Robert T. Young - "The Church: Is It to Care or to Fight?" (November 26, 1978)

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-	Sunday, November 26th, 11 AM service.	0:04
	(organ music)	4:00
-	Let us pray.	12:11
	Oh Almighty God, who pourest out on all who desire it,	12:13
	the spirit of grace and of supplication.	12:18
	Deliver us when we draw near to thee,	12:22
	from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind.	12:25
	That with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections	12:29
	we may worship thee in spirit and in truth,	12:33
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	12:37
	Amen.	12:40
	(organ music)	12:43
	(choir singing)	14:54
	Dearly beloved, we have come to gather	16:15
	in the presence of Almighty God, our heavenly Father,	16:19
	to render thanks for the great benefits	16:24
	that we have received at His hands.	16:27
	To set forth His most worthy praise.	16:31
	To hear His holy word.	16:35
	And to ask for ourselves, and on behalf of others,	16:37
	those things that are necessary for our life	16:42
	and for our salvation.	16:46
	And so that we may prepare ourselves	16:49
	in heart and mind to worship Him, let us with	16:52
	penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins,	16:58
	that we may obtain forgiveness	17:03
	by His infinite good and mercy.	17:05
	Oh God, Lord of our life,	17:10
	whose will is to have your people at peace in your presence,	17:13
	how grieved we are that again and again	17:18
	we choose to break your heart.	17:21
	You have shown us the length and breadth	17:25
	of your caring for us,	17:27
	in your son, our Savior Jesus Christ.	17:29
	Yet we mistrust you nonetheless	17:33
	and dare to spurn your love.	17:36
	You have given us the keys to your heart,	17:39
	yet we have bolted the doors of our hearts against you.	17:43
	We have turned away from you	17:47
	and have attempted to live as gods unto ourselves.	17:50
	We have been arrogant, indifferent, and uncaring.	17:54
	Forgive us, we pray, for your namesake.	17:58
	Grant that we once again may hear the word of your love	18:02
	and will, and thrill to it in glad response.	18:07
	Deliver us out of the harried and joyless worlds	18:11
	that we have created for ourselves, and in which	18:15
	we live, and bring us into the light,	18:18
	and peace, and joy of your presence.	18:22
	Let your Kingdom come, let your will be done,	18:25
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	18:29
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord.	18:32
	Amen.	18:35
	The Lord is gracious and merciful.	18:51
	Slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.	18:54
	This is the message we have heard	18:59
	from Him and proclaim to you.	19:01
	That God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.	19:04
	If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,	19:09
	we have fellowship with one another and the blood	19:13
	of Jesus His Son cleanses from all sin.	19:17
	Let us give thanks for God is good,	19:23
	and God's love is everlasting.	19:26
-	Thanks be to God, whose love is everlasting.	19:30
	Thanks be to God, whose mercy we've been gifted.	19:34
	Thanks be to God, who has promised to be with us.	19:38
	Amen.	19:43
-	We're very pleased to welcome you	19:45
	this morning to this service of worship.	19:47
	It is an appropriate time to pause and reflect	19:52
	as we give thanks for God's gifts to us.	19:57
	And as we move toward the end of this fall semester,	20:02
	and as we begin the holy season of Advent,	20:08
	we're glad to have you worship with us today.	20:13
	We note with sadness and real shock	20:19
	the unexpected death yesterday morning	20:24
	of retired professor Robert C. Cox,	20:29
	a long-time coach and Professor	20:33
	of Physical Education at Duke University.	20:36
	Memorial services will be held on Tuesday at 11 AM	20:40
	at the Duke Memorial Methodist Church on Chapel Hill Street.	20:47
	Our prayers, and yours, of sympathy	20:52
	are offered in behalf of his family	20:56
	and his many, many friends.	21:00
	We hope that you will take notice of the announcement	21:04
	about the forthcoming performance of Handel's Messiah	21:08
	this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.	21:12
	There are still a few tickets left	21:18
	for each of these performances.	21:21
	The tickets may be purchased at Page box office	21:24
	between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM.	21:29
	We look forward to another outstanding presentation	21:34
	of the Duke Orchestra and the Duke Chapel Choir.	21:40
	The epistle is written in the 15th chapter	21:51
	of the first epistle of Paul the Apostle	21:55
	to the Corinthians, beginning at the 20th verse.	21:58
	But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.	22:11
	The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.	22:16
	For as by man came death, by a man	22:21
	has come also the resurrection of the dead.	22:25
	For as in Adam, all die.	22:30
	So also in Christ shall all be made alive.	22:33
	But each in His own order.	22:39
	Christ the first fruits, then at	22:43
	His coming those who belong to Christ.	22:46
	Then comes the end, when He delivers	22:50
	the Kingdom to God the Father	22:53
	after destroying every rule and every authority and power.	22:56
	For He must reign until He has put	23:02
	all His enemies under His feet.	23:05
	The last enemy to be destroyed is death.	23:09
	For God has put all things in subjection under His feet.	23:13
	But when it says all things are put in subjection under Him,	23:19
	it is plain that He is expected	23:25
	who put all things under Him.	23:27
	When all things are subjected to Him,	23:31
	then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him	23:34
	who puts all things under Him	23:39
	that God may be everything to everyone.	23:42
	The word of the Lord.	23:51
	Would you please stand for the reading of the Gospel?	23:54
	The Holy Gospel is written in the 25th chapter	24:03
	of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.	24:07
	Beginning at the 31st verse.	24:10
	When the Son of man comes in His glory,	24:14
	and all the holy angels with them,	24:17
	then He will sit on His glorious throne.	24:21
	Before Him will be gathered all the nations.	24:25
	And He will separate them one from another	24:28
	as a shepard separates the sheep from the goats.	24:31
	And He will place the sheep on His	24:35
	right hand, but the goats at the left.	24:37
	Then the king shall say to those at His right hand	24:42
	"Come, oh blessed of my Father,	24:46
	"inherit the Kingdom prepared for you	24:49
	"from the foundation of the world.	24:52
	"For I was hungry and you gave me food.	24:55
	"I was thirsty and you gave me drink.	24:59
	"I was a stranger and you welcomed me.	25:03
	"I was naked and you clothed me.	25:07
	"I was sick and you visited me.	25:10
	"I was in prison and you came to me."	25:14
	Then the righteous will answer Him	25:18
	"Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee?	25:21
	"Or thirsty and give thee drink?	25:25
	"And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee?	25:28
	"Or naked and clothed thee?	25:32
	"And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?"	25:35
	And the King will answer then.	25:42
	"Truly I say to you, as you did it unto	25:45
	"one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me."	25:48
	Then He shall say to those at His left hand	25:55
	"Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire	25:58
	"prepared for the devil and his angels.	26:02
	"For I was hungry and you gave me no food.	26:05
	"I was thirsty and you gave me no drink.	26:09
	"I was a stranger and you did not welcome me.	26:13
	"Naked, and you did not clothe me.	26:17
	"Sick and in prison and you did not visit me."	26:20
	Then they will answer "Lord, when did we see thee	26:25
	"hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked,	26:28
	"or sick, or in prison, and did not administer to thee?"	26:32
	Then He will answer them "Truly I say to you,	26:38
	"as you did it not to one of the least	26:42
	"of these, you did it not to me."	26:45
	And they will go away into eternal punishment,	26:48
	but the righteous into eternal light.	26:52
	The gospel of the Lord.	26:59
	Praise to you, Lord God.	27:02
	(organ music)	27:04
	(choir singing)	27:18
-	In the name of God, who creates us.	28:12
	Redeems us.	28:18
	And sustains us.	28:21
	Amen.	28:24
	Today in the church here is a Sunday	28:27
	observed as the Sunday of Christ the King.	28:31
	A Sunday we don't observe every year,	28:37
	but only when Easter early on	28:40
	in the church year falls very early.	28:42
	And when the season of Pentecost runs to its limit.	28:47
	It is that Sunday between the season of Pentecost	28:52
	and the first Sunday of the church year,	28:57
	namely the first Sunday of the season of Advent.	28:59
	The gospel lesson for this Sunday shows Christ	29:05
	as the King.	29:09
	And has some disturbing, demanding,	29:13
	and confrontive words in it.	29:17
	Let us listen to the words.	29:22
	"I was hungry, you gave me food.	29:26
	"I was thirsty, you gave me drink.	29:30
	"I was a stranger, you welcomed me in.	29:33
	"Naked, you clothed me.	29:38
	"Sick, you visited me.	29:40
	"In prison, you came to me."	29:43
	"But Lord," they reply, "when did we see you?	29:46
	"When did we see you hungry, or thirsty,	29:53
	"or naked, or a stranger, or in prison, or sick?	29:56
	"And when did we minister to you?"	30:02
	"As you did it to one of the least of these,"	30:08
	the King replies, "you have done it unto me."	30:12
	Our purpose in the church, our purpose	30:19
	as those who follow Jesus the Christ,	30:23
	I believe is very very simple.	30:27
	Very difficult, but very simple.	30:31
	Namely, our purpose is to care.	30:34
	It is to have compassion even as	30:38
	Jesus our Lord has compassion.	30:42
	There's a story told of the missionary	30:49
	who went to preach in India one time.	30:50
	The missionary landed at the airport	30:54
	and made his way along the streets of India.	30:55
	This particular city, to the hotel.	30:59
	Where he was to spend the night	31:02
	and to stay as long as he preached.	31:04
	He made his way along the streets	31:07
	and the sidewalks and up the steps of the hotel,	31:08
	through the lobby, and up to his room.	31:10
	As he did so, everywhere he went it seemed	31:12
	he saw bodies lying all over the street.	31:15
	On the sidewalk, on the steps,	31:18
	even in the lobby of the hotel.	31:20
	He got to his room and he realized	31:25
	that some of those bodies not only	31:26
	were sick and hungry and starving,	31:28
	but some of those bodies indeed	31:31
	even were dying and he was appalled.	31:32
	He had been there preaching for three weeks.	31:37
	He made his way along the same path	31:40
	one night back to his hotel, and got to his	31:42
	hotel room and realized that he had seen	31:44
	no bodies along the way that night.	31:46
	And yet as he sat on the bed and remembered,	31:49
	he had indeed seen those bodies.	31:52
	The scene had been essentially the same	31:54
	as the first night he made his way there.	31:56
	There were bodies lying on the streets	31:58
	and on the sidewalks and on the steps,	32:00
	even in the lobby of the hotel.	32:02
	The only difference was that after three weeks	32:03
	he had grown accustomed to them	32:06
	and he did not even see them.	32:08
	I think there's a parable there for us.	32:14
	And the parable is this.	32:19
	That there are people in need all around us.	32:21
	And the first time we see them, we are appalled,	32:25
	but then as we see them day by day,	32:29
	or week by week, we grow accustomed to them	32:31
	and pretty soon we do not see them at all.	32:34
	The first time in the city of Asheville	32:37
	when I saw a poor woman gathered on a street corner	32:39
	with her three or four children huddled around her,	32:42
	poor and bedraggled and obviously hungry,	32:45
	and probably not even knowing where	32:48
	they would spend the night, I was shocked.	32:49
	The first time I drove through Cherokee	32:52
	out in the mountains of western North Carolina	32:54
	and looked up into one of those coves	32:56
	and saw a little Indian hovel with the wind	32:58
	obviously blowing in from all four directions.	33:01
	I was shocked, even appalled, the first time	33:03
	a 15-year-old girl sat in my office,	33:06
	pregnant, and not knowing what to do	33:09
	and the tears rolling down her cheeks,	33:11
	I was absolutely appalled and most disturbed.	33:13
	The first time I saw a young man	33:20
	convicted at the age of 16 of a crime,	33:23
	and on his way to jail, my heart broke.	33:26
	We see these scenes day by day, week by week,	33:30
	and the first time we see one or the other	33:33
	or all of them, we are shocked, appalled,	33:37
	deeply disturbed, and yet then we grow	33:40
	accustomed to them, and they continue to move	33:43
	around us, and soon, we don't see them at all.	33:45
	Yes, of all of the possibilities of what has happened	33:49
	so shockingly in Guyana, the most disturbing	33:53
	possibility to me is that we may grow	33:57
	accustomed to that, and we may soon	34:00
	get over the shock of it and do nothing at all.	34:02
	George Bernard Shaw once said the worst sin	34:10
	toward our fellow human being is not to hate them,	34:13
	because when we hate somebody we at least	34:15
	acknowledge their presence.	34:18
	The worst sin, he said, toward our fellow	34:19
	human being is not to hate somebody.	34:21
	It is to be indifferent to them.	34:24
	That is the essence of inhumanity.	34:27
	Jesus said by this shall all people know that	34:30
	you're my disciples. How? if you love one another.	34:33
	There are many verses of scripture	34:38
	that I do not understand.	34:40
	There are many that I do understand	34:42
	and understand only too well.	34:43
	There is one that I understand most clearly,	34:46
	and it haunts me night and day.	34:48
	That is the word where Jesus said,	34:51
	"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord'	34:53
	will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who,	34:55
	those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven."	34:58
	And as I understand the will of our Father	35:03
	in Heaven, it is that we are to	35:05
	love, love, love, care, care, care.	35:07
	So translated, I think that means it doesn't	35:12
	really matter how many times we name	35:14
	the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.	35:16
	It may not even matter how many times	35:18
	we pray to Him, or through Him, or in His spirit.	35:20
	It may not even matter how many times we have	35:24
	our name on church rolls or how much we give,	35:27
	whatever we do. He said, "Not everyone who says to me	35:30
	'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,	35:34
	but those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven.	35:37
	His will to love.	35:43
	Robert Reigns prays, I think, for all of us	35:47
	when he says I am ashamed, Lord.	35:50
	You know how I look down on people	35:53
	who don't live the way I think they should.	35:55
	You see my frowns, you hear my condemnations,	35:58
	you watch my scorn tearing other people down.	36:00
	Forgive me.	36:04
	Help me to accept as Jesus accepted Simon,	36:05
	Levi, and the woman, as you accept us all.	36:08
	Thank you for listening.	36:12
	Help me to be a listener.	36:13
	Help me to be a carer.	36:15
	I want to ask us, this morning,	36:21
	the church this morning, some questions.	36:23
	Is it to care, or is it to fight?	36:27
	Is it to study, or is it to act?	36:30
	Is it to work, or is it to worship?	36:34
	Is it to pray, or is it to protest?	36:37
	When should the church care, and when should it fight?	36:40
	Well I believe it should indeed do both,	36:43
	but for the moment, my concern is to see	36:45
	that we know that the church is to care.	36:48
	Why?	36:50
	Our Lord Jesus came caring.	36:51
	And I believe that we who seek	36:55
	to follow Him are called to do no less.	36:56
	But I'm guilty.	37:01
	For I've seen and known of hungry and have not fed.	37:05
	I have been aware of those who are thirsty	37:10
	both physically and spiritually and not given drink.	37:12
	I have been aware of the stranger,	37:16
	and I have not welcomed them in.	37:18
	I have known of those who are naked or who are	37:21
	ill-clothed and have not bothered to clothe them.	37:23
	I've been very much aware of those	37:27
	who are in sick and have not visited.	37:28
	I know of those who are in prison	37:32
	and I have not gone to see them.	37:34
	As a matter of fact, if I may be	37:36
	fully confessional about that this morning,	37:38
	I have never been to a prison	37:40
	to visit somebody in my life.	37:42
	And as I read these words and as I hear God's word	37:45
	in them, the judgment of Christ is upon me.	37:47
	William Stringfellow, episcopal lawyer layman	37:53
	who preached here not too long ago,	37:55
	had a baccalaureate service, in one	37:57
	of his books writes "Christ shunned no one.	37:59
	"Not even adulterers, not even tax collectors,	38:04
	"not even neurotics and psychotics.	38:07
	"Not even those tempted to suicide, not even alcoholics.	38:09
	"Not even poor people.	38:13
	"Not even beggars, not even lepers.	38:14
	"Not even those who ridiculed Him, not even those	38:16
	"who betrayed Him, not even His own enemies.	38:19
	"He shunned no one.	38:22
	"The words that tell the ministry of Christ	38:25
	"are words of sorrow, poverty, rejection,	38:27
	"radical unpopularity, they are words of agony.	38:31
	"It seems ridiculous," he says, "to apply	38:35
	"such words to the ministry of churches nowadays,	38:37
	"yet when these words cannot be truthfully	38:41
	"applied to the ministry of the churches today,	38:43
	"they must then be spoken against the churches	38:46
	"to show how far the churches are from	38:49
	"being the body of Christ engaged	38:52
	"in the ministry of Christ in the world.	38:54
	"When those words cannot be spoken about us then,"	38:57
	he says, "they are to be spoken in judgment against us."	39:00
	Colin Morris in his little book Include Me Out	39:08
	says any true leadership that the church	39:10
	throws up in our day will need these	39:13
	two things, two simple qualities:	39:16
	the ability to feel more deeply	39:19
	and to absorb more punishment.	39:22
	And as I think about myself and think	39:27
	of others whom I know, I wonder if we do not	39:29
	lack much of the deep feeling of compassion	39:31
	that characterize the life of Christ.	39:34
	And I wondered if we really are willing	39:37
	to absorb more punishment for our neighbors.	39:39
	Are we?	39:44
	Stringfellow tells of another experience	39:46
	he had one morning as he was getting ready	39:48
	to catch a plane to fly to make a speech.	39:50
	He was in his law office and the telephone rang.	39:54
	It was a call from an Episcopal priest friend of his.	39:58
	The priest was apparently obviously	40:02
	frantic over the telephone.	40:04
	He said, "Bill, what shall I do?	40:06
	I have a woman in my office here	40:08
	who has three children with her.	40:10
	They have just been kicked out of their apartment.	40:11
	She has no rent, she's been	40:14
	everywhere that she can think of,	40:15
	everywhere that we can think of,	40:17
	to try to get money to pay her rent	40:18
	so that she and the children can move back	40:21
	into that apartment or can find another place	40:22
	to live," and he went on and on and on.	40:25
	And finally, Stringfellow, part out of exasperation,	40:27
	and part I believe, probably out of inspiration,	40:30
	after the man had gone on for a long time	40:33
	finally he said, "What can you do?"	40:35
	He said, "I'll tell you what you can	40:38
	do in that rich church of yours.	40:40
	He said you can sell some of the tapestries	40:42
	on the altar and use that money and pay the rent.	40:45
	For this woman and her children.	40:50
	Our Lord Jesus came caring.	40:54
	And we?	40:57
	Oh we care.	40:59
	We give generous contributions when we worship,	41:01
	or rather at least we give some	41:04
	contributions when we worship.	41:06
	We go through our closets during clothing drives	41:09
	and clean out what we will never possibly	41:12
	wear again and give it to somebody.	41:15
	It reminds me of an experience I had	41:18
	one time in the first church I served.	41:20
	There was a man by the name of John Silvia	41:23
	who always had a beautiful garden.	41:24
	This was our first church and we needed	41:27
	every bit of help we could get.	41:29
	So I went to call on him one day	41:31
	in late summer and he had as usual	41:33
	a beautiful garden out back, and I was so hoping	41:35
	that he would offer to give us something to eat.	41:38
	As I got ready to go Mr. Silvia said, "Bob," said	41:41
	"things are going well in the garden now.	41:43
	As a matter of fact, we've had just	41:46
	a bountiful crop this summer.	41:47
	Said go out and help yourself to a mess of that corn.	41:49
	And if you don't take it, then I'll feed it	41:52
	to the pigs when you leave anyhow."	41:54
	And so we send our cards at Christmastime	42:00
	and our fruit baskets at Thanksgiving.	42:02
	We read the paper or watch TV or listen to the radio	42:05
	and we become concerned, at least for a few minutes.	42:08
	Shocked even sometimes.	42:11
	And then we forget.	42:14
	We think we are caring, and I really believe	42:16
	that most of us, myself included,	42:19
	most of us really do believe that we are caring	42:21
	and that at times, we really indeed are even sacrificing.	42:24
	But sacrificing, for most of us	42:28
	of the ordained clergy, means that	42:30
	we ministers are going to be willing	42:34
	to live just a little bit less affluently	42:35
	than the professor, or the doctor,	42:39
	or the lawyer, or the druggist.	42:41
	And sacrifice for many lay persons	42:43
	whom I know means giving something	42:46
	or doing something that doesn't interfere	42:48
	with fishing, or hunting, or the Democratic Party,	42:50
	or the company that drops in or that will not	42:53
	keep one from buying that new car,	42:55
	or house, or TV, or new furniture.	42:57
	This is sacrifice to many of us.	43:01
	We say I'll sacrifice if,	43:03
	or we say I will care if, and I hear	43:06
	Jesus saying don't give me your ifs.	43:09
	What I want is for you to care.	43:11
	Really care about your brothers and your sisters.	43:14
	I don't want your ifs.	43:17
	So when two-thirds of the world doesn't know	43:22
	where its next meal is coming from,	43:24
	and probably will go to bed hungry tonight.	43:27
	And some 10,000 persons, we are told,	43:31
	may well die of starvation in the next 24 hours,	43:33
	our caring doesn't seem to go very far, does it?	43:37
	But some of you do care.	43:45
	I was talking with one of you this morning.	43:48
	One of the older members of the	43:52
	worshipping congregation today.	43:53
	Who does indeed care, and so do many of you.	43:56
	For some of you have fed the hungry.	44:02
	And have clothed the naked and have visited the sick.	44:05
	Have gone to the prisoner and have	44:08
	given water to the thirsty.	44:09
	And some of you I know have done much much more.	44:11
	I'm not a betting man.	44:16
	But I'll bet you this morning my last dollar	44:20
	that right here on this campus, and in this community,	44:25
	and if you're visiting with us, in whatever	44:28
	community you have come from, there are lonely,	44:30
	sick, hungry, thirsty, prisoners, strange people	44:33
	who need somebody to minister to them.	44:38
	And some of you have.	44:43
	But then...	44:45
	There's an older woman who died after having spent	44:48
	the last three years of her life in a rest home.	44:52
	The last year she was alive, she kept a diary.	44:55
	The diary someone found in her bedside table	45:00
	after she had died, and they picked it up	45:03
	and opened the diary and it read	45:05
	January 1, nobody came.	45:08
	January 2, nobody came.	45:10
	January 3, nobody came.	45:12
	March 15, nobody came.	45:14
	June 17, nobody came.	45:16
	August 23, nobody came.	45:19
	The 10-year-old prayed her prayer one night.	45:26
	Oh God, help those who are poor to have some things.	45:29
	Help those who are on the bottom	45:34
	to come up to the middle, and the she stopped	45:36
	in the middle of her prayer and looked up	45:38
	at her mommy and then she said, "But Mommy,	45:40
	then there won't be anybody on the bottom."	45:42
	And when her mother told me about it	45:46
	I said, "Glory hallelujah, nobody, none of God's	45:47
	children on the bottom of life as we know it today."	45:52
	Do you remember a conversation that Jesus had with Peter?	46:00
	After Jesus was raised from the dead,	46:04
	Jesus and Peter were walking on the beach.	46:06
	Use your imagination with me for a moment	46:10
	and bring this to your mind, Jesus and Peter	46:12
	walking up and down the beach.	46:16
	Jesus has been raised from the dead.	46:18
	He says to Peter, "Peter, do you love me?"	46:21
	Peter says, "Yes Lord, I love you."	46:26
	Jesus says, "Then feed my sheep."	46:28
	They walk a little bit farther down the way	46:31
	and Jesus turns to Peter again	46:33
	and says, "Peter, do you love me?"	46:35
	Peter turns and looks Jesus straight in the face	46:39
	that time, I'm sure, and says, "Lord,	46:42
	yes indeed, you know I love you."	46:45
	He said, "Then feed my sheep."	46:48
	They walk a little bit farther down the way	46:52
	and Jesus turns to Peter for a third time	46:53
	and He says, "Peter, are you sure that you love me?"	46:56
	And Peter turns and looks at Jesus, I'm sure	46:59
	with a quizzical expression on his face,	47:01
	and says, "Lord, didn't you hear me?	47:03
	I told you once, I told you twice,	47:05
	if necessary I'll tell you again, yes indeed	47:08
	I love you," and He said, "Then tend my sheep."	47:10
	Translated, I think that means Jesus	47:13
	telling Peter and telling us love, love, love.	47:16
	Tend, feed, tend.	47:21
	Care, care, care.	47:24
	And so the question this morning I believe is,	47:29
	what is going to happen if you and I do not	47:32
	care enough to show the love of Christ to others?	47:35
	Will the hungry be fed?	47:40
	The stranger received, the lonely visited,	47:42
	the oppressed freed?	47:44
	The widow cared for, the fatherless watched over,	47:46
	the burden relieved, what will happen?	47:49
	You remember, I'm sure, Martin Luther King's last sermon.	47:53
	Moving sermon.	47:57
	Very very powerful sermon.	47:58
	Partly because of what he says near the end.	48:01
	When he says that he's not ready to die,	48:04
	that he may not cross over into the promised land,	48:07
	but he's been to the mountaintop,	48:12
	and he knows that even if he doesn't,	48:13
	his people will, and all of us will.	48:15
	But early on in that sermon, Martin Luther King	48:17
	said some other words that I think are just as powerful.	48:20
	"I remember," he says.	48:24
	"When Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem,	48:27
	"we rented a car to go down from Jerusalem to Jericho.	48:30
	"And as soon as we got on that road I said	48:34
	"to my wife I can see why Jesus used this as	48:36
	"the setting for the parable of the good Samaritan.	48:39
	"It's a winding, meandering road,	48:41
	"it's really conducive to ambushing.	48:43
	"It's really a dangerous road."	48:45
	"You start out in Jerusalem which is about	48:47
	"1,200 feet above sea level, and by the time	48:49
	"you get down to Jericho 15 or 20 minutes later	48:52
	"you're about 2,200 feet below sea level.	48:56
	"In the days of Jesus it came	48:59
	"to be known as the Bloody Pass.	49:00
	"And you know, it's possible that the priest	49:03
	"and the Levite looked over that man on the ground	49:05
	"and wondered if the robbers were still around.	49:08
	"It's possible that they felt that the man	49:10
	"on the ground was merely faking, that he was	49:12
	"acting like he had been beaten and robbed	49:14
	"in order to lure them there for quick and easy seizure.	49:16
	"And so the first question that the priest asked,	49:20
	"the first question that the Levite asked,	49:23
	"was, "If I stopped to help	49:25
	"this man, what will happen to me?"	49:28
	"But then the good Samaritan came by.	49:32
	"And he reversed that question.	49:35
	"He said, 'If I do not stop to help	49:37
	"this man, what will happen to him?'"	49:39
	It seems to me that the latter question is the one for us.	49:46
	If we do not stop to help,	49:49
	what will happen to others?	49:54
	I don't know whether you've ever been around anyone	49:59
	at a moment or at a time when they	50:02
	felt that death was very close.	50:04
	If you have, you know full well.	50:08
	And as you think about your own death,	50:11
	if you think about what you would like to do	50:15
	or say just before you die, I think you and I	50:18
	probably would share something in common.	50:22
	I think I would want to say some of the most important,	50:25
	the most meaningful, the most beautiful,	50:28
	the most loving words I could think of.	50:30
	I think that's the way it is with most people.	50:37
	They save, if they possibly can, their most	50:40
	significant words for just before death.	50:43
	Some of the last words that Jesus ever uttered	50:49
	to His disciples are in the Gospel of Matthew	50:52
	and they go, "I was hungry, you gave me food.	50:56
	I was thirsty, you gave me drink.	51:00
	I was a stranger and you welcomed me.	51:03
	I was naked and you clothed me.	51:06
	I was sick and you visited me.	51:08
	I was in prison and you came to me."	51:11
	The very next words are...	51:14
	"You know that after two days,	51:18
	the Son of man will be crucified."	51:23
	This is how important it is.	51:29
	Jesus wants us to know, just before His death,	51:33
	that we are to care, care, care.	51:38
	We are to love.	51:43
	Herbert Tarr, the author, has some lines	51:45
	that I think are appropriate at this point.	51:50
	As he tells about David, the young man	51:54
	who is about to go off to college.	51:57
	The conductor called all visitors off the train.	52:01
	Oh David, she said as she hugged him.	52:05
	She hugged him to her bosom which smelled	52:09
	of fruits and vegetables and a mother's love.	52:11
	Take care of him, she said.	52:15
	These last words were addressed not to Uncle Asher,	52:18
	nor even to the conductor, but to God.	52:21
	Tante Dvorah spoke to him freely and often.	52:23
	For the Lord, to her way of thinking,	52:27
	was a person sitter to whom loved ones	52:29
	were safely to be entrusted.	52:32
	As well as her senior partner in the business of living.	52:35
	Always accessible and invariably	52:38
	amenable to her petitions of love.	52:41
	David looked at his aunt and his uncle.	52:44
	She with hands chapped and hard	52:47
	from selling fruit and vegetables	52:50
	outdoors in all kinds of weather,	52:52
	her face ruddy and round and invariably smiling.	52:54
	Her heavy body more accustomed	52:59
	to half a dozen sweaters at one time	53:01
	than to just a single coat.	53:03
	Her hair the color of moonlight now,	53:05
	but her dark eyes still very bright.	53:08
	He, Uncle Asher, with his slight wiry body,	53:11
	strong and yet bent from lifting too many	53:15
	fruit and vegetable crates for far too many years.	53:19
	His wind-burned skin, his swarthy face	53:23
	impassive except for his wry mouth.	53:25
	This childless couple, who had taken	53:28
	the orphan David into their home,	53:32
	rearing him since the age of seven,	53:34
	and yet refusing to let him call them	53:37
	Mama and Papa for fear that he would	53:39
	forget who his real parents were.	53:42
	David grabbed their rough peddler's hands	53:45
	in his smooth student hands and said,	53:48
	"How can I ever begin to repay you two	53:50
	for what you've done for me?"	53:53
	Uncle Asher spoke gently and said,	53:55
	"David, there's a saying.	53:57
	The love of parents goes to their children,	54:01
	but the love of their children goes to their children."	54:04
	"That's not so," David said.	54:09
	"I'll always be trying to," and Tante Dvorah	54:11
	interrupted and said, "David, what your Uncle Asher	54:14
	really means and is trying to say is that	54:17
	a parent's love can never be paid back.	54:21
	It isn't to be paid back.	54:26
	It can only be passed on."	54:29
	My friends.	54:35
	The love of God, which you and I have experienced	54:39
	in Jesus Christ, can never be paid back.	54:44
	It can be passed on.	54:51
	Amen.	54:58
	(organ music)	55:06
	(choir singing)	55:41
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	58:21
	We believe in God, who has created, and is creating.	58:25
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus	58:31
	to reconcile and make new.	58:34
	Who works in us and others by the Spirit.	58:37
	We trust God who calls us to be the church.	58:41
	To celebrate life in its fullness.	58:46
	To love and serve others.	58:49
	To seek justice and resist evil.	58:52
	To proclaim Jesus crucified and risen.	58:55
	Our judge and our hope.	58:59
	In life, in death, in life beyond death.	59:02
	God is with us.	59:06
	We are not alone.	59:08
	Thanks be to God.	59:10
	The Lord be with you.	59:13
-	And also with you.	59:15
-	Let us pray.	59:16
	Accept, oh Lord, our thanks and praise	59:26
	for all that you have done for us.	59:29
	We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation.	59:33
	For the beauty of this world.	59:37
	For the wonder of life and for the mystery of love.	59:40
	We thank you for the blessing of family and friends.	59:45
	And for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.	59:51
	We thank you for setting us at tasks	59:57
	which demand our best efforts.	1:00:00
	And for leading us to accomplishments	1:00:03
	which satisfy and delight us.	1:00:06
	We thank you also for those disappointments	1:00:09
	and failures that lead us to acknowledge	1:00:13
	our dependence on you alone.	1:00:17
	Above all, we thank you for your son Jesus Christ.	1:00:21
	For the truth of His word and example.	1:00:27
	For His steadfast obedience	1:00:31
	by which He overcame temptation.	1:00:34
	For His dying through which we overcame death.	1:00:37
	And for His rising to life again in which	1:00:43
	we are raised to the life of your Kingdom.	1:00:46
	Grant us the gift of your Spirit.	1:00:51
	That we may know Him and make Him known.	1:00:54
	And through Him, at all times and in all places,	1:00:58
	may give thanks to you in all things.	1:01:02
	Remember, oh Lord, thy church upon Earth.	1:01:06
	Deepen her influence and extend her power for good.	1:01:11
	'Til the kingdoms of this world become	1:01:16
	the Kingdom of our Lord and his Christ.	1:01:19
	We pray for our beloved Lamb.	1:01:23
	For our leaders and governors.	1:01:26
	And for all who have part in public service.	1:01:29
	Make them pure in motive, wise in counsel,	1:01:34
	and strong in action.	1:01:38
	Doing right in the fear of thy holy name.	1:01:41
	Have mercy, oh Lord, upon those	1:01:46
	who are passing through saw trial.	1:01:48
	The poor, the sick, the anxious, the oppressed, the hungry.	1:01:51
	Inspire in us and in our fellow men	1:01:59
	the will to help our suffering brethren.	1:02:02
	Heal, protect, and strengthen them according to their need.	1:02:06
	Comfort those in sorrow with the comfort	1:02:11
	which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.	1:02:14
	We implore thy grace and protection for the ensuing day.	1:02:18
	Keep us temperate in all things.	1:02:23
	And diligent in our several callings.	1:02:26
	Grant us patience under afflictions.	1:02:30
	Give us grace to be just and upright in all our dealings.	1:02:33
	Quiet and peaceable, full of compassion,	1:02:39
	and ready to do good to all men.	1:02:43
	According to our abilities and opportunities.	1:02:46
	Direct us in all our ways.	1:02:50
	Defend us from all dangers and adversities.	1:02:53
	And be graciously pleased to take us,	1:02:57
	and all who are dear to us, under thy	1:03:00
	fatherly care and protection.	1:03:02
	These things and whatever else thou	1:03:07
	shalt see to be necessary and convenient	1:03:09
	to us, we humbly beseech you.	1:03:12
	Through the merits and mediation of your	1:03:15
	Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.	1:03:17
	Amen.	1:03:22
	And now as our Lord has taught us.	1:03:24
	Our Father, who art in Heaven.	1:03:27
	Hallowed be thy name.	1:03:30
	Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,	1:03:32
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	1:03:36
	Give us this day our daily bread.	1:03:38
	And forgive us our trespasses as we	1:03:41
	forgive those who trespass against us.	1:03:44
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:03:48
	For thine is the Kingdom, and the power,	1:03:53
	and the glory, forever and ever.	1:03:56
	Amen.	1:03:59
	(organ music)	1:04:04
	Oh God, most merciful and gracious.	1:10:26
	Of whose bounty we have all received.	1:10:29
	Accept this offering of thy people.	1:10:33
	Remember in thy love those who have brought it,	1:10:36
	and those for whom it is given.	1:10:40
	And so follow it with thy blessing that it may	1:10:43
	promote peace and goodwill among men	1:10:46
	and advance the Kingdom of our	1:10:50
	Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.	1:10:52
	Amen.	1:10:55
	(organ music)	1:10:58
	(choir singing)	1:11:38
	And now may the peace of God which passed	1:14:36
	with understanding keep your hearts and minds	1:14:38
	in the knowledge and love of God	1:14:42
	and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:14:44
	And the blessing of God almighty,	1:14:48
	the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,	1:14:50
	be amongst you and remain with you always.	1:14:54
	Amen.	1:14:58
	(organ music)	1:15:02

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "The Church: Is It to Care or to Fight?" (November 26, 1978)

Description:

To really care means to sacrifice something. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: We say I'll sacrifice if, or we say, I will care if, and I hear Jesus saying don't give me your ifs. What I want is for you to care.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4c53fg6w

Date:

November 26, 1978

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

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Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0990
ref7189_bd0
uachapelsermaud
duke:320346
dcrau001870
ark:/87924/r4c53fg6w
b9e25c82-e914-4774-9644-2e72bca3b11f

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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Robert T. Young - "The Church: Is It to Care or to Fight?" (November 26, 1978)

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Duke University Archives