Carlton P. Minnick, Jr. - "The Mark of Discipleship" (May 12, 1985)

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	(happy bell music)	0:03
-	I will begin our service this morning	14:44
	by my welcoming you to this service of worship	14:46
	in the Duke Chapel on the campus of Duke University.	14:49
	A real joy it is to have all of you here.	14:52
	You will read by the bulletin that both Dr. Wallamin	14:57
	and Miss Furea are out of the city this morning,	14:59
	and it is our joy to be a part of that substitute team	15:03
	of theirs on this significant Sunday	15:07
	in the life of the American family.	15:13
	So for that, we welcome you here,	15:16
	and may I say a world of real welcome	15:18
	to all the Immaculate Conception bell ringers.	15:20
	This is a group of 10 high school students	15:24
	from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church	15:27
	here in Durham.	15:31
	And what a joy it is to have them here	15:33
	and to have them under the direction	15:35
	of Mr. Edmond Tompkins.	15:37
	They will place for us in a few minutes.	15:39
	They will again.	15:42
	And we are pleased to have them here.	15:44
	It is always a great thrill to be a part of worship	15:47
	in the Duke Chapel, and is particularly important	15:50
	and thrilling to me, on this morning,	15:53
	not only to welcome you here, but to share	15:56
	this ordered service with two people	15:58
	who mean much to my in my own life.	16:00
	The elective of the morning service	16:05
	will be Mary Parkerson.	16:07
	Mrs. Parkerson is the director of development	16:11
	for the Duke Chapel and the director	16:14
	of the Friends of the Chapel.	16:17
	And she's dear to me for a good many reasons.	16:20
	First of all, she's dear to me	16:22
	because is she is the wife of my doctor.	16:24
	And he's dear to me	16:28
	because he is the husband of Mary Parkerson.	16:29
	So I got it going and coming.	16:33
	It's a real joy to share the service of worship	16:34
	with one who means so much to me day by day	16:39
	on the Duke campus and whose family friendship	16:41
	is important to me.	16:43
	The preacher for the morning	16:46
	is the Reverend Bishop CP Minnick	16:48
	of Raleigh, North Carolina.	16:51
	I almost feel like a father introducing his son now.	16:55
	And I wouldn't dare attempt to do that.	17:00
	Eight years of my life was spent as the bishop	17:03
	of the church in Virginia.	17:05
	And in those eight years, CP Minnick	17:07
	was one of the leading ministers within all the conference	17:10
	and one of the leading voices of the church.	17:15
	A member of my cabinet, is one of my district	17:19
	superintendents, and then was elected	17:21
	to the highest elective office	17:24
	in the United Methodist Church,	17:26
	and for four years was the bishop	17:28
	of the Jackson, Mississippi, area of the church.	17:30
	Last summer was transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina,	17:36
	and is the bishop of the Raleigh area.	17:40
	Recently, because of its unusual importance	17:43
	across America at this moment,	17:46
	the Counsel of Bishops of the United Methodist Church	17:49
	and three of its most distinguished members	17:51
	to the little land of Nicaragua	17:55
	to make an on-hand survey of all that was going on there,	17:59
	of all that could be found by one who came in.	18:04
	This visit's with Ortega, this visit's with the leadership	18:09
	of the church and of the government in Nicaragua,	18:12
	came back and was reported to the bishops of the church	18:15
	and probably at this moment, this man	18:20
	has lost knowledge of a churchman among us	18:23
	on that strange and difficult land in Central America.	18:26
	So I'm honored to have my son in the ministry,	18:31
	my dear friend, and honored to have Mary	18:34
	be a part of our worship.	18:38
	Let us continue our worship	18:40
	as we sing together hymn number 442.	18:41
	(happy organ music)	18:47
	"Behold, I stand at the door and knock," sayeth the Lord.	21:28
	"If anyone will hear my voice and open that door,	21:33
	"I will come in."	21:40
	Let us be seated and pray.	21:43
	Most merciful God, we confess	21:52
	that we have sinned against you	21:55
	in thought, word, and deed by what we have done	21:58
	and by what we have left undone.	22:03
	We have not loved you with our whole heart.	22:07
	We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	22:10
	We're truly sorry, and we humbly repent.	22:14
	For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ,	22:18
	have mercy on us and forgive us	22:22
	that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways.	22:26
	To the glory of your name, amen.	22:31
	Hear the good news.	22:41
	Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.	22:43
	That is God's own proof of His love toward us.	22:47
	In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	22:54
	Amen.	23:04
-	Let us pray.	23:17
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	23:20
	by the power of your Holy Spirit	23:23
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	23:27
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	23:31
	The first lesson is taken from Acts.	23:38
	While Peter was still saying this,	23:42
	the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word.	23:44
	And the believers from among the circumcised	23:48
	who came with Peter were amazed	23:50
	because the gift of the Holy Spirit	23:53
	had been poured out even on the gentiles,	23:55
	for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.	23:59
	Then Peter declared, "Can anyone forbid water	24:04
	"for baptizing these people who have received	24:08
	"the Holy Spirit just as we have?"	24:10
	And he commanded them to be baptized	24:14
	in the name of Jesus Christ.	24:16
	Then they asked him to remain for some days.	24:19
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	24:24
	Would you please stand for the reading of the Psalm 67?	24:29
	You will find this on page 576 in your hymnal.	24:34
	The women will read the regular type.	24:42
	The men will read the bold-faced type.	24:45
	May God be gracious to us and bless us.	24:56
	(men murmuring)	25:01
	That thy way may be known upon Earth.	25:04
	(men murmuring)	25:08
	Let the peoples praise thee, oh God.	25:11
-	Let all the peoples praise you.	25:14
-	Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.	25:17
	(men murmuring)	25:22
	Let the people's praise be, oh God.	25:28
-	Let all the people's praise be.	25:31
-	The Earth has yielded its increase.	25:34
	(men murmuring)	25:37
	God has blessed us.	25:41
	(men murmuring)	25:43
	(happy organ music)	25:47
	Be seated.	26:47
	The second lesson is taken from the first letter of John.	26:56
	Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ	27:01
	is a child of God,	27:04
	and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.	27:07
	By this we know that we love the children of God	27:11
	when we love God and obey His commandments,	27:15
	for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.	27:18
	And His commandments are not burdensome,	27:24
	for whatever is born of God overcomes the world,	27:28
	and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.	27:32
	Who is it that overcomes the world	27:37
	but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?	27:39
	This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.	27:43
	Not with the water only, but with the water and the blood.	27:49
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	27:54
	(happy bell music)	28:44
	(happy bell and flute music)	29:46
	(happy bell music)	31:00
-	Thank you, bell ringers, for that beautiful music.	32:49
	I'm sure you noted that the title of the selections	32:53
	just presented was "Agape", meaning love.	32:58
	The sermon topic for this morning is love,	33:03
	the mark of discipleship.	33:07
	What a joy it is to be here this morning,	33:12
	and what a high privilege to be a part	33:14
	of this worship service here in Duke Chapel.	33:16
	What a privilege it is to be a part of worship	33:21
	in such a magnificent setting as this.	33:23
	I'm grateful to Bishop Goodson for his introduction.	33:27
	He was most gracious.	33:30
	But the full persons here who know me	33:32
	added when he got through, under breath,	33:34
	undeserved, untrue, but he's always gracious,	33:37
	always kind, and lavishing praise upon his friends.	33:42
	It's a real joy for me to be a part	33:47
	of a worship service in which he is a participant also.	33:49
	And thank you for coming,	33:53
	be a part of this experience this morning.	33:55
	Hear now the Gospel lesson.	33:58
	It is found in the Gospel	34:01
	according to John, chapter 15, verses nine through 17.	34:02
	As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.	34:11
	Abide in my love.	34:16
	If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,	34:18
	just as I have kept my Father's commandments	34:22
	and abide in His love.	34:25
	These things I have spoken to you	34:28
	that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.	34:30
	This is my commandment, that you love one another	34:35
	as I have loved you.	34:39
	Greater love has no man than this,	34:42
	that a man lay down his life for his friends.	34:44
	You are my friends if you do what I command you.	34:48
	No longer do I call you servants,	34:53
	for the servant does not know what his master is doing.	34:56
	But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard	34:59
	from my Father I have made known to you.	35:03
	You did not choose me, but I chose you.	35:07
	And I appointed you that you should go	35:16
	and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide,	35:19
	so that whatever you ask the Father in my name,	35:24
	He will give it to you.	35:28
	This I command you, to love one another.	35:30
	The text for this morning is the 12th verse	35:38
	of the 15th chapter of John's Gospel.	35:41
	This is my commandment, that you love one another	35:44
	as I have loved you.	35:50
	And earlier in this Gospel, John reports Jesus' words,	35:52
	"By this will all people know that you're my disciples	35:59
	"if you love one another".	36:03
	Love is the mark of Christian discipleship.	36:06
	On that night before He was crucified,	36:12
	Jesus and His disciples gathered together	36:16
	in an upper room of in Jerusalem.	36:17
	In the course of the evening, Jesus broke bread	36:20
	and passed it to the disciples saying,	36:24
	"This is my body, which is broken for you".	36:26
	Then he passed a cup of wine to them	36:30
	and said to them as they drank of it,	36:32
	"This is my blood, which is shed for you".	36:34
	And with those words and those actions,	36:38
	He was saying, I love you this much.	36:40
	Later that same evening, Jesus took a towel	36:45
	and a basin of water, and kneeling down	36:48
	before each one of His disciples,	36:50
	He washed the feet of each disciple.	36:52
	And by that action, He was saying to them,	36:55
	I love you this much.	36:58
	It was later that same evening that He spoke	37:02
	to them the words of our text	37:04
	and the other words I quoted from John's Gospel.	37:06
	He said to them, "This is my commandment,	37:09
	"that you love one another as I have loved you.	37:13
	"By this will all people know that you're my disciples,	37:17
	"if you love one another".	37:19
	And it all came into clear focus the next morning,	37:23
	as stretched on a cruel cross, giving His life	37:26
	not for Himself, but for the world.	37:29
	He cried out, "Father, forgive them,	37:32
	"for they know not know what they do".	37:34
	And out of those words and out of that act	37:36
	came this mighty affirmation,	37:40
	this mighty Gospel truth, I love you this much.	37:42
	"Something Beautiful for God"	37:49
	is the title of a book by Malcolm Muggeridge,	37:50
	the British journalist and broadcaster.	37:54
	A little book in which he tells his story	37:58
	of the life and ministry of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.	37:59
	In 1979, Malcolm Muggeridge was sent out to Calcutta, India,	38:04
	to do a documentary film for the British	38:08
	Broadcasting Corporation on the life and ministry	38:10
	of this beautiful and great Christian missionary.	38:14
	During one of the early interviews with Mother Teresa,	38:20
	Malcolm Muggeridge asked her,	38:22
	"Mother Teresa, tell me why you're here	38:25
	"in Calcutta, India, doing this ministry of love".	38:28
	And her response was this.	38:32
	"I came to Calcutta to do something beautiful for God	38:34
	"and something beautiful in the life	38:39
	"of God's children here".	38:41
	And so Malcolm Muggeridge gave to his film,	38:44
	the documentary film which he did,	38:47
	the title "Something Beautiful for God".	38:49
	And the little book which he wrote	38:52
	about her life and ministry,	38:53
	to that book he gave the same title,	38:56
	"Something Beautiful for God".	38:58
	Mother Teresa was born in Yugoslavia in 1910.	39:01
	When she was still a young girl, 12 years of age,	39:06
	she felt in her own life the call of God	39:09
	to give herself to some full-time vocation in the Church.	39:12
	That vocation was not clearly defined.	39:17
	But by the time she reached 18 years of age,	39:19
	it was clearly defined for her.	39:22
	God wanted her to go to India as a missionary.	39:24
	At that time, she knew that the Sisters of Loreto,	39:28
	one of the orders of her church,	39:31
	were working in Calcutta, India,	39:33
	and so she became a part of that order	39:36
	and went to Ireland to a convent of that order	39:39
	to prepare herself for her ministry in India.	39:42
	After a year of preparation,	39:46
	the order sent her out to one of their schools in Calcutta,	39:48
	a high school operated by the Sisters of Loreto.	39:51
	And for the next 17 years of her life,	39:55
	Teresa was a teacher of geography	39:58
	in a lovely setting, a beautiful school	40:00
	with beautiful gardens to which lovely children	40:03
	came each day to be taught.	40:05
	She taught them geography, but she also taught them	40:07
	about the God of the whole world	40:10
	and of the Christ who gave Himself in love for the world.	40:13
	For the next 17 years, she was there teaching.	40:19
	But one day in 1946, she had what she describes	40:22
	as a call within her call,	40:25
	a call to a vocation within a vocation.	40:28
	She heard God saying to her,	40:30
	"Teresa, I no longer need you here in this high school	40:32
	"teaching geography to my children.	40:35
	"I need you in the streets of Calcutta.	40:38
	"I need you out in the slums ministering	40:40
	"and caring in love for the poorest	40:43
	"of the poor among my children".	40:45
	She shared this call with superiors in her order,	40:48
	and they gave consideration to it for a two year period,	40:51
	and during that same period, trained her for the ministry	40:55
	she felt called to do in the slums of Calcutta.	40:58
	At the end of the two year period,	41:02
	they released her from her commitment to the order	41:03
	and set her free to go and do her ministries of love	41:06
	among the poorest of the poor.	41:11
	She took off the habit of her order	41:13
	and dawned the white sorry with the cross of Christ	41:14
	on the shoulder, symbolic of the ministry	41:18
	of self-giving, self-denying love	41:21
	that would characterize her life from that day to this.	41:26
	She went into the slums of Calcutta	41:31
	and with her went some of its students	41:32
	she had taught in the high school,	41:35
	students who also felt called to give themselves	41:37
	in this kind of ministry of love.	41:40
	In the streets of Calcutta, they found hundreds and hundreds	41:42
	of abandoned children, left by families	41:47
	who could no longer care for them,	41:50
	to grow up alone in the streets, most of whom	41:51
	who would eventually die of starvation and disease.	41:54
	She began a home for abandoned for children,	41:58
	that she and her associates acquired a house,	42:04
	and they brought hundreds of these children	42:07
	into the house year after year.	42:09
	They brought them into teach them,	42:12
	but most of all, to love them, and to say to them	42:15
	through their own lives, we care about you,	42:18
	and there's a God who cares about you and loves you	42:22
	and sustains you.	42:25
	They started also a home for the dying.	42:27
	It happened this way.	42:30
	One day as she and an associate were walking out	42:31
	in a Calcutta street, they saw a woman dying in the gutter.	42:33
	In fact, the rats had already begun to gather around	42:36
	to nibble at her flesh.	42:40
	They could not stand the sight of one of God's children	42:42
	dying in this way.	42:45
	And so they gathered up her body	42:46
	and carried it to a nearby abandoned Hindu shrine,	42:48
	and that became the first home for the dying.	42:53
	And over the past of 39 years now,	42:57
	they have brought more than 25,000 people from the streets,	43:00
	dying people in the streets of Calcutta	43:03
	into the home for the dying,	43:05
	and over half of them have recovered	43:07
	as a result of the touch of love and care	43:10
	and ministry from Mother Teresa and her associates.	43:14
	She started a treatment center for lepers.	43:17
	By the medicines provided from the Church around the world	43:22
	and by, again, the touch of her love,	43:25
	God's love through her, so many have found healing	43:27
	and a new lease on life.	43:33
	And so far, some 40 years now, she's been there in Calcutta	43:36
	and has moved out from Calcutta all across the world	43:40
	to do a ministry of serving, caring, self-giving love	43:43
	in response to these words of Jesus in our text.	43:48
	"This is my commandment, that you love one another	43:51
	"as I have loved you.	43:55
	"By this will people know that you're my disciples	43:57
	"if you love one another."	43:59
	As I reflect on the life of this beautiful, beautiful	44:04
	Christian missioner in today's world, Mother Teresa,	44:08
	as I reflect this morning on these words of Jesus,	44:13
	I hear again in the call in my life.	44:16
	I hear again the call to the Church.	44:18
	"Love one another as I have loved you.	44:21
	"By this will the world know that you're my disciples	44:25
	"if you love one another."	44:30
	Surely no word is more descriptive of the life of Jesus	44:34
	than the word love.	44:37
	How often it came from His lips.	44:38
	Love your neighbors, love your enemies,	44:41
	love that you might by sons and daughters of God in Heaven.	44:43
	Love as God loves who sends His rain	44:49
	on the good and the evil and makes the sun to shine	44:52
	on both the just and the unjust.	44:54
	And how often these words are used to describe Him.	44:59
	He had compassion upon them,	45:02
	describing the quality	45:06
	of His self-giving love for others.	45:10
	That New Testament love embodied in Jesus	45:14
	is a love that is always seeking actively	45:19
	the wellbeing and the best life possible for other persons.	45:24
	It's an attitude and approach to people	45:30
	that seeks nothing in return.	45:32
	It's selfless.	45:34
	It loves whether or not the one who's being loved responds.	45:36
	It's a quality of love that, is really love	45:42
	no strings attached, asking nothing in return.	45:45
	It simply affirms, I give myself to you	45:49
	because you're God's child, and I'm God's child,	45:52
	and I've been loved by God.	45:57
	And I'm called to share this love,	45:58
	and I want to share this love with you	46:00
	because you're somebody.	46:02
	You have worth and dignity and value,	46:04
	and I give myself to you and for you	46:06
	and with you in the world.	46:10
	Oh, this love is better understood in relationships	46:13
	and embodiments than it is in verbal definitions.	46:17
	Love is the good Samaritan crossing the road	46:20
	to minister to a Jew who has been beaten up	46:25
	by robbers and left to die.	46:30
	The Samaritan leans over the Jew,	46:33
	though he knows this Jew despises him	46:35
	and feels that he's been cursed	46:39
	if the shadow of a Samaritan falls upon him.	46:42
	He leans over to minister to this man,	46:45
	though this man is the one who has made him an outcast.	46:48
	But expecting nothing in return.	46:53
	He ministers to this man beside the road,	46:56
	that this man might have healing.	46:59
	Love is the father of the prodigal son	47:02
	running down the road to meet the boy	47:04
	who's coming home, embracing him.	47:06
	Welcome home, son.	47:09
	The son has abused everything the father has given him.	47:10
	He's misused all that the father's taught him.	47:15
	And yet, the father says, "Aelcome home, son.	47:20
	"Here's a robe for you, ring for your finger,	47:22
	"shoes for your feet.	47:25
	"I want you back in the family."	47:28
	Love is Jesus saying to a man like Zacchaeus,	47:30
	again who is an outcast, everybody despises him.	47:34
	This is Jesus saying, "Zacchaeus, you are somebody.	47:38
	"You have worth, you have dignity, you have value.	47:41
	"Come down from that tree.	47:43
	"I'm going home with you.	47:44
	"I care about you."	47:46
	Love is Jesus saying to a woman who was about to be stoned	47:48
	for breaking the law, "I do not condemn you.	47:53
	"Go and sin no."	47:56

Pastor	Love is that kind of acceptance and forgiveness.	0:04
	Love is Jesus	0:07
	with a cup and a loaf, a towel in the basin	0:10
	stretched all across.	0:14
	I love you	0:17
	this much.	0:20
	Love is caring and caring deeply.	0:23
	Love is caring for those who are addicted to alcohol	0:29
	and other drugs.	0:34
	Love is caring enough to become involved	0:35
	in a redemptive relationship with the one who is addicted	0:38
	and is caring enough to become involved in movements	0:42
	and agencies that seek to minister	0:45
	for the total person imprisoned in such addiction.	0:49
	Love is caring for the lonely,	0:54
	caring enough to be a friend.	0:57
	Love is caring for those who live in our society	1:02
	in conditions that are too miserable	1:05
	and too filthy for any human beings to live in.	1:07
	Love is caring enough to become involved	1:09
	and providing adequate housing	1:13
	and adequate care for all of God's children.	1:17
	Love is caring for the hungry, caring enough to feed them.	1:19
	And in the streets of Durham, and along the streets	1:25
	of every North Carolina city and crossroads,	1:29
	there are hungry people.	1:34
	And if we love, we'll care enough	1:37
	to identify them and seek to meet the need.	1:39
	Love is listening.	1:45
	Love is the son or the daughter	1:47
	who listens to the parent	1:52
	because they love the parent	1:55
	and the parent is worth listening to.	1:56
	Love is the parent who listens to the son or daughter	1:58
	because they're persons of valued worth	2:02
	and deserve to be listened to.	2:05
	Love is dealing with injustice.	2:13
	We live in a society	2:17
	where there is still racism and injustice.	2:18
	Love is caring enough to deal with the traditions,	2:22
	to deal openly and actively with the conditions,	2:26
	the prejudices, the agencies, the institutions	2:29
	that continue to foster injustice and racism.	2:31
	Love cares and cares deeply.	2:38
	In his book, Works of Love, Soren Kierkegaard	2:41
	commenting on Paul's words, love is patient.	2:46
	Writes, love is patient means love waits.	2:49
	And love does wait.	2:56
	Love waits for the slow learner.	2:58
	Love waits for the one who has a handicapping condition	3:01
	and just cannot quite keep up.	3:05
	Love waits for those who are growing older	3:08
	and whose bodies just won't perform quite	3:12
	as quickly as once they did.	3:15
	Love waits, love never rushes on	3:19
	and leaves one of God's children struggling to keep up.	3:23
	Love waits because love cares and cares deeply.	3:28
	Love never treats a person as a thing	3:33
	but as one of worth and valiantly.	3:37
	A person treats persons as persons	3:40
	of worth and value and dignity.	3:44
	There's a delightful story of the little boy	3:47
	who went into a restaurant with his mother and sister.	3:50
	Their waiter came to get the orders	3:53
	and took the order first of the sister,	3:56
	and then of the mother and then turned to the little boy,	3:59
	the young man and said now young man what will you have?	4:02
	And before he could speak up his sister said	4:05
	he wants a hamburger but she ignored the sister	4:06
	and said, young man what did you want?	4:09
	And he said, I want a hamburger.	4:11
	Well what do you want on it and the mother said right away,	4:13
	he wants everything on it but the waiter ignored the mother	4:15
	and said, young man what do you want on it?	4:19
	He said, I want everything on it.	4:21
	As the waiter left, the boy looked at his mother and said,	4:24
	mom, she thinks I'm a person.	4:28
	Love always relates to others whether they be young or old	4:32
	as persons of worth and value, worth living with,	4:37
	worth sharing life with, worth listening to,	4:42
	worth being in communion and communication with.	4:44
	And apart from this, there's no hope for life is there?	4:48
	There's no hope for family life,	4:52
	unless husbands and wives listen to one another,	4:55
	are present to one another because they love,	5:00
	are caring enough to be sensitive to all	5:03
	that is said verbally and what is said non-verbally.	5:06
	There's no hope for world peace and world relationships	5:13
	unless leaders of the world can sit down	5:15
	around the conference tables believing	5:17
	that those across the table are of worth and value,	5:19
	worth living with on this planet,	5:23
	worth caring about, worth saving.	5:25
	There is no hope in interpersonal relationships	5:32
	unless they're characterized by caring,	5:37
	listening, communicating love.	5:41
	Love never despairs.	5:50
	In the sixth chapter of Luke's gospel,	5:52
	we find these words of Jesus, love your enemies.	5:54
	Then there's a footnote.	5:58
	If you look down at the footnote it says this,	5:59
	other ancient authorities have at this point,	6:02
	despairing of no man.	6:05
	Their ancient authorities which put Jesus as saying,	6:08
	love your enemies, despairing of no man.	6:11
	And whether or not those ancient authorities are accurate	6:14
	although some go back to the second century.	6:18
	Whether or not they act but they sure do describe,	6:21
	with accuracy, the life and relationships of Jesus.	6:24
	He never despaired of anyone.	6:28
	Others may have despaired of Judas but not Jesus.	6:30
	Others may have despaired of one like Simon Peter	6:34
	big and blundering and denying but not Jesus.	6:37
	Others may have given up on Zacchaeus but not Jesus.	6:41
	Love doesn't give up.	6:44
	How easy it is to give up.	6:47
	There are some people who just don't respond.	6:49
	We offer love, gestures of love, words of love	6:54
	and they don't respond.	6:59
	In fact, they resist us and reject us	7:01
	and maybe even at times curse us in return	7:05
	but love never despairs.	7:10
	Love never gives up because love is of God	7:13
	and God never gives up on any one of his children.	7:18
	And love is always seeking to enlarge the circle.	7:23
	So long as the person who loves is aware of anyone	7:27
	that needs love out there and is not being loved.	7:31
	Love cannot be satisfied.	7:35
	Edwin Markham wrote a little four line thing.	7:38
	He drew a circle that shut me out.	7:41
	Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.	7:44
	But love and I had the wit to win.	7:46
	We drew a circle that took him in.	7:50
	Love is always enlarging the circle of outreach.	7:54
	To take in every person	7:58
	that needs that touch of love.	8:00
	But what does this say to the church?	8:06
	It speaks to us as individual Christians	8:10
	but it speaks to the church for it says,	8:12
	the church of the churches and mission	8:14
	is the community of love.	8:16
	Love is the message, love is the motivation,	8:18
	love is the mission of the church.	8:21
	David Livingstone is one of the great heroes	8:26
	of our Christian tradition.	8:29
	He gave himself, literally spent himself	8:32
	in loving ministry on the continent of Africa.	8:35
	But his body was so broken by sickness,	8:38
	that he could not walk.	8:41
	He had people make a stretcher	8:42
	and literally carry him bodily	8:45
	only into the continent to do more work.	8:47
	There was always one more river he needed to cross	8:49
	because there was one more village in which he needed to go	8:52
	to touch people with the love of Christ.	8:55
	Always one more village, one more village	8:57
	to which he felt called to go	9:02
	that he might touch people with a touch of Christ love.	9:05
	He died on the continent, was brought back	9:10
	to eventually to Westminster Abbey where he lies buried.	9:12
	On his gravestone, are these words along	9:17
	one side of the gravestone are these words,	9:19
	other sheep I have that are not of this fold.	9:23
	Them also I must bring, and they must hear my voice,	9:25
	the words of Jesus that motivated him	9:28
	and compelled him to keep going in ministry of love.	9:30
	Along the other side of that gravestone	9:34
	in the center aisle of Westminster Abbey are these words,	9:36
	may heaven's rich blessing come upon all	9:41
	who will help to heal the open sore of the world.	9:44
	And all over this world, there are open sores.	9:49
	On the new campus in the city of Durham,	9:55
	in the city of Raleigh, all over the state,	9:58
	all over this world, they're hurting people.	10:00
	There are souls that need the healing touch of Christ,	10:06
	they're the lonely who're crying out,	10:08
	touch me someone with friendship and love,	10:11
	they're the hungry who're crying out,	10:14
	touch me with healing, I need food.	10:15
	There're those who've lost the way in life	10:19
	who're crying out, somebody show me the right way,	10:21
	touch me with healing love.	10:23
	They don't always say this by their words	10:26
	but the very condition	10:29
	in which we see them is itself this kind of cry.	10:30
	All over the world they're hurting, lonely,	10:38
	seeking people, who will not find the way,	10:43
	who will not find the healing they need unless you and I,	10:48
	as disciples of Jesus Christ, touch them	10:51
	with his kind of love.	10:55
	On the night before he was crucified, Jesus said,	11:02
	this is my body, this is my blood.	11:08
	On that same night, he washed the disciples feet.	11:12
	On the next morning, he stretched himself out	11:16
	on a cross for you and for me	11:17
	and through all of those actions he was saying,	11:20
	I love you this much.	11:22
	And here today he is saying to us,	11:27
	by this they will know that you are my disciples.	11:31
	If you love one another,	11:35
	love one another as I have loved you.	11:38
	If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels	11:44
	but have not love, I'm a noisy gong	11:47
	or a clanging cymbal.	11:52
	If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries	11:54
	and all knowledge and if I have all faith	11:59
	so as to remove mountains	12:02
	but have not love, I am nothing.	12:05
	If I give away all I have, if I deliver my body to be burned	12:09
	but have not love, I gain nothing.	12:15
	Love is patient and kind.	12:20
	Love is not jealous or boastful,	12:24
	it is not arrogant or rude.	12:28
	Love does not insist on its own way,	12:32
	it is not irritable or resentful,	12:37
	it is not rejoicing wrong.	12:42
	Or when bad things happen to others	12:44
	it rejoices only in the right.	12:47
	Love bears all things, believes all things,	12:50
	hopes all things and do is all things.	12:53
	Love never ends.	12:57
	God help us to make love our aim.	13:03
	Amen.	13:09
	(organ playing)	13:18
Male	As we remain standing,	15:57
	let us unite in this historical confession	15:59
	of the Christian faith.	16:01
	I believe in God, the Father Almighty,	16:04
	the maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ	16:08
	his only son, our Lord,	16:11
	who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	16:13
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	16:17
	was crucified, dead and buried.	16:22
	The third day he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven	16:25
	and sit at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.	16:31
	From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	16:35
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church,	16:39
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	16:44
	the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, amen.	16:48
	The Lord be with you.	16:56
	(audience responding)	16:58
	Let us pray.	17:01
	Almighty and ever living God,	17:13
	whose will is always to do good for them whom you love,	17:17
	and as we have so eloquently heard,	17:23
	your love includes all of us.	17:27
	This is a particularly important Sunday to us	17:32
	in the regular, secular makeup of the year	17:35
	when memories become tender,	17:42
	and the emotions rise near the surface	17:45
	and the instinct to say a word of gratitude	17:52
	to people who brought you life and gave you life	17:56
	and nurtured you in life.	18:01
	Let we pray the upon the families of this land	18:05
	and of all of the lands.	18:09
	Let the dignity and the peace	18:13
	and the integrity of the family	18:15
	may be restored where it is broken	18:17
	and we be surrounded with goodness where it is lacking.	18:21
	For the gift of those who gave us life,	18:29
	we give thee a Thanksgiving.	18:32
	And for the gift of him who gave us eternal life,	18:35
	we give thee the commitment of our own souls.	18:40
	How good it is to be here.	18:45
	We pray for your children all over this earth.	18:50
	For the disturbed lands and 20th century history.	18:57
	For those who cry out for peace and there is no peace.	19:05
	Somewhere, out of the miracle of your love	19:14
	save us from the stupid devastation	19:19
	that we inflict upon ourselves and each other.	19:24
	We have come this day to celebrate your aliveness	19:32
	and to celebrate your resurrection	19:37
	and to affirm it in our own lives.	19:41
	Hear our prayer and accept it.	19:46
	We pray through Jesus Christ,	19:50
	Amen.	19:54
	Let us worship God now with the giving	19:57
	of our tithes and our offerings.	19:59
	(bell-based music)	21:29
	(organ playing)	26:15
	We made bold to bring thee our gifts dear Christ.	27:49
	We bring them to you because of what you have brought to us.	27:54
	All of life is your gift to us.	27:59
	Accept these gifts we pray	28:04
	and hear us as we pray together	28:08
	the prayer which you did teach us to pray.	28:10
	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	28:14
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	28:19
	on earth as it is in heaven.	28:23
	Give us this day our daily bread,	28:26
	and forgive us our trespasses,	28:28
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	28:31
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	28:35
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	28:41
	and the glory forever,	28:44
	Amen.	28:48
	(organ playing)	28:50
	If you would hesitate in your pews for a moment	32:51
	following the benediction, the three of us	32:53
	would like to greet you at the rear of the chapel	32:56
	on this unusual day.	32:59
	And now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	33:03
	and the love of God, the Father, and the communion	33:07
	and fellowship of the Holy Spirit	33:10
	rest and abide with us all now and forevermore, amen.	33:12
	(upbeat music)	33:23
	(people shuffling)	36:45

Item Info

Title:

Carlton P. Minnick, Jr. - "The Mark of Discipleship" (May 12, 1985)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 35:38. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 13:12.
The love Jesus shows us in the New Testament, through relationships and stories, is one of self-giving service. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Surely no word is more descriptive of the life of Jesus than the word love.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4hx1655j

Date:

May 12, 1985

Speaker:

Minnick, Carlton P., Jr.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0267
ref8055_2dr
uachapelsermaud
duke:321244
dcrau001254
ark:/87924/r4hx1655j
de42895f-618a-488c-a012-1c1950b15cb8

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

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.

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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