William H. Willimon - "Letting God Be God" (August 23, 1987)

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	(singing in foreign language)	0:00
-	Good morning and welcome to this service	7:47
	of worship, here at Duke Chapel.	7:49
	We thank Mr. Jay Hill, student at the Duke Law School,	7:51
	and member of our chapel choir, for his music,	7:55
	and we are glad to have you with us today.	7:58
	We hope that everyone in the congregation	8:02
	will fill out the information card that is in the bulletin.	8:03
	We're seeking information about the composition	8:10
	of our chapel congregation.	8:14
	We'd like each person to fill out one of those cards,	8:16
	and to drop it in the offering plate	8:19
	when the offering is received.	8:20
	There's some pencils in the pew racks	8:23
	if you need some pencils to use.	8:25
	If, for some reason, you didn't get one of the cards,	8:28
	we hope you'll, at the close of the service pick up one	8:30
	at the hostess's desk at the back of the chapel,	8:33
	and will fill one out.	8:38
	And we will be grateful, not only if you'll fill out	8:40
	the information, but if you're willing to complete	8:42
	a short questionnaire about worship in the chapel.	8:45
	If you'll fill out your name and address,	8:48
	and in a few weeks, a questionnaire will be mailed to you.	8:50
	And we thank you for your help.	8:53
	And now let us continue our worship	8:56
	as we praise the living God.	8:59
	(organ music)	9:03
	♪ Praise to the living God ♪	9:43
	♪ All praise to be his name ♪	9:48
	♪ Who was, and is, and is to be ♪	9:52
	♪ God still the same ♪	9:58
	♪ The one eternal God ♪	10:03
	♪ Before what now appears ♪	10:08
	♪ The first, the last, beyond all thought ♪	10:13
	♪ His timeless years ♪	10:18
	♪ His Spirit floweth free ♪	10:25
	♪ High surging where it will ♪	10:31
	♪ In prophet's word he spoke of old ♪	10:36
	♪ A speaker still ♪	10:41
	♪ Established is His law ♪	10:47
	♪ And changeless it shall stand ♪	10:51
	♪ Deep written on the human heart ♪	10:56
	♪ On sea, on land ♪	11:02
	♪ He has eternal life ♪	11:10
	♪ Implanted in the soul ♪	11:15
	♪ His love shall be our strength and stay ♪	11:20
	♪ While ages roll ♪	11:25
	♪ Praise to the living God ♪	11:30
	♪ All praise to be his name ♪	11:35
	♪ Who was, and is, and is to be, ♪	11:40
	♪ God still the same ♪	11:46
-	O incomparable and everlasting God.	11:56
	You are incomprehensible in your creation,	12:00
	and yet, you are even more incomprehensible	12:03
	in your grace and in your mercy.	12:07
	Our knowledge is feeble and veils your splendor.	12:10
	What are we that your son would come	12:15
	into the world because of us?	12:17
	Not to judge us, but to love us and save us,	12:20
	the Christ who had no place to lay his head,	12:24
	who knew hunger in the desert and thirst on the cross.	12:27
	Oh incomparable, everlasting and merciful God,	12:33
	draw us unto yourself in this hour, as we lift hearts	12:36
	and voices unto you in praise and worship,	12:41
	through Christ our lord, amen.	12:46
-	Remain standing please, and join me	12:54
	in praying the prayer for illumination.	12:56
	Let us pray.	12:58
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God.	13:01
	By the power of your Holy Spirit,	13:03
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	13:06
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	13:10
	Our psalter this morning is the first eight verses	13:17
	of Psalm 138, and may be found in page 599	13:19
	in the rear of the hymnal.	13:25
	May we read it together responsively.	13:27
	I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.	13:36
Congregation	Before the gods I sing Him praise.	13:40
William	I bow down toward thy holy temple	13:43
	and give thanks to thy name	13:46
	for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness.	13:48
Congregation	For thy have exalted thy name,	13:51
	thy name and thy word.	13:54
William	On the day I called, thou didst answer me,	13:57
Congregation	My strength of soul was increased.	13:59
William	All the kings of the earth	14:04
	shall praise thee, O Lord.	14:05
Congregation	For they have heard	14:07
	the words of thy mouth.	14:09
William	And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord.	14:11
Congregation	For great is the glory of the Lord.	14:14
William	For though the Lord is high,	14:17
	he regards the lowly.	14:19
Congregation	But the haughty he perceives from far.	14:21
William	Though I walk in the midst of trouble,	14:24
	thou doth preserve my life.	14:27
Congregation	Thou stretch out thy hand	14:30
	and smite my enemies, and thy right hand delivers me.	14:32
William	The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.	14:37
Congregation	Thy steadfast love, O Lord,	14:40
	endures forever.	14:43
	(organ music)	14:44
	♪ Glory be to our creator ♪	14:52
	♪ Praise to our Redeemer ♪	14:58
	♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪	15:06
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	15:12
	♪ As it was in the beginning now ♪	15:20
	♪ And evermore shall be ♪	15:28
-	You may be seated.	15:37
	The epistle is taken from Paul's letter to the Romans.	15:43
	O the depth of the riches and wisdom	15:47
	and knowledge of God.	15:49
	How unsearchable are His judgements,	15:51
	and how inscrutable are His ways.	15:54
	For who has known the mind of the Lord,	15:56
	or who has been his counselor?	15:59
	Or who has given him a gift that he might be repaid?	16:02
	For from Him, and through Him, and to him are all things.	16:07
	To Him the glory forever, amen.	16:13
	This ends the reading of the epistle.	16:17
	The gospel was taken from Matthew.	16:20
	Now when Jesus came into the district	16:24
	of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,	16:26
	"Who do men say that the son of man is?"	16:30
	And they said, "Some say John the Baptist,	16:33
	"others say Elijah, and others, Jeremiah,	16:37
	"or one of the prophets."	16:41
	He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"	16:44
	Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ,	16:49
	"the Son of the living God."	16:52
	And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona,	16:55
	"for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,	17:01
	"but My Father who is in heaven.	17:05
	"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock	17:08
	"will I build My church, and the powers of death	17:12
	"shall not prevail against it."	17:15
	This ends the reading of the gospel.	17:18
	(organ music)	17:31
	♪ I will lift mine eyes up to the mountains ♪	17:37
	♪ Whence cometh my help ♪	17:51
	♪ My help cometh from God ♪	18:07
	♪ Who hath made the earth and the heavens ♪	18:14
	♪ He will not suffer thy feet to be moveth ♪	18:34
	♪ Nor thy steps to stumble ♪	18:41
	♪ He that keepeth thee will not slumber ♪	18:49
	♪ Behold the keeper of Israel is he ♪	19:00
	♪ That slumbers not, nor sleeps ♪	19:11
	♪ God is my shepherd ♪	19:47
	♪ I want for nothing ♪	19:56
	♪ My rest is in a pleasant meadows ♪	20:03
	♪ He leadeth me where quiet waters flow ♪	20:10
	♪ My fainting soul doth he restore ♪	20:23
	♪ And guideth me in the ways of peace ♪	20:29
	♪ To glorify his name ♪	20:35
	♪ And though in death's dark valley ♪	20:47
	♪ My steps must wander ♪	20:52
	♪ My spirit shall not fear ♪	20:59
	♪ For thou art by me still ♪	21:04
	♪ My rod and staff are with me ♪	21:15
	♪ And they shall comfort me ♪	21:21
-	The late and very beloved Dean of Duke Chapel,	21:55
	Jim Cleland, was once asked what he thought about	21:59
	the practice of having children's sermons.	22:05
	And in response, Jim told a story.	22:10
	I think I've told it before,	22:12
	but I'll tell it again.	22:14
	Jim said there was once a preacher that just loved	22:17
	to give children's sermons, and thought	22:19
	that he gave them quite well.	22:21
	And he, during the service, invited all the boys and girls	22:22
	to come down front, and he began his children's sermon	22:26
	by asking them, "Boys and girls, who can tell me	22:29
	"what it is that lives in a tree and has a bushy tail,	22:35
	"and eats nuts?"	22:39
	One of the little boys said, "God."	22:41
	(congregation laughs)	22:44
	Everything broke up into hysterics, he had to have a prayer,	22:45
	and send the children back to their seats.	22:49
	It was a disaster.	22:51
	The end of the worship service, as everyone was filing	22:54
	out of the church, he pulled the little boy aside,	22:56
	and he says, "Look kid, why did you answer God	23:01
	"when I asked you that question about squirrels?"	23:05
	Little boy looked up at the preacher and he said,	23:09
	"Look, you're a preacher, right?	23:11
	"This is church, right?	23:13
	"You're supposed to be talking about God, not squirrels."	23:14
	(congregation laughs)	23:17
	That relates to the scripture for the day, and the sermon.	23:21
	We're gonna talk about God.	23:27
	For this is what Paul does so beautifully	23:30
	in the letter to the Romans.	23:32
	O the depth of the riches and the wisdom	23:34
	and knowledge of God.	23:37
	How unsearchable are his judgements.	23:39
	How inscrutable his ways.	23:43
	For who has known the mind of the Lord?	23:46
	Or who has been his counselor?	23:49
	Or who has given a gift to God that he might be repaid?	23:52
	For from him, and through him, and to him are all things.	23:57
	To him the glory forever, amen.	24:02
	Now if I really meant to preach this text	24:07
	from Romans rightly, I suppose I shouldn't preach it at all.	24:09
	I should try to sing it, because that's what it is,	24:13
	you know, it's a doxology.	24:18
	It's a hymn that's stuck right here in the middle	24:20
	of Paul's letter to the Romans.	24:23
	It appears out of nowhere, a bit of a hymn.	24:25
	I'm not going to sing it, though.	24:30
	I'm grateful enough that you'll sit for my sermon	24:31
	without testing your patience.	24:34
	Most theologians and most preachers whom I know	24:37
	are just not very good musicians.	24:39
	And that's unfortunate sometimes, because there are times,	24:43
	and there is truth, often the very deepest of truth,	24:48
	that just can't be preached, or reasoned, or argued.	24:53
	It's got to be sung to be done right.	24:57
	Here is Paul, in his letter to the Romans, one of Paul's	25:01
	most mature, closely reasoned theological documents.	25:05
	Paul has been going on and on for some 10 chapters	25:10
	about the unsearchable judgements,	25:13
	and the inscrutable grace of God.	25:18
	Someone has asked at the church in Rome,	25:22
	what about the Jews?	25:26
	Those who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah?	25:29
	Someone else has asked, what about the Gentiles,	25:34
	who have no claim upon the promises of the Jews?	25:37
	Paul's response in a nutshell,	25:42
	is that God's grace is so amazing	25:45
	that it has room even for those in Israel	25:50
	who do not see what we see,	25:53
	even for the Gentiles.	25:56
	Even for those who are sinful and disobedient, Paul says,	26:00
	there is a place in God's great heart, even for them.	26:06
	Even in our sin and disobedience, in God's great hand,	26:11
	says Paul, this is an occasion for grace.	26:15
	And then, as if he's overcome by the thought,	26:20
	as if he cannot stand this prosaic argumentation any longer,	26:25
	Paul breaks into song.	26:31
	Gladys, get over there on the piano.	26:33
	This thing is better sung than said.	26:34
	Okay, who is smart enough to know the mind of God?	26:37
	Have any of us given a gift to God that we could be repaid?	26:40
	Everybody on the chorus, O the depth, the riches,	26:43
	the wisdom, the knowledge of God,	26:47
	how unsearchable his judgements, how inscrutable his ways.	26:49
	Thank you Gladys, not let's get on with the sermon.	26:55
	As I said at the beginning of the service,	27:01
	we're going to do a survey about attitudes	27:02
	about worship among those who worship here in the chapel.	27:06
	And I wouldn't be a bit surprised when the questionnaires	27:10
	are back in, that it is the music of the organ and the choir	27:13
	that fills this place on Sunday morning, not the sermons.	27:20
	Because you know, if you expose yourself to the greatness	27:25
	of God, if you dare on Sunday morning to bring yourself	27:30
	into the presence of the living God,	27:34
	a doxology is more important	27:39
	than a theological dissertation.	27:42
	For prose cracks and strains under the weight of such	27:46
	divine majesty and glory, such inscrutability.	27:51
	I want to argue with a person who says he feels closer	27:58
	to God when he's out on the golf course	28:00
	on Sunday morning than sitting in a sanctuary.	28:02
	I want to argue with the person who says	28:06
	she feels more in touch with the divine	28:07
	as she's sailing in her boat over the waves	28:10
	than listening to a sermon.	28:13
	But in a way, they're right.	28:15
	For how petty, and puny, and foreshortened	28:20
	is so much of our religion when face to face	28:23
	with a living, almighty God.	28:27
	For Paul it wasn't sailing along the waves,	28:31
	or going up on some mountaintop	28:34
	that knocked his theological socks off,	28:36
	but it was confrontation with	28:38
	the unbelievable love and grace of God,	28:40
	whose heart was great enough for all.	28:44
	A God who loved both Jew and Gentile,	28:49
	who was kind to the selfish and the ungrateful.	28:53
	O the depth of the riches and the wisdom of God.	28:59
	And how petty and puny much that passes for religion.	29:06
	One of the most effective defenses against	29:12
	the incursions of God is organized religion.	29:15
	The various churches have become the safest refuge from God.	29:19
	I didn't say that, Malcolm Muggeridge did.	29:27
	I remember hearing Carlyle Marney say from this pulpit	29:31
	that there are four kinds of religion	29:35
	let loose in America that can and should die.	29:36
	The merely emotional, the merely moral,	29:42
	the merely therapeutic, and the merely intellectual.	29:47
	Your God is too small, JB Phillips	29:54
	told an earlier generation.	29:58
	God, resident policeman, parental hangover,	30:00
	grand old man, meek and mild, heavenly bosom,	30:04
	pale Galilean, projected image, little god standing	30:08
	in the place of the real God, said Phillips.	30:12
	In today's gospel, from Matthew,	30:17
	Jesus turns to his disciples and says,	30:22
	"Who do people say that I am?"	30:25
	And the disciples respond, well, Jesus, some say	30:28
	that you're a great prophet, and others say	30:32
	that you're maybe John the Baptist, or Elijah,	30:34
	or Jeremiah, come back from the dead.	30:37
	You see what they were doing?	30:41
	They were responding to Jesus on the basis	30:44
	of what they already knew.	30:46
	They were trying to explain Jesus on the basis	30:49
	of their conventional expectations	30:51
	for how God was supposed to act.	30:54
	Trying to tag Jesus by labeling him	30:56
	with what they already knew.	31:00
	He must be a prophet, or a great teacher,	31:03
	or some miracle worker.	31:05
	And do not we do the same?	31:10
	If left to our own devices, we will define God	31:14
	on the basis of what we already know,	31:19
	and what we already understand, rather than as God.	31:23
	God is the one who loves Israel.	31:31
	God is the God of the old promises,	31:34
	and the ancient books, they said in Paul's day.	31:36
	God is our possession.	31:41
	God is a projection of our highest human ideals.	31:44
	God belongs to our nation.	31:48
	God is our possession.	31:51
	God is George Burns.	31:55
	(congregation laughs)	31:57
	Lest you be wise in your own conceit, says Paul.	31:59
	I want you to understand a mystery.	32:04
	God is greater than our petty boundaries.	32:09
	A person came out of Duke Chapel last summer,	32:17
	a person from California,	32:20
	at the end of the service, and she complained	32:23
	that she felt uncomfortable, pained during the service.	32:26
	I asked her to be more specific.	32:33
	And she said something to the effect	32:36
	that the service was so triumphalistic,	32:37
	it was so militaristic, it was so masculine.	32:42
	I couldn't make sense of what she said.	32:49
	My associate, Miss Ferree-Clark had just preached,	32:51
	and Miss Sparks had just led the choir,	32:55
	and Miss Rossman had played the organ.	32:58
	I had been allowed to have a little prayer,	33:01
	but surely that couldn't have ruined the whole service.	33:02
	(congregation laughs)	33:05
	Well it was that hymn, she said.	33:08
	That hymn you began with, that lift high the cross.	33:09
	It was so triumphalistic.	33:13
	It was so militaristic.	33:16
	It was so masculine.	33:17
	My Jesus, she said, is affirming, and accepting,	33:21
	and loving, and inclusive.	33:25
	God is a California Cooler, I said.	33:30
	Well, you're in North Carolina, and we believe	33:35
	in taking this thing straight.	33:37
	(congregation laughs)	33:39
	But what are we to do?	33:40
	That Sunday, Miss Ferree-Clark had preached	33:42
	on the parable of the rich fool,	33:45
	and it made me downright uncomfortable.	33:47
	Miss Sparks had led an anthem which said in poetry	33:50
	over and over again, God is greater than any of you.	33:53
	The building, the organ, everything had conspired	33:57
	to make us feel small in the presence of such greatness.	34:04
	As a critique of the ways the gender dominated ideology	34:10
	corrupts theology, then feminist theology is helpful.	34:16
	But when used as another excuse to turn God	34:23
	into a projection of our own egos,	34:27
	feminist theology is wrong.	34:31
	But isn't this what we always do?	34:35
	I take my cherished values, I pump them up,	34:39
	I inflate them, and I call that God.	34:41
	God,	34:45
	in a bourgeois culture which places a premium	34:48
	on affirmation, and value neutral ethics,	34:52
	and tolerance for everything,	34:55
	God will be reduced	34:59
	to the great Rogerian therapist in the sky,	35:01
	that approves of everything and damns nothing.	35:04
	Sunday worship will be another attempt	35:09
	by a soothing preacher and a smooth-voiced choir	35:13
	to get God tamed by noon.	35:16
	"Who do people say that I am?", says Jesus.	35:21
	And we respond, some say that you're a source	35:25
	of American virtue, someone who's helpful	35:29
	to keep the kids in line.	35:31
	Others say that you're a leftist	35:34
	revolutionary in combat fatigues.	35:36
	Others say that you're a teacher of great,	35:41
	noble eternal truths.	35:44
	Some people down in Charlotte say that you're	35:46
	the source of material well being.	35:48
	"Who do you way that I am?", says Jesus.	35:52
	But occasionally, thank God,	35:59
	occasionally,	36:04
	when you're in the middle of Sunday morning,	36:06
	or you're in the middle of some theological discussion,	36:10
	or some little something gives your life a glimmer	36:16
	of that mysterious, unfathomable grace	36:22
	which upholds your every waking moment,	36:26
	the great, loving, inscrutable God gets through to you,	36:32
	invades your life, and demands to be taken,	36:39
	not as a projection of you at your best,	36:43
	but as some holy other leading you	36:48
	to a place you've never even been.	36:51
	And then words are not enough, and you just want to sing.	36:56
	I wish that happened more often here in the chapel.	37:04
	But you see, you have a preacher who's uncomfortable	37:08
	with seeing you get too worked up,	37:11
	and you're in a setting where people	37:15
	just don't like to be confused by things they can't explain.	37:16
	But occasionally, even here, especially here,	37:22
	occasionally, the great living, inscrutable God	37:28
	gets through, and somebody wants to sing.	37:34
	A while back, a person told me that he was losing his faith.	37:42
	What is the faith that you're losing, I ask.	37:47
	And he said, well, I no longer believe	37:49
	in the virgin birth of Jesus, and I know that I've got to	37:51
	get past this in order to be a real Christian.	37:54
	And I said, I stand with Paul on this matter	37:59
	of the virgin birth of Jesus.	38:03
	What did Paul say, he asked.	38:06
	I said, well go home in look it up.	38:07
	When you find something, call me back collect.	38:09
	And then I assured him, look, if you stay a Christian,	38:14
	as I expect that you will, you're gonna have	38:19
	a lot worse things to overcome	38:24
	than the virgin birth of Jesus.	38:25
	I mean, before we're done with you, we're gonna have	38:28
	you try to believe that the meek will inherit the earth,	38:30
	and that the poor are royalty,	38:35
	and that you should turn the other cheek.	38:39
	I mean, you've just begun to be confused by the gospel.	38:42
	O the depth and riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.	38:48
	How unsearchable are his judgments.	38:52
	How inscrutable his ways.	38:54
	Now when I was in seminary in the sixties,	38:59
	I was in a church history class.	39:03
	We had in a Russian Orthodox priest, named Father Theotokos,	39:04
	who was to come in and to give us a lecture	39:10
	on the development of the creeds	39:12
	in the history of the church.	39:14
	At the end of his lecture, an earnest student asked him,	39:16
	Father Theotokos, you've told us about the creeds,	39:22
	but I want to know, how is it possible to affirm	39:25
	the creed, even when you don't understand it,	39:30
	even when you have trouble believing parts of it.	39:33
	Father Theotokos looked a little confused.	39:37
	He said, well, what is so difficult, you just say the creed.	39:40
	I believe in God the Father almighty,	39:46
	the maker of heaven and earth.	39:48
	It's simple, anyone can learn it easily.	39:49
	The student persisted.	39:52
	He says, no, wait a minute.	39:53
	I'm saying, how can I, with integrity, affirm things	39:54
	like the virgin birth, even when I don't believe it?	39:59
	Father Theotokos was getting a little aggravated.	40:05
	He said, I'm saying we don't care whether you believe	40:07
	it or not, all we want you to do is just say it.	40:11
	It is the church that believes it, not you.	40:14
	Who are you?	40:16
	(congregation laughs)
	The student persisted.	40:19
	He said, how, with integrity,	40:20
	can I affirm things I do not believe?	40:22
	Father Theotokos came back at him,	40:27
	and he said, how old are you?	40:29
	And he said, I'm 23.	40:31
	Father Theotokos looked relieved.	40:35
	He said, ah, that explains it.	40:36
	You're still ignorant.	40:38
	(congregation laughs)	40:40
	He said, just keep saying it.	40:42
	It will come to you.	40:43
	For some it takes longer than for others,	40:45
	and even if it doesn't come to you,	40:49
	that's okay, it doesn't make it any less true,	40:52
	whether you understand it or not.	40:55
	No one expects you to know everything by 23.	41:00
	That's why we have you say it on Sunday morning.	41:04
	Eventually, you'll get the point.	41:07
	And then he said, you see, we are dealing with God here.	41:12
	We're talking about God.	41:19
	Amen.	41:24
Margaret	Let us stand and unite	41:32
	in this confession of faith	41:34
	found on page 738.	41:39
	I believe in God, the father Almighty,	41:45
	maker of heaven and earth.	41:49
	And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord,	41:51
	who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	41:54
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	41:58
	was crucified, dead, and buried.	42:03
	The third day he rose from the dead,	42:06
	he ascended into heaven,	42:09
	and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,	42:11
	from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	42:16
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,	42:20
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	42:24
	the resurrection of the body,	42:29
	and the life everlasting, amen.	42:31
	(organ music)	42:37
	♪ I sing the mighty power of God ♪	43:18
	♪ That made the mountains rise, ♪	43:23
	♪ That spread the flowing seas abroad ♪	43:28
	♪ And built the lofty skies. ♪	43:33
	♪ I sing the wisdom that ordained ♪	43:38
	♪ The sun to rule the day ♪	43:43
	♪ The moon shines full at his command ♪	43:49
	♪ And all the stars obey ♪	43:54
	♪ I sing the goodness of the Lord ♪	44:01
	♪ That filled the earth with food ♪	44:07
	♪ He formed the creatures with his word ♪	44:12
	♪ And then pronounced them good ♪	44:17
	♪ Lord, how your wonders are displayed ♪	44:23
	♪ Where'er we turn our eyes, ♪	44:28
	♪ If I survey the ground I tread ♪	44:33
	♪ Or gaze upon the skies ♪	44:39
	♪ There's not a plant or flower below ♪	44:46
	♪ But makes thy glories known ♪	44:51
	♪ And clouds arise and tempests blow ♪	44:57
	♪ By order from thy throne ♪	45:02
	♪ While all that borrows life from thee ♪	45:08
	♪ Is ever in thy care ♪	45:14
	♪ And everywhere that I can be ♪	45:20
	♪ Thou God, are present there ♪	45:25
-	The lord be with you.	45:37
Congregation	And also with you.	45:39
-	Let us pray.	45:41
	Most wondrous and glorious God, you are eternal,	45:50
	beyond our imaginations, our understandings, our utterances,	45:57
	and yet you are our help, our light, our salvation.	46:02
	And we call upon you in this majestic place	46:09
	because you are the God who goes before us,	46:12
	who walks behind us, and who stands beside us.	46:17
	We need you O God, for we are faint and weary.	46:23
	Here us as we pray in these spoke words,	46:28
	and in the silent words of all those listening today.	46:31
	We rejoice in the escape and in the safety	46:37
	of the hostage, Charles Glass.	46:40
	For his faith and bravery we give thanks, and for the speedy	46:44
	release of all the other prisoners we pray.	46:49
	We mourn with the loved one of those who died	46:54
	in the fiery crash in Detroit.	46:57
	Have mercy on them and comfort them.	47:00
	We are anxious for those who are in the dangerous,	47:05
	treacherous waters of the Persian Gulf.	47:08
	And we ask for your protection, and for a cessation	47:13
	of the bitterness that causes this conflict.	47:16
	We feel helpless as we look at the wars	47:22
	throughout the world.	47:24
	Break into that chain of hatred, meanness, and madness,	47:26
	which has spilled the blood of countless	47:31
	thousands throughout this globe.	47:33
	Awaken our sleeping and dull spirits to action,	47:38
	so that our deeds may become those	47:42
	which make a difference even yet,	47:44
	To the hopeless and helpless people of the world.	47:48
	Arouse us to the hearts and the fears	47:53
	of the dying in homes and hospitals.	47:55
	Help us to feel the pain of those who are hungry,	47:59
	and the pain of those who struggle to make enough	48:02
	to keep bread on their tables.	48:05
	May that pain in us bring a response of love.	48:08
	Help us to understand the helplessness of those	48:14
	whose bodies and minds are worn out from age or disease.	48:17
	Help us to see the helplessness	48:23
	in the eyes of the sick and the dying,	48:25
	the dispossessed and the downtrodden,	48:28
	and grant to us your eyes and your lips.	48:31
	So that we may speak your words of love	48:36
	and comfort to those who need it.	48:39
	Here us now, we pray, O God.	48:44
	Take these inadequate prayers and redeem these words	48:47
	in your loving mercy, through Christ, our Lord, amen.	48:51
	As we bring our gifts before the Lord,	49:06
	let us hear these words from 1 Chronicles.	49:09
	Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power,	49:14
	and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty,	49:17
	for all that is in the heavens and in the earth are thine.	49:21
	Thine is the glory, O Lord, and thou art exalted	49:26
	as head above all.	49:31
	(organ music)	49:58
	(singing in a foreign language)	53:06
	(organ music)	56:21
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	56:35
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	56:40
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	56:46
	♪ Praise God above ye heavenly host ♪	56:53
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	56:59
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	57:05
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	57:14
	♪ Amen ♪	57:26
-	Let us pray.	57:36
	O God, who can probe the depths of your wisdom?	57:38
	Who can attain the heighth of your vision?	57:43
	Your goodness surrounds and upholds us,	57:46
	like the waters of a great gentle sea.	57:49
	Your mercy envelops us as the sun warms our days.	57:52
	As a mother bends to lift up her child, you stoop to us.	57:58
	You lend an ear to our needs.	58:04
	You rejoice at the sound of our songs of thankgiving.	58:07
	For these and all other evidences of your greatness,	58:11
	we give thee thanks.	58:15
	O God we confess faith in your great mercy,	58:18
	as we now bring these offerings before you.	58:21
	Use them to further the work of your kingdom.	58:25
	We pray, praying as our Lord has taught us.	58:27
	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	58:32
	Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done	58:37
	On earth as it is in heaven.	58:41
	Give us this day our daily bread.	58:44
	And forgive us our trespasses,	58:47
	As we forgive them that trespass against us.	58:50
	And lead us not into temptation,	58:54
	but deliver us from evil.	58:57
	Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,	59:00
	Forever, amen.	59:04
	(organ music)	59:08
-	The grace of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ,	1:01:24
	the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:01:27
	be with you, and remain with you now and always, amen.	1:01:30
	(organ music)	1:01:41

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Letting God Be God" (August 23, 1987)

Description:

Sermon start time: 21:55. Sermon end time: 41:24.
In this sermon, the preacher reminds his audience of the greatness of God and reminds Christians not to put God into the small box of human projection. He wants Christians to be open to the surprise of God’s revelations in life. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “God is greater than our petty boundaries.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r41j97p3m

Date:

August 23, 1987

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Romans

Chapter and Verse:

Romans 11:33-36

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0045
ref8385_ca5
uachapelsermaud
duke:321313
dcrmv001045
ark:/87924/r41j97p3m
4688c0de-df94-4ecf-8997-17cc099bc266

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

See below

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

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William H. Willimon - "Letting God Be God" (August 23, 1987)

Transcript

Item Info

Related Item

Duke University Archives