William H. Willimon - "Pursued by Mercy" (April 21, 1991)

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	(orchestral church music)	0:00
-	Good morning and welcome to this service	2:35
	of the worship of God for the fourth Sunday of Easter.	2:38
	On this Sunday we bid farewell	2:43
	to our Chapel Choir for the summer.	2:45
	They have served us so well in leading us in worship	2:48
	this year and we thank them.	2:51
	This is the choir that the week before the week of exams	2:54
	were down here all weekend every day	2:59
	preparing for their spring auditoria	3:03
	which was so exciting here last Sunday evening.	3:08
	We thank these talented musicians for their work among us.	3:12
	Also this Sunday we designate as a time to say thank you	3:17
	to Nancy Ferree-Clark as she goes on	3:24
	to other areas of ministry.	3:29
	Nancy's been with us seven years, leading us in worship,	3:32
	leading the student programming of Duke Chapel	3:37
	and we give thanks to God for her presence among us.	3:42
	Nancy was introduced to me through a letter	3:46
	which she wrote to me when she was an associate pastor	3:50
	in Ashville, North Carolina	3:53
	and her letter began, "The road from Polkton, North Carolina	3:55
	"to Duke University is a long and winding road."	3:59
	We're glad that that road, through the grace of God,	4:04
	brought Nancy Ferree-Clark our way	4:08
	and today we give thanks that she worked among us.	4:12
	After the service today, the choir will enjoy a picnic	4:18
	and we will have opportunity to thank them further	4:22
	and also to thank Nancy.	4:27
	Let us stand for the greeting.	4:31
	Christ is risen.	4:36
	Glory and honor, dominion and power,	4:40
	be to God forever and ever.	4:42
	(orchestral church music)	4:48
	♪ Come, ye faithful, raise the strain ♪	5:30
	♪ Of triumphant gladness ♪	5:35
	♪ God hath brought his Israel ♪	5:39
	♪ Into joy from sadness ♪	5:45
	♪ Loosed from Pharaoh's bitter yoke ♪	5:50
	♪ Jacob's sons and daughters ♪	5:55
	♪ Led them with unmoistened foot ♪	6:00
	♪ Through the Red Sea waters ♪	6:05
	♪ 'Tis the spring of souls today ♪	6:13
	♪ Christ hath burst his prison ♪	6:18
	♪ And from three days' sleep in death ♪	6:23
	♪ As a sun hath risen ♪	6:28
	♪ All the winter of our sins ♪	6:34
	♪ Long and dark, is flying ♪	6:39
	♪ From his light, to whom we give ♪	6:44
	♪ Laud and praise undying ♪	6:49
	♪ Now the queen of seasons, bright ♪	6:58
	♪ With the day of splendor ♪	7:03
	♪ With the royal feast of feasts ♪	7:08
	♪ Comes its joy to render ♪	7:13
	♪ Comes to glad Jerusalem ♪	7:18
	♪ Who with true affection ♪	7:23
	♪ Welcomes in unwearied strains ♪	7:29
	♪ Jesus' resurrection ♪	7:34
	♪ Neither might the gates of death ♪	7:42
	♪ Nor the tomb's dark portal ♪	7:47
	♪ Nor the watchers, nor the seal ♪	7:52
	♪ Hold thee as a mortal ♪	7:57
	♪ But today amidst thine own ♪	8:03
	♪ Thou didst stand, bestowing ♪	8:07
	♪ Thine own peace, which evermore ♪	8:13
	♪ Passeth human knowing ♪	8:18
	(dramatic, dark orchestral music)	8:25
	♪ Alleuia now we cry ♪	10:01
	♪ To our King immortal ♪	10:06
	♪ Who, triumphant, burst the bars ♪	10:11
	♪ Of the tomb's dark portal ♪	10:17
	♪ Alleluia with the Son ♪	10:22
	♪ God the Father praising ♪	10:27
	♪ Alleluia yet again ♪	10:32
	♪ to the Spirit raising ♪	10:38
-	Oh, God, who's son Jesus	10:50
	is the good shepherd of your people,	10:52
	grant that when we hear his voice,	10:56
	we may know him who calls us each by name	10:58
	and follow where he leads.	11:02
	Who with you and the Holy Spirit,	11:05
	lives and reigns one God forever and ever.	11:08
	Amen.	11:12
-	Let us pray.	11:23
	Oh, living God, bring us forth from life	11:26
	so that as the scriptures are read	11:30
	and your word is proclaimed,	11:33
	we might be bought to a sure and living faith	11:36
	in your lordship.	11:39
	Amen.	11:41
	The first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles.	11:44
	Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,	11:48
	"Rulers of the people and elders!	11:52
	"If we are questioned today	11:56
	"because of a good deed done to someone who was sick	11:58
	"and are asked how this man has been healed,	12:02
	"let it be known to all of you,	12:05
	"and to all the people of Israel,	12:08
	"that this man is standing before you in good health	12:11
	"by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth	12:15
	"whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.	12:19
	"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you,	12:24
	"the builders, it has become the cornerstone.	12:28
	"There is salvation in no one else,	12:34
	"for there is no other name under heaven	12:37
	"given among mortals by which we must be saved."	12:39
	This is the word of the Lord.	12:45
-	Please stand as we join in singing	12:54
	responsively Psalm 23 found on page 754.	12:56
	(orchestral music)	13:03
	♪ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ♪	13:09
	♪ He makes me lie down in green pastures ♪	13:15
	♪ He leads me beside still waters ♪	13:21
	♪ He restores my life ♪	13:25
	♪ He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake ♪	13:28
	♪ Even though I walk through the darkest valley ♪	13:36
	♪ I fear no evil ♪	13:41
	♪ For you are with me ♪	13:44
	♪ Your rod and your staff, they comfort me ♪	13:47
	♪ You prepare a table before me ♪	13:53
	♪ In the presence of my enemies ♪	13:57
	♪ You anoint my head with oil ♪	14:01
	♪ My cup overflows ♪	14:05
	♪ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ♪	14:10
	♪ All the days of my life, ♪	14:15
	♪ And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever ♪	14:18
	♪ Oh glory be to you for God and to Jesus Christ our Savior ♪	14:29
	♪ Thanks to the Holy Spirit, our savior's here ♪	14:36
	♪ As it was since time began ♪	14:43
	(congregation sing in response)	14:47
-	This reading is from the Gospel according to Saint John.	15:05
	I am the good shepherd.	15:10
	The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.	15:13
	The hired hand who is not the shepherd,	15:17
	and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming	15:19
	and leaves the sheep and runs away,	15:24
	and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.	15:27
	The hired hand runs away	15:32
	because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.	15:34
	I am the good shepherd.	15:39
	I know my own and my own know me,	15:41
	just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.	15:46
	And I lay down my life for the sheep.	15:51
	I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.	15:54
	I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.	15:59
	So there will be one flock, one shepherd.	16:04
	For this reason the Father loves me,	16:08
	because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.	16:11
	No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.	16:17
	I have the power to lay it down,	16:23
	and I have the power to take it up again.	16:26
	I have received this command from my Father.	16:30
	This is the word of the Lord.	16:34
	(choir singing)	17:00
-	How pleasant.	21:48
	On a spring Sunday to come to chapel	21:50
	and there to meet an old familiar friend.	21:55
	Because sometimes Sunday can be jarring,	22:00
	discordant experience.	22:03
	You come to church, settle down in the pew,	22:04
	only to be assaulted by some unfamiliar idea	22:08
	encountered by some alien Biblical text,	22:13
	prodded by some pushy preacher peddling a pushier passage.	22:19
	But not this Sunday.	22:24
	We thought, well, the students are getting ready for exams,	22:28
	they need some reassuring word	22:34
	but beyond that on this fourth Sunday of Easter	22:37
	in the church's year,	22:40
	this is also traditionally called shepherd Sunday	22:41
	and you will note that the gospel text has to do with sheep,	22:47
	shepherds, all appointed for	22:53
	Jesus, the good shepherd.	22:59
	And so this Sunday the psalm just had to be 23.	23:01
	The shepherd psalm.	23:08
	The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.	23:11
	I cannot remember when I have not known this psalm, can you?	23:17
	It is the psalm of childhood,	23:22
	it expresses a kind of childlike trust in God	23:24
	as the shepherd who protects, and keeps,	23:28
	and leads.	23:33
	When I hear this psalm I think of that faded pastel portrait	23:35
	in the third grade Sunday school classroom.	23:39
	Jesus, the good shepherd.	23:44
	He makes me to lie down in green pastures.	23:50
	He leads me beside still waters.	23:53
	It's all so restful and reassuring.	23:56
	Sheep do not drink from dangerous, swift-flowing rivers.	23:59
	And this shepherd finds just the right spot	24:04
	for us to rest and be at peace and be restored.	24:08
	He leads me in right paths.	24:12
	Even though I walk through the darkest valley.	24:16
	And here the bright mornings of childhood fade	24:21
	and the psalm dares to speak of the ending of life	24:28
	when each of us must walk through that dark valley	24:32
	and it names that end not as some abyss	24:37
	but as the place where the good shepherd meets us.	24:40
	I fear no evil.	24:46
	You are with me.	24:49
	Your rod, your staff, they comfort me.	24:50
	And as a pastor, I've often been impressed	24:56
	how, when someone's life is drawing to a close,	25:01
	they invariably will reach for Psalm 23.	25:04
	And it's not only because that most of us	25:09
	know this psalm by heart,	25:13
	but it's also that when it becomes our turn	25:17
	to walk through that dark valley,	25:20
	we inevitably call for an old friend	25:24
	to walk it with us, Psalm 23.	25:26
	It dares to speak of the end.	25:31
	And so Psalm 23 is a friend for life,	25:35
	for the childlike trusting assurance of its beginning	25:39
	and also for a strong word of comfort at the end.	25:45
	It is a rare funeral where Psalm 23 is not invited	25:49
	to say a few words over the grave.	25:53
	I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.	25:59
	Whenever in this life we have been forced	26:03
	to wander down some meandering trail,	26:05
	when we have bobbed like jetsam down some raging torrent.	26:08
	It was this old friend who came to us	26:14
	and reminded us of the green pastures and the still waters	26:16
	and thereby restored our souls.	26:21
	Whenever we have wandered in this life	26:27
	without purpose or meaning,	26:29
	it was good old Psalm 23 that was there	26:30
	to point us in right paths for his name's sake.	26:35
	When life made us wonder if God cared,	26:42
	there was 23 to put comforting arms around us,	26:46
	there, there,	26:49
	and reassured us of a God who makes and leads	26:52
	and restores and comforts and prepares and anoints.	26:55
	So that whether in childhood or old age,	27:01
	in darkness or light, in life or death,	27:05
	we might dwell with God forever.	27:08
	Good old, familiar since childhood, reassuring Psalm 23.	27:14
	It speaks of the still waters and the green pastures.	27:19
	Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me	27:25
	all the days of my life.	27:32
	But a closer look at Psalm 23 this time	27:38
	reveals something about this old friend	27:40
	that I had not seen before.	27:42
	Surely, goodness and mercy follow me all my days.	27:46
	But a closer look at the Hebrew reveals,	27:53
	as is so often the case,	27:56
	that a Hebrew word can be translated	27:57
	into English in a variety of ways.	28:00
	Goodness.	28:04
	That Hebrew word has many nuances in the Old Testament.	28:06
	It speaks of all those befits of being near to God,	28:11
	all those benefits of God's presence,	28:14
	to be with God is good.	28:16
	Mercy?	28:19
	That is that beloved Hebrew word hesed.	28:21
	Hesed, God's mercy.	28:24
	God's fidelity even when we are not faithful.	28:27
	That word hesed, mercy, was just loved by the prophets.	28:31
	Translated often in our Bible not as mercy	28:35
	but as steadfast love.	28:38
	But the word that really surprises	28:45
	is that word which is translated in Psalm 23 as follow.	28:49
	Goodness and kindness follow me.	28:55
	And the note in my concordant says the Hebrew	29:04
	can also be translated, and sometimes is in the Bible,	29:07
	not as follow but as pursue.	29:10
	Goodness and mercy pursue me.	29:16
	And suddenly an old familiar friend takes on new meaning.	29:22
	Exodus 14.	29:28
	Pharaohs chariots pursued the children of Israel	29:30
	to the Red Sea.	29:33
	Psalm 18, David boasts, "I pursued my enemies	29:37
	"and I overtook them."	29:42
	It's the same word.	29:45
	Lamentations 4,	29:47
	"Our pursuers were swifter than vultures,	29:51
	"they laid at wait to jump us in the wilderness."	29:54
	Psalm 23, "Surely, goodness and mercy	30:00
	"pursue me all the days of my life."	30:07
	Just like pharaohs chariots,	30:13
	just like those vultures waiting to jump you.	30:14
	You are pursued.	30:19
	And for me, even in the presence of an old friend	30:22
	about whom I thought I knew everything,	30:24
	there is a ripple upon these still, peaceful waters.	30:27
	Because don't you think there's a difference between	30:32
	sort of plodding along through life,	30:38
	looking back, "Oh yeah, who's that behind me?	30:42
	"Oh, yes, yes, that's goodness and mercy.	30:44
	"They're following me, they're tagging along."	30:47
	Hmm.	30:53
	Looks to me as if they may be pursuing you.	30:55
	Is it follow, or is it pursue? You make the call.	31:02
	I fled him down the nights and down the days,	31:09
	I fled him down the arches of the years.	31:12
	I fled him down the labyrinthian tears,	31:15
	the ways of my own mind,	31:19
	and then, in the midst of tears,	31:22
	I hid from him, from those strong feet	31:24
	that followed, that followed me after.	31:28
	Francis Thompson, Hound of Heaven.	31:32
	See, I don't care how you think	31:38
	of the good shepherd of Psalm 23;	31:40
	you don't know him until you've admitted	31:44
	that he is a pursuer.	31:47
	Because there's a difference between	31:54
	being followed and pursued.	31:55
	It's one thing to look back over your shoulder	31:59
	and find dear old predictable goodness and mercy in tow,	32:01
	trudging up the hill behind you.	32:06
	And it's another thing to be jumped	32:10
	from behind by breathless goodness and mercy.	32:12
	I met them, I met one 16 years ago,	32:18
	the other a couple of years later.	32:23
	Met one in a maternity ward, North Myrtle Beach Hospital.	32:26
	The other, Durham County General.	32:30
	Though my wife had met them earlier.	32:33
	Oh being a parent, I tell you, is no picnic.	32:36
	You got responsibilities.	32:39
	You've got to get money for college.	32:41
	You've got to set a good example.	32:43
	There's plans to be made.	32:45
	There are always these conflicts to be managed	32:46
	and these hurdles to get over and collision insurance.	32:48
	Teenagers are no picnic.	32:53
	And yet the other day as the two walked towards me	32:56
	and a friend asked me, "What are their names?"	33:00
	I was able to answer without a moment's hesitation,	33:03
	"Well that tall one, that's Goodness,	33:09
	"the one with the blonde hair we call Mercy."	33:12
	The Lord is my shepherd, we say,	33:20
	and the shepherd's the one that leads us down	33:23
	by these level green pastures.	33:25
	Knows just where to find that quiet, peaceful brook	33:28
	whereby we can rest and be refreshed.	33:32
	But I remind you that Jesus told a story in Luke 15	33:36
	about that shepherd, that good shepherd.	33:40
	Who, when just one stupid sheep left,	33:44
	this shepherd left the 90 and 9 in the wilderness	33:48
	and went out and pursued that lost sheep	33:51
	until he found it.	33:57
	The shepherd pursued the lost.	34:02
	"You've done all you can for that child," friends told him,	34:06
	"There's gotta be limits to what parents can do,	34:09
	"he's an adult now,	34:11
	"it's time for him to stand or fall on his own,	34:13
	"you've got to let him go!"	34:14
	But the shepherd pursued until he found the lost.	34:20
	Oh there're most sheep content with an occasional	34:25
	green pasture or quite brook,	34:28
	but there are other sheep, our gospel says this morning,	34:32
	there're other sheep who are not of this fold.	34:35
	And I'm going out the pursue them as well, John 10.	34:40
	And when this pursuing good shepherd finds that lost,	34:45
	he puts him on his shoulders and comes back to his friends	34:49
	and says, "Let's party."	34:51
	A sheep which was lost is found, rejoice.	34:56
	I lay down my life for the sheep.	35:02
	Is there no limit to his pursuit?	35:09
	Well we had known him as only a mean, old man.	35:19
	But yet people in town said that	35:25
	there was reason for him to be mean.	35:26
	There was a reason for his sourness on life.	35:31
	Early in life his beloved wife had died	35:36
	giving birth to their first child,	35:40
	shortly thereafter the child died from complications.	35:42
	He was bitter.	35:47
	He never came to church.	35:48
	He never had any friends.	35:51
	And when, in his late 70s,	35:55
	they carried him out to the hospital to die,	35:57
	nobody visited, nobody sent cards.	36:02
	He went there to die as he had lived, alone.	36:07
	Well there was this nurse,	36:13
	she wasn't actually a nurse yet,	36:15
	she was a student nurse,	36:17
	and I suppose because she was still a student,	36:19
	she had never learned yet the necessity for detachment,	36:22
	the need for professional distance,	36:27
	so she attempted to befriend the old man.	36:30
	He resisted her efforts, "Go away,	36:35
	"I don't need anybody," he would growl	36:36
	when she would come cheerfully into the room.	36:38
	But she persisted.	36:41
	And soon he became too weak to resist.	36:44
	And she would come and sit beside his bed	36:50
	and she would try to get him to eat his jello	36:56
	and she would, in the evenings	37:00
	when work was done on the ward,	37:02
	she would come in and sit next to him	37:04
	and hold his old gnarled hand and sing to him.	37:06
	And that last night as she sat there,	37:13
	an unfamiliar tear formed in his eye	37:17
	and came down a wrinkled, dried, old cheek.	37:20
	And for the first time in maybe 40, 50 years,	37:26
	his parched lips made the words,	37:31
	God bless you.	37:36
	And as she left the room that last night,	37:42
	there were two who remained,	37:46
	breathless, each whispering softly into the old man's ear.	37:49
	The last word he heard before slipping down	37:58
	into that dark valley, gotcha.	38:01
	Whispered by goodness and mercy.	38:08
	I've got other sheep who're not of this fold.	38:17
	They would not feel comfortable in the chapel	38:20
	on a Sunday morning, they are not here.	38:22
	They're philosophy majors, or whatever, they're not here.	38:25
	But I have gone to go out and pursue them also	38:30
	and I want to bring them in	38:34
	until there's just one flock and one shepherd.	38:35
	Here's a shepherd who's always out pursuing and seeking.	38:40
	When we wander down some crooked path,	38:45
	when we float like jetsam down some raging river,	38:47
	he has met us.	38:50
	No, he has pursued us, even into the valley.	38:53
	Gotcha.	38:59
	Well, after Good Friday,	39:03
	we had about lost our taste for discipleship.	39:04
	World had had it's way with Jesus,	39:10
	treated him just about like the world	39:12
	has always treated its prophets.	39:14
	Nailed him to a cross, sealed him shut	39:16
	now dead in a tomb.	39:19
	Alone, bereft now we were just like,	39:22
	how did he put it, like sheep without a shepherd.	39:25
	And so we cowered behind our securely locked doors,	39:32
	so fearful were we.	39:36
	And we were eating.	39:40
	We were eating a kind of funeral meal for Jesus.	39:41
	And there was a knock at the door.	39:46
	"Who's there?"	39:49
	The door was cracked open.	39:52
	Thomas went and peered into the darkness.	39:54
	Words were exchanged.	39:57
	And then Thomas turned around and said to the rest of us,	40:01
	"We're gonna need more wine,	40:07
	"turn up the music.	40:11
	"Set two more places at the table.	40:15
	"Make the name cards to read Goodness,	40:18
	"Mercy."	40:24
	"We've been pursued."	40:27
	(orchestral church music)	40:34
	♪ The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want ♪	41:06
	♪ He makes me down to lie ♪	41:14
	♪ In pastures green, he leadeth me ♪	41:21
	♪ The quiet waters by ♪	41:30
	♪ My soul He doth restore again ♪	41:38
	♪ And me to walk doth make ♪	41:47
	♪ Within the paths of righteousness ♪	41:54
	♪ E'en for His own name's sake ♪	42:03
	♪ Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale ♪	42:12
	♪ Yet will I fear no ill ♪	42:21
	♪ For Thou art with me and Thy rod ♪	42:27
	♪ And staff me comfort still ♪	42:36
	♪ My table Thou hast furnished ♪	42:45
	♪ In presence of my foes ♪	42:55
	♪ My head Thou dost with oil anoint ♪	43:01
	♪ And my cup overflows ♪	43:09
	♪ Goodness and mercy all my life ♪	43:19
	♪ Shall surely follow me ♪	43:27
	♪ And in God's house forevermore ♪	43:34
	♪ My dwelling-place shall be ♪	43:43
-	Please be seated.	43:55
	The prayer response is found on page 485 in your hymnal.	43:59
	The Lord be with you.	44:09
	♪ In peace let us pray to the Lord ♪	44:13
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	44:17
	Oh gentle shepherd, you have created us, your children,	44:23
	as one human family and we marvel at our endless variety.	44:28
	You have painted us with different brush strokes	44:35
	as members of diverse races.	44:37
	You have endowed us with different talents,	44:40
	some to work with our hands, and some with our minds.	44:43
	You have crowned each of us with glory	44:47
	and honor through your everlasting love.	44:49
	As we acknowledge you to be the good shepherd	44:53
	of all the world, we pray for peace for your children.	44:55
	That through your diligent pursuit of us,	44:59
	we may be reconciled to you and to one another.	45:02
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	45:07
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	45:09
	Teach us, gracious God, to recognize your presence	45:15
	in every person and, above all, in those who suffer.	45:19
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	45:24
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	45:27
	For all who are homeless or live in dangerous places	45:33
	and for all refugees driven from their homes,	45:37
	especially the Kurdish men, women, and children of Iraq	45:40
	caught in a tragic plight for safety.	45:44
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	45:48
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	45:50
	For all those who have known the ravages of war	45:56
	as they seek to rebuild their lives,	45:59
	may they also know the peace you give.	46:01
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	46:05
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	46:08
	For the sick and for those who live in constant pain.	46:14
	For the elderly and the infirm.	46:17
	As their strength diminishes,	46:21
	increase their confidence in your love.	46:22
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	46:26
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	46:28
	For those who suffer from misunderstanding	46:35
	and physical or emotional violence in their families.	46:37
	Grant them your love which heals the deepest wounds.	46:42
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	46:46
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	46:49
	For those who's work is difficult and unrewarding	46:55
	and for those who can find no work,	46:58
	grant them the justice of your love.	47:00
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	47:03
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	47:06
	For those who are lost,	47:12
	faced by trials and temptations,	47:14
	desperately needing help and compassion.	47:17
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	47:21
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	47:23
	For those who work for racial harmony and justice	47:30
	and who create friendships	47:33
	between people of different races.	47:35
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	47:37
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	47:40
	Give your spirit to artists and musicians	47:46
	that their work may reveal to us the power of your glory.	47:49
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	47:53
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	47:56
	That we each may be set free from our faults	48:03
	and set other free by our forgiveness.	48:06
	♪ Let us pray to the Lord ♪	48:09
	♪ Lord have mercy ♪	48:12
	Oh, God of goodness and mercy,	48:19
	tirelessly you seek out your children	48:21
	who think that you are far away.	48:23
	Teach us at every moment to trust in you	48:26
	by placing our spirit in your hands.	48:29
	While we are still looking for you,	48:32
	already you have found us.	48:34
	In the name of Christ the good shepherd, we pray.	48:37
	Amen.	48:41
	As a resurrected community,	48:45
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves	48:46
	unto God with thanksgiving.	48:49
	(orchestral church music)	48:54
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:19
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:23
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:27
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:32
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:41
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:45
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	49:56
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:00
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:09
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:13
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:15
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:22
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:26
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:31
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:40
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:44
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	50:53
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:04
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:08
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:10
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:12
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:21
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:26
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:30
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:33
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:37
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:40
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:42
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:52
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	51:58
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:14
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:19
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:24
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:28
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:34
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:38
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:42
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:47
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:51
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:55
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:58
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:02
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:06
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:09
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:11
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:15
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:20
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:23
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:27
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:28
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:33
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:39
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:46
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:01
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:12
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:23
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:39
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:48
	(orchestral church music)	55:12
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:18
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:21
	(congregation singing)	56:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:39
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:41
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:44
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:47
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:50
-	Our kind and gracious God that we are alive,	57:04
	that the seasons unfold in their glorious array,	57:09
	that rest can restore our weary selves to newness of life,	57:12
	your name be praised.	57:17
	We thank you that you fill our cups to overflowing	57:19
	and empower us to do your work.	57:21
	We offer these gifts as tokens of our love.	57:24
	For the sake of your whole flock,	57:27
	may they serve to bring others into your fold	57:30
	and equip us all to live fully as your own.	57:32
	These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ,	57:36
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	57:39
All	Our Father, who art in heaven,	57:41
	hallowed be thy name,	57:44
	thy kingdom come,	57:46
	thy will be done,	57:47
	on earth as it is in heaven.	57:49
	Give us this day our daily bread.	57:51
	And forgive us our trespasses,	57:54
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	57:56
	And lead us not into temptation,	57:59
	but deliver us from evil.	58:02
	For thine is the kingdom,	58:04
	the power and the glory,	58:06
	for ever and ever.	58:07
	Amen.	58:09
-	The God of peace brought our Lord Jesus,	58:11
	the great shepherd of the flock, back again from the dead.	58:14
	May God give you every good gift that you may do God's will.	58:18
	May our God work within you all that is pleasing	58:23
	in God's sight through Jesus Christ.	58:26
	Glory be to God forever and ever.	58:28
	'Allelujah.	58:31
	♪ The Lord ♪	58:36
	(orchestral church music)	59:00
	♪ The King of love my Shepherd is ♪	59:34
	♪ Whose goodness faileth never ♪	59:41
	♪ I nothing lack if I am His ♪	59:50
	♪ And He is mine forever. ♪	59:57
	♪ Where streams of living water flow ♪	1:00:08
	♪ My ransomed soul He leadeth ♪	1:00:16
	♪ And, where the verdant pastures grow, ♪	1:00:24
	♪ With food celestial feedeth ♪	1:00:32
	♪ Perverse and foolish oft I strayed ♪	1:00:43
	♪ But yet in love He sought me ♪	1:00:51
	♪ And on His shoulder gently laid ♪	1:00:59
	♪ And home rejoicing brought me ♪	1:01:08
	♪ In death's dark vale I fear no ill ♪	1:01:18
	♪ With Thee, dear Lord, beside me ♪	1:01:26
	♪ Thy rod and staff my comfort still ♪	1:01:35
	♪ Thy Cross before to guide me ♪	1:01:43
	♪ Thou spread'st a table in my sight ♪	1:01:54
	♪ Thy unction grace bestoweth ♪	1:02:03
	♪ And oh, what transport of delight ♪	1:02:12
	♪ From Thy pure chalice floweth ♪	1:02:20
	♪ And so through all the length of days ♪	1:02:31
	♪ Thy goodness faileth never ♪	1:02:39
	♪ Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise ♪	1:02:47
	♪ Within Thy house forever ♪	1:02:56
	(organ music)	1:03:09

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Pursued by Mercy" (April 21, 1991)

Description:

Sermon start time: 21:48. Sermon end time: 40:30.
This sermon elaborates on how God, The Good Shepherd, relentlessly shows goodness and mercy to people. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “I don’t care how you think of the good shepherd of Psalm 23; you don’t know him until you’ve admitted that he is a pursuer.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4901zx3c

Date:

April 21, 1991

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Biblical Book:

John

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0230
ref8933_gvx
uachapelsermaud
duke:321456
dcrmv001220
ark:/87924/r4901zx3c
4753bb18-98e0-47f3-b627-a38a3f7a2a3c

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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William H. Willimon - "Pursued by Mercy" (April 21, 1991)

Transcript

Item Info

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Duke University Archives