Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Essence of Murmuring" (August 16, 1987)

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	("Ave Maria")	0:00
-	Grace and peace to you	2:39
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.	2:40
	We welcome you to this service of Holy Communion	2:43
	at Duke University Chapel	2:45
	on this 10th Sunday after Pentecost.	2:47
	We also extend greetings to those of you	2:50
	in our radio and television audiences.	2:52
	With the beginning of the school year fast approaching,	2:55
	we are looking forward to the return	2:57
	of many students and faculty over the next several days.	2:59
	We are especially glad today to be able to welcome	3:03
	members of the 1987 football team here at Duke University,	3:06
	along with their coaches and their families and friends.	3:10
	We wish them the very best in the coming season.	3:13
	We also extend our appreciation to Miss Laura Baxter,	3:18
	who is providing our solo music for today.	3:21
	Please note the other announcements,	3:25
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	3:27
	And now hear these words of scripture.	3:29
	O sing to the Lord a new song,	3:33
	sing to the Lord, all the earth.	3:35
	For he comes, for he comes to judge the earth.	3:37
	He will judge the world with righteousness	3:41
	and the peoples with his truth.	3:44
	(organ music)	3:49
	(congregation singing)	4:25
-	Since then we have a great high priest	6:21
	who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.	6:23
	Let us therefore draw near with confidence	6:27
	to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy	6:30
	and find grace to help in time of need.	6:33
	Join with me in our prayer of confession.	6:45
	We give thanks, merciful God,	6:50
	that in Christ You seek to unite all things	6:52
	in heaven and in earth, and to reconcile all people	6:55
	to one another and to you.	7:00
	Yes, we confess that the new creation	7:03
	is not yet complete in us, and that we feel everywhere	7:05
	the barriers that separate humanity.	7:10
	Forgive us, and fill us with Your Spirit.	7:14
	Reveal to us those places where pride and selfishness	7:17
	rebuild the walls once torn down in Christ	7:21
	through the power of Your Spirit.	7:26
	Amen.	7:28
	Hear the good news:	7:33
	Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.	7:35
	That is God's own proof of His love toward us.	7:39
	In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	7:44
Congregation	In the name of Jesus Christ,	7:49
	we are forgiven.	7:51
-	Let us pray.	8:01
	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	8:03
	by the power of Your Holy Spirit,	8:06
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	8:09
	we might hear with joy what You say to us this day.	8:13
	Amen.	8:17
	The first lesson is taken from the Book of Exodus.	8:22
	And the whole congregation of the people of Israel	8:26
	murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness	8:28
	and said to them, "Would that we had died	8:32
	"by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt	8:34
	"when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full,	8:37
	"for you have brought us out into this wilderness	8:41
	"to kill this whole assembly with hunger."	8:43
	Then the Lord said to Moses,	8:47
	"Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you,	8:49
	"and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion	8:52
	"everyday, that I may prove them,	8:55
	"whether they will walk in my law or not.	8:58
	"On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in,	9:01
	"it will be twice as much as they gather daily."	9:04
	So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel,	9:08
	"At evening you shall know that it was the Lord	9:11
	"who brought you out of the land of Egypt,	9:14
	"and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord,	9:17
	"because He has heard your murmurings against the Lord.	9:20
	"For what are we, that you murmur against us?"	9:23
	And Moses said, "When the Lord gives you in the evening	9:27
	"flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full,	9:30
	"because the Lord has heard your murmurings	9:33
	"which you murmur against Him, what are we?	9:36
	"Your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord."	9:39
	And Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation	9:44
	"of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the Lord,	9:47
	"'for He has heard your murmurings.'"	9:50
	And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation	9:52
	of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness,	9:54
	and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.	9:57
	And the Lord said to Moses, "I have heard the murmurings	10:02
	"of the people of Israel.	10:04
	"Say to them, 'At twilight, you shall eat flesh,	10:06
	"'and in the morning you shall be filled with bread.	10:10
	"'Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.'"	10:13
	In the evening, quails came up and covered the camp,	10:16
	and in the morning, dew lay round about the camp.	10:20
	And when the dew had gone up,	10:23
	there was on the face of the wilderness	10:24
	a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoar frost on the ground.	10:26
	When the people of Israel saw it,	10:32
	they said to one another, "What is it?"	10:34
	For they said to them, "It is the bread	10:36
	"which the Lord has given you to eat."	10:39
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	10:42
-	Let us join in the responsive reading of the Psalm.	10:53
	Give ear, O my people, to your teacher, to my teaching,	11:05
	incline your ears to the words of my mouth.	11:09
Congregation	I will open my mouth in a parable,	11:12
	I will utter dark sayings from of old,	11:16
	things that we have heard and known,	11:19
	that our fathers have told us.	11:22
Lector	We will not hide their children,	11:26
	but tell to the coming generation	11:29
	the glorious deeds of the Lord and His might	11:31
	and the wonders which He has wrought.	11:34
Congregation	They did not keep God's covenant,	11:38
	but refused to walk according to His law.	11:40
-	They forgot what He had done	11:44
	and the miracles that He had shown them.	11:47
Congregation	They tested God in their heart	11:50
	by demanding the food they craved.	11:52
-	They spoke against God, saying,	11:56
	"Can God spread a table in the wilderness?	11:59
Congregation	"He struck the rock	12:03
	so that water gushed out and streams overflowed.	12:04
	"Can He also give bread or provide meat for His people?"	12:09
	(organ music)	12:14
	(congregation singing)	12:21
-	The gospel lesson is taken from Matthew.	13:15
	And Jesus went away from there and withdrew	13:19
	to the district of Tire and Sidon.	13:21
	And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region	13:24
	came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David,	13:26
	"my daughter is severely possessed by a demon."	13:31
	But he did not answer her a word.	13:35
	And his disciples came and begged him, saying,	13:37
	"Send her away, for she is crying after us."	13:40
	He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep	13:43
	"of the house of Israel."	13:46
	But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."	13:49
	And he answered, "It is not fair	13:52
	"to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."	13:55
	She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs	13:59
	"that fall from their master's table."	14:03
	Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith!	14:06
	"Be it done for you as you desire."	14:11
	And her daughter was healed instantly.	14:13
	This ends the reading of the gospel.	14:16
	♪ Jesus loves me, this I know ♪	14:35
	♪ For the Bible tells me so ♪	14:42
	♪ Little ones to him belong ♪	14:53
	♪ They are weak ♪	15:00
	♪ They are weak but he is strong ♪	15:07
	♪ Jesus loves me, he will stay ♪	15:26
	♪ Close beside me all the way ♪	15:35
	♪ If I love him, when I die ♪	15:45
	♪ He will lead me home on high ♪	15:54
	♪ The Bible, the Bible ♪	16:28
	♪ The Bible tells me so ♪	16:37
-	Neither man nor woman can live by bread alone.	17:13
	That we all know as an eternal truth.	17:18
	But have you ever tried to convince a hungry mob	17:22
	of several thousand sojourners through the wilderness	17:25
	of that fact?	17:28
	It may be easy enough for you and me,	17:31
	surrounded by the splendor of this great house of worship,	17:32
	to proclaim the bounty of God's love this morning.	17:36
	We enjoyed a comfortable bed last night,	17:40
	a hearty breakfast this morning.	17:44
	We each have addresses with our names on our mailboxes	17:47
	and driveways to park our cars in.	17:51
	We even have a community in which we live	17:56
	and groups to which we belong:	17:59
	schools, jobs, churches,	18:01
	neighborhood associations, civic clubs,	18:05
	health spas, athletic teams.	18:08
	These are the building blocks of our days	18:12
	which give us some reason for getting up in the morning.	18:14
	They help us know what is expected of us	18:17
	and what we are to expect of the future.	18:21
	But what about those poor Israelites we heard about	18:25
	in today's Old Testament lesson,	18:27
	uprooted and hungry with no place to call home	18:30
	other than the wilderness itself?	18:35
	I'm hard pressed to imagine the state of mind	18:38
	of anyone who had just lived through the plagues of Egypt,	18:41
	with frogs and gnats and locust everywhere,	18:45
	not to mention hailstorms and darkness	18:49
	and the sudden deaths of all those firstborn children.	18:52
	And as if their hasty escape from Egypt	18:57
	had not been dramatic enough, the Israelites soon faced	18:59
	the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea,	19:03
	with great walls of water rising high above them	19:06
	on either side.	19:09
	While they crossed safely on foot,	19:11
	they turned around and watched the Egyptians,	19:14
	mired in their shiny chariots,	19:16
	being swallowed up by the returning waters.	19:19
	Surely, the Lord had proven Himself	19:23
	to be a God of mighty acts, one who is faithful	19:26
	to his promise to deliver his children	19:29
	from the bondage of Egypt.	19:33
	Now, it may seem to you and me,	19:36
	looking back over some 33 centuries,	19:38
	that that should've been enough.	19:39
	God had promised the Israelites the land of Canaan,	19:42
	a new day lay ahead of them.	19:46
	Let the past be the past, you might say,	19:48
	and get on with the business of sojourning.	19:51
	But as I think we all know from our own experience,	19:54
	promises aren't always enough.	19:57
	There's the day to day business at hand to deal with,	20:00
	like where shall we sleep?	20:02
	And what shall we eat?	20:05
	And so the Israelites began to wonder	20:09
	if they really wanted to be the children of God.	20:10
	Is this what they had bargained for?	20:15
	To roam through the wilderness?	20:18
	If God were so powerful as to drown entire armies	20:20
	in one fell swoop, then why couldn't He put a little meat	20:24
	on the table each day	20:27
	along with a few melons, onions, and garlic?	20:29
	All the things they loved so dearly back in Egypt.	20:33
	But there was no food in that wilderness	20:37
	like there was back in Egypt.	20:40
	By the 45th day into this wilderness journey,	20:44
	the sense of longing for days gone by was too much to bear,	20:47
	and the whole congregation of the people of Israel	20:52
	murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying,	20:55
	"Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord	20:58
	"in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots	21:00
	"and ate bread to the full,	21:04
	"for you have brought us out into this wilderness	21:06
	"to kill this whole assembly with hunger."	21:09
	Note, one of the first complaints by the Israelites,	21:12
	and what would be 40 years worth of complaining.	21:17
	It's a persistent theme throughout the accounts	21:20
	of their wilderness wanderings,	21:23
	that even though the Lord delivered them from their bondage,	21:24
	the people of Israel murmured about food,	21:28
	about water, about Moses' wife, about the enemy,	21:32
	and especially against Moses and Aaron.	21:37
	"For you have brought us out into this wilderness	21:41
	"to kill this assembly with hunger,"	21:44
	they railed at their leaders.	21:46
	No wonder Moses became known	21:49
	for his impatience and frustration.	21:50
	Driven to the point of utter despair,	21:54
	he vented his anger before God.	21:55
	"Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant?	21:58
	"I am not able to carry all this people alone;	22:01
	"the burden is too heavy for me.	22:04
	"If thou wilt deal thus with me, kill me at once,	22:06
	"that I may not see my wretchedness."	22:10
	My heart goes out to Moses in his predicament.	22:14
	As a man who didn't volunteer for this assignment	22:19
	in the first place, why should he take the brunt	22:21
	of their complaints?	22:24
	But Moses was, nevertheless, the man most likely a scapegoat	22:26
	for the faithlessness of the people of Israel.	22:30
	"He led us through the Red Sea,	22:34
	"why can't he provide better rations?"	22:35
	they must've murmured throughout the camp.	22:38
	Have you ever noticed how funny it is	22:41
	that of all the things in the world to complain about,	22:43
	food is one of the most popular?	22:46
	We're dependent upon it for our existence.	22:49
	Babies cry when they don't have enough of it.	22:53
	Children fret when they don't want to eat it.	22:56
	And adults worry over how much and what kind of it to eat.	22:59
	Our own culture idolizes good food;	23:04
	how can we point the finger at the Israelites	23:07
	for their culinary pickiness?	23:10
	But was it only the food about which they were murmuring?	23:13
	A careful reading of the text suggests	23:19
	that it was much, much more.	23:21
	Would that we had died in the land of Egypt	23:24
	was a plea to be repeated throughout the Exodus account.	23:28
	It wasn't simply the meat, seasoned with garlic and onions	23:32
	which they missed.	23:35
	It was the familiarity of the past,	23:37
	the security of knowing what was expected	23:40
	and what to expect.	23:43
	They had the idea all that was somehow worth going back to,	23:46
	even when that spelled slavery.	23:49
	I once knew a woman who had spent many years in prison,	23:54
	most of her adult life, in fact.	23:57
	She had been incarcerated as a teenager	24:00
	for stabbing another woman.	24:02
	As the time approached for her release,	24:05
	she was placed on a work release program,	24:07
	meaning she left the prison during the day	24:10
	to hold a job in the community	24:12
	and returned to her prison cell at night.	24:14
	She began to take great pride in her work	24:17
	and was looking forward to her return to family and friends.	24:20
	Within a month of her anticipated parole,	24:25
	she escaped from her job.	24:26
	An all-points bulletin was issued	24:29
	for her capture as a dangerous criminal.	24:30
	Crushed that she had blown such an opportunity	24:33
	for rebuilding her life, I, as her chaplain,	24:36
	couldn't imagine why she would do such a thing.	24:39
	Was she simply frightened by the absence of walls?	24:43
	Stupid enough to think she'd never get caught?	24:47
	Encouraged by a cohort, perhaps,	24:50
	to set up some elaborate scheme	24:52
	enabling other escapes to occur throughout the prison?	24:54
	It defied explanation.	24:57
	Within a week of the escape, even more surprisingly,	25:00
	she turned herself in.	25:04
	I asked her why she had done that.	25:07
	The best excuse she could offer was her fear of freedom.	25:09
	Better to cling to the security	25:15
	of food and shelter in prison than to take the risk	25:16
	of being a free woman was her line of reasoning.	25:19
	The Israelites, in their murmuring against Moses,	25:25
	enact a classic scene in human history when they, too,	25:28
	shy away from the responsibilities of freedom.	25:31
	Out of their longing for the past,	25:36
	they express their anxiety,	25:38
	their questions about the future,	25:40
	their fear of the unknown, all difficult things	25:42
	to come to grips with in their search	25:45
	or anybody's search for meaning.	25:48
	And so what better way to cover over	25:51
	such uncomfortable feelings than by murmuring	25:53
	and complaining?	25:56
	Complaining passes the buck.	25:58
	It enables the complainer to work around	26:00
	the real issue at stake and to avoid confrontation	26:03
	with that which most often concerns him or her most.	26:06
	Consider, for instance, how the Israelites	26:11
	complained to Moses and to Aaron,	26:13
	blaming them for bringing them into the wilderness.	26:16
	But as Moses pointed out to them,	26:20
	they were really murmuring against God.	26:21
	God had delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh.	26:25
	God had parted the Red Sea.	26:28
	As other instances in the Old Testament demonstrate,	26:31
	God Himself was not averse to hearing out complaints.	26:33
	The psalms are full of laments,	26:37
	not to mention the likes of Job,	26:40
	who had plenty to complain about.	26:41
	Why didn't the Israelites address God	26:45
	rather than Moses and Aaron?	26:47
	Because for them to turn to God in their need	26:50
	would've implied a trusting relationship with Him,	26:53
	one that was willing to risk provoking God's anger.	26:57
	To murmur rather than to pray enabled them to maintain	27:01
	a self-righteous distance from God,	27:05
	where they didn't have to make themselves vulnerable.	27:07
	By murmuring, they could presume to know what was best	27:11
	and not to trust in God's own wisdom.	27:14
	In contrast to this scene, our gospel lesson for today	27:19
	offers a stunning example of a Canaanite woman	27:23
	who had a request to make of Jesus,	27:26
	and she went directly to him.	27:29
	"Have mercy on me, O Lord!	27:31
	"My daughter is severely possessed by a demon."	27:33
	At first, Jesus did not answer her.	27:38
	In a moment of awkward silence,	27:40
	which the disciples seized upon as an opportunity	27:42
	to get rid of her.	27:46
	"Send her away, for she is crying after us."	27:47
	But the woman persisted in her request,	27:51
	not once but three times:	27:53
	"Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs	27:56
	"that fall from their master's table."	27:59
	"O woman, great is your faith," was Jesus' reply.	28:03
	Unafraid to express her need, this woman was not shy	28:07
	about reaching out to Jesus.	28:12
	Even as an outsider, she trusted that Jesus	28:14
	could heal her daughter and he did.	28:16
	Her faith empowered her to move beyond complaining	28:20
	about her own hard luck, the injustice	28:22
	of her daughter's illness, the rudeness of the disciples,	28:25
	or even Jesus, seeming hesitant to respond to her.	28:29
	Without dwelling on the past,	28:34
	this woman looked forward to the future,	28:35
	where she knew the power of God could save her.	28:37
	We don't hear any more of her story after this incident.	28:41
	We can simply imagine that she was more than grateful	28:45
	to receive the gift which Jesus granted her	28:48
	and her daughter.	28:52
	The Israelites were indeed ungrateful,	28:54
	slow to trust, and quick to complain.	28:57
	But what they do remind us of is that	29:02
	just as we cannot live by bread alone,	29:04
	we can't live long without it.	29:07
	Food assumes a priority in our lives out of necessity.	29:11
	To eat any meal together is to meet at the level	29:15
	of our most basic need, and therefore to experience	29:19
	a togetherness which is unique to that occasion.	29:22
	It's hard to preserve your self-righteous dignity	29:26
	with spaghetti sauce on your tie	29:30
	or to keep your distance when asking for tomato ketchup	29:32
	from the other end of the table.	29:36
	Likewise, to come to the table for Holy Communion	29:38
	as we do today, proclaims that there's another way	29:42
	to acknowledge our hunger than by murmuring or complaining.	29:45
	We can draw near to God with the vulnerability of children	29:50
	who can trust that they will be fed.	29:54
	We can have faith that God knows and understands our needs	29:58
	even better than we know ourselves.	30:02
	We can be grateful that the gift of manna	30:05
	is a sure reminder of God's constant love and forgiveness.	30:07
	In the face of a rebellious people,	30:12
	God has proven His love again and again and again,	30:14
	even unto death on a cross.	30:18
	Why would we ever have reason to doubt it?	30:21
	Moses was given the ominous task	30:25
	of forming a community of God's own	30:27
	from a motley group of people.	30:30
	The Israelites had no special qualifications	30:33
	to become children of God, no great spiritual gifts	30:35
	that would enable them to endure	30:39
	the trials of life in the wilderness.	30:40
	They were simply former slaves,	30:43
	human enough to be hungry most of the time,	30:46
	disgruntled and prone to complaining.	30:49
	And so Yahweh instructed Moses to create this community	30:53
	not solely through the proclaiming of ideas	30:58
	but through the day to day struggle of enduring new	31:01
	and perilous experiences together,	31:04
	and in the process, the Israelites would learn	31:07
	the importance of obeying God.	31:10
	Likewise in the Church, God is still in the business	31:14
	of forming communities out of motley groups of people.	31:17
	We can be just as quick to murmur as the Israelites,	31:21
	just as slow to obey the will of God.	31:25
	It is in the sacrament of Holy Communion	31:29
	that God reveals to us His chief method	31:31
	for forming a body fit to be called the body of Christ.	31:33
	Consider that when we commune with each other	31:38
	at this holy table, we pretend just for a few moments	31:40
	that the pita bread and Hearty Burgundy from Kroger's	31:44
	are the body and blood of Christ,	31:48
	that by swallowing them, we are swallowing them	31:51
	into our life, and that there is nothing	31:53
	in earth or on heaven more important than this.	31:56
	We pretend that we aren't really as prone to complain	32:00
	about food as we are to giving thanks for it,	32:03
	that we aren't more forgetful of God	32:06
	than we are devoted to his service.	32:09
	And we imagine that to eat this meal together	32:12
	is to make an important claim about ourselves:	32:16
	that we need not only food but each other.	32:19
	We envision that we can help to fill each other's emptiness,	32:24
	and as for the emptiness that's leftover,	32:28
	at least we're in it together	32:31
	and we might make sense of it together.	32:33
	We look at the faces which surround us	32:36
	and remember Christ died for him,	32:39
	Christ died for her, that hypocrite, that crook,	32:43
	that gossip, that saint, that person in the mirror.	32:48
	We act as if it made a difference.	32:55
	We pretend that it makes sense.	32:58
	And if it seems like a childish thing to do,	33:00
	we become like children.	33:03
	And one day, like the wicked man	33:06
	who wore the mask of a saint to woo the girl he loved,	33:09
	we will be asked to reveal our true selves	33:15
	underneath the mask to find that underneath the saint's mask	33:17
	appears a saint's face.	33:23
	We are formed into the body of Christ	33:29
	by living as if his life made a difference, and it will.	33:31
	Neither man nor woman shall live by bread alone	33:37
	but by everything that proceeds	33:41
	out of the mouth of the Lord.	33:43
	Thanks be to God.	33:46
	(organ music)	33:52
	(congregation singing)	34:29
-	The Lord be with you.	36:59
Congregation	And also with you.	37:00
-	Let us pray.	37:02
	O God who calls us out of bondage	37:14
	and leads us through our wilderness,	37:18
	let the renewed awareness of Your presence here today	37:21
	fortify us for our journey.	37:25
	You do not need us, but yet You choose	37:29
	to extend Yourself in love for us.	37:34
	However, we do need You, and hopefully	37:40
	out of our neediness and the grace which we receive from You	37:44
	we shall become more aware of the needs	37:49
	of our brothers and sisters near and far.	37:51
	And so for persons struggling today with weighty decisions,	37:57
	persons overwhelmed by loss,	38:01
	persons in that deadly morass of boredom,	38:04
	persons frightened at the inevitable march toward death,	38:08
	hear our prayer for Your purposeful and reassuring presence	38:13
	to them on their journey today.	38:17
	And for persons who are at rest from frantic labors	38:21
	and at peace with the world,	38:25
	persons excited at the prospects of a new week,	38:27
	persons steadfast in their joy,	38:31
	hear our prayer for You affirming blessing on their journey.	38:35
	Even now, focus us specifically on those	38:41
	who by name and knowledge we lift up to You,	38:45
	Diane, William, Debby, others.	38:52
	And so let the daily manner of Your love	39:03
	be sufficient for each of us.	39:06
	Amen.	39:10
	Will you take just a moment now, please,	39:15
	to give expression to God's peace among us	39:18
	in extending greetings and welcome	39:20
	to persons who are near you?	39:23
	(congregation murmuring)	39:30
	And now let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	39:59
	(organ music)	40:06
	♪ Last night when I was sleeping there came a dream so fair ♪	42:08
	♪ I stood in old Jerusalem beside the temple there ♪	42:16
	♪ I heard the children singing and ever as they sang ♪	42:25
	♪ I thought the voice of angels from heaven in answer rang ♪	42:33
	♪ I thought the voice of angels from heaven in answer rang ♪	42:42
	♪ Jerusalem, Jerusalem ♪	42:57
	♪ Lift up your gates and sing ♪	43:04
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	43:10
	♪ Hosanna to your King ♪	43:16
	♪ And then I thought my dream was changed ♪	43:37
	♪ The streets no longer rang ♪	43:40
	♪ Hushed were the glad hosannas the little children sang ♪	43:45
	♪ The sun grew dark with mystery ♪	43:53
	♪ The morn was cold and chill ♪	43:57
	♪ As the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill ♪	44:01
	♪ As the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill ♪	44:10
	♪ Jerusalem, Jerusalem ♪	44:24
	♪ Hark! how the angels sing ♪	44:32
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	44:38
	♪ Hosanna to your King ♪	44:45
	♪ And once again the scene was changed ♪	45:05
	♪ New earth there seemed to be ♪	45:09
	♪ I saw the Holy City beside the tideless sea ♪	45:13
	♪ The light of God was on its streets ♪	45:22
	♪ The gates were open wide ♪	45:26
	♪ And all who would might enter ♪	45:30
	♪ And no one was denied ♪	45:38
	♪ No need of moon or stars by night ♪	45:45
	♪ Or sun to shine by day ♪	45:53
	♪ It was the new Jerusalem ♪	46:00
	♪ That would not pass away ♪	46:07
	♪ It was the new Jerusalem ♪	46:14
	♪ That would not pass away ♪	46:22
	♪ Jerusalem, Jerusalem ♪	46:29
	♪ Sing, for the night is o'er ♪	46:37
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	46:43
	♪ Hosanna for evermore ♪	46:49
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	46:56
	♪ Hosanna for evermore ♪	47:04
	(organ music)	47:27
	(congregation singing)	47:42
-	The Lord be with you.	48:42
Congregation	And also with you.	48:44
-	Lift up your hearts.	48:45
Congregation	We lift them up to the Lord.	48:47
-	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.	48:49
Congregation	It is right to give Him thanks and praise.	48:52
-	It is truly right to glorify You, O God,	48:56
	and to give You thanks.	48:58
	For You alone are God, living and true,	49:00
	dwelling in light inaccessible from before time and forever.	49:03
	Fountain of life and source of all goodness,	49:09
	You made all things and fill them with Your blessing.	49:11
	You created them to rejoice	49:15
	in the splendor of Your radiance.	49:16
	Countless throngs of angels stand before You	49:19
	to serve You night and day,	49:21
	and, beholding the glory of Your presence,	49:24
	they offer You unceasing praise.	49:26
	Joining with them and giving voice	49:29
	to every creature under heaven,	49:31
	we acclaim You and glorify Your name, saying,	49:33
	Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,	49:37
	heaven and earth are full of Your glory.	49:42
	Hosanna in the highest.	49:45
	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.	49:46
	Hosanna in the highest.	49:50
	We remember we've joyed the grace	49:52
	by which You created all things	49:54
	and made us in Your own image.	49:57
	We rejoice that You called the people in covenant	49:59
	to be a light to the nations,	50:02
	yet we rebelled against Your will	50:04
	in spite of prophets and pastors sent forth to us,	50:06
	we continued to break Your covenant.	50:10
	In the fullness of time, You sent Your only son to save us,	50:13
	incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of Your favorite one,	50:16
	Mary, sharing our life, he reconciled us to Your love.	50:20
	At the Jordan, Your Spirit descended upon him,	50:25
	anointing him to preach the good news of Your reign.	50:28
	He healed the sick and fed the hungry,	50:32
	manifesting the power of Your compassion.	50:35
	He sought out the lost and broke bread with sinners.	50:38
	Witnessing the fullness of Your grace, we beheld his glory.	50:42
	On the night before he died for us,	50:47
	the Lord Jesus took bread.	50:49
	Giving thanks to You, he broke the bread	50:51
	and offered it to his disciples, saying,	50:54
	"Take this and eat.	50:56
	"This is my body which is given for you.	50:58
	"Do this in remembrance of me."	51:01
	Taking the cup, again he gave thanks to You,	51:05
	shared the cup with his disciples and said,	51:09
	"This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.	51:12
	"Drink from this, all of you,	51:15
	"this is poured out for you and for many	51:17
	"for the forgiveness of sins."	51:20
	After the meal, our Lord was arrested,	51:24
	abandoned by his followers, and beaten.	51:26
	He stood trial and was put to death on a cross.	51:29
	Having emptied himself in the form of a servant	51:33
	and being obedient even unto death,	51:35
	he was raised from the death and exalted	51:38
	as Lord of heaven and earth.	51:40
	Through him, You bestowed the gift of Your Spirit,	51:43
	uniting Your Church, empowering its mission,	51:46
	and leading us into the new creation You have promised.	51:49
	Gracious God, we celebrate with joy	51:53
	the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ.	51:55
	Grant that in praise and thanksgiving,	51:59
	we may be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable	52:01
	in Your sight, that our lives may proclaim	52:05
	the mystery of faith.	52:08
	Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.	52:10
	Send the power of Your Holy Spirit on us	52:16
	and on these gifts, that in the breaking of this bread	52:19
	and the drinking of this wine,	52:22
	we may know the presence of the living Christ,	52:24
	be one body in him, cleansed by his blood,	52:27
	faithfully serve him in the world,	52:30
	and look forward to his coming in final victory.	52:32
	Through him, with him, in him,	52:36
	in the unity of the Holy Spirit,	52:39
	all honor and glory is Yours, almighty God,	52:41
	now and forever.	52:45
	Amen.	52:47
	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	52:48
	Thy kingdom come.	52:53
	Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	52:54
	Give us this day our daily bread,	52:58
	and forgive us our trespasses	53:00
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	53:02
	and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.	53:06
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	53:10
	Amen.	53:16
	The gifts of God for the people of God.	53:17
	(organ music)	53:49
	Let us pray.	1:06:36
	We give You thanks, O mighty God,	1:06:39
	that You have refreshed us through the healing power	1:06:41
	of this gift of life, and we pray	1:06:44
	that in Your mercy, You would strengthen us	1:06:47
	through this gift, in faith toward You	1:06:49
	and in fervent love toward one another,	1:06:53
	for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:06:56
	Amen.	1:06:59
	(organ music)	1:07:16
	(congregation singing)	1:07:57
-	God beneath us for the strength,	1:11:27
	God above us for the challenge,	1:11:30
	God before us for the hope, God behind us for the mercy,	1:11:33
	God within us for the life, God go with us for the living.	1:11:39
	Amen.	1:11:46
	(organ music)	1:12:00

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Essence of Murmuring" (August 16, 1987)

Description:

Sermon start time: 17:13. Sermon end time: 33:48.
In their murmurings against Moses and Aaron, the Israelites demonstrated a basic human reluctance toward the responsibilities of freedom and the uncertainties of the future. This story demonstrates both, as Jesus says, that humans do not live by bread alone, but also that we cannot live long without it. Thus, food is an essential place that we meet God and meet one another in communion. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “The Israelites, in their murmuring against Moses, enact a classic scene in human history when they, too, shy away from the responsibilities of freedom. Out of their longing for the past, they express their anxiety, their questions about the future, their fear of the unknown, all difficult things to come to grips with in their search, or anybody’s search, for meaning.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4ws8j181

Date:

August 16, 1987

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Biblical Book:

Exodus

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0044
ref8382_p1p
uachapelsermaud
duke:321504
dcrmv001044
ark:/87924/r4ws8j181
d8693366-152b-45be-aa8f-cf6c180878ec

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

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This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Essence of Murmuring" (August 16, 1987)

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Duke University Archives