John Borens - "The Snares of Substitution" (June 1, 1975)
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| (organ playing) | 0:04 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 5:20 |
| Oh Lord, our God, | 5:24 | |
| great eternal wonderful in glory who keeps covenant | 5:27 | |
| and promise for those that love you with their whole hearts, | 5:32 | |
| who are the life of all, | 5:37 | |
| the help of those who flee unto you, | 5:39 | |
| the hope of those who cry unto you, | 5:43 | |
| cleanse us from our sins and from every thought | 5:47 | |
| displeasing to your goodness. | 5:51 | |
| That with a pure heart and a clean mind, | 5:54 | |
| with perfect love and calm hope, | 5:57 | |
| we may venture confidently and fearlessly to pray unto you | 6:01 | |
| through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. | 6:07 | |
| (organ playing) | 6:12 | |
| ♪ Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the king of creation ♪ | 6:16 | |
| ♪ Oh my soul praise him ♪ | 6:26 | |
| ♪ For he is your health and salvation ♪ | 6:29 | |
| ♪ Come all who hear ♪ | 6:37 | |
| ♪ Now to his temple draw near ♪ | 6:40 | |
| ♪ Join me in glad adoration ♪ | 6:46 | |
| (organ playing) | 6:57 | |
| (choir singing) | 7:34 | |
| Remembering the words of scripture, | 10:28 | |
| that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. | 10:31 | |
| Let us together confess our sins before Almighty God. | 10:36 | |
| You did not come oh God, to judge us, | 10:43 | |
| but to seek what is lost, | 10:48 | |
| to set free those who are imprisoned in guilt and fear, | 10:50 | |
| and to save us when our hearts accuse us, | 10:56 | |
| our hearts accuse, oh God, | 11:00 | |
| when we refuse to love and care for all of your children | 11:03 | |
| and for all of your creation, | 11:08 | |
| take us as we are here, with all our sinful past. | 11:11 | |
| You are greater than our heart | 11:17 | |
| and greater than all our guilt. | 11:20 | |
| You are the creator of a new future for us and all people. | 11:24 | |
| Help us to move into this future. | 11:29 | |
| Hear these words of assurance | 11:59 | |
| as we read them in the epistle of John. | 12:01 | |
| "This is a message we have heard from him | 12:06 | |
| "and proclaim to you, | 12:08 | |
| "that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. | 12:10 | |
| "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, | 12:17 | |
| "we have fellowship with one another, | 12:22 | |
| "and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin." | 12:25 | |
| Amen. | 12:31 | |
| (organ playing) | 12:36 | |
| (choir singing) | 13:11 | |
| Let us hear the lesson from the old covenant, | 14:58 | |
| as we find it recorded in the book of Daniel, | 15:01 | |
| "I saw in the night, visions. | 15:07 | |
| "And behold with the clouds of heaven, there came one, | 15:11 | |
| "like a son of man. | 15:14 | |
| "And he came to the ancient of days | 15:17 | |
| "and was presented before him. | 15:19 | |
| "And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom | 15:23 | |
| "that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. | 15:27 | |
| "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, | 15:33 | |
| "which shall not pass away. | 15:36 | |
| "And his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. | 15:39 | |
| "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious. | 15:44 | |
| "And the visions of my head alarmed me. | 15:49 | |
| "I approached one of those who stood there | 15:53 | |
| "and asked him the truth concerning all this. | 15:55 | |
| "So he told me and made known to me the interpretation | 15:59 | |
| "of the things. | 16:02 | |
| "These four great beasts are four kings | 16:04 | |
| "who shall rise out of the earth. | 16:07 | |
| "But the saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom | 16:10 | |
| "and possess the kingdom forever, | 16:15 | |
| "forever and ever." | 16:20 | |
| (distant coughing) | 16:27 | |
| Let us stand for the gospel reading. | 16:30 | |
| Let's witness from the new covenant in St. Matthew's gospel. | 16:38 | |
| "And when Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, | 16:45 | |
| "he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. | 16:48 | |
| "Now when John heard in prison | 16:53 | |
| "about the deeds of the Christ, | 16:54 | |
| "he sent word by his disciples and said to him, | 16:56 | |
| "Are you he who is to come or shall we look for another? | 17:00 | |
| "And Jesus answered them, | 17:06 | |
| "go and tell John what you see and hear. | 17:08 | |
| "The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, | 17:12 | |
| "lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear. | 17:17 | |
| "The dead are raised up, | 17:21 | |
| "the poor have good news preached to them | 17:24 | |
| "and blessed is he who takes no offense at me." | 17:28 | |
| And herein the lessons from the old and new covenants. | 17:34 | |
| (organ playing) | 17:40 | |
| (choir singing) | 17:49 | |
| Let us affirm our faith with Christian testimonies, | 18:21 | |
| past and testimonies present. | 18:24 | |
| We are not alone. | 18:28 | |
| We live in God's world. | 18:31 | |
| We believe in God, who has created and is creating, | 18:33 | |
| who has come in the true man, Jesus, | 18:39 | |
| to reconcile and make new, | 18:42 | |
| who works in us and others through the spirit. | 18:46 | |
| We trust God who calls us to be his church, | 18:50 | |
| to celebrate life and its fullness, | 18:55 | |
| to love and serve others. | 18:58 | |
| To seek justice and resist evil, | 19:01 | |
| to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, | 19:05 | |
| our judge and our hope, | 19:09 | |
| in life and death and life beyond death. | 19:12 | |
| God is with us, we are not alone. | 19:17 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 19:21 | |
| The Lord be with you. | 19:25 | |
| Congregation | And also with your spirit. | 19:27 |
| - | Let us pray. | 19:29 |
| Let us give thanks for seasons. | 19:42 | |
| Oh thou Lord of history, without whom there is no time, | 19:48 | |
| we give thee thanks for the seasons of the year. | 19:55 | |
| In your marvelous economy, | 20:00 | |
| you have provided for us both physically and psychologically | 20:02 | |
| in the cycles and seasons of nature. | 20:06 | |
| For this season, with its occasional recollections of spring | 20:11 | |
| and heavy handed hands of summer, | 20:17 | |
| we are especially grateful. | 20:19 | |
| Release our often wearied and blurred senses | 20:23 | |
| to receive and response to the warmth | 20:27 | |
| and softness of late spring. | 20:29 | |
| Lord of life and death, | 20:36 | |
| we give thanks for the seasons of life. | 20:39 | |
| For the vigor and impetuosity of the very young, | 20:43 | |
| for the caution and wisdom of age, | 20:49 | |
| for the idealism and visionary qualities of adolescence, | 20:54 | |
| and the earnestness and productivity of the middle years. | 20:59 | |
| Whatever our individual seasons of life, Lord, | 21:05 | |
| give us the grace to embrace it as a precious gift | 21:09 | |
| and to render thanks for it by rejoicing in it. | 21:14 | |
| Lord of the universe and cosmos, | 21:23 | |
| whose life knows no beginning or end, | 21:27 | |
| we gave thee thanks for the marvelous economy of your life | 21:31 | |
| with our world. | 21:35 | |
| In this Pentecost season, | 21:38 | |
| we rejoice that you have not left us comfortless, | 21:40 | |
| but have blessed us with a comforter, thy Holy Spirit. | 21:44 | |
| We praise thee for Pentecost, | 21:49 | |
| for the inspiration and impetus it gave our fathers | 21:52 | |
| and mothers in the faith. | 21:56 | |
| We remember our spiritual forebears | 22:00 | |
| who have participated abundantly in your life. | 22:02 | |
| We are especially thankful for those who have called | 22:08 | |
| and called us still, to a renewed and more vital faith | 22:11 | |
| in special ways. | 22:16 | |
| It is our prayer that this Pentecost season | 22:21 | |
| will find your church, | 22:24 | |
| especially blessed by your presence and power, | 22:27 | |
| that we may all be in mission to a people | 22:31 | |
| who walk in darkness. | 22:37 | |
| Let us now join in the prayer | 22:44 | |
| that our Lord taught us saying, | 22:46 | |
| "Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, | 22:49 | |
| "thy kingdom come. | 22:56 | |
| "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 22:58 | |
| "Give us this day, our daily bread | 23:03 | |
| "and forgive us our trespasses, | 23:06 | |
| "as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 23:09 | |
| "And lead us not into temptation, | 23:13 | |
| "but deliver us from evil. | 23:16 | |
| "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, | 23:18 | |
| "forever and ever. Amen." | 23:23 | |
| I am pleased to share this service with John Borons, | 23:33 | |
| who is one of our divinity school community, | 23:38 | |
| a candidate for the master of divinity degree next year. | 23:44 | |
| John has exercised leadership among our black seminarians | 23:49 | |
| in the divinity school. | 23:55 | |
| And John, I look forward with great anticipation | 23:58 | |
| to your witness to the word. | 24:01 | |
| - | I am thankful to Almighty God | 24:16 |
| for another opportunity to stand | 24:25 | |
| and speak from his holy word. | 24:29 | |
| To stand before his people, | 24:38 | |
| to be the instrument of his grace. | 24:43 | |
| I was terribly tempted to | 24:52 | |
| be as the preacher, | 25:01 | |
| and assume the role that can only be played by the creator, | 25:08 | |
| and preach a sermon that I could write | 25:19 | |
| and would want to preach. | 25:23 | |
| But to do so would offer you a poor substitute, | 25:28 | |
| for the words of life, | 25:38 | |
| come only when an instrument is emptied of itself | 25:41 | |
| and given unto God. | 25:49 | |
| I was also tempted to | 25:55 | |
| bring the style of some of the great | 26:02 | |
| Clergymen who have influenced me over my life, | 26:08 | |
| but to do so would be to send a substitute | 26:14 | |
| and a substitute is never the original. | 26:20 | |
| So I have come just as I am, | 26:30 | |
| as God has brought and led me. | 26:34 | |
| Hopefully avoiding the snares of substitution, | 26:42 | |
| possibly planting some seed that | 26:47 | |
| might grow in your thinking. | 26:51 | |
| In the Old Testament lesson, as read, | 26:59 | |
| a writer has glimpsed a great vision. | 27:07 | |
| He has seen the goal of an everlasting dominion, | 27:19 | |
| one that will not pass away. | 27:25 | |
| One that is composed of all people, nations, and languages. | 27:30 | |
| This is the same era and condition that, | 27:41 | |
| I believe the prophet envisioned | 27:45 | |
| when he wanted to see a time | 27:48 | |
| when the crooked would be made straight. | 27:52 | |
| When the rough places of life would be made plain, | 27:57 | |
| the mountains of life made low. | 28:04 | |
| I'm sure that he or she was impatient also, | 28:12 | |
| who wondered, "Why can't I see these things in my lifetime? | 28:21 | |
| "Why are they delayed?" | 28:27 | |
| In such a spirit, one might ask the same question | 28:33 | |
| asked in the New Testament lesson, | 28:37 | |
| "Are you the one who is to come | 28:42 | |
| "or shall we look for another?" | 28:45 | |
| The man in our New Testament lesson, | 28:51 | |
| he glimpsed the time when the ax was laid to the tree. | 28:55 | |
| The people of God would be separated out of the world. | 29:02 | |
| And he had seen this thing so closely | 29:11 | |
| when Jesus walked by the sea that day that | 29:13 | |
| he felt surely it would come within a matter of days. | 29:17 | |
| Yet conditions did not relate to his expectations. | 29:25 | |
| In fact, he found a startling contrast | 29:35 | |
| between the way things were | 29:39 | |
| and the way he expected things to become. | 29:41 | |
| This is one of our earliest snares of substitution, | 29:47 | |
| dealing with what we expect | 29:55 | |
| and with the way that things actually are. | 29:59 | |
| As a student, | 30:04 | |
| there are some courses that we sign up to take. | 30:08 | |
| Then within a few days after the course has begun, | 30:17 | |
| we wonder if possibly we should make a substitution. | 30:23 | |
| Maybe this course isn't dealing with the material that | 30:31 | |
| I expected. | 30:34 | |
| Or maybe this instructor isn't stimulating me | 30:39 | |
| as I had expected to be stimulated. | 30:42 | |
| We attempted to make a substitution but | 30:47 | |
| overall, there is | 30:52 | |
| a core of courses that we have to take. | 30:56 | |
| A core of courses that we cannot substitute. | 31:04 | |
| A core of courses that we must eventually pass | 31:11 | |
| in order to graduate. | 31:15 | |
| The words of God and the one that he has sent, | 31:22 | |
| often is completely different from our expectations | 31:30 | |
| and our views of the way they should be. | 31:35 | |
| But we are unable to make a substitution. | 31:42 | |
| Because the events and the time of God are ordained, | 31:48 | |
| they must come to pass. | 31:58 | |
| They operate independently of my wishes. | 32:01 | |
| They operate as determined events. | 32:09 | |
| Events that I cannot substitute. | 32:17 | |
| John's a man who loved the outdoors, who loved nature, | 32:25 | |
| who loved being free, found himself | 32:34 | |
| confined in a dark dungeon. | 32:40 | |
| A man who loved righteousness and truth, | 32:48 | |
| but found himself instead confined in a dungeon | 32:54 | |
| and above, | 32:58 | |
| there was a palace of pleasure. | 33:03 | |
| Going on overhead with the very things | 33:10 | |
| that he had protested against, | 33:13 | |
| going on overhead with the very things | 33:19 | |
| that he had saw coming to an end but | 33:22 | |
| contrary to his expectations, | 33:26 | |
| he found himself confined in a dark dungeon. | 33:28 | |
| Confined in a house of pleasure, | 33:35 | |
| confined in a fortress | 33:39 | |
| that had been described as impregnable. | 33:40 | |
| This word is a living word, | 33:48 | |
| for we are confined in a world seemingly | 33:53 | |
| where the quest is for pleasure. | 33:57 | |
| Where the long run is ignored | 34:03 | |
| and short run expectations of pleasure are sought. | 34:06 | |
| We live in a fortress that is being fortified | 34:17 | |
| more and more each year. | 34:21 | |
| Where we try and feed an insatiable appetite | 34:27 | |
| in a military budget that will assure victory, | 34:34 | |
| that will make us impregnable. | 34:41 | |
| Yet the voices of prophecy | 34:46 | |
| inform us that even to win, we would eventually lose. | 34:49 | |
| Voices must cry out from within this fortress. | 34:59 | |
| Voices sometimes grasping with doubt but same word, | 35:05 | |
| "Are you the one, | 35:10 | |
| "or shall we look for another?" | 35:14 | |
| A week ago today, a nationally known news commentator, | 35:19 | |
| speaking of Saigon, | 35:27 | |
| he said that the good old days have passed in Saigon. | 35:29 | |
| The houses of prostitution have been closed down. | 35:39 | |
| Those who deal in drug traffic are being prosecuted | 35:46 | |
| and executed. | 35:52 | |
| The movie houses that prospered showing | 35:56 | |
| pornographic films have been closed. | 36:06 | |
| And the people are now being exposed to things | 36:10 | |
| that are supposedly to stimulate their minds. | 36:13 | |
| He concluded his commentary by saying, | 36:19 | |
| "The good old days have passed." | 36:21 | |
| The statement left me in a state of shock. | 36:29 | |
| Aren't these the very things that we are supposedly, | 36:35 | |
| rising above? | 36:40 | |
| Are these the things that a nation under God | 36:45 | |
| has grown to represent? | 36:48 | |
| Are these really the good old days? | 36:53 | |
| Can't we stand for more? | 36:57 | |
| Have we made a substitution? | 37:05 | |
| Have we made a substitution | 37:10 | |
| in an arena where there is no other? | 37:13 | |
| John cried out, | 37:23 | |
| "Are you the one who is to come, | 37:28 | |
| "or shall we look for another ?" | 37:30 | |
| Are you the one who is to come? | 37:35 | |
| John cried out impatience with the patience of God. | 37:41 | |
| He cried out, | 37:48 | |
| dissatisfied, | 37:54 | |
| unsure, uncertain, | 37:58 | |
| wondering over the willingness of God | 38:00 | |
| to permit injustice to continue. | 38:05 | |
| Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? | 38:12 | |
| Many things have been substituted for God. | 38:20 | |
| Some have substituted other men and other women. | 38:27 | |
| Some have substituted things. | 38:35 | |
| Some have substituted blindness, refusing to see. | 38:41 | |
| But the substitutes remain substitutes. | 38:50 | |
| I remember very vividly, | 38:57 | |
| one day when my daughter ran home from school, | 39:02 | |
| with all of the enthusiasm she could muster, she said, | 39:08 | |
| "Daddy, I learned math today. | 39:11 | |
| "One and one is two, two and two is four, | 39:19 | |
| "four and four is eight. I know it all." | 39:23 | |
| She wondered why I smiled but | 39:33 | |
| somehow I knew of the algebra, | 39:36 | |
| trigonometry, calculus. | 39:41 | |
| The mountain of mathematics yet before her. | 39:46 | |
| But on that day she said, "I know it all." | 39:53 | |
| Possibly, with the fleeting distant glimpse | 40:01 | |
| of the one who has come, | 40:08 | |
| we have turned away and decided, I know all about him. | 40:13 | |
| I know all that he can possibly teach. | 40:20 | |
| I know it all. | 40:27 | |
| I know all the truth that is contained in his word. | 40:31 | |
| I know how to handle all of the problems of life by myself. | 40:37 | |
| I know how to escape. | 40:43 | |
| I know it all. | 40:47 | |
| Yet spiritually, we know that | 40:52 | |
| there is a pharaoh who stands above | 40:55 | |
| and who sees the mountains of problems | 40:58 | |
| that we are too weak to forward on our own. | 41:01 | |
| But there is one whose vision sees so much further, | 41:07 | |
| whose love extends so much deeper, | 41:13 | |
| whose patience extends so much | 41:16 | |
| whose grace is sufficient, | 41:22 | |
| who calls us to come back and look closer, | 41:30 | |
| remain not at a distance, | 41:36 | |
| but join an everlasting possession | 41:38 | |
| of being more and more like me. | 41:42 | |
| Never tire, never grow weary, | 41:49 | |
| but dedicate one's entire existence | 41:54 | |
| to being more and more in the image | 42:03 | |
| the creator would have me to be. | 42:06 | |
| When we ask this question, | 42:14 | |
| he does not answer yes or no because he is a reality | 42:16 | |
| that need not reaffirm itself. | 42:21 | |
| He needs no jewelry | 42:29 | |
| to declare he is the one. | 42:37 | |
| He needs only that we would come closer | 42:43 | |
| and look at his works. | 42:46 | |
| See what I have done and what I am still doing. | 42:51 | |
| Come closer that you might be ignited | 42:59 | |
| with my contagious spirit that will free you from doubts | 43:02 | |
| and fears and the other substitutes, | 43:07 | |
| and will send you into a world of darkness as a light shines | 43:12 | |
| that the darkness cannot put out. | 43:21 | |
| A light that shines in darkness, | 43:26 | |
| even though it seems engulfed, | 43:29 | |
| yet it burns brighter through the ages. | 43:34 | |
| A closer look, | 43:40 | |
| consuming desire to be closer, | 43:44 | |
| to know more, to love more, | 43:47 | |
| to be more pleasing in his sight. | 43:49 | |
| Answers for one, this question, | 43:55 | |
| "Are you the one who is to come?" | 43:57 | |
| It is a personal question. | 44:03 | |
| One that my father and forefathers and children | 44:06 | |
| cannot answer for me. | 44:10 | |
| It is a question that I continually ask and answer myself. | 44:12 | |
| Because of his presence which made known to me, | 44:21 | |
| yes, there's one. | 44:24 | |
| Only one. | 44:30 | |
| The blessed, blessed Jesus, he's the one. | 44:35 | |
| Though temptations and substitutes before me are placed, | 44:42 | |
| though trials, like sea billows, roll. | 44:49 | |
| One cannot find a substitute | 44:57 | |
| for the almighty who has all power in his hand. | 45:05 | |
| Let us pray. | 45:18 | |
| Almighty God, | 45:27 | |
| focus our vision properly. | 45:33 | |
| That we might choose from among the many substitutes, | 45:42 | |
| the one who is unique. | 45:50 | |
| Those things that I have occupied myself | 45:59 | |
| that had been time consuming and merely distractions, | 46:02 | |
| help me to see them for what they are. | 46:06 | |
| Help me to feel more and more, | 46:15 | |
| and to be more and more | 46:21 | |
| like thee and thy son who was revealed | 46:28 | |
| and is revealed to us. | 46:31 | |
| Oh God when I am distracted and tempted to go astray, | 46:36 | |
| let thy holy spirit sound from within as an alarm clock. | 46:40 | |
| Let not the music always be sweet | 46:49 | |
| because I might continue to sleep. | 46:52 | |
| But let it sound a piercing sound that I can not forget. | 46:57 | |
| A sound that will bringing me to my senses, | 47:03 | |
| the sound that will awaken me | 47:05 | |
| as a trumpet sounding in the night. | 47:08 | |
| A substitute, | 47:19 | |
| or a poor exchange. | 47:25 | |
| For the glory, which is yours. | 47:29 | |
| In Jesus' name, we pray. | 47:38 | |
| Amen, amen. | 47:44 | |
| (organ playing) | 47:51 | |
| (choir singing) | 48:21 | |
| (organ playing) | 51:00 | |
| (choir singing) | 51:48 | |
| (organ playing) | 53:02 | |
| (choir singing) | 53:28 | |
| (organ playing) | 56:55 | |
| (choir singing) | 57:23 | |
| - | As you broke the loaves and fishes of old, | 58:25 |
| so that all might eat, | 58:29 | |
| we pray thee Lord bless these gifts of ours, | 58:32 | |
| that they may serve thy saving mission throughout the world, | 58:36 | |
| both to your glory and to our sense of participation | 58:41 | |
| in your divine life and mission. Amen. | 58:46 | |
| (organ playing) | 58:53 | |
| (choir singing) | 59:24 | |
| Before our concluding moments of meditation, | 1:01:47 | |
| let me say that there will be a memorial service at 12:30 PM | 1:01:50 | |
| for Dr. Menefee who, for years, served the faculty | 1:01:56 | |
| of The Duke Medical Center. | 1:02:02 | |
| I would remind those of you who continue your worship | 1:02:06 | |
| beyond the moments of this service here in the sanctuary | 1:02:10 | |
| to remember that service promptly at 12:30 PM. | 1:02:14 | |
| The Lord bless you and keep you. | 1:02:40 | |
| The Lord make his face to shine upon you | 1:02:44 | |
| and be gracious unto you. | 1:02:47 | |
| The Lord lift up his countenance upon you | 1:02:50 | |
| and give you his peace today and forevermore. | 1:02:54 | |
| (choir singing) | 1:03:06 | |
| (bell chiming) | 1:04:09 | |
| (organ playing) | 1:04:24 |
