Jeanette Stokes - "The Sustaining Presence of the Holy Spirit" (May 15, 1977)

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-	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship.	0:09
	The Sunday after Easter.	0:12
	May 15th, 1977.	0:14
	(soft music)	0:31
	♪ Prepare ye the way of the Lord ♪	11:39
	♪ Prepare ye the way of the Lord ♪	11:48
	♪ Prepare ye the way of the Lord ♪	11:58
	♪ Prepare ye the way of the Lord ♪	12:08
	(soft choral music)	12:25
-	Please be seated.	15:41
	Sisters and brothers of the household of faith.	15:52
	Scripture reminds us that all have sinned	15:57
	and come short of the glory of God.	16:01
	Therefore let us in unison	16:04
	make our prayer of confession to Almighty God.	16:07
	Oh God, we admit that often we do not fully hear each other.	16:13
	We get preoccupied with our own worries	16:20
	and miss chances to share love and concern	16:24
	with others in need.	16:28
	Sometimes we fail to listen to another	16:30
	because we are frightened	16:34
	that we will hear a word of judgment from them.	16:37
	We read your Word halfheartedly,	16:42
	not daring to open ourselves	16:46
	to its application for our own lives.	16:48
	Help us to discover that the first step of love is listening	16:53
	and that when we really open ourselves to you,	16:59
	we can discover your grace,	17:04
	which is truly amazing.	17:07
	In Christ's name we pray,	17:09
	Amen.	17:13
	There is no sin so terrible	17:44
	that God's love cannot forgive.	17:48
	In the name of Jesus Christ,	17:51
	your sins are forgiven.	17:53
-	There is no sin so terrible	17:57
	that God's love cannot forgive.	18:00
	In the name of Jesus Christ,	18:03
	your sins are forgiven.	18:06
	(soft music)	18:11
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	18:42
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	18:51
	♪ Oh my Lord, what a morning ♪	19:00
	♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪	19:10
	♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪	19:21
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	19:33
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	19:42
	♪ Oh my Lord, what a morning ♪	19:52
	♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪	20:02
	(soft music)	20:13
	♪ Thou are worthy of my praise ♪	20:32
	♪ Thou are worthy of my praise ♪	20:40
	♪ Thou are worthy of my praise ♪	20:48
	♪ On that Heavenly sound ♪	20:59
	♪ Oh ♪	21:07
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	21:11
	♪ My Lord, what a morning ♪	21:20
	♪ Oh my Lord, what a morning ♪	21:28
	♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪	21:39
	♪ When the stars begin to fall ♪	21:51
	The first lesson from the New Covenant	22:38
	comes from the 15th chapter of Acts.	22:41
	Then it seemed to the apostles and the elders	22:48
	with the whole church	22:51
	to choose men from among them	22:53
	and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.	22:55
	They sent Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas,	22:59
	leading men among the brethren with the following letter.	23:04
	The brethren, both the apostles and the elders,	23:09
	to the brethren who are of the Gentiles and Antioch	23:13
	in Syria and Cilicia, greeting.	23:16
	Since we have heard that some persons from us	23:20
	have troubled you with words,	23:23
	unsettling your minds,	23:25
	although we gave them no instructions,	23:28
	it has seemed good to us in assembly	23:31
	to choose men and send them to you	23:34
	with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.	23:36
	Men who have risked their lives	23:39
	for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.	23:41
	We have therefore sent Judas and Silas,	23:44
	who themselves will tell you	23:47
	the same things by word of mouth.	23:49
	For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us	23:52
	to lay upon you no greater burden	23:56
	than these necessary things.	23:58
	That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols	24:01
	and from blood and from what is strangled	24:05
	and from unchastity.	24:08
	If you keep yourselves from these,	24:11
	you will do well.	24:14
	Farewell.	24:17
	Let us stand for the reading of the Gospel.	24:20
	The Gospel lesson is a slightly edited translation	24:31
	of Raymond Brown in the Anchor Bible Commentary.	24:35
	From Saint John, the 14th chapter.	24:41
	Lord, said Judas, not the Iscariot,	24:45
	what can have happened that you are going	24:50
	to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?	24:52
	Jesus answered, if anyone loves me,	24:57
	he or she will keep my word.	25:01
	Then my Father will love him or her,	25:04
	and we shall come to him or her	25:08
	and make our dwelling place within.	25:10
	Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.	25:13
	Yet the word you hear is not my own,	25:17
	but comes from the Father who sent me.	25:20
	I have said this to you while I am still with you.	25:23
	But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit	25:27
	that the Father will send in my name,	25:29
	will teach you everything	25:32
	and remind you of all that I told you myself.	25:34
	Peace is my farewell to you.	25:39
	My peace is my gift to you.	25:42
	And I do not give it to you as the world gives it.	25:46
	Do not let your hearts be troubled.	25:50
	And do not be fearful.	25:52
	You have heard me tell you I am going away,	25:55
	and I am coming back to you.	25:59
	If you loved me, you would rejoice	26:02
	that I am going to the Father,	26:04
	for the Father is greater than I.	26:06
	But now I have told you this even before it happens,	26:09
	so that when it does happen, you may believe.	26:13
	Here ends the Gospel lesson.	26:18
	(soft choral music)	26:21
	Let us affirm what we believe.	27:10
	We believe in God,	27:13
	who has created and is creating.	27:15
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus	27:19
	to reconcile and make new.	27:21
	Who works in us and others by the Spirit.	27:25
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	27:28
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	27:33
	to love and serve others,	27:37
	to seek justice and resist evil,	27:40
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen.	27:43
	Our Judge and our hope.	27:47
	In life, in death, in life beyond death.	27:49
	God is with us.	27:55
	We are not alone.	27:57
	Thanks be to God.	27:59
	The Lord be with you.	28:02
	And be with you too.	28:05
-	Let us pray.	28:07
	We thank thee, our Lord and Savior,	28:18
	that thou has brought us again	28:21
	to this first day of the week	28:22
	to celebrate the sacred story.	28:24
	Our story.	28:27
	We marvel at thy mighty power.	28:30
	At thee who stretched out the heavens like a tent	28:34
	and thundered over the face of the deep	28:36
	to ring out of the void everything that is.	28:39
	We thank thee for thy redeeming power	28:45
	which humiliated the powerful,	28:47
	to bring an unlikely people	28:50
	out of the midst of the world's most powerful nation,	28:52
	to give them a land thou had promised them.	28:56
	We thank thee especially for our Savior.	29:01
	Born of the humblest origins.	29:06
	Crucified under the most cruel circumstances.	29:09
	Yet raised by thy mighty hand for our redemption.	29:13
	We marvel at the depths of thy mercy.	29:18
	Extending from heights to depths,	29:22
	confounding the wise,	29:25
	exalting the humble and simple.	29:27
	Even for us and our salvation,	29:31
	thou hast emptied thyself.	29:34
	Forgive us if our praise and thanksgiving are muted	29:37
	by wonder and astonishment.	29:42
	We thank thee for that endless line	29:48
	of faithful pilgrims extending from Jerusalem	29:50
	and Samaria to the outermost ends of the earth.	29:53
	The strains of their faithful obedience	29:57
	join to form a mystic harmony,	30:00
	refreshing our fainting spirits,	30:02
	and inspiring our praise and thanksgiving.	30:05
	As we look out on our world,	30:11
	we are especially glad we are not alone.	30:13
	We look through your eyes	30:17
	and the eyes of thy saints.	30:19
	The suffering we behold exceeds simple deprivation	30:23
	of the material gifts of this world.	30:26
	We lament most especially the deprivation of spirit.	30:31
	The God who moved over the face of the deep,	30:36
	who brought order out of chaos,	30:38
	can also breathe a new spirit into our world.	30:41
	A spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness.	30:45
	Of love and oneness.	30:50
	Of hope, self-sacrifice, and sharing.	30:54
	Unite us by thy Spirit.	31:00
	That Gilead's healing balm may make whole	31:03
	our wounded in spirit.	31:06
	Dispel the darkness of our vain ambitions	31:09
	that men and women, black, white, yellow, and red,	31:12
	slave and free, may be renewed by thy Spirit.	31:18
	Yes, the Spirit of thou who waited not	31:24
	for our readiness to redeem us,	31:26
	but flowed forth from thy eternal love	31:30
	to prepare thy coming.	31:32
	Lord of time, redeem these moments.	31:37
	May they not only be a sufficient sacrifice unto thee,	31:41
	but also, a precious ointment whereby	31:46
	we are reconstituted in spirit.	31:48
	We would do all things for thee in this hour.	31:53
	Thy true service is our true life.	31:57
	In thy presence, our health and salvation.	32:02
	Especially now, we would be with thee	32:06
	to behold thy majesty	32:09
	and to receive thy love.	32:12
	Come, Lord Jesus.	32:16
	In thy name we pray.	32:20
	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	32:24
	hallowed be thy name.	32:27
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	32:30
	on earth as it is in heaven.	32:34
	Give us this day our daily bread,	32:38
	and forgive us our trespasses,	32:41
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	32:44
	And lead us not into temptation,	32:48
	but deliver us from evil.	32:51
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	32:54
	Amen.	33:02
	Let me bring two things to your attention.	33:10
	First, the University Chapel summer choir	33:15
	will be meeting for the duration of this first summer term.	33:19
	Only on Sunday morning at the announced hour.	33:24
	Secondly, during the summer months,	33:30
	if you wish to greet the ministers of the day,	33:32
	you may come to the front of the nave	33:34
	and speak with the lector and the preacher of the day.	33:39
-	Good morning.	33:57
	I ask that God might give the Spirit to us,	34:01
	to open our hearts, as we reflect together	34:05
	for our time this morning.	34:08
	Last Tuesday, as I left the library in the late afternoon,	34:14
	I began to sing.	34:19
	The songs that pop into my head	34:21
	often seem to express the way I feel,	34:24
	and such was the case on Tuesday.	34:27
	I was singing an obscure little song	34:30
	about being out of the Garden,	34:33
	on my own, and quote,	34:36
	I'm in the water, but the bathtub is gone, unquote.	34:40
	I had to laugh as I listened to myself,	34:44
	for it had been only two days since I	34:47
	graduated from the Divinity School.	34:51
	Only two days since my identity as a student,	34:54
	supported and defined by the university,	34:58
	had been taken from me.	35:01
	There I was, singing about being out of the Garden,	35:04
	and in the water without the supporting	35:08
	structure of a bathtub.	35:10
	My temporary insecurity over leaving academia	35:12
	was expressing itself.	35:17
	As the song says, I felt like I was in the wilderness,	35:19
	or afloat without a boat.	35:24
	My own separation anxiety made it a little easier for me	35:28
	to imagine how utterly hopeless	35:32
	the disciples must have felt when Jesus was gone.	35:35
	What do followers do when the leader is dead?	35:40
	Upon what authority does one rely	35:44
	when the physical presence of the authority is removed?	35:47
	The 14th chapter of John is part of a farewell dialogue	35:52
	in which Jesus attempted to prepare	35:57
	the disciples for his death.	36:00
	He tells them that although he is leaving, he will return.	36:04
	He says that if they only understood,	36:09
	they would indeed be glad for his leaving,	36:13
	for it marked the end of the work God had set out for him.	36:16
	Perhaps most importantly Jesus promises	36:22
	not to leave them alone.	36:26
	John ascribes these words to Jesus.	36:28
	I have said this to you while I am still with you.	36:33
	But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit that the	36:37
	Father will send in my name,	36:41
	will teach you everything and remind you	36:44
	of all that I told you.	36:46
	The Greek Paraclete literally means one called alongside.	36:51
	In John, the Paraclete is variously a witness,	36:59
	a counselor, a helper, and an advocate.	37:03
	Because there is no good English equivalent	37:08
	it may be appropriate just to call this companion	37:11
	to the disciples by its Greek name.	37:15
	In John, we learn that the Paraclete	37:19
	will teach the disciples everything,	37:21
	guide them along the way of all truth,	37:24
	glorify and bear witness to Jesus,	37:28
	and remind the disciples of all that Jesus said to them.	37:32
	Although the Paraclete may have once been	37:37
	as a separate being from the Holy Spirit,	37:39
	John essentially equates them.	37:42
	After a little research,	37:46
	it is clear that the Paraclete to whom John refers	37:48
	is the personal presence of Jesus,	37:52
	which God gives to the disciples after Jesus is gone.	37:56
	The Paraclete is the fulfillment of Jesus' promise	38:01
	that he and the Father will dwell	38:06
	in those who love and follow him.	38:09
	The Paraclete is the presence of Jesus	38:12
	within the disciples when Jesus himself is absent.	38:15
	Now that we have our definitions straight,	38:22
	we can ask, what in the world does it all mean?	38:24
	We affirm that we believe in God the Father Almighty,	38:29
	maker of heaven and earth,	38:33
	in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,	38:35
	in the Holy Ghost,	38:39
	the Holy Catholic Church, and so on.	38:41
	But many of us are not at all sure what we mean	38:45
	by the Ghost part.	38:47
	We moderns wonder, what is a personal presence,	38:50
	and what does this Paraclete John talks about mean for us?	38:54
	And we wonder, if it ever existed, is it still with us?	39:00
	The story has it that the Holy Spirit descended	39:06
	upon the disciples on Pentecost,	39:09
	but what has become of it since then?	39:11
	We can seek many other interpretations of the Spirit.	39:15
	Using an old liturgical language which	39:21
	is becoming popular again we can say that God created us,	39:23
	Jesus redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit sustains us.	39:28
	But it is hard to say what the Holy Spirit,	39:34
	as sustainer, means for our daily lives.	39:37
	In frustration we may choose not to deal with the question.	39:41
	Some of us mainline protestants have turned	39:45
	the Holy Spirit, lock, stock and barrel	39:48
	over to charismatic groups within our own denominations,	39:51
	or charismatic denominations.	39:56
	Since they seem to know what it is,	39:59
	or what to do with it, we let them worry about it.	40:01
	However we choose to handle the question, it remains though.	40:05
	What is the Holy Spirit and what does it mean for us?	40:10
	On the one hand, it seems so simple.	40:16
	If Jesus our Lord said he would send his presence to us,	40:19
	and that the Spirit would live within us,	40:24
	then here it must be.	40:27
	On the other hand, we still want to ask, here is what?	40:30
	Is it in the air?	40:35
	Is it in people?	40:37
	Is it here all the time, or does it come and go?	40:39
	Does it live in a church?	40:43
	Or does it only come to us when we	40:45
	are desperate or in crisis?	40:47
	Perhaps one of the reasons we have trouble talking about,	40:52
	understanding, or even experiencing the Holy Spirit	40:55
	is that our language, our words get in our way.	41:00
	Theological language sometimes takes on a life of its own,	41:06
	apart from common experience.	41:11
	Language is so powerful that it shapes our perceptions.	41:14
	I contend that we Christians do experience the Holy Spirit,	41:20
	that the Paraclete is within us,	41:26
	but that we do not know it by its name.	41:29
	We do not understand that our experiences include	41:33
	the same Spirit that descended	41:36
	from heaven in tongues of fire.	41:38
	We can't even relate to tongues of fire most of the time.	41:41
	The words we use to talk about the holy,	41:46
	about God, and about the presence of the Spirit	41:49
	may make sense to us,	41:53
	but they often fail to connect with the lives we live.	41:55
	Although one might argue that the language is accurate	42:02
	and that it is our lives that miss the mark,	42:05
	I am convinced that the language itself	42:08
	sometimes precludes our recognition of the Spirit.	42:10
	When our language about God or the Spirit	42:16
	ceases to be rooted in our experience	42:20
	and belongs only to the past,	42:23
	it becomes alienated from our lives.	42:25
	Our task is to help one another reclaim	42:29
	the language of our tradition,	42:32
	to reinterpret it for our times.	42:35
	Any author of theology or liturgy or a sermon	42:40
	speaks out of his or her own experience.	42:45
	All of our task is to speak to one another,	42:49
	about God, out of our experience,	42:52
	out of your life, and my life,	42:55
	and the life we share.	42:58
	I can think of at least two ways	43:01
	in which our words, our description of the Spirit	43:04
	make it unrecognizable to us.	43:08
	First of all, the Spirit has become domesticated.	43:12
	Tied to the altar, the church,	43:16
	the hymnal, or the prayer book.	43:19
	The Spirit has become associated	43:23
	with a feeling that we get on a sunny Sunday morning	43:25
	as we sit in church, or on Christmas Eve	43:29
	at midnight when the candles are lit.	43:32
	The feet of the Spirit are not frozen in any holy pond,	43:35
	but are free from the grasp of any	43:39
	religion, practice or person.	43:42
	The Spirit, the presence of the Risen Christ,	43:45
	is just as much with us in the Hallelujah Chorus	43:49
	as it is in the washing of dishes.	43:53
	The Spirit is unpredictable.	43:57
	It is out of our control.	44:00
	It appears when least expected	44:02
	and refuses to attend command performances.	44:05
	It shows up at the most unlikely moments.	44:09
	When we are ill at ease and don't know what to say,	44:12
	and the silence turns out to be	44:16
	more healing than any word.	44:18
	And then, it refuses to show up	44:22
	when we want to make just the right retort.	44:24
	It comes to us in delightful ways.	44:30
	After a long day, when the folks	44:33
	at the Watts Street Grocery store are	44:35
	their usual cheery selves,	44:37
	or when the librarian adds a how's your work	44:39
	to the usual perfunctory due date stamp.	44:43
	And the Spirit also finds us when we are very low.	44:48
	When the pain and confusion	44:52
	that threatens to destroy us suddenly becomes bearable.	44:55
	So, the Spirit cannot be domesticated.	45:02
	It belongs to no one but God.	45:05
	It is a gift to us, but it is not owned	45:07
	by any one of us, or by our churches.	45:10
	A second way in which we make the Spirit	45:14
	irrelevant by the way we talk about it	45:17
	is to describe it as vaporous,	45:19
	or reduce it to sentimentality.	45:22
	The Spirit is often depicted as a dove, and rightly so.	45:25
	It is written in the gospels	45:30
	that the Spirit descended upon Jesus as a dove from heaven	45:33
	when he was baptized.	45:38
	But that does not mean that the Spirit	45:41
	is a pretty white bird that sits on your head.	45:42
	The Hebrew for Spirit is ruach, meaning breath or wind.	45:47
	The breath of God is associated	45:55
	with the creation of the world.	45:57
	Though the Spirit flies free,	46:01
	and may be as illusive as the wind,	46:03
	it is as crucial to life as breath.	46:06
	The Spirit is real and it is powerful.	46:12
	It is not just a sweet feeling,	46:16
	a nostalgic remembrance, or a misty eye.	46:21
	In the Gospel of John, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit,	46:26
	is said to teach the disciples and remind them	46:30
	of what Jesus has told them.	46:34
	The Spirit is the one who will finally help	46:37
	the disciples to understand the words of Jesus,	46:40
	to understand what the words mean	46:44
	for the living of their days.	46:46
	The Spirit was the presence of the Risen Christ among them.	46:50
	The Spirit is the presence of the Risen Christ among us.	46:56
	It is alive in you and in me.	47:02
	Let me describe to you one image I have	47:08
	of a substantial, though unpredictable bird	47:12
	which reminds me of the Spirit.	47:16
	It is an image of a bird with ruffled feathers	47:20
	who bursts in through the window	47:24
	at the most awkward times, causing fuss and commotion.	47:26
	It bewilders us and makes us wonder how it got our address.	47:32
	It doesn't come when it's asked for.	47:38
	It comes on its own.	47:41
	This bird is neither domesticated nor vaporous.	47:44
	It would not appear on the cover	47:49
	of any sentimental greeting card.	47:51
	It represents the strong, lively, whimsical nature	47:55
	of the Spirit, as I have met it.	48:00
	Mine is only one image.	48:03
	There are many others, all just as valuable.	48:06
	This is simply the one that comes to me	48:10
	out of my own experience.	48:12
	The Spirit is present with us all the time.	48:16
	It is just as much a part of our doubts and turmoil	48:20
	as it is of our exaltations.	48:25
	It is manifest in those moments when life is full,	48:30
	in the moments when there is meaning in the routine,	48:34
	when the insignificance of you or me	48:38
	is noticed, challenged, or affirmed,	48:42
	when we make contact with one another, or with ourselves.	48:46
	It is present in the richness of life,	48:52
	in the joy of a new parent	48:55
	or the sorrow of a bereaved family.	48:59
	The Spirit blesses you when you really see	49:03
	someone that you look at every day.	49:06
	It is prodding us when just one of the horrors	49:11
	of the nightly news squeezes on our insides.	49:15
	It is teaching me when it occurs to me	49:22
	that it is no coincidence	49:26
	that the woman who cleans the floors	49:29
	in the Divinity School is black.	49:31
	The Spirit is the holy,	49:35
	present in the ordinary,	49:37
	the universal in the particular.	49:39
	But the Spirit is not only with us	49:44
	when life is full and rich.	49:47
	It is also with us in the dry places.	49:50
	It is there, with us, strengthening and sustaining us,	49:56
	even in the wilderness.	50:01
	When the Israelites wandered in the desert,	50:05
	God was with them, even when they felt quite alone.	50:08
	When Jesus died, God sent the Paraclete	50:13
	to the disciples to teach them and support them,	50:16
	even though it seemed that all was lost,	50:20
	that the only truth in the world had been destroyed.	50:24
	When we feel depressed, defeated,	50:30
	useless, or confused, we must not conclude	50:33
	that the Spirit has abandoned us,	50:38
	but must believe that the Spirit is with us,	50:40
	even in our meaninglessness.	50:45
	The presence of the Spirit does not mean	50:48
	that we are happy.	50:51
	It means that we are strengthened, supported, and sustained.	50:54
	Jesus never said that the Spirit	51:01
	would make the road smooth,	51:03
	only that it would be with us on the journey,	51:06
	teaching, supporting, interpreting,	51:10
	and reminding us of who we are.	51:15
	Amen.	51:19
	(soft music)	51:34
	♪ Holy Spirit, truth divine ♪	52:00
	♪ Dawn upon this soul of mine ♪	52:06
	♪ Voice of God and inward light ♪	52:12
	♪ Wake my spirit, clear my sight ♪	52:18
	♪ Holy Spirit, love divine ♪	52:28
	♪ Glow within this heart of mine ♪	52:34
	♪ Kindle every high desire ♪	52:41
	♪ Purify me with your fire ♪	52:47
	♪ Holy Spirit, power divine ♪	52:58
	♪ Fill and nerve this will of mine ♪	53:04
	♪ Boldly may I always live ♪	53:10
	♪ Bravely serve and gladly live ♪	53:17
	♪ Holy Spirit, law divine ♪	53:27
	♪ Reign within this soul of mine ♪	53:33
	♪ Be my law and I shall be ♪	53:40
	♪ Firmly bound, forever free ♪	53:46
	♪ Amen ♪	53:56
	(soft music)	54:16
	♪ Shall we gather at the river ♪	55:00
	♪ Where bright angel feet have trod ♪	55:08
	♪ With its crystal tide forever ♪	55:17
	♪ Flowing by the throne of God ♪	55:26
	♪ Yes we'll gather at the river ♪	55:41
	♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪	55:48
	♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪	55:57
	♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪	56:06
	(soft music)	56:15
	♪ Soon we'll reach the shining river ♪	56:28
	♪ Soon our pilgrimage will cease ♪	56:36
	♪ Soon our happy hearts will quiver ♪	56:44
	♪ With the melody of peace ♪	56:53
	♪ Yes we'll gather at the river ♪	57:08
	♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪	57:15
	♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪	57:24
	♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪	57:34
	♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪	57:43
	(soft music)	57:58
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	58:55
	♪ Praise him, all creatures here below ♪	59:01
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	59:07
	♪ Praise him above, ye heavenly host ♪	59:15
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	59:21
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	59:27
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	59:33
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	59:40
	♪ Amen ♪	59:50
-	Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us	1:00:02
	all that we possess.	1:00:06
	Grant us grace that we may honor thee with our substance,	1:00:08
	and remembering the account which we may one day give,	1:00:13
	be faithful stewards of thy bounty,	1:00:17
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:00:20
	Amen.	1:00:23
	(soft music)	1:00:27
	♪ Angels from the realm of glory ♪	1:01:02
	♪ Wing your flight o'er all the earth ♪	1:01:06
	♪ Ye who sang creation's story ♪	1:01:12
	♪ Now proclaim Messiah's birth ♪	1:01:18
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:01:23
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:01:26
	♪ Worship Christ the newborn King ♪	1:01:29
	♪ Shepherds in the fields abiding ♪	1:01:39
	♪ Watching o'er your flocks by night ♪	1:01:44
	♪ God with man is now residing ♪	1:01:50
	♪ Yonder shines the infant light ♪	1:01:56
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:02:02
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:02:05
	♪ Worship Christ the newborn King ♪	1:02:09
	♪ Sages leave your contemplations ♪	1:02:19
	♪ Brighter visions beam afar ♪	1:02:25
	♪ Seek the great desire of nations ♪	1:02:31
	♪ Ye have seen his natal star ♪	1:02:36
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:02:43
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:02:46
	♪ Worship Christ the newborn King ♪	1:02:49
	♪ Saints before the altar bending ♪	1:03:00
	♪ Watching long in hope and fear ♪	1:03:05
	♪ Suddenly the Lord descending ♪	1:03:12
	♪ In his temple shall appear ♪	1:03:18
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:03:24
	♪ Come and worship ♪	1:03:27
	♪ Worship Christ the newborn King ♪	1:03:31
	♪ Amen ♪	1:03:41
	The Lord bless you and keep you.	1:03:53
	The Lord make his face to shine upon you	1:03:56
	and be gracious unto you.	1:03:58
	The Lord lift up his countenance upon you	1:04:01
	and give you peace this day and always.	1:04:04
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:13
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:18
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:23
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:27
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:37
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:45
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:57
	(soft music)	1:05:26
	(clapping)	1:14:29

Item Info

Title:

Jeanette Stokes - "The Sustaining Presence of the Holy Spirit" (May 15, 1977)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 33:57. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 51:21.
The Holy Spirit is not something that we can control or own. The Spirit is not something that dwells only in holy places like churches or specific religions. The Spirit is the presence of Jesus himself appearing unpredictably in our everyday when we least expect it (when washing dishes, running errands, studying, etc.) (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “The feet of the Spirit are not frozen in any holy pond, but are free from the grasp of any religion, practice or person…The Spirit, the presence of the Risen Christ, is just as much with us in the Hallelujah Chorus as it is in the washing of dishes. The Spirit is unpredictable. It is out of our control. It appears when least expected and refuses to attend command performances.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4z892v8t

Date:

May 15, 1977

Speaker:

Stokes, Jeanette

Liturgical Calendar:

Easter

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0897
ref6997_f07
uachapelsermaud
duke:320677
dcrau001821
ark:/87924/r4z892v8t
4373e19d-dc94-4407-85f0-7d7e91e0cd27

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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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

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Jeanette Stokes - "The Sustaining Presence of the Holy Spirit" (May 15, 1977)

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Duke University Archives