Letty Russell - "The Impossible Reality" (March 31, 1974)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(choir singing) | 0:05 | |
- | Sometimes we get so caught up in our humanity and what | 1:08 |
that means that we forget that breath of life, that gift | 1:12 | |
of yourself which you have given each of us. | 1:17 | |
In our self centeredness we forget that you are | 1:22 | |
our creator and sustainer. | 1:27 | |
Forgive us, Lord, and bring to us a realization of what | 1:30 | |
being created in your image means in our lives. | 1:36 | |
Then give us the strength and the courage to live out | 1:41 | |
that realization. | 1:46 | |
- | Lord, God, we bring our outdated and our outgrown ideas | 1:49 |
of who you are and how you are related to us. | 1:56 | |
Forgive us for thinking and acting without reference | 2:00 | |
to you most of the time, and for obscuring the liberating | 2:04 | |
word from you in Christ Jesus much of the time. | 2:09 | |
Stir up the gifts of your spirit in us so we can be your | 2:13 | |
people bringing truly liberating words and actions | 2:18 | |
and relationships to bear on our world. | 2:23 | |
- | All these prayers of penitence we lift to thee, oh God, | 2:27 |
asking that in thy love thou wouldst forgive us, | 2:31 | |
for we know that it is thy faithfulness that saves us | 2:35 | |
even when we are unfaithful. | 2:38 | |
Grant us a renewed spirit that we might serve thee | 2:41 | |
and those whom thou has given us to love, | 2:46 | |
through Christ our Lord, amen. | 2:49 | |
(organ music) | 2:53 | |
(choir singing) | 3:17 | |
- | Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger | 4:20 |
and abounding in steadfast love. | 4:24 | |
Jesus said the one who comes to me I will not cast out. | 4:27 | |
Your sins are forgiven for Christ sake, amen. | 4:33 | |
(organ music) | 4:39 | |
(choir singing) | 5:04 | |
- | Hear the word of God as proclaimed by his prophet Isaiah | 8:12 |
from the 52nd chapter of the Book of Isaiah beginning with | 8:16 | |
the 13th verse. | 8:20 | |
Behold, my servant shall prosper. | 8:23 | |
He shall be exulted and lifted up and shall be very high. | 8:26 | |
As many were astonished at him, his appearance was | 8:32 | |
so marred beyond human sacrifice and his form beyond | 8:35 | |
that of the sons of men, so shall he startle many nations. | 8:41 | |
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that | 8:46 | |
which has not been told them they shall see. | 8:51 | |
And that which they have not heard, they shall understand. | 8:55 | |
- | Let us join together in the reading of the Gospel lesson | 9:10 |
by standing to hear the Word. | 9:13 | |
The Gospel lesson comes to us from Mark the 10th chapter, | 9:30 | |
the 35th to the 45th verses. | 9:37 | |
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, | 9:49 | |
came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want | 9:53 | |
you to do for us whatever we ask you to do." | 10:01 | |
And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" | 10:07 | |
And they said to him, "Grant us to sit one at your | 10:15 | |
right hand and one at your left in your glory." | 10:20 | |
But Jesus said to them, "You do not know | 10:27 | |
what you are asking. | 10:33 | |
You are able to drink the cup that I drink or to be | 10:37 | |
baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized." | 10:46 | |
And they said to him, "You are. | 10:54 | |
We are able." | 10:56 | |
Then Jesus said to them, "The cup I drink you will drink. | 11:00 | |
And with the baptism with which I am baptized, | 11:09 | |
you will be baptized. | 11:13 | |
But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine | 11:17 | |
to grant, but it is for those for whom | 11:21 | |
it has been prepared." | 11:25 | |
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant | 11:32 | |
at James and John. | 11:37 | |
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know | 11:41 | |
that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles | 11:49 | |
lord it over them and their great men | 11:54 | |
exercise authority over them. | 11:58 | |
But it shall not be so among you. | 12:05 | |
For whoever would be greatest among you | 12:11 | |
must be your servant, and whoever would be first among | 12:16 | |
you must be slave of all. | 12:23 | |
For the son of man also came not to be served, but to serve | 12:30 | |
and to give his life a ransom for many." | 12:41 | |
May God add blessing of the Holy Spirit to the reading | 12:49 | |
of this word, amen. | 12:54 | |
(organ music) | 12:58 | |
♪ Glory be to the Father. ♪ | 13:07 | |
♪ And to the Son. ♪ | 13:09 | |
♪ And to the Holy Ghost. ♪ | 13:12 | |
♪ As it was in the beginning. ♪ | 13:17 | |
♪ Is now, and ever shall be. ♪ | 13:21 | |
♪ World without end. ♪ | 13:26 | |
♪ Amen, amen. ♪ | 13:29 | |
- | Now would you join with me in affirming our faith? | 13:40 |
The Litany of Affirmation which is printed | 13:45 | |
in your bulletins. | 13:47 | |
As a worshiping community, are we the church? | 13:50 | |
- | Yes, you are the church | 13:55 |
called to hear the word of God and respond in faith. | 13:57 | |
We believe in one God maker and ruler of all things, | 14:02 | |
infinite in wisdom, power and love, whose mercy is | 14:06 | |
over all creation and whose will is ever directed | 14:10 | |
to the good of all people. | 14:14 | |
This God is our God and we affirm with joy the creative | 14:16 | |
power which comes from this relationship. | 14:20 | |
We believe in Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, | 14:24 | |
mediator of grace and hope, reconciler of our broken | 14:28 | |
relationships. | 14:34 | |
- | This Lord is our Lord and we affirm with joy God's gift | 14:36 |
of abundant life in Christ. | 14:41 | |
- | We believe in the Holy Spirit, God present in our lives | 14:44 |
who convicts us of sin, assures us of God's love, | 14:49 | |
and empowers us with gifts. | 14:54 | |
- | The Spirit is in us, and we affirm with joy God's | 14:58 |
active presence in our lives. | 15:02 | |
- | We believe that this faith should manifest itself | 15:05 |
in a love that serves. | 15:09 | |
For Christ came into the world, not to be served, | 15:12 | |
but to serve. | 15:16 | |
- | We affirm with joy that God compels us to go | 15:19 |
into the world as servants to the end that the | 15:23 | |
kingdom of God may come upon the Earth. | 15:27 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 15:34 |
- | And with your spirit. | 15:36 |
- | Let us pray. | 15:38 |
- | Oh, God, in this holy season of Lent, in this | 15:50 |
time of spring when the flowers bud and bloom, | 15:56 | |
the birds sing, the sun grows warm, the wind enlivens us, | 16:00 | |
the rain refreshes us. | 16:06 | |
When hearts seem tender, words sound kinder, feelings are | 16:10 | |
warmer, and thoughts more lively, when Spring comes with | 16:18 | |
all that this means to each of us and to those | 16:24 | |
whom we love. | 16:27 | |
We rejoice in life and we celebrate the new life | 16:29 | |
you offer each of us. | 16:35 | |
Oh, God, in this time of trouble, tension, and trauma, | 16:40 | |
let us hear Jesus say to each of us, | 16:46 | |
"Peace I leave with you. | 16:49 | |
My peace I give unto you." | 16:52 | |
In this time when we carry burdens, when life is heavy | 16:57 | |
and the weight makes us weary, let us hear Jesus say, | 17:01 | |
"Come unto me all who labor and who are heavy laden, | 17:05 | |
and I give you rest." | 17:09 | |
In this time when we are shackled in our doubts, imprisoned | 17:13 | |
by uncertainty and insecurity, let us hear Jesus say, | 17:19 | |
"You shall know the truth, | 17:24 | |
and the truth shall make you free." | 17:27 | |
In this time when many roads rise up before us, when | 17:32 | |
choices are unclear and confusion surrounds us, | 17:37 | |
let us hear Jesus say, "I am the way, the truth, | 17:40 | |
and the life." | 17:45 | |
In this time of indifference, selfishness, and unconcern | 17:48 | |
for others, let us hear Jesus say, "I was hungry, | 17:54 | |
thirsty, naked, sick, lonely, imprisoned, a stranger, | 17:58 | |
and you cared for me. | 18:07 | |
Enter in to the joy of Heaven." | 18:10 | |
In this time of hardness of heart, insensitivity | 18:15 | |
of spirit and callousness of feeling, let us hear Jesus | 18:20 | |
say to each of us the first commandment is love God | 18:26 | |
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. | 18:30 | |
The second is like it. | 18:35 | |
Love your neighbor as yourself. | 18:36 | |
Looking unto Jesus the Christ as the redeemer and the | 18:41 | |
giver of life, give us the grace, oh God, to love | 18:46 | |
ourselves, others, and you so that we might rejoice in | 18:52 | |
life and celebrate the new life you offer each of us. | 19:00 | |
In the name and through the power | 19:09 | |
of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. | 19:12 | |
Hear us oh God as we pray the prayer which he has taught | 19:16 | |
all of his disciples to pray. | 19:18 | |
- | Our Father, Who art in heaven | 19:21 |
Hallowed be Thy name. | 19:25 | |
Thy kingdom come, | 19:27 | |
Thy will be done, | 19:29 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 19:31 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 19:34 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 19:37 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 19:40 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 19:43 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 19:46 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, | 19:48 | |
forever, amen. | 19:53 | |
We're pleased this morning to have with us a number | 20:02 | |
of persons who are here at Duke University | 20:07 | |
and Duke Divinity School this weekend participating | 20:11 | |
in the inter seminary conference on women in ministry. | 20:16 | |
So that those of you who worship here regularly might | 20:24 | |
be aware of who some of these persons are, and also perhaps | 20:27 | |
be impressed more than you have been before with the | 20:33 | |
number of women who are in ministry, I'd like to have | 20:37 | |
each of those persons, the men and the women who are | 20:44 | |
participating in this conference wherever you are | 20:48 | |
in the congregation this morning to stand | 20:50 | |
for just a moment, please. | 20:53 | |
Thank you. | 21:01 | |
It is also our privileged to have, as our guest preacher | 21:04 | |
in the Duke Chapel today Dr. Letty Russell, who also is here | 21:08 | |
as a participant and as the keynotes speaker for the | 21:17 | |
Inter seminary Conference on Women in Ministry. | 21:21 | |
Dr. Russell graduated from Wellesley College, Harvard | 21:27 | |
Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary, | 21:34 | |
served for a number of years in the parish and worked | 21:40 | |
for 17 years, I think she informed me just a few minutes | 21:45 | |
ago, in the East Harlem Protestant Parish, one of the most | 21:49 | |
significant ministries in the life of the church | 21:53 | |
in this century. | 21:56 | |
She now is a professor of religious studies | 21:58 | |
at Manhattan College in New York, also teaching | 22:03 | |
at Yale Divinity School and New York Theological Seminary. | 22:06 | |
We welcome Dr. Letty Russell to Duke University | 22:12 | |
to Duke Chapel, to this service of worship. | 22:17 | |
And we hear the word of God which you bring to us. | 22:21 | |
- | Let us pray. | 22:42 |
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our | 22:54 | |
hearts be acceptable in God's sight. | 22:59 | |
In the name of the creator, liberator, and reconciler, amen. | 23:05 | |
In my undergraduate days at Wellesley College, | 23:22 | |
I used to process down the aisle | 23:28 | |
with the choir daily and on Sunday. | 23:32 | |
Not quite such a long aisle, and I usually was wearing | 23:36 | |
blue jeans under my robe, but nevertheless | 23:41 | |
as I processed down the aisle | 23:45 | |
I came to the chancel and I looked up | 23:48 | |
and there in the chancel written across the wall | 23:53 | |
were the words | 23:58 | |
Non Ministrari sed Ministrare. | 24:00 | |
Each time I looked at those words walking down the aisle, | 24:07 | |
no matter how sleepy or | 24:13 | |
bleary eyed or distracted, | 24:16 | |
I believed, | 24:21 | |
believed that this lifestyle of Jesus, not | 24:26 | |
to be ministered unto but to minister, | 24:29 | |
had something to do | 24:35 | |
with my own lifestyle, | 24:38 | |
and in fact with why I was at college. | 24:43 | |
Today the words not to be served but to serve, | 24:52 | |
although in modern English, | 24:58 | |
are still with us. | 25:02 | |
But, for all of us, I think, | 25:07 | |
they've become harder to believe. | 25:12 | |
They have become more of a problem than a possibility | 25:18 | |
in our lives. | 25:23 | |
They are a problem for Christians because the very | 25:29 | |
word service has become so debased in our culture that | 25:33 | |
most people think of it, | 25:38 | |
at best, as a sort of bandaid | 25:41 | |
approach to helping others. | 25:45 | |
And at worst, they view it as a cop out | 25:49 | |
from working for a just society. | 25:54 | |
Service is a problem for women, blacks, | 26:02 | |
and other third world groups | 26:07 | |
because service is identified with | 26:12 | |
subordination, powerlessness, | 26:15 | |
oppression. | 26:19 | |
It is a problem for ministers and laity | 26:24 | |
because we have created a class | 26:29 | |
of professional ministers who serve | 26:33 | |
in structures which deprive the whole people of God | 26:37 | |
of their own responsible servant hood in ministry. | 26:42 | |
Yet, here are the words. | 26:52 | |
They don't go away. | 26:55 | |
Jesus called them to him and said, | 26:58 | |
"You know that those that | 27:02 | |
are supposed to rule over the gentiles lorded over them | 27:03 | |
and their great men exercised authority over them, | 27:09 | |
but it shall not be so among you. | 27:14 | |
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, | 27:20 | |
and whoever would be first among you | 27:24 | |
must be slave of all for the son of man | 27:26 | |
also came not to be served but to serve | 27:30 | |
and to give his life a ransom for many." | 27:35 | |
I guess I could add that the words are also a problem | 27:40 | |
for bishops, district superintendents | 27:43 | |
and a few other people. | 27:45 | |
And here are the words, and not only the words, | 27:50 | |
but the lifestyle of Jesus of Nazareth which we think so | 27:53 | |
deeply on during the period of Lent as we talk about | 27:56 | |
following him to the cross. | 28:00 | |
The lifestyle of one who came to serve and to give his life | 28:07 | |
as a ransom for the world. | 28:12 | |
This impossible idea of service | 28:16 | |
is in fact the only possibility | 28:21 | |
for those who want to follow Jesus. | 28:27 | |
This seemingly impossible role of service | 28:36 | |
is possible for us all | 28:41 | |
because it is not just a command, | 28:49 | |
a law of God. | 28:53 | |
Rather, it is a gift of God, | 29:00 | |
a gracious gift which makes it possible. | 29:05 | |
Just think of it. | 29:13 | |
This God of the Hebrew Christian tradition | 29:16 | |
is like no other gods. | 29:21 | |
God is the one who chooses to serve, | 29:27 | |
not just to be worshiped and adored. | 29:32 | |
Other gods have been revealed | 29:38 | |
so that women and men could serve them, | 29:43 | |
but this God, the God of the suffering | 29:48 | |
servant, the God of Jesus Christ | 29:52 | |
begins from the other end, | 29:57 | |
begins with us, with us. | 29:59 | |
God comes to the people to liberate them, | 30:06 | |
to serve them, | 30:11 | |
so that they may celebrate their freedom by sharing | 30:14 | |
it with others. | 30:18 | |
In God's service | 30:24 | |
we see what Karl Barth calls | 30:27 | |
The Humanity of God. | 30:31 | |
God is first of all not a king | 30:38 | |
sitting on a pyramid of the world | 30:43 | |
creating other pyramids of domination | 30:47 | |
and subjugation in hierarchies of church | 30:50 | |
and society. | 30:55 | |
Rather the humanity of God is seen | 30:59 | |
in that God chooses | 31:03 | |
to be related to human beings | 31:07 | |
through service. | 31:13 | |
No wonder our passage from Isaiah 52 | 31:21 | |
says the servant of Yahweh will | 31:26 | |
startle the nations. | 31:30 | |
His appearance was so marred | 31:35 | |
beyond human semblance. | 31:38 | |
His form beyond that of the sons of men. | 31:41 | |
So shall he startle the nations. | 31:46 | |
Kings will shut up, | 31:52 | |
will shut their mouths because of him. | 31:55 | |
The servant cannot even be recognized | 32:02 | |
because suffering service is not even expected | 32:08 | |
of a messianic figure by those | 32:13 | |
in high places. | 32:17 | |
Service then is God's gift because it is God who serves. | 32:26 | |
Service is also God's gift because Jesus not only | 32:35 | |
calls his disciples to serve, | 32:40 | |
but also provides the power and the possibility | 32:44 | |
of carrying out this service. | 32:49 | |
In Jesus Christ | 32:54 | |
we have the representation of new humanity, | 32:57 | |
the beginning of a new type of human being | 33:02 | |
whose life is lived for others. | 33:07 | |
Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God with us. | 33:12 | |
To be with all people, the women | 33:19 | |
as well as the men, | 33:24 | |
the ignorant as well as the learning, | 33:27 | |
the outcasts as well as the religiously acceptable, | 33:34 | |
the oppressed as well as the oppressors. | 33:41 | |
And it is Jesus who helps us to see the humanity of God | 33:48 | |
so that we, too, can become representatives | 33:53 | |
of new humanity. | 33:56 | |
Here we see what it means to be truly | 33:59 | |
and newly human. | 34:03 | |
This is the image of God, | 34:09 | |
the freedom to serve others. | 34:17 | |
This is the image into which humanity is created | 34:24 | |
and redeemed, to be together | 34:30 | |
with others. | 34:34 | |
The whole story of the New Testament revolves around | 34:38 | |
this one theme, | 34:42 | |
diokonia, service. | 34:45 | |
At last, someone has come, | 34:50 | |
not to be served but to serve. | 34:55 | |
Everything that was done by this son of God including | 35:00 | |
humiliation, self emptying, cross, death, | 35:03 | |
is summarized in one final communique, | 35:10 | |
service. | 35:19 | |
This communique is offered as a gift and a promise. | 35:23 | |
The disciples of Jesus are called to be servants | 35:28 | |
to risk their lives in being liberated for others. | 35:33 | |
God's intention for us now | 35:46 | |
is just such | 35:50 | |
an impossible possibility. | 35:53 | |
Through service, God's and ours, | 36:00 | |
we are liberated to be full human beings, | 36:05 | |
persons. | 36:11 | |
First we are liberated for ministry, diokonia. | 36:15 | |
We are set free from hierarchical structures | 36:20 | |
which place ministry in the hands of a few | 36:26 | |
to begin carrying out the work of the people. | 36:29 | |
Traditionally, diokonia has taken three forms | 36:36 | |
in the Christian tradition, curative diakonia, | 36:40 | |
preventative diakonia, and proscriptive. | 36:45 | |
Curative diakonia is one which we are very familiar with. | 36:50 | |
It is the healing and the helping of victims in the society. | 36:54 | |
Preventative diakonia is attempting to curtail the | 36:59 | |
developments of social ills | 37:03 | |
which victimize human life, | 37:06 | |
and prospective diakonia is attempting | 37:11 | |
to open up the situation for free realization | 37:15 | |
and actualization of human life. | 37:19 | |
Although in the past | 37:25 | |
the church, and especially women, | 37:29 | |
have specialized in individual curative | 37:34 | |
or bandaid tasks, | 37:38 | |
recently people have become aware that it is necessary | 37:42 | |
to work together on preventative programs | 37:46 | |
for health and social welfare, | 37:50 | |
and the church is also slowly becoming involved | 37:55 | |
in prospective programs in which the society itself | 37:59 | |
is so changed that people can take part | 38:05 | |
in shaping their own destiny and that the evils | 38:08 | |
such as war, poverty, racism, and sexism | 38:13 | |
are attacked at their root so | 38:18 | |
that a new image of humanity can flow. | 38:21 | |
If we think about it, | 38:29 | |
this last kind of diakonia, prospective, | 38:32 | |
is what we want for our own life. | 38:39 | |
We do not want to be helped after we've been crushed. | 38:45 | |
We would much rather have justice that leads to the | 38:51 | |
elimination of the destructive social structures that | 38:55 | |
might and do crush people. | 38:59 | |
This is why women | 39:04 | |
want not only to have a say | 39:08 | |
in the way that they prepare themselves to take their place | 39:10 | |
of service in the church and society, | 39:15 | |
but also to change the society | 39:21 | |
and the church itself | 39:24 | |
so that their place may become | 39:29 | |
one of full humanity and partnership. | 39:32 | |
They prefer to have a say in shaping their future | 39:38 | |
rather than having to retreat into what is called the | 39:44 | |
feminine mystique | 39:48 | |
only to have to begin again about age 40 | 39:51 | |
trying to find out what their lives are all about. | 39:55 | |
They are pushing for prospective diakonia. | 40:02 | |
In being liberated for ministry, we are drawn into | 40:10 | |
the struggle of liberation for all peoples, | 40:13 | |
men and women, black and white, | 40:17 | |
rich and poor, seek to move together | 40:20 | |
toward new ways of life in which | 40:24 | |
those who have been oppressed | 40:26 | |
are free to form their own agenda | 40:30 | |
and to participate in shaping their own future, | 40:35 | |
deciding whom and how | 40:41 | |
they want to serve. | 40:46 | |
We are not only liberated for ministry, but secondly | 40:54 | |
we are liberated for others because we are called to be | 40:57 | |
God's helpers and co servants | 41:02 | |
with the God who serves. | 41:07 | |
This, after all, is the image of woman in Genesis Two. | 41:12 | |
She is created by God as Ezer, | 41:20 | |
a divine helper | 41:25 | |
for a man who needs to live and work in community. | 41:30 | |
Just like the image of the Ebed Yahweh, servant of God | 41:37 | |
in Isaiah 52. | 41:42 | |
The woman and also man | 41:45 | |
is seen as a human being who has | 41:49 | |
been given the privilege of living for others | 41:52 | |
as God's representative. | 41:56 | |
This service in no way implies subordination. | 42:04 | |
Nor does it imply domination of any human being | 42:08 | |
over another. | 42:12 | |
The alternative to subordination | 42:16 | |
is not domination. | 42:23 | |
The authentic alternative is service. | 42:29 | |
There is no true ministry which is not freely given | 42:37 | |
in the same way that God's ministry is freely given to us. | 42:43 | |
Social and church structures in which domination is used | 42:49 | |
to make others serve are a denial of freedom. | 42:54 | |
Just as subordination | 43:00 | |
is a denial of true human dignity. | 43:03 | |
As long as forms of slavery and oppression exist | 43:13 | |
in our society as seen in our own communities and lives, | 43:18 | |
and in such recent television documentaries as | 43:24 | |
The Autobiography of Jane Pittman, The Migrants, | 43:27 | |
the story We the Women, | 43:34 | |
the rest of us sensing these | 43:39 | |
forms of oppression cannot be free, | 43:42 | |
for liberation is a universal, | 43:49 | |
and not just an individual commodity. | 43:55 | |
We are liberated not only for service and for others, | 44:04 | |
but also for God | 44:10 | |
because we experience the love and | 44:14 | |
service of God in our own lives. | 44:16 | |
When confronted by the authorities, | 44:22 | |
Acts tells us that the apostle Peter | 44:28 | |
stood up there in front of everybody | 44:34 | |
and boldly proclaimed, | 44:37 | |
"We must obey God | 44:41 | |
rather than men." | 44:44 | |
For the Gospel claims our allegiance to the one who serves | 44:52 | |
beyond any human ideology, | 44:57 | |
beyond any church | 45:02 | |
or social structure. | 45:04 | |
Such a demand is not easy. | 45:10 | |
It often makes us very unreliable in a cause, | 45:15 | |
unable to assert that, | 45:21 | |
in fact, any particular program, any | 45:23 | |
particular organization is of ultimate significance. | 45:28 | |
Because Christians seek to live according to the new way | 45:35 | |
of being a human they often find themselves as marginal | 45:39 | |
and misfit people | 45:45 | |
in the games of dominance and exploitation that people play. | 45:48 | |
In fact, as Christians, | 45:55 | |
if we are not somewhat feeling that we are misfits, | 45:58 | |
then we need to have another look | 46:04 | |
at how and where we're serving. | 46:07 | |
Perhaps the women who are the most misfits | 46:15 | |
are those who belong to the Roman Catholic, | 46:21 | |
the Eastern Orthodox, and the Episcopal Churches. | 46:23 | |
The vote at Louisville last Fall, | 46:28 | |
against the ordination of those 26 deacons | 46:33 | |
waiting for full confirmation of their personhood | 46:38 | |
and of their calling by the Holy Spirit | 46:43 | |
was extremely painful to them. | 46:48 | |
To be voted a non person is no fun. | 46:53 | |
But all of us, everyone of us here, | 47:06 | |
are part of their problem, | 47:12 | |
and those of us who are concerned with | 47:19 | |
the way certain people are defined as less human | 47:23 | |
are called to challenge these | 47:29 | |
and our own hierarchies which perpetuate | 47:33 | |
dehumanization and injustice in whatever form. | 47:38 | |
We must obey God | 47:46 | |
rather than men or women. | 47:49 | |
In the last few years, | 48:04 | |
many women have been discovering | 48:07 | |
that they really are misfits and marginal to the | 48:12 | |
male dominated society in which they live. | 48:17 | |
Some are seeking new ways to go on being misfits for the | 48:22 | |
sake of the society. | 48:27 | |
They are working in community with others on the boundaries | 48:31 | |
of institutions where they can try to created new structures | 48:34 | |
and new lifestyles for human living. | 48:39 | |
My own experience | 48:45 | |
is that I've always been a misfit. | 48:49 | |
Before I thought I was a misfit because I was just odd. | 48:58 | |
But now I'm glad to find | 49:07 | |
other women and men | 49:11 | |
who feel as I do, | 49:15 | |
those who are seeking not just to be part of things | 49:19 | |
as they are, | 49:24 | |
but to serve the process of change toward | 49:27 | |
God's intended future. | 49:30 | |
Not to be served, | 49:46 | |
but to serve. | 49:51 | |
These words so impossibly possible | 49:54 | |
as a gift of God | 50:00 | |
are an instant communique | 50:02 | |
of who we are | 50:07 | |
and where we are going | 50:10 | |
as followers of Christ and as representatives | 50:12 | |
of an emerging new humanity in which there is neither | 50:15 | |
Jew nor Greek. | 50:20 | |
There is neither slave nor free. | 50:22 | |
There is neither male nor female. | 50:24 | |
Long ago, | 50:31 | |
as I glibly and naively read those words | 50:35 | |
circling the chancel of my college chapel, | 50:38 | |
not to be ministered unto, | 50:44 | |
but to minister in those days, | 50:47 | |
I didn't know how tough service would be. | 50:56 | |
I just assumed that was what I was supposed to do. | 51:03 | |
I didn't know just how much that promise of Jesus meant. | 51:09 | |
As the text in Mark said, | 51:18 | |
"I tried to share his baptism | 51:22 | |
and his temptations | 51:26 | |
and sure enough I often ended up with | 51:30 | |
the wrong answers and worse defeats." | 51:32 | |
And I have to confess to you this morning | 51:40 | |
that I still don't know how much that promise means. | 51:45 | |
But I do know that in spite of all the devaluation | 51:53 | |
and misuse and betrayal of the word service in churches | 51:58 | |
and society, | 52:03 | |
these words of Jesus continue | 52:05 | |
to lead us toward a life of freedom. | 52:11 | |
These words are about a revolution | 52:15 | |
in which everyone wins, | 52:21 | |
in which everyone finds a way of | 52:28 | |
service and partnership | 52:31 | |
on the road to human freedom, | 52:35 | |
amen. | 52:41 | |
May God add the blessing | 52:43 | |
of the Holy Spirit to this reading | 52:46 | |
and speaking of the word, amen. | 52:49 | |
(background announcement) | 53:04 | |
- | Response to the word. | 53:07 |
Oh, Lord our God, we come before you at this time with | 53:12 | |
grateful hearts for the word which has been proclaimed in | 53:17 | |
our hearing on this day. | 53:20 | |
We praise you for the liberation of all people and the | 53:24 | |
equality of all men which has been accomplished already | 53:27 | |
in you, and we ask that you would fit us for our role of | 53:32 | |
servant hood in accomplishing Thy purposes on Earth. | 53:36 | |
- | Oh God, help us to become, to become what you intend | 53:49 |
for us to become, to do what you intend us to do. | 53:54 | |
Help us to set your purpose at the forefront of our minds. | 54:00 | |
Help us to sense your presence. | 54:05 | |
We ask you to be with us. | 54:09 | |
We are yours. | 54:12 | |
We are not our own. | 54:14 | |
We give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ who was your | 54:17 | |
humble servant until death on the cross, amen. | 54:20 | |
- | God, you alone are whole. | 54:32 |
We need your help in becoming whole persons. | 54:38 | |
Help us to see each other not just in female, male roles, | 54:45 | |
but as persons, your children. | 54:55 | |
Direct our lives so that we may become not conformed | 55:01 | |
to our culture, but one in Jesus Christ and heirs | 55:08 | |
to his kingdom and promise of service. | 55:20 | |
- | Oh God, it is so very hard for us to even want to serve, | 55:33 |
to be a servant means we have to take risks and make | 55:40 | |
commitments we don't want to take or make. | 55:46 | |
Yet Christ has risked all for us in his life | 55:50 | |
and on the cross he declared that your love would indeed | 55:55 | |
overcome all of our pain and our hurt and our sufferings | 56:01 | |
and the awareness that the Resurrection was accomplished | 56:07 | |
and is a possibility of liberation for us. | 56:12 | |
Help us to accept and affirm your love for us | 56:16 | |
and for all people to the end that we might be willing | 56:22 | |
to learn to love because you first loved us. | 56:26 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, our servant lord | 56:32 | |
and savior, amen. | 56:36 | |
- | Oh Lord, we lift these prayers and all of the silent | 56:39 |
prayers of our hearts unto thee and claim thy promise | 56:42 | |
which was given to us in the scripture that whatsoever | 56:46 | |
we ask in thy name shall be done. | 56:48 | |
We ask all of these things in thy name. | 56:52 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen. | 56:55 | |
(organ music) | 57:02 | |
♪ O sacred Head, now wounded. ♪ | 57:53 | |
♪ With grief and shame weighed down. ♪ | 58:01 | |
♪ Now scornfully surrounded. ♪ | 58:10 | |
♪ With thorns, thine only crown. ♪ | 58:18 | |
♪ How pale thou art with anguish. ♪ | 58:27 | |
♪ With sore abuse and scorn. ♪ | 58:36 | |
♪ How does that visage languish. ♪ | 58:45 | |
♪ Which once was bright as morn. ♪ | 58:54 | |
♪ What thou, my Lord, has suffered. ♪ | 59:04 | |
♪ Was all for sinners' gain. ♪ | 59:13 | |
♪ Mine, mine was the transgression. ♪ | 59:21 | |
♪ But thine the deadly pain. ♪ | 59:29 | |
♪ Lo, here I fall, my Savior. ♪ | 59:38 | |
♪ 'Tis I deserve thy place. ♪ | 59:46 | |
♪ Look on me with thy favor. ♪ | 59:55 | |
♪ Vouchsafe to me thy grace. ♪ | 1:00:04 | |
♪ What language shall I borrow. ♪ | 1:00:14 | |
♪ To thank thee, dearest friend. ♪ | 1:00:22 | |
♪ For this thy dying sorrow. ♪ | 1:00:31 | |
♪ Thy pity without end? ♪ | 1:00:40 | |
♪ O make me thine forever. ♪ | 1:00:48 | |
♪ And should I fainting be. ♪ | 1:00:57 | |
♪ Lord, let me never, never. ♪ | 1:01:06 | |
♪ Outlive my love for thee. ♪ | 1:01:15 | |
♪ Amen. ♪ | 1:01:28 | |
- | Be seated, please. | 1:01:37 |
Let us join together in the prayer of unison. | 1:01:43 | |
We offer these small gifts, oh Lord, as a pledge | 1:01:50 | |
of our commitment to your work and your church. | 1:01:55 | |
Accept them as you accept us, partial and not whole, | 1:01:59 | |
as promise and not yet fulfillment, amen. | 1:02:04 | |
(organ music) | 1:02:31 | |
(choir singing) | 1:02:38 | |
(organ music) | 1:07:10 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow. ♪ | 1:07:52 | |
♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below. ♪ | 1:08:00 | |
♪ Praise Him above the Heavenly host. ♪ | 1:08:07 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. ♪ | 1:08:16 | |
♪ Amen. ♪ | 1:08:27 | |
(organ music) | 1:08:41 | |
(choir singing) | 1:09:12 | |
- | And now, may the God who chose to become a servant | 1:11:37 |
in Jesus Christ abide in your hearts and minds and give | 1:11:40 | |
you the strength and courage to find your own servant hood | 1:11:46 | |
and to live following the example of Jesus Christ, | 1:11:50 | |
our Lord, amen. | 1:11:54 | |
♪ Amen. ♪ | 1:12:04 | |
(bells ringing) | 1:13:25 | |
(organ music) | 1:13:35 |