Robert T. Young - "Are You He Who Is to Come?" (December 17, 1978)

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Narrator	Duke Chapel Sunday Service,	0:04
	December 17, 1978.	0:06
	(gentle pipe organ music)	0:10
	(mellow pipe organ music)	4:08
	(gentle pipe organ music)	8:49
	(upbeat bell choir music)	11:10
-	Glory be to the Lord our God.	12:28
-	Praise his holy name.	12:32
-	Come to us then.	12:34
-	In the last hour.	12:37
-	Do not let us be deaf to you.	12:39
-	Jesus, the Savior of the world.	12:42
-	Who will come to look for us and save us?	12:47
-	The Savior will come for us.	12:51
	(pipe organ playing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel")	12:57
	♪ O come, O come, Emmanuel ♪	13:43
	♪ And ransom captive Israel ♪	13:50
	♪ That mourns in lonely exile here ♪	13:58
	♪ Until the Son of God appear ♪	14:06
	♪ Rejoice ♪	14:14
	♪ Rejoice Emmanuel ♪	14:17
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	14:24
	♪ O come, thou Wisdom from on high ♪	14:34
	♪ And order all things far and nigh ♪	14:42
	♪ To us the path of knowledge show ♪	14:50
	♪ And cause us in her ways to go ♪	14:58
	♪ Rejoice ♪	15:06
	♪ Rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	15:09
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	15:16
	♪ O come, O come, great Lord of might ♪	15:26
	♪ Who to the tribes on Sinai's height ♪	15:34
	♪ In ancient times once gave ♪	15:42
	♪ The law in cloud and majesty and awe ♪	15:50
	♪ Rejoice ♪	15:58
	♪ Rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	16:01
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	16:08
	♪ O come, thou Root of Jesse's tree ♪	16:18
	♪ An ensign of thy people be ♪	16:26
	♪ Before thee rulers silent fall ♪	16:34
	♪ All people's on they mercy call ♪	16:42
	♪ Rejoice ♪	16:50
	♪ Rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	16:53
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	17:00
	♪ Amen ♪	17:09
-	If we claim to be sinless, we are	17:36
	self-deceived and strangers to the truth.	17:38
	If we confess our sins, then God is just,	17:43
	and He may be trusted to forgive our sins	17:47
	and cleanse us from any kind of wrong.	17:50
	Therefore, let us come before God confessing our sin.	17:56
	Lord, there is winter in us	18:02
	and grievous loneliness and dark that does not go away.	18:04
	Our souls ache.	18:10
	Our understanding blurs.	18:12
	Our sins increase.	18:15
	And in this season of thy coming	18:17
	we learn again how we have made	18:20
	a wasteland of the human heart	18:23
	and engaged in labors that do not satisfy.	18:26
	Come now, O Beloved, to our wilderness.	18:30
	Make in us the crooked path straight	18:35
	and the rough places plain.	18:38
	And let your major voice that speaks comfort to our	18:41
	despair speak in us also the word of hope	18:44
	whereby we can enter our days with trust	18:49
	and the hours of our deaths with spacious expectation.	18:53
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	18:58
	Who is in a position to condemn?	19:04
	Only Christ, and Christ died for us.	19:08
	Christ reigns in power for us, and Christ prays for us.	19:13
	If someone is in Christ, that person	19:20
	becomes a new person all together.	19:22
	The past is finished and gone,	19:25
	and everything has become fresh and new.	19:29
	Thanks be to God.	19:33
	Amen.	19:35
	Let us give thanks, for God is good,	19:44
	and God's love is everlasting.	19:46
-	Thanks be to God.	19:49
	His love is everlasting.	19:51
	Thanks be to God.	19:54
	His mercy endures.	19:56
	Thanks be to God.	19:58
	He's taken the cross for us.	20:00
	Amen.	20:03
-	Let us pray.	20:14
	Prepare our hearts, O Lord to accept your Word.	20:17
	Silence in us any voice but your own	20:21
	that hearing we may also obey your will.	20:25
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	20:29
	The Old Testament lesson is Psalm 146.	20:33
	This is number 604 in your hymnal	20:37
	and will be read responsively.	20:40
	Praise the Lord.	20:56
-	Praise the Lord, O my soul.	20:58
-	I will praise the Lord as long as I live.	21:01
-	I will sing praises to my God while I have any being.	21:04
-	Put not your trust in princes.	21:09
-	Nor in the son of man in whom there is no help.	21:12
-	When his breath departs, he returns to his earth.	21:19
-	On that very day his thoughts perish.	21:22
-	Happy is he who's help is the God of Jacob.	21:26
-	Whose hope is in the Lord his God.	21:30
-	Who made heaven and earth.	21:33
-	The sea and all that is therein.	21:36
-	Who keeps faith forever.	21:39
-	Who executes justice for the oppressed,	21:41
	who gives food to the hungry.	21:45
-	The Lord sets the prisoners free.	21:47
-	The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.	21:50
-	The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.	21:54
-	The Lord loves the righteous.	21:57
-	The Lord watched over the sojourners.	22:00
	He upholds the widow and the fatherless.	22:03
-	But the wicked he will bring to ruin.	22:06
-	The Lord will reign forever.	22:09
-	Thy God, O Zion, to all generations.	22:12
-	Praise the Lord.	22:16
	The second Old Testament lesson is from	22:20
	the 35th chapter of Isaiah verses one through 10.	22:22
	"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad.	22:28
	"The desert shall rejoice and blossom.	22:31
	"Like the crocus, it shall blossom abundantly	22:35
	"and rejoice with joy and singing.	22:39
	"The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,	22:42
	"the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.	22:45
	"They shall see the glory of the Lord,	22:48
	"the majesty of our God.	22:50
	"Strengthen the weak hands,	22:53
	"and make firm the feeble knees.	22:55
	"Say to those who are of a fearful heart,	22:58
	"'Be strong, fear not.	23:02
	"'Behold, your God will come with vengeance,	23:04
	"'with the recompense of God.	23:07
	"'He will come and save you.'	23:09
	"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,	23:12
	"and the ears of the deaf unstopped.	23:16
	"Then shall the lame man leap like a hart,	23:19
	"and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.	23:22
	"For waters shall break forth in the wilderness	23:26
	"and streams in the desert.	23:29
	"The burning sand shall become a pool,	23:32
	"and the thirsty ground springs for water.	23:35
	"The haunt of jackals shall become a swan.	23:39
	"The grass shall become reeds and rushes.	23:42
	"And a highway shall be there,	23:46
	"and it shall be called the Holy Way.	23:48
	"The unclean shall not pass over it,	23:51
	"and fools shall not error therein.	23:54
	"No lion shall be there,	23:57
	"nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it.	23:59
	"They shall not be found there,	24:03
	"but the redeemed shall walk there.	24:05
	"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return	24:08
	"and come to Zion with singing	24:11
	"with everlasting joy upon their heads.	24:14
	"They shall obtain joy and gladness,	24:17
	"and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."	24:20
	Here end the readings from the Old Testament.	24:24
	(upbeat bell choir music)	24:32
	Will the congregation stand for the reading of the gospel?	25:42
	The gospel lesson is from the 11th chapter	25:51
	of Matthew verses two through 11.	25:53
	"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of Christ,	25:57
	"he sent word by the disciples and said to him,	26:00
	"'Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?'	26:04
	"And Jesus answered them, 'Go, and tell John	26:09
	"'what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight	26:12
	"'and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear,	26:16
	"'and the dead are raised up, and the poor	26:21
	"'have good news preached to them.	26:25
	"'And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.'	26:29
	"As they went away, Jesus began to speak	26:33
	"to the crowds concerning John,	26:35
	"'What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?	26:39
	"'A reed shaken by the wind?	26:42
	"'Why then did you go out?	26:45
	"'To see a king?	26:47
	"'To see a man clothed in soft raiment?	26:48
	"'Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings' houses.	26:53
	"'Why then did you go out?	26:58
	"'To see a prophet?	26:59
	"'Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.	27:01
	"'This is he of whom is written,	27:04
	"'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,	27:07
	"'who shall prepare thy way before thee.	27:10
	"'Truly, I say to you, among those born of women	27:14
	"'there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist.	27:18
	"'Yet he who is least in the kingdom	27:22
	"'of heaven is greater than he.'"	27:24
	Here ends the reading from the gospel.	27:28
	All praise and glory be to God.	27:30
	Amen.	27:33
	(pipe organ music)	27:35
	♪ Come together all God's people ♪	27:48
	♪ Praise to God who is on the throne ♪	27:55
	♪ Glory be to Christ our Savior ♪	28:02
	♪ Let us praise Him on high ♪	28:09
	♪ Holy Spirit please receive us ♪	28:16
	♪ As we praise your name above ♪	28:24
-	Have a seat.	28:36
	This may be one of those instances	28:46
	where I can see you, but you may	28:47
	have difficulty seeing me this morning.	28:49
	Both of the lights on the pulpit have gone out.	28:53
	So, I hope you can bear with hearing	28:55
	a voice from among the shadows.	28:58
	We're most pleased to have the	29:01
	bell ringers from First Baptist Church,	29:03
	Henderson, North Carolina with us again this year.	29:05
	They were here last year just one Sunday	29:08
	prior to Christmas, graced our presence	29:12
	and enriched our service and blessed us all.	29:15
	So, Mr. Phillip Young and to all of you	29:17
	who are members of the bell ringers	29:19
	of First Baptist Church, may I say again a word of welcome	29:21
	this year, and thank you for the blessing	29:26
	you bring and come to share with us.	29:28
	Just a couple of days more,	29:32
	I hope no more than one	29:37
	or possibly two examinations,	29:39
	and you'll be on your way home for a few days of rest.	29:42
	On behalf of the chapel staff	29:49
	and for myself personally, let me wish you, first of all,	29:51
	well on the rest of your examinations	29:56
	and then wish you a very blessed, a joyous,	29:59
	deeply joyful Christmas vacation this year.	30:04
	We hope you travel safely home	30:09
	and safely back to us in January.	30:12
	Let us pray.	30:16
	Now, may the words of my lips	30:22
	and the meditations of our hearts	30:23
	be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,	30:27
	our strength and our ever present Redeemer.	30:30
	Amen.	30:35
	John the Baptist,	30:37
	the one who was the preparer of the way,	30:40
	he who came preaching out of the wilderness,	30:46
	the one who came preaching, "Repent,	30:50
	"for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,"	30:53
	he who baptized the crowds in the Jordan,	30:58
	the one about whom Jesus said,	31:02
	"Among those born of women, there has risen	31:04
	"no one greater than John the Baptist,"	31:08
	the one who dared confront Herod	31:13
	with the evils of his own life and his own actions.	31:16
	John the Baptist, he who had indeed, himself,	31:21
	baptized our Lord and Savior, even Jesus the Christ.	31:25
	And now, John the Baptist,	31:29
	the one who was in prison,	31:32
	the one who called his disciples to him	31:35
	and sent them to Jesus to say to Jesus,	31:37
	"Are you he who is to come,	31:41
	or are we still to look for another?"	31:45
	Perhaps John wanted to be sure and rest assured	31:51
	in his own mind and spirit before he was beheaded.	31:53
	Perhaps John was convinced and was sure himself	31:59
	but only wanted some response firsthand from our Lord.	32:02
	Perhaps John wanted his own disciples to be convinced,	32:08
	to understand, and to know so that they	32:12
	could follow Jesus the Christ.	32:15
	Perhaps, Jesus, John wanted Jesus	32:19
	to make some public declaration	32:21
	about his own life and work and ministry.	32:24
	Perhaps John indeed had gone out on a limb	32:28
	and wasn't sure yet about this one	32:31
	whom he had pronounced as Messiah.	32:36
	Perhaps even he was a little embarrassed	32:40
	that the kingdom had not come,	32:42
	that the new age and day indeed had not yet dawned.	32:44
	"Go to Jesus," John said, "and ask him,	32:49
	"'Are you he who is to come,	32:51
	or shall we look for another?'"	32:54
	Perhaps John felt that he had been waiting,	32:58
	expecting, proclaiming, yearning, anticipating,	33:01
	long enough, and now he wanted to know for sure.	33:05
	It occurs to me how very much like us was John the Baptist.	33:12
	We are most impatient people,	33:19
	most of us, most of the time.	33:22
	We want to know, and we want to know now.	33:24
	We want to believe, and we want to believe now.	33:27
	We want to see, and we want to see now.	33:30
	We want to receive, and we want to receive now.	33:33
	We want a Messiah, and we want a Messiah now	33:36
	when we are ready, and not when Messiah is ready,	33:40
	in our time and on our schedule,	33:46
	not in God's time and not on God's schedule.	33:49
	John was waiting,	33:55
	and waiting is very hard for us to do.	33:57
	For waiting for most of us implies	34:02
	that we are to do nothing, just sit down,	34:04
	rest, take it easy, relax, be quiet, be passive.	34:07
	And it is hard for most of us human beings just to wait,	34:11
	and perhaps rightfully so, at least in this instance.	34:17
	As I read Scripture, it seems to me that the	34:22
	Spirit of the Lord seldom comes	34:24
	to those who do nothing but sit	34:26
	and wait on the Lord to come to them.	34:28
	There are too many examples, I believe,	34:32
	of God's Spirit coming to those who are alert,	34:34
	ready, and receptive, even eager to move.	34:37
	Andrew, who was ready, not only to receive	34:40
	the Christ but also to go and tell	34:43
	his brother about the Christ.	34:45
	Levi, who got up immediately	34:48
	and left his work to follow Jesus.	34:49
	Moses, reluctant because he was aware	34:52
	of his own weaknesses, moved though when God spoke to him.	34:54
	Abraham and Sarah left all their lands and possessions	34:59
	and followed as God had commanded.	35:02
	Mary, awestruck, still was eager, receptive,	35:06
	and responsive when God's Spirit visited her.	35:10
	Jesus, the Beloved, was open and eager	35:14
	when the Spirit came and drove him into the wilderness.	35:18
	So, awaiting for the Lord, for the Spirit of the Lord,	35:24
	is to be an active, moving, waiting experience.	35:28
	Isaiah 40:31 reminds us, "They who wait	35:32
	"for the Lord shall renew their strength.	35:36
	"They shall mount up with wings as eagles.	35:42
	"They shall run and not be weary.	35:44
	"They shall walk and not faint."	35:47
	So, waiting for the Lord, the coming of the Lord	35:52
	is to be an active, searching, yearning,	35:54
	longing, moving toward the Messiah.	35:57
	Life is to be lived with expectancy,	36:01
	with a sense of anticipation as if,	36:04
	as Paul writes, all of nature, the whole earth,	36:06
	all of us, are standing on tiptoes	36:10
	for the revelation which God has prepared	36:14
	for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.	36:17
	How different is my view about this today	36:22
	from when I was younger.	36:25
	As a young boy growing up in the church	36:29
	and in Sunday school, as I heard preachers	36:31
	harangue and harass me, I used to think	36:34
	about Christ and my belief in the One who is to come.	36:38
	I can wait.	36:42
	There is no hurry for me.	36:44
	Indeed, I will wait.	36:46
	The Messiah has come so I can keep on waiting.	36:48
	I used to say, and it's strange as I look back	36:52
	and reflect on some of the thoughts	36:54
	that went through my mind as a young boy.	36:56
	I used to think about waiting	36:59
	until I have had a good time in life.	37:00
	I used to think about waiting	37:04
	until I get older, much older, indeed very old.	37:06
	I used to think about turning to the Messiah,	37:11
	to the Christ, just before I die.	37:14
	After all, that's all that really counted anyhow, wasn't it?	37:17
	I used to think about waiting until I decide to believe.	37:22
	I used to think about waiting until I was good enough	37:29
	somehow or other to come to Christ.	37:33
	I used to think about waiting until I could	37:38
	really understand and could know.	37:39
	I used to think about waiting until I thought	37:44
	that I got to a certain place, a certain point in life,	37:46
	or until I had this experience or had had that experience.	37:49
	I used to think about waiting until I felt like I was ready.	37:54
	Waiting until I can become very self-centered.	37:59
	Today's Tom Wolfe, not the one	38:06
	of the '20s and '30s, today's Tom Wolfe,	38:08
	the writer, has called us the Me generation,	38:11
	and perhaps we are.	38:15
	But John had waited long enough.	38:19
	"Go, and ask Jesus," he said, "'are you he who is to come,	38:21
	"'or shall we look for another?'"	38:25
	Is Jesus the one?	38:27
	The late Dr. Samuel H. Miller,	38:32
	at one time Dean of Harvard Divinity School,	38:34
	once reminded us, "Our task is not to prove	38:36
	"that God was in the first century,	38:39
	"but that God is in the 20th century.	38:43
	"If we can find the Messiah now,	38:46
	"then we may find God more easily in reports of the past."	38:49
	Or as Emerson once wrote,	38:57
	"Christianity is believing	39:00
	"what the centuries say against the hours."	39:03
	And so it is.	39:11
	"Are you he who is to come?" John had them ask.	39:13
	This reminds us of another time and another questioning,	39:18
	this time at Caesarea Philippi.	39:22
	And Jesus asks, "Who do other people say	39:24
	"that the Son of Man is?"	39:26
	And they gave him some replies.	39:29
	And then he said, "But who do you say that I am?"	39:30
	For, you see, the question of Jesus' identity	39:35
	has been, is, and always will be	39:38
	at the heart and soul of our faith.	39:41
	Who do others say?	39:45
	Who do you say?	39:47
	"Are you he who is to come?"	39:50
	So Jesus received John's disciples.	39:56
	He entertained their question.	39:59
	He heard them.	40:02
	And then, it is as if Jesus told them	40:03
	that he really wasn't going to answer them.	40:06
	He said, you want me to answer your questions for you?	40:08
	You want me to sort out the evidence?	40:12
	You want me to do the work and give you the response?	40:16
	You go find your own answers, he said.	40:19
	Look, observe, behold, see, listen.	40:24
	Jesus directed the gaze of John's disciples	40:31
	not at himself but away from himself.	40:33
	Don't tell John what I say, he said.	40:37
	"Go and tell John what you hear and what you see."	40:41
	The power and purpose of firsthand religion,	40:47
	of personal experience.	40:50
	The security of insecurity.	40:52
	The answer of no answer.	40:55
	The experience of not being sure,	40:57
	of not knowing in words, of not being certain at all.	41:00
	The faith that gives no answer.	41:04
	The word with no certainty.	41:05
	The question with a response which Jesus	41:07
	absolutely will not give.	41:10
	There is no word that will be sufficient.	41:13
	There are no facts to document a reply.	41:17
	There is only evidence.	41:20
	You, Jesus tells them, and he tells us,	41:23
	you find your own answer for "the	41:25
	"blind receive their sight, and the lame walk.	41:28
	"Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.	41:32
	"And the dead are raised up, and the poor	41:34
	"have good news preached to them."	41:36
	And here, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah.	41:38
	Jesus shows us firsthand.	41:41
	Jesus gives us all the evidence we need,	41:44
	and still, like John, even today,	41:49
	now on this day even, we ask,	41:53
	"Are you he who is to come?"	41:58
	Is Jesus really the one who is to come?	42:02
	And sometimes I feel that we are afraid	42:07
	that Jesus really is the one,	42:10
	afraid that we too may be expected	42:15
	to preach good news to the poor,	42:17
	to proclaim release to the captives,	42:20
	recovering of sight to the blind,	42:22
	to set at liberty those who are oppressed.	42:24
	Yes, sometimes I feel that we are afraid	42:27
	that Jesus indeed is the one,	42:29
	afraid that if Jesus is the one who is to come,	42:32
	we, like Nicodemus, may have to be born again,	42:34
	may have to humble ourselves and start all over	42:40
	with new loyalties and new allegiances.	42:42
	Afraid that we, like the rich young ruler,	42:47
	may be told to go and sell all	42:51
	that we have and give to the poor.	42:54
	Afraid that we too would have to hear	42:58
	some of the most poignant, painful words in Scripture.	43:00
	"And he, the rich young ruler,	43:03
	"went away sorrowing."	43:07
	Afraid that the Word of the Lord	43:12
	may become all too clear to us,	43:14
	and we may indeed may be expected	43:16
	to love the Lord our God with all our	43:18
	heart, soul, mind, and strength.	43:19
	And, indeed, we may even be expected	43:21
	to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.	43:23
	Sometimes I feel that we are afraid	43:29
	that Jesus really is the one.	43:33
	I sometimes feel though also that we	43:38
	honestly hope that Jesus is the one.	43:41
	The children of Israel had looked	43:45
	and longed for a Messiah for centuries upon centuries.	43:47
	So do we look and long and hope for the Messiah to come.	43:51
	Some say today that our world is no better	43:57
	than the world of Isaiah or Hosea or Jeremiah.	43:59
	Look at the hungry, they remind us,	44:04
	the starving, the war-torn, the refugees,	44:06
	the homeless, the unloved, the rejected.	44:09
	Look at how we're all held in fear by powers that terrify us	44:13
	and powers that we really cannot control.	44:19
	But somehow or other, we do hope.	44:25
	We do long.	44:28
	We do yearn.	44:30
	A Mrs. Patty Parks	44:34
	wrote a letter recently to the Churchman,	44:38
	an Episcopal church journal.	44:43
	She said, "I feel fortunate	44:48
	"to have my husband and three children here in Guyana,	44:52
	"away from all the rat race in the big cities.	44:59
	"I work in the school library	45:05
	"and see many Guyanese treated	45:10
	"in our medical facilities each week.	45:14
	"It gives us a good feeling to know	45:18
	"that we are using our lives to help others."	45:21
	Mrs. Parks was one of the People's Temple	45:31
	would-be defectors	45:35
	who was killed when she tried to leave Guyana	45:39
	with Congressman Ryan's party.	45:46
	There is something not only tragic	45:54
	but very poignant about the searching	45:58
	and the longing of those people.	46:01
	Which reminds me today, oh, how some people,	46:04
	if not you or me, if not us, then there are people	46:09
	who are indeed searching and longing,	46:13
	really trying to find the one who is to come.	46:16
	We hope for peace, and we still	46:24
	somehow or other expect that there is	46:28
	someone who can bring peace to the world.	46:30
	We hope for justice, and we believe surely	46:33
	that there is someone whose scales will balance.	46:36
	We hope for some warmth of life	46:41
	and believe that surely there is someone who can break	46:44
	the hard shell of our inhumanity to one another.	46:47
	We hope for salvation.	46:52
	And, indeed, we really expect or believe or hope	46:54
	that there is someone who can redeem us.	46:57
	We seek an end to life that will explain life,	47:02
	and we look for somebody, someone who will understand.	47:07
	We hope, as did John,	47:11
	that Jesus is the one,	47:15
	as did James and John, that Christ	47:19
	would bring them the kingdom of heaven,	47:21
	as did Peter, when he said, "Jesus, you are the Christ."	47:24
	He who is to come is indeed Jesus the Christ,	47:30
	and we are those who are to be	47:35
	and are to be in Christ.	47:38
	And then, there are times, some times,	47:44
	when I feel that we know that Jesus is the one.	47:46
	Sometimes we know.	47:53
	Like the thief on one of the crosses,	47:56
	when he said, "Jesus, remember me	47:58
	"when you come into your kingly power."	47:59
	Like Mary, sister of Lazarus, who said to Jesus,	48:03
	"Yes, Lord, I believe that you are	48:06
	"the Christ, the Son of the living God."	48:09
	Like the Roman soldier after the crucifixion	48:13
	who said, "Surely, this man was the Son of God."	48:15
	Sometimes we know	48:22
	when honestly we read, and study,	48:26
	and pray, and reflect, and listen,	48:28
	share with others, and hear from others.	48:31
	We do come to understand and know.	48:33
	Paul Tillich talks about how we can know	48:38
	in speaking of forgiveness in one of the greatest	48:40
	sermons he ever preached, a sermon entitled	48:44
	"To Whom is Much Forgiven."	48:47
	He says, "Decisive spiritual experiences	48:49
	"have the character of a breakthrough.	48:53
	"In the midst of our futile attempts	48:56
	"to make ourselves worthy, in our despair	48:58
	"about the inescapable failure of these attempts,	49:02
	"we are suddenly grasped by the certainty	49:06
	"that we are forgiven,	49:08
	and the fire of love begins to burn.	49:11
	"That," he says, "is the greatest	49:15
	"experience anyone can have."	49:17
	It may not happen often,	49:19
	but when it does,	49:24
	it decides and transforms everything.	49:26
	It may not happen often, but if and when it does,	49:32
	it can and will transform everything.	49:37
	Sometimes we know.	49:43
	And then, sometimes we tell the story.	49:48
	We repeat the story that he is indeed the one.	49:52
	Sometimes I believe we cannot not help but sing,	49:56
	as did the shepherds going home	49:59
	the night after they saw the birth of Jesus.	50:00
	After they had been to the manger,	50:03
	the word of Scripture tells us,	50:05
	"And the shepherds returned home	50:06
	"glorifying and praising God for all	50:08
	"that they had seen and heard."	50:11
	Sometimes we are unrestrained, like the Gerasene demoniac,	50:14
	who was so filled with the love of God	50:18
	as Christ had healed him that the only thing	50:20
	he could do was to go back home	50:23
	and tell all his people the good things	50:24
	that God in Christ had done for him.	50:27
	Sometimes we're overwhelmed as the woman with five husbands,	50:29
	the woman who was befriended by Jesus at the well,	50:34
	you remember, and went all over the city	50:36
	telling who Jesus was and what he had done.	50:38
	We come to know and believe as Dr. Gardner Taylor puts it	50:42
	that "not even God could get to us	50:47
	"without getting with us.	50:50
	"I think," says the contemporary writer,	50:55
	"that that is much of what the Christian faith is.	51:00
	"It is for a moment, just for a little while,	51:04
	"seeing the face and being still.	51:10
	"That is all.	51:13
	"There is so much about the whole religious enterprise	51:15
	"that seems irrelevant, but just for the moment itself,	51:18
	"say of Christmas, there can be only silence	51:23
	"as something comes to life, some spirit, some hope,	51:27
	"as something is born again into the world	51:33
	"that is so strange, and new, and precious	51:35
	"that not even a cynic can laugh	51:39
	"although he might be tempted to weep.	51:41
	"The child born in the night among beasts.	51:45
	"The sweet breath and stinking dung of beasts.	51:50
	"And nothing is ever the same again."	51:54
	John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him,	52:00
	"Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"	52:03
	And Jesus replied, "Go and tell John what you hear and see."	52:07
	And perhaps that's the real test	52:11
	of whether the one who is to come is really present.	52:13
	It is as simple and yet as profound	52:16
	as knowing that something that's happened	52:18
	not only to and for others but to and for us.	52:20
	Is he the one who is to come,	52:24
	for you?	52:29
	I pray that he is.	52:38
	My prayer is	52:44
	that Christ may come to each of us	52:48
	in such a beautiful and personal world, and personal way	52:50
	that our own person,	52:58
	our very selves,	53:02
	who you are,	53:06
	and who I am,	53:08
	may indeed be changed.	53:11
	Kahill Gibran is probably known	53:16
	best for his book "The Prophet."	53:18
	Another book of his entitled,	53:22
	is entitled "A Tear and a Smile."	53:24
	In this book, he has a writing entitled "The Child Jesus,"	53:29
	and he talks about what the child Jesus	53:37
	has done for him.	53:41
	"The night has been long, my beloved,	53:46
	"but now dawn is nigh.	53:52
	"Soon shall it be day,	53:56
	"for the breath of the child Jesus	54:00
	"has filled the firmament and merged the air.	54:02
	"My life once was a tale of woe,	54:09
	"and now it has become a joyful thing.	54:14
	"And it will be turned to bliss,	54:19
	"for the arms of the child have	54:23
	"enfolded my heart and embraced my soul,	54:25
	"turning my grief into joy	54:30
	"and my wretchedness to glory,	54:35
	"and making my aloneness a pleasant thing.	54:39
	"A king raised high on the throne of unearthly essence	54:45
	"who brought back with his voice life	54:50
	to my dead days	54:54
	"and light to my weeping eyes with his touch,	54:57
	"whose right hand snatched hope	55:03
	from the pits of despair."	55:08
	"The blind receive their sight,	55:13
	"and the lame walk.	55:17
	"Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.	55:20
	"The dead are raised up, and the poor have	55:26
	"good news preached to them.	55:31
	"Go, and tell John	55:36
	"what you have seen and what you have heard."	55:40
	And to God be the glory.	55:45
	Amen and amen.	55:49
	(church organ playing "HYFRYDOL")	55:58
	♪ Come, thou long expected Jesus ♪	56:52
	♪ Born to set thy people free ♪	57:00
	♪ From our fears and sins release us ♪	57:07
	♪ Let us find our rest in thee ♪	57:14
	♪ Israel's strength and consolation ♪	57:22
	♪ Hope of all the earth thou art ♪	57:29
	♪ Dear desire of every nation ♪	57:37
	♪ Joy of every longing heart ♪	57:44
	♪ Born thy people to deliver ♪	57:54
	♪ Born a child and yet a King ♪	58:01
	♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪	58:09
	♪ Now thy gracious kingdom bring ♪	58:16
	♪ By thine own eternal spirit ♪	58:24
	♪ Rule in all our hearts alone ♪	58:31
	♪ By thine all sufficient merit ♪	58:39
	♪ Raise us to thy glorious throne ♪	58:46
	♪ Amen ♪	58:55
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	59:07
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	59:11
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	59:16
	to reconcile and make new,	59:19
	who works in us and others by the Spirit.	59:23
	We trust God who calls us to be the church	59:27
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	59:32
	to love and serve others,	59:35
	to seek justice and resist evil,	59:38
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	59:41
	our judge and our hope.	59:45
	In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.	59:48
	We are not alone.	59:56
	Thanks be to God.	59:58
	I would call your attention to the announcements	1:00:14
	in the bulletin and emphasize this one,	1:00:16
	that the Northern High School choir	1:00:19
	will be singing a concert this evening	1:00:22
	at five o'clock here in the chapel.	1:00:24
	Everyone is invited to come to this	1:00:26
	very fine concert of Christmas music.	1:00:28
	The Lord be with you.	1:00:33
-	And with your spirit.	1:00:35
-	Let us pray.	1:00:37
	Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty.	1:00:42
	Your ways are just, and your love is everlasting.	1:00:46
	With faithful people from all times and places,	1:00:51
	we lift our hearts to you in joyful praise	1:00:54
	for you alone are holy.	1:00:58
	Holy Lord and Everlasting God,	1:01:02
	we thank you for commanding light out of darkness,	1:01:05
	for creating the whole world and calling it good.	1:01:09
	We thank you for making us in your image	1:01:13
	to live with each other in love	1:01:16
	and for the breath of life, the gift of speech,	1:01:19
	and freedom to choose your way.	1:01:24
	Most of all, we thank you for caring for us so much	1:01:28
	that you became one among us in the	1:01:32
	person of Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth	1:01:34
	celebration we joyfully now await.	1:01:38
	And we thank you that through the Spirit	1:01:43
	of this risen child of God, we too have come	1:01:45
	to think of ourselves as God's beloved children	1:01:49
	so that we too can hope for resurrection and a new creation.	1:01:54
	Our world groans in travail, waiting to be delivered	1:02:01
	from poverty and pain of body and soul.	1:02:05
	In this time of waiting for our Lord,	1:02:11
	give us the gifts to endure faithfully,	1:02:15
	the gifts of wisdom and fellow feeling,	1:02:19
	imagination and courage, patience and fortitude,	1:02:24
	the gifts of compassion and healing,	1:02:30
	of humility and good humor.	1:02:34
	Finally, give us, give us an experience	1:02:39
	of your presence with us in the face of the neighbor	1:02:43
	and in the reverence of prayer.	1:02:49
	And help us now to pray as Jesus taught us to do.	1:02:52
	Our Father, who art in heaven,	1:02:56
	hallowed be Thy name.	1:02:59
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:03:02
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:03:05
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:03:08
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:03:11
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:03:14
	And lead us not into temptation	1:03:18
	but deliver us from evil.	1:03:21
	For thine is the kingdom, the power,	1:03:23
	and the glory forever, amen.	1:03:26
	(bell choir music "Good Christian Men, Rejoice")	1:03:38
	(gentle bell choir music)	1:06:07
	(gentle bell choir music)	1:08:50
	(bell choir music "Joy to the World")	1:09:57
	(pipe organ music)	1:11:22
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	1:11:40
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪	1:11:46
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:11:52
	♪ Praise Him above you heavenly hosts ♪	1:12:00
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:12:06
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:12:12
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:12:18
	♪ Allelujah ♪	1:12:25
	♪ Amen ♪	1:12:33
-	Lord God, accept, we pray Thee	1:12:46
	these gifts which we give	1:12:49
	in a season in which we remember	1:12:52
	how important it is to forgive and to give.	1:12:55
	Help us to keep on giving of ourselves,	1:13:00
	of our wealth, that Thy will may be done	1:13:04
	and that Thy kingdom may come upon this earth	1:13:10
	to the glory of Thy name.	1:13:14
	Amen.	1:13:17
	(upbeat pipe organ music)	1:13:20
	♪ Joy to the world ♪	1:13:54
	♪ The Lord has come ♪	1:13:57
	♪ Let earth receive her King ♪	1:14:00
	♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪	1:14:08
	♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪	1:14:14
	♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪	1:14:18
	♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪	1:14:21
	♪ Joy to the earth ♪	1:14:31
	♪ The Savior reigns ♪	1:14:34
	♪ Let men their songs employ ♪	1:14:38
	♪ While fields and floods ♪	1:14:45
	♪ Rocks, hills, and plains ♪	1:14:49
	♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪	1:14:52
	♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪	1:14:56
	♪ Repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪	1:14:59
	♪ No more let sins and sorrows grow ♪	1:15:09
	♪ Nor thorns infest the ground ♪	1:15:17
	♪ He comes to make ♪	1:15:25
	♪ His blessings flow ♪	1:15:28
	♪ Far as the curse is found ♪	1:15:31
	♪ Far as the curse is found ♪	1:15:35
	♪ Far as, far as the curse is found ♪	1:15:39
	♪ He rules the world ♪	1:15:49
	♪ With truth and grace ♪	1:15:52
	♪ And makes the nations prove ♪	1:15:56
	♪ The glories of His righteousness ♪	1:16:04
	♪ And wonders of His love ♪	1:16:11
	♪ And wonders of His love ♪	1:16:15
	♪ And wonders, wonders of His love ♪	1:16:19
	♪ Amen ♪	1:16:28
	(bell choir music "Carol of the Bells")	1:16:40
-	May the peace of God, the grace	1:18:17
	of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the	1:18:20
	fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:18:22
	be and abide with you, amen.	1:18:24

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Are You He Who Is to Come?" (December 17, 1978)

Description:

Sermon start time: 30:37. Sermon end time: 55:50.
If we believe that Jesus is the one who is to come, we must also believe in the enormous impllications that come with Jesus being the Messiah and act to bring Jesus' good news and healing. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: So, waiting for the Lord, the coming of the Lord is to be an active, searching, yearning, longing, moving toward the Messiah.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4rf5kw0z

Date:

December 17, 1978

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

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Duke University. Chapel

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UA.17.01.0003 RR-0994
ref7197_5s2
uachapelsermaud
duke:320660
dcrau001874
ark:/87924/r4rf5kw0z
750be2a5-9254-4dec-a7ef-ebea909dd208

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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United States
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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 - "Are You He Who Is to Come?" (December 17, 1978)

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