Eduard Schweizer - "The Helplessness of God - Our Help" (April 12, 1970)
MP3
Loading the media player...
Transcript
- Download transcript as:
-
Text
-
PDF
-
WebVTT (includes timecodes)
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
| (liturgical music) | 0:03 | |
| - | Beloved, those who know best | 2:03 |
| themselves | 2:08 | |
| in the sight of God | 2:10 | |
| know their continual need | 2:13 | |
| for renewal, for cleansing, | 2:16 | |
| for recreation, and for refreshment. | 2:20 | |
| Even as we wash our hands and our faces periodically, | 2:26 | |
| so we need periodically, | 2:33 | |
| with great honesty, | 2:37 | |
| to confess our sin | 2:40 | |
| in the presence of each other | 2:44 | |
| and before Almighty God, | 2:47 | |
| in order that when we worship God, | 2:50 | |
| we may do so with not only clean hands, | 2:54 | |
| but a pure heart. | 2:59 | |
| And therefore with the utmost sincerity | 3:03 | |
| and with great seriousness, | 3:07 | |
| thoughtfully, let us unite our hearts and our voices | 3:09 | |
| in our unison prayer of confession. | 3:14 | |
| Let us pray. | 3:16 | |
| Almighty God, we humbly confess that we are guilty people. | 3:18 | |
| We cannot count the sins that we have done | 3:24 | |
| nor can we remember all the evil thoughts of our hearts. | 3:27 | |
| We have neglected Thy word | 3:32 | |
| and have taken lightly Thy mercies. | 3:34 | |
| We have not turned away from violence and vanity. | 3:38 | |
| We therefore do not deserve the forgiveness | 3:41 | |
| that we pray for, | 3:44 | |
| but we ask Thee to grant that we may from the heart | 3:45 | |
| be turned to Thee, | 3:49 | |
| and that we may be reconciled to Thee | 3:51 | |
| through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 3:54 | |
| Amen. | 3:57 | |
| When we go into a store to buy, | 4:02 | |
| we do so with confidence | 4:07 | |
| because we believe that the owner of the store wants to sell | 4:10 | |
| that which we want to buy. | 4:16 | |
| And if we were prepared to pay for it, | 4:19 | |
| we go and ask for it with confidence. | 4:21 | |
| The great things in the world that we want, | 4:26 | |
| we go seeking expectantly. | 4:30 | |
| There is every reason to be honest before God | 4:35 | |
| about our sins | 4:39 | |
| and to ask for His forgiveness, | 4:41 | |
| because we are told in scripture | 4:45 | |
| that God wants to forgive us | 4:48 | |
| much more than we want to repent | 4:51 | |
| and ask for His forgiveness. | 4:53 | |
| And we have the assurance of His word | 4:57 | |
| that if we confess our sins, | 5:00 | |
| He is faithful and just, | 5:03 | |
| and will forgive our sins | 5:06 | |
| and cleanse us | 5:08 | |
| from all uncleanness. | 5:10 | |
| And this is the joyful word. | 5:13 | |
| It is this word which encourages us | 5:17 | |
| to come regularly | 5:21 | |
| and ask to be cleansed, | 5:22 | |
| because there is such certainty | 5:25 | |
| that in the heart of God | 5:28 | |
| there is a love which wants to draw us to Himself | 5:30 | |
| far more than we want to be drawn. | 5:35 | |
| And that is why | 5:38 | |
| Sunday is always a little Easter. | 5:40 | |
| That is why Christians | 5:44 | |
| can be the most joyful and hopeful | 5:46 | |
| and optimistic people in the world. | 5:49 | |
| This is indeed an assuring word. | 5:53 | |
| Amen. | 5:57 | |
| (liturgical music) | 5:59 | |
| - | In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, | 9:50 |
| Jesus, as you know, tells us about the younger brother | 9:52 | |
| who threw away all his father's money | 9:55 | |
| and after having nearly starve to death, | 9:58 | |
| came back to his father and was welcomed by him. | 10:00 | |
| Then the parable goes on. | 10:04 | |
| Now his elder son was in the field, | 10:06 | |
| and as he came and drew near to the house, | 10:09 | |
| he heard music and dancing, | 10:12 | |
| and he called one of the servants and asked what this meant, | 10:14 | |
| and he said to him, | 10:18 | |
| "Your brother has come | 10:19 | |
| "and your father has killed the fatted calf | 10:20 | |
| "because he has received him safe and sound." | 10:23 | |
| But he was angry and refused to go in. | 10:26 | |
| His father came out and then entreated him. | 10:29 | |
| But he answered his father, | 10:32 | |
| "Though these many years I have served you | 10:34 | |
| "and I have never disobeyed your command, | 10:36 | |
| "yet you never gave me a kid | 10:39 | |
| "that I might make merry with my friends. | 10:41 | |
| "But when this son of yours came | 10:44 | |
| "who has devoured your living with harlots, | 10:46 | |
| "you killed for him the fatted calf." | 10:48 | |
| And he said to him, | 10:51 | |
| "Son, you are always with me, | 10:53 | |
| "and all that is mine is yours. | 10:55 | |
| "It was fitting to make merry and be glad | 10:57 | |
| "for this your brother was dead and is alive. | 11:00 | |
| "He was lost and is found." | 11:03 | |
| (liturgical music) | 11:07 | |
| - | The Lord be with you. | 11:51 |
| - | And with your spirit. | 11:53 |
| - | Let us pray. | 11:55 |
| Almighty God, creator of the world, | 12:05 | |
| Lord of space and time, | 12:09 | |
| we are humbled to address Thee in prayer. | 12:13 | |
| We would not have the courage to be so presumptuous | 12:17 | |
| except that through Jesus Christ, | 12:22 | |
| thou hast encouraged, | 12:24 | |
| he hast even asked that we do so. | 12:27 | |
| We pray for our three fellow humans | 12:31 | |
| who today are out in space | 12:33 | |
| asking Thy providential care of them, | 12:37 | |
| grant them a safe returned to earth. | 12:41 | |
| We hope their objective is worth the cost. | 12:46 | |
| We asked Thy wisdom as our nation debates | 12:50 | |
| and decides upon future commitments of money and men | 12:54 | |
| to the space projects. | 12:58 | |
| God, we see Thy children on earth | 13:02 | |
| in need of food, clothing, and housing, | 13:04 | |
| and we are troubled by the choices | 13:09 | |
| our government has made and is making. | 13:11 | |
| We're thrilled by the excitement | 13:15 | |
| of the exploration of space | 13:17 | |
| but we are shamed by the squalor and poverty, | 13:20 | |
| which thou see on earth. | 13:24 | |
| Grant us light to see our duty, | 13:28 | |
| and give us grace to reject | 13:32 | |
| partisan political considerations | 13:33 | |
| once we know what our duty is. | 13:35 | |
| We offer, oh Lord, our prayers for peace | 13:39 | |
| in Southeast Asia, | 13:43 | |
| for peace in the near East, | 13:46 | |
| for peace in Africa, | 13:48 | |
| in South America, | 13:51 | |
| for peace on the campuses | 13:54 | |
| of the United States. | 13:56 | |
| We do not ask, oh God, | 13:59 | |
| for a peace which silences dissent, | 14:01 | |
| or which stifles the voice of change and progress. | 14:04 | |
| We ask only for a peace | 14:09 | |
| which will give us a chance | 14:11 | |
| to let the spirit of Jesus Christ | 14:13 | |
| change personal lives and social practices | 14:16 | |
| until the kingdoms of this world | 14:20 | |
| become the kingdoms of our Lord and oof His Christ. | 14:22 | |
| We pray for every individual who has not accepted Jesus | 14:28 | |
| as Lord and savior | 14:32 | |
| that everyone may do so. | 14:35 | |
| Heavenly Father, we lift our prayers | 14:39 | |
| for the dads of our world | 14:42 | |
| and especially for the dads who are here with us today. | 14:45 | |
| Give them patients with our ups and downs, | 14:50 | |
| give them wisdom to understand us, | 14:54 | |
| firmness to correct us when we need it, | 14:57 | |
| and in all things, give them love. | 15:01 | |
| Oh God, we pray for a renewal of our spirits | 15:06 | |
| to match the renewal of nature about us. | 15:10 | |
| And to that end, | 15:15 | |
| give us diligence to study the word of God | 15:16 | |
| so that we shall not foolishly imagine | 15:20 | |
| that our selfish wishes are the will of God. | 15:23 | |
| And so that we shall indeed know Thy will, | 15:27 | |
| know what it is | 15:31 | |
| as revealed in Jesus, | 15:33 | |
| as recorded in the New Testament, | 15:36 | |
| as interpreted through the church | 15:39 | |
| by Thy Holy Spirit. | 15:42 | |
| May this service today | 15:45 | |
| be instrumental in bringing that about for each of us | 15:48 | |
| and this we ask in the name and in the spirit | 15:54 | |
| of Jesus Christ who has taught his disciples | 15:57 | |
| when they pray to say, | 16:00 | |
| our father who art in heaven, | 16:03 | |
| hallowed be Thy name, | 16:05 | |
| Thy kingdom come, | 16:08 | |
| Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, | 16:10 | |
| give us this day, our daily bread, | 16:14 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses | 16:17 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 16:19 | |
| And lead us not into temptation, | 16:23 | |
| but deliver us from evil, | 16:25 | |
| for Thine is the kingdom | 16:27 | |
| and the power and the glory forever, amen. | 16:29 | |
| Before our | 16:38 | |
| (whooshing sound) | 16:40 | |
| distinguished guest preacher takes the pulpit, | 16:43 | |
| I would like to say | 16:47 | |
| we are extremely delighted to have Dr. Schweitzer back again | 16:49 | |
| at the Duke Chapel after eight years. | 16:54 | |
| He is one of the great New Testament scholars of the world | 16:58 | |
| and one of the great preachers of the world. | 17:02 | |
| Also, I want to pay tribute | 17:05 | |
| to a special student group at Duke, | 17:07 | |
| who, when you see them most of the time, | 17:10 | |
| are not wearing blue jeans, | 17:13 | |
| but that is the name of their group. | 17:15 | |
| They are the ushers and collectors in the chapel today | 17:18 | |
| and during the coming week, | 17:21 | |
| they will have a cleanup drive on the campus. | 17:24 | |
| And I think it only friendly | 17:28 | |
| that I remind you not to leave your class notes | 17:29 | |
| lying around on the quad in fashion often engaged in | 17:33 | |
| because they're liable to be put in the trashcan this week | 17:38 | |
| if you do leave them lying about. | 17:42 | |
| We are very grateful to the BlueJeans | 17:45 | |
| for all that they do continually | 17:47 | |
| not only for the chapel, | 17:49 | |
| but for the campus as a whole. | 17:51 | |
| And now Dr. Schweitzer. | 17:54 | |
| - | Dear friends, | 18:07 |
| I have learned through the program | 18:09 | |
| that this is a father-daughter weekend, | 18:11 | |
| but this was just a few minutes ago | 18:15 | |
| so I couldn't, out of the spur of the moment, | 18:17 | |
| change the parable of Jesus | 18:20 | |
| about a father-son relation. | 18:23 | |
| However, if you prefer, | 18:27 | |
| do hear a She wherever there is a He. | 18:29 | |
| In his parable, | 18:33 | |
| it's probably about the same matter | 18:35 | |
| with the Shes as with the He's. | 18:37 | |
| Now, the title | 18:41 | |
| of my sermon | 18:45 | |
| might seem a bit strange | 18:49 | |
| and it might look as if he had just chosen | 18:54 | |
| for attracting attention, | 18:57 | |
| however, isn't God's helplessness | 19:00 | |
| one of the most burning questions today. | 19:07 | |
| Isn't God helpless in this world, | 19:12 | |
| or against the war in Vietnam, | 19:15 | |
| or against race struggles, | 19:19 | |
| or whatever you may think of. | 19:21 | |
| Let's listen to Jesus. | 19:24 | |
| "Lo, | 19:28 | |
| "these many years, | 19:30 | |
| "I have served you and I have never disobeyed your command | 19:32 | |
| "yet you never gave me a kid | 19:37 | |
| "but when the son of yours came, | 19:41 | |
| "who had devoured your living with harlots, | 19:44 | |
| "you killed for him the fatted calf." | 19:48 | |
| Right he is, | 19:52 | |
| totally and absolutely right. | 19:53 | |
| We may count whatever way we want to, | 19:56 | |
| he is right. | 19:59 | |
| 12 hours of labor a day, | 20:02 | |
| 300 times a year | 20:05 | |
| are about 3,600 hours | 20:08 | |
| as a minimum | 20:13 | |
| and it might be some five years | 20:14 | |
| since that day when the younger brother | 20:18 | |
| left the house of the father | 20:20 | |
| to throw away all his father's money | 20:22 | |
| for drinks and women, | 20:26 | |
| which makes about | 20:29 | |
| 20,000 hours | 20:33 | |
| of hard work. | 20:36 | |
| And the on the other side of this account, | 20:39 | |
| there is not even an occasional kid, | 20:40 | |
| let alone a fatted calf and old wines. | 20:45 | |
| Right he is, the old one, | 20:51 | |
| totally perfectly right. | 20:53 | |
| As right as we are. | 20:57 | |
| I know of a university professor | 21:04 | |
| who is famous in the whole world, | 21:08 | |
| and he just doesn't read | 21:12 | |
| the dissertations of his students | 21:15 | |
| and they cannot pass the examinations | 21:18 | |
| because he is just so slow | 21:20 | |
| in reading their theses. | 21:24 | |
| They're right these students, | 21:28 | |
| if they flare up, | 21:30 | |
| in opposition to this professor. | 21:32 | |
| I know of university hospital | 21:35 | |
| in which desperate students destroyed | 21:38 | |
| the whole card index | 21:41 | |
| of all the patients. | 21:44 | |
| They have stolen the show | 21:48 | |
| and nobody spoke of the tired secretaries | 21:51 | |
| who had to work for days and nights | 21:54 | |
| to restore that card index | 21:57 | |
| so that the patients could have treatment again. | 21:59 | |
| Or I know a husband | 22:05 | |
| who insults his wife | 22:08 | |
| like a madman | 22:11 | |
| because she is expecting again, | 22:13 | |
| a child from him | 22:16 | |
| although the world just sees | 22:19 | |
| that effective and successful husband | 22:22 | |
| and nobody speaks about that | 22:25 | |
| quite and inconspicuous wife at home | 22:28 | |
| who has to put up with him. | 22:34 | |
| And she is right, totally right, | 22:37 | |
| if she complains and thinks that | 22:40 | |
| it is impossible to live with such as husband. | 22:43 | |
| Well, I know of a youngster | 22:47 | |
| who had to start his military service | 22:51 | |
| in one of our Swiss mountain turns. | 22:53 | |
| Evening before, his parents phone him | 22:57 | |
| and they are told that he would come | 23:00 | |
| on his very old and (indistinct) motorbike. | 23:03 | |
| Now, around midnight, | 23:08 | |
| he gets tired of riding his bike | 23:11 | |
| and goes to (indistinct) | 23:14 | |
| and thinks he could go on the first strain in the morning. | 23:15 | |
| Now his father, very much alarmed, | 23:19 | |
| starts at 2 am | 23:21 | |
| and drives over two or three mountain passes | 23:23 | |
| in search of his son and doesn't find him. | 23:26 | |
| So, he's more than anxious and comes back in the morning | 23:29 | |
| just to learn that his son had arrived | 23:33 | |
| an hour ago by rail. | 23:36 | |
| And again, he's right, totally right, | 23:38 | |
| if he flares up and says he could at least have phoned, | 23:40 | |
| although it was just nonsense | 23:45 | |
| to drive three mountain passes in winter time | 23:47 | |
| with an old motorbike. | 23:51 | |
| All of us, we are totally and perfectly right, | 23:53 | |
| as right as the older brother | 23:59 | |
| here in our parable. | 24:03 | |
| They are younger brothers, | 24:07 | |
| and husbands, and professors, and students | 24:09 | |
| with whom it is simply impossible to live. | 24:13 | |
| And so often, | 24:20 | |
| they are the ones that are admired by everybody | 24:22 | |
| and nobody asks about those who have to put up with them. | 24:25 | |
| And this is not the only true in our private lives | 24:32 | |
| where it still might be more or less harmless, | 24:36 | |
| this is also true in the world of politics. | 24:41 | |
| There are younger nations and races | 24:45 | |
| who are threatening our peace and our comfort | 24:52 | |
| and it's not always so | 24:58 | |
| that are just unrighteous. | 25:00 | |
| Where, in this world of turmoil, is God? | 25:05 | |
| Where is this God of whom the Christians say | 25:10 | |
| that he is a loving father. | 25:13 | |
| There are patients' and wives and fathers and nations | 25:16 | |
| suffering because of the nonsense | 25:20 | |
| of some of the younger brothers. | 25:23 | |
| There are even nations dying in bloody wars. | 25:26 | |
| Where is God, this loving God. | 25:32 | |
| His father came out | 25:38 | |
| and entreated him. | 25:43 | |
| Here he is, his father, | 25:46 | |
| he is with his elder son | 25:49 | |
| and his outrage and his accusations. | 25:53 | |
| He is with him as he was in his heart | 25:56 | |
| with his younger son when that one | 26:01 | |
| went to seed, entertaining prostitutes, | 26:05 | |
| and feeding swine. | 26:10 | |
| No, the father is not in the banqueting hall, | 26:13 | |
| in all the luxury and comfort, | 26:19 | |
| the father is | 26:22 | |
| where his lost and outraged sons are. | 26:25 | |
| What is Jesus saying? | 26:32 | |
| Did we hear correctly? | 26:36 | |
| He says, that God is not | 26:38 | |
| in a golden heaven | 26:43 | |
| in which all the problems are solved | 26:45 | |
| far away from the turmoil | 26:49 | |
| and all the misery and wretchedness | 26:52 | |
| of this world. | 26:55 | |
| He says | 26:57 | |
| that God is there | 26:58 | |
| where a man doubts | 27:03 | |
| and rebels against him | 27:06 | |
| and his fellow men. | 27:10 | |
| What should move us most | 27:14 | |
| in his short story is indeed | 27:17 | |
| the helplessness | 27:22 | |
| of this father, | 27:25 | |
| no, he is not so simply | 27:28 | |
| the Almighty. | 27:32 | |
| He is staying outside of the gate | 27:35 | |
| and he has nothing | 27:40 | |
| but his word | 27:42 | |
| by which he tries to invite his son, | 27:45 | |
| or certainly he could call two of his servants | 27:50 | |
| and command them to drag his son | 27:53 | |
| into the banqueting hall, | 27:56 | |
| but what would he gain by this? | 27:58 | |
| The heart of his son would not be there. | 28:02 | |
| Love and joy | 28:06 | |
| cannot be forced upon anybody. | 28:10 | |
| And because the father | 28:15 | |
| desires nothing but the love | 28:18 | |
| and the joy of his son, | 28:22 | |
| he can stake nothing | 28:25 | |
| but his word. | 28:28 | |
| And in today's world, | 28:30 | |
| he puts all his love, | 28:33 | |
| he is coating, | 28:35 | |
| he's being ready to do whatever he could do | 28:37 | |
| for his son | 28:41 | |
| but this is all that is left for him. | 28:42 | |
| Also as the younger son, | 28:46 | |
| he did not call the police to bring him back home. | 28:49 | |
| Also with him, | 28:55 | |
| he had nothing but his burning love, | 28:57 | |
| which was waiting for him, | 29:01 | |
| yet had no means to force him upon himself. | 29:04 | |
| This is God's helplessness | 29:09 | |
| and powerlessness | 29:12 | |
| because God desires our heart, | 29:16 | |
| its love and its joy. | 29:20 | |
| He has to stay outside off the gate, | 29:23 | |
| far from the banqueting hall of heaven | 29:28 | |
| and has to wait. | 29:34 | |
| He has no means | 29:38 | |
| to drag us home by force. | 29:40 | |
| He has but his word | 29:43 | |
| into which he puts all his love. | 29:46 | |
| But his word, | 29:51 | |
| this word, | 29:54 | |
| became flesh | 29:57 | |
| to call us back | 30:00 | |
| to God's festival meal | 30:02 | |
| and just then, | 30:05 | |
| it's total helplessness | 30:07 | |
| became obvious. | 30:11 | |
| They cried, "Where is God?" | 30:13 | |
| And looked up to the sky | 30:18 | |
| and saw the son of God in heaven | 30:20 | |
| and a throne with God upon it. | 30:24 | |
| They supposed that he should play policeman | 30:28 | |
| and break in with brutal force | 30:32 | |
| when so many outrageous things happen on earth, | 30:36 | |
| with husbands that oppress their wives, | 30:41 | |
| and professors oppressing their students, | 30:45 | |
| and children that drives their parents to despair, | 30:49 | |
| and, and, and. | 30:53 | |
| But the word of God | 30:55 | |
| had to long ago become flesh | 30:59 | |
| and was hanging just above them, | 31:03 | |
| and was inviting, still inviting them, | 31:08 | |
| and speaking of Gods love, | 31:13 | |
| and did not descend in a miraculous way, | 31:17 | |
| but even inside in its silence, | 31:21 | |
| it called and told | 31:24 | |
| about the burning love of the Father. | 31:28 | |
| This is the powerlessness of God | 31:33 | |
| who is not content with anything less than our heart. | 31:37 | |
| One may call, invite, | 31:44 | |
| even entice to love, | 31:47 | |
| but one can never force it upon anybody. | 31:50 | |
| Well, to be sure, | 31:55 | |
| we might tell John, | 31:57 | |
| "John, I tell you, | 31:59 | |
| "if you behave, as you did last time, | 32:00 | |
| "and refuse a welcome kiss to your aunt, | 32:03 | |
| "you will learn it the hard way." | 32:05 | |
| And John will probably behave | 32:08 | |
| and kiss beautiful his aunt, | 32:10 | |
| but of course love would not be | 32:12 | |
| in the kiss. | 32:16 | |
| This is God's helplessness | 32:20 | |
| that he has decided | 32:22 | |
| to create the world | 32:25 | |
| in order to share his place | 32:28 | |
| and his joy | 32:31 | |
| with creatures that would love him | 32:34 | |
| out of there hearts | 32:37 | |
| because it is only in the freedom of our hearts | 32:40 | |
| that we are able to love | 32:44 | |
| and to graze and to find real joy. | 32:47 | |
| And yet, this seemingly helpless word of God, | 32:53 | |
| even nailed to a cross | 33:00 | |
| and reduced as everybody saw | 33:03 | |
| to a deadly and definite silence, | 33:06 | |
| is still speaking | 33:10 | |
| and goes on speaking. | 33:12 | |
| It's something like the balance in a clock, | 33:16 | |
| which keeps the world on its move. | 33:19 | |
| As he'd had spoken to the prophets, | 33:23 | |
| it speaks in Jesus | 33:26 | |
| for centuries and centuries. | 33:29 | |
| It reaches us today. | 33:32 | |
| All of us | 33:35 | |
| who might be so dreadfully wrapped | 33:38 | |
| in our complaints. | 33:42 | |
| It says, | 33:45 | |
| "Son, you are always with me | 33:47 | |
| "and all that is mine is yours indeed." | 33:51 | |
| We may not have realized it, | 33:56 | |
| but this is what God wants. | 33:58 | |
| He has given us his creation | 34:02 | |
| to use it. | 34:06 | |
| We may use it or misuse it. | 34:07 | |
| This is this | 34:11 | |
| dangerous freedom, | 34:13 | |
| which at the same time contains | 34:16 | |
| an almost incredible hope. | 34:18 | |
| And God tells us, | 34:22 | |
| you should make Merry and be glad. | 34:26 | |
| This is what God invites us to, | 34:29 | |
| this God who is helplessly nailed to a cross | 34:33 | |
| and yet is still inviting | 34:37 | |
| to the banquet of Easter | 34:40 | |
| to make Merry | 34:44 | |
| and be glad, do we ask, | 34:47 | |
| with such a husband, | 34:50 | |
| and such children, | 34:53 | |
| and such oppressors, | 34:55 | |
| and such a world of suffering and terror. | 34:57 | |
| But God's decisive question | 35:04 | |
| is still waiting for us. | 35:08 | |
| Do we want | 35:13 | |
| to be with him or not? | 35:16 | |
| The older brother is standing a few inches from the father | 35:21 | |
| and yet in his heart, he is miles away from him. | 35:27 | |
| It is the eldest son, | 35:32 | |
| the one who is so totally right, | 35:34 | |
| as right as we maybe, | 35:38 | |
| and with all his rightness, | 35:41 | |
| he's as far form the father as anybody could be. | 35:45 | |
| It is just his counting | 35:50 | |
| and his arguing | 35:54 | |
| which separates him from the father. | 35:55 | |
| As long as he sees | 35:59 | |
| his 20,000 hours of labor, | 36:01 | |
| he cannot see the love and the joy, | 36:05 | |
| he cannot enjoy the steaks and the wine. | 36:10 | |
| He cannot understand | 36:14 | |
| that there are men with weaker character perhaps, | 36:16 | |
| or with the blood of an adventurer perhaps, | 36:22 | |
| perhaps born this way, | 36:27 | |
| perhaps brought up in this way by an older generation | 36:29 | |
| either consciously or unconsciously | 36:33 | |
| and therefore he cannot understand | 36:36 | |
| that there is a question which is much more important | 36:40 | |
| than the question of 20,000 hours of hard work, | 36:44 | |
| namely, the question | 36:48 | |
| about his openness to love. | 36:51 | |
| The parable ends | 36:58 | |
| with this elder son. | 37:00 | |
| Jesus leaves us alone with him. | 37:03 | |
| This means, that he leaves us with that question | 37:07 | |
| which threatens us | 37:13 | |
| at the end of his story, | 37:15 | |
| is the question | 37:17 | |
| whether we are really | 37:20 | |
| with the father. | 37:23 | |
| We might be as close | 37:26 | |
| as the elder son. | 37:30 | |
| Perhaps just a few steps | 37:33 | |
| from the alter | 37:36 | |
| of the church | 37:38 | |
| and yet miles away | 37:41 | |
| in our hearts. | 37:44 | |
| There might be others | 37:47 | |
| perhaps in the banqueting hall | 37:49 | |
| or in a pub | 37:53 | |
| during church service | 37:54 | |
| who might be closer | 37:57 | |
| to his heart. | 38:00 | |
| It's just the question | 38:07 | |
| whether we may learn | 38:10 | |
| to become happy | 38:12 | |
| from all our hearts, | 38:14 | |
| because we are all learning to love. | 38:17 | |
| This will be impossible | 38:20 | |
| as long as we are still standing on our rights, | 38:23 | |
| whether it is our Christian righteousness | 38:27 | |
| or our atheism. | 38:31 | |
| The people who stood under the cross | 38:34 | |
| might be more right than even we. | 38:36 | |
| They were all Jews | 38:40 | |
| in Jesus' time who did not care for the law of God | 38:42 | |
| and behaved in a very shocking way | 38:47 | |
| and there were others | 38:48 | |
| who donated 10% of their income every week to God, | 38:51 | |
| like for instance, the Pharisees, | 38:55 | |
| but just by being so right, | 39:00 | |
| they could no longer understand Jesus | 39:03 | |
| who ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. | 39:07 | |
| They asked, "Where is God? | 39:11 | |
| "Where is this Almighty?" | 39:12 | |
| "Where is this loving God?" | 39:14 | |
| And they thought he will just | 39:15 | |
| give them a reward. | 39:18 | |
| And in the mean time, he was amongst themselves, in Jesus, | 39:22 | |
| but with the same as and the tax collectors. | 39:26 | |
| In their total righteousness, | 39:30 | |
| they crucified him. | 39:34 | |
| But I tell you, | 39:38 | |
| where a heart opens itself | 39:40 | |
| for these invitation of the word of God, | 39:44 | |
| things begin to happen. | 39:47 | |
| I remember a young couple | 39:50 | |
| sitting in my study, | 39:52 | |
| we were just discussing the liturgy of the wedding ceremony | 39:55 | |
| and I started saying, | 39:59 | |
| the liturgy runs, | 40:02 | |
| "You, Bill Smith," | 40:03 | |
| or whatever his name was, | 40:06 | |
| "you desire as your wife this (indistinct)." | 40:08 | |
| Then he interrupted me and said, | 40:13 | |
| "Ah, that's just what I do not desire. | 40:15 | |
| "I have to marry her because | 40:18 | |
| "she is expecting a child of me, | 40:19 | |
| "but I do not desire her." | 40:22 | |
| So this was the start | 40:25 | |
| of a very long discussion. | 40:27 | |
| And during this discussion, | 40:31 | |
| I realized how much | 40:33 | |
| this girl had understood | 40:37 | |
| of the invitation God, | 40:40 | |
| not to stand on our rights, | 40:44 | |
| but to love | 40:47 | |
| even the younger or the older brothers. | 40:50 | |
| And I saw them, for many years, | 40:54 | |
| and she was certainly a hundred times right | 40:59 | |
| over against her husband, | 41:04 | |
| but she was just loving and bearing | 41:06 | |
| her husband and her children | 41:10 | |
| in a really good matrimony and family life. | 41:13 | |
| Or I remember the notice in our newspapers | 41:21 | |
| some months ago | 41:23 | |
| about the president of Zambia, Africa, | 41:25 | |
| a devoted Christian, by the way. | 41:29 | |
| He had sent all his ministers | 41:32 | |
| into the small villages of Zambia | 41:35 | |
| that are still living in the stone age | 41:40 | |
| so that his ministers | 41:43 | |
| would experience every day | 41:45 | |
| the life that the average citizen of his state | 41:48 | |
| would have to live. | 41:53 | |
| And they assembled just once a month | 41:55 | |
| in the capital, | 41:58 | |
| which is more or less like any North American | 41:59 | |
| or you European capital. | 42:02 | |
| Where this word of God | 42:04 | |
| is allowed to speak. | 42:07 | |
| Things happen on these earth | 42:09 | |
| in small families | 42:13 | |
| and in nations. | 42:17 | |
| Might it not be | 42:23 | |
| the meaning of all life on earth | 42:27 | |
| even of all suffering in it | 42:34 | |
| that we might learn to love, | 42:39 | |
| to love God | 42:44 | |
| out of a free heart, | 42:48 | |
| and by learning this, | 42:50 | |
| to learn also | 42:54 | |
| to love our younger | 42:57 | |
| or older brother | 43:01 | |
| who might not be so perfect | 43:03 | |
| as we are, | 43:08 | |
| perhaps even by far, not. | 43:10 | |
| Might it not be the meaning of all life, | 43:15 | |
| even of all suffering in it | 43:20 | |
| that we might learn | 43:25 | |
| to accept the invitation | 43:29 | |
| of the father | 43:34 | |
| and to find in it | 43:36 | |
| the real eternal happiness. | 43:39 | |
| Father, | 43:47 | |
| you have talked to us | 43:49 | |
| and we have tried to listen to you. | 43:53 | |
| We have felt a bit of your burning love | 43:57 | |
| and yet we are still uncertain | 44:01 | |
| whether we have heard adequately. | 44:03 | |
| We know ourselves, | 44:06 | |
| we like so much to be right, | 44:09 | |
| and we dislike so much to be helpless and powerless. | 44:11 | |
| And tomorrow there will be all those | 44:16 | |
| who make our lives so difficult. | 44:19 | |
| We do not know whether we shall be able | 44:21 | |
| to remain close to you | 44:24 | |
| in your helplessness and love, | 44:25 | |
| close to the cross to which you were nailed. | 44:28 | |
| Lest we should listen | 44:34 | |
| to this word | 44:37 | |
| therefore we pray. | 44:39 | |
| Sometimes there is so much storm and turmoil in us, | 44:42 | |
| and sometimes we are too much at rest | 44:50 | |
| so that nothing can move us. | 44:53 | |
| Whatever it maybe, we pray, | 44:57 | |
| come out of the banqueting hall to join us | 44:59 | |
| as you have done in your son | 45:06 | |
| and let your work become | 45:09 | |
| the unrest of our life | 45:14 | |
| until we learn to accept your invitation, | 45:17 | |
| or to let your love overcome us. | 45:21 | |
| Amen. | 45:27 | |
| (liturgical music) | 45:31 | |
| - | Almighty God, | 58:31 |
| as we are mindful that Thou has self-limited thyself, | 58:33 | |
| that the world cannot be saved without our help, | 58:37 | |
| we now stand here in Thy presence | 58:41 | |
| to offer our help | 58:44 | |
| in money, | 58:46 | |
| in talent, | 58:48 | |
| in service and time, | 58:49 | |
| praying that it may be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord, | 58:52 | |
| our strength and our redeemer. | 58:56 | |
| Now, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ | 59:03 | |
| be with us all. | 59:07 | |
| (liturgical music) | 59:12 |
