Robert T. Young - "From Illusion to Prayer" (October 26, 1980)

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	(pipe organ prelude)	0:03
	(people chattering)	0:18
	(pipe organ prelude)	0:35
	(people murmuring)	7:25
	♪ Beautiful Savior ♪	7:37
	♪ Lord of the nations ♪	7:45
	♪ Son of God and Son of Man ♪	7:53
	♪ Glory and honor ♪	8:06
	♪ Praise, adoration ♪	8:14
	♪ Now and forevermore be Thine ♪	8:21
	♪ Now and forevermore be Thine ♪	8:33
	("All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name")	8:57
	♪ All hail the power of Jesus' name ♪	9:28
	♪ Let angels prostrate fall ♪	9:33
	♪ Bring forth the royal diadem ♪	9:38
	♪ And crown him, crown him, crown him ♪	9:43
	♪ Crown him Lord of all ♪	9:53
	♪ O seed of Israel's chosen race ♪	10:01
	♪ Now ransomed from the fall ♪	10:06
	♪ Hail him who saves you by his grace ♪	10:11
	♪ And crown him, crown him, crown him ♪	10:16
	♪ Crown him Lord of all ♪	10:26
	♪ Let every tongue and every tribe ♪	10:35
	♪ Responsive to his call ♪	10:40
	♪ To him all majesty ascribe ♪	10:45
	♪ And crown him, crown him, crown him ♪	10:50
	♪ Crown him Lord of all ♪	11:00
	(organ drowns out singing)	11:09
	♪ And crown him, crown him, crown him ♪	11:24
	♪ Crown him Lord of all ♪	11:35
	(organ drowns out singing)	11:43
	♪ And crown him, crown him, crown him ♪	12:00
	♪ Crown him Lord of all ♪	12:09
	(organ drowns out singing)	12:18
-	We would like to look at ourselves	13:05
	and be holy pleased with what we see.	13:08
	But the Christian gospel calls us to be honest.	13:12
	It forces us to be realistic.	13:16
	Let us then make a bold recognition	13:19
	that we are not always pleased with what we see.	13:23
	Be seated.	13:27
-	Father and mother God, we confess	13:38
	that often we do not like who we are.	13:41
	We do not like the bodies we have,	13:45
	sometimes we long for different families,	13:48
	we would exchange our jobs for the jobs of others,	13:52
	we would like to do away with parts of our history,	13:56
	we are afraid of our moods and feelings,	14:00
	we wish we had more time,	14:04
	we would like to start over again,	14:07
	we lust after the prestige of others,	14:10
	we think more money will solve our problems,	14:14
	we resent the injustices we have suffered	14:18
	and cherish our sorrows,	14:21
	we want to be appreciated for our small graces.	14:24
	We are enchanted by the past and enticed by the future,	14:28
	we have never really been understood.	14:33
	In short, we have refused to live	14:37
	because we've held out for better terms.	14:39
	Heal us, oh God, from the distance	14:43
	we have tried to put between ourselves and life,	14:46
	restore to us a love for you and for all your creation.	14:50
	Help us be renewed in our whole lives	14:56
	through Jesus Christ our Savior, amen.	14:59
-	In a moment of silence, let us each make	15:06
	our own personal confession to Almighty God.	15:08
	The mercy of God is everlasting,	15:39
	such is the witness of a heritage,	15:42
	which being interpreted for our times means	15:45
	now and in every moment,	15:48
	our past is accepted, our future is opened,	15:50
	our every present is offered to us afresh,	15:55
	this is the truth that sets us free.	15:59
	Let us give thanks for God is good	16:05
	and God's love is everlasting.	16:07
-	Thanks be to God by whose love we are created,	16:11
	thanks be to God by whose mercy we are redeemed,	16:15
	thanks be to God by whose grace we are led into the future.	16:20
-	I would like to welcome each one of you	16:28
	to this special service of worship today,	16:30
	in this special weekend and event, at Duke University.	16:33
	As I welcome and greet you, particularly students	16:37
	and your parents and friends, as guest,	16:40
	let me first ask you to take just a moment	16:43
	and have everyone move toward the center	16:47
	where you are seated, that we might allow others	16:50
	who are standing in the aisles to find a spot.	16:53
	Thank you.	17:24
	Our worship service this morning concludes for us	17:26
	a week of celebrating that we have thoroughly enjoyed	17:30
	here at the Duke University Chapel	17:33
	and throughout the entire university.	17:36
	We have celebrated and commemorated together	17:39
	the 50th anniversary of the laying	17:43
	of the cornerstone of Duke University Chapel.	17:45
	This service of worship today concludes for us	17:49
	that piece of history and we look forward now	17:53
	to the future that God has planned for all of us here.	17:57
	Let me welcome each one of you,	18:03
	particularly who are parents,	18:05
	to our worship service today,	18:07
	we are glad that you have chosen to come with us	18:09
	to celebrate the reunion you are having	18:12
	with your sons and daughters, and to be a part of us here	18:15
	at Duke University Chapel this morning.	18:19
	I want now to say a special word	18:24
	of recognition and appreciation	18:27
	for the life and spirit of Mr. Bartholomew Malanga.	18:32
	He was fondly known to many students	18:38
	and people here at Duke as Bat.	18:41
	He was owner of Annamaria's Pizza House,	18:46
	and all of you who have been patrons or friends,	18:50
	and been there, will always remember him.	18:53
	For over 20 years, Bat has become	18:58
	an honored friend and a trusted friend	19:02
	of many hundreds of Duke students.	19:05
	We were informed this week	19:09
	that Mr. Malanga died of a heart attack.	19:11
	And we especially want to extend our heartfelt sympathy	19:15
	to his family, and join with them in knowing	19:19
	that Bat will be greatly missed among the students	19:23
	on our campus and in this community.	19:27
-	Let us pray.	19:42
	Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept you Word.	19:45
	Silence in us any voice but your own,	19:50
	that hearing, we may also obey your Will;	19:53
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.	19:57
	The old testament lesson is from Psalm 39,	20:01
	Verses 1 through 12a:	20:05
	I said, "I will guard my ways,	20:10
	"that I may not sin with my tongue;	20:13
	"I will bridle my mouth, so long	20:16
	"as the wicked are in my presence."	20:18
	I was dumb and silent, I held my peace to no avail;	20:22
	my distress grew worse.	20:28
	My heart became hot within me.	20:30
	As I mused, the fire burned;	20:33
	then I spoke with my tongue:	20:36
	Lord, let me know my end,	20:40
	and what is the measure of my days,	20:43
	let me know how fleeting my life is.	20:46
	Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths;	20:50
	and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight:	20:54
	surely every man stands as a mere breath.	20:58
	Selah.	21:01
	Surely, man goes about as a shadow;	21:03
	Surely for not are they are in turmoil;	21:07
	man heaps up and knows not who will gather!	21:11
	And now, Lord, for what do I wait?	21:17
	My hope is in thee.	21:20
	Deliver me from all my transgressions;	21:22
	make me not the scorn of thy fool.	21:25
	I am dumb, I do not open my mouth,	21:29
	for it is Thou who hast done it.	21:33
	Remove thy stroke from me:	21:36
	I am spent by the blows of thy hand.	21:39
	When thou dost chasten me with rebukes for sin,	21:42
	thou dost consume like a moth what is dear to him:	21:47
	surely every man is a mere breath.	21:51
	Selah.	21:53
	Hear my prayer, Lord, and give ear to my cry.	21:55
	Here ends the reading from the old testament.	22:00
	Amen.	22:03
	The Epistle lesson is from the first letter of Paul	22:06
	to Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verses 12 through 22:	22:10
	But we beseech you, brethren,	22:16
	to respect those who labor among you,	22:18
	and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;	22:21
	And to esteem them very highly in love	22:25
	because of their work.	22:27
	Be at peace among yourselves.	22:30
	And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers,	22:32
	encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,	22:36
	be patient with them all.	22:40
	See that none of you repays evil for evil,	22:43
	but always seek to do good to one another and to all.	22:47
	Rejoice always,	22:53
	pray constantly,	22:55
	give thanks in all circumstances,	22:57
	for this is the will of God and Jesus Christ for you.	23:01
	Do not quench the Spirit.	23:04
	Do not despise prophesying,	23:06
	but test everything, hold fast what is good;	23:09
	abstain from every form of evil.	23:14
	Here ends the reading from the Epistle lesson.	23:17
	Amen.	23:20
	(pipe organ hymn)	23:37
	(singing in foreign language)	23:46
	(singing in foreign language)	24:53
	(singing in foreign language)	26:09
-	Will the congregation please stand	29:12
	for the reading of the gospel?	29:14
	And he told him a parable to the effect	29:22
	that they ought to always to pray and not to lose heart,	29:25
	He said: In a certain city, there was a judge	29:29
	who neither feared God nor regarded man.	29:32
	And there was a widow in that city	29:35
	who kept coming to him and saying,	29:37
	"Vindicate me against my adversary."	29:39
	For a while, he refused, but afterwards he said to himself,	29:42
	"Though I neither fear God nor regard man,	29:47
	"yet because this widow bother me, I will vindicate her,	29:50
	"or she will wear me out by her continual coming."	29:54
	And the Lord said,	29:58
	"Hear what the unrighteous judge says.	29:59
	"And will not God vindicate his elect,	30:03
	"who cried to him day and night?	30:06
	"Will he delay long over them?	30:08
	"I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.	30:11
	"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,	30:15
	"he will find faith on earth."	30:18
	He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves	30:21
	that they were righteous and despised others:	30:26
	Two men went up into the temple to pray,	30:30
	one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.	30:33
	The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,	30:37
	"God, I thank thee that I'm not like the other men,	30:42
	"extortioners, unjust, adulterers,	30:47
	"or even like this tax collector.	30:51
	"I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get."	30:54
	But the tax collector, standing far off,	30:59
	would not even lift up his eyes to heaven,	31:02
	but beat his breast, saying,	31:05
	"God, be merciful to me, a sinner,"	31:08
	I tell you, this man went down to his house,	31:12
	justified rather than the other,	31:15
	for everyone who exalts himself, will be humbled.	31:17
	But he who humbles himself, will be exalted.	31:22
	Thank you.	31:27
	("Gloria Patria")	31:28
	♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪	31:35
	♪ Praise to our Redeemer ♪	31:42
	♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪	31:49
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	31:56
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	32:03
	♪ Ever shall be, amen ♪	32:10
-	Grace to you and peace from the Lord, our God,	32:28
	who surely has made us, redeems us,	32:31
	and supports us all the day long.	32:35
	Let us pray.	32:38
	And now may the words of my lips	32:43
	and the meditations of our hearts,	32:46
	be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,	32:49
	our strength and our redeemer.	32:53
	Amen.	32:56
	I want to contend this morning,	32:59
	with my contention based upon the last few verses	33:02
	of the gospel lesson, which we have just heard,	33:05
	I want to contend that there are some illusions	33:09
	we must destroy if we are to know life	33:13
	and know it as God would have us to know it.	33:17
	Two men went up to the temple to pray,	33:22
	the temple was a place for private meditation,	33:25
	as well as for public and corporate prayer,	33:28
	as is this chapel.	33:31
	In the time of Jesus, really devout persons	33:34
	prayed at least three times a day,	33:37
	but particularly at 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m.	33:39
	The prayer was considered to be more effective	33:46
	if it was prayed in the temple.	33:49
	So these two men were in the temple to pray,	33:52
	one of them a Pharisee and one	33:55
	of them known as a tax collector.	33:56
	Both prayed.	34:01
	They then left the temple.	34:04
	As Jesus tells the story, he ends by saying,	34:07
	"The tax collector went to his house justified	34:10
	"rather than the other, for everyone	34:15
	"who exalts himself will be humbled	34:17
	"but he who humbles himself will be exalted."	34:20
	If praying is essential for the growth and development	34:25
	and nurture of the spiritual life of us as Christians,	34:28
	and if being justified with God is the desirable,	34:32
	healthy, satisfying end that we are to seek	34:36
	in our relationship with God,	34:38
	then what is it, why is it, what was it	34:41
	in these prayer experiences of these two men	34:46
	that made the difference between one being justified	34:50
	and the other not being justified?	34:53
	Why did one know the pleasure	34:56
	and the presence of God and the other not?	34:58
	Why did one find in and through his prayer the grace of God,	35:01
	and the other not?	35:05
	Why indeed did one of them go back to his house justified,	35:07
	made one with God, at peace with God,	35:11
	in right relationship with God, and the other not?	35:13
	There probably are many reasons to be given.	35:18
	But I guess I'd like to share one simple	35:22
	and very important reason this morning with you.	35:25
	One of them was living a life of illusion.	35:29
	About himself, about others, about God,	35:32
	and his prayer life reflected that illusion.	35:35
	The other had no illusions about who he was,	35:40
	about who others were, and about who God was,	35:43
	and his prayer life, likewise, reflected that.	35:45
	But the Pharisee was not a man,	35:50
	not just a man who lived in the first century,	35:51
	the Pharisee, I believe, is every person,	35:55
	the Pharisee, my friends, if I may dare to be so bold,	35:59
	is you and me.	36:02
	The Pharisee is each of us.	36:05
	The Pharisee lived a life of illusion,	36:09
	illusion about who he was,	36:11
	about who his neighbor was, and about who God was.	36:12
	His illusion was that he was different	36:15
	from every other person, that he indeed was better	36:17
	than his neighbors, that he was above them,	36:20
	that he was more faithful and holy	36:23
	and religious than his neighbors,	36:24
	and that he was indeed, by the life he was living,	36:26
	doing precisely what God wanted him to do.	36:29
	Now I think there's lesson for us	36:34
	to learn from this parable.	36:35
	The lesson that if we're going to be justified with God,	36:38
	if we're going to feel good	36:43
	about our relationships with others,	36:44
	if we're going to find wholeness of life for ourselves,	36:47
	then we're going to have to destroy	36:50
	some basic illusions about ourselves	36:52
	in order to pray, to know God, and in the end,	36:55
	in order to be justified by and with God.	36:59
	But we must be kind and careful	37:04
	in our judgment of the Pharisee,	37:06
	because the Pharisee was probably	37:09
	doing exactly as he had been taught,	37:11
	exactly what the religious leaders	37:14
	had trained him to do and to say,	37:16
	exactly what was the custom in his day.	37:18
	As a matter of fact, what he was doing and saying	37:22
	is not a whole lot different from what we say and do today.	37:24
	Many of our prayers sound very much	37:28
	like this prayer of the Pharisee.	37:31
	Read over, those of you who worship here	37:33
	in the chapel regularly, read over some of the prayers	37:35
	that we have in the chapel bulletin week after week.	37:37
	Think back of some prayers	37:41
	that you have heard prayed by us ministers,	37:42
	or those of you who are with us for this weekend	37:44
	and worship regularly in other churches,	37:47
	think back over some prayers that you hear	37:50
	in your church week in and week out.	37:52
	Recall some of your own prayers written or spoken,	37:54
	silent or out loud, and see how very much	37:57
	like the prayer of the Pharisee our prayers really are.	38:02
	Joachim Jeremias tells us in his book	38:07
	"The Rediscovery of the Parables",	38:09
	he tells us of another prayer that has come down to us	38:12
	from the Talmud of the first century A.D.	38:15
	Listen to these words from the Talmud of the first century,	38:18
	similar to the prayer of the Pharisee,	38:21
	and see if you and I can identify with this prayer:	38:23
	I thank thee, O Lord, my God,	38:26
	that thou hast given me my lot with those	38:30
	who sit in the house of learning	38:33
	and not with those who sit at the street corners.	38:37
	For I am early to work, and they are early to work;	38:41
	I am early to work on the words of the Torah,	38:45
	and they are early to work on things of no moment.	38:48
	I weary myself, and they weary themselves;	38:53
	I weary myself and profit thereby,	38:55
	and they weary themselves to no profit.	38:58
	I run and they run;	39:02
	I run towards the life of the age to come,	39:04
	and they run towards the pit of destruction.	39:06
	Or to use again the words of the Pharisee,	39:10
	I thank thee that I am not like other men.	39:13
	Familiar prayer?	39:19
	Words and ideas and thoughts common to all of us,	39:21
	thus before we are too hard or too harsh on the Pharisee,	39:25
	I think we need to stop and see how very much	39:28
	like the Pharisee we may really be in our prayer life.	39:30
	And see if our attitudes and our behavior, our actions	39:36
	reveal that we are indeed much like the Pharisee.	39:39
	Thank you, God, for being my God, or our God,	39:44
	for giving us the good life, for giving me a good education	39:50
	and money with which to get it and to enjoy	39:53
	all of the other benefits that go along with it.	39:56
	Thank you, God, for putting me in this good place,	39:59
	for filling us with plenty of good food,	40:01
	for clothing us with the very best and the very finest,	40:03
	we do work hard,	40:07
	we stay up late, and we get up early.	40:09
	And we use our minds and our energies and our talents	40:12
	to do the best we can, to learn all we can,	40:15
	to earn all we can, to get ahead	40:17
	and to get just as far ahead as we possibly can.	40:19
	Thank you, God, that I'm not like other men.	40:27
	I speak now very specifically and of myself,	40:32
	and of some others in this community	40:34
	whom I know and whose lives I share.	40:37
	As I say a word or two about some prayers.	40:41
	Because I do believe that we live under some illusions	40:45
	about others, about ourselves, and about God.	40:48
	And these illusions cause us to pray prayers	40:54
	something like this:	40:56
	Yes, thank you, O God, that we are not like others.	40:58
	We do work hard.	41:03
	Thank you, Lord, that we are not like those	41:05
	lazy, irresponsible, good-for-nothing welfare folks.	41:10
	We try; they don't. We work; they don't.	41:14
	We give to you, to the Church, and to society; they don't.	41:20
	Other folks really are poor, trifling, unambitious.	41:24
	They just don't care, Lord, but we do, we care, and we try.	41:28
	A prayer about oneself.	41:38
	And about the University.	41:44
	Yes, thank you, Lord, for our university.	41:46
	We go to Duke University, Lord,	41:50
	it's a great university, one of the very best.	41:53
	We're smart here, Lord. We study hard.	41:59
	We use our brains, and we are ambitious.	42:04
	We want to do well, Lord. We do do well, Lord.	42:07
	We are intelligent, everyone knows that.	42:11
	We are succeeding, Lord. We will succeed.	42:15
	You know that, Lord.	42:18
	We're going to get ahead because we are not	42:20
	like other folks, Lord, we have what it takes	42:22
	and we're using what we have in good, responsible,	42:25
	helpful, supporting ways. You know that, Lord.	42:28
	We can hear you now, Lord, behold those Duke folks,	42:33
	how they love one another,	42:37
	and how they love everybody else too.	42:40
	Yes, thank you, Lord, for making us the way you have,	42:44
	and for putting us here in this place	42:47
	at this time and with one another,	42:49
	for we really do care about one another, Lord.	42:51
	About this country.	43:00
	And then especially, O Lord, we thank you for our country.	43:03
	For this land of the free and this home of the brave,	43:08
	this land where we always open our arms	43:11
	to receive and care for the poor	43:13
	and the retched and the lost of the earth.	43:15
	We give so very much to help take care	43:18
	of the rest of the world, O Lord.	43:21
	We really do love our neighbors, Lord.	43:24
	We've been so very good to them. We help them.	43:26
	We build factories in their countries. We give them jobs.	43:29
	We really want them to get along well, Lord.	43:33
	We thank you, Lord, for this land of ours,	43:36
	a land of freedom and justice,	43:40
	where good will flows among us,	43:41
	where we really want our friends and neighbors to do well.	43:43
	We really do live in a good and great land.	43:46
	Thank you, Lord, that we do not live	43:51
	in a backward, poor, starving land,	43:54
	where there are no minerals or no resources.	43:57
	We love our land. It's a good land.	44:00
	It's not like any other country on earth, Lord.	44:02
	The prayer of the Pharisee in Luke's Gospel	44:12
	isn't so strange to us, is it?	44:14
	But just as with the Pharisee,	44:21
	this attitude can keep us strong, arrogant,	44:26
	powerful, maybe even on top and out front,	44:32
	but this attitude, reflected in prayer	44:40
	and behavior and in daily living, will not save us.	44:43
	I've heard our president, President Terry Sanford,	44:50
	talk a number of times about how Duke University	44:53
	came from the soil of this good land	44:58
	of the State of North Carolina,	45:01
	and it is here today because of the commitments	45:04
	and the concerns and the giving,	45:07
	and the vision of the common folk of North Carolina.	45:08
	I think we need to remind ourselves	45:19
	of that every once in a while.	45:21
	Or it's sort of like the experience	45:27
	that Isaiah had in the temple,	45:29
	when he came into a place,	45:31
	perhaps very similar to this,	45:32
	and he had an awareness of God's presence.	45:37
	There was nothing like the prayer of the Pharisee	45:40
	or the prayers that I have just uttered	45:43
	on the lips of Isaiah. All Isaiah could say	45:46
	when he came into the presence of God was,	45:50
	"Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips,	45:52
	"and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."	45:56
	Now, my friends, God can justify, God can save a person	46:00
	who prays like that or a people who pray like that.	46:05
	So there's some illusions that we need to have destroyed,	46:14
	I think, if we're going to know life,	46:17
	and if we're going to be justified by God.	46:20
	Henri Nouwen, in his book "Reaching Out",	46:23
	talks about four illusions that must go.	46:25
	The first illusion, he says, is that we must destroy	46:28
	the illusion that we are immortal.	46:31
	Now, not many of us or even if any of us,	46:35
	will ever say "I am immortal."	46:38
	We just have a tendency to act that way.	46:41
	We feel, somehow rather deep down,	46:45
	that we will indeed go on forever,	46:47
	and if I feel that way about myself,	46:50
	then I really don't need the help of others,	46:52
	and I don't even need the help of God.	46:54
	If I, in my own strength and in my own being, am immortal,	46:58
	then	47:03
	that illusion, he says, must go.	47:06
	The second illusion we must destroy	47:08
	is the illusion that our lives belong to us.	47:10
	We do feel that way.	47:16
	We do believe that way.	47:18
	We often act that way, my life is my own, to be, to do,	47:20
	to live, I can do with it as I very well please.	47:23
	And we forget that all of life is a gift.	47:30
	All of life is a gift.	47:37
	There is not one person here this morning	47:40
	who had anything at all to do with the life that you have.	47:43
	Life is totally a gift.	47:50
	So if they are, if our lives are a gift,	48:00
	then they really don't belong to us.	48:06
	They are given to us to use, hopefully	48:09
	under the prayerful guidance and direction of God,	48:11
	and not simply to use as we want to use them.	48:15
	The third illusion that must go	48:19
	is the illusion that others can fulfill our wants	48:23
	and our needs, that other people are our property.	48:26
	And I guess those of us who counsel in this university	48:37
	probably do more counseling with people	48:42
	who have problems and difficulties	48:44
	and tensions and anxieties	48:48
	because they have been treated not as persons	48:50
	but as property, than we do for any other cause.	48:53
	Other persons are not our property.	49:05
	Other persons are not to satisfy our needs and our wants.	49:07
	They are not ours to claim and to hold and to manipulate	49:12
	and to control, however subtle we may do it.	49:16
	Every other person has his or her life,	49:21
	given by God, to live as he or she chooses,	49:28
	and not as I choose to control it or direct it.	49:32
	That illusion, he says, must go.	49:36
	The fourth illusion that must go	49:39
	is the illusion that the world belongs to me,	49:42
	or to us, as private property.	49:46
	Not only do we sometimes have a tendency to believe	49:49
	that other people are on this earth to meet our needs,	49:51
	but that all of creation is here,	49:54
	not for us to enjoy and celebrate and rejoice in and over,	49:57
	but it's all here to see that I have and get what I want	50:01
	to enjoy in this life and to make me happy.	50:04
	This attitude often has to do with everything,	50:07
	from the air we breathe to the oil in Iran.	50:11
	If the world and all that is therein	50:18
	is here for me and for my own purpose,	50:20
	and I can do with it all that I choose,	50:25
	then I don't need God, I don't need other persons.	50:28
	There are some times and some situation, I believe,	50:38
	in which no human power, no education,	50:43
	no government, no strength,	50:48
	there are some times and some situation, I believe,	50:51
	in which no thing can save or justify or make us whole.	50:54
	Only the grace of God.	51:03
	It is, I believe, absolutely essential for me,	51:08
	for us, to unmask our illusions	51:13
	of possessiveness and of immortality,	51:18
	to accept death as our common destiny,	51:22
	and to accept the boundaries of others	51:25
	and of life as our common lot,	51:27
	and then we will be able to reach out to others	51:31
	in our oneness, and reach out to God in prayer,	51:33
	illusions about ourselves and about others	51:36
	and about the world around us, and about God,	51:39
	illusions do block us form real life.	51:42
	We are to be justified by the grace of God.	51:53
	By the attitude, not the attitude that says,	51:59
	God, I thank you that I am not like other people,	52:05
	but by the attitude that says,	52:13
	O God, I want you to know	52:15
	how very, very much I really feel	52:21
	like I am like other people,	52:24
	because O God, in spite of any and all	52:28
	outward appearances, in spite of	52:33
	who seems to get ahead or who seems to stay behind,	52:36
	who seems to be wealthy and who seems to be poor,	52:41
	who seems to hurt and who seems to rejoice,	52:44
	O God, deep in my heart,	52:48
	in the very depths of my soul,	52:54
	I know that I am very, very much	52:58
	like every other person on this earth.	53:00
	For, O God, there are times when I hurt,	53:06
	there are times when I have cause to celebrate,	53:10
	the material things that times count,	53:15
	the material things that times do not count,	53:18
	O God, keep me	53:24
	from looking at anyone else	53:28
	and saying that I thank you that I am not like him or her.	53:32
	O God, will you always remind me	53:39
	that we are brothers and sisters,	53:44
	that we are of kindred spirits, bodies, and souls,	53:47
	and that we all, O God, belong to you.	53:53
	In first Corinthians, Paul writes some words	53:59
	that say it as beautifully as I know, he says:	54:02
	"For consider your call, my friends.	54:08
	"Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,	54:13
	"not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth,	54:19
	"but God chose what is foolish in the world	54:26
	"to shame the strong.	54:29
	"God chose what is low and despised in the world,	54:33
	"even things the are not to bring to nothing things that are	54:35
	"so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.	54:40
	"God is the source of your life in Christ, Jesus,	54:48
	"whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness,	54:53
	"and sanctification and redemption.	54:58
	"Therefore, as it is written,	55:03
	"let anyone who boasts	55:08
	"boast in the Lord."	55:13
	Enough said.	55:19
	Amen.	55:24
	May I ask you though	55:27
	to pause for just a moment.	55:31
	It appears that there are indeed some possibilities	55:40
	that our fellow Americans may soon be released to come home.	55:46
	Many of us have prayed and long earnestly	55:54
	for that to happen for almost a year now.	55:56
	There's a lot of prayer power	56:06
	in this chapel today, my friends.	56:08
	I don't really care who God works through,	56:15
	or how God brings it about, as long as it is done	56:22
	without any more loss of life,	56:25
	but will you join with me now for just moment,	56:30
	as we offer to God a prayer	56:34
	that our brothers and sisters may soon come home.	56:37
	Let us pray.	56:42
	O great and mighty God,	56:49
	you who are God of all peoples, even of us,	56:55
	hear our prayer, O Lord,	57:03
	which we offer for our brothers and sisters	57:06
	who have been held captive furlough these many months,	57:10
	We do not understand the circumstances,	57:19
	nor do we understand the possibilities now	57:23
	of their coming home, but O gracious God,	57:25
	we pray that through your power,	57:33
	and through the moving of your spirit,	57:39
	upon the hearts and minds of men and women,	57:44
	who will make the decisions,	57:46
	that somehow, O God, they might be freed,	57:51
	we ask this, O God, not only for our sake,	57:58
	but with the hope that new peace	58:03
	might come in troubled lands,	58:07
	and as they wait to be freed, O God,	58:14
	may your Spirit comfort and strengthen and give courage	58:18
	to each one, and to all their loved ones.	58:21
	Yes, O God, we are like other men and women,	58:28
	and it is because of our common lot	58:35
	and our common longings for peace and good will	58:37
	that we offer ourselves to you,	58:43
	hear us in the name of Christ, amen.	58:47
	(organ drowns out singing)	59:15
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	1:02:09
-	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	1:02:13
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	1:02:18
	to reconcile and make new,	1:02:21
	who works in us and others by the Spirit,	1:02:24
	we trust God who calls us to be the Church,	1:02:28
	to celebrate life in its fullness,	1:02:33
	to love and serve others,	1:02:36
	to seek justice and resist evil,	1:02:39
	to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,	1:02:42
	our judge and our hope.	1:02:46
	In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.	1:02:49
	We are not alone, thanks be to God.	1:02:56
-	The Lord be with you.	1:03:00
-	And with your spirit.	1:03:02
-	Let us pray.	1:03:04
	O Lord, God, our creator and redeemer,	1:03:20
	we enter into your presence with thanksgiving	1:03:24
	and praise for all your mighty works.	1:03:27
	We thank you this day for the blessings of home and family,	1:03:32
	for blessings of work and leisure.	1:03:37
	And yet, we are reminded, particularly today,	1:03:41
	of the gift of the human family.	1:03:44
	Help us, O God, to honor our families,	1:03:48
	and to grow in respect and admiration for one another.	1:03:52
	As parents help us to both love and let go	1:03:58
	of our most precious heritage, our children,	1:04:03
	help us to be able to entrust our children	1:04:07
	to your divine care and grace, O God,	1:04:11
	as children, as sons and daughter, who are named,	1:04:16
	we cling to our dependence on those	1:04:21
	who have gone before us, to help to show us the way,	1:04:24
	but we ask for strength to become independent,	1:04:30
	to find our own way, to mold the past and present	1:04:35
	with our unknown futures,	1:04:40
	O God, whom we call Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,	1:04:44
	assure us that you have a purpose for each one of us	1:04:49
	and then move within us that we might respond	1:04:54
	to the gifts of life that you have given to us.	1:04:58
	O Lord, we confess that we are a busy people,	1:05:04
	running here and there,	1:05:08
	scarcely pausing to acknowledge your presence,	1:05:10
	or the presence of our loved ones and neighbors,	1:05:14
	we need to be reawakened to our own sensitivities,	1:05:19
	our own abilities to reach out	1:05:24
	and to relate and care for one another,	1:05:27
	help us anew this day to be the caring,	1:05:31
	responsible people that you have intended us to be.	1:05:35
	As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ,	1:05:41
	lift our heavy loads of physical and emotional pain,	1:05:45
	and our worries about life.	1:05:51
	Free us from any oppression and narrow mindedness,	1:05:55
	deliver us from the angry ways we resort to	1:06:00
	in responding to our world and to each other.	1:06:05
	Create us anew, make us fit to be your children,	1:06:10
	and help us to walk in ways	1:06:16
	of justice, of love, and of peace,	1:06:19
	for we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord,	1:06:24
	who taught us to pray, saying:	1:06:29
-	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;	1:06:32
	thy kingdom come;	1:06:38
	thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	1:06:40
	Give us this day our daily bread;	1:06:44
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:06:47
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	1:06:50
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:06:54
	For thine is the kingdom,	1:06:59
	and the power, and the glory,	1:07:01
	forever.	1:07:04
	Amen.	1:07:06
	("Greater Love Hath No Man")	1:07:16
	♪ Many waters cannot quench love ♪	1:07:23
	♪ Neither can the floods drown it ♪	1:07:32
	♪ Many waters cannot quench love ♪	1:07:40
	♪ Neither can the floods drown it ♪	1:07:48
	♪ Love is strong as death ♪	1:08:02
	♪ Love is strong as death ♪	1:08:09
	♪ Many waters cannot quench love ♪	1:08:18
	♪ Greater love hath no man than this ♪	1:08:29
	♪ that a man lay down his life for his friends ♪	1:08:41
	♪ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree ♪	1:09:12
	♪ That we, being dead to sins ♪	1:09:31
	♪ Should live unto righteousness ♪	1:09:41
	♪ That we, being dead to sins ♪	1:09:52
	♪ Should live unto righteousness ♪	1:10:00
	♪ Should live unto righteousness ♪	1:10:08
	♪ That we, being dead to sins ♪	1:10:13
	♪ Should live unto righteousness ♪	1:10:21
	♪ Should live unto righteousness ♪	1:10:25
	♪ Ye are washed ♪	1:10:30
	♪ Ye are sanctified ♪	1:10:34
	♪ Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus ♪	1:10:38
	♪ Ye are a chosen generation ♪	1:10:49
	♪ A royal priesthood ♪	1:10:53
	♪ A holy nation ♪	1:10:56
	♪ That ye should show forth the praises of him ♪	1:11:04
	♪ Who hath called you out of darkness ♪	1:11:11
	♪ Out of darkness ♪	1:11:18
	♪ Into his marvelous light ♪	1:11:22
	♪ I beseech you brethren ♪	1:11:45
	♪ By the mercies of God ♪	1:11:53
	♪ That ye present your bodies ♪	1:12:00
	♪ A living sacrifice ♪	1:12:11
	♪ Holy ♪	1:12:21
	♪ Acceptable unto God ♪	1:12:31
	♪ Which is your reasonable service ♪	1:12:54
	(pipe organ hymn)	1:13:44
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:16
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:19
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:34
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:37
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:40
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:43
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:46
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:14:54
-	As we offer these gifts of money to you, O Lord,	1:15:06
	help us also to be able to offer ourselves,	1:15:10
	our bodies, our minds, and our spirits, receive these,	1:15:14
	our gifts, for your ministry in your world, amen.	1:15:19
	(pipe organ music)	1:15:26
	(organ drowns out singing)	1:16:03
-	Jesus Christ, the love of God,	1:19:36
	the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you,	1:19:39
	and with those whom you love, this day and forever.	1:19:43
	♪ Amen ♪	1:19:51
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:00
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:12
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:20
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:25
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:36
	♪ Amen ♪	1:20:49
	(pipe organ postlude)	1:21:11
	(people chattering)	1:24:48

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "From Illusion to Prayer" (October 26, 1980)

Description:

Sermon start time: 32:28. Sermon end time: 55:27.
We all hold illusions about ourselves, others, and God, such as our idea of our own immortality or of others as property or resources. We must break these illusions and pray truly to God with humility rather than comparing ourselves to others. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "If we're going to be justified with God, if we're going to feel good about our relationships with others, if we're going to find wholeness of life for ourselves, then we're going to have to destroy some basic illusions about ourselves in order to pray to know God and, in the end, in order to be justified by and with God."

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4bn9xh6x

Date:

October 26, 1980

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

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Ordinary Time

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Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1118
ref7448_2o9
uachapelsermaud
duke:321014
dcrau001995
ark:/87924/r4bn9xh6x
d3df4569-0438-4820-9d2e-ab54be588439

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

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Robert T. Young - "From Illusion to Prayer" (October 26, 1980)

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