James H. Charlesworth - "Jesus' Revolutionary Theology" (October 16, 1977)
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- | Duke University Chapel Service of Worship, | 0:04 |
October 16th, 1977. | 0:07 | |
(slow tempo organ music) | 0:12 | |
(hymnal singing drowned by the instrumental music) | 8:21 | |
- | The Psalmist wrote, I was glad when they said | 14:39 |
unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. | 14:43 | |
I greet you in the name and in the Spirit | 14:51 | |
of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 14:53 | |
May the love and mercy of Christ be very real to you | 14:57 | |
in this hour of worship. | 15:03 | |
Let us confess our sin before God. | 15:07 | |
In your presence God, our hearts are moved | 15:12 | |
to all and gratitude, but also touched by a deep disquiet. | 15:17 | |
All things are open before you and no secrets | 15:23 | |
are hid from your eyes. | 15:27 | |
As we feel your eye upon us, our own eyes are clarified | 15:30 | |
and we behold what we truly are. | 15:37 | |
Forgive us for being so deeply involved in deceit | 15:41 | |
and in the secret betrayal of your love. | 15:45 | |
The will indeed is present with us, | 15:49 | |
but how to perform that which is good we know not. | 15:53 | |
Break oh Lord, the chains of our self-love | 15:58 | |
annul by your mercy all the hurt we have done others | 16:03 | |
by our pride, envy and deceit. | 16:07 | |
In your power and wisdom redeem this generation | 16:11 | |
of your children. | 16:15 | |
Bring us out of the tumult and misery of this day. | 16:17 | |
Above all, give us that peace, which passes understanding | 16:22 | |
which the world cannot give or take away. | 16:28 | |
The Lord is gracious and merciful. | 16:51 | |
Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. | 16:54 | |
May the almighty and merciful God grant us pardon, | 17:03 | |
forgiveness and relief from all our sins | 17:09 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 17:16 | |
Amen. | 17:19 | |
(hymnal singing) | 17:22 | |
♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ | 21:46 | |
♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ | 21:53 | |
♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 22:00 | |
- | Will, the congregation stand | 22:18 |
for the reading of the gospel. | 22:20 | |
Hear the reading from the Luke 11:1-13. | 22:27 | |
He was praying in a certain place and when he ceased, | 22:34 | |
one of his disciples said to him, | 22:39 | |
"Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples". | 22:41 | |
And he said to them, When you pray, say Father, | 22:47 | |
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. | 22:53 | |
Give us each day our daily bread | 22:58 | |
and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone | 23:01 | |
who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation". | 23:05 | |
And he said to them, "which of you who has a friend, | 23:11 | |
will go to him at midnight and say to him, | 23:16 | |
friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine | 23:20 | |
has arrived on a journey and I have nothing | 23:23 | |
to set before him. | 23:27 | |
And he will answer from within, do not bother me, | 23:29 | |
the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. | 23:34 | |
I cannot get up and give you anything. | 23:38 | |
I tell you though, he will not get up and give him anything | 23:42 | |
because he is his friend yet, because of his importunity, | 23:46 | |
he will rise and give him whatever he needs. | 23:51 | |
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given you, | 23:56 | |
seek and you will find, knock, and it will be open to you | 24:01 | |
for everyone who asks, receives and he who seeks finds, | 24:08 | |
and to him who knocks it will be open. | 24:16 | |
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish | 24:20 | |
will instead of a fish give him a serpent? | 24:24 | |
Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion? | 24:27 | |
If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts | 24:32 | |
to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father | 24:36 | |
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" | 24:40 | |
Here ends the reading from the holy scripture | 24:47 | |
praise be to God. | 24:49 | |
(hymnal singing) | 24:52 | |
♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 26:05 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 26:33 |
We believe in God who has created and is creating, | 26:37 | |
who has come in the truly human Jesus to reconcile | 26:43 | |
and make new, who works in us and others by the spirit. | 26:47 | |
We trust God who calls us to be the church | 26:54 | |
to celebrate life and its fullness to love and serve others, | 26:59 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 27:05 | |
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen | 27:09 | |
our judge and our hope in life, in death, | 27:13 | |
in life beyond death, God is with us. | 27:19 | |
We are not alone. | 27:24 | |
Thanks be to God. | 27:26 | |
The Lord be with you. | 27:30 | |
Let us pray. | 27:33 | |
Oh God, you who love us and care for us in our times | 27:38 | |
and in the ways of our deepest needs, | 27:47 | |
we give thanks for life, for this day, | 27:52 | |
for this university, for those who have loved it | 27:58 | |
and served it in the past, and for those who live here | 28:04 | |
and love it and serve it now. | 28:09 | |
We give thanks for homecomings of all kinds, oh Lord. | 28:14 | |
For that which draws us back with affection | 28:20 | |
to this place, for the times we go away | 28:24 | |
and return home to family and friends | 28:29 | |
and for that truly blessed homecoming, | 28:35 | |
when our lives find their acceptance | 28:39 | |
in your motherly and fatherly presence. | 28:44 | |
Homecoming, oh, God is good | 28:49 | |
for it is good to have a home to come to. | 28:52 | |
We do give thanks. | 28:59 | |
Oh God hear our prayers now, | 29:04 | |
as we open our lives to you in special ways | 29:10 | |
in the midst of life as we live it and struggle with it, | 29:16 | |
in our frailty and ambiguity before you break through, | 29:21 | |
where there is sin, let there be forgiveness and wholeness. | 29:28 | |
Where there is sickness, let there be healing and health. | 29:34 | |
Where there is hurt let there be relief and ease. | 29:40 | |
Where there is bitterness, let there be calm and communion. | 29:47 | |
Where there is distrust let there be openness and faith. | 29:52 | |
Where there is joy, increase and multiply it's beauty. | 30:00 | |
Where there is contentment, add peace and harmony. | 30:07 | |
Where there is hope, make it strong and sure. | 30:13 | |
Where there is love, let it be celebrated and shared. | 30:19 | |
No one oh, loving God knows the future | 30:27 | |
save you and you alone. | 30:33 | |
Therefore with full faith and abiding confidence | 30:37 | |
we place our lives in your care and in your keeping, | 30:41 | |
hear us as we pray these words | 30:47 | |
and as we pray the prayer our Lord teaches us to pray. | 30:51 | |
- | Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, | 30:56 |
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth | 31:03 | |
as it is in heaven. | 31:08 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 31:10 | |
and forgive us our trespasses. | 31:14 | |
As we forgive those who trespass against us | 31:17 | |
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil | 31:21 | |
for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. | 31:27 | |
Amen. | 31:34 | |
- | On a damp, cool, gray homecoming Sunday morning, | 31:39 |
let me welcome you to this place | 31:47 | |
and to this time of worship. | 31:51 | |
If you are here just for this weekend, | 31:55 | |
we are delighted to have you back and pleased | 31:58 | |
to have you share in this time of worship in this place | 32:02 | |
very special to us all. | 32:06 | |
There are 92 members of the Kappa Delta Sorority | 32:10 | |
on campus now so I'm told. | 32:14 | |
Two of them Ann Butterworth, who works as a volunteer | 32:17 | |
chapel attendant and Kathy Kennedy are spearheading a drive | 32:20 | |
by the Kappa Delta Sorority to raise funds | 32:25 | |
to do some needed repairs to the Chapel Tower, | 32:29 | |
to the roof of the tower so that it can | 32:33 | |
be opened and used again. | 32:35 | |
We hope you will be interested in this | 32:39 | |
and if you are any contribution you might wish to make | 32:42 | |
to help with this project can be sent to the chapel | 32:47 | |
or to the development office with a check made out | 32:51 | |
to Duke University and marked Chapel Tower fund. | 32:54 | |
The tower has been closed now since late spring, | 32:59 | |
we are hoping that it can be opened again soon. | 33:03 | |
It will be open today perhaps to entice you to give | 33:07 | |
I'm not sure about that, but it will be open today | 33:12 | |
from 12:15 until three o'clock. | 33:16 | |
And if you are visiting and would like to go to the tower, | 33:19 | |
you're welcome to do so. | 33:24 | |
Dr. James Charlesworth is one who loves Duke University, | 33:29 | |
one who serves this university and its students | 33:38 | |
with real devotion and effectiveness. | 33:44 | |
He is known as an engaging and provocative | 33:50 | |
and outstanding teacher, highly regarded as a scholar, | 33:55 | |
a warm friend to many in the dorm | 34:02 | |
and in the university community. | 34:05 | |
He is a first rate tennis player, | 34:08 | |
Associate Professor of Christian origins | 34:12 | |
and Director of the International Center | 34:15 | |
for Christian origins, | 34:18 | |
which is located here at Duke University. | 34:20 | |
It is our privilege on this homecoming day | 34:24 | |
to have one of our own preach for us, | 34:26 | |
Dr. James C. Charlesworth. | 34:31 | |
Jim blessings on you. | 34:33 | |
- | Our heavenly Father, you know how unworthy I am, | 34:48 |
but you also know how hard I've tried to prepare today. | 34:53 | |
Speak through me, as only you can, amen. | 34:58 | |
Jesus has revolutionary theology. | 35:06 | |
It is a long way up, it is a long way out. | 35:10 | |
It is a long way from the scholar's desk | 35:15 | |
to the preacher's pulpit. | 35:19 | |
It is a long way from thinking objective and critically | 35:22 | |
to thinking warmly and subjectively. | 35:27 | |
It is a labyrinth to which the scholar must climb. | 35:31 | |
One thing makes it possible to make this journey, | 35:37 | |
the scholar is always a person. | 35:42 | |
Let me tell you a true story, a poignant story. | 35:45 | |
It's a story about three young people, | 35:52 | |
Terry, Joan and Jimmy, they were high school classmates. | 35:55 | |
They went to school together, they ate lunch together. | 36:04 | |
They went to the same church together | 36:09 | |
and they sang in the choir together. | 36:10 | |
One month one was President | 36:13 | |
of the Methodist Youth Fellowship the next month | 36:15 | |
the other one, the third month, the third. | 36:18 | |
While Jimmy was in college he heard the report | 36:24 | |
that Terry had been missing for approximately two months | 36:27 | |
and no one knew where he was. | 36:30 | |
The speculation was perhaps he was camping | 36:32 | |
on the outskirts of the Everglades. | 36:35 | |
The answer came too painfully home | 36:38 | |
when a dog brought home a bone. | 36:41 | |
A few weeks ago, Jimmy heard about Joan. | 36:45 | |
Joan who was asked to leave town by the vice squad | 36:49 | |
because she was found guilty of raiding | 36:55 | |
a house of bad repute. | 36:58 | |
It's a long way up, it's a long way out. | 37:02 | |
And I come forth with this personal conviction | 37:06 | |
that it is through an objective examination of Jesus's life | 37:10 | |
and authentic words that we can begin to see | 37:13 | |
meaning for our own lives | 37:18 | |
and that we can begin together to resolve | 37:21 | |
the crisis of values ness, | 37:25 | |
the loss of values in our culture. | 37:28 | |
Robert Bella has recently published a book entitled, | 37:32 | |
"The Broken Covenant", certain things are axiomatic. | 37:35 | |
Our society can be so cruel and so bitter, | 37:40 | |
it is in need of a genuine cultural renewal. | 37:45 | |
For the last few years it has become quite aware | 37:52 | |
to all of us that our 201 years of history | 37:54 | |
has at times been a history of faithlessness. | 38:01 | |
Faithlessness to our own ideals. | 38:06 | |
Faithlessness to our own set of values. | 38:10 | |
Came home with a Watergate experience. | 38:14 | |
It came home as we renewed and remembered Wounded Knee | 38:17 | |
and it also came home as we began to think about | 38:22 | |
the pilgrims yes, the pilgrims in the genocide | 38:25 | |
of the natives and the genocide of the natives | 38:28 | |
denied the covenant that they had come | 38:33 | |
to the New World to establish. | 38:36 | |
As professor Hertz of the divinity school | 38:39 | |
says quite accurately and perceptively, | 38:41 | |
we indeed have a counterfeit Christianity, | 38:44 | |
a counterfeit Christianity. | 38:48 | |
With this recognition I wish to emphasize two truths, | 38:54 | |
first, we must not put our trust in creeds, | 38:57 | |
we must not put our trust in doctrines, | 39:01 | |
we must put our trust in God, | 39:03 | |
in God as revealed by Jesus. | 39:06 | |
Secondly, we must endeavor always to cut through | 39:10 | |
the underbrush of misinterpretation | 39:15 | |
to the man who comes from Nazareth. | 39:18 | |
We must constantly seek to hear him speak in his own words, | 39:21 | |
to hear him he himself speak. | 39:26 | |
But who was this man? | 39:30 | |
Who was this man Jesus? | 39:32 | |
Recently several very critical, very sensitive | 39:36 | |
and very erudite publications have argued | 39:41 | |
that we should perceive Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet. | 39:44 | |
Another mantle is placed upon the shoulders | 39:49 | |
of the Galilean rabbi. | 39:53 | |
Together this morning let us look and see | 39:57 | |
how this mantle fits and I think as we look at it, | 40:00 | |
we will see at times it is insightful, | 40:05 | |
it is an insightful category, but I think we will also see | 40:08 | |
in what ways it is misleading. | 40:13 | |
Let us look at why the concept of Jesus | 40:15 | |
as an apocalyptic prophet is insightful. | 40:17 | |
According to Mark 1:15, after Jesus was baptized | 40:22 | |
by John the Baptist, he came into Galilee preaching. | 40:27 | |
The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. | 40:30 | |
Repent and believe in the good news. | 40:38 | |
The time is fulfilled. | 40:43 | |
We will never understand what he is talking about | 40:47 | |
until we dig deep into the apocalyptic writings | 40:51 | |
that talk about two ages. | 40:54 | |
The old age that is now groaning to an end | 40:56 | |
and the new age that is beginning to dawn. | 41:02 | |
In the Pseudepigraphical book called, "Fourth Ezra" | 41:07 | |
we read, this age the most high has made for many, | 41:10 | |
but the age to come for a few. | 41:18 | |
Here is the concept of two ages, this age | 41:23 | |
and the age to come. | 41:27 | |
Jesus stands on the dawning new age and proclaims it. | 41:29 | |
The time is fulfilled. | 41:35 | |
The importance of this, both on the lips of the apocalyptic | 41:39 | |
and upon the lips of Jesus is that the present | 41:42 | |
is the time for decision. | 41:46 | |
We learn this clearly from Mark 1:15, | 41:49 | |
the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, | 41:52 | |
repent, repent, and believe in the good news. | 41:55 | |
I think we find this very clearly as we read the passage | 42:05 | |
so familiar to each of us, the passage in the sermon | 42:09 | |
on the Mount, where we have the beatitudes, | 42:14 | |
let me read them again. | 42:18 | |
And as we read them, let us think how Jesus | 42:20 | |
is proclaiming the dawning of the new age, | 42:23 | |
God's new creation. | 42:27 | |
Blessed are the poor in spirit | 42:30 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 42:32 | |
Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. | 42:35 | |
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. | 42:39 | |
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness | 42:45 | |
for they shall be satisfied. | 42:48 | |
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. | 42:51 | |
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. | 42:56 | |
Blessed are the peacemakers | 43:03 | |
for they shall be called sons of God. | 43:04 | |
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake | 43:07 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 43:10 | |
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you | 43:14 | |
in other all kinds of evil against you | 43:16 | |
falsely on my account, rejoice and be glad | 43:18 | |
for your reward is great in heaven for so men persecuted | 43:24 | |
the prophets who were before you. | 43:28 | |
Here I think we find the charge, | 43:32 | |
be free from daily duties that blind us | 43:36 | |
to what is important. | 43:38 | |
Be free to hear God's call to repent and to believe. | 43:40 | |
Be free from personal incrimination of unworthiness. | 43:45 | |
Be free to hear God's call to repent, to believe. | 43:50 | |
As we see Jesus and the apocalyptic together, | 43:56 | |
we must emphasize God kept on talking | 44:01 | |
after the Old Testament was off the press. | 44:05 | |
I must emphasize this, God kept on talking | 44:08 | |
after the old Testament was off the press. | 44:14 | |
We have seen in a certain sense why Jesus | 44:20 | |
can be called an apocalyptic, but let us now go on | 44:22 | |
to see why the concept of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet | 44:26 | |
is only partly insightful and only partly misleading. | 44:31 | |
We turn again to Mark 1:15, after the baptism by John, | 44:37 | |
Jesus comes into Galilee proclaiming the time is fulfilled. | 44:41 | |
The kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is at hand. | 44:46 | |
What does he mean? | 44:53 | |
What does he mean by the kingdom? | 44:56 | |
The kingdom of God, as we look at the apocalyptic, | 44:58 | |
we find that both they and Jesus are arguing | 45:03 | |
that God will be king, he will be king and he will bring | 45:05 | |
an end to this evil world. | 45:09 | |
And one of the Pseudepigrapha we call it, | 45:12 | |
"The Assumption of Moses", in chapter 10 we read, | 45:13 | |
and then his kingdom shall appear, | 45:16 | |
his kingdom shall appear through all his creation | 45:19 | |
and then Satan shall be no more | 45:25 | |
and sorrow shall depart with him. | 45:27 | |
It seems that this document was written during | 45:31 | |
the time of Jesus's public ministry. | 45:35 | |
His kingdom shall appear. | 45:37 | |
We turn to one of the Psalms of Solomon, | 45:41 | |
a document in the pseudepigrapha which was written | 45:43 | |
just a few years before the birth of Jesus. | 45:45 | |
Here, we have this prayer the Psalm. | 45:49 | |
May the Lord hasten his mercy upon Israel. | 45:51 | |
May he deliver us from the uncleanness of unholy enemies. | 45:54 | |
The Lord himself is our king forever and ever. | 45:59 | |
The Lord himself is our king. | 46:08 | |
God shall do it. | 46:13 | |
He shall do it in his time. | 46:15 | |
We find the apocalyptic emphasizing, | 46:17 | |
the king shall bring in his kingship. | 46:21 | |
We find this in the apocalyptic book, | 46:24 | |
in the pseudepigrapha called, "Fourth Ezra". | 46:26 | |
The end shall come, the end shall come through me alone, | 46:29 | |
through me alone and none other. | 46:35 | |
Let us turn to this very moving story in Mark 4, | 46:39 | |
the story about the seed growing secretly. | 46:45 | |
And I think we'll find there this same emphasis | 46:49 | |
in the teachings of this Galilean rabbi. | 46:54 | |
And Jesus said, the kingdom of God is as if a man | 46:58 | |
should scatter seed upon the ground | 47:01 | |
and should sleep and rise night and day, | 47:04 | |
and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. | 47:11 | |
The earth produces up itself, | 47:20 | |
first the blade, then the ear, | 47:23 | |
then the full grain in the ear. | 47:24 | |
But when the grain is ripe at once he puts in the sickle | 47:26 | |
because the harvest has come. | 47:31 | |
The kingdom of God is Jesus begins, | 47:34 | |
the kingdom of God is, and he tells a story about the seed, | 47:38 | |
but the man knows not how. | 47:42 | |
We've seen how Jesus and the apocalyptic | 47:47 | |
both emphasized God's kingdom. | 47:50 | |
Well, this is true that in a certain sense, | 47:53 | |
Jesus shared that we must go on, | 47:56 | |
we haven't finished our work. | 48:00 | |
The apocalyptic had started looking to the future, | 48:02 | |
the not yet event. | 48:04 | |
Jesus is proclaiming quite clearly God's kingdom | 48:07 | |
is now dawning, even now. | 48:10 | |
Just prior to the passage we read a few moments ago | 48:14 | |
from the Psalms of Solomon we find this passage | 48:17 | |
and it becomes very clear that that kingdom | 48:20 | |
is not yet, blessed be they that shall be in those days. | 48:22 | |
And that they shall see the good fortune of Israel | 48:29 | |
which God shall bring to pass | 48:32 | |
in the gathering of the tribes. | 48:34 | |
How very different, how very different indeed, | 48:36 | |
than this Galilean rabbi. | 48:40 | |
Once we turn to look for, we find that | 48:43 | |
he has just read from Isaiah 61. | 48:46 | |
And then he turns to the group in the synagogue | 48:50 | |
and he says, today, today, this scripture | 48:52 | |
has been fulfilled in your hearing. | 49:00 | |
In Matthew 3:10 we find John the Baptist | 49:10 | |
emphasizing something that Jesus himself picks up. | 49:15 | |
Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees, even now. | 49:19 | |
In John 4, the woman of Samaria says to Jesus, | 49:30 | |
I know that the Messiah is coming and Jesus responds, | 49:33 | |
I who speak to you am he. | 49:37 | |
We find similarity, but we also find tremendous | 49:41 | |
difference here in this proclamation of God's kingdom. | 49:43 | |
God kept on talking after the apocalypse | 49:48 | |
had put him to rest, I must emphasize this. | 49:52 | |
God kept on talking after the apocalyptic | 49:56 | |
had put him to rest. | 49:59 | |
We move on now to ask, in what way Jesus | 50:02 | |
can not be perceived as an apocalyptic prophet. | 50:09 | |
Here we begin to see Jesus's revolutionary concept of God. | 50:14 | |
The apocalyptic say that God is no longer involved | 50:19 | |
in history, is no longer involved with his creation, | 50:23 | |
he is withdrawn, he is the absentee landlord. | 50:26 | |
In Maccabees 3, one of the pseudepigrapha we read, | 50:31 | |
for man cannot reach thy dwelling place. | 50:36 | |
Man cannot reach thy dwelling place. | 50:39 | |
In the Sibylline Oracles 5, we find the statement, | 50:44 | |
the immortal God who dwells in heaven | 50:48 | |
and in the proceeding chapter of the Sibylline Oracles | 50:54 | |
we read, be sure that God is no more of tender mercy. | 50:57 | |
Jesus says, no, no two such concepts of God. | 51:04 | |
And with the brilliant simplicity, he talks about | 51:10 | |
the newness and presentness of God, | 51:14 | |
the loving ness and the involved ness of God. | 51:16 | |
Sometimes we forget how attractive simple language can be. | 51:20 | |
Let me tell a story that I think brings that home. | 51:26 | |
At the end of last century, a man by the name of Finnegan, | 51:31 | |
an Irish railroad foreman had an unfortunate accident, | 51:34 | |
his train went off the tracks. | 51:41 | |
With great care he filed a report describing the time, | 51:44 | |
the place and all the persons involved, | 51:50 | |
attempting to give a full picture of the problem. | 51:55 | |
His superior Flanigan told him, | 52:00 | |
don't be so farbous speak simply. | 52:05 | |
As you might imagine, the train again goes off the track | 52:11 | |
and Finnegan in brilliant simplicity sends this message, | 52:18 | |
Master Flanagan, off again, and again, | 52:24 | |
away again, Finnegan. | 52:31 | |
Off again, on again, away again, Finnegan. | 52:35 | |
Here we find language that is brilliantly simple | 52:40 | |
and so in the sayings of Jesus we find | 52:46 | |
a very brilliant simplicity. | 52:49 | |
Look with me at Mark 11:27, where Jesus says, | 52:53 | |
God, no, he is not God of the dead, but of the living. | 52:57 | |
He is near, he is present. | 53:03 | |
And let us turn to the passage that was read so brilliantly | 53:07 | |
this morning by Dr. Cleveland, | 53:10 | |
the passage that talks about God as the loving Father, | 53:14 | |
Luke 11-13. | 53:19 | |
What father among you if he has a son ask for a fish | 53:22 | |
was instead of a fish give him a serpent? | 53:26 | |
Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion. | 53:29 | |
If you then who are evil know how to give | 53:31 | |
good gifts to your children, how much more | 53:35 | |
would the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit | 53:38 | |
to those who ask him. | 53:44 | |
A loving father, a loving father is Jesus's concept of God. | 53:46 | |
God kept on talking and Jesus knew this best, | 53:52 | |
I must emphasize this. | 53:56 | |
God kept on talking and Jesus knew this best. | 53:58 | |
Strickland Gillilan who was an American humorist | 54:06 | |
who wrote a poem that was his most famous poem, | 54:10 | |
most of you know it it's called, "Finnegan", | 54:14 | |
wrote another poem that I think brings home | 54:18 | |
what we're beginning to see. | 54:22 | |
Brings home how God speaks to us from the Bible | 54:25 | |
and also from the books, the books once considered | 54:28 | |
part of the Bible by many early Jews | 54:32 | |
and many early Christians. | 54:34 | |
Strickland Gilligan wrote, I think God kept on talking | 54:36 | |
when his book had gone to press, that he continue speaking | 54:42 | |
to the listening souls of men. | 54:47 | |
I think his voice is busy yet to teach and guide and bless, | 54:50 | |
that every time we ask for light, he calls to us again. | 54:56 | |
I think God kept on talking, when his book had gone to press | 55:03 | |
exploding on the consciousness of our society | 55:13 | |
is a phenomenon that is evident almost everywhere you turn, | 55:15 | |
you see it on sweat shirts, on t-shirts. | 55:20 | |
You hear it on the radio, | 55:23 | |
it is almost omniscient on the tube, it is "Star Wars". | 55:25 | |
So attractive story, we have enjoyed it, | 55:33 | |
we have talked about it. | 55:36 | |
We have sung to its music, but have we stopped and thought, | 55:38 | |
have we stopped and thought | 55:42 | |
will sin and hate pour into eternity? | 55:44 | |
Is that what is in the future? | 55:49 | |
Certainly now is the time to make that decision | 55:53 | |
for our descendants. | 55:55 | |
We began by talking about how the scholars room | 55:59 | |
sometime is isolated by his environment, | 56:02 | |
but at times we get clear evidence of what's been going on. | 56:05 | |
We send letters to Berlin requesting | 56:10 | |
copies of precious manuscripts and the German reply | 56:12 | |
comes back, lost during the war. | 56:15 | |
Our research shows us that there are numerous manuscripts | 56:20 | |
that we must have from Dresden, | 56:22 | |
but we know there's no use to write. | 56:25 | |
The horrors of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Auschwitz, | 56:28 | |
a century of barbed wire, fences of tear gas, | 56:32 | |
and destruction of great cities and of all too frequent | 56:36 | |
assassinations has brought home to us the mandate. | 56:38 | |
Now, is the time. | 56:44 | |
Is "Star Wars" a proleptic vision of tomorrow? | 56:48 | |
Is that what we are bequeathing to Michelle, | 56:52 | |
to Eve, to James and to our children? | 56:55 | |
Or shall we listen to one who keeps on talking? | 56:59 | |
Last Sunday we read the confession that was an adaptation | 57:03 | |
of Martin Luther king Jr's writings, I'll read it again. | 57:06 | |
Oh God, we confess that we share some responsibility | 57:11 | |
that our world is filled with ragged | 57:14 | |
and hungry masses of your children. | 57:15 | |
It is torn between tensions of East and West, | 57:19 | |
white and black that are cultural and spiritual power lags | 57:21 | |
so far behind our technological capabilities | 57:26 | |
that we live with the possibility of nuclear, | 57:30 | |
coal annihilation. | 57:32 | |
Turn us around, oh God, turn this around. | 57:35 | |
Will we listen to the one who keeps on talking? | 57:40 | |
I think we've seen that the mantle | 57:44 | |
of the apocalyptic prophet does not fit | 57:46 | |
on the shoulders of the Galilean rabbi. | 57:48 | |
It is too small, he is too big. | 57:51 | |
Once again, scholars layman's attempts to find a category, | 57:54 | |
a title for Jesus that can be easily fitted away | 57:59 | |
into the categories of our systems | 58:05 | |
and to file him away as one understood. | 58:08 | |
Once again, we find one who is immeasurably great. | 58:14 | |
The one without a name and without a title | 58:20 | |
and the one who comes to us and calls us. | 58:24 | |
I think God keeps on talking, but we must do the rest. | 58:27 | |
I think God keeps on talking and we must do the rest. | 58:33 | |
Our heavenly Father, speak thy servants heareth. | 58:41 | |
(organ music) | 58:58 | |
(hymnal singing drowned by instruments) | 59:20 | |
(organ music) | 1:01:08 | |
(opera singing) | 1:02:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:08:26 | |
(hymnal singing drowned by instruments) | 1:08:32 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:08:46 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:08:50 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:09:07 | |
- | Oh God, accept now these offerings we bring | 1:09:18 |
from full and glad and grateful hearts. | 1:09:22 | |
Much have we received oh God, | 1:09:26 | |
we know much is expected from us. | 1:09:29 | |
As we give, will you receive and bless | 1:09:33 | |
and multiply our gifts. | 1:09:37 | |
Touch our lives with your grace | 1:09:40 | |
so that love might fill our hearts and move | 1:09:42 | |
through our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 1:09:46 | |
Amen. | 1:09:53 | |
(hymnal singing) | 1:09:56 | |
- | Now without bowing heads or closing eyes, | 1:14:23 |
may I offer you this blessing in the name of Christ. | 1:14:26 | |
The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, | 1:14:31 | |
the love of God, | 1:14:36 | |
the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you | 1:14:38 | |
and with those whom you love this day and forever. | 1:14:43 | |
♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ | 1:14:51 | |
♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ | 1:15:12 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 1:15:58 | |
(indistinct chatter) |