Chester Williams - "That Special Race" (July 10, 1988)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Praise and peace to you on this | 2:47 |
seventh Sunday after Pentecost. | 2:49 | |
We welcome each of you to this service of worship | 2:51 | |
here at Duke University Chapel. | 2:53 | |
And pray that you will receive a blessing during this hour. | 2:55 | |
We extend special greetings to our many visitors | 2:58 | |
who come to us from across the country at this time of year. | 3:01 | |
And if we may offer you any special assistance | 3:04 | |
here at the chapel, please do not hesitate to let us know. | 3:06 | |
We also extend greetings to those of you in our | 3:10 | |
radio and television audiences. | 3:12 | |
Our guest preacher for this morning | 3:15 | |
is the Reverend Doctor Chester Williams, associate professor | 3:17 | |
at the Boston University School of Theology. | 3:20 | |
Dr. Williams has a wide range of experience, | 3:23 | |
both as professor and preacher. | 3:25 | |
And he is also well known as a community activist, | 3:28 | |
having received numerous awards for his involvements | 3:31 | |
in a variety of cities. | 3:34 | |
We welcome Dr. Williams to our pulpit this morning. | 3:36 | |
We also welcome our summer choir | 3:39 | |
back to the chapel services after a brief holiday. | 3:41 | |
And we remind all interested singers that you are | 3:44 | |
invited to join the choir, no audition is required. | 3:47 | |
Please note the remaining announcements | 3:51 | |
as they are printed in your bulletins. | 3:53 | |
And now let us continue our worship. | 3:55 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 4:02 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 4:12 | |
(singing hymns) | 4:39 | |
(organ music) | 5:52 | |
("Come, ye that love the Lord") | 6:34 | |
- | Let us pray. | 10:47 |
Almighty God unto whom our hearts are open, | 10:50 | |
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. | 10:53 | |
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration | 10:59 | |
of thy holy spirit that we may perfectly love thee | 11:02 | |
and worthily magnify thy holy name through Christ our Lord. | 11:07 | |
Amen. | 11:13 | |
- | Let us pray. | 11:24 |
Open our hearts and minds oh God | 11:27 | |
by the power of your holy spirit | 11:30 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed | 11:33 | |
we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen. | 11:37 | |
The first lesson is taken from the book of Ecclesiastes. | 11:44 | |
But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, | 11:50 | |
how the righteous and the wise and their deeds | 11:55 | |
are in the hand of God. | 12:00 | |
Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. | 12:03 | |
Everything before them is vanity since one fate | 12:09 | |
comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, | 12:13 | |
to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, | 12:17 | |
to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. | 12:23 | |
As is the good man, so is the sinner. | 12:29 | |
And he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. | 12:33 | |
This is an evil and all that is done under the sun, | 12:39 | |
that one fate comes to all. | 12:44 | |
Also the hearts of men are full of evil, | 12:48 | |
and madness is in their hearts while they live. | 12:51 | |
And after that they go to the dead. | 12:55 | |
But he who is joined with the living has hope | 12:59 | |
for a living dog is better than a dead lion. | 13:04 | |
For the living know that they will die, | 13:09 | |
but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, | 13:13 | |
but the memory of them is lost. | 13:18 | |
Their love and their hate and their envy | 13:22 | |
have already perished, and they have no more forever | 13:26 | |
in any share in all that is done under the sun. | 13:31 | |
Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, | 13:36 | |
and drink your wine with a merry heart, | 13:40 | |
for God has already approved what you do. | 13:43 | |
Let your garments be always white, | 13:48 | |
let not oil be lacking on your head. | 13:51 | |
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your | 13:55 | |
vain life which he has given you under the sun. | 14:00 | |
Because it is your portion in life, and in your toil | 14:05 | |
at which you toil under the sun. | 14:10 | |
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. | 14:14 | |
For there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom | 14:20 | |
in Sheol, to which you are going. | 14:26 | |
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, | 14:30 | |
nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, | 14:36 | |
nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to men of skill, | 14:41 | |
but time and chance happen to them all. | 14:48 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 14:53 | |
- | Let us rise and read responsibly Psalm 138 | 15:06 |
number 599 in the hymnal. | 15:11 | |
I give thee thanks oh Lord with my whole heart. | 15:19 | |
Crowd | Before the gods I sing thy praise. | 15:23 |
- | I bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks | 15:26 |
to thy name for your steadfast love and thy faithfulness. | 15:30 | |
Crowd | For God has exalted above everything. | 15:35 |
- | On the day I called, thou didst answer me. | 15:40 |
Crowd | My strength of soul thou has increased. | 15:43 |
- | All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, oh Lord. | 15:47 |
Crowd | For they have heard the words of God. | 15:51 |
- | And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord. | 15:55 |
Crowd | For great is the glory of the Lord. | 15:58 |
- | For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, | 16:01 |
Crowd | But the haughty he knows from afar. | 16:05 |
- | Though I walk in the midst of trouble, | 16:08 |
thou didst preserve my life. | 16:11 | |
Crowd | Thou hast stretched out thy hand | 16:14 |
against the wrath of my enemies, | 16:16 | |
and thy right hand delivers me. | 16:18 | |
- | The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. | 16:21 |
Crowd | Thy steadfast love, oh Lord, endures forever. | 16:24 |
(organ music) | 16:29 | |
♪ Glory be to the father ♪ | 16:38 | |
♪ Praise to glory ♪ | 16:44 | |
♪ Glory be to the father ♪ | 16:51 | |
♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ | 17:07 | |
♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪ | 17:13 | |
- | The second lesson is taken | 17:36 |
from Paul's letter to the Hebrews. | 17:39 | |
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great | 17:43 | |
a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, | 17:47 | |
and sin which clings so closely. | 17:53 | |
And let us run with perseverance | 17:56 | |
the race that is set before us. | 17:59 | |
Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. | 18:03 | |
Who for the joy that was set before him | 18:09 | |
endured the cross, despising the shame, | 18:13 | |
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. | 18:17 | |
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against | 18:23 | |
himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. | 18:29 | |
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted | 18:36 | |
to the point of shedding your blood. | 18:40 | |
And have you forgotten the exhortation | 18:44 | |
which addresses you as son? | 18:47 | |
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, | 18:50 | |
nor lose courage when are punished by him. | 18:57 | |
For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, | 19:02 | |
and chastises every son whom he receives. | 19:06 | |
It is for discipline that you have to endure. | 19:13 | |
God is treating you as sons. | 19:18 | |
For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? | 19:22 | |
If you are left without discipline, | 19:27 | |
in which all have participated, | 19:30 | |
then you are illegitimate children and not sons. | 19:33 | |
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us | 19:38 | |
and we respected them. | 19:42 | |
Shall we not much more be subject | 19:46 | |
to the father of spirits and live? | 19:49 | |
For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, | 19:54 | |
but he disciplines us for our good, | 19:59 | |
that we may share his holiness. | 20:04 | |
For the moment all discipline seems painful | 20:08 | |
rather than pleasant, later it yields the peaceful fruit | 20:12 | |
of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. | 20:17 | |
This ends the reading of the second lesson. | 20:23 | |
(singing hymn) | 21:00 | |
- | The gospel is taken from the book of Matthew. | 24:42 |
Jesus left the temple and was going away. | 24:48 | |
When his disciples came to point out to him | 24:52 | |
the buildings of the temple. | 24:56 | |
But he answered them. | 24:59 | |
You see all these, do you not? | 25:01 | |
Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here | 25:04 | |
one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. | 25:10 | |
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, | 25:16 | |
the disciples came to him privately, saying, | 25:19 | |
tell us, when will this be? | 25:23 | |
And what will be the sign of your coming? | 25:26 | |
And of the close of the age? | 25:30 | |
And Jesus answered them, take heed that | 25:34 | |
no one leads you astray. | 25:38 | |
For many will come in my name, saying, | 25:41 | |
I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. | 25:44 | |
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. | 25:50 | |
See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place. | 25:56 | |
But the end is not yet. | 26:01 | |
For nation will rise against nation, | 26:04 | |
and kingdom against kingdom, | 26:08 | |
and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. | 26:11 | |
All this are but the beginning of the birth pains. | 26:16 | |
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation | 26:22 | |
and put you to death, and you will be hated | 26:25 | |
by all nations for my name's sake. | 26:29 | |
And then many will fall away, and betray one another, | 26:33 | |
and hate one another, and many false prophets | 26:38 | |
will arise and lead many astray. | 26:42 | |
And because wickedness is multiplied, | 26:46 | |
most men's love will grow cold. | 26:49 | |
But he who endures to the end will be saved. | 26:53 | |
This ends the reading of the gospel. | 27:00 | |
- | Therefore since we are surrounded by so great | 27:14 |
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside | 27:16 | |
every weight and sin which clings so closely. | 27:20 | |
And run this race with perseverance that was set before us | 27:25 | |
looking to Jesus, the author and finisher | 27:30 | |
of our faith. | 27:35 | |
It is a real honor for me to be here at this historic | 27:39 | |
center of righteousness today. | 27:43 | |
Not only because of those great preachers and scholars | 27:46 | |
and have stood in this pulpit, but because this chapel | 27:50 | |
may be the sacred place in which new prophetic | 27:54 | |
and apostolic voices will be born. | 27:58 | |
Voices that will proclaim the good news of our savior | 28:01 | |
here in Durham, and in the nation, and throughout the world. | 28:05 | |
That is my prayer. | 28:10 | |
To William Wilomen and Nancy Ferry Clark, | 28:14 | |
and to William Joseph II and his lovely wife Rebecca who | 28:19 | |
invited me here and have made my stay comfortable | 28:24 | |
the last 24 hours, and to those of you | 28:27 | |
who are gathered today in the name of the Lord. | 28:30 | |
Two weeks today in Dakar, Senegal | 28:35 | |
I'd taken 18 North Americans to share the gospel in | 28:39 | |
Banjul and Basse, Gambia. | 28:44 | |
We stood outside of our hotel, there in Dakar, | 28:47 | |
and I said to that gathering that | 28:51 | |
we will now go to that place, Banjul and Basse, | 28:54 | |
to magnify the Lord and to worship him. | 28:59 | |
It is so clear to me today, | 29:04 | |
hearing the powerful singing of this great choir and | 29:07 | |
to feel God's presence here that we have come | 29:10 | |
into this place to magnify the Lord and to worship him. | 29:14 | |
Because I'm on the road about 80% of the time, | 29:21 | |
I have a good chance to do some cross regional | 29:25 | |
and cross cultural, indeed cross racial comparisons | 29:29 | |
with respect to our particular theology | 29:35 | |
on evangelism and missions. | 29:37 | |
And of course I can also index how I'm personally received | 29:41 | |
when on the circuit, let that not sound egocentric. | 29:44 | |
I taught at BU for the last three and a half years | 29:49 | |
and moving throughout southern New England, | 29:52 | |
Maine and New Hampshire, | 29:55 | |
I've oftentimes felt when going into these | 29:57 | |
mostly United Methodist churches that | 30:00 | |
Sidney Poitier must've felt when Katherine Hepburn | 30:03 | |
told Spencer Tracy guess who came to eat. | 30:07 | |
I have sometimes felt like when there in New England, | 30:11 | |
those saying guess who came to preach. | 30:14 | |
But my experiences have not only been somewhat cryptic | 30:18 | |
in New England, I've had some in the South as well. | 30:22 | |
About a year ago I was riding down in the Romney district | 30:26 | |
there in West Virginia, I'd been invited to come | 30:29 | |
and share Evangelism dialogue with some United Methodist | 30:33 | |
churches in the Romney district. | 30:36 | |
And I'm from that part of the world originally, I was born | 30:39 | |
in the mountains down around Bluefield, West Virginia. | 30:41 | |
And I saw this sign on the road which said | 30:45 | |
welcome to the friendliest city in America. | 30:48 | |
So being from West Virginia and seeing that sign, | 30:52 | |
I really felt at home. | 30:54 | |
So I'm driving my little rented car down the road, | 30:57 | |
and in back of me there was a man in a pickup truck. | 31:01 | |
This was a very large man, about 300 pounds. | 31:05 | |
Had a big hat on his head, and he had no shirt on, | 31:10 | |
and he had a six pack in one hand, | 31:14 | |
I'm sure every can was open. | 31:15 | |
And he said to me in this friendly city in America, | 31:18 | |
"Move on." | 31:23 | |
And of course, you might imagine he used one of those | 31:25 | |
epithets, so I was sitting thinking, | 31:29 | |
should I now get out of my car and in the name of Christ | 31:33 | |
go back and challenge him saying to me, "Move on." | 31:37 | |
So I looked in my rear view mirror and saw that this was | 31:42 | |
one big man, you all. | 31:45 | |
So I did not wanna be a Joshua or Moses that day, | 31:49 | |
so you all know what I did? | 31:52 | |
I just moved on. | 31:54 | |
So I've had some experiences throughout North America, | 31:57 | |
but glad to be here in Durham here at this | 32:00 | |
great chapel here today. | 32:03 | |
There are many metaphors in God's word | 32:06 | |
that used to describe our pilgrimage, our Christian journey. | 32:08 | |
One of those is concept race. | 32:14 | |
It's used an awful lot in the New Testament. | 32:17 | |
Paul said in Acts 20:24, that I consider my life nothing | 32:21 | |
if only I may finish the race. | 32:27 | |
To those deceived Christians there in Galitia, | 32:31 | |
Paul said to them who had been lured | 32:36 | |
back into some old habits, and to a maladaptive theology | 32:38 | |
that you did at one time run well. | 32:43 | |
In 1 Timothy 4, Paul says again | 32:48 | |
that I have finished the race, | 32:52 | |
and I have kept the faith. | 32:56 | |
What I wanna suggest to you today is that we are in a race. | 32:59 | |
It's a shared race in struggle. | 33:04 | |
For those persons that want to be sweet talked all the way | 33:08 | |
to glory land, this is really not the race for you. | 33:11 | |
I'm reminded when I'm in Basse, Gambia, | 33:16 | |
or when I'm in Boston, even when in Brooklyn, New York, | 33:19 | |
that we Christians are called to a special kind of race. | 33:24 | |
We sing a song in my own church tradition which goes like | 33:29 | |
this, that when the battle is over, we shall wear a crown. | 33:33 | |
But in Basse and Brooklyn, it is clear to me that the battle | 33:37 | |
is not over yet, and the race has not been completed. | 33:42 | |
The race for New Testament justice among all believers | 33:47 | |
is not over yet, in international missions there in Senegal | 33:52 | |
where I've had a chance to do some observation, | 33:56 | |
it is clear to me that the race there isn't over. | 34:00 | |
For I'm sad to report to you that there are | 34:04 | |
those missionaries for whom I pray everyday there. | 34:07 | |
Missionaries whose children ride bicycles and skateboards. | 34:11 | |
And the children of those Senegalese converts | 34:17 | |
walk around with no shoes on their feet, | 34:20 | |
and no food in their bellies. | 34:23 | |
I come back to North America and say then that | 34:26 | |
the race really isn't over. | 34:29 | |
It's a race of continued struggle. | 34:31 | |
In some respects, I'm clear on this fact as well, | 34:34 | |
that the African Christian is in some ways | 34:37 | |
under cultural and theological siege there in Gambia. | 34:41 | |
Just four weeks ago, I went there to do some | 34:46 | |
bilateral conversation with the Gambian church | 34:50 | |
around what for them was the first African-American | 34:55 | |
gospel preaching event in that part of the world. | 34:58 | |
Not only was I snubbed by the Southern Baptists there, | 35:03 | |
snubbed religiously and I also think racially, | 35:08 | |
I was bothered by some other things, saints of God. | 35:12 | |
For there on that small church wall, | 35:16 | |
I saw a very large picture. | 35:19 | |
A picture of the Lord Jesus. | 35:22 | |
And I share with you as God's people | 35:25 | |
my trouble about the picture. | 35:28 | |
About five feet high, it was indeed a picture | 35:30 | |
which depicted Christ with longer hair | 35:34 | |
than I've ever seen depicted before. | 35:37 | |
His eyes were bluer than I've ever seen him | 35:40 | |
painted here in North America, | 35:42 | |
and his features were more Nordic than I've ever observed. | 35:45 | |
And then I was told that a young African boy | 35:51 | |
painted that picture. | 35:54 | |
I suggest to you friends of Christ that | 35:58 | |
we church women and church men are still | 36:00 | |
in a race of struggle, both here and abroad. | 36:04 | |
The race isn't over yet. | 36:07 | |
We are still engaging the enemy on every front. | 36:10 | |
When power brokers and multinational corporations | 36:14 | |
continue to commit transgressions by polluting | 36:18 | |
our air and our water, | 36:22 | |
when their accounts are fattened and those of the poor | 36:25 | |
and the disenfranchised are not fattened, | 36:29 | |
then I'm convinced the race is not over. | 36:33 | |
We are in a race, but it's not just any kind of race | 36:36 | |
God has called us to, it's a special race. | 36:40 | |
It's one that's not given to the swift, nor to the strong. | 36:44 | |
This race is given to those that will endure to the end. | 36:48 | |
When I hear modern theologies oversimplify our faith journey | 36:54 | |
by telling us to just be internally holy | 36:59 | |
with unholiness externalized all around us, I cringe. | 37:03 | |
The name it and claim it religion may work in North America, | 37:09 | |
indeed for North America success oriented theology. | 37:14 | |
But it doesn't work when I'm going through | 37:19 | |
muddy waters in Gambia, it doesn't work when I'm | 37:21 | |
moving across desert plains there in Senegal. | 37:23 | |
For there, thousands of the poor are planting | 37:28 | |
their seeds in the ground, and waiting and praying | 37:31 | |
that when harvest time comes, they'll get just a little bit | 37:34 | |
to feed their families for the year. | 37:37 | |
These theologies don't work there in Africa. | 37:40 | |
They may work for us here in some small | 37:44 | |
psychological battles, but the war against global poverty | 37:47 | |
will not just go away because we name it and claim it. | 37:51 | |
The race to save the planet from poverty and disease | 37:57 | |
in Jesus name is one of shared struggle. | 38:00 | |
It's a swift theology that promises the overnight | 38:04 | |
analgesic to make things right just for the cultural asking. | 38:08 | |
It's a naive theology that seeks to name it and claim it | 38:13 | |
in troubled lands in the Middle East, in South Africa, | 38:16 | |
in Latin America, and in Central America. | 38:20 | |
But it's an endurance theology that will make la difference, | 38:23 | |
that will make the difference. | 38:28 | |
We are in a special race. | 38:29 | |
It's a race for those who know the joys and sorrows | 38:32 | |
of sanctified struggle, of pain and heartache, | 38:36 | |
and of rejection and sometimes dismissal. | 38:40 | |
That's the race we are in Duke family. | 38:43 | |
It's a race that those persons who want to be | 38:47 | |
petted and pampered, sashed and stroked all the way | 38:50 | |
to Canaan land are really in the wrong race. | 38:55 | |
That's not our race. | 38:58 | |
It's not a race where Jesus must bear the cross alone, | 39:00 | |
and all the world go free, that's not our race. | 39:05 | |
It's a race where there is a cross for everyone. | 39:09 | |
And there is a cross for me. | 39:14 | |
Secondly, while this is a shared race in struggle, | 39:17 | |
it is one that we must run our particular, | 39:22 | |
our singular lapse for the Lord Jesus. | 39:25 | |
So let us run this ran cannot take the place | 39:29 | |
of my running my own particular race, and you running yours. | 39:33 | |
So much of my own theology these last few years | 39:39 | |
had been geared toward trying to organize families and | 39:42 | |
communities to address the issues of poverty and disease. | 39:46 | |
I know when I go to Washington that I cannot go alone | 39:51 | |
and lobby on behalf of those increasing numbers | 39:55 | |
of the malnourished in our inner cities, | 39:59 | |
I cannot do that alone. | 40:01 | |
When I try to address the issue | 40:03 | |
in Gambia of massive unemployment, | 40:05 | |
I know that I cannot address those issues alone. | 40:08 | |
That I must come back and say to those who are nourished, | 40:11 | |
those whom God has blessed, we must share God's justice | 40:15 | |
and God's love throughout the world. | 40:20 | |
But having said that, I also know that I've got to run | 40:22 | |
my own particular race, one that's indeed | 40:27 | |
based on struggle and often conflict. | 40:30 | |
And so saints of God, whether you are a long distance runner | 40:33 | |
or 100 dash woman or man, whether you are a walker | 40:38 | |
or a disabled runner, I say to you today run your own race. | 40:42 | |
Don't be lured by the enemy to run his or her race. | 40:48 | |
Run your own race. | 40:52 | |
When I do my jogging around a local track there in New York, | 40:55 | |
I get so disturbed when I'm running one way around the track | 40:59 | |
and there are those who are running the opposite way, | 41:03 | |
trying to throw off my rhythm, especially when I see | 41:06 | |
95 year old men outrunning me backwards. | 41:08 | |
But I cannot be lured into running their race. | 41:12 | |
When there are those joggers that are running ahead of me | 41:16 | |
and I know my body can't do it anymore, | 41:18 | |
I cannot be deceived into trying to run their race. | 41:21 | |
The text says lay aside everything that holds you back, | 41:26 | |
especially so satan that claims so easily. | 41:30 | |
And so then we say to you today to keep running steadily | 41:34 | |
in the race that God has called you to. | 41:37 | |
If our sin is the accumulation of false joys and of wealth, | 41:41 | |
let us lay aside that saying individually, | 41:46 | |
and run the race God has called us to. | 41:50 | |
If there is the sin of family abuse and power abuse today, | 41:53 | |
we as individuals must throw off that sin, | 41:59 | |
and run the race of righteousness, of redemption, | 42:03 | |
and of love, we must run our particular race. | 42:07 | |
Men who have traditionally abused women | 42:13 | |
must now lay aside that abuse, and run a new race. | 42:16 | |
Not just to stop abusing our women, | 42:22 | |
but to tell other men that there is a better way, | 42:25 | |
there is a more redemptive way to live their lives. | 42:27 | |
Men then must run to men, and tell men that | 42:31 | |
this is indeed a sin before Yahweh, | 42:36 | |
before God almighty. | 42:40 | |
I tell my dear white brothers and sisters | 42:43 | |
that they have a special race to run. | 42:46 | |
And I tell them in love that those whites | 42:49 | |
in the body of Christ that still may practice the sins | 42:54 | |
of racism, we say that you must run the different race | 42:58 | |
brothers and sisters, for those who believe that our | 43:02 | |
history that is the African-American history | 43:06 | |
began in 1619, that's the wrong race, that's not true. | 43:09 | |
You must run the race to your community. | 43:14 | |
And you must tell your brothers and sisters | 43:18 | |
that we didn't start in 1619 on the coasts of Virginia. | 43:20 | |
When I now go into suburbia, I am stopped often by the | 43:25 | |
police, and I'm attacked by gangs in the New York area. | 43:29 | |
And so I come back to the church, to those that I love, | 43:35 | |
those that are part of my family, | 43:40 | |
and I say you must go and run the race ahead of me. | 43:42 | |
Tell your comrades and your friends that we don't | 43:47 | |
just shoot basketballs and footballs and dance. | 43:50 | |
But we produce architects, and doctors, and lawyers. | 43:53 | |
You must go and tell them that story. | 43:56 | |
You must run ahead and let them know | 43:59 | |
that God don't like ugly, excuse my English. | 44:02 | |
And then I must run my race. | 44:06 | |
Let me run through the interior or Durham, | 44:08 | |
and to Roxbury, and to Bedford, Stuyvesant. | 44:12 | |
Let me go and run that race. | 44:15 | |
Let me go and snatch those young boys and young girls that | 44:18 | |
are drugged out on narcotics, young scholars, if you will. | 44:22 | |
And pick them up and tell them that God | 44:27 | |
can change their lives, let me go and run that race. | 44:29 | |
Saints of God we must run our particular races. | 44:34 | |
James Brown sang a song this way some years ago. | 44:38 | |
I don't want nobody to give me nothing, | 44:42 | |
again not good English. | 44:44 | |
Just open the door and I'll get it myself. | 44:46 | |
And so brothers and sisters we ask you those | 44:51 | |
who may have the keys to some economic doors, | 44:54 | |
run ahead of us and open those doors, | 44:57 | |
and we'll get education ourselves, we'll get jobs ourselves. | 45:00 | |
I must run my race and you must run your race. | 45:06 | |
Then we can join our hands together. | 45:11 | |
We can run the race in the name of the Lord together. | 45:15 | |
We will not get weary in our well doing. | 45:19 | |
We will form together new lines of righteousness | 45:22 | |
around Jericho walls in America. | 45:26 | |
Where drugs are coming in by the millions of tons every year | 45:29 | |
we can run that race together. | 45:35 | |
We can in this century declare a new ethic, | 45:38 | |
a new righteousness, indeed solving | 45:42 | |
poverty versus Star Wars can be our race to run together. | 45:45 | |
We can kick the drug problem. | 45:50 | |
Those of us who name the name of the Lord, | 45:53 | |
if we will now just run our race together. | 45:55 | |
I sometimes want to run my race after the race | 46:00 | |
of Martin Luther King Jr. | 46:03 | |
But I know that I cannot run Martin's race. | 46:06 | |
I've got to run my own race. | 46:09 | |
I think of Fannie Lou Hamer, | 46:12 | |
that great woman from Mississippi, who because she | 46:14 | |
walked there, others can now stand tall in righteousness. | 46:16 | |
I cannot run Fannie Lou's race, I must run my own race. | 46:22 | |
And though how I love to dig into the intellect of John | 46:27 | |
Wesley, but I cannot run John Wesley's race nor can you. | 46:31 | |
God has called us to run our particular race. | 46:36 | |
Not only is this race one of shared struggle, | 46:41 | |
and one in which we must run our singular laps. | 46:44 | |
It is a race that has been run already | 46:49 | |
by the saints of God and by Jesus, our savior. | 46:53 | |
For the text says we are surrounded by so great a cloud | 46:59 | |
of witnesses, even in this place, | 47:05 | |
in that cloud surely there is Moses and there is Isaiah. | 47:08 | |
Surely there, there is Sarah and there is Rebekah. | 47:13 | |
That great cloud is standing there telling us we can | 47:17 | |
finish our race, we can come across the finishing line. | 47:22 | |
There are those in that cloud like Mahalia and Martin. | 47:28 | |
They're telling us don't get weary, | 47:32 | |
you can finish your race. | 47:35 | |
So I exhort you today, my friends in Christ, | 47:38 | |
around the theme that you can finish your race. | 47:41 | |
Not only are the saints of God, | 47:45 | |
they're telling us to move on, we can finish. | 47:47 | |
But even Jesus our Lord has already run the race before us. | 47:50 | |
For he himself stands are the finishing line. | 47:56 | |
And he says to us that I have endured the sting of the cross | 48:00 | |
you can finish your race. | 48:04 | |
Pilate could not stop me. | 48:06 | |
They put me in Joseph's tomb, but that could not hold me. | 48:09 | |
I finished the race. | 48:14 | |
And so those of you who may be beaten and battered, | 48:16 | |
who may be weary and worn, our Lord and master | 48:19 | |
stands there saying you can stay in the race. | 48:23 | |
And that's the way the song goes in my tradition. | 48:26 | |
It is to stay in the race. | 48:29 | |
One lyric says that I've been running for Jesus | 48:31 | |
for a long time, and I'm not tired yet. | 48:34 | |
Sometimes persecuted and rejected, in my own family, | 48:38 | |
in my own community, but I'm not tired yet. | 48:42 | |
I'm gonna stay in the race. | 48:46 | |
For those Christians who share who Jesus is, | 48:48 | |
who are not ashamed of that. | 48:52 | |
And others criticize you and say | 48:54 | |
don't give me all that Jesus talk, you all stay in the race. | 48:56 | |
For God stands in Jesus saying that on the third day | 49:01 | |
I got up out of the grave and I conquered death, | 49:05 | |
I have won the race. | 49:09 | |
There's an urban preacher, I try to talk | 49:13 | |
low but I just can't you all will forgive me. | 49:16 | |
Stay in the race my dear brothers and sisters. | 49:21 | |
Stay in the race. | 49:24 | |
(organ music) | 49:31 | |
♪ God moves in a mysterious way ♪ | 49:54 | |
♪ His wonders to perform ♪ | 50:00 | |
♪ He plants his footsteps in the sea ♪ | 50:05 | |
♪ And rides upon the storm ♪ | 50:11 | |
♪ Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill ♪ | 50:18 | |
♪ He treasures up his bright designs ♪ | 50:30 | |
♪ And works his sovereign will ♪ | 50:36 | |
♪ Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ♪ | 50:42 | |
♪ The clouds ye so much dread ♪ | 50:49 | |
♪ Are big with mercy and shall break ♪ | 50:56 | |
♪ In blessings on your head ♪ | 51:01 | |
♪ Judge not the Lord by feeble sense ♪ | 51:08 | |
♪ But trust him for his grace ♪ | 51:15 | |
♪ Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face ♪ | 51:21 | |
♪ Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain ♪ | 51:35 | |
♪ God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain ♪ | 51:46 | |
- | With you. | 52:02 |
(crowd murmurs) | 52:04 | |
Let us pray. | 52:05 | |
Oh eternal God, maker of the universe, | 52:17 | |
ruler of all things in heaven and earth. | 52:21 | |
You have called us to follow you saying | 52:24 | |
take nothing for the journey. | 52:27 | |
Recognizing the power of your word in our lives, | 52:30 | |
we forsake all that would inhibit us in our race | 52:35 | |
of discipleship, in its place we offer our prayers | 52:40 | |
and concern for our sisters and brothers around the world. | 52:45 | |
Let us pray for all those in times of trouble or distress. | 52:50 | |
For the sick and the dying, the hungry, | 52:56 | |
the unemployed, the refugee, the victim of violence, | 53:00 | |
the grief stricken, especially those families | 53:07 | |
of the victims of the Air Iran A320 Airbus tragedy. | 53:10 | |
Grant them the strength and consolation | 53:15 | |
in their time of need. | 53:19 | |
Let us pray for those who seek to lighten to burdens of | 53:22 | |
others, for doctors, nurses, and other medical workers. | 53:25 | |
For teachers, counselors, and social workers everywhere. | 53:30 | |
For artists, dancers, and musicians, | 53:36 | |
as they seek to create beauty out of chaos. | 53:39 | |
May they not only heal the body and expand the mind, | 53:44 | |
but enrich the spirit. | 53:47 | |
Let us pray for all those who seek to bring peace and | 53:50 | |
justice into the world, for all prisoners of conscience. | 53:54 | |
For those who work within our justice system, | 54:00 | |
for those communities dedicated to simple living | 54:03 | |
in the name of peace, may they grant us a renewed vision | 54:07 | |
of what it means to live in harmony with one another. | 54:12 | |
Let us pray for those charged with the responsibilities | 54:16 | |
of governing, especially the governor of this state, | 54:20 | |
and the president of the United States. | 54:24 | |
Grant to all those in authority the wisdom and strength | 54:28 | |
to know and to do thy will. | 54:30 | |
Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted. | 54:34 | |
For those who seek to harm themselves or others. | 54:40 | |
For those who indulge in material excess | 54:44 | |
to fill an interior void. | 54:47 | |
For those who live within institutions surrounded by people | 54:51 | |
yet lonely beyond words. | 54:55 | |
May they find strength and | 54:58 | |
renewed conviction in thy word oh Lord. | 55:00 | |
These prayers we offer with the knowledge | 55:04 | |
of your saving power oh God which is | 55:07 | |
ever present in our lives. | 55:09 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, amen. | 55:13 | |
And now in thanksgiving for the mighty acts of God, | 55:19 | |
let us offer our gifts | 55:23 | |
and ourselves to the one who saves us. | 55:24 | |
(organ music) | 55:57 | |
♪ The spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪ | 57:11 | |
♪ Because he has anointed me ♪ | 57:24 | |
♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪ | 57:37 | |
♪ He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted ♪ | 57:49 | |
♪ To preach deliverance to the captives ♪ | 58:00 | |
♪ And recovering of sight to the blind ♪ | 58:08 | |
♪ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord ♪ | 58:23 | |
♪ To give unto them that mourn a garland for ashes ♪ | 58:44 | |
♪ The oil of joy for mourning, ♪ | 58:58 | |
♪ The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ♪ | 59:06 | |
♪ That they might be called the trees of righteousness ♪ | 59:14 | |
♪ The planting of the Lord that he might be glorified ♪ | 59:29 | |
♪ For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, ♪ | 59:54 | |
♪ And as the garden causeth ♪ | 1:00:13 | |
♪ The things that are sown in it ♪ | 1:00:20 | |
♪ To spring it forth ♪ | 1:00:29 | |
♪ So the Lord God will cause righteousness ♪ | 1:00:36 | |
♪ And praise to spring forth before all the nations ♪ | 1:00:48 | |
♪ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪ | 1:01:35 | |
♪ Because he hath anointed me ♪ | 1:01:49 | |
♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪ | 1:02:03 | |
(organ music) | 1:02:15 | |
(singing hymn) | 1:03:01 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:03:13 | |
♪ Praise God ♪ | 1:03:20 | |
♪ Praise God ♪ | 1:03:26 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:03:32 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:03:37 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:03:54 | |
- | Let us pray. | 1:04:05 |
Accept oh Lord our thanks and praise | 1:04:12 | |
for all that you have done for us. | 1:04:15 | |
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, | 1:04:17 | |
for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, | 1:04:21 | |
and for the mystery of love. | 1:04:26 | |
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, | 1:04:28 | |
and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. | 1:04:33 | |
We thank you for setting us a task which demand | 1:04:38 | |
our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments | 1:04:42 | |
which satisfy and delight us. | 1:04:45 | |
We thank you for those disappointments and failures | 1:04:49 | |
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. | 1:04:54 | |
Above all, we thank you for your son Jesus Christ, | 1:04:58 | |
for the truth of his word, and the example of his life. | 1:05:03 | |
For his steadfast obedience by which he overcame temptation, | 1:05:08 | |
for his dying through which he overcame death, | 1:05:14 | |
and for his rising to life again, | 1:05:17 | |
in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. | 1:05:20 | |
Grant us the gift of your spirit, | 1:05:24 | |
that we may know him and make him known, | 1:05:27 | |
and through him at all times and at all places, | 1:05:30 | |
may give thanks to you in all things, amen. | 1:05:34 | |
And now as our savior Christ has taught us, let us pray. | 1:05:40 | |
Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 1:05:44 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:05:49 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:05:52 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 1:05:55 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:05:58 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:06:00 | |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 1:06:04 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, | 1:06:08 | |
for ever and ever, amen. | 1:06:12 | |
(organ music) | 1:06:17 | |
- | Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. | 1:09:51 |
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you | 1:09:54 | |
and be gracious unto you. | 1:09:57 | |
May the Lord lift up his | 1:09:59 | |
countenance upon you and give you peace. | 1:10:00 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:08 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:13 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:19 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:28 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:35 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:45 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:11:00 | |
(organ music) | 1:11:21 |