Some of us have become learned and sophisticated | 9:04 | |
| at the expense of neglected prayer and neglected worship. | 9:06 | |
| Yet we yearn to feel again | 9:11 | |
| that oneness with you | 9:13 | |
| that will fill the emptiness within. | 9:15 | |
| Teach us once more to pray | 9:20 | |
| and to seek | 9:24 | |
| and to find. | 9:27 | |
| God, there are so many voices shouting at us, | 9:31 | |
| so many competing voices | 9:33 | |
| that we feel lost at times. | 9:35 | |
| Help us in our choices | 9:39 | |
| and in our actions to be guided by Christ | 9:41 | |
| and many of us feel lonely and cut off | 9:47 | |
| from genuine love. | 9:49 | |
| Help us as your people | 9:52 | |
| to transform the proximity of our lives | 9:54 | |
| into giving, sharing, caring communities of faith. | 9:58 | |
| We pray today for persons who have suffered loss. | 10:05 | |
| Those whose lives have been shattered | 10:10 | |
| by the death of a loved one, | 10:12 | |
| those who have lost jobs, | 10:16 | |
| those who have lost homes and now as refugees | 10:21 | |
| have nowhere to lay their heads. | 10:25 | |
| Those who have lost human dignity | 10:30 | |
| in the face of crushing poverty. | 10:32 | |
| Those who lead nations and people | 10:38 | |
| but who have lost touch with the cries | 10:40 | |
| and the needs of their people, | 10:42 | |
| who have sacrificed compassion and sensitivity | 10:45 | |
| in the game of power and politics. | 10:48 | |
| In such a world as this, | 10:54 | |
| restore us and all your people | 10:58 | |
| to a vision of a kingdom where your purposes | 11:01 | |
| of love are served | 11:04 | |
| for we pray in the name of him | 11:08 | |
| who came not to be served but to serve | 11:10 | |
| and to give his life to set us free | 11:14 | |
| and to teach us to live in the midst of our fears by faith. | 11:18 | |
| Jesus, our Lord, Jesus our Christ. | 11:25 | |
| Jesus our redeemer. | 11:30 | |
| Amen. | 11:37 | |
| We now have the opportunity | 11:41 | |
| in an act of commitment | 11:42 | |
| to do something tangible | 11:44 | |
| to indicate that commitment | 11:46 | |
| as we worship God with the giving of the offering. | 11:48 | |
| (tranquil music) | 11:57 | |
| (lively organ music) | 18:17 | |
| (congregation singing) | 18:35 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 18:47 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 18:49 | |
| (congregation singing) | 18:54 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 19:05 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 19:08 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 19:11 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 19:14 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 19:17 | |
| - | We give not to seek your blessings, oh God, | 19:35 |
| but to respond to them. | 19:40 | |
| May this always be the motive of our giving. | 19:44 | |
| Not to gain anything | 19:48 | |
| but simply to express our thanks | 19:50 | |
| through Christ our Lord | 19:54 | |
| who taught us all to pray. | 19:56 | |
| - | Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 19:58 |
| hallowed be thy name, | 20:02 | |
| thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 20:04 | |
| on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 20:08 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 20:11 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses | 20:14 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us | 20:16 | |
| and lead us not into temptation | 20:20 | |
| but deliver us from evil | 20:23 | |
| for thine is the kingdom, | 20:26 | |
| and the power and the glory forever. | 20:28 | |
| Amen. | 20:32 | |
| (lively organ music) | 20:40 | |
| (congregation singing) | 21:13 | |
| - | And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. | 23:34 |
| May the Lord make his face to shine upon you | 23:37 | |
| and be gracious unto you. | 23:40 | |
| May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you | 23:43 | |
| and give you peace. | 23:46 | |
| Amen. | 23:48 | |
| (lively organ music) | 23:53 |
