Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

Download
- Rights
- Limited Re-Use
  Educational Use Permitted
  More Rights Info
- Files (1)
- MP3
- Please be patient with media downloads. They are often large files.
Share

Embed Code
<iframe src='//idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c?embed=true' height='125px' width='100%' frameborder='0' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0' scrolling='no' allowfullscreen></iframe>
Permalink

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c
Skip to Item Info

Loading the media player...

Files for this Item

Transcript

Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.

Narrator	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship	0:04
	July 22nd, 1979.	0:06
	(fugal organ prelude)	0:13
Chaplain	Good morning.	8:25
	Will you join me in a prayer?	8:28
	Oh Lord our God, you who are always more ready	8:34
	to bestow your good gifts upon us,	8:38
	then we are to receive them,	8:41
	and are willing to give more than we desire or deserve.	8:44
	Help us so to seek that we may truly find,	8:50
	so to ask that we may joyfully receive,	8:56
	so to knock that the door of your mercy may be opened to us.	9:01
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	9:09
	(organ interlude)	9:15
	Friends in Christ, the Scriptures move us	12:07
	to acknowledge and confess our sins before Almighty God,	12:10
	the creator of us all.	12:15
	With humility, penitence, and obedience.	12:17
	In order that we may obtain forgiveness	12:21
	by divine goodness and mercy.	12:23
	And so I invite you to join me with sincerity and humility	12:26
	as together we offer this prayer of confession.	12:32
	Oh Lord, most holy and righteous, we bow down before you,	12:38
	acknowledging our unworthiness and our sin.	12:43
	Help us to look honestly at ourselves.	12:48
	Help us to admit our weaknesses, our failures,	12:52
	and our shortcomings.	12:56
	We have defied your authority O God,	12:58
	and we have run away from your word.	13:02
	We have allowed our pride to so blind us	13:04
	that we have not seen the splendor of your handiwork	13:09
	or the wonders of your grace.	13:12
	We have become complacent in our structures and institutions	13:15
	and indifferent and calloused to	13:20
	the desires and needs of others.	13:23
	We have neglected the old and we have ignored the young.	13:26
	We have looked for the very worst in our enemies	13:31
	and we have even gloated over the errors	13:35
	and rejoiced at the failures of our friends and neighbors.	13:38
	The wrongs which we have done weigh heavily upon our hearts,	13:43
	O God, have mercy upon us.	13:46
	Forgive us, we pray you, make us receptive	13:50
	to the power of your Holy Spirit,	13:54
	and grant us newness of life through	13:57
	Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	14:00
	This has been our corporate confession	14:05
	to which we now add our own personal confessions.	14:09
	We have the promise of God given to use through Isaiah,	14:32
	that though your sins are like scarlet,	14:35
	they shall be as white as snow.	14:39
	Though they are red like crimson,	14:43
	they shall become like wool.	14:45
	May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us remission	14:49
	of all our sins, true repentance, amendment of life,	14:52
	and the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, Amen.	14:59
	Duke Chapel Worship has a regular constituency,	15:10
	people who come here Sunday after Sunday.	15:14
	And to those I say a warm word of loving greeting	15:18
	in the name of the University Chapel Ministry.	15:28
	Others of you are visitors, here for the first time,	15:34
	or here on a very rare visit.	15:38
	And I want you to know that you are indeed welcome.	15:44
	I'm glad you're here.	15:47
	The preacher's glad you're here and	15:50
	the organist is glad you're here	15:52
	and we want you to know that you're always welcome	15:55
	to the worship service in Duke University Chapel.	15:58
	Our preacher today is Phyllis Lambert Scott,	16:05
	who is a Duke Divinity School Field Education Intern,	16:11
	attached to the Chapel Staff for the summer.	16:16
	I'm glad she's preaching today because	16:22
	she is not just a student in Duke Divinity School,	16:25
	she is an outstanding student.	16:28
	A person of intelligence, of warmth and charm and wit,	16:32
	who also possesses the gifts and graces of ministry.	16:37
	And it is with a sense of pride that	16:43
	I shall look forward to hearing her and have you hear her.	16:47
	Let us pray.	16:56
	Oh God who makes the blind to see and the lame to walk,	17:01
	and who opens the prison for them who are bound,	17:06
	let your word come to us with power to deliver us	17:10
	from blindness and prejudice, from evil habits,	17:14
	from the fear of man, and from every bondage	17:18
	in which we are taken, that we may walk in freedom	17:21
	in the way of your law through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	17:26
	Our Old Testament lesson is the second chapter of Ezekiel,	17:38
	reading the first through the fifth verses,	17:45
	if you want to follow the reading.	17:49
	And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet	17:51
	"and I will speak with you," and when he spoke to me,	17:55
	the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet,	17:59
	and I heard him speaking to me.	18:04
	And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you	18:07
	"to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels,	18:11
	"who have rebelled against me.	18:17
	"They and their fathers have transgressed	18:21
	"against me to this very day.	18:22
	"The people also are impudent and stubborn.	18:26
	"I send you to them and you shall say to them,	18:30
	"'Thus says the Lord God.'	18:34
	"And whether they hear or refuse to hear,	18:38
	"for they are a rebellious house,	18:43
	"they will know that there has been a prophet among them."	18:46
	Our Epistle is the 12th chapter of II Corinthians	18:58
	reading the 7th through the 10th verses.	19:05
	And to keep me from being too elated	19:13
	by the abundance of revelations,	19:15
	a thorn was given me in the flesh,	19:18
	a messenger of Satan, to harass me,	19:22
	to keep me from being too elated.	19:25
	Three times I besought the Lord about this,	19:29
	that it should leave me, but he said to me,	19:34
	"My grace is sufficient for you,	19:37
	"for my power is made perfect in weakness."	19:41
	And Paul goes on to say, I will all the more gladly boast	19:46
	of my weaknesses that the power of Christ	19:51
	may rest upon me, for the sake of Christ then,	19:55
	I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,	20:01
	persecutions, and calamities.	20:06
	For when I am weak, then I am strong.	20:10
	So ends the reading of the Old Testament lesson	20:18
	and the Epistle.	20:23
	("Amazing Grace" by John Newton)	20:26
	♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪	20:54
	♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪	21:01
	♪ I once was lost, but now am found ♪	21:10
	♪ Was blind but now I see ♪	21:19
	♪ T'was grace that taught my heart to fear ♪	21:28
	♪ And grace, my fears relieved ♪	21:37
	♪ How precious did that grace appear ♪	21:45
	♪ The hour I first believed ♪	21:54
	♪ Through many dangers, toils and snares ♪	22:03
	♪ I have already come ♪	22:11
	♪ T'was grace that brought us safe thus far ♪	22:20
	♪ And grace will lead me home ♪	22:29
	♪ The Lord has promised good to me ♪	22:38
	♪ His word my hope secures ♪	22:47
	♪ He will my shield and portion be ♪	22:56
	♪ As long as life endures ♪	23:05
	♪ Yeah, when this flesh and heart shall fail ♪	23:15
	♪ And mortal life shall cease ♪	23:24
	♪ I shall possess within the veil ♪	23:33
	♪ A life of joy and peace ♪	23:42
	♪ Amen ♪	23:53
Chaplain	Will you remain standing	24:03
	for the reading of the Gospel.	24:04
	We're reading the sixth chapter of Mark,	24:08
	the first of the six verses.	24:12
	He went away from there and came to his own country	24:16
	and his disciples followed him.	24:19
	And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue	24:23
	and many who heard him were astonished, saying,	24:26
	"Where did this man get all this?	24:31
	"What is the wisdom given to him?	24:34
	"What mighty works are wrought by his hands?	24:38
	"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary,	24:43
	"the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?	24:48
	"And are not his sisters here with us?"	24:51
	And they took offense at him, and Jesus said to them,	24:56
	"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country,	24:59
	"and among his own kin, and in his own house."	25:04
	And he could do no mighty work there,	25:09
	except that he laid his hands upon	25:15
	a few sick people and healed them.	25:16
	And he marveled because of their unbelief.	25:18
	And he went about among the villages teaching.	25:22
	So ends the reading of the Gospel, be seated.	25:27
	(stately organ hymn)	25:37
Phyllis	The verses from the Gospel of Mark	26:49
	which were just read in our hearing,	26:51
	relate a story with which most of us	26:54
	are probably at least remotely familiar.	26:56
	The story, in a nutshell, is this.	27:00
	Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown.	27:04
	And instead of receiving a hero's welcome,	27:09
	he was greeted with contempt, and finally rejection.	27:12
	Jesus's own countrymen, those who had known him	27:18
	all his life, his playmates from childhood,	27:22
	the old and the young of his own community,	27:26
	these very people, turned him away and refused to listen.	27:28
	Why?	27:35
	According to Mark, it was, ironically,	27:37
	precisely because the people of Nazareth knew Jesus so well.	27:40
	They knew that he was only a carpenter, a manual laborer,	27:45
	a blue collar worker, a simple handyman.	27:52
	They knew the rest of his family,	27:58
	nothing special about any of them.	28:00
	Perhaps some of the townspeople	28:03
	had heard some of the rumors that were circulating	28:05
	which questioned the legitimacy of Jesus's birth.	28:07
	At any rate, all could agree that Jesus had come from	28:12
	very humble and quite common beginnings.	28:15
	At first, some might have been fooled.	28:19
	Some were indeed astonished, even dumbfounded.	28:22
	This Jesus did seem to possess a special wisdom.	28:26
	And what about the mighty works of his hands?	28:30
	But then the people had remembered, it was just Jesus.	28:33
	Just Jesus the carpenter, why, his mother	28:38
	and brothers and sisters just live right down the street.	28:40
	And then the people had become indignant.	28:44
	He sure has a lot of nerve, they thought,	28:48
	waltzing into town with his followers,	28:51
	as if he were a very learned and respected rabbi.	28:53
	And then parading into the synagogue,	28:58
	and trying to teach us, why we probably know more about	29:00
	the religion and the law than he does.	29:04
	Over the past few days as I have considered	29:08
	Mark's account of this incident,	29:10
	I have finally begun to understand the meaning	29:13
	of the quotable quote that is on	29:15
	the lips of Jesus in this story.	29:17
	A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country,	29:20
	and among his own kin, and in his own house.	29:26
	Now that saying has always stuck with me for some reason.	29:30
	But I never really understood exactly what it meant.	29:33
	And although it had a catchy ring to it,	29:37
	I could never find a clever opportunity to	29:39
	insert it into a conversation,	29:42
	or into a paper I was writing, so what good is a quote	29:44
	if you can't show it off sometimes?	29:46
	Furthermore, as I began to learn more about the prophets	29:50
	and the Biblical tradition, as I began to read	29:53
	more carefully the words of the prophets,	29:56
	which are recorded in the Bible,	29:58
	as I began to learn that God's prophets are not only,	30:00
	or even especially concerned about predicting the future,	30:04
	but that they are more intent upon pointing out evil	30:08
	and injustice in the present, and exhorting people	30:11
	to change before it is too late.	30:14
	As I began to do these things, it became clear to me	30:17
	that most prophets, not to be confused with	30:20
	mere seers of the future, but most prophets	30:23
	find very little honor, in the way that the word honor	30:26
	is usually defined, most prophets seem to find	30:30
	very little honor anywhere on this earth,	30:33
	whether at home, among friends and relatives,	30:35
	or in a foreign land among strangers.	30:38
	Nevertheless, like all short pithy sayings,	30:42
	like all those quotable quotes that	30:45
	make it into Reader's Digest each month,	30:47
	this saying about a prophet is perhaps slightly overstated.	30:49
	Because it has a specific point to make	30:54
	within a specific given context.	30:56
	The context is the story of Jesus's rejection.	30:59
	And the point of the saying is this,	31:02
	a prophet has the roughest time among those	31:05
	who know him or her best, precisely because	31:07
	these very people know the most about him or her.	31:10
	Another quotable quote comes to mind.	31:15
	Familiarity breeds contempt.	31:17
	And if familiarity doesn't always breed content	31:21
	or resentment, perhaps it more often breeds complacency	31:25
	or nonchalance, sometimes we are too near to certain people	31:30
	to see their greatness.	31:34
	Furthermore, it is not only a too easy familiarity	31:37
	with certain people that often blinds us and deafens us	31:40
	in our relations with them, but also our own pride.	31:44
	Our own feelings of self-righteousness	31:49
	and self-sufficiency are always at work	31:51
	to hide the prophets among us from our very eyes.	31:55
	Perhaps we can glimpse some of this blinding pride	32:00
	in the words and attitudes of the people of Nazareth.	32:03
	They resented to no end the fact that Jesus presumed	32:06
	to bring the word of God to them.	32:10
	Jesus was just a carpenter, not rich, not very educated,	32:13
	not a prominent or very respected, or perhaps even	32:19
	respectable citizen.	32:21
	If God were going to communicate his word to me,	32:24
	many of the people of Nazareth no doubt felt	32:27
	he would not choose so common, so ordinary a vehicle.	32:30
	I am special and God will send his word to me	32:35
	by way of a very special messenger.	32:39
	And so the people of Nazareth didn't listen.	32:43
	It wasn't that they refused to listen to everyone,	32:47
	there were the established rabbis and prophets and priests,	32:50
	but this guy Jesus, by what or whose authority did he speak?	32:54
	Where were his credentials?	33:00
	And so the people of Nazareth were hard hearted	33:04
	and close minded and they cut themselves off	33:07
	from the very word of God,	33:10
	the very incarnation of God himself.	33:12
	And any time we close our eyes,	33:22
	and stop up our ears to any person, or group,	33:24
	we too, run this same risk, we too, may be cutting	33:27
	ourselves off from the very word of God.	33:31
	For you see, the word of God always comes	33:34
	in the strangest packages.	33:38
	The people of Nazareth were quite right, you know.	33:41
	This Jesus was an unlikely vehicle for the word of God.	33:45
	Have you ever looked closely at the genealogy of Jesus	33:49
	that is included in the first chapter of Matthew?	33:52
	It takes up the first 17 verses or so of that	33:55
	first chapter and I usually skip over it pretty quickly,	33:58
	all those begots, begots, and get on to	34:01
	the more interesting stuff.	34:04
	But if you do look at that genealogy of Jesus Christ,	34:06
	you may first of all notice that	34:09
	most of the people listed there	34:12
	are people we have never heard of.	34:13
	They lived and died in relative obscurity.	34:16
	They were what we might call nobodies.	34:21
	And among the people in that genealogy	34:25
	whom we do know something about,	34:27
	for example, Jacob, Rahab, Ruth, David,	34:29
	among these people we have heard of,	34:35
	we find murderers, adulterers, thieves,	34:37
	liars, even foreigners.	34:42
	Not a very impressive family tree.	34:46
	And yet it was into and through such a family	34:49
	that God revealed himself in an unequivocal way	34:52
	to all who would open their eyes	34:56
	to behold his power and his glory.	34:58
	And it would appear that God has always revealed his will	35:03
	through what would seem to be the most unlikely of means.	35:06
	Perhaps every story in the Bible could be used	35:10
	to demonstrated this point in some way.	35:12
	However, I will point out just two quick examples.	35:16
	During the years around 760 to 750 B.C.E.,	35:19
	God's word came to Israel by way of	35:23
	a lowly, insignificant shepherd.	35:26
	His name was Amos.	35:30
	He described himself as a herdsman	35:33
	and a dresser of sycamore trees,	35:35
	and he came from a very small village	35:37
	southeast of Bethlehem, called Tekoa.	35:39
	Now in the northern kingdom of Israel,	35:42
	there were many official priests and prophets.	35:44
	But did God send his word to the King and to the people,	35:48
	by way of one of these high and mighty religious men?	35:51
	No.	35:55
	God's word was communicated through Amos,	35:57
	a commoner, a back country hick.	36:01
	Perhaps an even more unlikely instrument	36:07
	of and for God's word was Abimelech, King of Gerar.	36:09
	Remember the story?	36:14
	Abraham and his wife Sarah had journeyed into	36:17
	foreign country, into Gerar, and Abraham had	36:19
	told the people there that Sarah was his sister,	36:24
	so that there would be no need to have him,	36:27
	Abraham, done away with,	36:30
	if Abimelech, the King, decided that	36:33
	he wanted to marry Sarah.	36:35
	But in a dream, Abimelech was told that	36:38
	Sarah was in fact, Abraham's wife,	36:40
	And Abimelech then proceeded to relay a lesson in ethics,	36:43
	in no uncertain terms, to Abraham.	36:46
	Now Abimelech was a foreigner, one outside the	36:50
	chosen people of God, the ruler of a people	36:53
	of a land where there was supposedly no fear of God.	36:57
	Why should Abraham have listened to him?	37:01
	And yet, Abimelech became a vehicle,	37:04
	perhaps unwittingly, perhaps unwillingly,	37:08
	but nevertheless, a vehicle for God's word.	37:12
	And the word of God still comes to us	37:17
	in the most unlikely of wrappings by means of the	37:19
	most unlikely of vehicles, if we will but listen.	37:22
	While reading a recent issue of Time Magazine,	37:27
	I ran across the following quotation.	37:29
	Quote, "There are only two important forces	37:33
	"in the affairs of men, one is the sword,	37:35
	"and the other the spirit, and in the long run,	37:39
	"the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."	37:42
	Maybe you saw it, too, and maybe you were as surprised	37:48
	as I was, at who had supposedly uttered these words.	37:51
	The essay credited them to Napoleon.	37:54
	Now, I'm sure many would disagree with me,	37:59
	but I think these words contain a lot of truth,	38:01
	even some divine truth, and they were uttered	38:04
	by a man who waged war, tried to conquer the world by force,	38:07
	and brought pain and havoc into the lives of thousands.	38:12
	But we don't have to look back into history	38:17
	even two hundred years to find examples of God's word	38:19
	coming to us on the lips and in the lives	38:22
	of the most unexpected of persons.	38:25
	One of my good friends who happens to be a minister	38:28
	told me a story recently about a woman named Katie.	38:31
	Now we might classify Katie as mentally retarded.	38:36
	She was simple minded, and although she had a big heart,	38:40
	she could be brutally honest.	38:43
	She talked a lot, and when she attended meetings	38:46
	or discussions at the church, she could be very disruptive.	38:49
	My friend tells me that he realizes now	38:54
	that he always tried to avoid Katie,	38:55
	and always dreaded seeing her in attendance	38:58
	at Bible studies, discussions, and the like.	39:01
	What did she have to offer to the high brow,	39:04
	intellectually profound discussions	39:07
	which he proudly planned and led?	39:09
	At one such meeting, the group was discussing Jesus's	39:14
	words concerning discipleship.	39:16
	If any man would come after me, let him deny himself	39:19
	and take up his cross and follow me,	39:23
	for whoever would lose his life,	39:26
	whoever would save his life, will lose it.	39:28
	And whoever loses his life, for my sake, will save it.	39:31
	Well the group was trying to decide what these words meant.	39:36
	Not lose life, find life, deny self, and so on.	39:40
	All of a sudden, my friend saw Katie's hand go up.	39:45
	"Oh no," he thought, "just when things were going good,	39:48
	"Katie's got to interrupt with her inane banalities."	39:51
	Reluctantly, he called on her, and as he half listened,	39:56
	since he was composing in his own mind some deep	40:00
	and profound statement with which to dazzle the group.	40:03
	As he half listened, her heard Katie say,	40:06
	"Maybe we have to find ourselves,	40:09
	"before we can lose ourselves for Christ."	40:12
	My friend says her words hit him like an arrow,	40:17
	and dug into him, God had spoken to him through Katie,	40:20
	and by the grace of God, he had been open enough,	40:25
	even if it was only half open.	40:30
	He had been open enough to listen.	40:33
	And this brings me back to where we began,	40:37
	to our Gospel lesson for today.	40:41
	Now in dealing with the story we find	40:44
	in the sixth chapter of Mark, concerning Nazareth's	40:46
	rejection of her native son, my attention has always	40:48
	been focused on the many, the many who heard Jesus's	40:52
	teaching and then rejected him.	40:56
	But according to Mark, these people were not the only ones	40:59
	Jesus encountered on this particular	41:03
	homecoming trip to Nazareth.	41:05
	Mark tells us that before leaving Nazareth,	41:08
	Jesus lay his hands upon a few sick people and healed them.	41:11
	Now since we know that the Gospel writers	41:17
	who see us for the most part, that faith is always	41:19
	a prerequisite for, and not a product of miracles.	41:21
	Since we know that although there are some exceptions	41:26
	in the Gospel, the rule there is that it is only	41:28
	those who believe who are healed by Jesus.	41:32
	Since we are aware of these things,	41:38
	we can assume if Jesus laid his hands upon a few people,	41:39
	and healed them, then these few people must have believed.	41:43
	That is, at least a few people in Nazareth	41:49
	didn't reject Jesus.	41:52
	Now I must point out that most of the commentaries	41:54
	which I have consulted said that it seems quite likely	41:57
	that Mark inserted this comment into,	42:00
	concerning Jesus's healing of a few sick people,	42:05
	into the story, because he didn't want it to appear	42:08
	as though Jesus lacked the power to heal	42:11
	and perform other miracles.	42:14
	Be that as it may, I find it significant,	42:16
	no matter how or why this statement found	42:19
	its way into Mark's account,	42:22
	that those who believed, who recognized in Jesus	42:24
	a power beyond himself, who saw Jesus	42:28
	as more than a carpenter, and Mary's son.	42:31
	I find it significant that these people	42:35
	who heard God's word in the words of Jesus	42:37
	were the sick, the weak,	42:41
	no doubt the outcast, and the overlooked.	42:45
	These people who were weak could see in the weakness,	42:50
	the commonness, the lowliness of Jesus,	42:53
	the power and strength of God.	42:57
	They were not blinded by their own pride,	43:00
	their own feelings of self-sufficiency.	43:03
	They knew they were sick, and that was and is	43:05
	the first step toward help.	43:09
	We know this from our own knowledge and experience.	43:12
	Before we can be healed, we have to first realize	43:14
	that we are sick.	43:18
	To receive real wisdom and learning,	43:20
	we have to first realize that we are ignorant and stupid.	43:22
	To receive true power, we have to first realize	43:28
	that we are weak, to receive new life,	43:32
	we have to first realize that we are dead.	43:37
	You see, if we are to be the recipients of God's word,	43:42
	we must, through the amazing grace of God,	43:45
	realize that without that living and powerful word,	43:49
	we in and of ourselves are sick and weak,	43:53
	ignorant and stupid, blind and lost, dead as a doornail.	43:57
	We must realize, as Paul did, that it is only	44:04
	when we ourselves are weak, when we are humbled	44:06
	by insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities,	44:10
	when we are made aware of our fallenness, and our finitude,	44:15
	it is only then that we can know, can participate,	44:19
	in the power and grace of God.	44:24
	In other words, it is only with the recognition	44:27
	of our weakness that we can also realize that	44:29
	God's judgments are unsearchable,	44:34
	and his ways inscrutable.	44:37
	It is only with the recognition of our own inadequacy	44:40
	that we can realize that God's word can come to us	44:45
	through a Billy Graham, or a Karl Barth,	44:49
	through a dying cancer patient	44:54
	or a professional football player,	44:56
	through a migrant farm worker, or a chairman	44:59
	of the board of American Tobacco Company,	45:02
	through a Vietnamese refugee or	45:06
	a President of the United States,	45:08
	through a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, even a minister,	45:11
	through a two-year-old child, or a 78-year-old grandmother,	45:20
	through a devout Christian, or an espoused Atheist.	45:26
	Of course, we must remember that the word of God	45:32
	can be a word of hope, a word of love,	45:34
	a word of judgment, a word of grace.	45:37
	It is not always a word we want to hear,	45:42
	but it is a word that will chase us	45:46
	to the ends of the earth, because it is	45:48
	the word of a mother who loves us,	45:52
	of a father who wants us home.	45:55
	Won't you open up yourself, tear down the walls around you	46:00
	and listen for God's word.	46:04
	His prophets are speaking even now,	46:07
	where we least expect it.	46:11
	Let us pray.	46:15
	Oh God, we need your help.	46:21
	Open our eyes, unstop our ears,	46:25
	unclog our minds, that we may be receptive to your word.	46:30
	And make us aware of our weakness, oh Lord,	46:36
	that we may be receptive to the power of your Holy Spirit.	46:40
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	46:45
	("God Has Spoken By His Prophets" by G.W. Briggs)	46:59
	♪ God has spoken by his prophets ♪	47:45
	♪ Spoken his unchanging word ♪	47:48
	♪ Each from age to age proclaiming ♪	47:54
	♪ God the one, the righteous Lord ♪	48:00
	♪ In the world's despair and turmoil ♪	48:06
	♪ One firm anchor holds us fast ♪	48:13
	♪ God eternal reigns forever ♪	48:19
	♪ God the first and God the last ♪	48:26
	♪ God has spoken by Christ Jesus ♪	48:35
	♪ Christ, the everlasting Son ♪	48:44
	♪ Brightness of the Father's glory ♪	48:47
	♪ With the Father ever one ♪	48:54
	♪ Spoken by the Word incarnate ♪	49:00
	♪ Life, before all time began ♪	49:07
	♪ Light of light, to earth descending ♪	49:13
	♪ God revealed as Son of Man ♪	49:20
	♪ God is speaking by his Spirit ♪	49:30
	♪ Speaking to our hearts again ♪	49:38
	♪ In the ageless Word declaring ♪	49:42
	♪ God's own message, now as then ♪	49:49
	♪ Through the rise and fall of nations ♪	49:56
	♪ One sure faith is holding fast ♪	50:02
	♪ God abides, his word unchanging ♪	50:09
	♪ God the first and God the last ♪	50:15
	♪ Amen ♪	50:24
Chaplain	Let us affirm what we believe.	50:35
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	50:39
	who has come and the truly human Jesus	50:44
	to reconcile and make new,	50:47
	who works in us and others by the spirit.	50:50
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	50:54
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	50:57
	to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,	51:02
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	51:08
	our judge and our hope, in life, in death,	51:12
	in life beyond death, God is with us,	51:19
	we are not alone, thanks be to God.	51:22
	The Lord be with you, let us pray.	51:34
	Oh divine creator and sustainer of us all,	51:43
	we your church bring before you our hopes,	51:50
	and fears, our longings, and our brokenness.	51:53
	We pray for the universal church,	52:00
	that it may be one in Jesus Christ,	52:05
	that it may be so open to the truth spoken in love,	52:09
	that it will be less likely to build shrines	52:14
	to the dead prophets, while stoning its living prophets.	52:17
	Let thy Holy Spirit lead all preachers of the word of truth,	52:24
	that they may proclaim that revelation	52:30
	to congregations everywhere.	52:33
	And especially do we give thanks for the word preached	52:39
	by a faithful minister here today.	52:43
	Oh divine prince of peace, hasten the day of justice	52:48
	for ethnic minorities, for those whose defenselessness	52:53
	is exploited for profit, for people whose land	52:59
	has been occupied, and who are not allowed	53:04
	the privilege of political self-determination,	53:11
	and for majorities that are tyrannized by	53:16
	powerful minorities.	53:19
	Oh divine provider, give us this day our daily bread,	53:23
	and a day when the loaf is only half a loaf,	53:32
	teach us as a nation the wisdom and courage	53:36
	of declining consumerism, and a commitment to work	53:40
	that we may be agents of productivity.	53:48
	Teach our President and Congress that	53:52
	they have been elected to lead	53:56
	and are expected lead us in those programs	53:59
	necessary to solve the energy problem	54:02
	and to curb inflation.	54:05
	Oh merciful God, look with pity upon our human condition,	54:09
	make us sensitive to the plight of our brothers and sisters,	54:19
	in their struggles, pain and loss,	54:23
	however great, however small,	54:27
	we care for the victims of war, hunger and injustice,	54:32
	and the gardener who is a waging a losing battle	54:38
	with the Japanese beetles.	54:41
	We pray for victims of cancer, coronary artery disease,	54:46
	and all manner of lethal conditions,	54:49
	and for the teenager who is having a hard time with acne,	54:52
	and those who are simply nagged day in and day out	54:57
	with arthritis and tennis elbow, and aches and pains	55:01
	that have taken up permanent residence in their bodies.	55:05
	We lift up for your wise and tender ministries,	55:10
	all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need,	55:16
	sickness, or any other adversity, have mercy upon us,	55:22
	for the sake of Jesus Christ, who loved us	55:31
	and gave himself for us, Amen.	55:35
	And now will you join me as we pray the Lord's Prayer.	55:47
	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	55:53
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	55:59
	on earth as it is in heaven.	56:03
	Give us this day our daily bread,	56:05
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	56:08
	who trespass against us.	56:12
	And lead us not into temptation,	56:15
	but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom,	56:18
	and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.	56:21
	(stately organ interlude)	56:36
	("All Creatures of Our God and King" by William Draper)	1:01:18
	♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪	1:01:35
	♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪	1:01:41
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:01:47
	♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪	1:01:55
	♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪	1:02:00
	♪ O praise him, O praise him ♪	1:02:06
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:02:14
	♪ Amen ♪	1:02:27
Chaplain	Except we beseech thee oh Lord,	1:02:38
	these gifts we bring today, and direct and enable us	1:02:40
	by your Holy Spirit that those things which we undertake	1:02:45
	in your name, may be truly wrought in your spirit, Amen.	1:02:49
	(stately organ hymn)	1:02:58
	The peace of God that passes all understanding,	1:06:51
	keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love	1:06:54
	of God and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord,	1:06:58
	and the blessing of God the Father Almighty,	1:07:03
	the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you	1:07:06
	and remain with you always, Amen.	1:07:11
	(dramatic organ postlude)	1:07:32

Item Info

Title:

Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 26:50. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 46:50.
When we close our eyes or our hearts from others or groups, we may too be shutting off our chance to hear a prophet. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “When we are made aware of our fallenness and our finitude, it is only then that we can know, can participate, in the power and grace of God."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c

Date:

July 22, 1979

Speaker:

Scott, Phillis L.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1036
ref7281_455
uachapelsermaud
duke:321181
dcrau001916
ark:/87924/r4vt1h46c
2ae48da3-811b-42a1-a171-c078c6caa97d

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

Sponsor:

Sponsor this Digital Collection

Phillis L. Scott - "God's Dishonorable Prophets" (July 22, 1979)

Transcript

Item Info

Related Item

Duke University Archives