William H. Willimon - "The Anger of Jesus" (March 3, 1991)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(solemn organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning. | 2:42 |
And welcome to this service of worship | 2:43 | |
at Duke University Chapel on this third Sunday in Lent. | 2:44 | |
Our preacher for today's service | 2:48 | |
is the Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon, Dean of the chapel, | 2:50 | |
and our lector is Mr. Andy Baxter, | 2:53 | |
former president of Wesley Fellowship. | 2:55 | |
According to our usual practice, | 2:58 | |
a brief, ecumenical service of prayer will be held each day | 3:00 | |
at 12 o'clock noon here in the memorial chapel. | 3:04 | |
For the coming week, Taizé music and liturgies will be used | 3:08 | |
at this service continuing in the same style of worship | 3:12 | |
which we enjoyed this week during the visit | 3:15 | |
of two brothers in the Taizé community, | 3:18 | |
and two Little Sisters of Jesus. | 3:20 | |
All are encouraged to attend. | 3:22 | |
Please note that the deadline | 3:25 | |
for the engaged encounter weekend is approaching very soon, | 3:26 | |
as of March 6th, and those of you who are interested | 3:29 | |
are encouraged to call the chapel as soon as possible. | 3:32 | |
Please note the remaining announcements | 3:35 | |
as they are printed in your bulletins. | 3:36 | |
And now, please stand for the greeting. | 3:38 | |
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 3:48 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 3:51 |
- | Bless the Lord, oh, my soul. | 3:53 |
And all that is within me, bless God's holy name. | 3:55 | |
Congregation | Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, | 3:59 |
and forget not all his kind deeds. | 4:02 | |
- | Who forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities. | 4:05 |
Congregation | Who redeems your life from evil | 4:10 |
and crowns you with mercy and (murmurs). | 4:13 | |
(regal organ music) | 4:18 | |
(congregation singing) | 4:47 | |
- | God of all mercy, | 9:20 |
your kingdom has broken into our troubled world | 9:23 | |
through the life, death, and resurrection of your son. | 9:26 | |
Help us to hear your word and obey it | 9:30 | |
so that we become instruments of your redeeming love. | 9:33 | |
Through your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 9:37 | |
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, | 9:40 | |
one God, now and forever, amen. | 9:43 | |
- | Let us pray the prayer for illumination. | 9:55 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 10:00 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 10:04 | |
so that, as the word is read and proclaimed, | 10:06 | |
we might hear with joy | 10:10 | |
what you say to us this day. | 10:12 | |
Amen. | 10:14 | |
The first reading is taken from the book of Exodus. | 10:16 | |
"Then God spoke all these words: | 10:20 | |
"I am the Lord your God, | 10:23 | |
"who brought you out of the land of Egypt, | 10:25 | |
"out of the house of slavery; | 10:28 | |
"you shall have no other Gods before me. | 10:30 | |
"You shall not make for yourself an idol, | 10:34 | |
"whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, | 10:36 | |
"or that is on the earth beneath, | 10:40 | |
"or that is in the water under the earth. | 10:43 | |
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; | 10:46 | |
"for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. | 10:50 | |
"Punishing children for the inequity of parents, | 10:54 | |
"to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, | 10:57 | |
"but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation | 11:01 | |
"of those who love me and keep my commandments. | 11:05 | |
"You shall not make wrongful use of the name | 11:10 | |
"of the Lord your God, | 11:12 | |
"for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses His name. | 11:14 | |
"Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. | 11:20 | |
"Six days, you shall labor, and do all your work. | 11:24 | |
"But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. | 11:27 | |
"You shall not do any work. | 11:31 | |
"You, your son, or your daughter, | 11:33 | |
"your male and female slave, your livestock, | 11:37 | |
"or the alien resident in your towns. | 11:40 | |
"For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, | 11:43 | |
"the sea, and all that is in them, | 11:47 | |
"but rested the seventh day. | 11:50 | |
"Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day | 11:52 | |
"and consecrated it. | 11:55 | |
"Honor your father and your mother | 11:57 | |
"so that your days may be long in the land | 12:00 | |
"that the Lord your God has given you. | 12:02 | |
"You shall not murder. | 12:06 | |
"You shall not commit adultery. | 12:09 | |
"You shall not steal. | 12:13 | |
"You shall not bare false witness against your neighbor. | 12:16 | |
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. | 12:20 | |
"Your shall not covet your neighbor's wife, | 12:23 | |
"or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, | 12:26 | |
"or anything that belongs to your neighbor. | 12:32 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 12:35 | |
Thanks be to God. | 12:38 | |
- | Please stand as we join in singing responsively | 12:44 |
Psalm 19, verses seven through 14. | 12:47 | |
(organ plays) | 12:54 | |
♪ The law of the Lord is perfect, ♪ | 13:00 | |
♪ Reviving the soul ♪ | 13:03 | |
♪ The testimony of the Lord is sure, ♪ | 13:06 | |
♪ Making wise the simple ♪ | 13:10 | |
♪ The precepts of the Lord are right, ♪ | 13:14 | |
♪ Rejoicing the heart ♪ | 13:18 | |
♪ The commandment of the Lord is pure, ♪ | 13:21 | |
♪ Enlightening the eyes ♪ | 13:25 | |
♪ The fear of the Lord is clean, ♪ | 13:29 | |
♪ Enduring forever ♪ | 13:32 | |
♪ The commandments of the Lord are true, ♪ | 13:35 | |
♪ And righteous altogether ♪ | 13:39 | |
♪ More to be desired are they than gold, ♪ | 13:44 | |
♪ Even much fine gold ♪ | 13:47 | |
♪ Sweeter also than honey ♪ | 13:50 | |
♪ And drippings of the honeycomb ♪ | 13:53 | |
♪ Moreover by them is your servant warned ♪ | 13:58 | |
♪ In keeping them there is great reward ♪ | 14:04 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 14:09 | |
♪ Keep me from hidden faults ♪ | 14:13 | |
♪ Also keep your servant from being insolent ♪ | 14:18 | |
♪ Let them not have dominion over me ♪ | 14:24 | |
♪ Then I shall be blameless ♪ | 14:29 | |
♪ And innocent of great transgression ♪ | 14:33 | |
♪ Let the words of my mouth ♪ | 14:38 | |
♪ And the meditation of my heart ♪ | 14:42 | |
♪ Be acceptable in your sight ♪ | 14:46 | |
♪ O Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪ | 14:51 | |
♪ All glory be to you, oh God, ♪ | 14:58 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪ | 15:01 | |
♪ And to the Holy Spirit ♪ | 15:05 | |
♪ As Trinity ♪ | 15:08 | |
♪ As it was since time began ♪ | 15:12 | |
♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪ | 15:16 | |
(organ plays) | 15:39 | |
(choir sings) | 15:51 | |
- | You know that I have a choice | 18:40 |
on which scriptural text to preach here on Sundays. | 18:42 | |
I have four possible scripture lessons assigned | 18:48 | |
by the common lectionary. | 18:51 | |
I can go with any of them. | 18:52 | |
My first inclination today was to go with a lesson | 18:56 | |
which Andy has read from Exodus, "The Ten Commandments." | 19:00 | |
After all, newscaster Ted Koppel | 19:05 | |
delivered one of the most moving | 19:09 | |
and memorable commencement addresses ever. | 19:12 | |
Mr. Koppel went down through the Ten Commandments | 19:16 | |
after saying, "in today's world, we have all these problems. | 19:22 | |
"What are the solution to all these problems? | 19:27 | |
"How can we have a better world?" | 19:30 | |
And then he just went right down through | 19:32 | |
The Ten Commandments. | 19:33 | |
And it if worked for Ted Koppel, | 19:34 | |
why wouldn't it work for me? | 19:36 | |
The graduates and their parents just loved it. | 19:39 | |
And there is something about me | 19:44 | |
that would love to preach that for you, too. | 19:45 | |
Don't commit adultery: I haven't. | 19:49 | |
Don't steal: I wouldn't. | 19:53 | |
Don't kill: I couldn't. | 19:54 | |
Don't covet your neighbor's wife: I probably wouldn't. | 19:58 | |
(laughter) | 20:03 | |
And I could preach that. | 20:05 | |
And as Ted demonstrated, you would like to hear it. | 20:09 | |
And coming out on a rainy Sunday, | 20:15 | |
you deserve something like that. | 20:19 | |
But the gospel text today | 20:24 | |
is one which I find more difficult to preach | 20:28 | |
because it speaks to me. | 20:33 | |
On the third Sunday of Lent, | 20:38 | |
we got dressed up and we came down through the rain | 20:40 | |
to Chapel, and we were all settled down and quiet | 20:42 | |
and reverent, ready to worship. | 20:46 | |
And then there was a fierce banging at the door, | 20:49 | |
and this intruder came crashing down the aisle. | 20:52 | |
The ushers tried to restrain him at the back, | 20:55 | |
but they couldn't. | 20:57 | |
Here's what happened. | 21:01 | |
The Passover was near, | 21:06 | |
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. | 21:09 | |
In the temple, he found people selling cattle, | 21:12 | |
and sheep, and doves, | 21:15 | |
and the moneychangers seated at their tables. | 21:18 | |
Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them | 21:22 | |
out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. | 21:26 | |
He also poured out the coins of the moneychangers | 21:30 | |
and overturned their tables. | 21:34 | |
He told those who were selling doves, | 21:37 | |
"take these things out of here. | 21:40 | |
"Stop making my Father's house a place of trade." | 21:42 | |
His disciples remembered that it was written, | 21:48 | |
"zeal for thy house shall consume thee." | 21:51 | |
The Jews then said to him, | 21:56 | |
"what sign can you show us for doing this?" | 21:59 | |
And Jesus answered, | 22:03 | |
"destroy this temple, and in three days, | 22:05 | |
"I will raise it up." | 22:08 | |
Then the Jews said, | 22:11 | |
"this temple has been under construction | 22:14 | |
"for 46 years, and you will raise it up in three days?" | 22:16 | |
But he was speaking of the temple of his body. | 22:22 | |
After he was raised from the dead, | 22:27 | |
his disciples remembered that he had said this, | 22:30 | |
and they believed the scripture, | 22:35 | |
and the word which Jesus had spoken. | 22:38 | |
Have any of you ever seen Jesus this mad? | 22:46 | |
Matthew, Mark, and Luke also tell this story | 22:51 | |
of the cleansing of the temple, | 22:53 | |
but they discreetly put it at the end of their gospels. | 22:55 | |
And somehow, if you hear this story at the end | 22:59 | |
of the gospel, it makes Jesus' behavior | 23:02 | |
a little more excusable. | 23:04 | |
His critics have been picking and poking at him | 23:08 | |
his whole ministry, and finally, | 23:11 | |
there at the end of the gospel, | 23:13 | |
Jesus is at his wits' end. | 23:15 | |
His patience has at last been overcome | 23:18 | |
with their cruelty, and he just lashes out at them, | 23:20 | |
and he just drives them out of the temple. | 23:24 | |
But John puts this story at the beginning of his gospel, | 23:30 | |
and here, less than two chapters into the gospel, | 23:34 | |
nobody's criticized Jesus. | 23:39 | |
Everybody's thought that everything Jesus said | 23:41 | |
is just wonderful. | 23:43 | |
Everyone is marveled as he turned the water into wine | 23:48 | |
at the wedding. | 23:52 | |
They've marveled at his teaching. | 23:54 | |
Nobody said a word against Jesus | 23:56 | |
so you can't chalk this event up to Jesus' anger | 23:57 | |
at his opposition. | 24:02 | |
This outburst occurs right at the beginning | 24:05 | |
of Jesus' ministry. | 24:08 | |
And can you see him there, | 24:13 | |
white-hot fury, whip in hands, | 24:14 | |
turning over their tables, | 24:16 | |
squawking birds set loose, coins clinging on the floor, | 24:19 | |
"get this stuff out of here, | 24:23 | |
"you shall not make of my Father's house | 24:24 | |
"a place of trade." | 24:26 | |
It was the maddest, | 24:31 | |
the meanest, the angriest anybody had ever seen Jesus, | 24:33 | |
before or since. | 24:38 | |
And you see, my problem with this story | 24:43 | |
is not just that Jesus is mad. | 24:45 | |
But he's in the temple mad. | 24:48 | |
He's at Passover mad. | 24:52 | |
The temple, Passover. | 24:54 | |
Passover: the greatest victory celebration of Israel. | 24:56 | |
The Passover: when we all get together | 25:02 | |
and celebrate and remember | 25:04 | |
how we were delivered out of Egyptian slavery. | 25:05 | |
The Passover is the Fourth of July for Israel, | 25:08 | |
and everybody's excited and happy. | 25:11 | |
The temple. | 25:15 | |
The temple is where the nation gathers | 25:16 | |
to come and meet God, | 25:18 | |
comes to be close to God. | 25:20 | |
And everybody there at the temple, so happy to be there | 25:22 | |
at Passover, so happy to be there at the temple, | 25:26 | |
it is stark contrast with this fierce, | 25:30 | |
white-hot anger of Jesus. | 25:34 | |
Kicking over tables, whip in hand, | 25:38 | |
"get this stuff out of here." | 25:41 | |
Judgment begins with the house of God. | 25:48 | |
I would rather go down through the Ten Commandments. | 25:54 | |
Adultery, stealing, covetousness, your sins, not mine. | 25:57 | |
If Jesus is gonna barge in here and disrupt our worship, | 26:05 | |
I'd rather he tackle your sin, not mine. | 26:10 | |
But you note that when he got to the temple that day, | 26:16 | |
he didn't mention adultery, | 26:18 | |
didn't mention stealing or covetousness. | 26:19 | |
Rather, Jesus attacked worship. | 26:24 | |
He assaulted religion. | 26:29 | |
I would rather Jesus light into the Pharisees | 26:36 | |
for their legalism, the scribes for their snobbishness. | 26:38 | |
I would rather him attack | 26:42 | |
the divorced for their divorcing. | 26:43 | |
Or those who steal for their stealing. | 26:48 | |
But here, he attacks the religious | 26:52 | |
for our religion. | 26:55 | |
This is not an assault on the Pagans in Pergamum. | 26:57 | |
This is an attack upon church-talk at the chapel. | 27:02 | |
'Cause the temple is where we go to meet God, | 27:09 | |
that's why you've come out this morning; to meet God. | 27:12 | |
And preachers are those who are paid to help us meet God. | 27:15 | |
Today we sometimes refer to our pastors | 27:21 | |
as members of the helping professions. | 27:24 | |
We're the ones that help you meet God. | 27:29 | |
We provide a much-needed service | 27:32 | |
in helping to get you close to God. | 27:35 | |
But the trouble is, that was exactly | 27:41 | |
what those merchants were doing in the temple. | 27:43 | |
They were busy helping people get close to God. | 27:47 | |
Because, you see, the only coinage in Judea | 27:52 | |
were Roman coins. | 27:56 | |
You couldn't pay the temple tax with Roman coins, | 27:58 | |
you had to pay with shekels. | 28:00 | |
And if you came to the temple and you wanted to offer | 28:03 | |
an unspotted dove up at the alter, | 28:05 | |
you had, then, to deal with the moneychangers, | 28:08 | |
and you had to deal with the merchants | 28:11 | |
to get that offering. | 28:13 | |
These merchants were simply there helping everybody | 28:15 | |
get close to God, helping them to worship. | 28:18 | |
You see, | 28:24 | |
the table which Jesus is overturning is mine. | 28:26 | |
Because that distant, | 28:34 | |
awesome God that we had to go up with Moses | 28:39 | |
on Sinai to meet that we read about in Exodus 20, | 28:43 | |
that distant, awesome God has now been tamed, domesticated, | 28:47 | |
honed down to the level of a business transaction. | 28:55 | |
Here, here, put your money in here, | 28:59 | |
and then you'll get a little dose of the divine. | 29:02 | |
Does our society have problems? | 29:07 | |
Well it's simple. | 29:09 | |
Just obey the Ten Commandments. | 29:12 | |
It pays to do right. | 29:14 | |
Things will go better if you're good. | 29:15 | |
So don't steal, don't cheat, don't lie, | 29:17 | |
and you'll be rewarded. | 29:19 | |
Come to me with your problems. | 29:22 | |
I'm your pastor. | 29:24 | |
Pastor, I got this problem and I tried to do | 29:25 | |
what I think is right, and I don't know if I did right. | 29:28 | |
Do you think I did right? | 29:30 | |
And then I say, "oh, yes, you're a caring, sensitive person. | 29:31 | |
"I'm sure if you agonized over this, | 29:34 | |
"you probably did right. | 29:36 | |
"Yes, you did right." | 29:37 | |
See, I'm a member of the helping professions. | 29:40 | |
And there's no agony, there's no confusion, | 29:46 | |
no unknowing, and there's no smoke | 29:48 | |
and there's no command and there's no screams | 29:52 | |
of slaughtered animals on the alter | 29:55 | |
with blood trickling down marble steps. | 29:58 | |
There's no God. | 30:03 | |
It's all transaction. | 30:06 | |
You put your cares and worries right in here, | 30:10 | |
and then we'll send you out here with a little blessing. | 30:13 | |
How many times have I heard people say, | 30:19 | |
"Oh I think of Sunday morning as like a filling station. | 30:20 | |
"I come empty, and I get filled up. | 30:24 | |
"Help me make it through the week." | 30:28 | |
I'm supposed to be helping you meet God, | 30:33 | |
not avoid God. | 30:36 | |
I'm a priest. | 30:38 | |
That's right, even though I'm a Methodist, I'm a priest. | 30:40 | |
I'm supposed to be bringing you close to God. | 30:42 | |
And this is supposed to be Passover. | 30:48 | |
Even if it's the third Sunday in Lent, this is Passover. | 30:50 | |
That is, we're here helping you pass over. | 30:52 | |
From death to life. | 30:56 | |
From whatever that is that would enslave you in your life, | 30:57 | |
over to true freedom that comes from being close to God. | 31:01 | |
But alas, | 31:08 | |
we have worked over that dark, threatening, | 31:11 | |
frightening temple, and made it into Kroger's. | 31:14 | |
Get out of bed, get all dressed up, yes, | 31:20 | |
get dressed up, come in, open the hymnal, | 31:22 | |
stand up now, say hello to God, okay, | 31:25 | |
sit back down, let's stand for the benediction, | 31:27 | |
say goodbye to God. | 31:29 | |
And it just made Jesus mad. | 31:34 | |
Just made him mad. | 31:40 | |
I think John chose to tell this story, | 31:44 | |
this strange, confrontational, controversial story, | 31:49 | |
I think he chose to tell it right up front in his gospel | 31:54 | |
because he wanted us to know, right at the first, | 31:59 | |
right upfront, the sort of God | 32:02 | |
that we had got in Jesus. | 32:06 | |
If anybody thought that we could be saved, | 32:11 | |
that our salvation was gonna come from a | 32:14 | |
nice young man from the near east, | 32:17 | |
come to turn a little water into wine at the wedding, | 32:19 | |
come to invite a few fisher folk to join his prayer group, | 32:23 | |
to say really nice things like, | 32:28 | |
"come unto me all you heavy-laden, I'll give you some rest," | 32:30 | |
John shows Jesus | 32:37 | |
pounding at the door. | 32:40 | |
Storming in, kicking over tables, | 32:43 | |
slinging coins on the floor. | 32:45 | |
Unleashing oxen down the carpeted aisles | 32:49 | |
of First Baptist Gainesville. | 32:52 | |
That's Jesus. | 32:57 | |
Our petty, polite, preacherly domestication | 33:01 | |
of his good news, | 33:05 | |
our little cause-effect religiosity, it just made him mad. | 33:07 | |
It was to him a violation of the utter holiness of God. | 33:15 | |
God's commands, whether we get them in the Ten Commandments | 33:25 | |
or elsewhere, God's commands are not to be obeyed | 33:30 | |
as a means of getting what we want. | 33:35 | |
We're to obey because this is what Holy God wants. | 33:39 | |
The temple is not just another technique | 33:46 | |
for achieving our ends in life. | 33:51 | |
This is God's means of revealing | 33:55 | |
how selfish our ends are. | 33:58 | |
They are God's ways of bending our lives, | 34:02 | |
of remaking us into a people more attuned | 34:09 | |
to God's ways than our ways. | 34:13 | |
These commands, this story, reminds me that | 34:18 | |
we do not stand, this Lent, | 34:23 | |
before the mirror of our own introspective gaze. | 34:27 | |
Oh, let's see, yes, I'm doing all right, | 34:31 | |
I at least got up on a rainy morning | 34:33 | |
and came to chapel, that's a lot. | 34:34 | |
No. | 34:36 | |
We stand before the white-hot, | 34:39 | |
burning blaze of a demanding, righteous God. | 34:43 | |
His standards are not our own, writ large. | 34:48 | |
His demands always intrude, in, upon us, | 34:54 | |
upon our easy complacency. | 34:57 | |
Overturning tables, setting wild birds loose. | 35:01 | |
Sometimes, his presence is the sting of the whip | 35:08 | |
upon the neck. | 35:12 | |
He barges in and dislodges us from our burrows | 35:16 | |
of religious seclusion. | 35:22 | |
And so, we ask Jesus, that day in the temple, | 35:28 | |
after his outrageous behavior, | 35:32 | |
we ask Jesus, what gives you the right to come in here, | 35:34 | |
in the temple, and act like that? | 35:40 | |
After all, Jesus, it really doesn't matter | 35:44 | |
what we believe or do religiously | 35:47 | |
as long as we're sincere, right? | 35:48 | |
If you recall the text, Jesus had a very strange reply. | 35:53 | |
"Destroy this temple. | 35:58 | |
"In three days, I'll raise it back up." | 36:00 | |
Destroy this chapel, we said, | 36:05 | |
it's taken us 50 years to build this chapel. | 36:08 | |
Later, after we dragged him out of the temple, | 36:14 | |
stripped him, beat him, hung him up on a cross to die. | 36:20 | |
Three days later, when he barged in again | 36:27 | |
and kicked down the doors of death, | 36:31 | |
passed over to victory, | 36:35 | |
we remembered what he said to us | 36:38 | |
that day in the temple. | 36:42 | |
We had asked him for a sign. | 36:46 | |
We wanted a sign about what real religion is all about. | 36:48 | |
And the only sign he gave us | 36:54 | |
was that of his death and resurrection. | 36:58 | |
The only temple he left us where we could meet God | 37:03 | |
was that of his own body and blood. | 37:07 | |
A new Passover in which God comes | 37:12 | |
and stands among us in the form | 37:17 | |
of his own bloodied son. | 37:22 | |
And then, we remembered. | 37:27 | |
We remembered that day of disruption back at the temple | 37:30 | |
and then we knew, and then we believed. | 37:33 | |
This Jesus is about something big. | 37:38 | |
(solemn organ music) | 37:48 | |
(congregation sings) | 38:24 | |
Woman | The Lord be with you. | 40:20 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 40:22 |
♪ In peace let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 40:25 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 40:29 | |
- | You may be seated. | 40:35 |
Oh God, whose power extends beyond the realm | 40:45 | |
of our imaginations, and whose mercy reaches farther | 40:48 | |
than our gravest sin, | 40:52 | |
hear today the cries of your people. | 40:53 | |
For those who seek to establish | 40:57 | |
a lasting peace in the Persian Gulf, | 40:59 | |
for those who have suffered in the midst of battle, | 41:02 | |
for those held captive while ceasefire agreements | 41:06 | |
are inactive, | 41:09 | |
for the people of Kuwait and Iraq, | 41:11 | |
as they seek to rebuild their countries amidst | 41:13 | |
the devastation of war, | 41:16 | |
for all who mourn the loss of those who have died. | 41:18 | |
♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 41:23 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 41:26 | |
- | For lands where extremes of wealth and poverty | 41:32 |
are bitterly divisive, | 41:34 | |
for lands where power is grossly abused, | 41:36 | |
and the dispossessed bear the heaviest burden, | 41:40 | |
for lands where wrongs suffered by earlier generations | 41:43 | |
nourish bitterness and hatred among the young. | 41:47 | |
♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 41:51 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 41:55 | |
- | For the sick, for those awaiting operations, | 42:00 |
and for all who suffer from chronic or terminal illness, | 42:04 | |
for prisoners, their families, and those responsible | 42:08 | |
for their care and custody, | 42:11 | |
for all prisoners of conscious throughout the world, | 42:13 | |
for the hungry, the homeless, the elderly, and the infirm. | 42:17 | |
♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 42:23 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 42:26 | |
- | For our daily work, for those whose work | 42:32 |
is dull and monotonous, | 42:35 | |
for those whose work is dangerous, | 42:37 | |
for those with whom we have relationships | 42:40 | |
through our work, | 42:42 | |
for those who have retired who miss their work, | 42:44 | |
for those unable to secure meaningful employment. | 42:48 | |
♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 42:52 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 42:55 | |
- | For the encouragement, the faithfulness, | 43:01 |
and the warmth of friendship, | 43:04 | |
for good friends who spring up in unexpected places, | 43:07 | |
for parents, children, teachers, coaches, | 43:11 | |
whose special gift is the ability to befriend another, | 43:15 | |
for friendship that crosses divisions of nationality, | 43:19 | |
race, or greed. | 43:23 | |
♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪ | 43:25 | |
♪ Lord have mercy ♪ | 43:29 | |
- | Oh God, open us to your perfect awe, | 43:35 |
that we may live by its spirit of love. | 43:38 | |
Empower us to embrace your foolishness | 43:42 | |
rather than human wisdom, | 43:44 | |
your weakness rather than human strength, | 43:46 | |
the crucified and risen Christ | 43:49 | |
rather than earthly principalities and powers, | 43:52 | |
that we may offer glory unto your holy name, | 43:55 | |
now and forever, amen. | 43:58 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people, | 44:04 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 44:07 | |
(organ plays) | 44:13 | |
(choir sings) | 44:30 | |
(regal organ music) | 52:11 | |
(congregation sings) | 53:04 | |
- | Oh eternal God, giver of all good gifts, | 53:41 |
we have been all too eager in our lives | 53:44 | |
to pay back evil for evil, | 53:47 | |
and slow to pay back your goodness to us. | 53:49 | |
Yet you have summoned us to live by loss, | 53:53 | |
to gain by giving, | 53:56 | |
leaving all that we may be partners in your splendor. | 53:58 | |
Receive these gifts as an outpouring of our gratitude, | 54:01 | |
as we join in singing praise to your holy name | 54:05 | |
with all the heavenly chorus. | 54:08 | |
This, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, | 54:10 | |
who taught us to pray with confidence. | 54:13 | |
Our father, who art in heaven, | 54:16 | |
hallowed be thy name. | 54:19 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 54:21 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 54:24 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 54:26 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 54:28 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 54:31 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 54:34 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 54:36 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 54:38 | |
and the glory forever. | 54:41 | |
Amen. | 54:43 | |
Go forth among your neighbors as ambassadors of the Lord, | 54:46 | |
your eyes enlightened with God's commandments, | 54:50 | |
your minds quickened with God's testimonies, | 54:53 | |
your hearts rejoicing in God's law, | 54:56 | |
and your souls aflame with God's love. | 54:59 | |
And may the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, | 55:02 | |
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 55:04 | |
be with you all, now and forever. | 55:07 | |
(choir sings) | 55:14 | |
(regal organ music) | 55:36 | |
(congregation sings) | 56:15 |