Helen G. Crotwell - "For My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation" (December 31, 1978)
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- | Duke Chapel Sunday worship service | 0:04 |
December 31, 1978. | 0:06 | |
(religious organ music) | 0:10 | |
- | Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. | 6:44 |
He will dwell with them | 6:48 | |
and they shall be his people. | 6:49 | |
And God himself will be among them. | 6:52 | |
And will be their God. | 6:55 | |
Let us pray. | 6:58 | |
Almighty God, | 7:01 | |
you have given your only begotten son | 7:03 | |
to take our nature upon him | 7:05 | |
and to be born of a pure virgin. | 7:07 | |
Grant that we who have been born again | 7:11 | |
and made your children by adoption | 7:14 | |
and by grace, | 7:16 | |
may daily be renewed by your holy spirit. | 7:18 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, | 7:21 | |
to whom with you and the same spirit, | 7:24 | |
be honor and glory now and forever, Amen. | 7:26 | |
(religious organ music) | 7:32 | |
(organ music drowns out singing) | 8:04 | |
- | Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. | 10:35 |
Most merciful God, | 10:41 | |
we confess that we have sinned against you | 10:43 | |
in thought, word, and deed, | 10:47 | |
by what we have done | 10:50 | |
and by what we have left undone. | 10:52 | |
We have not loved you with our whole heart. | 10:55 | |
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. | 10:58 | |
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. | 11:02 | |
For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, | 11:07 | |
have mercy on us and forgive us | 11:10 | |
that we may delight in your will | 11:14 | |
and walk in your ways | 11:16 | |
to the glory of your name, Amen. | 11:19 | |
Hear the word of grace. | 11:37 | |
Your sins are forgiven. | 11:39 | |
For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, | 11:43 | |
that whosoever believes in him should not perish | 11:47 | |
but have eternal life. | 11:50 | |
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, | 11:53 | |
that Jesus Christ came into the world | 11:57 | |
to save sinners. | 11:59 | |
There is therefor now no condemnation | 12:02 | |
for those who are in Christ Jesus. | 12:05 | |
Who walk not according to the flesh, | 12:07 | |
but according to the spirit. | 12:10 | |
Amen. Thanks be to God. | 12:13 | |
- | Let us pray. | 12:23 |
Speak to us again, O Lord. | 12:27 | |
Your servants await your word. | 12:29 | |
The Old Testament lesson is written | 12:36 | |
in Jeremiah chapter 31, beginning with the 10th verse. | 12:38 | |
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, | 12:45 | |
and declare it in the coastlands of far off. | 12:49 | |
Say he who has scattered Israel will gather him | 12:52 | |
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. | 12:56 | |
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, | 13:00 | |
and has redeemed him from the hands too strong for him. | 13:03 | |
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, | 13:08 | |
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord. | 13:11 | |
Over the grain, the wine, and the oil. | 13:15 | |
And over the young of the flock, and the herd. | 13:19 | |
Their life shall be like a watered garden. | 13:23 | |
And they shall languish no more. | 13:26 | |
Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance. | 13:30 | |
And the young men and the old men shall be merry. | 13:33 | |
I will turn their mourning into joy. | 13:37 | |
I will comfort them | 13:40 | |
and give them gladness for sorrow. | 13:42 | |
Here ends the Old Testament lesson. | 13:46 | |
Let us read responsively | 13:53 | |
the Nunc dimittis From Luke 2, | 13:55 | |
which is found on page 614 in the back of your hymnals. | 13:58 | |
Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace. | 14:13 | |
According to thy word. | 14:18 | |
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, | 14:21 | |
which thou hast prepared before | 14:25 | |
the face of all people | 14:28 | |
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles | 14:30 | |
and to be the glory of they people, Israel. | 14:34 | |
Please rise for the Gospel lesson. | 14:40 | |
Hallelujah, in many and various ways | 14:48 | |
God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets. | 14:51 | |
But in these last days he has spoken to us by a son. | 14:55 | |
Hallelujah. | 15:00 | |
The Holy Gospel is written in the first chapter of John, | 15:02 | |
beginning at the first verse. | 15:05 | |
In the beginning was the Word, | 15:09 | |
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. | 15:11 | |
He was in the beginning with God. | 15:17 | |
All things were made through him, | 15:19 | |
and without him was not anything made that was made. | 15:22 | |
In him was life, | 15:27 | |
and the life was the light of men. | 15:30 | |
The light shines in the darkness | 15:34 | |
and the darkness has not overcome it. | 15:36 | |
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. | 15:41 | |
He came for testimony, | 15:45 | |
to bear witness to the light | 15:47 | |
that all might believe through him. | 15:49 | |
He was not the light, | 15:52 | |
but came to bear witness to the light. | 15:54 | |
The true light that enlightens every man | 15:58 | |
was coming into the world. | 16:01 | |
He was in the world and the world was made through him, | 16:03 | |
yet the world knew him not. | 16:07 | |
He came to his own home | 16:10 | |
and his own people received him not. | 16:12 | |
But to all who received him, | 16:16 | |
who believed in his name, | 16:19 | |
he gave power to become children of God | 16:20 | |
who were born not of blood | 16:24 | |
nor of the will of the flesh | 16:26 | |
nor of the will of man, but of God. | 16:29 | |
And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. | 16:34 | |
Full of Grace and truth. | 16:38 | |
We have beheld his glory, | 16:42 | |
the glory as of the only begotten son of the Father. | 16:44 | |
John bore witness to him and cried, | 16:49 | |
This was he of whom I said | 16:51 | |
he who comes after me ranks before me. | 16:54 | |
For he was before me. | 16:57 | |
And from his fullness have we all received | 17:00 | |
grace upon grace. | 17:04 | |
For the law was given through Moses. | 17:07 | |
Grace and truth through Christ Jesus. | 17:10 | |
No one has ever seen God, only the son, | 17:15 | |
who was in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. | 17:19 | |
The Gospel of the Lord. | 17:24 | |
("Hosanna in Exclesis" on organ) | 17:28 | |
(organ music drowns out singing) | 17:44 | |
- | Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace, | 18:26 |
according to thy word. | 18:32 | |
For my eyes have seen thy salvation, | 18:34 | |
which thou hast prepared before all people. | 18:38 | |
Our exhausted bodies, short tempers, | 18:45 | |
and empty pocketbooks remind us | 18:50 | |
that our pilgrimage to Bethlehem | 18:53 | |
has been a long, hard one, | 18:56 | |
with many detours. | 19:00 | |
But we have gone, | 19:02 | |
again to the manger to celebrate | 19:05 | |
that God is with us, | 19:07 | |
that the Word became flesh. | 19:09 | |
Have we, like Simeon, | 19:14 | |
seen God's salvation? | 19:15 | |
When I considered why I am sometimes uncomfortable | 19:19 | |
with the word salvation, | 19:23 | |
I realized that it was when it reminded me | 19:24 | |
of people trying to save me | 19:28 | |
from a place I was not, | 19:31 | |
while ignoring that place I was in, | 19:33 | |
the place I wanted or needed to be saved from. | 19:37 | |
This approach is caricatured | 19:43 | |
by the people who walk up to us and ask us | 19:44 | |
"Are you saved?" without bothering to find out | 19:47 | |
who we are | 19:51 | |
or if we are faithful but struggling Christians. | 19:53 | |
These people see God with such limited, | 19:58 | |
restricted power | 20:02 | |
that they are certain God's salvation | 20:04 | |
can only come to people | 20:07 | |
in their identical form and words that it came to them. | 20:09 | |
And we know that there are times when we have | 20:14 | |
a limited, restricted understanding of God's salvation. | 20:17 | |
There are other times, though, | 20:26 | |
when I'm uncomfortable because | 20:27 | |
I hear God's word of salvation calling me | 20:29 | |
to move out of my protective cocoon, | 20:33 | |
my self-complacency, | 20:37 | |
and my self-satisfaction. | 20:40 | |
Now, if salvation means healing, | 20:42 | |
being made whole, | 20:46 | |
being forgiven, | 20:49 | |
being reconciled with God, with other people, | 20:51 | |
and with the world, | 20:56 | |
then it would be helpful for us to understand | 20:58 | |
the places and the situations from which | 21:01 | |
we are seeking salvation. | 21:04 | |
Seeking wholeness | 21:06 | |
and forgiveness and reconciliation. | 21:09 | |
One of the most incisive descriptions | 21:15 | |
of our corporate condition | 21:17 | |
was made this fall by Robert Bellah, a sociologist, | 21:19 | |
in his address to the convocation of 1800 preachers | 21:23 | |
who gathered at Riverside Church in New York | 21:28 | |
to learn how to preach. | 21:30 | |
He described our society as being corrupt, | 21:33 | |
because we have come to love our own good | 21:36 | |
more than the common good. | 21:41 | |
Because we have concern for ourselves | 21:43 | |
without regard for what happens to our neighbor. | 21:46 | |
He fears that was de Tocqueville warned us about | 21:52 | |
over 150 years ago, has happened. | 21:56 | |
That materialism, individual isolation, | 22:00 | |
and privatistic withdrawal from society | 22:06 | |
is being nurtured by an exclusive preoccupation | 22:09 | |
with self-interest in the economic sphere. | 22:13 | |
And that if this goes on far enough | 22:16 | |
it will corrode and destroy | 22:19 | |
every one of our free institutions. | 22:22 | |
Now, Bellah focuses on three evidences of our corruption: | 22:26 | |
our luxury, | 22:29 | |
our dependence, | 22:31 | |
and our political ignorance. | 22:33 | |
He names luxury (coughs) consumerism. | 22:36 | |
And our empty pocketbooks indicate we understand | 22:42 | |
this evidence of corruption. | 22:46 | |
For most of us do pursue material things | 22:48 | |
even when these pursuits divert us from our common good, | 22:51 | |
and lead to an exclusive concern for ourselves | 22:55 | |
and our small families. | 23:00 | |
And we are not surprised to learn | 23:02 | |
that more money | 23:04 | |
is spent on advertising | 23:06 | |
than on all of the churches and all of the schools | 23:08 | |
and all of the universities combined. | 23:11 | |
And all this money is spent | 23:15 | |
to stimulate in us | 23:17 | |
an insatiable desire for material things. | 23:19 | |
The pervasiveness of this advertising effort | 23:26 | |
was illustrated by one of our professors | 23:29 | |
who noted that he could no longer use | 23:31 | |
familiar Biblical references | 23:33 | |
and expect a response from students. | 23:36 | |
But the students were immediately caught up | 23:38 | |
and could understand any reference | 23:41 | |
to an advertising slogan. | 23:44 | |
Our values, | 23:48 | |
our decision of how we spend our money | 23:50 | |
and use our time and energy | 23:52 | |
are shaped more by advertising | 23:55 | |
than by our churches, and our schools, and our universities. | 23:59 | |
And even perhaps, than our families. | 24:04 | |
Now, second, our consumerism, | 24:08 | |
and our resultant luxury, | 24:10 | |
leads us to a dependence on and acceptance of any person | 24:13 | |
or group who promises to take care of our material desires. | 24:18 | |
Bellah criticizes the welfare state, | 24:25 | |
which supports such dependence. | 24:29 | |
But it's not the welfare state we normally refer to, | 24:32 | |
as that minor expenditure of our government | 24:36 | |
which helps keep our desperately poor from starving. | 24:39 | |
But rather, the welfare which goes to us, | 24:45 | |
who benefit from tax breaks and loopholes. | 24:50 | |
And to those us whose livelihood depends on our | 24:54 | |
enormous military budget. | 24:57 | |
And to the great corporations who receive | 25:00 | |
incredible benefits from our government - | 25:03 | |
from the tax-deductible three-martini-lunch | 25:06 | |
are paid to top executives, | 25:09 | |
to the enormous benefits which either provide actual money | 25:13 | |
or tax benefit so that some of these corporations | 25:17 | |
pay little, and sometimes no, taxes. | 25:20 | |
Now, third, the corollary of our luxury | 25:26 | |
and our consequent dependence | 25:29 | |
is our political ignorance, | 25:33 | |
or our lack of interest in public issues, | 25:35 | |
with concern only for the personal ones. | 25:38 | |
And the one deceptive example, being, | 25:41 | |
an exception: | 25:45 | |
the narrow and selfish tax revolt where the middle class | 25:48 | |
is choosing not to pay for the social cost | 25:53 | |
of a reasonable and decent society. | 25:56 | |
Now, some people see our present problems | 26:00 | |
as being so enormous and so confusing | 26:03 | |
until they do not want to even hear about them. | 26:07 | |
And so, are attracted to the kind of preaching | 26:10 | |
which makes little attempt | 26:12 | |
to analyze the world except as an area of conflict | 26:14 | |
between God and Satan. | 26:18 | |
The clear and absolute theological answers | 26:22 | |
offered by this preaching, | 26:24 | |
is especially attractive in time of confusion | 26:27 | |
when a society has lost its sense of self-confidence. | 26:30 | |
And few people seem to know what it means | 26:34 | |
to be an ethical person, | 26:37 | |
or to be a faithful servant of Christ. | 26:39 | |
And Bellah warned of the dangers and | 26:43 | |
limitations of these groups. | 26:45 | |
Their intrinsic authoritarianism and their | 26:48 | |
inability to relate to the complexity of the modern world | 26:52 | |
means that their members are encouraged | 26:57 | |
to escape into privatism. | 27:00 | |
And these groups cultivate personal immaturity by | 27:03 | |
not allowing individuals to come | 27:08 | |
to some painful sense of themselves | 27:11 | |
with all of their doubt, and despair. | 27:13 | |
Doubt and despair that the Christian faith | 27:18 | |
not only allows us to cope with | 27:20 | |
but never, in any simple way, denies. | 27:22 | |
Now, we may not agree with Bellah's analysis, | 27:28 | |
but if we don't | 27:31 | |
it should provoke us to describe for ourselves a situation | 27:33 | |
we understand God's message of salvation | 27:37 | |
is being addressed to today. | 27:39 | |
And to name our brokenness and our alienation and our sin. | 27:43 | |
Given our cultural situation, | 27:49 | |
will we, like Simeon, | 27:54 | |
be able to see God's salvation? | 27:56 | |
Once we've seen the actual vision, | 28:01 | |
will we do more than entertain it | 28:03 | |
as an agreeable possibility, | 28:05 | |
but once again send the Christ away | 28:08 | |
begging to remain the disobedient servant, | 28:10 | |
the promising children who cannot keep their promises | 28:13 | |
even until the new year begins. | 28:18 | |
Or perhaps to do symbolically | 28:23 | |
what was suggested to one our Midwestern towns | 28:25 | |
when they were caught in a conflict | 28:29 | |
between the separation of church and state, | 28:31 | |
because someone had placed a crèche | 28:34 | |
in front of a public building. | 28:37 | |
It was suggested that their problem might be solved | 28:40 | |
if they made the Christ child a little smaller, | 28:44 | |
a little less obvious. | 28:48 | |
Now, we are honest enough to claim | 28:51 | |
that there is at least a little part of us | 28:53 | |
that would like to be the disobedient servant. | 28:56 | |
But for those of us who have gathered here | 29:00 | |
this day to worship | 29:03 | |
there was at least one moment during this Christmas season | 29:05 | |
when we recalled the mystery and the miracle | 29:10 | |
of the babe in the manger, | 29:13 | |
and recalled with such intensity | 29:14 | |
that we did indeed behold the glory of God's presence, | 29:18 | |
and were claimed again and rejoiced | 29:23 | |
that God does not abandon us | 29:25 | |
in our luxury, our pain, | 29:28 | |
our self-centeredness. | 29:32 | |
That God is indeed with us. | 29:34 | |
And we yearn to be the obedient servant. | 29:40 | |
Jeremiah reflected on our yearnings | 29:46 | |
to be gathered up and watched over | 29:49 | |
like a shepherd watches the sheep. | 29:52 | |
And for those who remember the | 29:56 | |
parched ground of our recent dry times, | 29:58 | |
we understand his next image. | 30:02 | |
That we too shall become like a watered garden | 30:05 | |
never to want again. | 30:10 | |
Jeremiah reflects poetically our personal longing | 30:13 | |
for fulfillment, for release, for hope, | 30:17 | |
for community. | 30:22 | |
And we celebrate at Christmas | 30:24 | |
that our longing for salvation, | 30:27 | |
for wholeness, for forgiveness, for reconciliation, | 30:29 | |
is fulfilled in the Christ. | 30:33 | |
This is John's affirmation in the prologue to his Gospel. | 30:39 | |
The Word became flesh. | 30:42 | |
The Word which created all things from the beginning, | 30:45 | |
the Word which is our salvation | 30:49 | |
is the light which overcomes our darkness. | 30:53 | |
And we behold in Jesus the same glory | 30:58 | |
the Israelites beheld when God was present with them | 31:02 | |
in the tent of meeting. | 31:07 | |
God, who was present in the tent of meeting, | 31:09 | |
who tabernacled with Israelites, | 31:13 | |
is now present in glory, in grace, and truth | 31:15 | |
in Jesus the Christ. | 31:20 | |
This same presence is in our midst, | 31:22 | |
as we, the community of Christ, | 31:25 | |
reflect God's glory and grace and truth. | 31:28 | |
If we are the tent of the meeting, | 31:35 | |
if we are the place where God appears, | 31:39 | |
if we have seen God's salvation, | 31:43 | |
what is our response? | 31:48 | |
Now our response can be informed by three lessons | 31:53 | |
we can learn from the conservative evangelical communities. | 31:56 | |
First, the importance and power of belief. | 32:01 | |
Not just creedal statements, | 32:07 | |
but the great paradigmatic symbols that order | 32:09 | |
and organize and give meaning to our lives. | 32:12 | |
The symbols which are contained in our holy scriptures. | 32:16 | |
And no matter how difficult it is | 32:21 | |
for us to study the Bible, | 32:22 | |
it is still the touchstone for our lives | 32:25 | |
and our faith. | 32:28 | |
And therefore, we should not spend all of our time | 32:30 | |
with the latest writings of the intelligentsia, | 32:33 | |
but save some time for Bible study. | 32:37 | |
Second, the importance of intense group life. | 32:42 | |
Prayer groups, bible study groups, | 32:45 | |
groups engaged in ethical and political action | 32:48 | |
composed of people who know each other | 32:51 | |
and care for each other in a face-to-face way. | 32:55 | |
The absence of such a community | 32:59 | |
means our religious life becomes anonymous and feeble | 33:01 | |
and is easily assimilated by the culture of our mass media. | 33:07 | |
And third, and this is especially important | 33:13 | |
for the mainline churches and the liberal tradition, | 33:17 | |
the importance of demand and sacrifice | 33:20 | |
to be made by the Christian community. | 33:25 | |
The importance of demand and sacrifice | 33:30 | |
which we should be called to make. | 33:34 | |
Now, we are thankful that there are many evidences | 33:38 | |
that such changes are happening. | 33:41 | |
For many groups who have had the evangelical base | 33:44 | |
are developing the fullness of the Gospel and | 33:49 | |
becoming deeply involved in matters of great social concern. | 33:51 | |
The Sojourner's Community in Washington | 33:56 | |
provides us with an excellent example | 33:58 | |
of responsible community living. | 34:01 | |
And some of the established churches | 34:04 | |
are becoming aware of the shallowness | 34:06 | |
and limitedness of their life in witness. | 34:08 | |
Just this Christmas, | 34:12 | |
a member of Pilgrim United Church here in Durham | 34:13 | |
described, in some amazement, the diversity of the people | 34:17 | |
who work and worship together in that Christian community. | 34:21 | |
Saying, it was made possible by the many small groups | 34:27 | |
with different concerns and emphases within that church, | 34:30 | |
who understand that God's salvation | 34:35 | |
calls them out of their isolation | 34:37 | |
and their separation and their luxury. | 34:39 | |
We are the tent of meeting. | 34:46 | |
We are the place where God appears. | 34:49 | |
We have seen God's salvation. | 34:53 | |
And we behold God's glory now, | 34:56 | |
not as a cloud of witness | 34:59 | |
as in the Old Testament appearance, | 35:00 | |
but in the Word and especially the deeds of Jesus, | 35:03 | |
whose final glory is seen | 35:07 | |
in his crucifixion and resurrection. | 35:12 | |
And we who find God's salvation through Christ | 35:15 | |
continue to bear witness to God's glory | 35:18 | |
as we respond to those who are in need of liberation, | 35:20 | |
of forgiveness, of reconciliation. | 35:25 | |
And again we give thanks that there are people | 35:29 | |
within the Christian community | 35:32 | |
who are being called out of their luxury, | 35:33 | |
their dependence, and their political ignorance, | 35:36 | |
and are living in the grace and truth of the Gospel. | 35:39 | |
And you may want to do what Joe Matthews | 35:44 | |
used to ask people to do. | 35:46 | |
To list what they saw as three of the most critical | 35:49 | |
problems facing them, | 35:52 | |
problems which are destroying the family or the church, | 35:54 | |
the university, or our culture. | 35:59 | |
And then to choose one of them to commit yourself to. | 36:03 | |
We immediately think of the powerless, | 36:10 | |
the oppressed, and the hungry. | 36:13 | |
It is those that we would commit ourselves to. | 36:16 | |
But then soon we remember that the powerful | 36:21 | |
and the oppressors are also in need of God's redemption, | 36:25 | |
God's saving grace, and God's healing word. | 36:30 | |
We have seen God's salvation, | 36:36 | |
and we go forth to show God's glory | 36:38 | |
as God's glory was shown in the words and deeds of Jesus | 36:41 | |
who is our Christ. | 36:47 | |
Let us pray. | 36:50 | |
We thank you, O God, | 36:55 | |
for the birth of Jesus, our Christ. | 36:57 | |
He has pitched his tent among us | 37:02 | |
and shared our lot. | 37:05 | |
By his life he has shown us the way | 37:08 | |
from isolation into community. | 37:10 | |
By his death he has shown us the way | 37:14 | |
from selfishness to love. | 37:17 | |
And by his resurrection, you have spoken the word | 37:20 | |
of hope to us, | 37:23 | |
hope for a new and fuller life. | 37:26 | |
Transform us then, O God, | 37:30 | |
into the temple of your spirit. | 37:33 | |
Dwell in our praise, | 37:36 | |
in our service, in our love. | 37:39 | |
Make us the sign of your presence in this world. | 37:43 | |
And lead us all to the vision of your glory. | 37:47 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. And Amen. | 37:51 | |
("Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" on organ) | 38:03 | |
♪ Hark! The herald-angels sing ♪ | 38:53 | |
♪ Glory to the newborn king ♪ | 38:58 | |
♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪ | 39:03 | |
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪ | 39:08 | |
♪ Joyful all ye nations rise ♪ | 39:14 | |
♪ Join the triumph of the skies ♪ | 39:19 | |
♪ With the angelic host proclaim ♪ | 39:24 | |
♪ Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪ | 39:29 | |
♪ Hark! The herald-angels sing ♪ | 39:35 | |
♪ Glory to the new-born king ♪ | 39:40 | |
♪ Christ, by highest heaven adored ♪ | 39:48 | |
♪ Christ, the everlasting Lord ♪ | 39:53 | |
♪ Late in time behold Him come ♪ | 39:58 | |
♪ Offspring of a Virgin's womb ♪ | 40:03 | |
♪ Veiled in flesh the Godhead see ♪ | 40:09 | |
♪ Hail the incarnate Deity ♪ | 40:14 | |
♪ Pleased as man with man to dwell ♪ | 40:19 | |
♪ Jesus, our Emmanuel ♪ | 40:24 | |
♪ Hark! The herald-angels sing ♪ | 40:29 | |
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪ | 40:34 | |
♪ Hail the Heaven-born Prince of Peace ♪ | 40:43 | |
♪ Hail the Sun of Righteousness ♪ | 40:47 | |
♪ Light and life to all He brings ♪ | 40:53 | |
♪ Risen with healing in His wings ♪ | 40:58 | |
♪ Mild He lays His glory by ♪ | 41:03 | |
♪ Born that man no more may die ♪ | 41:08 | |
♪ Born to raise the sons of earth ♪ | 41:13 | |
♪ Born to give them second birth ♪ | 41:19 | |
♪ Hark! The herald angels sing ♪ | 41:24 | |
♪ Glory to the new-born king ♪ | 41:29 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 41:46 |
- | We believe in God, | 41:50 |
who has created and is creating. | 41:52 | |
Who has come in the truly human Jesus | 41:55 | |
to reconcile and make new. | 41:59 | |
Who works in us and others by the spirit. | 42:02 | |
We trust God, | 42:06 | |
who calls us to be the church, | 42:08 | |
to celebrate life and its fullness, | 42:10 | |
to love and serve others. | 42:14 | |
To seek justice and resist evil, | 42:17 | |
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, | 42:20 | |
our judge and our hope | 42:24 | |
in life, in death, in life beyond death, | 42:26 | |
God is with us. | 42:31 | |
We are not alone. | 42:33 | |
Thanks be to God. | 42:35 | |
- | We are in the midst of Christmastide, | 42:47 |
the 12 Days of Christmas, still. | 42:49 | |
And yet historically in United Methodism | 42:52 | |
the last day of the old year is reserved | 42:55 | |
for a reconsecration of our lives to God, | 42:59 | |
a renewal of the covenant that was made | 43:03 | |
at our baptisms. | 43:06 | |
Charles Westley wrote a hymn for that occasion | 43:09 | |
which was entitled: | 43:12 | |
And Are We Yet Alive And See Each Other's Face? | 43:14 | |
And that question is particularly appropriate on this day | 43:19 | |
as we catch a second breath from | 43:23 | |
the hustle and bustle of the holidays | 43:25 | |
that have just passed, | 43:27 | |
and prepare for the endless round of parties | 43:29 | |
and footballs games and family gatherings | 43:32 | |
that await us still. | 43:35 | |
And in that spirit of celebration | 43:38 | |
we welcome you all here this morning, | 43:40 | |
and we hope that you will take this opportunity, | 43:43 | |
this pause as it were, | 43:45 | |
to greet one another and exchange | 43:47 | |
the blessings of this season. | 43:49 | |
And now as we prepare our hearts for prayer, | 43:55 | |
the Lord be with you. | 43:58 | |
- | Peace be with you. | 44:00 |
- | Let us pray. | 44:02 |
I ask your prayers for God's family throughout the world. | 44:06 | |
For all who bear responsibility among his people, | 44:10 | |
for all ministers of the Word and Sacraments, | 44:14 | |
and for all who gather in his name here | 44:17 | |
and in every place. | 44:20 | |
The Lord hears our prayer. Thanks be to God. | 44:30 | |
I ask your prayers for the peace of the world, | 44:36 | |
for the rulers of all nations, | 44:39 | |
for government in accordance with God's holy will, | 44:42 | |
and for a just and proper use | 44:46 | |
of the natural resources of this world. | 44:47 | |
The Lord hears our prayer. Thanks be to God. | 44:59 | |
I ask your prayers for the concerns and activities | 45:05 | |
of this congregation, | 45:08 | |
and of this community. | 45:10 | |
And for ourselves, our families, | 45:13 | |
friends, and neighbors. | 45:17 | |
The Lord hears our prayer. Thanks be to God. | 45:28 | |
I ask your prayers for all in sorrow, | 45:34 | |
need, anxiety, or sickness. | 45:37 | |
For the neglected, the persecuted, and the lonely, | 45:41 | |
and for those in any need or trouble. | 45:46 | |
The Lord hears our prayer. Thanks be to God. | 46:01 | |
Let us praise God for those in every generation | 46:07 | |
in whom Christ has been revealed and honored. | 46:10 | |
And pray that we also, inspired by their example, | 46:15 | |
may have grace to glorify Christ in our own day. | 46:19 | |
The Lord hears our prayer. Thanks be to God. | 46:30 | |
Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear | 46:39 | |
what we ask in the name of your son. | 46:41 | |
We pray you to accept and answer our petitions, | 46:45 | |
not as we ask in our ignorance, | 46:49 | |
nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, | 46:51 | |
but as you know and love us in your son, our Savior. | 46:55 | |
Even Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying, | 46:59 | |
- | Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 47:03 |
hallowed be thy name. | 47:07 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 47:09 | |
on earth as it is in Heaven. | 47:13 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 47:15 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 47:18 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 47:21 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 47:25 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 47:28 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 47:30 | |
and the glory, forever and ever. | 47:33 | |
Amen. | 47:36 | |
(religious organ music) | 47:46 | |
(organ music drowns out singing) | 53:42 | |
- | Let us pray. | 54:44 |
Almighty God, father of all mercies, | 54:47 | |
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks | 54:50 | |
for all your goodness and loving kindness | 54:53 | |
to us and to all people. | 54:56 | |
We bless you for our creation, preservation, | 54:58 | |
and all the blessings of this life. | 55:02 | |
But above all, for your incomparable love | 55:05 | |
and the redemption of the world | 55:07 | |
by our Lord, Jesus Christ. | 55:09 | |
For the means of grace and for the hope of glory. | 55:11 | |
Accept, we pray, these gifts we bring, | 55:15 | |
and give us such an awareness of your mercies | 55:19 | |
that with truly thankful hearts | 55:22 | |
we may make known your praise | 55:23 | |
not only with our lips | 55:26 | |
but in our lives. | 55:27 | |
By giving up ourselves to your service | 55:29 | |
and by walking before you in holiness | 55:32 | |
and righteousness all our days. | 55:34 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, | 55:37 | |
to whom with you in the Holy Spirit | 55:39 | |
we all honor and glory throughout all the ages, Amen. | 55:42 | |
(religious organ music) | 55:48 | |
(organ music drowns out singing) | 56:19 | |
- | Go out into the world in peace. | 59:15 |
Hold on to what is good. | 59:17 | |
Return no one evil for evil. | 59:19 | |
Strengthen the weak, support the faint-hearted. | 59:21 | |
Love the unloved, | 59:25 | |
and the blessing of God Almighty, | 59:26 | |
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, | 59:28 | |
go with you and remain with you | 59:31 | |
now and always, Amen. | 59:33 | |
(religious organ music) | 59:38 | |
(people talking softly) | 1:02:21 |