Charles Michael Smith - "Solomon's Choice" (July 23, 1978)

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-	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship.	0:06
	July 23rd, 1978.	0:10
	(soft organ music)	0:14
	(cheerful organ music)	2:13
	(inspirational organ music)	5:27
	(soft organ music)	10:52
	♪ Now God be praised in heaven above ♪	15:14
	♪ Praised be he for his great love ♪	15:19
	♪ Wherein all creatures live and move ♪	15:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	15:32
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	15:35
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	15:38
	(soft organ music)	15:46
	♪ Joyful joyful we adore thee ♪	16:28
	♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪	16:32
	♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪	16:37
	♪ Opening to the sun above ♪	16:42
	♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪	16:47
	♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪	16:52
	♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪	16:57
	♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪	17:03
	♪ All thy works with joy surround me ♪	17:11
	♪ Earth and heaven reflect thy rays ♪	17:15
	♪ Stars and angels sing around thee ♪	17:20
	♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪	17:25
	♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪	17:30
	♪ Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪	17:35
	♪ Singing bird and flowing fountain ♪	17:40
	♪ Call us to rejoice in thee ♪	17:45
	♪ Thou art giving and forgiving ♪	17:54
	♪ Ever blessing, ever blest ♪	17:58
	♪ Wellspring of the joy of living ♪	18:03
	♪ Ocean depth of happy rest ♪	18:08
	♪ Thou our Father, Christ our Brother ♪	18:13
	♪ All who live in love are thine ♪	18:18
	♪ Teach us how to love each other ♪	18:23
	♪ Lift us to the joy divine ♪	18:28
	♪ Mortals join the happy chorus ♪	18:36
	♪ Which the morning stars began ♪	18:40
	♪ Father love is reigning o'er us ♪	18:45
	♪ Brother love binds man to man ♪	18:50
	♪ Ever singing, march we onward ♪	18:55
	♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪	19:01
	♪ Joyful music leads us sunward ♪	19:05
	♪ In the triumph song of life ♪	19:10
	♪ Amen ♪	19:18
-	As the people of God gather to acknowledge	19:39
	and praise the glory of God,	19:42
	and the gift of Jesus Christ,	19:45
	and the presence of the Spirit,	19:48
	and the neighbors whom we are to love and serve,	19:52
	it is fitting that we acknowledge in confession	19:56
	our weaknesses, our sins, our need.	20:01
	Let us join in the prayer of confession.	20:08
	Oh God, forgive our pretense of self-sufficiency,	20:13
	our claim to be in control of our destinies,	20:19
	and our pride in thinking that we live	20:23
	decent and honorable lives.	20:26
	Help us to face and overcome our ignorance	20:29
	of the human need	20:33
	that our relative wealth and influence	20:35
	could help to meet,	20:37
	our evasion of responsibility for wrong	20:40
	because we know that righting it would change	20:43
	our way of life,	20:46
	and most of all,	20:48
	our indifference to the suffering of others.	20:49
	We pray in Jesus' name, amen.	20:52
	Let us continue in our own personal individual confession.	20:59
	May Almighty God who caused the light	21:17
	to shine out of darkness,	21:19
	shine in our hearts,	21:22
	cleansing us from all our sins,	21:25
	and restoring us to the light of the knowledge	21:29
	of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.	21:31
	Amen.	21:37
	Let us give thanks,	21:45
	for God is good,	21:47
	and God's love is everlasting.	21:49
-	Thanks be to God who creates us.	21:53
-	Thanks be to God by whose mercy we are redeemed.	21:56
	Thanks be to God whose Spirit leads us into the future.	22:01
	It is a very special privilege today	22:09
	to welcome back to this chapel and its leadership	22:14
	the long time and greatly appreciated	22:20
	Dean of the Chapel,	22:24
	also, James B. Duke Professor of Preaching	22:29
	in Duke Divinity School,	22:33
	Dr. James T. Cleland,	22:36
	whose health has kept him away for awhile,	22:39
	and whose return we rejoice in.	22:44
	It is our privilege also to have	22:48
	as our chapel preacher today	22:51
	a former student of his,	22:54
	a distinguished graduate of Duke University	22:58
	and of Duke Divinity School,	23:01
	a minister in nearby	23:06
	Long Memorial United Methodist Church in Roxboro,	23:07
	and a friend to all who come here	23:12
	to hear Handel's Messiah,	23:15
	the Reverend Charles Michael Smith,	23:19
	who will deliver the sermon today.	23:23
	Before we hear the reading of the Scripture,	23:30
	let us pray.	23:34
	Blessed Lord who has caused all holy scriptures	23:37
	to be written for our learning,	23:41
	grant that we may in such wise hear them,	23:44
	read, mark, learn, and inwardly adjust them.	23:48
	That by patience and comfort of thy holy Word,	23:52
	we may embrace and ever hold fast	23:57
	the blessed hope of everlasting life,	24:00
	which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.	24:03
	Amen.	24:08
	(whispering)	24:15
-	It is good to be back with you.	24:27
	The Old Testament lesson, first book of Kings,	24:32
	the third chapter,	24:37
	verses five to 15.	24:40
	God is speaking to Solomon.	24:47
	"What shall I give you?	24:52
	"Tell me.	24:55
	"And Solomon answered,	24:58
	"'Thou didst show great and constant love	25:00
	"'to thy servant David, my father,	25:04
	"'because he walked before thee in loyalty,	25:09
	"'righteousness, and integrity of heart.	25:13
	"'And thou hast maintained this great	25:19
	"'and constant love toward him,	25:21
	"'and has now given him a son	25:25
	"'to succeed him on the throne.	25:28
	"'Now, oh Lord, my God,	25:34
	"'thou hast made thy servant king	25:36
	"'in place of my father, David,	25:38
	"'though I am a mere child,	25:42
	"'unskilled in leadership,	25:45
	"'and I am here in the midst of thy people,	25:48
	"'the people of thy choice,	25:52
	"'too many to be numbered or counted.	25:55
	"'Give thy servant, therefore, a heart	26:02
	"'with skill to listen,	26:05
	"'so that he may govern thy people justly	26:08
	"'and distinguish good from evil.	26:12
	"'For who is equal to the task of governing	26:17
	"'this great people of thine?'	26:20
	"The Lord was well pleased that Solomon had asked for this.	26:26
	"And said to him,	26:32
	"'Because you have asked for this,	26:34
	"'and not for long life for yourself,	26:37
	"'or for the wealth,	26:41
	"'or for the lives of your enemies,	26:43
	"'but have asked for discernment	26:46
	"'in administering justice,	26:49
	"'I grant your request.	26:52
	"'I give you a heart so wise and so understanding	26:57
	"'that there has been none like you before your time,	27:03
	"'nor will be after you.	27:08
	"'I give you, furthermore,	27:13
	"'those things for which you did not ask.	27:15
	"'Such wealth and honor	27:19
	"'as no king of your time can match.	27:22
	"'And if you conform to my ways	27:27
	"'and observe my ordinances and commandments	27:30
	"'as your father David did,	27:32
	"'I will give you long life.'	27:36
	"Then he awoke and knew it was a dream,	27:42
	"and Solomon came to Jerusalem	27:48
	"and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.	27:50
	"And there, he sacrificed whole offerings	27:54
	"and brought shared offerings,	27:58
	"and gave a feast to all his household."	28:00
	Here endeth the Old Testament lesson.	28:06
	(soft organ music)	28:14
	(choir members singing)	28:33
	"The kingdom of heaven	30:18
	"is like treasure buried in a field.	30:20
	"The man who found it, buried it again.	30:26
	"And for sheer joy,	30:31
	"went and sold everything he had	30:34
	"and bought that field.	30:37
	"Here is another picture of the kingdom of heaven.	30:42
	"A merchant looking out for fine pearls	30:47
	"found one of very special value,	30:51
	"so he went and sold everything he had	30:55
	"and bought it.	31:01
	"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net	31:04
	"let down into the sea,	31:08
	"where fish of every kind were caught in it.	31:10
	"When it was full, it was dragged ashore.	31:16
	"Then the men sat down and collected	31:19
	"the good fish into pails	31:21
	"and threw the worthless away.	31:23
	"And that is how it will be	31:27
	"at the end of time.	31:30
	"The angels will go forth,	31:33
	"and they will separate the wicked from the good,	31:36
	"and throw them into the blazing furnace.	31:41
	"A place of wailing and grinding of teeth.	31:44
	"'Have you understood all this?' Jesus asked.	31:52
	"And they answered, 'Yes.'	31:57
	"He said to them,	32:01
	"'When therefore a teacher of the law	32:03
	"'has become a learner in the kingdom of heaven,	32:06
	"'he is like a householder	32:12
	"'who can produce from his store	32:14
	"'both new and old.'"	32:18
	Amen.	32:24
	Here endeth the New Testament lesson.	32:26
	(soft organ music)	32:31
	(congregation singing)	32:44
-	In the name of the Father,	33:55
	and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.	33:57
	Come September, it will be 20 years	34:03
	since I came here as a freshman.	34:05
	I was reminded of this movement of time recently	34:11
	when I received an invitation	34:16
	to my high school class' 20th reunion	34:17
	to be held next month.	34:20
	The invitation sent me off to the attic	34:23
	to retrieve my 1958 high school yearbook,	34:25
	and began the process of seeing	34:29
	how much my classmates had changed,	34:31
	and to get a headstart on remembering names and faces.	34:34
	And while chuckling over the hairstyles	34:39
	and the clothing styles that looked	34:41
	straight out of Happy Days and Grease,	34:43
	I noticed something I'd pretty much forgotten.	34:46
	There beside each senior's picture	34:50
	was a quotation chosen from some famous source	34:53
	that was intended to say something	34:58
	about the person it was placed by.	35:00
	Now all of them were complimentary,	35:03
	some more so than others.	35:05
	And for a few examples,	35:07
	"Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding".	35:11
	And a bit more mundane,	35:16
	"I never saw a waist so slender".	35:18
	The one chosen for me came from the Old Testament.	35:23
	"A wise man is strong.	35:27
	"Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength."	35:30
	Well, as my head swelled	35:34
	and I commended the editor for her clairvoyance,	35:36
	I read on until I came to an even better quotation.	35:39
	"He had the wisdom of many."	35:43
	And saw it placed next to a classmate	35:47
	who had gone on to have several scrapes with the law.	35:49
	Despite the quotations,	35:55
	most of us in the class of 1958	35:56
	were much more likely to be young and foolish	36:00
	than to be mature and wise.	36:03
	And that's the way it usually is with people	36:06
	going through the late adolescent,	36:08
	young adult passage.	36:11
	And that's the way it probably was	36:13
	for the 20-year-old son of Israel's King David, Solomon,	36:15
	when he succeeded his father as king	36:20
	nearly 3000 years ago.	36:23
	Solomon was about the age of a college junior	36:27
	when his half brother, handsome Adonijah,	36:30
	the crowned prince after Absalom's abortive coup,	36:33
	mounted his own campaign to be his father's successor.	36:36
	When Nathan the prophet heard of Adonijah's actions,	36:40
	he arranged a charade with Bathsheba,	36:43
	Solomon's mother,	36:45
	in which the two of them would convince old David	36:47
	that he had made a solemn promise	36:49
	long ago to Bathsheba that Solomon,	36:52
	and not Adonijah, would be king.	36:54
	David fell for it, and had Solomon	36:58
	anointed king right away.	37:00
	And with that, Adonijah's campaign ended,	37:02
	and he made temporary peace with Solomon.	37:06
	The next scene in the Solomon story	37:09
	sounds like something out of	37:11
	Mario Puzo's The Godfather.	37:12
	David, despite the good efforts	37:15
	of his beautiful bed warmer, Abishag the Shunammite,	37:17
	grew weaker, and called in Solomon	37:20
	for a final father-son talk about kinging.	37:23
	Following a pious appeal for obeying the Lord,	37:27
	David gave Solomon an enemies list	37:30
	that the new king was to rub out,	37:33
	so that his father David would be avenged.	37:36
	All shades of Vito and Michael Corleone.	37:39
	Solomon did as his father requested	37:43
	shortly following David's death,	37:45
	and he even had Adonijah killed for good measure,	37:48
	after Adonijah had the effrontery	37:51
	to ask for Abishag as his wife.	37:53
	With the death of his enemies and his rival,	37:58
	Solomon was in complete control internally,	38:01
	and began securing the kingdom's borders	38:05
	by marrying one of Pharaoh's daughters,	38:07
	and thereby entering into an alliance with Egypt.	38:09
	It's at this point	38:13
	that this morning's first or Old Testament lesson begins.	38:15
	Solomon had gone up to Gibeon,	38:20
	a famous holy place just a short ways from Jerusalem,	38:22
	to offer sacrifices.	38:26
	And that night, the Lord appeared to him in a dream,	38:28
	something that happened frequently	38:30
	to Israel's leaders in their dealings with Yahweh.	38:32
	But in this case, God came with only one question.	38:35
	"What would you like me to give you?"	38:40
	Solomon praised God for his help given to David,	38:45
	and for allowing him, Solomon, to become king.	38:49
	And he also, in his humility,	38:53
	acknowledged his inexperience	38:55
	and his need and his youth.	38:57
	He asked for wisdom or a listening heart,	39:02
	an understanding heart or an understanding mind,	39:07
	as the various translators have it,	39:10
	so that he could rule the great people	39:13
	God had given him with justice,	39:15
	discerning between good and evil.	39:18
	His request obviously delighted Yahweh,	39:22
	and he promised him not only more wisdom and understanding	39:24
	than anyone had ever had or would have,	39:28
	but what he had not asked for as well.	39:31
	Wealth and honor and long life,	39:34
	as long as he kept God's laws and commandments.	39:38
	When Solomon woke up and realized what had happened,	39:42
	he went back to Jerusalem,	39:45
	stood before the ark of the covenant,	39:47
	offered sacrifices,	39:50
	and gave a party for all his friends.	39:51
	That last part makes him sound	39:55
	like a college junior indeed.	39:56
	Perhaps a Duke one.	39:58
	Soon after receiving his divine gift,	40:01
	Solomon was given an opportunity to demonstrate it.	40:04
	Two prostitutes or harlots,	40:08
	as some of the more gentler Biblical translations	40:10
	refer to them,	40:13
	came to Solomon asking him to judge	40:14
	which one was the real mother	40:17
	of the baby boy before him.	40:19
	The first stated that both of them	40:22
	had given birth recently,	40:25
	but that the other woman had accidentally	40:27
	smothered her son,	40:28
	and that during the night,	40:31
	she had gotten out of her bed,	40:32
	moved over to her friend's bed,	40:35
	and stolen her friend's son.	40:39
	When the other woman had her say,	40:42
	she denied completely the first woman's story.	40:44
	So, Solomon was put to the test how to decide.	40:48
	You remember this probably from Sunday school days.	40:52
	He sent for a sword,	40:55
	and commanded that the child be cut in two,	40:57
	with a half given to each mother.	41:00
	Well, the second woman thought this was a capital idea.	41:04
	But the first one cried out	41:09
	that the child be spared and given to the other plaintiff.	41:11
	And Solomon judged correctly from this	41:15
	that the one who wanted the child kept alive,	41:19
	even at the cost of not being able	41:21
	to have the child herself,	41:23
	was the true mother,	41:24
	and he awarded the child to her.	41:26
	Word of Solomon's wise decision spread throughout Israel,	41:29
	and respect for the young king deepened.	41:33
	His wisdom as an administrator	41:37
	was demonstrated in the manner in which	41:40
	he organized the kingdom,	41:41
	built the long awaited temple,	41:43
	and constructed a lavish palace for himself.	41:46
	The writer of 1 Kings describes	41:52
	the greatness of Solomon as a king in these words.	41:53
	"And God gave Solomon wisdom	41:57
	"and understanding beyond measure,	41:59
	"in largeness of mind,	42:02
	"like the sand on the seashore,	42:03
	"so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed	42:06
	"the wisdom of all the people of the east	42:08
	"and all the wisdom of Egypt,	42:10
	"for he was wiser than all men,	42:13
	"and men came from all peoples	42:16
	"to hear the wisdom of Solomon.	42:18
	"And from all the kings of the earth	42:20
	"who had heard of his wisdom."	42:22
	Not only men, but women by the hundreds	42:26
	also came to Solomon.	42:30
	A recent bestseller, "The Book of Lists",	42:32
	lists Solomon not as the world's wisest or richest man,	42:36
	but for his prowess as a lover.	42:42
	Take that, Casanova, Don Giovanni, and Warren Beatty.	42:46
	(congregation members laughing)	42:50
	The reason for this honor lies	42:52
	with the number of his wives and concubines.	42:54
	A nice round figure of 1000.	42:57
	One special woman who called on Solomon	43:02
	was the fabled Queen of Sheba.	43:05
	She came to test him with riddles.	43:08
	But Solomon answered all her questions right away.	43:10
	She was so overwhelmed with his wisdom,	43:14
	wealth, piety, and elegance,	43:16
	that she criticized the earlier reports	43:19
	she had received on him,	43:21
	not for being too glorious,	43:23
	but for not having been extravagant enough.	43:26
	Following a massive exchange of gifts,	43:30
	she returned home.	43:32
	And Solomon's fame continued to grow.	43:35
	So much so that we are told	43:37
	the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon	43:39
	to hear his wisdom,	43:43
	which God had put into his mind.	43:44
	Every one of them brought his present.	43:47
	Articles of silver and gold,	43:49
	garments, myrrh, spices, horses and mules,	43:51
	so much year by year.	43:55
	Almost the entire story of Solomon	43:59
	is one long pan to this wisest and wealthiest	44:03
	of all kings for all time.	44:07
	His name is mentioned nearly 300 times	44:10
	in the Old Testament, and a dozen times in the New.	44:13
	He's credited with uttering 3000 proverbs	44:16
	and 1005 songs.	44:19
	That's even more than the Bee Gees,	44:22
	though about 5000 less than Charles Wesley.	44:24
	His wealth was said to exceed	44:28
	25 million dollars annually.	44:29
	And through a series of shrewd marriages,	44:33
	he fashioned political alliances	44:36
	that allowed him to maintain the kingdom	44:38
	established by his father David.	44:39
	Almost the entire story of Solomon	44:42
	is one unbroken success story.	44:46
	Almost, but not quite.	44:50
	For Solomon's final days	44:54
	were spent in the knowledge	44:57
	that the kingdom he had worked to maintain	44:59
	was going to be split.	45:00
	Not in his lifetime,	45:04
	but in the reign of his son, Rehoboam.	45:06
	And this punishment was decreed	45:10
	by the very same God who had given Solomon wisdom,	45:11
	but who charged Solomon	45:18
	with having been unfaithful to him,	45:20
	not being faithful to him as had his father David.	45:24
	The writer of 1 Kings blamed not Solomon,	45:29
	but Solomon's foreign wives,	45:32
	for his unfaithfulness.	45:35
	Because they not only brought	45:37
	themselves from their countries,	45:38
	but they brought their religions with them as well.	45:41
	And Solomon, out of political expediency,	45:45
	chose to set up temples for these foreign gods,	45:49
	and even offered sacrifices there.	45:52
	So thus, did the 40-year reign of King Solomon,	45:56
	born amidst palace intrigue	46:01
	but lived in widely acclaimed splendor,	46:03
	draw to a close.	46:07
	On the basis of the evidence,	46:11
	it looks as though Solomon's choice of wisdom	46:13
	is the thing most to be prized in all the world	46:15
	was right on target.	46:17
	It really worked well for him, at any rate.	46:19
	Although he did falter	46:24
	and play the fool	46:26
	where his foreign wives and their	46:28
	foreign religions were concerned.	46:29
	We still prize wisdom in our day,	46:33
	3000 years later.	46:36
	And certainly we do in the universities.	46:38
	These places where, as Winston Churchill said,	46:43
	their chief business is the teaching of wisdom.	46:46
	We come here and want our children to come here	46:50
	because we want them to learn	46:55
	the wisdom of the ages.	46:57
	And some of us who work here	46:59
	not only transmit past knowledge and wisdom,	47:01
	but have a part in the creation	47:06
	of new wisdom and knowledge	47:09
	through research and writing.	47:10
	Certainly we prize wisdom in our leaders.	47:14
	Be they political, academic,	47:18
	commercial, or ecclesiastical.	47:20
	We want them to have the understanding mind,	47:23
	the listening heart	47:25
	that Solomon asked for,	47:28
	and the ability to know the difference	47:30
	between good and evil.	47:32
	Harry Truman used Solomon's prayer	47:35
	at his inauguration	47:37
	when he was feeling inadequate to follow	47:39
	a highly successful predecessor.	47:40
	And whether his prayer was answered positively or not	47:43
	depends on what you think of Truman's decisions	47:46
	while he was in office.	47:49
	We want our leaders to exhibit wisdom,	47:52
	and we prize this gift for ourselves.	47:54
	In my case, wouldn't it be great	47:58
	if some of my high school classmates	48:01
	came up to me at next month's reunion and said,	48:04
	"Gee, that quote placed by you in the yearbook,	48:06
	"that quote about wisdom and you hit the nail on the head".	48:11
	However, I'm not planning on that happening.	48:15
	One of the things I'm not looking forward to	48:19
	at the reunion	48:22
	is the prospect of playing games with my classmates,	48:25
	as we try sometimes ever so subtly	48:29
	to impress each other with our	48:32
	attainments and acquisitions over the past two decades.	48:34
	I'd much rather have fun comparing hair color,	48:38
	hairlines and waistlines.	48:41
	But I fell into this let's impress each other game recently	48:44
	with an attractive woman that I had met	48:49
	here in the early '60s	48:51
	when she dated one of my fraternity brothers.	48:53
	She let me know that since then,	48:56
	she had dated another fraternity brother,	48:59
	who was much more famous than the one I had mentioned,	49:01
	that she is married to a doctor,	49:05
	and that they have a vacation home on Bald Head Island.	49:09
	I was impressed with how well she has done	49:14
	since I last saw her.	49:16
	And I was also amused at how anxious	49:21
	she seemed to be to impress me.	49:23
	And it struck me	49:26
	that she might be having similar thoughts	49:27
	concerning what I was telling her	49:31
	about what had happened to me in the interval.	49:34
	Fairytales such as Cinderella and Aladdin's lamp,	49:39
	and biblical stories such as Solomon's,	49:44
	have a continuing fascination for us,	49:47
	since most of us would love to be visited	49:50
	by a fairy godmother or a genie,	49:52
	or best of all, the Lord God Almighty,	49:55
	and given the opportunity to wish for anything in the world,	49:59
	and no matter how farfetched,	50:02
	have it come true.	50:05
	Prior to Thursday night of this week,	50:08
	many of us might have wished to live	50:12
	in marvelous Marin County,	50:14
	the golden ghetto by the Golden Gate Bridge	50:16
	across from San Francisco.	50:19
	And why not?	50:20
	It has great beauty,	50:22
	mediterranean-like climate,	50:24
	affluence, beautiful people, leisure,	50:27
	and a phenomenal amount of striving	50:30
	through trendy therapies for personal fulfillment.	50:32
	However, NBCTV's documentary on Marin County,	50:37
	"I Want It All Now",	50:41
	reveals some not so marvelous things	50:44
	about this paradise.	50:46
	Things that caused Edwin Newman and others at NBC	50:49
	to examine it for us,	50:51
	since it appears to represent	50:53
	where the American dream may be taking us	50:56
	as we approach a new decade.	51:00
	Along with all its glories,	51:02
	Marin County also has a 75% divorce rate,	51:05
	and very high alcoholism and suicide statistics.	51:11
	A song written about the county	51:16
	says that it is where the rainbow touches down.	51:18
	But not too many of the residents	51:23
	are finding any pot of gold	51:25
	at that rainbow's end.	51:29
	Instead, they are left asking,	51:31
	"If I'm not happy here, then where will I be?	51:34
	"Will I be ever?"	51:41
	The prevailing wisdom at the time	51:46
	when Solomon's story was written	51:48
	taught that if you were healthy, wealthy, and wise,	51:51
	it was because you were a good person	51:56
	and God was rewarding you.	51:58
	On the other hand,	52:01
	if you were sick, poor, and stupid,	52:03
	it meant that you had sinned	52:06
	and God was punishing you.	52:07
	That's overdrawing it, but roughly,	52:10
	that's what they believed.	52:12
	The author of 1 Kings viewed God	52:14
	as an evenhanded judge	52:16
	who blessed faithfulness with prosperity	52:18
	and punished apostasy with poverty.	52:21
	The greatest piece of the Bible's,	52:26
	perhaps the world's wisdom literature,	52:28
	the book of Job,	52:30
	was written to refute that point of view.	52:32
	Job's author meant to challenge	52:35
	the accepted wisdom of his day.	52:37
	That things are always what they seem.	52:39
	And even in Jesus' time,	52:43
	some of the most respected of the religious leaders,	52:45
	the Pharisees,	52:48
	insisted that God was primarily interested	52:50
	in who best kept the law.	52:53
	And Jesus' refusal to be bound	52:56
	by the wisdom of his day	52:58
	kept him in conflict with the authorities,	53:00
	and eventually led to his crucifixion.	53:03
	And even in our time,	53:07
	there are still those in high places	53:09
	who when faced with the tension between	53:11
	what is morally right	53:13
	and what seems in their best self-interest,	53:15
	inevitably choose expedience over obedience to God's will.	53:19
	All too often, they fail to have	53:25
	the understanding mind	53:29
	and the ability to rule justly,	53:31
	and the wisdom to discern between good and evil.	53:35
	For instance,	53:41
	while I was here in college,	53:43
	maybe in Divinity School,	53:46
	a group of southern bishops and other church leaders	53:48
	prompted Martin Luther King's	53:51
	classic civil rights manifesto	53:53
	Letter from Birmingham Jail,	53:55
	by their collective statement	53:58
	that the demonstrations he was leading	53:59
	in the early 1960s were unwise.	54:01
	Lyndon Johnson told peace advocates a few years later	54:06
	that their rallies were unwise.	54:09
	Richard Nixon told his advisors more recently	54:13
	that telling the whole truth was not only unwise,	54:17
	but a breach of executive privilege.	54:20
	The North Carolina Annual Conference	54:23
	of the United Methodist Church	54:25
	felt it unwise last year	54:27
	to pass a resolution calling	54:30
	for a gradual government-assisted conversion	54:33
	of farmland from growing harmful tobacco	54:36
	to growing helpful food and fiber products.	54:40
	A number of congressmen took cash from Koreans	54:45
	and decided reporting it was both	54:49
	unnecessary and unwise.	54:51
	Before we get too smug in academia	54:55
	about the foibles of politicians and preachers,	54:58
	read Frank Baldwin's article	55:01
	in the June 26th issue of "Christianity in Crisis Magazine",	55:03
	in which he points out that	55:08
	some bastions of academic freedom	55:10
	are risking compromising their integrity	55:13
	for contributions from repressive governments	55:17
	both in the far and the Middle East.	55:20
	Some gift horses must be looked in the mouth,	55:24
	even by colleges and universities	55:28
	hard-pressed for cash.	55:30
	Of course, those of us who love Duke University	55:32
	and are familiar with its origins	55:36
	have to be especially careful	55:39
	about how we call other universities to account	55:41
	regarding accepting large sums of money.	55:44
	Earlier in this century,	55:47
	Trinity College was berated	55:48
	for accepting what some probably	55:51
	University of North Carolina supporters	55:53
	labeled tainted tobacco money from the Duke family.	55:56
	The classic response of our predecessor	56:01
	institution's leaders was,	56:03
	"The only thing tainted about is it ain't yours".	56:05
	(congregation members laughing)	56:10
	Winston Churchill was right	56:12
	in saying that universities exist	56:14
	primarily for the teaching of wisdom.	56:16
	And we do well to remember	56:19
	that they should practice what they teach,	56:21
	from the admissions office,	56:24
	both undergraduate and medical	56:27
	and law and Divinity School and others,	56:29
	to the athletic office,	56:32
	and all the way to the accounting office.	56:34
	What do we wish for?	56:39
	What do we value most in our day?	56:41
	Politically strong nations,	56:45
	financially strong universities,	56:47
	numerically strong churches,	56:50
	economically and socially strong families,	56:54
	charming and sexy personalities.	56:58
	Not a one of these is inherently bad.	57:02
	But neither is any one of them worthy	57:05
	of being ranked at the top of our value scale,	57:07
	according to our Lord Jesus Christ.	57:12
	Right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount,	57:16
	Jesus addressed himself to some	57:20
	of the primary anxiety producers of life.	57:21
	Worry about money.	57:25
	Worry about adequate food.	57:27
	Worry about adequate clothing.	57:29
	Worry about length of life.	57:32
	He directed his hearers' attention	57:37
	to the lilies of the field.	57:39
	Common flowers.	57:41
	And said that not even the fabled King Solomon	57:43
	in all his glory	57:47
	was as beautiful as one of those simple flowers.	57:49
	Instead of worrying unnecessarily	57:55
	about acquiring life's necessities,	57:58
	Jesus called on them to seek first God's kingdom,	58:01
	and all they needed would be added.	58:06
	In asking for God's kingdom,	58:11
	they, like Solomon choosing wisdom,	58:13
	would receive what they requested	58:17
	and a whole lot more.	58:19
	What is the most important valuable thing	58:22
	in the world for you?	58:28
	Solomon chose wisdom.	58:32
	But one greater than Solomon or even David	58:34
	told his heroes of a kingdom so valuable,	58:39
	a pearl so precious,	58:42
	a treasure so worth having,	58:45
	that it was worth acting foolish	58:48
	over it to be a part of it.	58:50
	The price of admission to this kingdom	58:55
	remains willingness to do what seems at first	58:58
	to be extreme folly.	59:01
	2000 years ago, as well as today.	59:04
	And that is taking up one's cross,	59:08
	denying oneself,	59:12
	and following the one sent by God	59:16
	to bring us into his kingdom.	59:18
	The one who came not to condemn the world,	59:22
	but that the world might be saved.	59:26
	The kingdom of God is the most valuable thing in the world.	59:30
	And it's still open to you, to me.	59:37
	What is your choice?	59:42
	Amen.	59:46
	Let us pray.	59:48
	Grant us wisdom.	59:53
	Grant us courage, dear God.	59:56
	For the living of our days.	59:59
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.	1:00:02
	Amen.	1:00:05
	(soft organ music)	1:00:09
	♪ Be thou my vision ♪	1:00:46
	♪ Oh Lord of my heart ♪	1:00:49
	♪ Naught be all else to me ♪	1:00:55
	♪ Save that thou art ♪	1:00:59
	♪ Thou my best thought ♪	1:01:04
	♪ By day or by night ♪	1:01:08
	♪ Waking or sleeping ♪	1:01:13
	♪ Thy presence my light ♪	1:01:17
	♪ Be thou my wisdom ♪	1:01:24
	♪ And thou my true word ♪	1:01:28
	♪ I ever with thee ♪	1:01:34
	♪ And thou with me Lord ♪	1:01:37
	♪ Thou my great Father ♪	1:01:43
	♪ I thy true son ♪	1:01:47
	♪ Thou in me dwelling ♪	1:01:52
	♪ And I with thee one ♪	1:01:56
	♪ Riches I heed not ♪	1:02:04
	♪ Nor man's empty praise ♪	1:02:08
	♪ Thou mine inheritance ♪	1:02:13
	♪ Now and always ♪	1:02:17
	♪ Thou and thou only ♪	1:02:22
	♪ First in my heart ♪	1:02:26
	♪ High King of heaven ♪	1:02:31
	♪ My treasure thou art ♪	1:02:35
	♪ High King of heaven ♪	1:02:43
	♪ My victory won ♪	1:02:47
	♪ May I reach heaven's joys ♪	1:02:52
	♪ Oh bright heaven's sun ♪	1:02:57
	♪ Heart of my own heart ♪	1:03:01
	♪ Whate'er befall ♪	1:03:05
	♪ Still be my vision ♪	1:03:11
	♪ O ruler of all ♪	1:03:15
	♪ Amen ♪	1:03:24
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	1:03:35
	We believe in God,	1:03:39
	who has created and is creating.	1:03:41
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus	1:03:45
	to reconcile and make new.	1:03:48
	Who works in us and others by the Spirit.	1:03:51
	We trust God,	1:03:55
	who calls us to be the church,	1:03:57
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	1:04:00
	to love and serve others,	1:04:03
	to seek justice and resist evil,	1:04:06
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	1:04:09
	our judge and our whole.	1:04:13
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	1:04:16
	God is with us.	1:04:21
	We are not alone.	1:04:22
	Thanks be to God.	1:04:24
	The Lord be with you.	1:04:27
-	And with your spirit.	1:04:29
-	Let us pray.	1:04:31
	Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible,	1:04:46
	the only wise God,	1:04:50
	be honor and glory, forever and ever.	1:04:52
	Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place	1:04:58
	in all generations.	1:05:00
	Before the mountains were brought forth,	1:05:03
	forever thou hadst formed the earth and the world.	1:05:05
	Even from everlasting to everlasting,	1:05:09
	thou art God.	1:05:12
	Before thy eternity,	1:05:15
	thy awful majesty,	1:05:18
	thy almighty power,	1:05:21
	thy gracious wisdom,	1:05:23
	who are we but creatures of passing days and eras?	1:05:26
	Dust and dream, our years few and filled	1:05:31
	with toil and trouble.	1:05:34
	Unless, oh God, thou dost teach us	1:05:36
	to number our days,	1:05:39
	that we may get a heart of wisdom.	1:05:41
	Unless thou dost teach us to find in thee	1:05:45
	the meaning of our lives,	1:05:48
	the desires of our hearts,	1:05:50
	the spirit of our life together.	1:05:52
	Unless thou dost establish the work of our hands	1:05:55
	as part of thy eternal working among all people.	1:05:59
	We bless and praise thee,	1:06:04
	for thy wisdom, thy power, thy love.	1:06:07
	We bless and thank thee for all thy provision	1:06:13
	for life full and free,	1:06:16
	for the gift of life,	1:06:19
	for families to nourish and enrich it,	1:06:22
	for the larger family of humankind	1:06:26
	in which we come to selfhood,	1:06:28
	for the sustenance of our bodies	1:06:31
	with the fruits of thy good earth	1:06:33
	and the labor of others,	1:06:35
	for the wisdom thou givest humanity,	1:06:37
	to work together in farm and factory,	1:06:40
	shop and bank, home and road,	1:06:43
	for the filling of human needs,	1:06:47
	for thy awakening others to the arts of teaching	1:06:49
	and governing and nursing and healing	1:06:53
	and other ministries to our bodies and spirits,	1:06:58
	and especially in this community	1:07:01
	of learning and devotion,	1:07:03
	for stirring the minds of the ages	1:07:06
	to seek truth about thy world and thy people and thyself,	1:07:08
	and for the heritage of learning now open to our minds.	1:07:13
	For these and all thy good creation,	1:07:18
	we give thanks.	1:07:21
	Oh, move us in gratitude	1:07:23
	to share thy blessings with people	1:07:26
	of every nation, race, and creed.	1:07:28
	Thou giver and provider of life	1:07:32
	for all thy creatures.	1:07:35
	Oh judge and humble and expose us	1:07:38
	by the light of thy searching Word,	1:07:41
	to show us how we misuse thy gifts	1:07:43
	and fail and hurt thy people.	1:07:47
	Above all, we thank thee for thy redeeming Spirit	1:07:51
	manifest to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:07:54
	For that life which was the light of humankind,	1:07:59
	that enlightens every person who cometh into the world.	1:08:03
	For thy Word made flesh to dwell among us	1:08:07
	full of grace and truth,	1:08:10
	from whose fullness we have all received.	1:08:12
	For reconciling us to thyself,	1:08:16
	not counting our trespasses against us,	1:08:18
	and entrusting to us thy Word and work of reconciliation.	1:08:21
	Oh, speak thy saving Word ever anew to thy people.	1:08:26
	To reform and strengthen and direct thy church,	1:08:31
	wherever it meets this day.	1:08:35
	In mission chapel, in city church of slum or suburb,	1:08:38
	in country meeting house,	1:08:42
	in far off lands.	1:08:45
	Purge us of pride and selfishness,	1:08:48
	of complacency and prejudice,	1:08:52
	and renew thy church to do thy will among all people.	1:08:55
	Bearing one another's burdens,	1:09:00
	speaking courageously thy word of justice,	1:09:02
	and tenderly thy word of mercy in thy world.	1:09:05
	Being doers of thy Word and not hearers only.	1:09:10
	Ministering to the sick,	1:09:14
	the needy, the bereaved, the poor,	1:09:16
	the oppressed, the troubled,	1:09:20
	the discouraged, the lonely,	1:09:23
	the tempted, the fallen.	1:09:26
	For all of these, we pray thy saving help this day,	1:09:30
	and offer ourselves as thy instruments of caring.	1:09:35
	Bind us together beyond all differences	1:09:41
	of class and race and nation and church.	1:09:44
	That together, we may be faithful to Jesus Christ	1:09:49
	who went about doing good,	1:09:53
	rebuking evil, speaking thy message,	1:09:56
	and bearing his cross for us to follow in his way.	1:09:59
	And in his words we pray.	1:10:04
	Our Father, who art in heaven,	1:10:07
	hallowed be thy name.	1:10:10
	Thy kingdom come,	1:10:12
	thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	1:10:14
	Give us this day our daily bread,	1:10:19
	and forgive us our trespasses,	1:10:22
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:10:24
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:10:28
	but deliver us from evil.	1:10:31
	For thine is the kingdom and the power	1:10:33
	and the glory forever.	1:10:36
	Amen.	1:10:39
	(soft organ music)	1:11:00
	(choir members singing)	1:11:23
	(inspirational organ music)	1:17:23
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	1:17:36
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	1:17:41
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:17:46
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:17:49
	♪ Praise him above ye heavenly host ♪	1:17:53
	♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪	1:17:59
	♪ Oh praise him ♪	1:18:04
	♪ Oh praise him ♪	1:18:06
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:18:09
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:18:12
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:18:15
	♪ Amen ♪	1:18:24
-	Fine, oh Lord, is the greatness and the power	1:18:38
	and the glory and the victory and the majesty.	1:18:42
	For all that is in the heaven	1:18:47
	and in the earth is thine.	1:18:48
	Thine is the kingdom, oh Lord,	1:18:52
	and thou art exalted as head above all.	1:18:54
	Amen.	1:18:59
	(soft organ music)	1:19:03
	(congregation singing)	1:19:47
	It is a blessing indeed	1:23:53
	to have former Dean of the Chapel,	1:23:56
	James T. Cleland,	1:23:59
	with us today for the first time in a long time,	1:24:01
	to ask God's blessing upon us all.	1:24:05
	Dr. Cleland.	1:24:10
-	May the blessing of God	1:24:18
	come upon you abundantly.	1:24:20
	May it keep you strong and tranquil	1:24:24
	in the truth of his promises	1:24:29
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:24:32
	♪ Amen ♪	1:24:41
	♪ Amen ♪	1:24:46
	♪ Amen ♪	1:24:52
	(soft choral music)	1:24:57
	(upbeat organ music)	1:25:49

Item Info

Title:

Charles Michael Smith - "Solomon's Choice" (July 23, 1978)

Description:

Sermon start time: 34:03. Sermon end time: 59:48.
Wisdom, such as that of Solomon, is not what we should ultimately strive for. Instead, we are called to the folly of following Christ. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: But one greater than Solomon or even David told his heroes of a kingdom so valuable, a pearl so precious, a treasure so worth having, that it was worth acting foolish over it to be a part of it.

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4jm23w78

Date:

July 23, 1978

Speaker:

Smith, Charles Michael

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0967
ref7143_w54
uachapelsermaud
duke:321033
dcrau001847
ark:/87924/r4jm23w78
b0f60073-c293-4570-8e83-02d4163961b5

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

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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Charles Michael Smith - "Solomon's Choice" (July 23, 1978)

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Duke University Archives