Carol M. Norén - "No Visible Means of Support" (May 25, 1986)

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	(traditional Catholic music)	0:04
-	Good morning and welcome to this service of worship	15:22
	at Duke Chapel, we're glad you're with us today.	15:25
	Our guest preacher is Reverend Dr. Carol Marie Norin,	15:28
	the newly appointed assistant professor	15:32
	of homiletics at Duke Divinity School.	15:35
	And we welcome Dr. Norin to Duke Chapel and to Durham.	15:38
	Dean Dennis Campbell of the Divinity School	15:44
	is helping preside in the service today	15:47
	and we welcome him to the chapel also.	15:50
	In honor of Dr. Norin's visit we invite you	15:53
	for lemonade after the service to meet her in the arcade.	15:56
	If you're in Durham for the summer,	16:01
	we invite you to join our summer choir	16:03
	under the direction of Donna Sparks.	16:06
	No auditions are required.	16:08
	You don't have to be here every Sunday,	16:10
	but we are always looking for singers.	16:12
	We have the largest summer choirs that we have had	16:15
	in recent years and we're delighted.	16:18
	And now let us prepare ourselves for worship.	16:21
	(traditional Catholic music)	16:33
-	Our God is a holy and righteous God,	22:13
	therefore let us begin this service with confession	22:16
	of our sin before God and one another.	22:20
	Be seated.	22:24
	Our heavenly father who by they love has made us	22:36
	and through thy love has kept us and in thy love	22:40
	which make us perfect, we humbly confess	22:46
	that we have not loved thee with our whole heart	22:50
	and soul and mind and strength.	22:53
	And that we have not loved one another	22:57
	as Christ hath loved us.	22:59
	Thy life is within our souls,	23:02
	but our selfishness has hindered thee.	23:05
	We have not lived by faith.	23:09
	We have resisted thy spirit.	23:11
	We have neglected thine inspirations.	23:14
	Forgive what we have been.	23:18
	Help us to amend what we are.	23:21
	And in they spirit direct what we shall be,	23:23
	that thou mayest come into the full glory	23:28
	of thy creation through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	23:31
	Hear these comfortable words of scripture	23:39
	for all those who turn to the Lord.	23:42
	The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger	23:45
	and abounding in steadfast love.	23:49
	This is the message that we have heard from him	23:53
	and proclaim to you, that God is light.	23:57
	And in God is no darkness at all.	24:02
	If we walk in the light as he is in the light,	24:05
	we have fellowship with one another	24:08
	and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.	24:11
	Your sins are forgiven for his sake.	24:16
	Amen.	24:20
-	Together let us pray the prayer for illumination.	24:32
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	24:37
	by the power of your holy spirit.	24:41
	So that as the word is read and proclaimed,	24:45
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	24:48
	Amen.	24:54
	The first lesson is taken from the old testament	24:58
	book of Proverbs in the eight chapter.	25:02
	Verses 22 through 31.	25:06
	The Lord created me at the beginning of his work.	25:11
	The first of his acts of old.	25:16
	Ages ago I was set up at the first,	25:19
	before the beginning of the earth.	25:22
	When there were no depths, I was brought forth.	25:26
	When there were no springs abounding with water.	25:31
	Before the mountains had been shaped,	25:35
	before the hills, I was brought forth.	25:38
	Before he had made the earth with its fields	25:41
	or the first of the dust of the world.	25:45
	When he established the heavens, I was there.	25:48
	When he drew a circle on the face of the deep.	25:52
	When he made firm the skies above.	25:56
	When he established the fountains of the deep.	25:59
	When he assigned to the sea its limit	26:03
	so that the waters might not transgress his command.	26:07
	When he marked out the foundations of the earth,	26:12
	then I was beside him like a master workman	26:16
	and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always.	26:21
	Rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting	26:28
	in the sons of men.	26:33
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	26:37
	(traditional Catholic music)	26:49
	The second lesson is taken from Paul's letter	31:11
	to the church at Rome in the fifth chapter.	31:14
	Verses one through five.	31:18
	Therefore since we are justified by faith	31:22
	we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.	31:26
	Through him we have obtained access to this grace	31:31
	in which we stand and we rejoice in our hope	31:35
	of sharing the glory of God.	31:40
	More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings	31:44
	knowing that suffering produces endurance	31:48
	and endurance produces character	31:51
	and character produces hope.	31:54
	And hope does not disappoint us because God's love	31:58
	has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit	32:03
	which has been given to us.	32:08
	Thus endeth the reading of the second lesson.	32:12
	(traditional Catholic music)	32:25
-	The third lesson is a reading from the gospel	39:33
	according to St. John.	39:36
	The 16th chapter, verses 12 to 15.	39:38
	I have yet many things to say to you,	39:45
	but you cannot bear them now.	39:48
	When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you	39:51
	into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority,	39:55
	but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare	40:01
	to you the things that are to come.	40:06
	He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine	40:09
	and declare it to you.	40:14
	All that the father has is mine,	40:17
	therefore I said that he will take what is mine	40:21
	and declare it to you.	40:25
	Thanks be to God for His holy word.	40:28
	Today is Trinity Sunday,	40:40
	the first Sunday after Pentecost.	40:43
	It's chief liturgical significance may be that this	40:48
	is the Sunday the pastor finds a visiting preacher	40:51
	to wrestle with the incomprehensible unity	40:55
	of father, son, and holy spirit.	40:58
	Today also happens to be the Sunday	41:02
	closest to Aldersgate Day.	41:05
	A time when united Methodists like to argue	41:08
	over what exactly happened to John Wesley	41:12
	over 200 years ago in a prayer meeting on Aldersgate Street.	41:15
	Was it a conversion experience?	41:22
	Or an existential crisis?	41:24
	Or something else all together?	41:27
	We aren't sure.	41:31
	But we do come to this worship service today	41:34
	certain of some things.	41:36
	There are painful certainties in our lives	41:40
	that impinge upon our consciousness	41:44
	even as we gather to sing and pray	41:47
	and listen to a sermon.	41:51
	Some of you for example have come from a week	41:54
	of unreasonable pressure on the job.	41:57
	And others may come from searching	42:02
	unsuccessfully for employment.	42:04
	Still others may come from a week of trying	42:08
	to hold a shaky marriage together.	42:11
	Or from a world in which poverty and loneliness	42:14
	and alienation seem a good deal closer	42:18
	than 18th century spirituality.	42:23
	The buoyant optimism of the fifth chapter of Romans	42:27
	may be far cry from the world in which you live	42:30
	and the way you think about it.	42:35
	During this last week I received a letter	42:38
	from a close friend of mine who lives in Sweden.	42:40
	It began with these sentences.	42:45
	Dear Carol, I started this letter almost a month ago	42:48
	and since that time the US has bombed Libya,	42:53
	the reactor in Chernobyl has exploded	42:56
	and spewed it's awful, awful all over Europe,	43:00
	including our town.	43:04
	And the world no longer seems to be the place	43:07
	it used to be.	43:10
	What's happening?	43:12
	It seems to me that evil is taking on new	43:14
	and here to for undreamed of dimensions.	43:17
	I used to think the world would be annihilated	43:21
	as the result of a nuclear war.	43:24
	But wouldn't it be ironic if we were all wiped out,	43:26
	not by a war but through the peaceful uses	43:30
	of atomic energy?	43:34
	Wouldn't it be ironic if T.S. Elliott's words	43:37
	that the world will end not with a bang, but a whimper,	43:40
	were to come true.	43:45
	I hate to think about all this.	43:47
	What do Trinity Sunday or Aldersgate experiences	43:52
	have to do with the menacing realities around us	43:57
	other than many distracting us for an hour or so	44:00
	from the depression and pessimism they foster.	44:05
	I believe the passage from Romans read a few minutes ago	44:10
	not only make Aldersgate and Trinity less remote	44:15
	from our own experience, but also tell us something	44:19
	of how we may conquer as well as cope	44:24
	in a world that appears to be falling apart.	44:27
	First of all there is no promise that faith in Jesus Christ	44:33
	is going to make all life's problems go away.	44:38
	Paul says, we have peace with God, which sounds fine.	44:43
	But in the next breath he's talking about suffering	44:48
	and tribulation that are bound to come our way	44:51
	no matter what we believe.	44:55
	It is unfortunate at best and downright deceitful	44:59
	at worst, the way so much of television evangelism	45:03
	and popular Christian literature portray faith	45:07
	in Jesus Christ the way a secular advertiser	45:12
	might sell shampoo.	45:16
	You know, a dismal before picture of some poor	45:18
	schlomossal with dandruff and no friends.	45:22
	And a dazzling after picture of the same person,	45:26
	now surrounded by attractive, sexy admirers,	45:30
	enjoying the good life with plenty of money	45:35
	and a good job and incidentally, no more dandruff.	45:38
	That is not the way life is.	45:45
	After a person finds peace with God through Jesus Christ,	45:49
	John Wesley learned that following his Aldersgate	45:55
	experience, yes he did go to a prayer meeting	45:59
	on Aldersgate Street on May 24, 1738,	46:04
	earnestly longing for the assurance of God's love.	46:09
	And yes, his heart was strangely warmed	46:14
	and he found he could trust Christ alone	46:19
	for his salvation, but when he woke up the next morning	46:22
	the suffering and problems facing him were still there.	46:28
	Justification by faith, that is being delivered	46:34
	from the penalty of sin did not lessen the hostility	46:38
	of the church of England toward his work.	46:43
	Peace with God did not end a persecution by mobs	46:46
	when he preached.	46:51
	It did not stop dissension within the Methodist societies	46:54
	or make his family life a bed of roses.	46:58
	And the same is true for us.	47:04
	We come to worship.	47:09
	Many of us desiring a kind of peace	47:11
	we know the world can't give.	47:14
	A deepening of our relationship with God.	47:16
	But even when the holy spirit works an Aldersgate	47:21
	experience within us, Monday morning's tribulations	47:24
	still lie ahead.	47:29
	The peace of God doesn't excuse us from the pains of life.	47:32
	But because we know the love of God,	47:38
	we can trust that anything that happens to us	47:41
	can ultimately work to the glory of God	47:44
	and to draw us closer to him.	47:48
	If pursuing peace with God won't solve life's problems,	47:53
	how are Christians to address them?	47:58

-	Simply by working really hard,	0:03
	by limiting ourselves to the sensible	0:06
	and verifiable methods, approved by the rest of the world.	0:08
	I think it's no accident that this passage in Romans	0:14
	has so many verbs about human beings,	0:18
	where the humans are the passive recipients of action.	0:21
	We are justified.	0:26
	Hope does not disappoint us.	0:28
	God's love has been poured into our hearts.	0:31
	The Holy Spirit has been given to us.	0:35
	All of these fly in the face	0:39
	of an achievement oriented western culture,	0:41
	that tells us if we try hard enough,	0:44
	we'll attain our goals, spiritual or temporal.	0:47
	Yet scripture tells us that whatever visible,	0:53
	measurable schemes we devise for setting ourselves	0:57
	or the world to rights, are doomed and futile.	1:01
	John Wesley had to get a good sense	1:08
	of his own failure, to get it together,	1:11
	before he was ready for Aldersgate.	1:16
	Until that experience, Wesley's religion was a burden	1:20
	to him and everyone around him.	1:24
	He wasn't the sort of person you'd want with you	1:28
	on your summer vacation.	1:30
	He was always getting up at a ridiculously early hour	1:33
	to read the Bible and to pray	1:37
	for scrupulously prescribed periods.	1:39
	He went around taking the spiritual and moral pulse	1:43
	of every soul he encountered.	1:46
	He went around doing good even through clenched teeth,	1:49
	berating himself and others	1:54
	for sins both real and imagined.	1:57
	And all this feverish activity	2:02
	didn't sell his brand of piety	2:05
	to the church of England.	2:07
	It didn't bring about an end to disease or drunkenness.	2:10
	His own very best efforts as recorded in his journal,	2:14
	accomplished no peace within or without.	2:20
	The expectation that he could change	2:26
	his religious experience or life in the world around him	2:29
	if he only figured out the right combination	2:32
	made him a profoundly depressed and ineffective Christian.	2:36
	And so it is with us,	2:44
	good strong members of Christ's church	2:48
	in all denominations are tempted daily	2:52
	to rely on sensible demonstrable means	2:57
	for changing ourselves and the world.	3:01
	In our hearts, we know that no number	3:06
	of hands across America will end	3:09
	the underlying cause of hunger and poverty.	3:12
	No proliferation of church boards and agencies,	3:17
	no resolutions passed at annual conference,	3:21
	or newspaper articles, or stepped up stewardship campaigns	3:24
	will convert or sanctify the human spirit.	3:30
	No church growth statistics, or hymnal revisions,	3:35
	or resolutions to lead a better life from now on	3:39
	can weed out the root of sin.	3:44
	No weapons or disarmament,	3:47
	no talks nor negotiation	3:51
	will solve international tensions.	3:53
	Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ	3:58
	will not end all tribulation,	4:01
	as the King James Version puts it,	4:04
	nor can we successfully eradicate life's problems	4:06
	in our own strength.	4:11
	Counting on the technology and expertise	4:13
	the world calls sensible,	4:16
	it is rather by faith,	4:21
	as Paul says in verse one,	4:25
	that we are to confront whatever trials come our way.	4:27
	What does that mean?	4:33
	It's relying on the invisible	4:35
	and uncontrollable power of God	4:38
	that gives us the eyes to see what God is doing	4:42
	in the most trying circumstances,	4:46
	or to put it in simple terms,	4:50
	it's saying, Lord, I'm in over my head,	4:52
	I don't know what to do.	4:58
	Show me what you are doing, even here.	5:01
	Jesus, take away my fear of trusting you.	5:06
	Tell me how I can be part of what you are doing.	5:11
	Holy Spirit, give me the strength	5:16
	to do what you are leading me to do.	5:19
	This is what happened to John Wesley that night	5:24
	on Aldersgate street.	5:28
	He gave up believing that he could	5:30
	make things right on his own.	5:32
	He learned to rely on invisible	5:35
	rather than visible means of support.	5:38
	And by trusting in God's power,	5:42
	rather than his own, the problems and suffering	5:45
	which had once threatened to defeat him	5:49
	were now grounds for rejoicing.	5:51
	Why?	5:54
	First because he was able to see God's grace	5:55
	at work in the worst of his suffering,	5:58
	and second, because he now had hope	6:02
	of sharing in the glory of God,	6:05
	in the ultimate victory over evil.	6:08
	You and I are invited daily	6:14
	to Aldersgate experiences	6:18
	and the new life that follows them.	6:21
	Now it's more than a private satisfying peace of mind	6:25
	that you've gotten things right with God.	6:29
	And it's certainly not learning to put up with	6:33
	the evil you see around you,	6:36
	simply because you trust that somehow	6:38
	God is going to work it for good.	6:41
	It is on the contrary, casting yourself	6:45
	on an invisible means of support,	6:48
	and relying on the strength of a triune God	6:52
	to work in you and through you,	6:55
	and if necessary, around you.	6:59
	It calls you to draw on God's wisdom	7:02
	rather than your own cleverness,	7:07
	to answer the tough questions.	7:08
	It equips you to comfort the suffering,	7:12
	and gives some meaning to the senseless cruelty	7:16
	we see daily in the world.	7:19
	It is faith in Jesus Christ that makes it possible	7:23
	for us to participate in the redemptive activity	7:28
	God is doing, instead of being frustrated	7:32
	by the futility of our feeble human efforts.	7:35
	The Holy Spirit, our invisible means of support,	7:40
	gives us courage to speak difficult truths,	7:46
	and to take the kind of risks the world calls foolish.	7:51
	Best of all, it enables us to live	7:56
	for the purpose for which we were created,	8:00
	to glorify God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,	8:03
	and know a joy that is beyond human comprehension.	8:09
	All this is ours to claim, simply by faith	8:15
	in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,	8:20
	which is sufficient for all our needs.	8:22
	Thanks be to God for this, his inexpressible gift,	8:27
	amen.	8:32
	(organ music)	8:36
	(choir singing)	9:24
-	Now in response to God's word read and preached,	13:00
	let us affirm our faith in the words of the apostles creed,	13:05
	I believe in God the Father Almighty,	13:10
	maker of heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ,	13:14
	his only son, our Lord,	13:18
	who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	13:21
	born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	13:24
	was crucified dead and buried,	13:29
	the third day he rose from the dead,	13:33
	he ascended into heaven,	13:35
	and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.	13:38
	From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	13:43
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic church,	13:47
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	13:52
	the resurrection of the body,	13:57
	and the life everlasting, amen.	13:59
	The Lord be with you, let us pray.	14:04
	Almighty and Eternal God,	14:21
	in whose appointment our life stands,	14:24
	and who has committed our work to us.	14:29
	We would commit our cares to you.	14:34
	We thank you that we are your children,	14:38
	and that you have assured us	14:41
	that while we are intent upon your will,	14:43
	you will heed our wants.	14:47
	We commend to your mercy, all those in need this day,	14:50
	we think especially of nations	14:55
	afflicted with famine, pestilence, or war,	14:57
	those who suffer persecution for the sake of the gospel,	15:03
	and all persons oppressed with poverty,	15:08
	sickness, or any infirmity of body or sorrow of mind.	15:12
	On this Memorial Day weekend, as we in the United States	15:21
	remember those who fought and died	15:27
	that we might live, accept our gratitude,	15:30
	make us more worthy of their sacrifice,	15:36
	and comfort all those who mourn.	15:41
	On this anniversary Sunday of Aldersgate,	15:48
	we remember in a time of great need,	15:52
	you did raise up your servants John and Charles Wesley,	15:56
	and by your spirit, did inspire them	16:01
	to kindle a flame of sacred love,	16:04
	which leaped and ran, and became an inextinguishable blaze,	16:08
	grant that we in this time of great need,	16:15
	may be refreshed by your grace,	16:20
	and newly devoted to the increase	16:24
	of scriptural holiness throughout the land.	16:27
	We pray always in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	16:32
	Now in response to God's grace unto us, let us give.	16:42
	Remember the words of the Lord Jesus,	16:49
	how he said it is more blessed to give than to receive.	16:52
	(soft music)	17:02
	(woman singing)	18:25
	(choir singing)	22:03
	(organ music)	23:32
	(choir singing)	23:50
-	Almighty and everlasting God,	24:59
	who hast revealed thyself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,	25:01
	and dost ever live and reign in the perfect unity of Love,	25:09
	accept these gifts which we now bring before thee,	25:15
	and help us make the whole of life an offering	25:22
	and every thought a prayer.	25:26
	We would seal this hour of worship in a renewed consecration	25:30
	of ourselves as we pray the prayer our Lord taught us.	25:35
	Our Father who art in heaven,	25:42
	Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,	25:45
	thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.	25:49
	Give us this day our daily bread,	25:56
	and forgive us our trespasses,	25:59
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	26:02
	And lead us not into temptation,	26:07
	but deliver us from evil,	26:10
	for thine is the kingdom and the power	26:12
	and the glory forever, amen.	26:17
	(organ music)	26:22
	(choir singing)	27:04
	(man speaking off mic)	30:17
-	Holy Spirit, be with you both now and forevermore, amen.	30:25
	♪ Amen, ♪	30:36
	♪ amen, ♪	30:44
	♪ amen, ♪	30:51
	♪ amen ♪	30:59
-	Thank you very much.	31:12
	(organ music)	31:14
	(crowd chattering)	34:55
	(organ music)	35:13
	(crowd chattering)	44:48

Item Info

Title:

Carol M. Norén - "No Visible Means of Support" (May 25, 1986)

Description:

Peace with God does not excuse us from the trials of life. However, through faith in Jesus Christ, and leaning on the invisible power of God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are able to participate in the redemptive work God is doing in the midst of all of the world's suffering. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 40:40. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 08:35.
Key quotation: “It is faith in Jesus Christ that makes it possible for us to participate in the redemptive activity God is doing, instead of being frustrated by the futility of our feeble human efforts.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4h41k21w

Date:

May 25, 1986

Speaker:

Norén, Carol Marie

Liturgical Calendar:

Trinity Sunday

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0334
ref8189_fd6
uachapelsermaud
duke:321083
dcrau001317
ark:/87924/r4h41k21w
b54a081d-7e1a-4d2c-a5a1-16cc5b40ace1

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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