Robert T. Young - "Response to Loss" (November 5, 1978)

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Announcer	Duke University Chapel Sunday service,	0:04
	November 5th, 1978.	0:06
	(upbeat piano music)	0:10
	(medium pace piano music)	0:31
	(far away voices whispering)	1:06
	(upbeat piano music)	1:12
	(piano music drowns out other sounds)	1:22
	(rhythmic piano music)	1:40
	(fast paced piano music)	1:56
	(bass music)	5:07
	(upbeat jazz music)	6:16
Worker	Bass can't be heard at all out front.	6:35
	(music drowns out other sounds)	6:41
	(energetic jazz music)	6:53
	(papers rustling)	10:29
	♪♪ Oh, taste and see how gracious God is, ♪	10:35
	♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪	10:46
	♪ Oh, taste and see how gracious God is, ♪	10:57
	♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪	11:08
	♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪	11:25
	♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪	11:37
	(organ music)	12:05
Choir	(sings)	12:39
Preacher	This is a celebration of All Saints Sunday.	16:47
	You are invited to express your own celebration	16:52
	through shouts of amen or clapping, applause,	16:55
	at whatever appropriate point in the service.	17:00
	Please feel free to join in	17:04
	to the exhilaration of this day for all Christians.	17:07
	While I am gratified to do something for a dear friend,	17:12
	Helen Crotwool, it saddens me that I must be here	17:18
	on this day, for Helen's mother passed away yesterday	17:22
	at about the noon hour.	17:26
	I'm sure those of you who are close to her	17:28
	will want to remember her, especially in your prayers	17:31
	and all of us will want to uphold her and her family	17:35
	in this hour of grief.	17:39
	I wish to remind you of the memorial service	17:43
	for the Reverend Dr. Carlisle Marney at 8:15	17:48
	on Wednesday evening.	17:51
	Dr. Marney died last July and was a very dear	17:53
	and beloved part of this community.	17:58
	Two additional announcements, very briefly,	18:03
	our first Sunday of the month communion	18:05
	will be observed in the memorial chapel	18:07
	immediately following this service.	18:10
	You are invited to remain for a brief celebration	18:13
	of the Eucharist.	18:17
	You will also wish to remember the organ concert	18:20
	this after at 4:00 p.m.	18:24
	This is not announced in your bulletin.	18:26
	The guest organist is to be Professor Harold Fogal.	18:29
	The concert is available without charge.	18:35
	You are urged to come and enjoy it this after at 4:00.	18:39
	There are still some to be seated,	18:46
	you may wish to slide toward the center of the pew	18:48
	if there's any room toward the center of the pew	18:51
	to allow them to have easy access to the pew	18:53
	on the aisles.	18:56
	Brothers and sisters of the household of faith,	19:08
	holy scripture enjoins in various and sundry places	19:11
	that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.	19:16
	Therefore, let us jointly offer our prayer of confession.	19:20
	Let us pray.	19:27
	Oh, Lord, our God whose compassions fail not,	19:30
	we acknowledge and confess in your presence	19:35
	our unworthiness of your mercies	19:38
	and our manifold sins against you.	19:41
	We have broken the covenant you made	19:44
	with our mothers and fathers	19:47
	and did renew with us, their children.	19:49
	We have not always walked by faith in your son, our savior	19:53
	or followed steadfastly in the steps	19:58
	of those who followed Him.	20:00
	We have been unmindful of their example.	20:03
	We have been unfaithful to the trust	20:07
	others handed on to us.	20:09
	Forgive us, we ask you	20:13
	and by your grace, make us worthier of their love	20:15
	and of the inheritance received from them.	20:20
	Grant that the good we have seen and felt in them	20:24
	may ever inspire and guide us.	20:28
	And seeing we are today compass about with so great	20:32
	a cloud of witnesses,	20:37
	enable us to lay aside every weight	20:39
	and the sin that does so easily beset us.	20:43
	And to run with patience the race that is set before us.	20:47
	Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.	20:52
	That in this present world, we may ever be found faithful.	20:58
	And in the world to come, receive the crown of glory	21:03
	that fades not away.	21:08
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	21:10
	(slow piano music)	21:18
	♪ Oh, my God ♪	21:36
	♪ I detest all the sins of my life. ♪	21:43
	♪ Sorry for having offended thee ♪	21:52
	♪ Who art all good. ♪	22:01
	♪ I reach out with the help of thy grace. ♪	22:07
	♪ Oh, God! ♪	22:21
	♪ Never to sin again. ♪	22:26
Preacher	There is therefore now	22:51
	no condemnation for those	22:53
	who are in Christ Jesus	22:54
	who walked not according to the flesh,	22:57
	but according to the spirit.	22:59
	The Lord is my light and my salvation.	23:02
	Whom shall I fear?	23:05
	The Lord is the stronghold of my life.	23:07
	Of whom shall I be afraid?	23:11
	For He will hide me in His shelter.	23:14
	In the day of trouble,	23:17
	He will conceal me under the cover of his tent.	23:19
Caroline	Let us pray.	23:46
	Prepare our hearts, oh Lord, to accept your word.	23:50
	Silence in us any voice but your own.	23:54
	That hearing we may also obey your will.	23:58
	Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.	24:02
	The first Old Testament lesson for this morning	24:08
	is the beautiful and familiar 23rd Psalms.	24:12
	The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.	24:17
	He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.	24:23
	He leadeth in the path of righteousness,	24:27
	for His name's sake.	24:30
	Yea, though I walk through the valley	24:32
	of the Shadow of Death,	24:35
	I will fear no evil,	24:37
	for thou art with me.	24:39
	Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.	24:42
	Thou preparest a table before me	24:47
	in the presence of mine enemies.	24:50
	Thou annointeth my head with oil,	24:53
	my cup runneth over.	24:56
	Surely goodness and mercy	24:59
	shall follow me all the days of my life	25:01
	and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.	25:05
	The second Old Testament lesson for today	25:12
	is second Samuel, chapter 12, verses 15B-25.	25:17
	And the Lord struck the child	25:26
	that Uriah's wife bore to David	25:28
	and it became sick.	25:31
	David therefore besought God for the child.	25:33
	And David fasted and went in	25:37
	and laid all night upon the ground.	25:40
	And the eldest of his house stood beside him	25:44
	to raise him from the ground,	25:47
	but he would not,	25:49
	nor did he eat food with them.	25:51
	On the seventh day, the child died	25:54
	and the servants of David feared to tell him	25:59
	that the child was dead,	26:02
	for they said,	26:05
	"Behold!	26:06
	While the child was yet alive,	26:08
	we spoke to him	26:10
	and he did not listen to us.	26:12
	How then can we say to him the child is dead?	26:14
	He may do himself some harm."	26:19
	But when David saw	26:22
	that his servants were whispering together,	26:23
	David perceived that the child was dead	26:26
	and David said to his servants,	26:30
	"Is the child dead?"	26:32
	They said, "He is dead."	26:35
	Then David arose from the Earth	26:37
	and washed and anointed himself	26:40
	and changed his clothes and he went to his own house.	26:43
	And when he asked, they set food before him and he ate.	26:45
	Then his servants said to him,	26:52
	"What is this thing that you have done?	26:55
	You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive.	26:57
	But when the child died, you arose and ate food."	27:01
	He said, "While the child was still alive,	27:06
	I fasted and wept, for I said,	27:10
	'Who knows whether he is dead?'	27:13
	What?	27:15
	For I said,	27:17
	'Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me,	27:18
	that the child may live.'	27:21
	But now he is dead.	27:24
	Why should I fast?	27:26
	Can I bring him back again?	27:27
	I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."	27:30
	Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba,	27:34
	and went into and lay with her,	27:38
	and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon,	27:41
	and the Lord loved him	27:45
	and sent a message by Nathan, the prophet,	27:47
	so he called his name Jedidiah, beloved of the Lord.	27:50
	Here ends the reading of the Old Testament.	27:57
	Amen.	28:00
	(slow piano music)	28:07
	(piano music intensifies)	28:32
	(piano music slows)	30:19
Caroline	Will the congregation stand	30:53
	for the reading of the Gospel lesson?	30:55
	The Gospel lesson consists of selections	31:08
	from the 11th chapter of John.	31:11
	Now a certain man was ill,	31:18
	Lazarus of Bethany,	31:21
	the village of Mary and his sister, Martha.	31:23
	It was Martha who anointed the Lord with oil	31:27
	and wiped his feet with her hair,	31:30
	who's brother Lazarus, was ill.	31:33
	So the sister sent to him saying,	31:36
	"Lord, he whom you love is ill,"	31:39
	but when Jesus heard it, he said,	31:43
	"This illness is not until death.	31:46
	It is for the glory of God	31:48
	so that the son of God may be glorified by means of it."	31:52
	Then Jesus told them plainly,	31:56
	"Lazarus is dead.	31:59
	And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there	32:01
	so that you may believe,	32:06
	but let us go to him."	32:08
	Martha said to Jesus,	32:11
	"Lord, if you have been here,	32:13
	my brother would not have died	32:16
	and even now, I know that whatever you ask from God,	32:19
	God will give you."	32:23
	Jesus said to her,	32:25
	"Your brother will rise again."	32:27
	Martha said to him,	32:30
	"I know that he will rise in the resurrection	32:32
	at the last day."	32:35
	Jesus said to her,	32:37
	"I am resurrection and the life.	32:39
	He who believes in me, though he die,	32:42
	yet shall he live.	32:44
	And whoever lives and believes in me	32:46
	shall never die.	32:49
	Do you believe this?"	32:51
	She said to him,	32:53
	"Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ,	32:54
	the son of God.	32:58
	He who is coming into the world."	33:00
	When Jesus saw her weeping	33:03
	and the Jews who came with her also weeping,	33:06
	he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled, and he said,	33:09
	"Where have you laid him?"	33:14
	They said to him,	33:16
	"Lord, come and see."	33:18
	Jesus wept.	33:21
	So the Jews said,	33:22
	"See how he loved you."	33:24
	Here ends the reading from the Gospel.	33:27
	All praise and glory be to God.	33:30
	Amen.	33:33
	(joyful piano music}	33:39
Choir	(sings joyously)	33:48
Preacher	Be seated.	35:42
	In his book, "Good Grief", Granger Westberg	35:52
	describes seven responses we as human beings have	35:58
	to any serious personal, painful loss.	36:04
	That is loss of a job,	36:10
	loss of a home,	36:13
	loss of good health,	36:15
	loss of an arm or leg,	36:19
	or the ability to walk or to move,	36:21
	loss of sight,	36:25
	the impending threat of loss of life through death	36:27
	or, indeed, the loss of a loved one through death.	36:32
	He deals with quote,	36:35
	"The Response to Loss".	36:37
	Major, serious, important,	36:40
	personal, real loss.	36:43
	The kinds of loss	36:47
	that each one of us knows	36:51
	and experiences and must face	36:54
	and live through.	36:58
	Westberg's little book is one of the few writings	37:02
	I know that deals with loss from both	37:05
	the theological and psychological perspectives.	37:07
	I commend it to you.	37:10
	The seven responses he describes are	37:11
	denial,	37:15
	emotional outbursts,	37:16
	physical distress,	37:19
	anger, guilt, loneliness, withdrawal,	37:20
	and then readjusting to the reality of painful change	37:25
	and living once again.	37:30
	So on this Sunday after All Saints Day,	37:33
	it is fitting that we as Christians come together	37:36
	in the name and in the spirit of Christ, our Lord.	37:39
	We remember the Saints, all those who have died in the Lord.	37:43
	And we rejoice and give thanks together	37:47
	in that we let God's words speak to us	37:49
	about life and death, hope and promise	37:52
	about the reality of loss and the assurance of God's grace	37:56
	and resurrection.	38:01
	I thank God's word in the lessons for today,	38:04
	beautifully read by Caroline.	38:07
	God's word in these lessons is full	38:11
	of important, helpful insight and counsel and reassurance,	38:14
	but there are two clear and simple words that I would	38:19
	like for all of us to hear from these lessons today.	38:22
	One, God's word says	38:25
	we may grieve over loss.	38:28
	Secondly, God's word says that, beyond the grief,	38:34
	we are to live again.	38:38
	But saying this, I wanna be very careful this morning,	38:43
	careful not to make death into something pretty and nice	38:46
	and good and happy.	38:49
	Now I know as well as some of you	38:52
	that there are many instances when death brings relief	38:54
	from suffering and misery,	38:58
	from hopelessness and despair.	39:00
	And in these experiences,	39:03
	death may seem to better than life.	39:05
	In these moments and on these occasions,	39:08
	that may well be true, but I want to contend this morning	39:10
	that death is not good.	39:15
	Death is the human physical end.	39:22
	Death is tragic.	39:27
	Death means no human tomorrow.	39:29
	In this life, no more conversations, no jokes, no laughs,	39:33
	no walks together, no quiet moments side by side,	39:38
	no poems read or stories shared.	39:42
	No touch, no fleeting glances or loving looks,	39:47
	no more tears of sadness, no more tears even of joy.	39:51
	Death is real.	39:56
	There is a finality about the reality of death	39:58
	that we can see and know and face and acknowledge	40:00
	and I believe, therefore, can say is no good.	40:04
	For I believe that God did not intend death.	40:11
	God's divine plan and intention was for life.	40:16
	Death was not God's gift in the Garden of Eden.	40:21
	Life was.	40:24
	Death was not God's in the incarnation of Christ.	40:27
	Life was.	40:31
	The abundant life that we can find	40:32
	and do find in and through Jesus the Christ.	40:35
	Death was not what God offered in the resurrection	40:39
	of Jesus from the grave.	40:42
	Here is where the love and grace of God	40:44
	did not succumb to death, did not honor death,	40:47
	did not call death good,	40:51
	but here's where God and Christ triumphed over death,	40:54
	Hell, and the grave.	40:58
	Here is where the last enemy, death,	41:00
	is conquered and overcome.	41:03
	I guess I want to acknowledge that death is the enemy.	41:07
	Partly to counteract what Elie Wiesel says.	41:13
	He often sees us display in the Christian faith.	41:17
	Wisiel, in one of his writings,	41:21
	talks about the sanctification of death.	41:22
	He says that in much of our Christian living and writing	41:28
	and preaching and thinking, we have indeed,	41:32
	sanctified death, have made it into something good	41:35
	and beautiful and right and nice, even lovely,	41:39
	perhaps even holy.	41:41
	Death is not God's will.	41:44
	Often at the time of death, when people are gathering	41:46
	and talking about the death of a loved one or friend,	41:50
	I have heard someone and often it's many someones say,	41:53
	"Well, it was God's will."	41:57
	And inside me, my friends, deep in my heart and soul	41:59
	and mind and spirit, I want to cry out,	42:02
	"No!	42:04
	No!	42:05
	No!	42:06
	Death is not God's will!"	42:08
	I feel this most poignantly and painfully,	42:11
	the time of the death of a child or a young person	42:16
	and yet people tend to say	42:19
	to those who remain living, "Well, it was God's will."	42:21
	When there's been a tragic accident or when death has come	42:26
	to someone very young.	42:30
	"It was God's will," I hear and I hurt so much,	42:32
	I could cry.	42:39
	Not the will of the God in whom I believe.	42:43
	Let's face, if we will, the reality, the loss, the pain,	42:48
	the hurt, the emptiness, the mystery,	42:52
	the totally inexplicable, and claim it and name it,	42:54
	but please, let's not call it God's will.	42:59
	Let's not sanctify it, let's not make it holy,	43:05
	let's not call it good, let's name for what it is.	43:08
	The enemy.	43:13
	For it destroys, it takes away, it is loss,	43:14
	and so that is why in the first place this morning,	43:19
	I want us to see that God's word tells us	43:22
	that we may grieve.	43:24
	Jesus wept.	43:27
	Having grown up in a little Baptist church,	43:29
	that was one verse and Scripture I could always quote	43:31
	when we were asked, did we know any memory verses.	43:35
	Those two words are filled, filled, filled with meaning.	43:42
	Beautiful, simple, clear, real,	43:48
	helpful, human, honest,	43:51
	Jesus.	43:54
	Jesus!	43:56
	Wept.	43:58
	It's okay to cry, to grieve,	44:01
	to hurt.	44:06
	It's not only okay, it is absolutely essential.	44:08
	It is absolutely necessary.	44:13
	There is no more important word for us to hear today	44:16
	than that it is okay for us to grieve	44:22
	over the loss of a loved one or friend through death.	44:24
	Thank God it is even today okay for men,	44:29
	even grown men,	44:33
	like Jesus, to cry.	44:35
	We are free, set free by the example of Jesus the Christ	44:40
	to show our grief and to express it openly	44:45
	and unashamedly.	44:49
	They did not say about Jesus,	44:51
	"Oh, what a strong man he was!	44:53
	When Lazarus died, he faced it like a man.	44:55
	He accepted Lazarus' death as God's will	44:59
	He was so brave."	45:02
	No, they said,	45:05
	"He wept."	45:07
	His friend had died.	45:09
	And he cried.	45:13
	Why is it that we put such a heavy burden on ourselves	45:16
	and on others at the time of death	45:21
	to pretend that nothing has really happened?	45:23
	We try to be so stoic, so strong, so brave,	45:26
	not to disappoint other people,	45:29
	not to let somebody else down	45:30
	or maybe even not to let ourselves falsely down.	45:32
	If we love, sorrow is inevitable.	45:35
	Listen to these words	45:40
	in a little poem entitled "Love, Gratitude".	45:42
	"The agony is so great.	45:46
	And yet I will stand it.	45:49
	Had I not loved so very much,	45:52
	I would not hurt so much.	45:54
	But goodness knows I would not want	45:56
	to diminish that precious love by one fraction of an ounce.	45:58
	I will hurt, and I will be grateful to the hurt	46:02
	for it bears witness to the depth of the meanings	46:05
	and for that,	46:10
	I will be eternally grateful."	46:12
	To express our sorrow is essential.	46:18
	Death is loss.	46:23
	Loss is sorrow.	46:25
	Sorrow means pain, crying, tears.	46:27
	Listen to these words from Hermann Hesse.	46:33
	"How heavy the days are.	46:37
	There's not a fire that can warm me.	46:41
	Not a sun to laugh with me,	46:45
	everything bare, everything cold and merciless,	46:46
	and even the beloved clear stars look desolately down	46:50
	since I learned in my heart	46:55
	that love can die."	46:58
	There are experiences, there are moments, there are times	47:02
	when our days really are heavy,	47:06
	when nothing and no one seems to be able to warm us up	47:09
	or to get to us or to help us.	47:12
	When everything does seem cold and cruel and unconcerned.	47:14
	When we feel that we are all alone	47:18
	and full of pain and emptiness and heartache,	47:20
	sorrow has come, it's real, and must be experienced.	47:22
	Jesus wept.	47:27
	I am glad he did.	47:30
	Michael Quoist writes,	47:34
	"Lord, it is dark.	47:36
	Lord, are you here in my darkness?	47:39
	Your light has gone out!	47:41
	I should like to leave, run away, flee anywhere!	47:44
	Escape.	47:47
	Escape what?	47:48
	You, Lord.	47:50
	Others, myself, I don't know, but leave, flee!	47:51
	Lord, it is dark!	47:55
	Lord, are you here in my darkness?	47:58
	Where are you, Lord?	48:00
	Do you love me still, Lord?	48:01
	Answer, answer.	48:03
	It is dark."	48:06
	Sometimes it is dark.	48:11
	We cry out,	48:13
	even perhaps as did our Lord on the cross,	48:16
	"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"	48:18
	Sorrow is great, and we grieve.	48:23
	Jesus wept.	48:27
	I'm glad he did.	48:29
	Sorrow, it hurts deep down inside.	48:31
	One feels diminished, less than one has been,	48:36
	empty, bereft, forlorn, and incomplete.	48:40
	Sorrow is a painful word.	48:44
	Jesus wept.	48:47
	We all can be glad he did.	48:50
	But then as we grieve, after we grieve,	48:54
	we are to live again.	48:57
	Jesus did not stay at the grave of Lazarus.	48:59
	Neither did David linger over the death of his child.	49:03
	I hope you heard the beautiful story of David and his child.	49:08
	I have an idea that this is indeed one of the most	49:14
	beautiful, touching, tender stories ever written.	49:17
	And one of the most helpful.	49:22
	David's child was sick.	49:24
	Obviously very critically ill, near the moment of death.	49:26
	While the child was struggling between life and death,	49:31
	David prayed and fasted and prostrated himself	49:35
	on the ground and pleaded with God on behalf of his child.	49:39
	He was obsessed with praying and fasting and pleading,	49:44
	so much so that the elders of his house	49:47
	tried to get him to get up and they could not.	49:50
	The child died.	49:55
	David had been so distraught, so carried away,	49:57
	so grief-stricken just over the child's illness	50:02
	that the elders were afraid to tell him	50:07
	that the child had died,	50:09
	afraid that he might harm himself	50:10
	or do something worse, unexpected.	50:12
	The elders told him,	50:16
	"He is dead."	50:17
	Now let the Scriptures tell the rest of the story.	50:19
	Then David arose from the Earth	50:23
	and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes.	50:25
	And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.	50:30
	He then went to his own house, and when he asked,	50:34
	they set food before him, and he ate.	50:38
	Then, his servants said to him,	50:41
	"What is this thing that you have done?	50:44
	You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive,	50:46
	and when the child died, you arose and ate food."	50:49
	He said, "While the child was still alive,	50:53
	I fasted and I wept, for I said,	50:56
	'Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me	51:00
	that the child will live?'	51:03
	But now he is dead.	51:05
	Why should I fast?	51:07
	Can I bring him back again?	51:11
	I shall go to him,	51:15
	but he shall not return to me."	51:17
	As long as there is life, as long as there is possibility,	51:23
	as long as there is hope, we yearn, we pray, we plead,	51:28
	we struggle, we lay our very souls bare	51:33
	to bring back or recover or sustain life	51:37
	for someone whom we love.	51:40
	David showed us how much so we are to do this,	51:43
	but then when the child died,	51:49
	David knew that suffering though he was through the loss	51:51
	of his son, he, David, must live again.	51:56
	Life must go on.	52:01
	Not just stoically, not half-heartedly,	52:07
	not with resignation.	52:13
	Honestly, realistically, and fully.	52:16
	And then we begin to know that healing is a mysterious	52:21
	and beautiful process instigated by God.	52:27
	We live again.	52:33
	As we let others help us, care for us, touch us,	52:35
	and as we accept and believe the word which comes to us	52:39
	in God's word.	52:44
	To pick up on the poem, sorrow is a painful word,	52:46
	but if someone is there to share the feeling,	52:50
	it becomes endurable.	52:54
	And in the scheme of things, a time of being	52:57
	that includes great emotion	53:01
	becomes a time of closeness,	53:05
	growing, and becoming someone more	53:08
	than we have ever been before.	53:14
	Or as Dr. Elizabeth Keebler Ross writes,	53:19
	"As others reach out,	53:25
	it takes so very little effort	53:28
	to make such a very big difference.	53:33
	It takes only one human being	53:39
	who really cares	53:44
	to make a difference	53:47
	between life and death."	53:49
	We must live again,	54:03
	for the Lord is my shepherd.	54:08
	I shall not want.	54:13
	He makes me lie down in green pastures.	54:17
	He leads me beside still waters.	54:24
	He restores my soul.	54:30
	He leads me in the paths of righteousness.	54:35
	For His name's sake.	54:41
	Even though I walk through	54:46
	the Valley of the Shadow of Death,	54:49
	I fear no evil.	54:55
	For thou art with me.	55:00
	Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.	55:04
	Thou preparest the table before me	55:11
	in the presence of mine enemies.	55:14
	Thou anointest my head with oil,	55:18
	my cup overflows.	55:23
	Surely, goodness	55:29
	and mercy shall follow me	55:33
	all the days of my life.	55:37
	And I will dwell in the house of the Lord	55:41
	forever.	55:47
	Amen.	55:54
	(organ music plays)	56:10
Congregation	(sings)	56:37
	[Preacher] Let us affirm what we believe.	58:21
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	58:24
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	58:29
	to reconcile and make new.	58:33
	Who works in us and others by the spirit.	58:36
	We trust God who calls us to be the church.	58:40
	To celebrate life and its fullness,	58:45
	to love and serve others.	58:48
	To seek justice and resist evil.	58:51
	To proclaim Jesus crucified and risen.	58:54
	Our judge and our hope,	58:58
	in life, in death.	59:01
	In life beyond death.	59:04
	God is with us,	59:06
	we are not alone.	59:08
	Thanks be to God.	59:11
	Please be seated.	59:15
	The Lord be with you.	59:23
Congregation	And also with you.	59:25
Preacher	Let us pray.	59:26
	Oh, Lord, our God,	59:33
	beginning and end,	59:35
	height and depth,	59:38
	from whom we go and to whom we return.	59:41
	We gather with unbounded joy to praise for all your Saints.	59:45
	We praise you because you have not left	59:52
	yourself in any generation without a faithful witness.	59:55
	You have called a people.	1:00:00
	You have blessed the people.	1:00:03
	You have accompanied a people.	1:00:06
	You have preceded a people.	1:00:09
	In crucifixion and tortures.	1:00:13
	In deadly threats and unholy exiles.	1:00:17
	In dryness of spirit and dark nights of the soul.	1:00:22
	In gladiator's rings and concentration camps.	1:00:28
	In simple unlettered lives and in high soaring flights	1:00:34
	of metaphysical fancy, you have persisted in an unbroken	1:00:40
	presence to lead, to provoke, to challenge,	1:00:46
	to inspire your people.	1:00:52
	We praise you, you who have proven faithful in your love	1:00:55
	and witness to every generation of believers.	1:01:00
	You who blessed us by giving us with Moses,	1:01:03
	a fleeting glimpse of your backward side	1:01:08
	as you pass before us in this world.	1:01:11
	We thank you and praise you for all your faithful witnesses	1:01:16
	in every generation who have put on thy full armor	1:01:20
	and fought the good fight.	1:01:25
	Through their faithfulness,	1:01:28
	they have shown forth thy faithfulness.	1:01:30
	Through their frailty, thou has shown forth	1:01:34
	thy steadfast love and mercy.	1:01:37
	In them we rejoice in an endless line of splendor,	1:01:41
	a grand procession of holiness,	1:01:46
	righteousness, faithfulness, humbleness, and obedience.	1:01:49
	Their lives and deaths continue to stream across	1:01:56
	our dark nights to light our way	1:01:59
	and lead us to never ending day.	1:02:02
	We thank you, we praise you that these responded	1:02:05
	to your call in life and death,	1:02:09
	to precede us in faith and call us also	1:02:12
	to life and fellowship with you.	1:02:16
	We give special thanks now for those	1:02:21
	nearest and dearest to us	1:02:23
	through whom we have most immediately experienced	1:02:26
	the power of your presence.	1:02:29
	We remember with searing gratitude those blood kin	1:02:33
	and spirit kin, who responded to your initiatives	1:02:36
	and showed forth your love to us and in us.	1:02:41
	Without their direct touch on our lives,	1:02:46
	we might not now know the joy of communion with you.	1:02:49
	And yet if they had not been touched by another,	1:02:54
	then neither might we have been touched.	1:02:58
	And so it goes, Lord, we cannot,	1:03:01
	we dare not define the bounds of our thanks giving.	1:03:04
	We pray you bless our blessings,	1:03:10
	that somehow we can shout loudly enough	1:03:13
	that the entire procession of Saints may hear our voice,	1:03:16
	to know our joy	1:03:20
	and our thanks and our hope in you,	1:03:22
	in them, in the whole company of the faithful.	1:03:27
	We pray, especially, that your servant, Helen Crotwool	1:03:33
	and all her family may know in their grief	1:03:35
	that we celebrate with them the power	1:03:39
	of a God who has not,	1:03:41
	who does not,	1:03:44
	who will not ever leave us alone,	1:03:46
	but who works in all things for good	1:03:49
	for those who love you.	1:03:52
	Oh, Lord God who was, who is,	1:03:55
	who is to come,	1:03:58
	we join now the noise of our frailty	1:04:00
	to the resound Hosannas of that Heavenly choir	1:04:03
	to praise you whose nature is to pour yourself out	1:04:07
	in an endless stream of steadfast love and mercy	1:04:12
	and who has poured yourself out to us.	1:04:18
	In Durham, North Carolina, on this Sunday after All Saints.	1:04:21
	In a continued special offering now,	1:04:28
	we pray together with our Jesus saying,	1:04:30
	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	1:04:34
	hallowed be thy name.	1:04:37
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:04:40
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	1:04:44
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:04:47
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:04:50
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:04:53
	And lead us not into temptation	1:04:57
	but deliver us from evil	1:05:00
	for thine is the kingdom,	1:05:02
	the power,	1:05:04
	and the glory, forever.	1:05:06
	Amen.	1:05:09
	(medium paced piano music)	1:05:31
	(jazzy piano music)	1:07:44
	(organ music playing)	1:10:42
Choir	(singing)	1:10:59
Preacher	Oh, God, who needs not be enriched	1:11:56
	with any gifts that we may bring,	1:11:58
	yet who loves the cheerful giver,	1:12:01
	receive these our offerings which we present before thee.	1:12:04
	And with them ourselves, our souls and our bodies	1:12:08
	as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to thee	1:12:12
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:12:17
	Amen.	1:12:20
	Go forth that the ears which have heard the voice	1:12:39
	of God's song may be closed to the voice	1:12:42
	of clammer and dispute.	1:12:44
	That the eyes which have seen God's great love	1:12:47
	may also behold God's blessed hope,	1:12:50
	that the tongues which have sung God's praise	1:12:54
	may speak the truth.	1:12:57
	That the feet which have walked in God's courts	1:13:00
	may walk in the light.	1:13:02
	That the bodies which have partaken of God's living body	1:13:05
	may be restored in newness of life.	1:13:08
	And the Lord bless you and keep you.	1:13:12
	The Lord make His face shine upon you	1:13:15
	and be gracious unto you.	1:13:17
	The Lord lift up His countenance upon you	1:13:19
	and give you peace this day	1:13:22
	and forever more.	1:13:25
	Amen.	1:13:28
	(joyful piano music)	1:13:34
Choir	(sings)	1:13:41
	(drums playing)	1:16:00
	(upbeat jazz music)	1:20:31
Choir	(sings)	1:21:37
	(clapping)	1:22:04
	(slow piano music)	1:23:07
	(chatter from the crowd)	1:23:13
	(jazzy piano music)	1:23:42
	(clapping)	1:28:06

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Response to Loss" (November 5, 1978)

Description:

Sermon start time: 35:52. Sermon end time: 55:54.
We can grieve during loss as Jesus did. We can also return to life fully with God and with the comfort of others. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: Life must go on. Not just stoically, not half-heartedly, not with resignation. Honestly, realistically, and fully. And then we begin to know that healing is a mysterious and beautiful process instigated by God.

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r41n7z30h

Date:

November 5, 1978

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

Liturgical Calendar:

Sunday after All Saints Day

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0986
ref7181_q2w
uachapelsermaud
duke:321300
dcrau001866
ark:/87924/r41n7z30h
f5424888-d7ad-4acf-a0ee-10b691671160

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

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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.

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Educational Use Permitted

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

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Robert T. Young - "Response to Loss" (November 5, 1978)

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