Krister Stendahl - "To Serve, to Succeed, and to Survive" Baccalaureate Service (May 5, 1979)
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(jovial organ music) | 0:03 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 9:41 | |
(choir singing) ♪ Lord of all nations | 16:09 | |
♪ Son of God ♪ | 16:16 | |
♪ And Son of Man ♪ | 16:22 | |
♪ Glory and honor ♪ | 16:30 | |
♪ Praise, adoration ♪ | 16:41 | |
♪ Now and forever more be Thine ♪ | 16:47 | |
♪ Now and forever more be Thine ♪ | 17:00 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 17:23 | |
(choir sings) | 18:07 | |
Father | Grace be unto you | 22:21 |
and peace from our Lord who creates, | 22:24 | |
redeems and upholds us. | 22:29 | |
God has given us life but we do not always live. | 22:34 | |
We have been given freedom. | 22:41 | |
But we have found this burden heavy, this anxiety painful. | 22:44 | |
In pride and insecurity, we have turned from God | 22:51 | |
to live in self-deceit and to serve other gods. | 22:55 | |
Therefore, let us admit our own willfulness | 23:01 | |
and our own weaknesses, as together we confess our sin | 23:06 | |
before almighty God, let us pray. | 23:11 | |
Oh God, in whose mystery we abide | 23:16 | |
and by whose mercy we are redeemed, | 23:19 | |
we confess our sin against one another and against you. | 23:23 | |
All our transgressions hidden and open. | 23:28 | |
The evil done and the goodness left undone. | 23:31 | |
We have deceived ourselves, about ourselves, | 23:35 | |
and worn masks and not trusted in love. | 23:39 | |
We confess that we have been careful with things, | 23:43 | |
careless with persons, | 23:47 | |
adept in taking, awkward in giving, | 23:50 | |
in love with our fears and in fear of our loves. | 23:54 | |
We confess before you that we are more prone to sin | 23:59 | |
than to obedience, prompt to gratify our bodies, | 24:03 | |
slow to nourish our souls, | 24:08 | |
attached to the pleasure of sense, | 24:12 | |
negligent of things spiritual, | 24:14 | |
quick in the service of self, | 24:18 | |
slack in the service of others, | 24:20 | |
eager to get, reluctant to give, | 24:23 | |
full of good intentions, hesitant to fulfill them, | 24:27 | |
server with our neighbors, indulgent with ourselves, | 24:32 | |
helpless apart from You, | 24:36 | |
yet unwilling to be bound to You. | 24:40 | |
Forgive us, lift us up, and heal us this day. | 24:43 | |
We pray in your Holy Name, amen. | 24:49 | |
Let us continue in prayer | 24:55 | |
with our own personal confession before God. | 24:56 | |
Spirit of life and love, come now and fill us. | 25:26 | |
Spirit of growth and grace, | 25:32 | |
come like and wind and cleanse us. | 25:34 | |
Awaken us to the reality of God's forgiveness. | 25:37 | |
Through the grace of God, | 25:42 | |
I now declare your sins are forgiven. | 25:44 | |
May we know that peace of God, | 25:50 | |
which passes all understanding. | 25:52 | |
That peace which brings comfort and hope, amen. | 25:56 | |
May I welcome all of you to this service of worship. | 26:08 | |
This baccalaureate service for those persons | 26:13 | |
receiving advanced degrees at Duke this year. | 26:17 | |
We are honored to have many of them, | 26:22 | |
many of you with us. | 26:24 | |
And many of you who are friends and family | 26:27 | |
share in this very special occasion. | 26:29 | |
Assuming that the weather holds and I've been told | 26:33 | |
that it is going to hold, this afternoon. | 26:36 | |
The reception schedule for 4:30 will be held | 26:40 | |
on the lawn on East campus, from 4:30 until 6:00. | 26:45 | |
All of us are invited to share in that experience. | 26:49 | |
Tonight at 9:00 here in the chapel, | 26:53 | |
Professor Finner-Douglas, University Organist | 26:55 | |
and Professor of Music, will give a concert | 26:58 | |
on the new Flentrop organ. | 27:01 | |
You're invited to come and share in that experience also. | 27:03 | |
Acclaimed both worldwide and in this country particularly | 27:11 | |
as a committed and concerned church-man | 27:17 | |
both in his own native church of Sweden | 27:20 | |
and in the church universal, | 27:24 | |
as a brilliant and learned Biblical scholar, | 27:27 | |
as an able and effective administrator, | 27:33 | |
as dean of a distinctive and honored School of Divinity, | 27:36 | |
known as a caring and concerned pastor to students, | 27:43 | |
to faculty, and to others, deeply respected | 27:46 | |
and highly regarded as a preacher of the Word, | 27:50 | |
one who has preached here in Duke chapel | 27:54 | |
on a number of occasions previously, | 27:56 | |
we welcome the reverend Dr. Krister Stendahl. | 27:59 | |
Currently serving as Dean of Harvard Divinity School, | 28:03 | |
a position in which he has resigned and will vacate | 28:07 | |
as of June 30 of this year. | 28:11 | |
We welcome you, Dr. Stendahl, to Duke University again. | 28:14 | |
And to this very glad and celebrated occasion this afternoon | 28:18 | |
and we hear the Word of God which you will bring to us | 28:24 | |
with expectant and eager hearts. | 28:27 | |
- | [Associate Pastor] Let us pray. | 28:37 |
Prepare our hearts, oh Lord, to accept Thy Word. | 28:40 | |
Silence in us any voice but Thy own. | 28:43 | |
That hearing we will also obey Thy will | 28:46 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 28:49 | |
The Old Testament lesson is from the 34th chapter of Ezekiel | 28:53 | |
verses one through six. | 28:56 | |
And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, | 28:59 | |
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; | 29:01 | |
prophesy and say to them: 'Thus sayeth the Lord, | 29:05 | |
Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. | 29:08 | |
Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? | 29:13 | |
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, | 29:16 | |
ye kill them that are fed but ye feed not the flock. | 29:20 | |
The diseased have ye not strengthened, | 29:24 | |
neither have ye healed that which was sick, | 29:26 | |
neither have ye bound up that which was broken, | 29:29 | |
neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, | 29:32 | |
neither have ye sought that which was lost; | 29:36 | |
but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. | 29:39 | |
And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd. | 29:43 | |
And they became meat to all the beasts of the field, | 29:46 | |
when they were scattered. | 29:49 | |
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, | 29:51 | |
and upon every high hill. | 29:53 | |
Yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, | 29:55 | |
and none did search or seek after them. | 29:58 | |
Here endeth the reading from the Old Testament, amen. | 30:01 | |
(reverent organ music) | 30:08 | |
(choir sings) | 30:37 | |
- | [Associate Pastor] Will the cogeneration please stand | 35:57 |
for the reading of the Gospel lesson. | 35:58 | |
The Gospel lesson is from the tenth chapter of Luke, | 36:04 | |
versus 17 through 20. | 36:07 | |
And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, | 36:10 | |
Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. | 36:13 | |
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan | 36:17 | |
as lightning fall from heaven. | 36:20 | |
Behold, I give unto you power to tread | 36:23 | |
upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power | 36:25 | |
of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. | 36:28 | |
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, | 36:33 | |
that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, | 36:36 | |
because your names are written in heaven. | 36:40 | |
Here endeth the reading from the Gospel. | 36:43 | |
All praise and glory be to God, amen. | 36:45 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 36:49 | |
(choir sings) | 37:02 | |
Pastor | Let us affirm what we believe. | 37:50 |
All | We believe in God who has created and is creating, | 37:53 |
who has come in the truly human Jesus, | 37:59 | |
to reconcile and make new. | 38:01 | |
We trust God, who calls us to be the church | 38:05 | |
to celebrate life and it's fullness, | 38:09 | |
to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, | 38:13 | |
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen. | 38:18 | |
Our judge and our hope in life, in death, | 38:23 | |
in life beyond death, God is with us. | 38:28 | |
We are not alone. | 38:32 | |
Thanks be to God. | 38:34 | |
Be seated. | 38:37 | |
The Lord be with you. | 38:47 | |
Let us pray. | 38:50 | |
Oh Lord, our God, whose light guides us in our darkness, | 38:54 | |
whose wisdom enlightens us in our ignorance, | 38:58 | |
whose love inspires us in our indifference, | 39:03 | |
whose peace calms us in our turmoil, | 39:08 | |
and in whose will we find perfect freedom. | 39:12 | |
We rejoice this moment in the personal, | 39:16 | |
family, and community celebrations, | 39:19 | |
which are ours these days. | 39:22 | |
We offer unto you now, oh Lord, our God, | 39:26 | |
this prayer for those who are ready to graduate | 39:30 | |
from this university, | 39:34 | |
for those who came searching for great moments | 39:37 | |
and were not disappointed. | 39:41 | |
For those who have studied diligently and faithfully, | 39:45 | |
for whom night has often been day and day often night, | 39:49 | |
for whom the laboratory, or library, or study desk, | 39:54 | |
or hospital corridor is more familiar than their own bed. | 39:58 | |
For those who have been supported by family, husband, wife | 40:05 | |
or friends as they have struggled and grown from day to day. | 40:09 | |
For all those that leave this place as better persons | 40:16 | |
than when they came, more informed, more inquisitive, | 40:19 | |
more probing, more sensitive to self and to others, | 40:23 | |
more concerned, Oh Lord, about serving others | 40:27 | |
than about being served. | 40:30 | |
For those who came unsure about the place | 40:34 | |
of righteousness and justice, but who leave knowing | 40:36 | |
that integrity is one mark of authentic living. | 40:39 | |
For those whom we honor this day and on tomorrow | 40:46 | |
all that they have accomplished | 40:50 | |
and all that is yet to be, oh Lord, we give you thanks | 40:52 | |
and praise this day. | 40:55 | |
Oh God, may all of us know that there is a world | 40:58 | |
beyond this place, | 41:01 | |
a world of good and evil, of joy and sorrow, | 41:03 | |
hope and despair, light and darkness, hate and love. | 41:06 | |
And so may we care more about this world out there, | 41:12 | |
more now than we ever have before in our lives. | 41:17 | |
And so oh Lord, our God, as you realize who we have been, | 41:23 | |
accept us for who we are and make of us | 41:26 | |
who we are created to be. | 41:29 | |
We command ourselves to you, | 41:33 | |
knowing that your love can care for us. | 41:36 | |
Your mercy bless us and your power save us. | 41:39 | |
Hear us for we pray in your Holy Name. | 41:46 | |
Now hear us as we pray the pray that our Lord | 41:50 | |
has taught us to pray, saying, | 41:52 | |
All | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 41:55 |
hallowed be thy Name, | 41:58 | |
thy kingdom come, | 42:00 | |
thy will be done, | 42:02 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 42:04 | |
Give us this day our daily bread. | 42:07 | |
And forgive us our trespasses, | 42:10 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 42:12 | |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 42:16 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power, | 42:21 | |
and the glory, for ever, Amen. | 42:24 | |
- | [Dr. Krister Stendahl They now tell you in the program | 42:50 |
that we have come to the topic, | 42:54 | |
Knowledge Perfected. | 42:57 | |
And I feel very honored | 43:02 | |
by Duke University | 43:06 | |
that for some reason, some people here thought | 43:10 | |
that that's what Harvard would come and bring: | 43:12 | |
knowledge perfected. | 43:17 | |
That happens to be a misprint | 43:20 | |
and was never my topic, | 43:24 | |
although, I appreciate the gesture, as I say. | 43:31 | |
(congregation laughing) | 43:34 | |
What I would like to gather our thoughts about, rather, | 43:37 | |
is three simple thoughts | 43:43 | |
about to serve, | 43:49 | |
to succeed, and to survive. | 43:53 | |
But first, let us pray. | 43:59 | |
In God's Mighty Name, | 44:04 | |
we know that we are always in your hands, | 44:09 | |
but once in a while, give us a field day off | 44:14 | |
when we need it, | 44:19 | |
so that in our lives, | 44:24 | |
things keep the right proportions. | 44:25 | |
And what is great in your eyes, oh God, | 44:32 | |
be also important to us. | 44:36 | |
And what is small to You, be small to us. | 44:39 | |
Through it all, be unto us like a father | 44:45 | |
and a mother and a friend, | 44:49 | |
amen. | 44:54 | |
So you are ready. | 45:02 | |
At least the University authorities say so. | 45:04 | |
Ready to serve, no doubt, | 45:10 | |
in whatever field, | 45:16 | |
whatever capacity | 45:19 | |
that will be yours. | 45:24 | |
And I take it that it is your firm resolve | 45:29 | |
that you not be like those terrible shepherds | 45:35 | |
which the provost read about from the book of Ezekiel. | 45:41 | |
Those selfish ones. | 45:47 | |
The prophet said, you eat the fat, you clothe yourself | 45:52 | |
with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings, | 45:57 | |
but you do not feed the sheep. | 46:00 | |
Oh not you. | 46:04 | |
You are going to serve. | 46:07 | |
Some of you in well paying professions. | 46:11 | |
But after all, one has to pay back the loans. | 46:17 | |
And investment is not only investment in money, | 46:22 | |
but you have invested a lot. | 46:26 | |
I remember that fellow at Union Seminary | 46:29 | |
who finally had finished his thesis | 46:32 | |
and was sending it in | 46:38 | |
to have it read and examined. | 46:44 | |
And he sent it in and one day to Union Seminary, | 46:50 | |
up drove and armed truck, | 46:54 | |
one of those Brinks armed trucks. | 46:58 | |
And two guys with guns got out and carried this | 47:02 | |
package into the register's office. | 47:05 | |
And they were all wondering about what this was. | 47:10 | |
But he'd been asked to estimate the value of this thesis, | 47:14 | |
and he added up the time and the pain | 47:19 | |
and the paper and the living costs | 47:24 | |
and the tuition and it all, | 47:27 | |
so that he put the value of $10,000 on that thesis package. | 47:30 | |
And by the then laws in New York, | 47:37 | |
if a package was worth more than $6,000, | 47:39 | |
it had to be delivered by armored truck. | 47:42 | |
So if some of you expect to serve | 47:48 | |
in well paying professions, that seems alright. | 47:51 | |
And it might even be that it basically is | 47:57 | |
because what matters is your readiness to serve. | 48:03 | |
Now... | 48:12 | |
the prophet | 48:17 | |
who pictured those selfish shepherds | 48:19 | |
who didn't care for the flock but just lived off it, | 48:24 | |
as most of us, we live off society one way or another. | 48:31 | |
You would expect that his little sermon after that would be, | 48:38 | |
you should be more concerned shepherds. | 48:43 | |
But he takes another route | 48:50 | |
and is much more radical in the critique. | 48:54 | |
And it says in the Book, for thus says the Lord God, | 48:59 | |
"Behold I, I myself | 49:03 | |
will search for my sheep | 49:08 | |
and will seek them out, and will bring them together. | 49:10 | |
I will heal them, I will feed them. | 49:14 | |
I, myself, an no human shepard at all." | 49:16 | |
You see, in antiquity, in the Near East, | 49:24 | |
kings and other people who | 49:31 | |
assumed responsibility | 49:35 | |
loved | 49:39 | |
the image of themselves | 49:43 | |
as shepherds of the flock. | 49:46 | |
That's one of the most satisfactory beloved self-images | 49:49 | |
for people with responsibilities: a good shepard. | 49:55 | |
And the clergy has even absorbed | 50:01 | |
the image to themselves, | 50:06 | |
referring to pastors and pastoral, | 50:09 | |
which comes from that same word. | 50:11 | |
It's a funny thing in the Bible | 50:16 | |
that the word shepard is never used | 50:21 | |
for the relation of one person to other persons. | 50:26 | |
The Lord is my shepard. | 50:34 | |
But human beings do not relate to one another | 50:40 | |
as shepard to sheep. | 50:44 | |
Actually the word, to keep, which is what one does | 50:48 | |
with sheep, I guess. | 50:53 | |
The word, shamar, in Hebrew, is never used for the relation | 50:57 | |
between human beings. | 51:02 | |
Therefore Cane's famous answer to God | 51:07 | |
when he had killed Abel. | 51:12 | |
And God called out and said, | 51:16 | |
"Cane, where is your brother, Abel?" | 51:19 | |
Then | 51:25 | |
Cane in the glorious tradition of Jewish humor | 51:29 | |
answers with a joke. | 51:35 | |
He says, Lord, you know yourself, that it aint | 51:40 | |
proper for a human being to be a human being's keeper. | 51:45 | |
Am I my brother's keeper? | 51:51 | |
You know your theology, God. | 51:54 | |
You know that it aint proper for crummy human beings | 51:57 | |
to keep other human beings, especially not your bother. | 52:03 | |
In other word, to keep, is never used | 52:10 | |
as the proper relation between human beings. | 52:14 | |
I think that's important for service minded people. | 52:21 | |
Very important | 52:27 | |
that perhaps the greatest problem | 52:32 | |
with the service professions, so called, | 52:35 | |
the greatest problems with them | 52:41 | |
is perhaps ultimately not the kind of usual | 52:46 | |
kind of selfishness that we speak about, | 52:51 | |
but it is the haughtiness | 52:53 | |
that comes from thinking | 52:57 | |
that one can be | 53:01 | |
a shepard of people. | 53:03 | |
That a client, that a patient, | 53:10 | |
is a proper way | 53:16 | |
of speaking about human beings. | 53:17 | |
That it is actually the self-assigned image of us | 53:22 | |
shepherding or leading, | 53:28 | |
which is the root of the dehumanizing | 53:33 | |
in our work. | 53:37 | |
Or to put it more simply, my sisters and my brothers, | 53:39 | |
let's remember that we are human, | 53:43 | |
even if you manage to graduate. | 53:46 | |
Let's remember that we are human | 53:49 | |
and let us not overstep our limits, | 53:52 | |
especially not when we do it with good intentions. | 53:56 | |
There's a similar twist | 54:08 | |
in those words of Jesus | 54:14 | |
when the disciples came back and had been successful. | 54:17 | |
And since it is in the Gospels, | 54:24 | |
especially the Gospels of Luke, | 54:26 | |
which always is careful with its nice religious language. | 54:27 | |
They know of course that they have been successful | 54:34 | |
in the name of the Lord and by the help of God and all that. | 54:37 | |
But helpful, sure. | 54:41 | |
Successful, sure they had been. | 54:42 | |
The demons | 54:46 | |
just rush out of sick people | 54:49 | |
when they shout Jesus name over them, | 54:52 | |
and they had a wonderful time | 54:55 | |
in the most successful trip through the land | 54:59 | |
as healers and preachers than they ever thought possible. | 55:05 | |
And then they come and they are just so happy. | 55:10 | |
And they say, Lord, isn't it marvelous | 55:15 | |
that all those things about the kingdom | 55:23 | |
and sickness would sort of be overcome and all that. | 55:25 | |
It works! | 55:30 | |
And Jesus says, that's fine. | 55:34 | |
It's wonderful. | 55:38 | |
But when it really matters, says Jesus, you shouldn't | 55:42 | |
perhaps put so much stake in that success. | 55:46 | |
Do not rejoice that the spirits obey you, | 55:52 | |
rather rejoice in the fact | 55:58 | |
that your names are written in heaven. | 56:02 | |
It is as if Jesus didn't let them really | 56:10 | |
wallow in their success, | 56:15 | |
not even when they righty | 56:19 | |
assigned the glory to God, | 56:22 | |
as we have done in this grand style chapel. | 56:25 | |
No, says Jesus, rejoice rather | 56:32 | |
that your names are written in heaven. | 56:40 | |
And the point is perhaps not so much | 56:44 | |
that it is written in heaven and hence there is | 56:45 | |
another chapter coming on the other side. | 56:49 | |
That's not where the ax then falls. | 56:52 | |
It is rather that whether you have success or not, | 56:58 | |
and it will not always be this green as it is today, | 57:04 | |
says Jesus, to these happy disciples. | 57:07 | |
Remember that you have your ego | 57:12 | |
grounded in something else | 57:17 | |
than your successes. | 57:24 | |
Whatever happens, I am a child of God. | 57:27 | |
That's what's really important. | 57:38 | |
See this is a really important lesson, I think, | 57:41 | |
especially perhaps in much of | 57:48 | |
American culture, | 57:53 | |
that we really learn that life is not the | 57:58 | |
sum total of our achievements, | 58:02 | |
of our work, | 58:07 | |
of our doings. | 58:09 | |
That what matters is who we are | 58:12 | |
and not what we do. | 58:18 | |
When it really matters, life is not the sum total | 58:21 | |
of our achievements. | 58:26 | |
Even our achievements on unselfish service. | 58:28 | |
Now if people had the center of their lives | 58:36 | |
rather in their being, in their being children of God, | 58:40 | |
it becomes much easier to retire. | 58:50 | |
Now it might be a little early | 58:52 | |
for you to speak about retirement. | 58:54 | |
But I'll tell you that there is a lot of people now | 58:59 | |
who do not want to retire and that will make it harder | 59:02 | |
for you on the job market. | 59:05 | |
And they're upping it now to 70. | 59:08 | |
Because people find it so difficult to retire | 59:14 | |
because they have their ego in their work. | 59:17 | |
They think that life consists of what we do. | 59:22 | |
I hope that your generation will learn | 59:33 | |
that life is not the sum total of our doings, | 59:38 | |
not even the sum total of our experiences, so to say, | 59:42 | |
but that it has its center in the fact, | 59:47 | |
as I would phrase it, that I'm a child of God. | 59:50 | |
A child, not a master, | 59:57 | |
or a keeper of people or anything. | 1:00:03 | |
A child, and nothing very important | 1:00:09 | |
in the world in which the world speaks about important. | 1:00:15 | |
I want to be a child so that I remember that life is more | 1:00:21 | |
than the sum total of achievements. | 1:00:25 | |
I want to be a child with my life name written in heaven, | 1:00:29 | |
to be playful | 1:00:36 | |
and with a retained capacity to wonder. | 1:00:40 | |
Now you can understand when these disciples came back and | 1:00:48 | |
were filled with their achievements. | 1:00:55 | |
It's easy to understand. | 1:01:02 | |
It's more difficult to understand why Jesus | 1:01:05 | |
couldn't let that be | 1:01:09 | |
but had to counteract it by saying, | 1:01:13 | |
"Rejoice rather in the fact | 1:01:19 | |
that your names are written in heaven." | 1:01:23 | |
That sounds so selfish, shouldn't they rather be thinking | 1:01:25 | |
that they were helping other people, | 1:01:29 | |
than thinking about their little egos? | 1:01:34 | |
Oh, Jesus knew | 1:01:39 | |
that in the long life that human beings live, | 1:01:46 | |
if it lasts long, it's enormously dangerous | 1:01:51 | |
to lose one's identity in one's work. | 1:01:58 | |
Because then one uses other people, | 1:02:03 | |
leeching on them, | 1:02:10 | |
for one's own dignity and value | 1:02:13 | |
and self understanding. | 1:02:18 | |
That's why it is important to remember | 1:02:22 | |
these two stories from Ezekiel | 1:02:27 | |
and from the Gospel of Luke, | 1:02:36 | |
so that you can be a playful child | 1:02:39 | |
with retained capacity to wonder | 1:02:44 | |
and so that you can stay alive truly, | 1:02:51 | |
all life until you die. | 1:02:58 | |
Now perhaps those prophets here at Duke Chapel | 1:03:02 | |
weren't so wrong after all. | 1:03:05 | |
Without such insight, | 1:03:09 | |
knowledge is hardly perfected. | 1:03:14 | |
Let us pray. | 1:03:20 | |
We are always in your hands, Oh Lord. | 1:03:26 | |
Give us a field day off when we need it. | 1:03:32 | |
Be unto us like a father, | 1:03:37 | |
and a mother, and a friend | 1:03:42 | |
all our days as your little children, | 1:03:47 | |
amen. | 1:03:53 | |
(joyful organ music) | 1:04:13 | |
(choir sings) | 1:04:31 | |
Chaplin | And now as a closing act of thanksgiving | 1:08:45 |
and commitment, let us join together | 1:08:48 | |
in a unison prayer of gratitude and hope. | 1:08:52 | |
Let us pray together. | 1:08:57 | |
All | Almighty God who has granted us place in part | 1:09:00 |
in this university, hallow to us now this day, | 1:09:04 | |
when we dedicate ourselves to the life and work | 1:09:08 | |
to which you have here called us. | 1:09:13 | |
That we may remember with gratitude | 1:09:16 | |
the families and friends who have cared for us. | 1:09:18 | |
We ask your presence, oh God. | 1:09:22 | |
That in the life ahead of us, we may keep faith | 1:09:25 | |
with those who have loves us and trusted us | 1:09:29 | |
and whose hopes follow us. | 1:09:33 | |
We ask your presence, oh God, | 1:09:35 | |
that we may enter with good courage and constant purpose | 1:09:38 | |
upon the tasks which await us. | 1:09:43 | |
We ask your presence, oh God. | 1:09:46 | |
From all sense of strangeness and loneliness | 1:09:49 | |
and from the fear that we may fail | 1:09:53 | |
and may find no friends. | 1:09:55 | |
Good Lord, deliver us from neglect of the opportunities | 1:09:58 | |
which are all about us, and from distrust | 1:10:03 | |
of our abilities to meet the duties of each dawning day. | 1:10:07 | |
Good Lord, deliver us that the example of wise and | 1:10:11 | |
generous people who have gone before us | 1:10:16 | |
here at this university, may save us from folly | 1:10:19 | |
and self-indulgence, we ask your presence, oh God. | 1:10:23 | |
More especially, that you will show to us | 1:10:28 | |
and to all people the way of love | 1:10:31 | |
in a time desperately in need of those who care, | 1:10:35 | |
we ask your presence, oh God. | 1:10:39 | |
These things and whatever else you see needful and right | 1:10:42 | |
for us, we ask in your Holy Name, amen. | 1:10:47 | |
(jovial organ music) | 1:10:54 | |
(choir sings) | 1:11:29 | |
Chaplin | My friends, go now in peace. | 1:14:43 |
Go now in hope. | 1:14:48 | |
Go now in trust. | 1:14:52 | |
Go now in love. | 1:14:56 | |
In the God of hope, and trust, and peace, and love | 1:15:00 | |
be with you and with those whom you love | 1:15:07 | |
this day and forever more. | 1:15:11 | |
(choir singing) ♪ Amen | 1:15:16 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 1:16:08 |