Robert T. Young - "Holy Moments" (January 13, 1980)
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- | Sunday Worship Service, January 13th 1980, Duke Chapel. | 0:04 |
(choir singing) | 0:27 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:21 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:24 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:29 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:35 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:40 | |
(organ playing) | 2:03 | |
(choir singing) | 2:06 | |
(organ playing) | 4:14 | |
(choir singing) | 4:18 | |
(organ playing) | 7:13 | |
(solo singing) | 7:17 | |
(organ playing) | 8:41 | |
(solo singing) | 8:52 | |
(choir singing) | 9:17 | |
(organ playing) | 10:26 | |
(choir singing) | 10:30 | |
(organ playing) | 11:49 | |
(choir singing) | 11:54 | |
(organ playing) | 13:52 | |
(choir singing) | 13:57 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 14:44 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 14:48 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 14:52 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 14:58 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 15:03 | |
(coughing) | 16:53 | |
(coughing) | 17:15 | |
(coughing) | 18:02 | |
(organ playing) | 18:07 | |
(congregation singing) | 19:09 | |
- | You may be seated. | 23:14 |
If we claim to be sinless, | 23:27 | |
we are self-deceived and strangers to the truth. | 23:30 | |
But if we confess our sins, God is just | 23:34 | |
and maybe trusted to forgive every kind of wrong. | 23:38 | |
Let us admit our sin before God. | 23:44 | |
Almighty God, | 23:50 | |
You search the hearts of us all | 23:53 | |
and know our sin even before we acknowledge it, | 23:55 | |
and love us in spite of it. | 24:00 | |
In the presence of Your love | 24:03 | |
and our neighbors need, we make our confession. | 24:05 | |
We acknowledge our cowardice, | 24:10 | |
which does not let us see the truth, | 24:12 | |
our laziness, which will not let us learn the truth, | 24:16 | |
our prejudice, which will not let us see the truth, | 24:20 | |
our stubbornness, which will not let us except the truth, | 24:25 | |
our pride, which will not let us seek the truth. | 24:31 | |
We are deaf to conscience, | 24:35 | |
weak in will, | 24:38 | |
lovers of ease, | 24:40 | |
lacking in perseverance. | 24:42 | |
Grant us wisdom to know | 24:45 | |
and power to fulfill faithfully Your commands. | 24:47 | |
Forgive us when we falter, and renew us in Your grace. | 24:52 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 24:57 | |
Let us confess our personal sins in silence. | 25:02 | |
Friends, hear and believe these words of the Psalmist. | 25:32 | |
"For as the heavens are high above the earth, | 25:37 | |
"so great is God's steadfast love towards | 25:40 | |
"those who fear God. | 25:43 | |
"As far as the east is from the west, | 25:46 | |
"so far does God remove our transgressions from us. | 25:49 | |
"We are forgiven, let us forgive one another. | 25:54 | |
"Let us give thanks for God is good, | 26:00 | |
"and God's love is everlasting." | 26:03 | |
Thanks be to God, | 26:07 | |
whose mercy comes to us as forgiveness. | 26:09 | |
Thanks to be to God, | 26:12 | |
whose love comes to us as justice. | 26:15 | |
Thanks be to to God, | 26:18 | |
whose hope comes to us in Jesus our Christ, amen. | 26:20 | |
We welcome each of you today | 26:29 | |
to this University Service of Worship, | 26:31 | |
here at Duke University. | 26:33 | |
We extend a special welcome to those of you | 26:36 | |
who are listening to us by radio. | 26:38 | |
To the members of the Raleigh Boy Choir, | 26:43 | |
to their director Mr. Thomas E. Sibley, | 26:46 | |
and to members of their families and friends | 26:49 | |
who join us today, we say special words of greeting. | 26:52 | |
We are blessed by the music and by your presence. | 26:56 | |
A service of worship celebrating the birthday | 27:03 | |
of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held in the chapel | 27:05 | |
on Tuesday night, January 15th at 7:00 p.m. | 27:09 | |
We invite all of you to be present for this service | 27:16 | |
of celebration and commitment, a renewed commitment | 27:19 | |
to the justice, and love, and service to which Dr. King, | 27:23 | |
speaking out of his own deep Christian commitment, | 27:28 | |
called us. | 27:31 | |
Next Thursday, January 17 at 2:30 p.m., | 27:35 | |
a memorial service will be held here in the chancel area | 27:41 | |
to celebrate the life of Charles Eckhart Fox. | 27:45 | |
Kurt was a freshman at Duke, and died December 29th | 27:50 | |
as a result of an automobile accident the day before. | 27:54 | |
Kurt had made many friends here at Duke | 28:00 | |
during the four months he was here, | 28:02 | |
and he will be missed much by those whose lives he touched. | 28:05 | |
To them, and to the members of his family, | 28:11 | |
we extend our sympathy and pray that God | 28:14 | |
will bring them comfort. | 28:17 | |
This afternoon at 3.00 p.m., | 28:21 | |
there will be a memorial service | 28:24 | |
for the Rev. Dr. George Brinkman Elhart, | 28:26 | |
a former Divinity School Librarian and Registrar. | 28:29 | |
We extend our sympathy and offer our prayers | 28:35 | |
for his friends and family, here and elsewhere. | 28:38 | |
The flowers used in the service today | 28:43 | |
are given in his memory | 28:45 | |
by Dr. and Mrs. James Semans and family. | 28:47 | |
Our preacher for today is the Reverend Robert T. Young, | 28:54 | |
minister to the University, | 28:58 | |
we look forward to The Word he will speak to us. | 29:00 | |
And now let us continue our worship of our mighty God. | 29:05 | |
- | Let us pray. | 29:17 |
Oh God, help us to sense the timeless and majestic truths | 29:21 | |
which are revealed to us in Scripture, | 29:27 | |
and to make the power of Your word a part of our lives. | 29:30 | |
In Christ name we pray, amen. | 29:36 | |
The Old Testament lesson is from | 29:40 | |
the 42nd chapter of Isaiah, | 29:42 | |
versus one through nine. | 29:45 | |
"Behold My servant whom I uphold, | 29:49 | |
"My chosen in whom my soul delights. | 29:53 | |
"I have put My spirit upon Him, | 29:56 | |
"He will bring forth justice to the nations. | 30:00 | |
"He will not cry or lift up his voice, | 30:04 | |
"or make it heard in the street. | 30:07 | |
"A bruised reed He will not break, | 30:09 | |
"and a dimly burning wick He will not quench. | 30:12 | |
"He will faithfully bring forth justice. | 30:16 | |
"He will not fail or be discouraged till | 30:20 | |
"He has established justice in the earth, | 30:22 | |
"and the coastlands wait for his law. | 30:26 | |
"Thus says God, The Lord who created the heavens | 30:30 | |
"and stretched them out. | 30:34 | |
"Who spread forth the earth and what comes from it. | 30:36 | |
"Who gives breath to the people upon it, | 30:39 | |
"and spirit to those who walk in it. | 30:42 | |
"I am The Lord, I have called you in righteousness, | 30:45 | |
"I have taken you by the hand and kept you. | 30:50 | |
"I have given you, as a covenant to the people, | 30:54 | |
"a light to the nations. | 30:57 | |
"To open the eyes that are blind, | 30:59 | |
"to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, | 31:02 | |
"from the prison those who sit in darkness. | 31:06 | |
"I am The Lord, that is My name, | 31:11 | |
"My glory I give to no other, | 31:14 | |
"nor My praise to graven images. | 31:16 | |
"Behold the former things have come to pass | 31:19 | |
"and new things I now declare, before they spring forth, | 31:22 | |
"I tell you of them". | 31:27 | |
The Epistle lesson is from the 10th chapter of Acts, | 31:31 | |
versus 34 through 38. | 31:35 | |
"And Peter opened his mouth and said, 'Truly I perceive | 31:39 | |
"that God shows no partiality, but in every nation | 31:44 | |
"anyone who fears him and does what is right | 31:48 | |
"is acceptable to Him. | 31:52 | |
"You know the word which He sent to Israel, | 31:54 | |
"preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ. | 31:57 | |
"He is Lord of all. | 32:01 | |
"The word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea | 32:04 | |
"beginning from Galilee | 32:08 | |
"after the baptism which John preached, | 32:09 | |
"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit | 32:13 | |
"and with power. | 32:17 | |
"How He went about doing good | 32:19 | |
"and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, | 32:20 | |
"for God was with him'". | 32:24 | |
Here ends the reading from the Epistle, amen. | 32:28 | |
(organ playing) | 32:50 | |
(choir singing) | 33:17 | |
(organ playing) | 35:59 | |
(choir singing) | 36:01 | |
Will the congregation please stand | 39:38 | |
for The Reading of The Gospel lesson. | 39:39 | |
The Gospel lesson is from the 3rd chapter of Luke, | 39:46 | |
versus 15 and 16, and 21 and 22. | 39:50 | |
"As the people were in expectation, | 39:56 | |
"and all men questioning their hearts concerning John | 39:59 | |
"whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, | 40:03 | |
"'I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier | 40:08 | |
"than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I | 40:12 | |
"am not worthy to untie. | 40:16 | |
"He will baptize you with The Holy Spirit and with fire'. | 40:19 | |
"Now when all the people were baptized, | 40:24 | |
"and when Jesus also had been baptized | 40:26 | |
"and was praying, the heaven was opened | 40:29 | |
"and The Holy Spirit descended upon Him | 40:32 | |
"in bodily form as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, | 40:35 | |
"'Thou art my beloved son, with thee I am well pleased'". | 40:41 | |
Here ends the reading of The Gospel. | 40:48 | |
All praise and glory be to God, amen. | 40:50 | |
(organ playing) | 40:56 | |
(congregation singing) | 41:12 | |
- | Grace to you and peace from The Lord our God | 42:07 |
who creates us, redeems us and sustains us, amen. | 42:10 | |
The word reads, "Then Jesus came from Galilee | 42:16 | |
"to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. | 42:20 | |
"Now when all the people where baptized | 42:25 | |
"and when Jesus also had been baptized | 42:28 | |
"and was praying, the heaven was opened | 42:31 | |
"and The Holy Spirit descended upon Him | 42:34 | |
"in bodily form as a dove. | 42:37 | |
"And a voice came from heaven, saying, | 42:40 | |
"'Thou art my beloved son, with thee I am well pleased'". | 42:44 | |
A holy moment. | 42:52 | |
A holy moment in the life of our Lord Jesus the Christ. | 42:56 | |
One of many holy moments in the life of our Lord. | 43:04 | |
Jesus birth, a holy moment when God became one with us. | 43:10 | |
Jesus baptism, a holy moment when God became one of us. | 43:16 | |
Jesus death, a holy moment when God became one for us. | 43:23 | |
Jesus resurrection, a holy moment when God became one to us. | 43:32 | |
Holy moments my friends, for Jesus, for you, and for me. | 43:42 | |
Holy moments, birth and death, | 43:49 | |
and much that lies between. | 43:54 | |
Holy moments, when we know life is sacred, | 43:59 | |
life has purpose, life has meaning. | 44:05 | |
When we know that life is authentic and is real, | 44:09 | |
that life is genuine, when we believe that life is whole. | 44:12 | |
Indeed, when we know that life is holy. | 44:17 | |
Holy moments. | 44:22 | |
When we know that we have come from God, | 44:25 | |
that we go to God, and when we know | 44:28 | |
that in the meantime we belong to God. | 44:32 | |
We are God's children, we are Imago Dei. | 44:37 | |
Persons created, formed, conceived, birthed, | 44:43 | |
alive, living and breathing human beings | 44:48 | |
who are the children of the Living King, | 44:52 | |
The Lord God, The Almighty. | 44:55 | |
Holy moments. | 44:58 | |
Holy moments when we become aware of who we are. | 45:02 | |
That is, that we're human, and finite, | 45:06 | |
that we are dependent, limited and are in need. | 45:09 | |
When we submit who we are to the grace of God, | 45:15 | |
and make ourselves open to that same grace of God. | 45:19 | |
When we are then blessed and receive God's presence, | 45:24 | |
this is what happened to Jesus. | 45:30 | |
He acknowledged His humanness, He submitted to baptism, | 45:32 | |
baptism at the hand of a fellow human being, John, | 45:38 | |
to receive through John, and through baptism, | 45:41 | |
the grace of Almighty God and in that moment | 45:45 | |
He heard and experienced God's voice and presence | 45:49 | |
with Him, and life for Jesus was never to be the same again. | 45:53 | |
From that moment on. | 46:00 | |
He could never look back. | 46:04 | |
He kept His hand to the plow, | 46:06 | |
indeed, He let the dead bury the dead. | 46:09 | |
His relationships with His family, with His friends, | 46:14 | |
with His hometown all changed. | 46:18 | |
The image of who He was changed. | 46:21 | |
His reputation became different, | 46:24 | |
and indeed I'm convinced that His own self-image changed | 46:26 | |
from that moment onward. | 46:31 | |
This is what makes a moment holy. | 46:36 | |
We are seeing, and we see. | 46:40 | |
We hear, and are heard. | 46:45 | |
We know life, and we come alive. | 46:47 | |
We seek, and we find. | 46:49 | |
We knock, and we get some answers. | 46:51 | |
We reach, and we touch. | 46:54 | |
We know, and are known. | 46:56 | |
We care, and are cared about. | 46:59 | |
We love, and are loved. | 47:01 | |
A holy moment. | 47:03 | |
When things change and are never, never ever the same again. | 47:06 | |
When we say with Paul, "By the Grace of God, I am what I am. | 47:11 | |
"By the Grace of God I am who I am." | 47:16 | |
Holy moments however, | 47:21 | |
seldom, if ever, just happen to us. | 47:24 | |
Just come upon us without our taking some initiative, | 47:27 | |
assuming some responsibility, making some move, | 47:32 | |
or making some decision. | 47:35 | |
This as I see it, is what Jesus did. | 47:37 | |
After 30 years He decided at some point, | 47:40 | |
that it was time to make a move, | 47:43 | |
to become more serious about life than He had been, | 47:46 | |
and indeed at that moment to make a commitment. | 47:49 | |
He decided, He moved, He stepped out. | 47:52 | |
There come such moments for all of us, | 47:57 | |
"Kairos moments" would be the Greek way to put it. | 48:01 | |
Moments that are decisive, that are significant, | 48:04 | |
that are critical, that are indeed, life-changing. | 48:07 | |
All of us have faced, and will face holy moments. | 48:12 | |
Moments that are life-changing, | 48:17 | |
that make an indelible mark on us, that are irreversible, | 48:19 | |
that are freeing, and fulfilling, that are promising to us. | 48:23 | |
These are what I would call boundary moments, | 48:28 | |
moments of decision, holy moments, | 48:31 | |
moments that are around us all the time. | 48:35 | |
But a moment? | 48:40 | |
Just a moment? | 48:41 | |
That seems, you say, | 48:43 | |
just such an infinitesimally small portion of time. | 48:44 | |
But life is created, life is made and re-made, | 48:53 | |
shaped and re-shaped, and focused and re-focused often | 48:59 | |
in just one moment of time. | 49:03 | |
All of us do have some holy moments that we go back to. | 49:09 | |
Holy moments that nourish us and sustain us, | 49:14 | |
that guide us and direct us, that name us and re-name us. | 49:17 | |
Moments that tell us who we are, | 49:22 | |
that tell us to whom we belong, | 49:25 | |
that tell us what our commitments are. | 49:28 | |
Moments that give us our sense of direction, | 49:32 | |
our place, our relationship, our status, | 49:34 | |
our sense of belonging and our sense of fulfillment. | 49:37 | |
I still remember, and it's been at least 35 years ago, | 49:41 | |
I still remember the first time that I was aware | 49:46 | |
of my dad ever calling me "son". | 49:49 | |
I was plowing with an old mew, | 49:54 | |
and I guess it probably is the only time in my life | 49:58 | |
that I ever plowed on our little farm. | 50:02 | |
But I was plowing with an old mew, | 50:07 | |
and my dad was trying awfully hard | 50:10 | |
to get me to do something right that I was doing wrong. | 50:12 | |
I don't remember the correcting, or the scolding, | 50:20 | |
or the yelling halfway across the field. | 50:24 | |
What I remember is my dad calling me "son". | 50:29 | |
And I go back to that, every once in a while. | 50:37 | |
Holy moments. | 50:44 | |
Possibly all the moments | 50:48 | |
that we have between life and death. | 50:50 | |
Mary Jean Irion writes, "I have come from infinity, | 50:57 | |
"and I go to infinity, | 51:02 | |
"but between these two events, for a little time, | 51:06 | |
"I can celebrate that miracle | 51:11 | |
"which I never will be able to fathom". | 51:13 | |
Just for a little time, to celebrate a few holy moments. | 51:18 | |
"Just for a moment!", | 51:26 | |
Emily cries in Thornton Wilder's, Our Town. | 51:27 | |
"Just for a moment!", she cries as she stands | 51:31 | |
in the kitchen although no one else can see her, | 51:34 | |
as she has come back to remember her 13th birthday. | 51:36 | |
"Just for a moment!", she cries, "Look at me mamma, | 51:40 | |
"look at me as if you see me, as if you really see me, | 51:43 | |
"I'm here, now, just for a moment!". | 51:47 | |
A moment, just a moment, really can be holy. | 51:56 | |
To paraphrase a line from Henry Nouwen's book, | 52:03 | |
"The Wounded Healer", where he says, | 52:06 | |
"Love not only lasts forever, | 52:09 | |
"it only takes a second for it to come about". | 52:11 | |
May I paraphrase that to say that, | 52:13 | |
"Life may only last forever, | 52:15 | |
"and indeed, it really does sometimes, | 52:18 | |
"only take a second for it to begin to come about". | 52:20 | |
But there's some moments that break us. | 52:29 | |
Moments, and I'm not sure that all of them are always holy, | 52:35 | |
but there's some moments that can break us, | 52:40 | |
when we fall or fail, or are rejected. | 52:42 | |
When we become incurably ill, or are broken, | 52:46 | |
or are defeated. | 52:49 | |
When we know parting, are separated, when we say goodbye, | 52:51 | |
when we see a loved one die, when we are confused, | 52:54 | |
or are depressed, some moments can and do break us, | 52:58 | |
sometimes. | 53:04 | |
At least, they break us for a time. | 53:05 | |
Eugene Kennedy writes, "There can be a lifetime of pain, | 53:09 | |
"a lifetime of pain in an intense moment of separation". | 53:15 | |
Or it's like, Father Paneloux's words | 53:25 | |
in Camus's Play, The Plague, | 53:27 | |
"At first, the priest preaches that the epidemic | 53:31 | |
"in the town of Oran is God's judgment | 53:36 | |
"on a town that deserves it". | 53:39 | |
Later on, he watches a small child afflicted | 53:43 | |
with the plague, and at the height of the child's agony, | 53:48 | |
Paneloux prays, "My God, my God, spare this child." | 53:52 | |
But his prayer is not answered. | 54:00 | |
But that experience changes the priest, | 54:03 | |
no longer can he believe that somehow or other eternal bliss | 54:07 | |
is going to make up for a child's agony upon this earth. | 54:11 | |
Later on he asks, "Who would dare to assert, | 54:15 | |
"who would dare to assert that eternal happiness | 54:19 | |
"can compensate for a single moment's human suffering?" | 54:22 | |
Some moments can just about break us, at least for a time. | 54:30 | |
As Thomas John Carlisle puts it in his poem, "In Touch", | 54:37 | |
"Distress did it", he says, | 54:40 | |
"Not easy street. | 54:44 | |
"Not Acrilon Avenue. | 54:46 | |
"Not Prosperity Place, | 54:47 | |
"or Brightview Boulevard. | 54:49 | |
"Not Fair Haven, | 54:51 | |
"or the Bay or Security | 54:52 | |
"or the Island of Tranquility | 54:53 | |
"but off-course winds | 54:56 | |
"and the Straights of Adversity | 54:58 | |
"and the tempests of disaster | 55:00 | |
"that howled to Charydbis. | 55:02 | |
"The deep was round about me. | 55:05 | |
"Emergency exits were barred. | 55:08 | |
"I was pitted against perdition. | 55:10 | |
"In a ravenous cavity. | 55:12 | |
"I was swallowed up. | 55:14 | |
"Better late than never. | 55:16 | |
"I remembered the Forgotten. | 55:18 | |
"My troubles put me in touch." | 55:20 | |
Some moments seem to break us, | 55:25 | |
and put us in touch again with The Forgotten One. | 55:28 | |
Some moments, and these I do claim are holy moments, | 55:33 | |
there's some moments that make us, | 55:37 | |
when we are affirmed or accepted, | 55:39 | |
when we know deep satisfaction, | 55:42 | |
when we are reunited, reconciled, | 55:44 | |
when we share communion, | 55:47 | |
when deserved victory comes, | 55:49 | |
when new life dawns upon us, | 55:52 | |
when we find, and are found by a new friend, | 55:54 | |
insights come, when new ideas are discovered, | 55:58 | |
when genuine commitments are made, | 56:01 | |
commitments to God, to others and to self. | 56:03 | |
There are some moments that make us. | 56:08 | |
In his book markings, Dag Hammarskjold | 56:11 | |
has an entry dated, "Whitsunday, 1961". | 56:14 | |
He writes, "I don't know who, or what, put the question, | 56:18 | |
"I don't know when it was put. | 56:23 | |
"I don't even remember answering. | 56:26 | |
"But at some moment | 56:28 | |
"I did answer yes to someone, or to something, | 56:29 | |
"and from that hour I was certain | 56:35 | |
"that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, | 56:37 | |
"my life, in self-surrender, had a goal. | 56:40 | |
"From that moment on, I have known what it means | 56:44 | |
"not to look back, and to take no thought for the morrow." | 56:48 | |
From that moment on. | 56:54 | |
Holy moments, for Jesus, for you, and for me. | 56:57 | |
Yes, no, | 57:04 | |
a word, a look, | 57:07 | |
a glance, a note, | 57:09 | |
a call, a report, | 57:12 | |
a meeting, a step, | 57:14 | |
a gesture, a movement, a decision. | 57:16 | |
When who we are, | 57:19 | |
when who we are is confronted, or threatened, or questioned, | 57:22 | |
or confirmed, or affirmed. | 57:26 | |
When who we are, as was the case with Jesus, | 57:28 | |
when who we are is claimed, named and blessed. | 57:31 | |
Holy moments. | 57:37 | |
Just for a moment. | 57:41 | |
Luke writes, "And when Jesus also had been baptized | 57:45 | |
"and was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him". | 57:52 | |
"After Jesus was baptized", Luke writes, "he was praying." | 57:59 | |
That my friends is worth our noting. | 58:06 | |
For perhaps one way that you and I | 58:11 | |
may know more holy moments in the days and months ahead | 58:13 | |
is by praying, even as did Jesus our Lord. | 58:19 | |
The last of July, I began every morning | 58:27 | |
to set aside a half hour for prayer. | 58:32 | |
I had never set aside a half minute a day before that. | 58:38 | |
Nor five minutes, nor 10 minutes. | 58:44 | |
But I began. | 58:48 | |
Prayers for others, for the world, for the church, | 58:51 | |
for those in need and for myself. | 58:54 | |
And I'm here to tell you this morning, | 59:01 | |
that this half hour of prayer time | 59:05 | |
has made a magnificent difference | 59:09 | |
in my spiritual and personal life. | 59:12 | |
I wouldn't dare to presume to tell you that from now, | 59:17 | |
from that point on, and even now, | 59:20 | |
all of my moments in life are holy, not at all. | 59:22 | |
There are some holy moments now. | 59:30 | |
And I'm convinced that there are more holy moments | 59:36 | |
now than there were before I began to pray every morning. | 59:39 | |
And so as we begin a new year, and a new semester, | 59:48 | |
I invite you my friends, to find some new time to pray. | 59:51 | |
To open yourself more and more to the love | 59:57 | |
and to the grace of God, even as did our Lord. | 59:59 | |
It won't make all of your moments holy, | 1:00:03 | |
but I have not a doubt in anywhere in the depths of my soul | 1:00:07 | |
that you will begin to know some new and beautiful | 1:00:12 | |
and lasting holy moments like you have never known before. | 1:00:17 | |
Hugh Prather has a little book that a lot of you have read, | 1:00:25 | |
entitled, "Notes on Love and Courage". | 1:00:28 | |
In it he has some lines about prayer, he says, | 1:00:32 | |
"The talking does something to me. | 1:00:39 | |
"I pray to God, my friend, | 1:00:46 | |
"and it changes me, | 1:00:50 | |
"if only for a moment. | 1:00:55 | |
"I feel myself siding with what is good in me. | 1:00:59 | |
"I feel cleansed, and I look around with more gentleness. | 1:01:06 | |
"Relationships appear to reform on a new basis, | 1:01:13 | |
"the gentleness in me seeing the gentleness in others. | 1:01:19 | |
"I sense my own beauty and health, | 1:01:24 | |
"and I see a core of goodness in others. | 1:01:26 | |
"The world dances for a moment." | 1:01:31 | |
My friends, in the midst of the wars, | 1:01:41 | |
and the rumors of wars, | 1:01:46 | |
and in the midst of all of the enmity and strife, | 1:01:48 | |
oh how beautiful, how glorious it would be | 1:01:53 | |
if the world could dance, | 1:01:57 | |
even for just a moment. | 1:02:02 | |
Let us pray. | 1:02:08 | |
Oh God, | 1:02:13 | |
we ask that You would make this a holy moment, | 1:02:17 | |
and hear us as we pray. | 1:02:22 | |
Oh God of yesterday, show us Your way. | 1:02:28 | |
Oh God of today, hold out Your hand. | 1:02:34 | |
Oh God of tomorrow, give us a sign, | 1:02:40 | |
even just for a moment, we pray. | 1:02:47 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 1:02:54 | |
(organ playing) | 1:03:11 | |
(congregation singing) | 1:03:33 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 1:06:05 |
We believe in God, | 1:06:09 | |
who has created and is creating. | 1:06:11 | |
Who has come in a truly human Jesus | 1:06:14 | |
to reconcile and make new, | 1:06:17 | |
who works in us and others by the Spirit. | 1:06:20 | |
We trust God who calls us to be the church, | 1:06:25 | |
to celebrate life and its fullness. | 1:06:29 | |
To love and serve others, | 1:06:33 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 1:06:36 | |
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen. | 1:06:39 | |
Our judge and our hope, | 1:06:43 | |
in life, in death, in life beyond death, | 1:06:46 | |
God is with us, we are not alone. | 1:06:50 | |
Thanks be to God. | 1:06:55 | |
You may be seated. | 1:06:57 | |
The Lord be with you. | 1:07:06 | |
Let us pray. | 1:07:10 | |
Great God of us all, | 1:07:15 | |
we praise You for Jesus Christ who came to save us | 1:07:18 | |
from our sins, and from ourselves. | 1:07:21 | |
We thank You for the prophets hope, the angels song, | 1:07:26 | |
for the birth in our hearts of Your love. | 1:07:31 | |
We thank You that in Jesus You joined us, | 1:07:36 | |
sharing human hurts and pleasures, | 1:07:40 | |
and that You bring Your healing to us. | 1:07:43 | |
We thank You for people like Martin Luther King Jr. | 1:07:48 | |
who have called us to know Your love. | 1:07:51 | |
Glory to You for Your wonderful love. | 1:07:55 | |
All thanksgiving be Yours through Jesus Christ our Savior. | 1:08:00 | |
Walk now with us God, as we dare to come before | 1:08:07 | |
You as nothing more than what we are, | 1:08:11 | |
to talk with You and to hear Your word to us. | 1:08:15 | |
As we come today, some of us are confused and anxious, | 1:08:21 | |
some of us are bored, | 1:08:27 | |
some of us are doubting, | 1:08:31 | |
some of us are angry, | 1:08:34 | |
some of us are hurting, | 1:08:37 | |
some of us are troubled, | 1:08:41 | |
not by major things oh God, | 1:08:44 | |
but because our neighbors are different from us, | 1:08:46 | |
and because we have to think about paying taxes, | 1:08:49 | |
and the TV's broken, | 1:08:52 | |
and the car's scratched and the fender's bent, | 1:08:53 | |
and dishwashers and vacuum cleaners don't work right, | 1:08:57 | |
and classes are about to start | 1:09:02 | |
and we aren't ready for classes, or to give up vacations, | 1:09:04 | |
and backaches, and gallstones, and sore throats, | 1:09:08 | |
and aching teeth, and bifocals | 1:09:11 | |
make our world seem all out of joint. | 1:09:13 | |
But some of us feel pretty good, even joyful. | 1:09:20 | |
Aware of some of those special holy moments | 1:09:25 | |
that make us full of thanksgiving. | 1:09:28 | |
However, all of us know that the world has need of us | 1:09:35 | |
no matter what our condition, | 1:09:39 | |
and we don't always know how to respond. | 1:09:41 | |
We know that the church needs to hear Your word | 1:09:46 | |
and that as members of the church it is our responsibility | 1:09:48 | |
to listen to it and pass it along and act it out. | 1:09:51 | |
And so we need You oh God to walk with us | 1:09:56 | |
and call us back to the responsibility of being the church | 1:09:59 | |
in this place, and with all other Christians | 1:10:03 | |
around the world. | 1:10:06 | |
We know that the world waits for us oh God, | 1:10:09 | |
those people who do not have the power | 1:10:13 | |
to order their own lives and who suffer injustice. | 1:10:15 | |
Those who live and die hungry. | 1:10:19 | |
Those who are subjected to the death and pain of war. | 1:10:23 | |
Those who are held captive. | 1:10:28 | |
Those who do not have adequate education. | 1:10:32 | |
Those who are victims of ungenerous judgements, | 1:10:35 | |
and suspicions and misunderstanding, | 1:10:38 | |
and those who are known as oppressors. | 1:10:41 | |
We feel particularly helpless about the situations | 1:10:47 | |
in Afghanistan and in Iran. | 1:10:50 | |
We do not want to play war-games, | 1:10:54 | |
we realize that things are particularly tense | 1:10:57 | |
and that a wrong move might result in a war | 1:11:01 | |
that would involve the whole world. | 1:11:03 | |
We are more than a little scared. | 1:11:07 | |
So we ask you to walk with us, and with those leaders | 1:11:11 | |
of the involved nations, that we and they may | 1:11:15 | |
move into that world to bring your peace | 1:11:18 | |
and reconciliation to it. | 1:11:20 | |
Oh God, we need to hear Your voice | 1:11:25 | |
in the midst of our lives, | 1:11:27 | |
in whatever condition we stand before You today. | 1:11:28 | |
Bring us peace, accept our joy, | 1:11:32 | |
bring us healing, bring us comfort. | 1:11:36 | |
We remember those who are sick, walk with them | 1:11:42 | |
and us, as we seek to minister to them. | 1:11:46 | |
We remember those who are troubled, and lonely, | 1:11:51 | |
and despairing, walk with them and with us | 1:11:53 | |
as we make our presence known to them. | 1:11:59 | |
We remember those who grieve, particularly the families | 1:12:04 | |
and friends of Kurt Fox and George Elhart, | 1:12:08 | |
walk with them and with us as we try to bring them comfort. | 1:12:13 | |
Walk with us, oh God. | 1:12:21 | |
We pray in the name of The One | 1:12:26 | |
who taught us to pray together, saying, | 1:12:27 | |
Our Father, who art in heaven, | 1:12:31 | |
hallowed be thy name. | 1:12:34 | |
Thy kingdom come, | 1:12:36 | |
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:12:38 | |
Give us this day our daily bread. | 1:12:43 | |
And forgive us our trespasses, | 1:12:46 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 1:12:49 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 1:12:53 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:12:55 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. | 1:12:58 | |
Amen. | 1:13:04 | |
(organ playing) | 1:13:56 | |
(choir singing) | 1:14:04 | |
(organ playing) | 1:16:52 | |
(choir singing) | 1:17:11 | |
(organ playing) | 1:19:44 | |
(congregation singing) | 1:21:09 | |
What is small to us oh God, maybe large to You. | 1:22:11 | |
If the gift we place on the alter represents our lives | 1:22:15 | |
as well as our material means, bless this offering | 1:22:19 | |
that it may be greater in meaning that in amount. | 1:22:23 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 1:22:26 | |
(organ playing) | 1:22:35 | |
(congregation singing) | 1:23:08 | |
And now to God who is able to do immeasurably more | 1:25:45 | |
than all of us can ask or receive. | 1:25:48 | |
By the power which is at work among us, | 1:25:52 | |
to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus | 1:25:55 | |
from generation to generation, and forever more, amen. | 1:25:58 | |
(organ playing) | 1:26:08 |