W. Kenneth Goodson - "Called..." Installation Sunday (September 16, 1984)

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	(organ music)	0:04
	(kid yelling off mic)	13:09
	(footsteps)	13:12
	(organ music)	13:28
	(footsteps)	22:16
-	Grace to you and peace,	22:22
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.	22:24
	We welcome you to this hour of worship	22:27
	at Duke University chapel,	22:29
	especially on this joyous occasion	22:31
	of the installation of the minister	22:33
	to the university, the Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon.	22:35
	We extend warm greetings to all of those present,	22:39
	especially to friends and relatives	22:42
	of the Willimon family who are our special guests today.	22:44
	Our preacher for today is our beloved bishop in residence,	22:48
	Bishop Kenneth Goodson.	22:53
	He is no stranger to most of us,	22:54
	having given some 47 years of service	22:57
	to United Methodist Ministry,	23:00
	here in the southeastern jurisdiction.	23:02
	It is a great joy to welcome Bishop Goodson	23:04
	once again to this pulpit.	23:06
	And just a reminder, of the monthly service	23:09
	of holy communion to be held in the memorial chapel	23:12
	immediately following the postlude today.	23:15
	All are invited to participate.	23:18
	The public is also invited to attend	23:20
	a carol on recital played by Jay Samuel Hammond	23:23
	at 1:30 this afternoon,	23:26
	followed by a two o'clock recital on the Flentrop organ	23:28
	played by Monica Umstaedt Rossman.	23:32
	And now let us join our hearts and minds	23:36
	in a moment of silent communion with God.	23:40
	♪ Blessed be our God ♪	24:01
	♪ and Father ♪	24:07
	♪ of our Lord ♪	24:11
	♪ Jesus Christ ♪	24:16
	♪ Which according ♪	24:24
	♪ to his abundant ♪	24:29
	♪ mercy ♪	24:35
	♪ Hath begotten us ♪	24:41
	♪ again unto ♪	24:46
	♪ a lively hope ♪	24:50
	♪ By the resurrection ♪	24:56
	♪ of Jesus Christ ♪	25:04
	♪ from the dead ♪	25:11
	(worship music)	25:23
	♪ The church's one foundation ♪	26:25
	♪ Is Jesus Christ her Lord ♪	26:30
	♪ She is his new creation ♪	26:36
	♪ By water and the word ♪	26:42
	♪ From heaven he came and sought her ♪	26:48
	♪ To be his holy bride ♪	26:53
	♪ With his own blood he bought her ♪	27:00
	♪ And for her life he died ♪	27:06
	(worship music)	27:12
	♪ Elect from every nation ♪	27:31
	♪ Yet one o'er all the Earth ♪	27:36
	♪ Her charter of salvation ♪	27:41
	♪ One Lord, one faith, one birth ♪	27:47
	♪ One holy name she blesses ♪	27:53
	♪ Partakes one holy food ♪	27:58
	♪ And to one hope she presses ♪	28:03
	♪ With every grace endued ♪	28:09
	(worship music)	28:14
	♪ Mid toil and tribulation ♪	28:34
	♪ And tumult of her war ♪	28:39
	♪ She waits the consummation ♪	28:45
	♪ Of peace forevermore ♪	28:51
	♪ 'Til with the vision glorious ♪	28:57
	♪ Her longing eyes are blessed ♪	29:02
	♪ And the church victorious ♪	29:09
	♪ Shall be the church at rest ♪	29:14
	(worship music)	29:20
	♪ Yet she on Earth hath union ♪	30:01
	♪ With the three in one ♪	30:07
	♪ And mystic sweet communion ♪	30:13
	♪ With those whose rest is won ♪	30:19
	♪ Oh happy ones and holy ♪	30:25
	♪ Lord, give us grace that we ♪	30:31
	♪ Like them, the meek and lowly ♪	30:37
	♪ In love may dwell with thee ♪	30:44
-	We pray to you, Lord Christ,	30:58
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	31:01
-	For the holy church of God,	31:09
	that it may be filled with truth and love,	31:12
	and be found without fault at the day of your coming,	31:16
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	31:19
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	31:22
-	For all members of the church,	31:25
	particularly these in this university	31:27
	that in their vocation and ministry	31:30
	they may serve you in a true and godly life,	31:32
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	31:36
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	31:38
-	For all bishops, priests, and deacons,	31:41
	that they may be filled with your love,	31:44
	may hunger for truth and may thirst after righteousness,	31:46
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	31:51
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	31:53
-	For William, chosen minister in your church,	31:56
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	31:59
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	32:02
-	That he may faithfully fulfill	32:04
	the duties of this ministry,	32:06
	build up your church, and glorify your name,	32:08
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	32:12
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	32:14
-	That by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit	32:17
	he may be sustained and encouraged	32:19
	to persevere to the end, we pray to you, oh Lord.	32:22
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	32:27
-	For his family, that they may be adorned	32:29
	with all Christian virtues, we pray to you, oh Lord.	32:32
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	32:37
-	For all who fear and believe in you, Lord Christ,	32:39
	that our divisions may cease,	32:43
	and that all may be one	32:45
	as you and the Father are one, we pray to you, oh Lord.	32:46
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	32:52
-	For the mission of the church, that in faithful witness	32:54
	it may preach the gospel to the ends of the Earth,	32:57
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	33:00
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	33:03
-	For those who do not yet believe,	33:06
	and for those who have lost their faith,	33:08
	that they may receive the light of the gospel,	33:11
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	33:14
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	33:17
-	For the peace of the world	33:19
	that a spirit of respect and forbearance	33:21
	may grow among nations and peoples,	33:24
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	33:26
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	33:29
-	For those in positions of public trust,	33:31
	that they may serve justice	33:34
	and promote the dignity and freedom of every person,	33:35
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	33:39
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	33:42
-	For a blessing upon all human labor,	33:44
	and for the right use of the riches of creation,	33:47
	that the world may be freed from poverty,	33:51
	famine, and disaster, we pray to you, oh Lord.	33:54
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	33:58
-	For the poor, the persecuted, the sick,	34:01
	and all who suffer, for refugees,	34:05
	prisoners, and all who are in danger,	34:08
	that they may be relieved and protected,	34:11
	we pray to you, oh Lord.	34:14
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	34:16
-	For ourselves, for the forgiveness of our sins,	34:19
	and for the grace of the Holy Spirit	34:23
	to amend our lives, we pray to you, oh Lord.	34:25
-	Lord, hear our prayer.	34:29
-	For all who have died in the communion of your church,	34:32
	and those whose faith is known to you alone,	34:35
	that with all the saints they may have rest	34:38
	in that place where there is no pain or grief,	34:41
	but life eternal, we pray to you, oh Lord.	34:45
-	Lord, hear our prayer, amen	34:49
-	hear our prayer, amen.
	(organ music)	34:53
	♪ Glory be to our creator ♪	35:02
	♪ Praise to our redeemer, Lord ♪	35:09
	♪ Glory be to our sustainer ♪	35:17
	♪ Ever thee and ever one ♪	35:25
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	35:33
	♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪	35:41
-	You may be seated.	35:53
	Let us pray together for illumination,	36:09
	let us pray.	36:15
	Oh Lord, through the ages your prophets	36:17
	have spoken the truth to us,	36:21
	enliven now the reading and preaching of your word,	36:24
	so that we might hear what you say to us today, amen.	36:28
	The first lesson for this morning	36:36
	is taken from the Old Testament book	36:39
	of the prophet Joshua, chapter one,	36:42
	verses seven through nine.	36:46
	Only be strong and very courageous,	36:50
	being careful to do according to all the law,	36:54
	which Moses, my servant, commanded you.	36:57
	Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left,	37:02
	that you may have good success	37:06
	wherever you go.	37:09
	This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth,	37:11
	but you shall meditate on it day and night	37:17
	that you may be careful to do	37:21
	according to all that is written in it.	37:24
	For then you shall make your way prosperous,	37:27
	and then you shall have good success.	37:31
	Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage,	37:35
	be not frightened, neither be dismayed.	37:41
	For the Lord your God is with you	37:46
	wherever you go.	37:49
	Here ends the reading of the first lesson.	37:52
	(organ music)	37:59
	♪ The statutes of our Lord are just ♪	38:10
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	38:15
	♪ The law of the Lord is perfect, ♪	38:22
	♪ It renews the soul ♪	38:26
	♪ The role of the Lord is sure, ♪	38:29
	♪ It makes wise the simple ♪	38:32
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	38:38
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	38:42
	♪ The commandment of the Lord shines pure ♪	38:46
	♪ It brightens the eyes ♪	38:49
	♪ The statutes of our Lord are just ♪	38:54
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	38:58
	♪ The fear of the Lord is holy ♪	39:06
	♪ Enduring forever ♪	39:09
	♪ The decrees of the Lord are true ♪	39:13
	♪ And all of them righteous ♪	39:16
	♪ They are more precious than gold ♪	39:21
	♪ More than abundant pure gold ♪	39:25
	♪ The word of the Lord is sweeter than honey ♪	39:30
	♪ Than honey fresh from the comb ♪	39:34
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	39:39
	♪ And rejoice the heart. ♪	39:45
	♪ The life of your servant is guided ♪	39:52
	♪ In keeping them there is great reward ♪	39:56
	♪ Who can know of my offenses ♪	40:01
	♪ Wash me from my secret wrongdoing ♪	40:04
	♪ God of hosts, keep your servant from foolish pride ♪	40:10
	♪ That it not rule over me ♪	40:16
	♪ Then shall I be whole ♪	40:20
	♪ and innocent of all my transgressions ♪	40:23
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	40:29
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	40:34
	♪ Let the words of my mouth ♪	40:41
	♪ The thoughts of my heart ♪	40:44
	♪ Find favor before you ♪	40:48
	♪ Oh Lord, my redeemer and rock ♪	40:50
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	40:57
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	41:02
-	Hear now this reading from the holy gospel	41:25
	according to Saint Luke,	41:28
	which for this day has taken from the 10th chapter,	41:31
	verses one through 11.	41:35
	After this, the Lord appointed 70 others,	41:39
	and sent them on ahead of him two by two	41:43
	into every town and place	41:48
	where he himself was about to come.	41:51
	And he said to them, the harvest is plentiful,	41:55
	but the laborers are few.	41:59
	Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest	42:02
	to send out laborers into his harvest.	42:05
	Go your way, behold, I send you out	42:10
	as lambs in the midst of wolves.	42:14
	Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals,	42:18
	and salute no one on the road.	42:24
	Whatever house you enter, first say,	42:28
	peace be to this house,	42:32
	and if a son of peace is there,	42:35
	your peace shall rest upon him,	42:37
	but if not, it shall return to you.	42:40
	And remain in the same house,	42:45
	eating and drinking what they provide,	42:48
	for the laborer deserves his wages.	42:51
	Do not go from house to house.	42:55
	Whenever you enter a town and they receive you,	42:59
	eat what is set before you.	43:04
	Heal the sick in it, and say to them,	43:07
	the kingdom of God has come near to you.	43:10
	But whenever you enter a town	43:14
	and they do not receive you,	43:17
	go into its streets and say,	43:19
	even the dust of your town that clings to our feet,	43:23
	we wipe off against you.	43:27
	Nevertheless know this,	43:30
	that the kingdom of God has come near.	43:32
	Thus endeth the reading of this holy gospel.	43:37
	May God's blessing be unto us,	43:41
	that we may rightly hear	43:43
	and understand his holy word, amen.	43:45
	(organ music)	43:53
	♪ Who shall separate us ♪	44:00
	♪ from the love of Christ ♪	44:05
	♪ Who shall separate us ♪	44:15
	♪ from the love of Christ ♪	44:24
	♪ Shall tribulation, or distress ♪	44:33
	♪ Or persecution, ♪	44:41
	♪ or famine, or nakedness ♪	44:46
	♪ Or peril, or sword ♪	44:52
	♪ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors ♪	45:03
	♪ Through him that loved us ♪	45:15
	♪ Who shall separate us ♪	45:24
	♪ from the love of Christ ♪	45:30
	♪ For I am persuaded that neither death, ♪	45:40
	♪ Nor life, nor angels, nor principalities ♪	45:46
	♪ Nor powers, nor things present ♪	45:52
	♪ Nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, ♪	45:55
	♪ Nor any other creature ♪	46:00
	♪ Shall be able to separate us from the love of God ♪	46:04
	♪ Which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ♪	46:10
	♪ Who shall separate us ♪	46:22
	♪ from the love of Christ ♪	46:32
	♪ Who shall separate us ♪	46:46
	♪ from the love of Christ ♪	46:57
-	The epistle lesson for this morning	47:24
	is from Ephesians chapter three, verses one through nine.	47:28
	For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus	47:38
	on behalf of you gentiles,	47:44
	assuming that you have heard of the stewardship	47:47
	of God's grace that was given to me for you,	47:50
	how the mystery was made known to me by revelation,	47:55
	as I have written briefly.	48:00
	When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the	48:03

	...members of the same body and partakers of the promise	0:04
	in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel.	0:08
	Of this Gospel I was made a minister,	0:13
	according to the gift of God's grace,	0:17
	which was given me by the working of his power.	0:20
	To me, though I am the very least of all the saints,	0:24
	this grace was given.	0:30
	To preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ	0:32
	and to make all men see what is the plan	0:39
	of the mystery hidden for ages in God,	0:43
	who created all things.	0:47
	Here ends the reading of the epistle.	0:51
	Amen.	0:55
	This has been an unusual week in my life,	1:11
	as I'm sure it has been an unusual week	1:15
	in the life of many who have gathered here	1:17
	together this day.	1:19
	So deeply do I feel about that which has brought us together	1:22
	and that which we have come to do	1:26
	that nothing else very much has been on my mind.	1:30
	I have had an unusual spiritual exercise.	1:36
	For I have taken the holy Scriptures and have gone through	1:40
	from the beginning to the end	1:44
	and have read the story of the calling	1:48
	of every major figure that I know	1:52
	in the Old and New Testaments.	1:55
	But so deeply do I believe in my own life	1:59
	that there is something mysterious	2:02
	about that which brings us together this morning	2:04
	that I felt I simply needed to entitle the homily "Called."	2:08
	I read the calling of the Old Testament prophets	2:15
	and I read the calling of the apostles of the New	2:20
	and I walked along the road to Damascus with Saul	2:24
	as he heard himself changed into Paul.	2:27
	Out of all of that, I've come with a strange text	2:32
	from the ancient book of Jonah,	2:34
	the third chapter and the second verse.	2:37
	"Then the Word of the Lord came to Jonah	2:41
	saying 'Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city	2:44
	"'and proclaim to it the message that I will give you.'"	2:49
	And I found myself doing what no good professor	2:55
	of homiletics would overly recommend.	2:58
	I found myself also almost paraphrasing it	3:03
	and saying "and then the Word of the Lord	3:07
	came to William Willimon and saying 'Arise and go	3:09
	"'to Duke, that great university	3:12
	"'and proclaim to it the message that I will give you.'"	3:15
	My personal appreciation for the honor of being here	3:22
	is so deep and so great that I came into the chapel alone	3:25
	and sat for a while.	3:28
	So deeply do I feel about the place of the chapel	3:30
	on this campus that I have gone back to my own	3:33
	student days this week and have called the roll	3:37
	of ministers that were called to be ministers	3:41
	to this university and to speak here	3:43
	in this sanctuary of God.	3:46
	Their names may not be familiar to me,	3:49
	their names are household to me.	3:52
	Albert Russel, Frank Hickman,	3:56
	Harold Bosley, Marty Jones,	4:00
	Harvey Floyd, James T. Clellan, Howard Wilkinson,	4:04
	Robert T Young, Charlene Camera,	4:10
	William Henry Willimon.	4:15
	All called, all stood in the holy place	4:18
	and announced to the university some things	4:22
	that needed to be announced and said to the university	4:25
	some things that needed to be said.	4:28
	And reminded all of us of some things	4:31
	that we ought not to forget.	4:33
	Time would not allow it, nor would I take advantage of it,	4:37
	to complete a list of things that I don't want to forget,	4:41
	and which I that the minister to the university	4:44
	will constantly hold up for me,	4:46
	as I'm sure you want him to hold up for you.	4:49
	One of them would be the reality of God.	4:51
	We live in a kind of a strange day in the twentieth century,	4:56
	when even the reality of God is being now	4:59
	brought into question.	5:01
	I remember sending a summer in Oxford some years ago,	5:03
	divided a little between study and some preaching.	5:08
	I read in the Oxford Press that there was to	5:12
	be a debate in the hall one night,	5:14
	where debates are prone to be had.	5:16
	The query of the debate was,	5:20
	is there or is there not a God?	5:22
	I was preaching at a little church called Rose Hill	5:26
	in Oxford that night, and I wanted so desperately	5:29
	to be away so that I could go and find out how God made out.	5:31
	Somewhere in the archives of all of the things	5:38
	you're going to look at when you retire,	5:41
	I have a copy of the Oxford Press for that day	5:44
	that had a rather unusual headline about it.	5:46
	The headline of the Oxford paper simply says,	5:49
	"God Loses Oxford by Nine Votes."	5:52
	The amazing thing about it is	5:58
	that it isn't really God who loses.	6:00
	Tolstoy was right, God is he without whom I cannot live.	6:04
	God is not a matter of choice, he's a matter of necessity.	6:09
	We live in a world in which we believe	6:13
	we can do as we please.	6:15
	We can't do as we please.	6:16
	When we do as we please, we usually make a mess of life.	6:18
	In the beginning, God.	6:24
	It is the great hypothesis upon which a religious man	6:27
	builds his life, a religious woman builds her life.	6:30
	Explain God?	6:37
	On a university campus, do we not take all things apart	6:39
	in order to put all things back together	6:43
	in a finer fashion?	6:45
	I can't explain God, but by the same token,	6:47
	I can't explain the wind.	6:51
	Nor am I able to explain love.	6:55
	Nor can I explain faith.	6:58
	Nor hardly any other great principle upon which	7:02
	my life is based, as well as yours.	7:06
	Describe God?	7:10
	Generation ago a very distinguished Episcopal clergyman	7:12
	in America by the name of Bernard Iddings Bell	7:15
	wrote a very lovely book entitled "Your God is Too Small."	7:18
	If he can be confined to a human description,	7:22
	there is a smallness about him	7:28
	that cannot cope with our day.	7:29
	When I was a young man, one of the heroes in America	7:34
	was a man by the name of Richard Evelyn Byrd.	7:37
	Having lived in Virginia, I admire him more now	7:40
	than I ever had admired him before.	7:43
	Admiral Byrd wrote a little book entitled, "Alone"	7:45
	when he was walking across the frozen regions	7:50
	of the deep south.	7:52
	There in the nothingness of life, he wrote these words.	7:55
	"The conviction came to me	7:58
	that the rhythm was too orderly.	8:02
	"It was too harmonious, it was too perfect,	8:05
	"to be a product of blind chance.	8:08
	"There must be a purpose in the whole	8:12
	"and that man was a part of that whole	8:14
	"and not an accidental offshoot."	8:17
	I believe that.	8:22
	And I want to be reminded of it again and again and again.	8:24
	One of the highlights of my life as a young minister	8:32
	was to do a speaking tour with a man whose name	8:34
	was magic around America in his day.	8:38
	His name was Eddie Rickenbacker.	8:40
	He came to our town to do a series of meetings	8:43
	for the Rotary Club and I was asked to go along	8:45
	and to speak on the same program.	8:48
	It was immediately after he had gone down in the Pacific	8:51
	and for almost three weeks, the name of Rickenbacker	8:55
	was lost in the world.	8:57
	Then one day he was spotted in his raft.	9:01
	And Eddie Rickenbacker and Whittaker survived.	9:05
	I remember asking him, even as a young man,	9:11
	this man whose name was known every place,	9:14
	"What enabled you to continue?	9:19
	"What kept you alive?"	9:21
	"Whittaker kept me alive," Mr. Rickenbacker said.	9:24
	"I never could have died with Whittaker there."	9:26
	I said, "What did Whittaker do that kept you alive?"	9:30
	He kept saying to me, "Boss	9:33
	"I can't get away from the feeling that	9:38
	"there are three of us."	9:42
	The feeling that there are three of us	9:49
	kept us alive. So does it yet.	9:54
	The first class I had in theological school,	10:01
	now almost 50 years ago, was a class entitled	10:03
	Great Men of the Christian Church	10:07
	taught by the late Bishop Paul Neff Garber.	10:09
	It had to do with the current and the contemporary leaders	10:12
	of the Protestant, well not Protestant,	10:16
	and Catholic church in America.	10:18
	One of those men was a man by the name of Daniel Poling,	10:21
	who was the minister of a great Baptist church	10:25
	in the city of Philadelphia.	10:27
	He had a son named Clark who was a a divinity student	10:29
	at Yale University.	10:32
	Those in my generation remember a ship	10:36
	that was called the S.S. Dorchester.	10:38
	Clark Poling was the chaplain.	10:40
	It went across the North Atlantic in the days	10:43
	when going across the North Atlantic	10:45
	was desperately dangerous.	10:47
	He decided the last thing he wanted to do	10:52
	before he left these shores to go across the North Atlantic	10:54
	where the torpedoes and the submarines were every place,	10:58
	was to call on his father in Philadelphia.	11:02
	Daniel Poling said that the last words Clark ever	11:07
	said to him, for if you remember, he did not make it	11:10
	across the North Atlantic, and the Dorchester was sunk.	11:14
	From his own back, he took the lifebelt	11:21
	and gave it to another man who had the privilege of living.	11:23
	"The last words," said Daniel Poling, "that my son	11:27
	"ever said to me was, 'If it turns out to be a blind alley	11:30
	"'and I meet one other man	11:38
	"'then there will be three of us.'"	11:43
	I cannot live without that.	11:49
	This is the building that is set aside,	11:53
	even with the founder of the university,	11:55
	to remind us of some things that we ought not to forget.	11:58
	Remind me of the reality of God.	12:03
	I read the calling of Isaiah and those magnificent chapters.	12:08
	Lines in the sixth chapter of Isaiah.	12:12
	"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord,	12:15
	"high and holy and lifted up	12:17
	"and the temple was filled with his glory."	12:19
	It may never happen here,	12:25
	but it could.	12:30
	Why not?	12:35
	I not only wanna be reminded of the reality of God.	12:41
	I wanted to be reminded of the relevance of Christ.	12:46
	"Do you understand Einstein?"	12:50
	someone asked Bertrand Russell.	12:52
	"Do you agree with him?"	12:56
	"My answer is no to the first question	12:59
	"and yes to the second," said Mr. Russell.	13:02
	When I look at Jesus, I have to admit there is much	13:06
	in him that is beyond me.	13:08
	His mystery and his greatness have grown on me	13:11
	with the passing years, not in a vague sort of a way, never.	13:14
	He is as real as anything I know.	13:18
	I only find it difficult to say what he means.	13:21
	I find it hard to say what my wife means to me.	13:26
	But I also find it impossible to live without her.	13:32
	I cannot live without Jesus Christ.	13:38
	Soon we shall hear it from this very room,	13:43
	20 centuries after his death.	13:46
	"There were in the same country, shepherds abiding	13:50
	"in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."	13:52
	The angels said, "Fear not."	14:03
	Don't get up so tight.	14:08
	I bring you good news.	14:13
	Good news that life has meaning.	14:18
	Good news that life has purpose.	14:19
	Good news that life has dignity.	14:21
	Good news that life has a tomorrow.	14:23
	20 centuries after his life,	14:30
	a distinguished theologian, no.	14:36
	A distinguished sociology, the head of the department	14:39
	at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina	14:44
	wrote a monumental book on sociology	14:47
	and didn't know what to call it.	14:51
	So he simply entitled it,	14:55
	"The World's Need for Christ."	15:00
	I charged the minister to the university to remind us	15:09
	of the relevance of Christ,	15:12
	or as the radio evangelists would put it,	15:14
	the now-ness of Jesus.	15:17
	Then I would remind them in the third place	15:24
	to remind us of the reality of the kingdom of God.	15:28
	Dr. Brigthman reminded us a generation ago	15:33
	that the central chord of Jesus' teaching	15:36
	had to do with the kingdom of God, the realm of God.	15:39
	Put it in the Korean Creed, in the very book	15:45
	out of which you sang.	15:48
	We believe in the kingdom of God as the divine rule	15:50
	in human society	15:53
	and in the basic kinship of all people.	15:55
	Why not?	16:03
	We believe in the Holy Spirit, God present with us,	16:07
	for guidance, for comfort, and for strength.	16:10
	Without that conviction I would not face tomorrow.	16:13
	For when tomorrow comes in some strange	16:18
	and mysterious manner,	16:22
	he will already have been there.	16:26
	I read, as a gift of a friend, this week	16:32
	a lovely little book written by a man named John C. Haughey	16:34
	entitled "The Conspiracy of God."	16:38
	"The Holy Spirit is," he says, "and ever shall remain	16:42
	"the very soul of the Church."	16:49
	A Christianity that forgets or construes as old fashioned	16:53
	the active and activating presence of the Holy Spirit	16:57
	will be a truncated Christianity.	17:00
	I would be so bold as to say to you that Christ is alive,	17:05
	not only in the magnificence of this chapel,	17:09
	but in the roar of Wade Stadium and Cameron's Indoors.	17:17
	So I have the feeling that we're on the threshold	17:26
	of a spiritual springtime in the church.	17:29
	We might even welcome with joy the old spirit who alone	17:34
	can renew at the depth of our need, the face of the Church	17:37
	and the face of the world.	17:41
	Why not?	17:44
	So I am a citizen of the kingdom.	17:48
	I did not earn it.	17:52
	It was given to me.	17:56
	It is God's gift to me.	18:01
	Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure	18:04
	to give you the kingdom.	18:11
	But I maintain and shall always hold	18:17
	that citizenship in the kingdom offers not only privilege,	18:20
	without which life offers no peace,	18:24
	but it offers responsibility and obligations,	18:27
	both personal and social.	18:30
	Without which, life offers no meaning.	18:34
	In the next two weeks I will attend	18:41
	the 50th anniversary	18:45
	of my undergraduate graduating class	18:49
	in a little school ran by the Dutch Reform Church	18:54
	in my hometown.	18:56
	I go back with an unusual degree of hesitancy.	19:01
	I just am not anticipating how the rest of the classmates	19:04
	have not remained the same as have I.	19:09
	But we shall talk again about the things	19:15
	we talked about in school and the things we used to do.	19:17
	Every now and again we shall have a,	19:21
	we shall have a miniature bull session,	19:25
	as once we had in its dormitories.	19:27
	I remember one, one night.	19:31
	The Dean of our little school was a man	19:34
	named A.K. Faust, a German.	19:36
	The only American ever to be decorated with the honor	19:40
	of the Royal Micarta.	19:45
	When he walked across the campus, everybody became	19:48
	almost quiet because of the presence of his witness.	19:50
	One night in a usual boys' dormitory	19:56
	where we were having the usual conversations,	19:58
	and there really are only two things you discuss	20:01
	in a boys' dormitory.	20:04
	And religion is the other one.	20:06
	Somebody said, "What about ol' A.K.?"	20:13
	Which was a title of love.	20:19
	"What about him?" somebody says.	20:24
	"The thing that amazes me about ol' A.K. is	20:28
	"he acts as if the kingdom has already come."	20:34
	Another student spoke up and said,	20:41
	"For him, it has."	20:45
	Remind us, dear Will, remind us constantly	20:53
	not only of who we are, but of who, in God's grace,	21:01
	we ought to be.	21:06
	So the Word of the Lord came to Will,	21:11
	saying, "Arise and go to Duke, that great university	21:15
	"and preach unto it	21:21
	the preaching that I will give thee."	21:25
	In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.	21:31
	Amen.	21:37
	Let us unite as we affirm our faith.	21:55
	I believe in God, the Father almighty,	21:59
	maker of heaven and earth	22:02
	and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord	22:04
	who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	22:08
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	22:11
	was crucified, dead, and buried.	22:15
	He descended into Hell.	22:18
	The third day, he rose again from the dead.	22:20
	He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand	22:23
	of God the Father almighty.	22:26
	From this he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	22:29
	I believe that the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church,	22:33
	the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,	22:37
	the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.	22:41
	Amen.	22:45
	(drums rolling)	22:46
	(brassy fanfare)	22:51
	♪ Rejoice the Lord is King ♪	23:07
	♪ Your Lord and King adore ♪	23:12
	♪ Rejoice give thanks and sing ♪	23:17
	♪ And triumph evermore ♪	23:22
	♪ Lift up your heart lift up your voice ♪	23:28
	♪ Rejoice again I say rejoice ♪	23:36
	♪ Jesus the Savior reigns ♪	23:46
	♪ The God of truth and love ♪	23:52
	♪ When He had purged our stains ♪	23:58
	♪ He took His seat above ♪	24:03
	♪ Lift up your heart lift up your voice ♪	24:12
	♪ Rejoice again I say rejoice ♪	24:20
	Dear friends, today we welcome William H. Willimon,	25:07
	who has been appointed to serve as minister	25:13
	to Duke University.	25:16
	Will, you have committed yourself	25:19
	to live among us as a bearer of the word of God,	25:21
	minister of the sacraments, and sustainer of the love,	25:25
	order, and discipleship of the people of God	25:29
	who gather in this chapel.	25:33
	Today I reaffirm this commitment in the presence	25:37
	of this congregation.	25:41
	As a people committed to participate in the ministries	25:43
	of the church by your prayers, your presence, your gifts,	25:47
	and your service, will you who celebrate this new beginning	25:52
	support and uphold Will in these ministries?	25:57
	We are together ourselves and we reaffirm our commitment.	26:01
	Let us pray.	26:08
	Eternal God, strengthen and sustain us in our work together	26:09
	with Will as our minister.	26:15
	Give him and us patience, courage, and wisdom	26:18
	so to care for one another and challenge one another	26:23
	that together we may follow Jesus Christ,	26:26
	living together in love and offering our gifts	26:30
	and talents in your service through Jesus Christ our Lord.	26:33
	Amen.	26:37
	Will, accept these keys to the chapel	26:47
	and continue its ministry as a place of beauty,	26:50
	a haven of hope, and	26:54
	Oh, God.	27:01
	A sign of God's.	27:02
	A sign of God's presence in this university.	27:03
	Amen.	27:06
	Will, accept this Bible and be among us	27:12
	as one who proclaims the Word.	27:15
	Amen.	27:17
	Will, take this water and use it	27:24
	to baptize new Christians in this place.	27:26
	Amen.	27:29
	Will, take this cup and keep us in communion with Christ	27:38
	and his Church.	27:43
	Amen.	27:44
	Will, receive this hymnal and guide us	27:51
	in our prayer and praise.	27:53
	Amen.	27:55
	Will, receive this stole and shepherd us as a pastor.	28:03
	Amen.	28:09
	Will, accept this banner, which bears the symbol	28:20
	of Duke campus ministry and support us	28:23
	in our ecumenical worship, service, and fellowship.	28:26
	Amen.	28:30
	Will, receive this globe and lead us in our mission	28:45
	to the community and the world.	28:48
	Amen.	28:50
	Let us pray.	29:06
	Lord God, bless the ministries of this chapel.	29:08
	We thank you for the variety of gifts	29:14
	you have bestowed upon us.	29:16
	Draw us together in one spirit that we may use	29:19
	our various gifts as members of one body.	29:23
	May your Word be proclaimed with faithfulness	29:27
	and may we be doers of your Word	29:30
	and not hearers only.	29:33
	May be one in service to others and in the name	29:35
	of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	29:39
	The peace of the Lord is always with you.	29:44
	And also with you.	29:48
	On behalf of the University, I welcome you	29:52
	as minister to Duke University.	29:55
	And now as a forgiven and reconciled people	30:08
	let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	30:11
	(drum and brass fanfare)	30:28
	(choir singing in Latin)	31:51
	("Doxology")	36:24
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	36:42
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	36:48
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	36:53
	♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪	37:01
	♪ Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost ♪	37:07
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	37:13
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	37:19
	♪ Alleluia ♪	37:26
	♪ Amen ♪	37:34
	For all the blessings of this life, Oh God,	37:44
	for tradition, for families an friends,	37:48
	for you Church, for your Word, which challenges us,	37:51
	and for opportunities to use our gifts	37:55
	for your glory, we give thanks.	38:00
	Accept these, our gifts, and use them	38:02
	for your work.	38:05
	Our Father, who art in heaven,	38:07
	hallowed be Thy name.	38:10
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done	38:12
	on earth as it is in heaven.	38:15
	Give us this day our daily bread	38:18
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	38:20
	who trespass against us.	38:26
	Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	38:27
	For Thine is the kingdom and the power	38:32
	and the glory forever, amen.	38:35
	(organ music)	38:41
	♪ For all the saints who from their labors rest ♪	39:14
	♪ Who Thee by faith before the world confessed ♪	39:22
	♪ Thy name O Jesus be forever blessed ♪	39:31
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	39:40
	♪ Thou was their Rock their Fortress and their Might ♪	39:51
	♪ Thou Lord their Captain in the well-fought fight ♪	39:59
	♪ Thou in the darkness drear their one true Light ♪	40:09
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	40:17
	♪ O may your soldiers faithful true and bold ♪	40:28
	♪ Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old ♪	40:39
	♪ And win with them the victor's crown of gold ♪	40:46
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	40:54
	♪ O blessed communion fellowship divine ♪	41:04
	♪ We feebly struggle they in glory shine ♪	41:15
	♪ Yet all are one within your great design ♪	41:23
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	41:32
	♪ And when the strife is fierce the warfare long ♪	41:45
	♪ Steals on the ear the distant triumph song ♪	41:52
	♪ And hearts are brave again and arms are strong ♪	42:01
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	42:10
	♪ From earth's wide bounds from ocean's farthest coast ♪	42:21
	♪ Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host ♪	42:29
	♪ Singing to Father Son and Holy Ghost ♪	42:38
	♪ Alleluia Alleluia ♪	42:48
	Now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	43:07
	love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	43:10
	be with you all now and always.	43:14
	♪ Amen ♪	43:19
	♪ Amen ♪	43:23
	♪ Amen ♪	43:29
	♪ Amen ♪	43:34
	(organ music)	43:40
	(crowd chattering)	45:51

Item Info

Title:

W. Kenneth Goodson - "Called..." Installation Sunday (September 16, 1984)

Description:

Sermon start time: 01:11. Sermon end time: 21:40.
The minister of Duke chapel should make as his or her ministry to remind the congregation of three things: 1.) The reality of God; 2.) The relevance of Christ; and 3.) The reality of the Kingdom of God. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Remind us, dear Will, remind us constantly not only of who we are, but of who, in God’s grace, we ought to be.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4dj58w81

Date:

September 16, 1984

Speaker:

Goodson, W. Kenneth

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0228
ref7977_93f
uachapelsermaud
duke:320457
dcrau001216
ark:/87924/r4dj58w81
674b2b32-319f-486b-a750-842e716451aa

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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