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 |