Albert F. Fisher - "Midway the Highway of Life" (June 24, 1979)

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-	Duke University Chapel service of worship,	0:04
	June 24th, 1979.	0:06
	(uplifting gospel organ music)	0:19
	(inspirational gospel organ music)	6:38
	(gospel choir singing)	11:04
	♪ This is the day ♪
	♪ The Lord hath made ♪	11:06
	♪ He calls the hours His own ♪	11:09
	♪ Let Heaven rejoice, let Earth be glad ♪	11:13
	♪ And praise surround the throne ♪	11:18
	(inspirational gospel organ and choir music)	11:27
-	On this beautiful day,	15:09
	another gift of God's love and grace to each of us,	15:12
	I greet you in the name and in the spirit	15:18
	of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.	15:20
	In the life of the University this is Alumni Reunion Sunday.	15:24
	In the life of the church,	15:30
	this is the third Sunday after Pentecost.	15:32
	And so as we celebrate in worship, in this season	15:37
	of the flaming, life-giving, life-renewing presence	15:40
	of God's Holy Spirit, we come now into the presence of God.	15:45
	And so in humility and in honest recognition of our need	15:52
	for the forgiveness and for the grace of God,	15:55
	let us join together as we make our confession of our sin	15:59
	before the Lord Almighty.	16:03
	Let us pray.	16:05
	Lord of all souls, everywhere and in all times,	16:08
	we admit to sins great and small,	16:13
	obvious and subtle, by which we destroy others,	16:16
	those near and dear to us, the peoples far away,	16:22
	the neighbor close by, the stranger in our midst,	16:27
	we acquire rather than share,	16:32
	demand rather than give, avenge rather than pardon.	16:35
	We put other gods before you,	16:40
	and learn to live comfortably with what is meaningless	16:44
	and false, as we are ashamed, pity us,	16:47
	as we are aware, strengthen us,	16:52
	as we see through the idolatries, forgive us.	16:56
	Return us to yourself, that we may live without fear,	17:00
	and seize our days with exaltation.	17:05
	Amen.	17:09
	Let us continue with our personal confession to God.	17:11
	Far beyond our dream, is the love of the Lord.	17:38
	No law outlives the law and the experience of love.	17:43
	More than sacrifice and gifts,	17:49
	is the love of neighbor and of God.	17:52
	How high and wide, how long and deep,	17:56
	the forgiveness and the love of our Risen Lord!	18:01
	And so I invite you now	18:05
	to receive and to share with others,	18:09
	this forgiveness, and this love,	18:12
	in the name and Spirit of Christ, our Lord.	18:17
	Amen.	18:21
	Let us give thanks,	18:23
	for God is good, and God's love is everlasting.	18:25
-	Thanks be to God.	18:32
	Forgive us.	18:34
	Thanks be to God.	18:35
	Forgive us.	18:37
	Thanks be to God.	18:39
	Save us.	18:40
-	May I say	18:49
	a very genuine and personal word of welcome to you,	18:53
	to those of you who may be visiting with us this day,	18:58
	but perhaps a little more, especially,	19:03
	to those of you who are alumni of this university,	19:05
	and are back home today,	19:11
	or are back home for this very special weekend.	19:14
	We are delighted to have you here.	19:20
	I have identified some of you this morning,	19:24
	and know that some of you have sons and daughters here.	19:26
	You may be interested in knowing	19:31
	that you are sitting close to where your son or daughter	19:33
	does every Sunday, during the school year.	19:35
	We are delighted to have you here,	19:41
	and trust that it has been a good weekend for you,	19:43
	and will continue to be during the remainder of this day.	19:48
	And we wish you safe journeying as you return home.	19:53
	We're especially pleased to have former members of the choir	19:58
	singing with us, in the Chapel Choir this morning.	20:01
	The tradition has been, and still is, that if you	20:06
	have ever sung in the choir, you are always welcome	20:08
	to come back.	20:11
	And so we're delighted to have you folks back with us	20:12
	up here this morning.	20:14
	We're also pleased to have Mr. Lorne Cottle	20:17
	as the lector for the service this morning,	20:19
	the immediate past President of the Alumni Association.	20:22
	As the lector for today, he represents	20:25
	all of the alumni of this university,	20:28
	as he shares in the leadership of this service with us.	20:31
	The preacher for today is a friend	20:35
	to many of you, and to many, many others	20:38
	connected with Duke University.	20:41
	The Reverend Al Fisher is a member of the class of 1951,	20:43
	Trinity College, a member of the class of 1954	20:48
	of the Divinity School,	20:52
	one who has given effective and significant leadership	20:54
	to the life of the church across North Carolina,	20:57
	and indeed across the country in many ways,	21:00
	since he graduated from here.	21:03
	In 1974, he was named	21:05
	the Associated Director of the Office of the Rural Church	21:09
	of the Duke Endowment,	21:12
	and two years ago, assumed the position of Director	21:13
	of the Office of the Rural Church of the Duke Endowment.	21:17
	This office and this fund, as perhaps many of you know,	21:20
	makes it possible for many churches and many ministers	21:24
	in North Carolina, to carry on ministry	21:27
	in the name and in the spirit of Christ.	21:30
	Al also is connected with the Divinity School	21:33
	as an Adjunct Professor there.	21:35
	A very, very warm and dear, and devoted friend	21:38
	of Duke University, and of the church,	21:40
	Al, we're delighted to have you as the preacher	21:43
	for this Alumni Sunday, this year.	21:46
	Let us continue now, as we worship the Lord God Almighty.	21:49
-	Let us pray.	21:59
	Prepare our hearts, oh Lord, to accept your word.	22:01
	Silence in us, any voice but your own,	22:05
	that hearing we may also obey your will,	22:08
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	22:12
	Amen.	22:14
	And now, the Old Testament lesson for today	22:15
	is from Psalm 119:1-20.	22:18
	Blessed are those whose way is blameless,	22:22
	who walk in the way of the Lord.	22:25
	Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,	22:27
	who seek Him with their whole heart,	22:30
	who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways.	22:32
	Thou hast commanded thy precepts to be kept diligently.	22:37
	Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping thy statutes.	22:41
	Then I shall not be put to shame,	22:46
	having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.	22:48
	I will praise thee with an upright heart,	22:52
	when I learn thy righteousness ordinances.	22:54
	I will observe thy statutes.	22:58
	Oh forsake me not utterly.	23:00
	How can a young man keep his way pure?	23:03
	By guarding it according to thy word.	23:06
	With my whole heart I seek thee,	23:09
	let me not wander from thy commandments.	23:12
	I have laid up thy word in my heart,	23:15
	that I might not sin against thee.	23:18
	Blessed be thou, oh Lord.	23:20
	Teach me thy statutes.	23:23
	With my lips I declare all the ordinances of my mouth.	23:25
	In the way of my testimonies, I delight	23:29
	as much as in all my riches.	23:32
	I will meditate on my precepts,	23:35
	and fix my eyes on thy ways.	23:37
	I will delight in thy statutes.	23:40
	I will not forget thy word.	23:42
	Deal bountifully with thy servant,	23:45
	that I may live and observe thy word.	23:48
	Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things	23:51
	out of thy law.	23:55
	I am a sojourner on Earth.	23:57
	Hide not thy commandments from me.	23:59
	My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances	24:02
	at all times.	24:05
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament.	24:07
	Amen.	24:10
	(inspirational gospel organ and choir music)	24:12
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	24:27
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	24:31
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	24:35
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	24:40
	♪ The gospel of peace ♪	24:44
	♪ How lovely ♪
	♪ Are the messengers ♪	24:48
	♪ That preach ♪	24:51
	♪ Us the gospel of peace ♪	24:53
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	24:56
	♪ That preach us ♪	25:00
	♪ How lovely ♪
	♪ The gospel of peace ♪	25:02
	♪ Are they that preach us the gospel of peace ♪	25:04
	♪ To all the nations ♪	25:08
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	25:11
	♪ The sound ♪	25:16
	♪ The sound of their words ♪	25:21
	♪ The sound of their words ♪	25:24
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	25:27
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	25:30
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	25:33
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	25:35
	♪ That preach us ♪	25:39
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	25:42
	♪ That preach us ♪	25:46
	♪ The gospel of peace ♪	25:49
	♪ To all the nations ♪	25:54
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	25:58
	♪ To all the nations ♪	26:03
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	26:07
	♪ To all the nations ♪	26:12
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	26:16
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	26:21
	♪ To all the nations ♪	26:25
	♪ Is gone forth the sound of their words ♪	26:29
	♪ Throughout all the lands ♪	26:33
	♪ Their glad tidings ♪	26:37
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	26:42
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	26:47
	♪ How lovely are the messengers ♪	26:51
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	26:56
	♪ That preach us the gospel of peace ♪	26:59
	♪ That preach us ♪	27:02
	♪ The gospel ♪	27:05
	♪ Of peace ♪	27:08
	Will the Congregation now please stand	27:30
	for the reading of the gospel lesson.	27:32
	The gospel lesson is from the third chapter of John,	27:38
	verses one through 12.	27:41
	Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,	27:44
	a ruler of the Jews.	27:47
	This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him,	27:49
	Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God,	27:53
	for no one can do these signs	27:56
	that you do, unless God is with him.	27:59
	Jesus answered him,	28:03
	truly, truly, I say to you,	28:04
	unless one is borne anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.	28:07
	Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old?	28:12
	Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb	28:17
	and be born?	28:21
	Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you,	28:22
	unless one is born of water and the Spirit,	28:26
	he cannot enter the kingdom of God.	28:29
	That which is born of the flesh is flesh,	28:32
	and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.	28:35
	Do not marvel that I said to you,	28:39
	you must be born anew.	28:41
	The wind blows where it will,	28:43
	and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know	28:46
	whence it comes or whither it goes.	28:49
	So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.	28:52
	Nicodemus said to Him, how can this be?	28:56
	Jesus answered him, are you a teacher of Israel,	28:59
	and yet you do not understand this?	29:03
	Truly, truly, I say to you,	29:06
	we speak of what we know, and bear witness	29:08
	to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.	29:11
	If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe,	29:16
	how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?	29:20
	Here ends the reading from the gospel.	29:25
	All praise and glory be to God.	29:27
	Amen.	29:30
	(inspirational gospel organ and choir music)	29:32
-	To each of you loved of God,	30:57
	and called to be Christ's men and women,	31:00
	grace and peace from God the Father,	31:03
	and from our Lord Jesus Christ.	31:06
	My wife and I have two sons	31:14
	who are seniors this year at Duke.	31:18
	Now for those of you who have children here,	31:21
	you know that's good news and bad news.	31:23
	The bad news is, they've still got one year to go.	31:27
	The good news is, they've only got one more year to go.	31:32
	A positive side of this past year	31:37
	has been that one of our sons helped me with this sermon.	31:41
	Last semester, Tony took a course under Dr. Wallace Farley,	31:46
	a James B. Duke Professor, now Emeritus,	31:51
	of French Literature.	31:54
	The course was on Dante's Inferno.	31:56
	Not only did Tony learn a great deal,	32:02
	but I was also brought again, to Dante.	32:06
	I found it tremendously refreshing,	32:13
	for I found that Dante was going through, in his time,	32:16
	the same kinds of problems that I'm going through in mine.	32:20
	When he wrote the divine comedy, he was in mid-life,	32:28
	35 years of age.	32:31
	Now at that point, we don't have a parallel,	32:33
	but his country was in trouble.	32:38
	The papacy was in trouble.	32:41
	He found himself out of harmony with life,	32:46
	and he really didn't know what was wrong with him.	32:49
	He just knew that somehow,	32:52
	the rhythm of life was missing for him.	32:54
	I have the same feeling.	33:01
	Our country today is in trouble.	33:04
	It is a crisis time.	33:08
	How do we handle nuclear power?	33:13
	Will we have enough gas	33:16
	to meet the daily necessities of life?	33:18
	How can we handle inflation?	33:25
	Will there be a depression?	33:27
	And then the many personal problems	33:30
	that confront us day by day.	33:32
	There are not many days that go by,	33:37
	but we find ourselves out of harmony	33:39
	with at least some part of life.	33:41
	Dante begins the divine comedy with three opening lines,	33:45
	which are among the most abrupt but spiritually revealing,	33:50
	that have ever been written.	33:54
	Dante writes, midway on the highway of life,	33:58
	I came to myself in a dark wood,	34:01
	for the straight road was lost.	34:04
	Innocent, deceptively simple,	34:07
	as Dante so often is, until you realize	34:10
	that he's not talking about a place at all,	34:15
	but a time in the lives of all of us when we	34:19
	turn in upon ourselves and honestly look at ourselves,	34:22
	and realize that we're not who we wanna be,	34:27
	we're not where we wanna be,	34:31
	and we're uncertain about how we can change things.	34:33
	Dante, the Psalmist whose words were read this morning,	34:40
	and even Nicodemus who had the confrontation with our Lord,	34:45
	started with a basic conviction about life.	34:50
	Man is a creature of recurrent, inescapable darkness,	34:54
	uncertainty, and bafflement.	35:00
	To say this is not for a moment to dim the power	35:05
	of a man's mind, or the glory of his accomplishments,	35:08
	the divine comedy itself is a dazzling example of both.	35:12
	We have only to look about us to see it in our time.	35:16
	And yet, recognizing man's accomplishments,	35:22
	we must admit that people are surrounded	35:27
	by mystery and uncertainty.	35:29
	Think about your own life.	35:33
	How often have Dante's words applied to you?	35:37
	Times when you certainly know that things are not right	35:44
	within your own life,	35:47
	times when you're troubled.	35:50
	Visit a bookstore and see what's selling,	35:55
	and then you'll know what I'm talking about.	35:57
	You'll find titles such as "Born to Win",	36:00
	or "How to be Your Own Best Friend",	36:04
	or "I'm OK - You're OK",	36:06
	or "Man's Despair", "Man's Search for Meaning".	36:08
	We continue to search for answers	36:16
	to the basic questions of life.	36:19
	Where am I?	36:22
	And that quickly gives way to another question:	36:23
	where should I be?	36:26
	And that gives way	36:28
	to that most elusive of all:	36:29
	what is the meaning of my life?	36:34
	Now this morning I wanna grapple with that a little bit,	36:37
	at least to share with you how in my life,	36:41
	I try to search for meaning.	36:46
	One of the first things that becomes obvious to me,	36:51
	is that the meaning of life differs from person to person,	36:53
	from day to day, and from hour to hour.	36:59
	One of the common misconceptions about the Christian church	37:05
	is that it can give us a simple rule or meaning,	37:09
	which once we have made that a part of our life,	37:15
	then we have no more problems.	37:18
	Well this simply is not the case at all,	37:22
	for every day we find ourselves thrust into new situations	37:27
	that require us to develop a new significance for life.	37:33
	This is a theme that runs throughout the Bible.	37:39
	Change is always taking place,	37:42
	and where this happens, the meaning of life changes.	37:46
	Just as the Children of Israel think that they	37:50
	have an understanding of God,	37:53
	that they have God neatly pigeon-holed,	37:56
	God breaks through again.	38:00
	There is a change.	38:02
	A new life enters.	38:05
	In Isaiah, the word is behold,	38:08
	I will do a new thing.	38:10
	Continually, they find that they can't be bound	38:14
	by the past, or even where they are at the moment.	38:17
	We find in the early church,	38:23
	that the disciples really believed that Jesus	38:27
	had come to be the Messiah for the Jews.	38:31
	But it wasn't long, was it, before Peter	38:35
	was called to go to Cornelius,	38:38
	and there, Cornelius accepted the faith.	38:41
	And a whole new concept broke in upon that budding church.	38:45
	In Taylor Caldwell's book, "The Listener",	38:53
	there is a story of Eugene Emery.	38:56
	Eugene Emery is a lawyer.	38:59
	He's been able to cope with life, to control life,	39:02
	to fight circumstances, to overcome them,	39:06
	to turn things aside.	39:11
	As a lawyer, he's been brilliant.	39:13
	Simply to see him walk in the courtroom,	39:16
	with his quick step and his confident look,	39:19
	sent shivers through the opposing lawyers.	39:23
	And then, in a visit to his physician,	39:28
	he found that he had leukemia,	39:31
	and just a few days to live, or a few months.	39:33
	The whole meaning of his life changed in that moment,	39:37
	and he said, but I never lived.	39:41
	I never learned how to live.	39:45
	What matters, therefore, is not the meaning	39:50
	of a person's life in general,	39:52
	but rather, the specific meaning of a person's life	39:54
	at a given moment in time.	39:57
	To put the question in general terms,	40:02
	it's like asking the chess champion, the chess master,	40:03
	oh, master, what's the single greatest move in chess?	40:08
	And of course, there is no single greatest move,	40:13
	apart from a particular game,	40:16
	and the personality of one's opponent.	40:19
	And so it is as we deal with life,	40:23
	we're continually finding that the new breaks upon us.	40:25
	Dante reminds us of this very forcibly, when he says	40:31
	midway on the highway of life,	40:35
	I came to myself in a dark wood,	40:38
	for the straight road was lost.	40:42
	There is no iron-clad meaning that can handle	40:47
	all of our problems all of the time,	40:49
	and applies to every situation.	40:53
	I know that there're some people who react very strongly	40:56
	with what I'm saying,	40:59
	but I believe my thesis is sound.	41:04
	At least I found this true in my own experience.	41:07
	In the past 40 years, I suppose most of us here have seen	41:13
	Gone With the Wind in one of its trips around the country.	41:18
	There are many scenes in that, that illustrate	41:22
	what I'm talking about this morning.	41:25
	One stands out in my mind.	41:28
	It's that scene where Scarlett O'Hara	41:31
	has returned from fallen Atlanta,	41:34
	to the plantation.	41:37
	She finds her mother dead, her father's mine gone,	41:39
	the plantation devastated.	41:43
	Finally, she goes on into sort of a garden area,	41:45
	and apparently tries to find	41:49
	some kind of root vegetable for food.	41:52
	And finally, she stands up and lifts her clenched fist	41:55
	and says I'll never be hungry again.	41:58
	Now we would all agree that Scarlett's choices	42:04
	were less than admirable.	42:07
	But in that moment, she really came to understand	42:10
	that her life was entirely different,	42:14
	and she had to develop a new meaning to deal with it.	42:17
	And so with all certainty, we have to admit	42:22
	that the meaning of life is always changing,	42:25
	it's just never static.	42:27
	Last year, there was an article in Time magazine,	42:31
	about soap operas.	42:35
	The only reason I read it, I guess, was because	42:37
	there was a quote in there from a Duke student.	42:40
	And this Duke student was asked	42:44
	why he watched the soap operas.	42:46
	And he said well, it's the only constant we have.	42:49
	(congregation laughing)	42:53
	The two women who occupy the same house with me,	42:58
	namely my wife and our daughter Laura,	43:01
	have an inclination to watch soap operas.	43:04
	Well it's more than an inclination, it's a habit.	43:08
	And I continually chide them about watching soap operas.	43:13
	I'll say well you can watch it every six weeks,	43:17
	and you'll never get behind.	43:19
	(congregation laughing)
	I've really lost favor in the last few days,	43:24
	as I called my wife's attention to the fact	43:26
	that the Raleigh News & Observer	43:29
	now every Sunday carries a caption, about four lines,	43:31
	brings you up to date,	43:35
	and you don't have to watch it at all.	43:36
	(congregation laughing)	43:38
	But life's not like that.	43:42
	It's not static, it's changing.	43:45
	I'll get on the light side.	43:48
	Just Friday, I picked up the newspaper and discovered	43:49
	that come this fall, that men's hairstyle is gonna change.	43:52
	Well I've just got accustomed to the one I've got now.	43:57
	But life's like that, never static, always changing.	44:03
	And within the Christian tradition,	44:07
	if we do not have those tools with which to help people	44:09
	meet the changing times,	44:13
	then we really don't have a great deal to offer.	44:15
	There's something else that needs to be said,	44:20
	midway on the highway of life,	44:23
	when we come to the dark wood,	44:24
	for the straight road is lost,	44:27
	the decisions we make, and surely we must make them,	44:29
	are made in the light of past decisions.	44:33
	Now this sounds almost in congress	44:37
	with what I've just been saying.	44:39
	And in a sense, it is.	44:42
	But when I come to those crisis situations in life,	44:44
	when the decisions have to be made,	44:47
	then I have to depend upon those resources I already have,	44:51
	the person I am, the training I've had,	44:55
	the moral standards I have.	44:59
	These are those things	45:01
	that lead me into the decision-making.	45:04
	And this is another theme that runs throughout the Bible.	45:08
	The Children of Israel are reminded of the stability	45:11
	of the past.	45:15
	They are not alone.	45:16
	God is present.	45:18
	When God calls Moses to go down into Egypt	45:22
	and free His children,	45:26
	He reminds Moses that He is the God of Abraham,	45:29
	the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.	45:33
	Throughout the Old Testament, we find	45:37
	various kinds of things	45:40
	that call their attention to the fact	45:42
	that they're not alone.	45:45
	The Ark of the Covenant,	45:46
	the temple, the law.	45:48
	The Psalmist in the scripture this morning	45:51
	reminds us that the law provides teaching and guidance.	45:55
	Just as a theme of the new creation,	46:03
	of the change runs as a theme throughout the Bible,	46:06
	so also does this reminder	46:10
	that people find strength in that which has passed,	46:14
	the stable aspects of their experience.	46:19
	Here's why education, and particularly Christian education,	46:24
	is so important.	46:27
	Here's why training in the home is essential.	46:29
	Here's why moral standards must be an intimate part	46:33
	of our lives.	46:37
	These are the things we depend upon when those decisions	46:38
	have to be made.	46:42
	And in the case of Scarlett O'Hara,	46:46
	we might have assumed the new meaning of her life,	46:49
	because of the way she had lived.	46:54
	She'd been a pampered young woman, beautiful.	46:57
	And all the young men had just waited	47:00
	for her to beckon them.	47:02
	And now in this crisis situation,	47:05
	she would tend to fall back on that which she was	47:07
	to help her find new life,	47:11
	her charm and her beauty.	47:14
	Life would be so simple, wouldn't it?	47:18
	If we always knew, when we made decisions,	47:21
	what the outcome would be,	47:23
	but it would take all the excitement out of life.	47:26
	It's really not an option for us, however,	47:29
	because we have to decide, and we do not know the answers,	47:33
	but we do have resources to help us.	47:40
	Now one last word.	47:45
	At the same time we recognize that life's meaning	47:47
	is always changing, and the decisions	47:51
	are made in the light of past decisions,	47:54
	we must emphatically recognize	47:57
	that there is meaning in life,	48:01
	that meaning never ceases to be.	48:03
	It is a tendency to declare in, consciously	48:07
	or subconsciously, in crisis times,	48:10
	that events have no meaning.	48:13
	Sometimes we say why does this have to happen to me?	48:16
	What have I done to deserve this?	48:20
	But meaning does exist.	48:25
	There is a marvelous story out of the Book of Jeremiah.	48:28
	Jerusalem is under siege and about to fall.	48:32
	It's a terrible time for the people.	48:36
	In this moment, Jeremiah does an unthinkable thing.	48:39
	He goes out and buys a field.	48:45
	Not only is it a terrible time, but he's under house arrest.	48:50
	And yet his cousin comes to him, and asks him	48:54
	to buy a field.	48:58
	And Jeremiah does it.	49:00
	And in this very act, he's saying	49:02
	even in these terrible times,	49:04
	even with trouble all about us,	49:06
	I believe in the future.	49:09
	I wanna be a part of it, and this	49:11
	is an indication of my faith in tomorrow.	49:14
	It is true that the previous meaning	49:20
	that we have given to a situation	49:22
	changes because of the course of events,	49:24
	but life does have meaning.	49:27
	We find new significance in the light	49:30
	of all that has gone on.	49:33
	And it is of infinite importance	49:37
	that any time we are caught in these kinds of situations,	49:41
	that we search until out of it, we find for life	49:44
	a new significance.	49:49
	In a book entitled "Man's Search for Meaning",	49:52
	Viktor Frankl writes about his life	49:56
	in a German extermination camp.	49:58
	He was one of the few survivors.	50:02
	He talks about how they struggled to find meaning,	50:05
	even in that situation.	50:08
	One night in an especially depressed time,	50:12
	he talked to the prisoners.	50:17
	Writing about that experience later,	50:19
	he wrote these words.	50:23
	The purpose of my words was to find a full meaning in life,	50:26
	then and there,	50:30
	in that hut, in that particularly hopeless situation.	50:31
	So I began by mentioning the most trivial comforts first.	50:36
	I said that even in this Europe,	50:40
	in the sixth letter of the Second World War,	50:43
	our situation was not the most terrible we could think of.	50:47
	I said that each of us had to ask himself	50:51
	what irreplaceable losses he had suffered up 'till then.	50:54
	I speculated that for some of them,	50:59
	those losses, these losses had really been few.	51:01
	Whoever was still alive had reason for hope.	51:05
	Health, family, happiness, professional abilities,	51:09
	fortune, position in society,	51:12
	all of these were things	51:15
	that could be achieved again, or restored.	51:16
	After all, we still had our bones intact.	51:20
	Whatever we had gone through could still be an asset for us	51:23
	in the future.	51:27
	I quoted from Kierkegaard, "That which does not kill me	51:28
	makes me stronger."	51:33
	Then I spoke about the future.	51:35
	I said that to the impartial, the future must seem hopeless.	51:38
	I agreed that each of us could guess for himself	51:42
	how small were his chances of survival.	51:45
	I estimated my own chances about one in 20.	51:49
	But I also told them that in spite of this,	51:53
	I had no intention of losing hope and giving up,	51:56
	for no man knew what the future would bring,	52:00
	much less the hour.	52:04
	What Frankl was saying there	52:10
	in that utterly hopeless situation,	52:12
	was that they had to find a new significance for life,	52:15
	each and every day, each and every moment.	52:20
	There was hope.	52:24
	Now I suppose that none of us will be called upon to suffer	52:26
	in the way those prisoners suffered	52:30
	in Germany, in the Second World War.	52:32
	But in our lives, in whatever circumstances	52:35
	we find ourselves, those crisis situations	52:39
	are troubling, sometimes devastating for us,	52:45
	unless we realize that there is hope to be found,	52:50
	and that meaning does exist, if we persevere.	52:53
	Five years ago, I changed jobs, as you already know,	53:00
	from serving as an active minister	53:04
	in the North Carolina conference,	53:06
	and as a District Superintendent in that conference.	53:08
	I came to the Duke Endowment.	53:13
	I'd known for many years of the work	53:18
	of the Rural Church Section of the Duke Endowment,	53:20
	and recognized it as being one of the areas	53:23
	of creative opportunity for the church in our state.	53:26
	And of course, was elated when the opportunity came	53:30
	for me to come with the Endowment.	53:33
	I didn't realize what a crisis it was gonna bring	53:37
	into my life.	53:39
	As a pastor, and as a district superintendent,	53:41
	I had come to depend upon that tremendous amount of stroking	53:45
	that people in those positions receive.	53:49
	Whether they really believe it or not,	53:54
	people are always telling a preacher how good a sermon is,	53:56
	or how important his or her ministry is.	54:00
	You get to depend upon it, and I did.	54:04
	Well, annual conference came, and a week later,	54:09
	I was in an office with three other people,	54:12
	and little or no ego stroking.	54:14
	And there were tough times ahead,	54:17
	as I had to find a new meaning of my life in that situation.	54:20
	Now as I look back, it was one of the most important events	54:27
	in my life, because I'm much more comfortable	54:31
	with myself now as a human being.	54:35
	I'm not as dependent upon	54:38
	that outside stroking.	54:40
	But that's the kind of situation	54:45
	that so often throws us, my friends.	54:47
	And I share with you out of my own experience this morning,	54:51
	in the hope that when you find yourselves	54:54
	midway on the highway of life,	54:59
	in the dark wood, for the straight road is lost,	55:03
	remember, the new does come,	55:09
	but you have resources to bring to bear upon it,	55:13
	and that if you stay with it, victory can be yours.	55:17
	Let us pray.	55:25
	Accept us, oh Lord,	55:34
	in the uncertainties of life,	55:37
	and in those moments, stay with us,	55:42
	that we'll see the light beyond the darkness.	55:46
	Amen.	55:51
	(uplifting gospel organ and choir music)	55:55
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	58:32
	We believe in God,	58:36
	who has created and is creating,	58:38
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	58:42
	to reconcile and make new,	58:45
	who works in us and others by the Spirit.	58:48
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	58:52
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	58:57
	to love and serve others,	59:00
	to seek justice and resist evil,	59:03
	to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,	59:07
	our judge and our hope,	59:11
	in life, in death,	59:14
	in life beyond death.	59:16
	God is with us, we are not alone.	59:18
	Thanks be to God.	59:23
	Be seated, please.	59:26
	The Lord be with you.	59:35
-	And with your spirit.	59:37
-	Let us pray.	59:39
	Oh Lord, our God,	59:43
	in this holy season of Pentecost,	59:45
	we give you thanks for the power and presence	59:51
	of your Holy Spirit.	59:54
	Everything that lives, grows by your power.	59:58
	Your movement is strange and beyond all our words.	1:00:04
	You are hidden deep, deep inside us,	1:00:10
	like yeast, like a seed of fire.	1:00:15
	You are our will to live,	1:00:21
	our desire to grow, our longing to be.	1:00:24
	You urge us on, to go on to the end,	1:00:31
	to endure everything,	1:00:34
	not to give in, but to go on hoping	1:00:37
	as love always does.	1:00:42
	You are the source and the soul of all our prayers,	1:00:47
	so there is nothing that we may not expect from you,	1:00:53
	the wisdom to understand and to accept each other,	1:00:58
	the readiness to help one another,	1:01:03
	eagerness both to receive and to give your love.	1:01:07
	Oh Lord, our God, on this day,	1:01:14
	we who gather in this place gather for reunion,	1:01:18
	for homecoming, for celebration, and for communion.	1:01:21
	Teach us, oh Lord, the meaning of home.	1:01:26
	Help us, one another, and all together, to be at home	1:01:30
	with ourselves and with one another.	1:01:35
	We remember, oh God, those who have gone before us,	1:01:39
	those from whom we have inherited this place and this world.	1:01:43
	We pray for those who have left us both treasures and ruins,	1:01:49
	love and sorrow, questions and answers,	1:01:54
	faith and doubt, hope and despair.	1:01:59
	We thank you for all those who have made us who we are,	1:02:04
	who have given us our names and our meaning,	1:02:08
	a word to share and a place to struggle constantly,	1:02:12
	to find ourselves.	1:02:17
	Some in this company this morning, oh God,	1:02:21
	face difficulty and uncertainty,	1:02:25
	sickness and the unknown, darkness and indecision.	1:02:28
	Some know not where or how the next step,	1:02:34
	or indeed even the next moment.	1:02:38
	And so for the presence of those who support us	1:02:42
	and care for us, whether it be one or whether it be many,	1:02:44
	in our times of ambiguity and anxiety and unease,	1:02:49
	we give you thanks and praise, oh God.	1:02:53
	For your living, loving Spirit which is in us,	1:02:59
	we give you thanks.	1:03:04
	You nourish and sustain life for us from day to day,	1:03:07
	and wherever you go you are present	1:03:12
	more fully than we dare to presume.	1:03:14
	And so we thank you for your presence,	1:03:18
	this hidden yet ever-faithful presence here and now.	1:03:22
	We know that you are not indifferent,	1:03:29
	either to our joys or to our sorrows.	1:03:31
	Your deepest care is for our lives and for our goodness,	1:03:35
	and our peace is your peace.	1:03:40
	We thank you that you are alive within us even now,	1:03:44
	and we pray, oh God, that you will help us to grow,	1:03:49
	ever new, and ever more fully	1:03:54
	in the midst of the change and the meaning	1:03:58
	which confront us day by day and moment by moment,	1:04:00
	through Jesus Christ our Living Lord,	1:04:06
	who taught us to pray as we pray together.	1:04:08
	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	1:04:12
	hallowed be thy name,	1:04:16
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:04:18
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	1:04:22
	Give us this day our daily bread,	1:04:25
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:04:28
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:04:30
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:04:34
	but deliver us from evil,	1:04:37
	for thine is the kingdom,	1:04:40
	the power and the glory, forever.	1:04:42
	Amen.	1:04:45
	(uplifting gospel organ music)	1:04:55
	(upbeat gospel organ and choir music)	1:06:57
	(inspirational gospel organ and choir music)	1:10:35
	Oh Lord, our God,	1:12:26
	you who need not to be enriched with any gifts	1:12:28
	which we may bring,	1:12:31
	and yet you who indeed do love a cheerful giver,	1:12:34
	receive these offerings which we present before you,	1:12:38
	and with them, ourselves, our souls and bodies,	1:12:42
	as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to you,	1:12:47
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	1:12:52
	Amen.	1:12:56
	(inspirational gospel organ and choir music)	1:12:59
	And now as has come to be our custom in the chapel,	1:15:32
	may I invite you, without bowing heads or closing eyes,	1:15:37
	may I offer you this benediction, this blessing,	1:15:42
	as one Christian to another.	1:15:46
	As Paul writes, finally my friends,	1:15:50
	farewell, be perfect,	1:15:54
	be of one mind, be of good comfort.	1:15:59
	Live in peace,	1:16:05
	and the God of peace and love	1:16:08
	shall be with you.	1:16:11
	The love of God,	1:16:15
	the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	1:16:18
	and the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit,	1:16:22
	be with you, and with those whom you love,	1:16:27
	this day and forever more.	1:16:32
	(gospel choir singing)	1:16:42
	♪ Father give ♪
	♪ Thy benediction ♪	1:16:44
	♪ Give thy peace ♪	1:16:49
	♪ Before we part ♪	1:16:53
	♪ Peace will answer ♪	1:16:58
	♪ All the timing ♪	1:17:02
	♪ All waiting ♪	1:17:07
	♪ Faith will serve ♪	1:17:11
	♪ Amen ♪	1:17:17
	(upbeat gospel organ music)	1:17:28
	(congregation applauding)	1:25:16

Item Info

Title:

Albert F. Fisher - "Midway the Highway of Life" (June 24, 1979)

Description:

Life is not static but constantly changing. For this reason, we are constantly having to seek and discover new meanings for our lives. In these moments of crisis, however, we have the past resources of past decisions and formation to depend on. More importantly, however, we must hold on to hope that meaning does exists and that God will make something new out of the crisis. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 30:57. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 55:53.
Key quotation: “What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of a person’s life in general, but rather, the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment in time.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vd6pm0k

Date:

June 24, 1979

Speaker:

Fisher, Albert F.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

John

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1032
ref7273_jo8
uachapelsermaud
duke:320891
dcrau001912
ark:/87924/r4vd6pm0k
735c9127-c32c-4f19-8f1c-8f197dcdfc5d

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Albert F. Fisher - "Midway the Highway of Life" (June 24, 1979)

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