William H. Willimon - "Justice" (September 16, 1990)
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- | We'll begin a study of the Book of Psalms. | 0:01 |
The Graduate and Professional Students Fellowship, | 0:03 | |
open to all graduate and professional students | 0:06 | |
for Christian fellowship and exploration and study. | 0:09 | |
And if you're a graduate or professional student, | 0:13 | |
we invite you to come at eight p.m. | 0:16 | |
tonight in the chapel basement. | 0:17 | |
Today is a very special service. | 0:21 | |
Last year the Friends of the Chapel presented us | 0:24 | |
with new copies of a new hymnal. | 0:27 | |
We have been enjoying experimenting | 0:31 | |
and exploring the riches of this new hymn book | 0:33 | |
of the church, and today we shall enjoy | 0:38 | |
new hymns, new music found in this hymnal, | 0:43 | |
in this service led by our new chapel choir. | 0:48 | |
And now let us continue our worship with a greeting. | 0:54 | |
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 1:00 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 1:03 |
- | The risen Christ is with us. | 1:05 |
Congregation | Praise be the Lord. | 1:07 |
- | Let us stand. | 1:09 |
(religious organ music) | 1:12 | |
♪ Hail thee, festival day ♪ | 2:09 | |
♪ Blest day to be hallowed forever ♪ | 2:13 | |
♪ Day when our Lord was raised ♪ | 2:19 | |
♪ Breaking the kingdom of death ♪ | 2:23 | |
♪ God the Almighty, the Lord ♪ | 2:29 | |
♪ The ruler of earth and the heavens ♪ | 2:33 | |
♪ Guard us from harm without ♪ | 2:39 | |
♪ Cleanse us from evil within ♪ | 2:44 | |
♪ Hail thee, festival day ♪ | 2:48 | |
♪ Blest day to be hallowed forever ♪ | 2:53 | |
♪ Day when our Lord was raised ♪ | 2:58 | |
♪ Breaking the kingdom of death ♪ | 3:02 | |
♪ Jesus the health of the world ♪ | 3:08 | |
♪ Enlighten our minds, great Redeemer ♪ | 3:11 | |
♪ Son of the Father supreme ♪ | 3:17 | |
♪ Only begotten of God ♪ | 3:21 | |
♪ Hail thee, festival day ♪ | 3:27 | |
♪ Blest day to be hallowed forever ♪ | 3:31 | |
♪ Day when our Lord was raised ♪ | 3:37 | |
♪ Breaking the kingdom of death ♪ | 3:41 | |
♪ Spirit of life and of power ♪ | 3:47 | |
♪ Now flow in us, fount of our being ♪ | 3:51 | |
♪ Light that enlightens us all ♪ | 3:56 | |
♪ Life that in all may abide ♪ | 4:01 | |
♪ Hail thee, festival day ♪ | 4:06 | |
♪ Blest day to be hallowed forever ♪ | 4:10 | |
♪ Day when our Lord was raised ♪ | 4:16 | |
♪ Breaking the kingdom of death ♪ | 4:19 | |
♪ Praise to the giver of good ♪ | 4:25 | |
♪ O lover and author of concord ♪ | 4:28 | |
♪ Pour out your balm on our days ♪ | 4:35 | |
♪ Order our ways in your peace ♪ | 4:39 | |
♪ Hail thee, festival day ♪ | 4:45 | |
♪ Blest day to be hallowed forever ♪ | 4:49 | |
♪ Day when our Lord was raised ♪ | 4:54 | |
♪ Breaking the kingdom of death ♪ | 4:58 | |
(religious organ music) | 5:04 | |
(soft instrumental music) | 5:42 | |
♪ Come, my way, my truth, and my life ♪ | 5:51 | |
♪ Such a way as gives us breath ♪ | 5:56 | |
♪ Such a truth as ends all strife ♪ | 6:02 | |
♪ Such a life as conquers death ♪ | 6:08 | |
♪ Come, my light, my feast, my strength ♪ | 6:19 | |
♪ Such a light as shows a feast ♪ | 6:25 | |
♪ Such a feast as mends in length ♪ | 6:31 | |
♪ Such a strength as makes ♪ | 6:37 | |
♪ His guest ♪ | 6:44 | |
♪ Come, my joy, my love, my heart ♪ | 6:49 | |
♪ Such a joy as none can move ♪ | 6:55 | |
♪ Such a love as none can part ♪ | 7:01 | |
♪ Such a heart as joys ♪ | 7:07 | |
♪ In love ♪ | 7:14 | |
(religious organ music) | 7:20 | |
♪ For His Word has armed us ♪ | 7:45 | |
♪ With the truth that Christ is Lord ♪ | 7:51 | |
♪ We have gained an understanding ♪ | 7:57 | |
♪ Through you that He is the Lord ♪ | 8:04 | |
- | The first reading is taken from the Book of Exodus. | 8:21 |
Then God spoke all these words. | 8:28 | |
"I am the Lord, your God, | 8:32 | |
"who brought you out of the land of Egypt, | 8:35 | |
"out of the house of slavery. | 8:37 | |
"You shall have no other gods before me. | 8:40 | |
"You shall not make for yourself an idol | 8:44 | |
"whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above | 8:47 | |
"or that is on the earth beneath | 8:51 | |
"or that is in the water under the earth. | 8:53 | |
"You shall not bow down to them | 8:57 | |
"or worship them, for I the Lord, your God, | 8:59 | |
"am a jealous God, punishing children | 9:03 | |
"for the iniquity of parents, to the third | 9:06 | |
"and fourth generation of those who reject me | 9:08 | |
"but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation | 9:12 | |
"of those who love me and keep my commandments. | 9:16 | |
"You shall not make wrongful use | 9:21 | |
"of the name of the Lord, your God, | 9:23 | |
"for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. | 9:25 | |
"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. | 9:31 | |
"Six days you shall labor and do all your work | 9:35 | |
"but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. | 9:39 | |
"You shall not do any work. | 9:43 | |
"You, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, | 9:45 | |
"your livestock or the alien resident in your towns, | 9:50 | |
"for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, | 9:55 | |
"the sea and all that is in them but rested the seventh day, | 9:58 | |
"therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and consecrated it. | 10:04 | |
"Honor your father and your mother | 10:09 | |
"so that your days may be long in the land | 10:12 | |
"that the Lord your God is giving you. | 10:14 | |
"You shall not murder. | 10:19 | |
"You shall not commit adultery. | 10:22 | |
"You shall not steal. | 10:25 | |
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | 10:28 | |
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. | 10:33 | |
"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife | 10:36 | |
"or male or female slave or ox or donkey | 10:38 | |
"or anything that belongs to your neighbor. | 10:42 | |
"When all the people witness the thunder and lightning, | 10:46 | |
"the sound of the trumpet and the mountains smoking, | 10:49 | |
"they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance | 10:53 | |
"and said to Moses, you speak to us and we will listen, | 10:56 | |
"but do not let God speak to us or we will die. | 11:00 | |
"Moses said to the people, | 11:05 | |
"Do not be afraid for God has come only to test you | 11:07 | |
"and to put the fear of Him upon you | 11:11 | |
"so that you do not sin." | 11:14 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 11:18 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 11:21 |
- | Please stand as we join together in singing responsively | 11:29 |
Psalm 98, found on page 818 in your hymnal. | 11:32 | |
(religious organ music) | 11:40 | |
♪ Oh sing to the Lord a new song ♪ | 11:46 | |
♪ For the Lord has done marvelous things ♪ | 11:50 | |
♪ God's right hand and holy arm ♪ | 11:54 | |
♪ Hath gotten the victory ♪ | 11:58 | |
♪ The Lord has seen the victory ♪ | 12:02 | |
♪ And has revealed His righteousness ♪ | 12:06 | |
♪ In the sight of the nations ♪ | 12:09 | |
♪ The Lord has remembered His steadfast love ♪ | 12:13 | |
♪ And faithfulness to the house of Israel ♪ | 12:16 | |
♪ All the ends of the earth have seen the victory ♪ | 12:22 | |
♪ Of our God ♪ | 12:26 | |
♪ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth ♪ | 12:29 | |
♪ Break forth into joyous song and sing praises ♪ | 12:34 | |
♪ Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre ♪ | 12:40 | |
♪ With the lyre and the sound of melody ♪ | 12:43 | |
♪ With trumpets and the sound of the horn ♪ | 12:48 | |
♪ Make a joyful noise before the king, the Lord ♪ | 12:52 | |
♪ Let the sea roar ♪ | 12:59 | |
♪ And all that fills it ♪ | 13:01 | |
♪ The world and those who dwell in it ♪ | 13:04 | |
♪ Let the rivers clap their hands ♪ | 13:08 | |
♪ Let the hills sing for joy together ♪ | 13:12 | |
♪ Before the Lord ♪ | 13:15 | |
♪ For He comes to judge the earth ♪ | 13:17 | |
♪ The Lord will judge the world with righteousness ♪ | 13:20 | |
♪ And the people with equity ♪ | 13:25 | |
♪ Oh glory be to you, oh God ♪ | 13:31 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ, our savior ♪ | 13:34 | |
♪ And to the Holy Spirit that strengthens me ♪ | 13:38 | |
♪ As it was since time began ♪ | 13:44 | |
♪ Is how it will be forever more ♪ | 13:48 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 13:58 | |
♪ Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing ♪ | 14:13 | |
♪ My God and King ♪ | 14:21 | |
♪ The heav'ns are not too high ♪ | 14:26 | |
♪ God's praise may thither fly ♪ | 14:31 | |
♪ The earth is not too low ♪ | 14:36 | |
♪ God's praises there may grow ♪ | 14:40 | |
♪ Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing ♪ | 14:46 | |
♪ My God and King ♪ | 14:54 | |
♪ The church with psalms must shout ♪ | 15:00 | |
♪ No door can keep them out ♪ | 15:04 | |
♪ But, more than all, the heart ♪ | 15:09 | |
♪ Must bear the longest part ♪ | 15:13 | |
♪ Let all the world in ev'ery corner sing ♪ | 15:20 | |
♪ My God and King ♪ | 15:28 | |
- | The second reading is taken | 15:51 |
from Paul's letter to the Romans. | 15:53 | |
"We do not live to ourselves, | 15:59 | |
"and we do not die to ourselves. | 16:01 | |
"If we live, we live to the Lord, | 16:05 | |
"and if we die, we die to the Lord. | 16:08 | |
"So then, whether we live or whether we die, | 16:12 | |
"we are the Lord's. | 16:15 | |
"For to this end Christ died and lived again, | 16:18 | |
"so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. | 16:22 | |
"Why do you pass judgment your brother or sister? | 16:26 | |
"Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? | 16:30 | |
"For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. | 16:34 | |
"For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, | 16:39 | |
"'every knee shall bow to me, | 16:42 | |
"'and every tongue shall give praise to God.' | 16:45 | |
"So then, each one of us will be accountable to God." | 16:49 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 16:56 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 16:59 |
(religious organ music) | 17:02 | |
♪ The Church of Christ in every age ♪ | 17:39 | |
♪ Beset by change but Spirit led ♪ | 17:46 | |
♪ Must claim and test its heritage ♪ | 17:52 | |
♪ And keep on rising from the dead ♪ | 17:58 | |
♪ Across the world, across the street ♪ | 18:18 | |
♪ The victims of injustice cry ♪ | 18:24 | |
♪ For shelter and for bread to eat ♪ | 18:31 | |
♪ And never live until they die ♪ | 18:37 | |
♪ Then let the servant Church arise ♪ | 18:58 | |
♪ A caring Church that longs to be ♪ | 19:05 | |
♪ A partner in Christ's sacrifice ♪ | 19:11 | |
♪ And clothed in Christ's humanity ♪ | 19:17 | |
♪ For He alone, whose blood was shed ♪ | 19:48 | |
♪ Can cure the fever in our blood ♪ | 19:55 | |
♪ And teach us how to share our bread ♪ | 20:02 | |
♪ And feed the starving multitude ♪ | 20:08 | |
(intense organ music) | 20:26 | |
♪ We have no mission but to serve ♪ | 21:12 | |
♪ In full obedience to our Lord ♪ | 21:19 | |
♪ To care for all, without reserve ♪ | 21:25 | |
♪ And spread His liberating word ♪ | 21:32 | |
(religious organ music) | 21:40 | |
- | The Gospel from Matthew. | 22:22 |
"Peter came up and said, 'Lord, how often | 22:25 | |
"'shall I forgive my brother or sister | 22:28 | |
"'who sin against me, as many as seven times?' | 22:31 | |
"Jesus answered, 'I do not say to you seven times, | 22:37 | |
"'but seventy times seven.' | 22:40 | |
"Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king | 22:46 | |
"who wished to settle accounts with his servants. | 22:50 | |
"When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him | 22:54 | |
"who owed him 10,000 talents. | 22:56 | |
"As he could not pay, his lord ordered him | 23:00 | |
"to be sold with his wife and children | 23:03 | |
"and all that he had and repayment to be made. | 23:05 | |
"The servant fell on his knees imploring him, | 23:10 | |
"'Lord, have patience with me, | 23:13 | |
"'and I will pay you everything.' | 23:15 | |
"And out of pity for him, the Lord of that servant | 23:19 | |
"released and forgave him the debt. | 23:21 | |
"But that same servant as he went out | 23:25 | |
"came upon one of his fellow servants | 23:27 | |
"who owed him a hundred denarii. | 23:30 | |
"Seizing him by the throat he said, | 23:33 | |
"'Pay what you owe!' | 23:35 | |
"His fellow servant fell down and besought him, | 23:37 | |
"'Have patience with me, I will repay you.' | 23:40 | |
"He refused, and went and put him in prison | 23:43 | |
"till he should pay the debt. | 23:47 | |
"When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, | 23:49 | |
"they were greatly distressed, | 23:52 | |
"they went, reported to their lord all that had taken place. | 23:54 | |
"Then his lord summoned him and said, | 23:59 | |
"'You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt | 24:00 | |
"'because you besought me. | 24:04 | |
"'And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant | 24:07 | |
"'as I had mercy on you?' | 24:10 | |
"And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers | 24:13 | |
"till he should pay all his debt. | 24:16 | |
"So also, my heavenly Father will do to every one of you | 24:19 | |
"who do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." | 24:22 | |
Here ends the lesson, this is the word of the Lord. | 24:27 | |
Thanks be to God. | 24:31 | |
- | Thanks be to God. | |
- | Our story begins today with mathematics. | 24:35 |
Peter asked, "Lord how often should my brother or sister | 24:40 | |
"sin against me and I forgive?" | 24:43 | |
Seven times? That sounds reasonable, | 24:48 | |
even mathematically merciful. | 24:52 | |
Jesus responds with a geometrically progressive figure. | 24:55 | |
Forgiveness is limitless, it cannot be tallied-- | 25:00 | |
throw away calculator and slide rule, stop counting, | 25:04 | |
there are no mathematicians or accountants in the kingdom. | 25:10 | |
In my kingdom, there is no forgiving seven times, | 25:15 | |
but seventy times seven times. | 25:18 | |
And seven times here and seven times there, | 25:24 | |
before long you're talking big money. | 25:26 | |
Now compare God's kingdom with a king | 25:31 | |
who wished to settle accounts with his servants. | 25:34 | |
Balance the books, set things right, do justice. | 25:38 | |
And a servant owed him 10,000 talents, | 25:44 | |
don't get out your calculators, | 25:48 | |
I'll tell you how much that is, | 25:50 | |
a talent is the largest unit of financial measurement | 25:52 | |
in the ancient Near Eastern world. | 25:56 | |
One talent is the equivalent of 15 years of labor. | 25:59 | |
So the way I figure it, the servant owed the king | 26:05 | |
something like 150 million dollars-- | 26:08 | |
we're talking big money. | 26:12 | |
And when the little wretch couldn't pay, | 26:17 | |
the king ordered him and his wife and children to be sold. | 26:19 | |
Now before you say that seems harsh, | 26:23 | |
I remind you, $150 million is a lot of money. | 26:25 | |
Imagine a king who would give a servant even one million. | 26:30 | |
That would be a generous king, | 26:35 | |
very generous indeed, but here's a king | 26:37 | |
who's lavished 150 million dollars on one servant. | 26:40 | |
Before you feel so sympathetic, | 26:46 | |
I ask you, what became of all that money? | 26:48 | |
What kind of lifestyle would you have to lead | 26:50 | |
to blow 150 million dollars? | 26:53 | |
He doesn't even have one cent left to pay back. | 26:56 | |
His wife, a couple of kids, a stint in jail, | 27:02 | |
it really isn't so much punishment | 27:06 | |
when you think of the magnitude of the crime. | 27:09 | |
You can't blame the king for being angry. | 27:14 | |
If we were talking maybe only $10 million, | 27:18 | |
perhaps the King could have written it off, | 27:22 | |
but $150 million? It's time for action. | 27:24 | |
This servant has just wasted | 27:29 | |
all of this king's hard earned money. | 27:31 | |
Put him and his family in the slammer | 27:35 | |
and let him think it over. | 27:37 | |
Well then in the story, there follows such a scene, | 27:40 | |
the servant falls down and, in the Greek, | 27:43 | |
he literally worships the king, | 27:46 | |
"Have patience with me, I will repay you everything." | 27:50 | |
Who's he kidding, repay 150 million dollars? | 27:55 | |
It's ridiculous, but in a way, | 28:00 | |
even more absurd is the king's outlandish pity. | 28:03 | |
His master, in a surprising turn sets him free, | 28:10 | |
cancels the whole debt, all $150 million of it. | 28:15 | |
"What kind of king is this?" we ask. | 28:19 | |
Soft-hearted maybe, soft-headed maybe. | 28:22 | |
Just to write off so great a financial injustice. | 28:26 | |
Well we say, well maybe he's a liberal, | 28:29 | |
maybe he's a member of Amnesty International, | 28:31 | |
maybe here's a king who can say to himself, | 28:35 | |
"well, $150 million, it's only money. | 28:38 | |
"This poor little servant didn't have all the advantages | 28:42 | |
"that I enjoyed: | 28:45 | |
"private school, cricket, Oxford. | 28:47 | |
"No one ever taught him | 28:51 | |
"how to manage an investment portfolio. | 28:52 | |
"I'll just write the whole thing off." | 28:56 | |
Well, all you bleeding-heart liberals, | 29:01 | |
don't get too excited. | 29:03 | |
Because the King's generosity, | 29:05 | |
as it turns out, is rather short-lived. | 29:07 | |
On his way out of jail, | 29:11 | |
this servant who's been forgiven $150 million debt, | 29:12 | |
runs into a fellow servant who owes him about $1,000. | 29:17 | |
He grabs him by the neck, nearly chokes him, | 29:22 | |
and says, "Repay me what you owe." | 29:24 | |
"Have patience with me, I will repay you," | 29:28 | |
says the fellow servant, have you heard that speech before? | 29:31 | |
Repay $1,000, when he's only a servant? | 29:36 | |
It's bad to waste $150 million, | 29:40 | |
but it's also bad to waste $1,000 too, | 29:42 | |
particularly when you've borrowed it from a fellow servant. | 29:45 | |
Put in the slammer, let him think it over. | 29:49 | |
Well, his fellow servants who've witnessed this scene, | 29:52 | |
run back and they tell the king. | 29:55 | |
And Mr. King, Mr. Unbelievably Gracious, | 29:58 | |
comes back down to earth. | 30:03 | |
"You evil servant, I forgave you that gigantic debt, | 30:08 | |
"and you jailed your fellow servant | 30:12 | |
"for a measly thousands bucks, it makes me just sick | 30:14 | |
"that I was ever so merciful to you, | 30:18 | |
"when I see how little mercy | 30:21 | |
"you're able to show somebody else." | 30:23 | |
And the angry king handed over | 30:27 | |
this ungrateful servant to the torturers | 30:29 | |
until he should pay back every cent he owed. | 30:32 | |
And I think right there the story gets real, | 30:38 | |
we get back to the good old, moral terra firma. | 30:42 | |
Now, we do not understand someone who would write off | 30:48 | |
so massive a debt after a tear-jerking scene, | 30:54 | |
that's ridiculous. | 30:58 | |
But we do understand somebody | 31:01 | |
who would sock it to the ungrateful little wretch. | 31:02 | |
And you note what has happened to us | 31:07 | |
in listening to this story, | 31:08 | |
notice the moves that we have made. | 31:10 | |
At the beginning of the story, | 31:15 | |
we didn't want to see that little servant go to jail, | 31:17 | |
even if he did owe $150 million. | 31:20 | |
How 'bout a little mercy, it's not our money anyway. | 31:25 | |
But by the end of the story, | 31:29 | |
once we see how this ungrateful servant has behaved, | 31:32 | |
how he socks it to his fellow servant, | 31:35 | |
well, we are genuinely pleased | 31:39 | |
to see him let off to the torturers. | 31:42 | |
Great, he's getting what he deserves. | 31:45 | |
Isn't that interesting? | 31:49 | |
Just in the space of a few verses. | 31:50 | |
We, who are not particularly into vengeance | 31:53 | |
at the beginning of the story, | 31:56 | |
we stand with all those fellow servants just applauding | 31:58 | |
as we see this ungrateful wretch let away by the hangman. | 32:03 | |
He's getting what he deserves, | 32:09 | |
the nerve of being so ungrateful. | 32:12 | |
The story begins with a king giving a wasteful servant | 32:18 | |
what he deserves, and you and I, | 32:22 | |
we find ourselves genuinely sympathetic, | 32:26 | |
genuinely sorry for the servant. | 32:31 | |
Oh sure, he's blown a lot of money, | 32:34 | |
but after all he's a little servant | 32:36 | |
and he owes it to a very big king. | 32:40 | |
And you know, when we hear a story, | 32:42 | |
our sympathies are always with the little guy. | 32:44 | |
But only up to a point. | 32:49 | |
We experience a brief burst of generosity, | 32:55 | |
and then the king has a brief burst of generosity, | 32:58 | |
but after being forgiven, this ungrateful servant socks it | 33:03 | |
to his fellow servant and he shows his true colors. | 33:07 | |
And there's a kind of sense of relief | 33:13 | |
by the end of the story as the vengeful king | 33:16 | |
gives the ungrateful servant what he deserves. | 33:19 | |
And so if you'll note that | 33:24 | |
by the end of the story, there is no difference, really, | 33:26 | |
between the vengeful little servant | 33:29 | |
and the vengeful big king. | 33:33 | |
Perhaps you thought at the beginning of the story | 33:38 | |
that this king was some sort of unbelievably Mr. Nice Guy. | 33:40 | |
An unbelievably generous chap, | 33:44 | |
who goes around writing off $150 million debts. | 33:47 | |
But no, no by the end of the story, | 33:52 | |
we found out that the king is the sort of person | 33:54 | |
who repays injustice with punishment. | 33:59 | |
The servant he wanted just to put into jail | 34:06 | |
at the beginning of the story has been handed | 34:09 | |
over to the torturers by the end of story. | 34:11 | |
The king does to the ungrateful servant | 34:17 | |
what that ungrateful servant | 34:20 | |
tried to do to his fellow servant, only worse. | 34:22 | |
My point: by the end of the story, | 34:26 | |
there really isn't much difference between the king, | 34:34 | |
who punished for debt, and the angry servant | 34:37 | |
who punished for debt. | 34:40 | |
Both, we find, are into retribution big, | 34:43 | |
and so are we all. | 34:48 | |
And the story ends with a kind of neatness about it. | 34:51 | |
This is the way the world goes round, | 34:57 | |
whether we're talking about the world up at the palace | 35:01 | |
or down in the back alley ways with the little people. | 35:04 | |
We just love a story, which, as they say | 35:10 | |
in the business ethics course at Fuqua, | 35:14 | |
what goes around always comes back around. | 35:17 | |
You sow what you reap, you get what deserve, | 35:21 | |
even if it's punishment. | 35:25 | |
And you know, when you think about life, | 35:27 | |
there is a kind of justice to life. | 35:30 | |
Though it's sometimes tough, at least | 35:33 | |
it is what is deserved, earned. | 35:36 | |
Oh, the punishment of torture | 35:39 | |
does seem to be a bit excessive, | 35:41 | |
but I remind you, so was the debt. | 35:44 | |
At least we can say by the end of the story, | 35:47 | |
that justice has been done. | 35:49 | |
And isn't that all that we want? | 35:52 | |
Justice? | 35:55 | |
So there isn't much difference between the angry king | 35:58 | |
who punished and the angry servant who wouldn't forgive, | 36:01 | |
and frankly there is not much difference between us. | 36:05 | |
After our brief burst of generosity | 36:10 | |
toward this little servant at the beginning of the story, | 36:12 | |
weren't we delighted to see him hang at the end, | 36:15 | |
the ungrateful little wretch? | 36:18 | |
The king, the servant, in their lack of forgiveness, | 36:21 | |
their fundamental desire to see justice done | 36:24 | |
and just deserts received, are just like us. | 36:28 | |
Junk Bond King, Michael Milken. | 36:37 | |
I shed no tears when he was let away in chains, | 36:41 | |
hustled out of his stretch limo in Palm Beach Pad, | 36:46 | |
did not pass Go, did not collect 200 dollars, | 36:49 | |
went directly to jail. | 36:51 | |
Oh, the delicious justice of seeing done | 36:55 | |
to Mr. Milken what he had done to so many. | 36:58 | |
And I was a bit chagrined to learn that he was acquitted | 37:02 | |
of many of the charges against him, but still. | 37:05 | |
It's not delivering over to the torturers, but it will do. | 37:11 | |
Accounts are being settled. | 37:14 | |
And don't you be self-righteous with me, | 37:21 | |
I know that you were just heartbroken to hear | 37:23 | |
that Mr. And Mrs. Trump had fallen on hard times. | 37:27 | |
Accounts are being settled. | 37:32 | |
Arab terrorists beat, torture, and imprison a man | 37:37 | |
who gave his whole life to helping the people of Lebanon, | 37:41 | |
but please, before you shed tears | 37:45 | |
for the victim, consider the debt. | 37:47 | |
Generations of children in Palestinian refugee camps, | 37:53 | |
victims of the Shah, | 37:56 | |
the countless, nameless others who suffered | 37:58 | |
because of our Western, imperialistic injustice, | 38:01 | |
look, accounts are being settled. | 38:04 | |
A baby is killed in U.S. bombing raids against Libya, | 38:09 | |
well, if you got tears, | 38:13 | |
save them for those victims of Libyan terrorism. | 38:14 | |
Accounts are being settled. | 38:20 | |
Catholics are bombing Protestants in Northern Ireland, | 38:24 | |
innocent lives blown to bits | 38:27 | |
by anonymous, cowardly, faceless terrorists. | 38:29 | |
But before you talk about forgive and forget, | 38:33 | |
read a bit of what Protestants have done to Catholics there | 38:37 | |
and you might say, accounts are being settled. | 38:41 | |
The cycle up at the White House, | 38:48 | |
or down at your and my house, | 38:52 | |
begins with the desire to settle accounts. | 38:54 | |
"Just you wait until your father gets home." | 39:00 | |
"How often should I forgive?" asked Peter, the church, us. | 39:05 | |
Well, look, we're liberals, let's be generous, seven times. | 39:11 | |
And Jesus responds with seventy times seven times. | 39:17 | |
And then Jesus tells a little story, | 39:23 | |
the kingdom of heaven may be compared with your kingdom. | 39:27 | |
The kingdom of heaven might be compared with a king | 39:33 | |
who wished to settle accounts. | 39:36 | |
The kingdom of heaven may be compared with, | 39:40 | |
but not equated with, | 39:43 | |
a king who wished to settle accounts. | 39:46 | |
Oh, we have our kingdoms--in our kingdoms, | 39:52 | |
there is this brief burst of beneficence | 39:57 | |
as we read of the child molester | 39:59 | |
who was himself a victim of child abuse. | 40:04 | |
And we put down the newspaper, | 40:08 | |
and we just don't know who to blame. | 40:09 | |
The abusing mother and the cruel father are long since dead. | 40:13 | |
And we feel a brief, genuine sense of pity for the man | 40:18 | |
who sits on death row, but then the next day | 40:22 | |
we pick up the newspaper and we see the grief-stricken faces | 40:27 | |
of that dead child's parents, | 40:31 | |
and we shed no tears upon learning | 40:35 | |
John Jones was executed | 40:40 | |
by lethal injection at six o'clock this morning. | 40:43 | |
We live in an unjust world, | 40:50 | |
and in such a world we live | 40:54 | |
for those delicious moments | 40:59 | |
when what goes 'round comes back back around, | 41:01 | |
and accounts are settled. | 41:07 | |
And this is our world, this is our kingdom. | 41:13 | |
Often bloody, exceedingly dangerous, wheels within wheels, | 41:18 | |
eternal cycles of vengeance and repayment. | 41:25 | |
Arab, Israeli, rich, poor, | 41:29 | |
Irish Catholic, Irish Protestant, | 41:33 | |
Korean, Japanese, black, white. | 41:35 | |
Treadmills of retribution and repayment | 41:39 | |
and absolutely no way to get off. | 41:43 | |
So by the end of the story, | 41:47 | |
when we smile at secret satisfaction | 41:52 | |
as the unforgiving servant is let away to the torturers, | 41:57 | |
Jesus' little story | 42:04 | |
has revealed to us a very big truth: | 42:07 | |
We are probably no worse, | 42:13 | |
but certainly no better than they. | 42:17 | |
Another story about another king: | 42:25 | |
on a Friday afternoon, after we stripped him of his dignity, | 42:33 | |
after his twelve best friends had forsaken him | 42:38 | |
and fled into the darkness, | 42:41 | |
after the soldiers had spit upon him and whipped him, | 42:44 | |
after the trial--oh, everything was done according to law-- | 42:50 | |
we dragged him up a hill, | 42:56 | |
and we nailed his hands and feet, | 43:00 | |
and crucified him. | 43:04 | |
And he hung there, bleeding unto death. | 43:07 | |
And he looked down at us, | 43:12 | |
and this king said, | 43:16 | |
"Father, forgive them." | 43:20 | |
And the wheels within the wheels came to grinding halt, | 43:27 | |
and the eternal human cycle of vengeance | 43:33 | |
and retribution was derailed. | 43:36 | |
Our kingdoms crumbled, | 43:40 | |
and accounts were settled between God and us, | 43:43 | |
so as to put our books | 43:47 | |
eternally in the red. | 43:51 | |
(religious organ music) | 44:01 | |
(powerful organ music) | 45:25 | |
♪ How can we sinners know ♪ | 45:39 | |
♪ Our sins on earth forgiven ♪ | 45:44 | |
♪ How can my gracious Savior show ♪ | 45:50 | |
♪ My name inscribed in heaven ♪ | 45:56 | |
♪ What we have felt and seen ♪ | 46:03 | |
♪ With confidence we tell ♪ | 46:09 | |
♪ And publish to the ends of earth ♪ | 46:14 | |
♪ The signs infallible ♪ | 46:20 | |
♪ We who in Christ believe ♪ | 46:27 | |
♪ That He for us hath died ♪ | 46:33 | |
♪ We all His unknown peace receive ♪ | 46:39 | |
♪ And feel His blood applied ♪ | 46:45 | |
♪ We by His Spirit prove ♪ | 46:52 | |
♪ And know the things of God ♪ | 46:58 | |
♪ The things which freely of His love ♪ | 47:04 | |
♪ He hath on us bestowed ♪ | 47:10 | |
♪ The meek and lowly heart ♪ | 47:17 | |
♪ That in our Savior was ♪ | 47:23 | |
♪ To us that Spirit doth impart ♪ | 47:29 | |
♪ And signs us with His cross ♪ | 47:35 | |
♪ Our nature's turned, our mind ♪ | 47:43 | |
♪ Transformed in all its powers ♪ | 47:49 | |
♪ And both the witnesses are joined ♪ | 47:55 | |
♪ The Spirit of God with ours ♪ | 48:01 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 48:11 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 48:13 |
- | Let us pray. | 48:14 |
Oh blessed trinity, one God, | 48:28 | |
eternal friend to all your creation. | 48:31 | |
Once again, we turn to you in prayer, | 48:35 | |
aware of our brokenness and incompleteness. | 48:38 | |
Some of us are haunted by the evil we have done to others. | 48:42 | |
Some harbor hatred against a sister or brother. | 48:47 | |
Some of us fear any whose ways are strange to us. | 48:51 | |
Some are tired of forgiving, again and again. | 48:56 | |
We all are in debt to you, | 49:01 | |
oh God, for never giving up on us. | 49:03 | |
Forgive us, we pray our transgressions | 49:06 | |
and move us to appreciate your generosity. | 49:09 | |
Remove the self-righteous limits | 49:14 | |
we impose when pardoning others, | 49:15 | |
for your grace toward us has far exceeded our deserving. | 49:18 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 49:24 | |
And now, we remember | 49:29 | |
our sisters and brothers around the world, | 49:30 | |
who stand alongside each of us in need of prayer. | 49:32 | |
We thank you, oh God, | 49:37 | |
that you did not create us to live alone | 49:38 | |
and you did not create us all to be alike. | 49:40 | |
We pray for the varied societies and cultures | 49:44 | |
which make up your creation, | 49:47 | |
asking that through perseverance and love for one another, | 49:49 | |
we may not only resolve our conflicts | 49:53 | |
but celebrate our differences. | 49:56 | |
We continue to offer our fervent prayers | 49:59 | |
for a peaceful resolution to conflicts in the Middle East. | 50:02 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 50:06 | |
hear our prayer. | 50:07 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
- | We pray for the places where we work, | 50:10 |
that we may honorably pursue our vocations. | 50:13 | |
We ask to be reliable, rather than successful, | 50:16 | |
trustworthy rather than popular. | 50:20 | |
Whether we work with many or few, | 50:23 | |
may we help to give them the sense | 50:25 | |
that they are personally wanted and cared for. | 50:26 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 50:30 | |
hear our prayer. | 50:31 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
- | We pray for our families, with whom we live day by day. | 50:34 |
May this most searching test of our character | 50:38 | |
not find us broken and empty. | 50:41 | |
By all that we do and say, help us to build up the faith | 50:44 | |
and confidence of those we love. | 50:48 | |
And when we quarrel, help us to forgive quickly. | 50:51 | |
Lord in you mercy, | 50:55 | |
hear our prayer. | 50:56 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
- | We pray for all who are in sorrow or need, | 50:59 |
sickness or adversity. | 51:01 | |
Remember those who suffer persecution for their faith, | 51:04 | |
have mercy on those to whom death draws near, | 51:07 | |
bring consolation to those in sorrow or mourning, | 51:11 | |
and to all, grant a measure of your love, | 51:15 | |
taking them into your tender care. | 51:17 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 51:21 | |
hear our prayer. | 51:23 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
- | We pray for all who seek to glorify you | 51:25 |
through creative arts, especially as we worship you | 51:28 | |
through music in this holy place. | 51:31 | |
We thank you for your servants | 51:33 | |
who make music for your people. | 51:35 | |
All singers, conductors, organists, | 51:37 | |
composers, hymn writers, organ builders, carillonneurs, | 51:40 | |
that with joy, we may somehow glimpse your beauty on earth | 51:45 | |
and be restored to the hope of perfection | 51:49 | |
which will be ours as we stand before your glory. | 51:52 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 51:56 | |
hear our prayer. | 51:57 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
- | All these things and whatever else you see that we need, | 52:00 |
grant us, oh God, for the sake of Him | 52:04 | |
who died and rose again, and now lives and reigns with you | 52:06 | |
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, Amen. | 52:10 | |
And now, in the spirit of the thanksgiving | 52:19 | |
for the mercy of God, | 52:20 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves onto God. | 52:21 | |
(religious organ music) | 52:28 | |
(powerful organ music) | 52:52 | |
♪ Weary of all trumpeting ♪ | 53:44 | |
♪ Weary of all killing ♪ | 53:47 | |
♪ Weary of all songs that sing promise, non-fulfilling ♪ | 53:54 | |
♪ We would raise, O Christ, one song ♪ | 54:03 | |
♪ We would join in singing ♪ | 54:06 | |
♪ That great music pure and strong ♪ | 54:09 | |
♪ Wherewith heaven is ringing ♪ | 54:13 | |
(intense organ music) | 54:19 | |
♪ Captain Christ, O lowly Lord ♪ | 54:28 | |
♪ Servant King, your dying bade us ♪ | 54:35 | |
♪ Sheath our foolish sword ♪ | 54:43 | |
♪ Bade us cease denying ♪ | 54:47 | |
♪ Trumpet with your Spirit's breath ♪ | 54:53 | |
♪ Through each height and hollow ♪ | 54:58 | |
♪ Into your self-giving ♪ | 55:04 | |
♪ Death ♪ | 55:11 | |
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | 55:17 | |
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | ||
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | 55:20 | |
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | ||
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | 55:22 | |
♪ Call us all to follow ♪ | ||
(uplifting organ music) | 55:32 | |
♪ To the triumph of the cross ♪ | 56:03 | |
♪ Summon all the living ♪ | 56:07 | |
♪ Summon us to live by loss ♪ | 56:10 | |
♪ Gaining all by giving ♪ | 56:14 | |
♪ Suffering all that we may see ♪ | 56:17 | |
♪ Triumph in surrender ♪ | 56:20 | |
♪ Leaving all that we may be ♪ | 56:24 | |
♪ Partners in your splendor ♪ | 56:29 | |
(religious organ music) | 56:36 | |
♪ Suffering all ♪ | 56:59 | |
♪ That we may see ♪ | 57:04 | |
♪ Triumph ♪ | 57:10 | |
♪ In surrender ♪ | 57:14 | |
♪ Leaving ♪ | 57:27 | |
♪ All ♪ | 57:35 | |
♪ That we may be ♪ | 57:42 | |
♪ Partners in your ♪ | 57:47 | |
♪ Splendor ♪ | 57:55 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 58:19 | |
♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 59:26 | |
♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ | 59:33 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 59:39 | |
♪ Praise God, the source of all our gifts ♪ | 59:47 | |
♪ Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts ♪ | 59:53 | |
♪ Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit ♪ | 1:00:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:00:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:00:13 | |
Oh eternal God, giver of all good gifts, | 1:00:26 | |
we have been all too eager in our lives to pay back evil | 1:00:30 | |
for evil and slow to pay back your goodness to us. | 1:00:34 | |
Yet you have summoned us to live by loss, to gain by giving, | 1:00:38 | |
leaving all that we may be partners in your splendor. | 1:00:43 | |
Receive these gifts as an outpouring of our gratitude, | 1:00:47 | |
as we join in singing praise to your holy name, | 1:00:51 | |
pure and strong, with all the heavenly chorus. | 1:00:54 | |
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, | 1:00:57 | |
who taught us to pray with confidence. | 1:00:59 | |
Congregation | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 1:01:02 |
hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, | 1:01:05 | |
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:01:08 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 1:01:12 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:01:14 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:01:16 | |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 1:01:20 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 1:01:24 | |
and the glory, forever. | 1:01:26 | |
Amen. | 1:01:28 | |
- | And now go forth in peace, | 1:01:32 |
singing a new song unto the Lord, | 1:01:33 | |
and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, | 1:01:36 | |
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit | 1:01:38 | |
be with you now and forever more. | 1:01:41 | |
♪ Ah ♪ | 1:01:46 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:01:55 | |
(religious organ music) | 1:02:06 | |
♪ Rejoice, ye pure in heart ♪ | 1:02:39 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:02:44 | |
♪ Your festal banner wave on high ♪ | 1:02:49 | |
♪ The cross of Christ your King ♪ | 1:02:55 | |
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪ | 1:03:00 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:03:05 | |
♪ Your clear hosannas raise ♪ | 1:03:12 | |
♪ And alleluias loud ♪ | 1:03:17 | |
♪ Whilst answering echoes upward float ♪ | 1:03:22 | |
♪ Like wreaths of incense cloud ♪ | 1:03:28 | |
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪ | 1:03:33 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:03:38 | |
♪ Yes, on through life's long path ♪ | 1:03:45 | |
♪ Still chanting as ye go ♪ | 1:03:50 | |
♪ From youth to age, by night and day ♪ | 1:03:56 | |
♪ In gladness and in woe ♪ | 1:04:01 | |
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪ | 1:04:06 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:04:12 | |
♪ At last the march shall end ♪ | 1:04:19 | |
♪ The wearied ones shall rest ♪ | 1:04:24 | |
♪ The pilgrims find their heavenly home ♪ | 1:04:29 | |
♪ Jerusalem the blessed ♪ | 1:04:35 | |
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪ | 1:04:40 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:04:46 | |
♪ Praise Him who reigns on high ♪ | 1:04:52 | |
♪ The Lord whom we adore ♪ | 1:04:58 | |
♪ The Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:05:03 | |
♪ One God forevermore ♪ | 1:05:09 | |
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪ | 1:05:14 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:05:19 | |
(religious organ music) | 1:05:25 | |
♪ Go in peace and serve the Lord ♪ | 1:05:52 | |
♪ In the name of Christ, amen ♪ | 1:05:56 | |
(religious organ music) | 1:06:08 |