Helen G. Crotwell - "Being of the Same Mind" (September 24, 1978)

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-	Duke University Chapel, service of worship,	0:04
	September 24th, 1978.	0:07
	(organ music playing)	0:20
	(choir vocalizing)	17:19
	(organ music playing)	18:46
	♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪	19:35
	♪ lift up your voice and with us sing ♪	19:41
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	19:47
	♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪	19:55
	♪ thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪	20:01
	♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪	20:07
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	20:13
	(organ music drowns out singing)	20:28
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	21:08
	(organ music drowns out singing)	21:22
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	21:34
	(organ music drowns out singing)	21:42
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	22:00
	♪ (organ music drowns out singing) ♪	22:15
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	22:54
	(organ music drowns out singing)	23:08
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	23:47
	(organ music drowns out singing)	24:01
-	Brothers and sisters of the household of faith,	26:13
	the Scriptures remind us that all have sinned and come short	26:17
	of the glory of God.	26:22
	Therefore, let us in unison offer our prayer of confession	26:25
	to almighty God.	26:30
	Eternal God, our judge and redeemer, we confess to you that	26:33
	we have failed to be the men and women	26:40
	you have meant us to be.	26:43
	When duty has called, we have shirked it.	26:46
	We have defended ourselves with excuses which did not	26:49
	convince us, let alone deceive you.	26:54
	We are sorry for our failures, we are sorry for those	26:58
	mistakes which cannot be changed and constantly accuse us.	27:03
	We surrender them to you.	27:09
	Save us from being haunted by them.	27:11
	Release us from their burden so that we can step	27:15
	into the future unafraid.	27:19
	Help us know that even when we fail, failure does not	27:22
	put us out of reach of your love and help which come to us	27:28
	through Christ our Lord.	27:33
	Who is like unto God?	28:00
	Who pardons inequity and passes over transgression?	28:02
	He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in	28:08
	steadfast love.	28:13
	He will again have compassion upon us.	28:15
	He will tread our inequities under foot.	28:18
	He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.	28:22
	Ask and it will be given you.	28:29
	Seek and you will find.	28:32
	Knock and it will be opened to you.	28:36
	For everyone who ask receives and he who seeks finds,	28:40
	and to the one who knocks, it will be open.	28:47
	Trust in the Lord and do good and the Lord will give you	28:53
	the desires of your heart.	28:58
	Let us give thanks, for God is good and God's love is	29:04
	everlasting.	29:08
	Thanks be to God who's ever present.	29:10
	Thanks be to God who is ever forgiving.	29:14
	Thanks be to God who is ever loving, amen.	29:18
-	Let us pray.	29:31
	Prepare our hearts, oh Lord, to accept your word.	29:34
	Silence in us any voice but your own, that hearing,	29:39
	we may also obey your will.	29:42
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	29:45
	The Old testament Lesson is from the eighteenth chapter	29:51
	of Ezekiel, verses 25 through 32.	29:54
	You say that the Lord acts without principle?	30:00
	Listen, you Israelites, it is you who act without principle,	30:03
	not I.	30:07
	If a righteous man turns from his righteousness, takes to	30:08
	evil ways and dies, it is because of these evil ways	30:13
	Again, if a wicked man turns from his wicked ways and does	30:18
	what is just and right, he will save his life.	30:23
	If he sees his offenses as they are and turns his back	30:27
	on them, then he shall live.	30:32
	He shall not die.	30:34
	"The Lord acts without principle," say the Israelites.	30:37
	No, Israelites, it is you who act without principle, not I.	30:42
	Therefore, Israelites, says the Lord God, I will judge	30:47
	every man of you on his deeds.	30:52
	Turn, turn from your offenses or your inequity will be	30:55
	your downfall.	31:00
	Throw off the load of your past misdeeds.	31:02
	Get yourselves a new heart, a new spirit.	31:05
	Why should you die, you men of Israel?	31:08
	I have no desire for any man's death.	31:11
	This is the very word of the Lord.	31:14
	The epistle lesson is from the second chapter	31:20
	of Philippians, verses one through 11.	31:23
	So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive	31:29
	of love, any participation in the spirit, any affection	31:33
	and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind,	31:38
	having the same love, being in full accord of one mind.	31:43
	Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility	31:49
	count others better than yourselves.	31:53
	Let each of you look not only to his own interests,	31:56
	but also the interests of others.	32:00
	Have this in mind among yourselves, which you have in	32:03
	Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God	32:06
	did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,	32:13
	but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,	32:17
	being born in the likeness of men and being found in human	32:21
	form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,	32:25
	even death on a cross.	32:30
	Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him	32:32
	the name which is above every name, but at the name of	32:37
	Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth	32:41
	and under the Earth and every tongue confess	32:45
	that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father.	32:49
	Here ends the reading from the Epistle, amen.	32:53
	(organ music)	33:00
	(singing in foreign language)	33:53
	Will the congregation stand for the reading	39:11
	of the gospel lesson?	39:13
	The gospel lesson is from the 21st chapter of Matthew,	39:23
	verses 28 through 32.	39:27
	But what do you think about this?	39:31
	A man had two sons.	39:34
	He went to the first and said "My boy, go and work today	39:36
	"in the vineyard."	39:41
	"I will, sir," the boy replied, but he never went.	39:42
	The father came to the second and said the same.	39:48
	"I will not," he replied, but afterwards,	39:51
	he changed his mind and went.	39:54
	Which of these two did as his father wished?	39:57
	"The second," they said.	40:01
	Then Jesus answered, "I tell you this, tax gatherers	40:04
	"and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God	40:08
	"ahead of you, for when John came to show you the right	40:11
	"way to live, you did not believe him, but the tax	40:15
	"gatherers and prostitutes did and even when you had seen	40:19
	"that, you did not change your minds and believe him."	40:23
	Here ends the reading from the gospel, all praise and glory	40:28
	be to God, amen.	40:32
	(organ music)	40:35
	♪ Glory be to God ♪	40:49
	(organ music drowns out singing)	40:52
	Look to each other's interest	41:49
	and not just your own.	41:53
	Paul encourages us to let our relationship with one another	41:57
	grow out of our common life together.	42:02
	Our life in Christ which is characterized by love	42:07
	for one another with no room for rivalry	42:11
	and personal vanity.	42:16
	Now, none of us would deny that this is the world,	42:18
	the kind of community we would choose to live in.	42:22
	One that is characterized by unity,	42:26
	goodwill, and love.	42:29
	But to look to the interest of another person,	42:33
	is that a realistic expectation?	42:37
	Already some of you in this university community	42:42
	are struggling to keep your head above the water.	42:46
	Do you have any time left to look to another's interest?	42:50
	Just the other day, a student told me	42:56
	that he had finally accepted the fact	42:58
	that there was no way he could survive in this university	43:02
	and love his neighbor.	43:08
	Now, most of us would not be that honest, even at the times	43:11
	when we are so caught up in our personal pressures	43:15
	and concerns that our response to our neighbors,	43:18
	our response is anything but a care for their well-being.	43:24
	In fact, we are sometimes as good as Linus in justifying	43:29
	and disguising our selfish acts.	43:33
	Did you reach the Peanuts cartoon when Linus told Lucy	43:37
	that he almost bought her a bottle of cologne	43:41
	that cost a dollar for her birthday, because he knew	43:46
	that would make her happy?	43:50
	Then he saw something else,	43:52
	which he decided would make her even happier,	43:55
	a salami sandwich.	43:58
	For he knew how concerned she was	44:01
	with the people of the world	44:04
	and that she would be so happy when he became	44:07
	a famous doctor who would care for the people of the world.	44:10
	Now, to go be a good doctor,	44:14
	he would have to make good grades,	44:16
	and to make good grades, he would have to study	44:19
	and to study he would have to be healthy,	44:22
	and to be healthy, he would have to eat.	44:26
	So instead of buying her a bottle of cologne,	44:29
	he bought for her birthday a salami sandwich for himself.	44:32
	All for her happiness.	44:37
	And Lucy responds "I'm so happy I could cry."	44:41
	(congregation chuckling)	44:46
	Now the church to which Paul was writing in Philippi	44:49
	was the first church he established in Europe	44:53
	and it provided for him hope and encouragement.	44:56
	He calls it later in the letter his joy and crown.	44:59
	he writes to them,	45:05
	"To have this mind among you which was "in Jesus Christ."	45:07
	Now, his other translations say,	45:12
	"To have for one another the attitude which Jesus had,	45:14
	or let the vital union	45:19
	between you and Christ	45:23
	be so important	45:25
	that it manifests itself	45:27
	in your harmonious self-giving	45:29
	relationship with others."	45:33
	Paul was concerned with petty jealousies, rivalries,	45:36
	and personal vanity which would undercut	45:41
	the effectiveness of their ministry,	45:44
	and he extorts them to steadfastness,	45:48
	to harmony, to obedient self giving and	45:50
	to looking to each other's interests, not just their own.	45:55
	Then he includes one of the early Christian hymns, which is	46:01
	a beautiful expression of their understanding of Jesus	46:03
	that God came to us in human form and that even though	46:08
	Jesus was equal to God, he did not treat this status	46:13
	of divine glory as his way to be in the world or	46:19
	as a privilege to be exploited, rather, he chose to be fully	46:23
	human, even taking the form of a servant, and was obedient	46:29
	to God even unto death,	46:33
	at which time God exalted him.	46:36
	Now, this same hymn is the basis of one of our favorite	46:40
	hymns of the chapel,	46:45
	"All Praise to Thee, For Thou O King Divine",	46:47
	which says "thou same to us in lowliness of thought,	46:52
	"by thee, the outcast and the poor was sought.	46:58
	"Let this mind be in us which was in thee who was	47:04
	"a servant that we might be free."	47:10
	For us, just as for Jesus, our obedience to God directs us	47:16
	to live in the world with the same obedience, looking	47:20
	to each other's interests, as well as our own	47:23
	and loving our neighbor as ourselves.	47:28
	Now, we are people	47:32
	who want to look to our neighbor's interest,	47:34
	but we are also people who, like the student,	47:37
	find it very difficult because we don't know what it means	47:41
	or because we are overcommited	47:47
	and sometimes simply because we are selfish	47:50
	and turned in on ourself.	47:55
	Jesus became a servant that we might be free,	47:59
	we become servants,	48:03
	that we and other people may be free	48:06
	and yet it is this servant image	48:10
	which has been used for nonfreeing, destructive purposes.	48:13
	For we have distorted, trivialized, yes,	48:20
	even used it in most destructive ways.	48:24
	At a meeting this past week,	48:29
	Herb Edwards told the theologian and resident's committee	48:31
	about Howard Thurman, who will be on campus in January,	48:35
	as part of this program.	48:41
	Thurman learned to read the Bible and learned the Bible	48:43
	by reading it to his blind grandmother,	48:48
	who had once been a slave.	48:51
	It took several years for him to get up courage	48:54
	to ask his grandmother why she would never	48:57
	let him read from Paul's writings.	49:00
	Her response was "I promised God	49:03
	that if I would be freed from being a slave,	49:08
	I would never read the writings of Paul	49:12
	whose words had been used by preachers and slave owners	49:15
	to keep me in servitude, saying it was God's will	49:20
	that slaves must be submissive to their masters."	49:25
	And our world is still suffering	49:32
	from the destructiveness of such blasphemy,	49:35
	and we have more subtle forms and examples of this	49:41
	when people who have authority over other people	49:45
	insist that they must be submissive	49:48
	and not be troublemakers.	49:53
	Now, looking to our, another's interest must include	49:55
	the wide sweep of looking to the whole world	50:00
	where people are in need or oppressed or awaiting.	50:05
	But today, I want to focus on some of the issues within	50:12
	our community where we find it the most difficult to look	50:15
	to another's interest.	50:19
	Let me illustrate by sharing what I have heard most	50:22
	repeatedly mentioned when persons have agonized in personal	50:24
	conversations as well as in general discussions.	50:29
	Now, it's obvious that the place we find ourselves	50:35
	in conflict with our neighbor is the place	50:38
	where it's most difficult for us to look	50:42
	to another's interest.	50:45
	Certainly anguish and struggle develop between two people	50:48
	when there are different and often conflicting ideas	50:53
	of commitment,	50:57
	of fidelity,	51:00
	of personal space,	51:02
	of sexuality,	51:04
	and of lifestyles.	51:06
	How do we look to another interest when this interest	51:09
	seems to be in conflict with our own values?	51:13
	And how do we support the people who are alone	51:17
	and sometimes rejected,	51:21
	when in trying to be obedient to their own values,	51:23
	they have to stand over against strong peer pressures	51:27
	to conform?	51:32
	And we have the ever present situations of people	51:36
	who cry out for help because they are lonely	51:39
	and have no one to turn to.	51:44
	One student said: "I don't want to be by myself	51:46
	but when I get into the midst of people who are	51:50
	all surrounded by friends,	51:54
	it only accentuates my basic loneliness."	51:57
	Now, who looks to these people's interests?	52:02
	They often get lost in the corners.	52:06
	Or the many people who are driven to the breaking point	52:12
	because of academic pressures or financial pressures	52:15
	or family pressures and sometimes they are so caught up	52:18
	in that world that they cannot be open to anyone else,	52:22
	and probably the most discussed issue on campus this fall	52:29
	has been the difficulty some students are having	52:33
	in discovering how do you live in a community as an adult	52:38
	taking responsibility for your own life	52:45
	and maintaining respect for each other's interests	52:49
	and needs and values?	52:52
	For example, there are some persons who want to go to sleep	52:56
	around midnight	53:01
	and who cannot function without adequate rest,	53:04
	but who feel powerless over against a strong group	53:08
	whose way of living is very loud	53:12
	and very late into night.	53:16
	Now, it's easy for us outside of this situation to say	53:19
	this is no big problem, that's an easy problem to solve,	53:23
	let me tell you what my problems are, but for those	53:27
	involved, it is very difficult to work out.	53:31
	Now, Paul was concerned with those forces which would	53:36
	be destructive to the Philippian community.	53:39
	Competition, rivalry, selfishness.	53:42
	And he challenged them and he challenges us	53:48
	to have this mind among us which was in Jesus Christ,	53:51
	or to let the vital union between us and Christ	53:56
	be so important that it manifests itself in harmonious	54:00
	self giving relationship with others.	54:05
	Now, just suppose and I do suppose	54:10
	that those of us who are here	54:14
	as a worshiping community today are utterly serious	54:17
	about living responsibly in this community	54:21
	and are willing to renew your commitment,	54:26
	to look to the interest of others as well as yourself	54:29
	and that we take seriously that our response to people	54:34
	will be evidence of our obedience to god, which is informed	54:38
	by our understanding of life and teachings of Jesus	54:42
	and that with John,	54:47
	we believe that the only way we can love God	54:48
	whom we have not seen,	54:52
	is to love our neighbor, whom we have seen.	54:55
	What else can be said?	55:00
	Nothing, if we want specific rules and directions	55:03
	which would make our response to our neighbor automatic	55:08
	and mechanical.	55:12
	Nothing, if we want to be assured of instant success	55:15
	or that there would be no pain or struggle	55:19
	or conflict or ambiguity,	55:22
	for there is no easy answer.	55:26
	Are we then just left with the challenge,	55:30
	what else can be said?	55:33
	A little more, if we will accept some cautions,	55:36
	some frameworks and some clues.	55:41
	Though what may be more important is this time when	55:45
	we come together in corporate worship and remind ourselves	55:49
	of who we are and whose we are	55:52
	and point out some of the critical needs.	55:56
	But first, some cautions.	56:00
	We need to keep both sections of the statement's intention.	56:02
	We look to the others' interests as well as our own.	56:07
	We love ourselves as well as our neighbor	56:11
	and it just may be	56:16
	that the student who said he could not survive in this	56:18
	university and love his neighbor was working with only	56:21
	one half of the statement, an understanding that to love	56:24
	the neighbor meant he had to serve perhaps as a chauffer	56:28
	for all his neighbors at all times, day and night.	56:31
	Now, loving our neighbor, serving our neighbor does not	56:35
	mean that we lose our identity and our rights,	56:39
	nor do we become the solver of everyone's problems.	56:43
	We are the people who are bearers of grace, we are also	56:48
	the people who need grace and love mediated to us	56:52
	through our neighbors.	56:55
	We allow ourselves to be served and cared for and this	56:57
	word is directed to people with very different perceptions.	57:02
	The person who has it all together and doesn't need help	57:06
	from anyone but is able to give perhaps Linus-type help	57:10
	to everyone from a lofty position above the teaming masses.	57:15
	It is also the word that goes to the people with a very	57:20
	opposite image who don't think they are worthy of your time	57:24
	or your energy and always have to be the serving person	57:29
	and usually very subservient and unctuous roles.	57:34
	Now, the second caution is illustrated in two cartoons.	57:40
	One is the one with the little old ladies	57:45
	and the little old men	57:47
	who keep being helped across streets	57:48
	that they do not want to cross,	57:50
	and the other is the person who is being	57:53
	strangled by another person while that person says	57:56
	"I am doing this for your own good."	58:00
	Now, certainly basic to our looking to another's interest	58:04
	is some clear idea of what that interest is.	58:07
	We can talk generally about being concerned with the other	58:11
	person's well-being, but this is always translated into	58:14
	specific action which is freeing, liberating,	58:18
	and life-giving.	58:22
	Now, two general frames or boundaries	58:24
	which are important to us	58:28
	because of the kind of community we live in.	58:30
	First, Jesus's parable from the lectionary lesson.	58:32
	Before he asks the two sons to go into the vineyard,	58:36
	the one who represents the past religious leaders,	58:39
	perhaps us,	58:43
	responded to the father's request affirmatively,	58:45
	but did nothing.	58:50
	The other son who represented the tax collectors and	58:51
	the prostitutes said: "No, I will not go," but later went.	58:54
	And Jesus said it is obvious who was being obedient.	58:59
	Those of us in a academic community whose vocation is words,	59:04
	words and research which are important in preparation	59:08
	for an obedient life in the world	59:12
	are sometimes tempted to put off responding, saying	59:15
	"We will say yes later when we have more time."	59:20
	Friday, a student said to me that she had just discovered	59:25
	that leaving school would not automatically give her	59:31
	more time to do the things that she thought was important,	59:34
	that we would always be caught in a situation where there	59:39
	was more demands on us than we could respond to.	59:42
	And this parable is also important to us within the	59:47
	Christian community who are being asked by some of the	59:50
	secular folks "Why is it that the people who are responding	59:53
	to human need, to issues of justice and oppression	59:58
	are often the people who are outside	1:00:03
	the established church?"	1:00:05
	And sometimes we are so defensive when we are asked	1:00:08
	this question that we don't see that there may just be	1:00:11
	some validity in us that we need to take note of.	1:00:16
	Now, the second framework comes from some lectures	1:00:19
	by Henri Nouwen, which later became his book "Reaching Out."	1:00:23
	He notes that our culture recognizes and gives highest value	1:00:29
	to the stars,	1:00:35
	the record breakers,	1:00:37
	to those who excel,	1:00:39
	the elite of the community,	1:00:41
	therefore, we are under constant pressure	1:00:44
	to stand out from the crowd,	1:00:47
	to be the best as measured by being better than anyone else,	1:00:49
	and it gives us added pressure to make good grades	1:00:55
	and increases the highly competitive spirit	1:00:59
	of a university community.	1:01:03
	And Nouwen suggests that we find encouragement and hope,	1:01:07
	not from those thin edges of life where we are	1:01:13
	most different from other people, but in the center	1:01:17
	where we are most alike and most united with all human life.	1:01:22
	God did not come to us as the different one,	1:01:28
	but as the human one and not as an elite human,	1:01:33
	but as a servant.	1:01:40
	Now some clues.	1:01:43
	Our common life together nourishes us and enables us	1:01:45
	to respond more lovingly and caringly to the other,	1:01:50
	to our neighbor, the one in need	1:01:53
	and our response must be specific	1:01:57
	and different for each person.	1:01:59
	Now sometimes, our response may mean we deny ourselves	1:02:02
	for the sake of the other.	1:02:08
	But sometimes it may mean claiming our own needs as	1:02:11
	the most important at this time.	1:02:16
	Sometimes it may mean leaving people alone,	1:02:20
	giving them space and room.	1:02:23
	Other times, it may mean standing with the people	1:02:26
	who are lonely or who are isolated	1:02:29
	and walking with them out of the maze	1:02:32
	and out of the darkness.	1:02:35
	But sometimes, it may mean standing over against a person	1:02:37
	or a group who in looking for their own selfish interests	1:02:44
	are destructive and disruptive to the well-being	1:02:48
	of other people.	1:02:52
	A few examples of some specific ways people have looked	1:02:55
	to the well-being of others.	1:02:58
	The number of busy people who found time	1:03:02
	in their schedule to struggle with me,	1:03:06
	to help give shape to this sermon.	1:03:08
	Supporting, suggesting, deleting, encouraging.	1:03:10
	The faculty member	1:03:16
	who is enabling a student to meet an important debt	1:03:18
	by first, finding money for him to borrow	1:03:21
	and second, by imploring him to do work	1:03:25
	so that he could repay the debt.	1:03:28
	And a resident advisor,	1:03:33
	who is among the most fortunate of the RAs	1:03:35
	to have places of work that make their position a joy,	1:03:38
	who says that they want to support	1:03:43
	the others who have more difficult working conditions,	1:03:49
	saying "We will not leave these people isolated and alone."	1:03:53
	"We will not live in our comfort	1:04:00
	"while our colleagues are struggling in situations	1:04:03
	"where their health and their education is being hurt	1:04:05
	"as well as that of many other people."	1:04:09
	Now, one challenge to you, to us, as a concerned community,	1:04:14
	to look to the interest of your neighbors,	1:04:19
	stand with them over against the thoughtless selfishness	1:04:24
	of the people in this community	1:04:28
	and remember when Jesus calls us to become servants,	1:04:33
	to lose our lives in order to find them,	1:04:38
	that is also the promise,	1:04:42
	that he is not putting an impossible burden on us	1:04:46
	which will weigh us down but is offering to us	1:04:49
	a way of life, one which is one of joy, of fulfillment,	1:04:54
	and in fact, it may be the only way	1:05:00
	we may become who we are intended to be,	1:05:03
	and we find our wholeness not in isolation,	1:05:08
	but in community as we discover how to stand over against	1:05:13
	that which oppresses us and our neighbor	1:05:18
	and say yes to loving ourselves and our neighbor	1:05:21
	by responding in very specific and caring ways.	1:05:28
	Amen and amen.	1:05:33
	(organ music playing)	1:05:43
	(organ music drowns out singing)	1:06:15
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	1:08:49
	We believe in God, who has created and is creating, who has	1:08:53
	come in the truly human Jesus to reconcile and make new,	1:08:59
	who works in us and others by the spirit.	1:09:05
	We trust God who calls us to be the church, to celebrate	1:09:09
	life and its fullness, to love and serve others, to seek	1:09:15
	justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus crucified	1:09:21
	and risen, our judge and our hope in life, in death, in life	1:09:26
	beyond death, God is with us, we are not alone,	1:09:34
	thanks be to God.	1:09:40
	Please be seated.	1:09:43
	As we begin our prayers of intercession and supplication,	1:09:53
	I remind the congregation that there will be a special	1:09:56
	memorial service on Tuesday evening at seven PM here in the	1:09:59
	chapel for Mr. Alphonso Williams, who was manager for	1:10:05
	benefits and records in the personnel office	1:10:12
	of the university.	1:10:15
	The Lord be with you-	1:10:19
-	And also with you.	1:10:22
-	Let us pray.	1:10:23
	Eternal God, creator, redeemer, comforter.	1:10:28
	Father, son, and holy spirit, hear us when we pray to you.	1:10:33
	We praise thee that there is no other like you.	1:10:41
	Many there are in our culture who tell us you died or you	1:10:47
	hide or that you are strangely silent or that you are an	1:10:52
	anachronism, a vestige, a remnant of another time and	1:10:59
	another culture, an agrarian culture who never could quite	1:11:06
	move into the metropolis.	1:11:11
	A conversation piece for studies in the history	1:11:14
	and comparison of religions.	1:11:17
	We hear these voices, Lord, and we say there is none other	1:11:21
	like you.	1:11:26
	We praise you for your presence in what seems to be your	1:11:29
	absence, for your searing activity and your speech, for your	1:11:33
	noble language, even in your silence.	1:11:41
	What honor, what privilege is ours to join our praise	1:11:46
	with St. Francis and Brookner, with Bach and with Kenity,	1:11:52
	to visit momentarily with Paul and Matthew and Ezekiel.	1:12:00
	What joy to celebrate our God with the builder of this place	1:12:07
	as he opens to us his vision of thee in color and form	1:12:13
	and space.	1:12:18
	Who are we, oh Lord, that we should be invited to such a	1:12:21
	feast of ear and eye?	1:12:26
	Who are we that we should be called to such accompany?	1:12:29
	Oh Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all	1:12:35
	the universe?	1:12:41
	We who can scarcely pray for ourselves are bold to pray	1:12:44
	for others.	1:12:49
	We pray especially for peace between Arab and Jew.	1:12:52
	Without the power of thy presence and action, the peace	1:12:57
	will never come.	1:13:01
	Inspire national leaders the world around that justice	1:13:04
	may be done for every perspective and every position	1:13:08
	if such be possible in this fallen world.	1:13:13
	We remember also Africa and Latin-America and lift our	1:13:18
	voices of petition and supplication also on behalf	1:13:21
	of these troubled continents.	1:13:25
	Thou who art the builder of nations and the author of peace	1:13:31
	and concord, here us, we beseech thee when we pray for peace	1:13:35
	between all peoples everywhere.	1:13:41
	Forgive us, Lord, if our prayers are ill focused, for we	1:13:46
	find we must also pray for ourselves.	1:13:49
	You have given us this campus and its enormous resources.	1:13:54
	Forbid that we should be remembered as a generation	1:14:01
	of squanderers.	1:14:04
	Enormous resources, vast libraries, learned professors	1:14:08
	and bright students have been known to add up to disaster	1:14:14
	as well as achievement.	1:14:19
	Bless us that we may restrain the gods and goddesses that	1:14:23
	would be our undoing and the undoing of the incredible	1:14:27
	resource called Duke University.	1:14:31
	Lead us in the narrow and difficult ways of truth	1:14:35
	and justice.	1:14:38
	Help us to keep tight hold on the moral dimension	1:14:41
	of our striding here.	1:14:45
	Bless us that we fail neither thee nor our time.	1:14:49
	Let us not worship the tradition of faith, wonderful as it	1:14:55
	is, but let us not also form change into a new tradition	1:14:59
	which forgets the noble company of disciples and martyrs	1:15:06
	and witnesses through every generation.	1:15:11
	You are our god, there is none other like you, we bless	1:15:15
	you, we praise you, we glorify you, you who spoke in the	1:15:22
	Old Covenant and you who spoke in the new and you who speak	1:15:30
	still in your hearts on this day in this hour and we praise	1:15:36
	you also especially in the prayer that our Lord taught us	1:15:44
	to say, our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.	1:15:49
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is	1:15:56
	in Heaven.	1:16:02
	Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our	1:16:03
	trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us	1:16:08
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:16:14
	For thine is kingdom and the power and the glory forever,	1:16:19
	amen.	1:16:27
	(organ music playing)	1:16:32
	(organ music drowns out singing)	1:17:23
	(organ music)	1:20:36
	(organ music drowns out singing)	1:21:34
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:21:45
	(organ music drowns out singing)	1:21:52
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:22:04
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:22:15
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:22:23
	For the preservation of thy church, oh God, for though	1:22:34
	uttering of thy worship, for the due administration of thy	1:22:38
	word in ordinances, for the maintenance of Christian	1:22:42
	fellowship and discipline, for the edification of believers	1:22:46
	and the conversion of the world, we offer unto thee these	1:22:50
	gifts, accept them we beseech thee in the name	1:22:54
	of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	1:22:58
	(organ music)	1:23:04
	(organ music drowns out singing)	1:23:46
	The Lord bless you and keep you.	1:27:37
	The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious	1:27:40
	to you.	1:27:43
	The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace	1:27:45
	this day and forever more.	1:27:50
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	1:27:57
	♪ Amen ♪	1:28:10
	♪ Amen ♪	1:28:24
	♪ Amen ♪	1:28:33
	♪ Amen ♪	1:28:46
	(organ music playing)	1:29:02

Item Info

Title:

Helen G. Crotwell - "Being of the Same Mind" (September 24, 1978)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 41:49. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 1:05:33.
Just like Paul in his letter to the the church in Philippi, we must also be concerned for the destructive forces of competition, rivalry, jealousy and selfishness which have the power to undercut the effectiveness of the church’s ministry. We must love our neighbor keeping in mind 1) our actions must not be driven by our own assumptions but by our neighbor’s real and specific needs, our action must be freeing, liberating and life-giving to that person. 2) the church must respond to human need by speaking of issues of justice and oppression 3) build a common life together where we are not competing against one another but find our commonalities. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "Now remember when Jesus calls us to become servants, to lose our lives in order to find them, there also comes the promise that he is not putting an impossible burden on us which will weight us down but is offering us a way of life which is one of joy, of fulfillment…We find our wholeness, not in isolation, but in community, as we discover how to stand over against that which oppresses us and our neighbors”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r47m04f3c

Date:

September 24, 1978

Speaker:

Crotwell, Helen Gray, 1925-2006

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0979
ref7167_jf5
uachapelsermaud
duke:321191
dcrau001859
ark:/87924/r47m04f3c
e6f8414c-c76b-4f16-8a52-8a2f907fe926

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.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Helen G. Crotwell - "Being of the Same Mind" (September 24, 1978)

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Duke University Archives