Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Friends in Christ" (May 5, 1991)
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| (organ music) | 0:00 | |
| ♪ Day by day ♪ | 0:56 | |
| ♪ Dear Lord of these three things I pray ♪ | 1:01 | |
| ♪ To see thee more clearly ♪ | 1:14 | |
| ♪ Love thee dearly ♪ | 1:21 | |
| ♪ Follow thee more nearly ♪ | 1:26 | |
| ♪ Day by day ♪ | 1:33 | |
| ♪ Day by day ♪ | 1:49 | |
| ♪ Day by day ♪ | 2:00 | |
| ♪ Dear Lord of these three things I pray ♪ | 2:05 | |
| ♪ To see thee more clearly ♪ | 2:15 | |
| ♪ Love thee more dearly ♪ | 2:22 | |
| ♪ Follow thee more nearly ♪ | 2:28 | |
| ♪ Day by day by day ♪ | 2:34 | |
| - | Good morning, and welcome to this service of worship | 3:25 |
| at Duke University Chapel on this sixth Sunday of Easter. | 3:28 | |
| We are delighted to see each of you here, | 3:32 | |
| and especially to our many visitors, | 3:34 | |
| we extend a warm welcome. | 3:36 | |
| If we may be of assistance to you in any way | 3:38 | |
| during your visit to the Duke campus, | 3:40 | |
| please do not hesitate to let us know. | 3:42 | |
| I am indebted to the Reverend Ollie Jenkins | 3:45 | |
| who is campus minister for the Wesley United Methodist | 3:47 | |
| Fellowship here at Duke, | 3:50 | |
| for serving today as our presiding minister. | 3:52 | |
| Ollie is well-known to many of us | 3:55 | |
| for his active participation in the Religious Life Program | 3:57 | |
| here at Duke, and most especially this past year | 4:00 | |
| for serving as leader to the mission trip | 4:03 | |
| over Spring Break to Honduras. | 4:05 | |
| Our lector is the Reverend Debbie Luther, | 4:08 | |
| coordinator of the Graduate | 4:10 | |
| and Professional Student Fellowship | 4:11 | |
| who has served for two years here | 4:13 | |
| on the chapel and Religious Life staffs. | 4:15 | |
| Debbie is soon to graduate from the Duke Divinity School | 4:18 | |
| after which she will move on to Summerville, South Carolina, | 4:21 | |
| where she will serve as associate pastor | 4:24 | |
| at the Bethany United Methodist Church. | 4:27 | |
| We thank her for her excellent service here at the chapel | 4:29 | |
| and wish her well in her future ministry. | 4:32 | |
| We are also grateful to the North Carolina Boys Choir | 4:35 | |
| for their spirited leadership in today's service | 4:38 | |
| and to the Reverend Karen Westerfield Tucker, | 4:41 | |
| lecturer in Liturgistics at Duke Divinity School | 4:43 | |
| for serving as our second organist | 4:47 | |
| alongside chapel organist David Arcus. | 4:49 | |
| The North Carolina Boys Choir is led, by the way, | 4:52 | |
| by Mr. Bill Graham, to whom we are extremely indebted | 4:54 | |
| for his leadership in this program today. | 4:57 | |
| Please note the remaining announcements | 5:01 | |
| as they are printed in your bulletins, | 5:03 | |
| and now let us stand for the greeting. | 5:05 | |
| Christ is risen | 5:12 | |
| - | The Lord is risen indeed. | |
| Glory and honor, dominion and power | 5:17 | |
| be to God forever and ever. | 5:20 | |
| Congregation | Christ is risen, hallelujah. | 5:23 |
| (organ music) | 5:29 | |
| ♪ Our God our help in ages past ♪ | 5:53 | |
| ♪ Our hope for years to come ♪ | 5:59 | |
| ♪ Our shelter from the stormy blast ♪ | 6:05 | |
| ♪ And our eternal home ♪ | 6:12 | |
| ♪ Under the shadow of thy throne ♪ | 6:20 | |
| ♪ Thy saints have dwelt secure ♪ | 6:26 | |
| ♪ Sufficient is thine arm alone ♪ | 6:33 | |
| ♪ And our defense is sure ♪ | 6:39 | |
| ♪ Before the fields in order stood ♪ | 6:48 | |
| ♪ Or earth received her frame ♪ | 6:54 | |
| ♪ From everlasting thou art God ♪ | 7:00 | |
| ♪ To endless years the same ♪ | 7:07 | |
| ♪ A thousand ages in thy sight ♪ | 7:16 | |
| ♪ Are like an evening gone ♪ | 7:22 | |
| ♪ Short as the watch that ends the night ♪ | 7:28 | |
| ♪ Before the rising sun ♪ | 7:35 | |
| ♪ Time like an ever rolling stream ♪ | 7:43 | |
| ♪ Bears all its sons away ♪ | 7:50 | |
| ♪ They fly, forgotten as a dream ♪ | 7:57 | |
| ♪ Dies at the opening day ♪ | 8:02 | |
| ♪ Our God our help in ages past ♪ | 8:11 | |
| ♪ Our hope for years to come ♪ | 8:19 | |
| ♪ Be Thou our God while troubles last ♪ | 8:25 | |
| ♪ And our eternal home ♪ | 8:32 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 8:45 |
| Lord, you have gathered us here. | 8:49 | |
| You have given us faith. | 8:52 | |
| You have given us a desire to worship and confess, | 8:55 | |
| and sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving. | 8:59 | |
| You have given us gifts for worship, | 9:03 | |
| preaching, and music, and silence. | 9:05 | |
| You have given us the church as a place | 9:10 | |
| in which we are shaped into worshipful people. | 9:13 | |
| So in this hour, let us be faithful | 9:18 | |
| to all that you have done. | 9:20 | |
| In the name of the blessed Trinity, amen. | 9:23 | |
| You may be seated. | 9:27 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 9:40 |
| O living God, bring us forth from death to life, | 9:43 | |
| so that as the Scriptures are read | 9:48 | |
| and your Word is proclaimed, | 9:51 | |
| we might be brought to a sure | 9:53 | |
| and living faith in your lordship, amen. | 9:55 | |
| A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. | 10:03 | |
| While Peter was still speaking, | 10:08 | |
| the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. | 10:11 | |
| The circumcised believers who had come with Peter | 10:16 | |
| were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit | 10:19 | |
| had been poured out even on the Gentiles, | 10:22 | |
| for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. | 10:26 | |
| Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water | 10:31 | |
| "for baptizing these people | 10:35 | |
| "who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" | 10:37 | |
| So he ordered them to be baptized | 10:42 | |
| in the name of Jesus Christ. | 10:44 | |
| Then they invited him to stay for several days. | 10:47 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 10:53 | |
| All | Thanks be to God. | 10:55 |
| - | Please stand and join me responsively | 11:02 |
| in the reading of Psalm 98 found on page 818 in your hymnal. | 11:05 | |
| O sing to the Lord a new song | 11:17 | |
| for the Lord has done marvelous things. | 11:20 | |
| God's right hand and holy arm have gotten the victory. | 11:24 | |
| All | The Lord has declared victory | 11:28 |
| and has revealed his vindication | 11:31 | |
| in the sight of the nations. | 11:33 | |
| - | The Lord has remembered his steadfast love | 11:36 |
| and faithfulness to the house of Israel. | 11:39 | |
| All | All the ends of the earth | 11:42 |
| have seen the victory of our God. | 11:44 | |
| - | Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. | 11:48 |
| All | Break forth into joyous song and sing praises. | 11:52 |
| - | Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, | 11:56 |
| with the lyre and the sound of melody. | 11:59 | |
| All | With trumpets and the sounds of the horn, | 12:03 |
| make a joyful noise before the ruler, the Lord. | 12:06 | |
| - | Let the sea roar and all that fills it, | 12:10 |
| the world and all those who dwell in it. | 12:14 | |
| All | Let the floods clap their hands, | 12:17 |
| let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord | 12:20 | |
| who comes to judge the earth. | 12:24 | |
| The Lord will judge the world with righteousness | 12:27 | |
| and the peoples with equity. | 12:31 | |
| (congregation muffled singing with organ music) | 12:41 | |
| - | A reading from the first letter of John. | 13:43 |
| Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ | 13:49 | |
| has been born of God, | 13:52 | |
| and everyone who loves the parent, loves the child. | 13:54 | |
| By this we know that we love the children of God | 13:59 | |
| when we love God and obey his commandments. | 14:03 | |
| For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments, | 14:08 | |
| and his commandments are not burdensome. | 14:13 | |
| For whatever is born of God conquers the world, | 14:16 | |
| and this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. | 14:20 | |
| Who is it that conquers the world | 14:26 | |
| but the one who believes that Jesus Christ | 14:28 | |
| is the Son of God. | 14:31 | |
| This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, | 14:34 | |
| not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. | 14:39 | |
| And the Spirit is the one that testifies, | 14:44 | |
| for the Spirit is the truth. | 14:47 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 14:51 | |
| All | Thanks be to God. | 14:54 |
| (organ music) | 15:07 | |
| (boys' choir vocalizing) | 15:22 | |
| - | A reading from the gospel according to Saint John. | 18:25 |
| Jesus addresses the disciples in his final discourse | 18:29 | |
| prior to the betrayal and crucifixion. | 18:33 | |
| As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. | 18:37 | |
| Abide in my love. | 18:43 | |
| If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love | 18:45 | |
| just as I have kept my Father's commandments | 18:49 | |
| and abide in His love. | 18:52 | |
| I have said these things to you | 18:55 | |
| so that my joy may be in you | 18:57 | |
| and that your joy may be complete. | 18:59 | |
| This is my commandment, that you love one another | 19:03 | |
| as I have loved you. | 19:07 | |
| No one has greater love than this | 19:09 | |
| to lay down one's life for one's friends. | 19:12 | |
| You are my friends if you do what I command you. | 19:16 | |
| I do not call you servants any longer | 19:20 | |
| because the servant does not know what the master is doing, | 19:23 | |
| but I have called you friends | 19:28 | |
| because I have made known to you | 19:30 | |
| everything that I have heard from my Father. | 19:32 | |
| You did not choose me, but I chose you, | 19:37 | |
| and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, | 19:41 | |
| fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you | 19:44 | |
| whatever you ask in my name. | 19:48 | |
| I am giving you these commands | 19:52 | |
| so that you may love one another. | 19:54 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 19:58 | |
| Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 20:02 |
| - | For all the talk about commandments | 20:07 |
| and their importance in our lives, | 20:10 | |
| I sometimes wonder what their future really is. | 20:11 | |
| Granted, commandments usually receive | 20:15 | |
| a good bit of attention on Sunday mornings, | 20:18 | |
| but I'm just not so sure that holds true | 20:20 | |
| for the rest of the week. | 20:23 | |
| When was the last time you actually used | 20:25 | |
| the word commandment in a conversation? | 20:27 | |
| I worry that it may be falling into a list | 20:31 | |
| of endangered vocabulary, such as beget or beseech, | 20:33 | |
| which still sound relevant in the sacred space | 20:38 | |
| of a gothic cathedral or even in a little tiny church | 20:41 | |
| in the countryside somewhere, | 20:45 | |
| but increasingly is being ignored in our daily lives. | 20:47 | |
| Much of our world regards religious commandments | 20:52 | |
| with a good deal of suspicion, | 20:55 | |
| while offering alternative, more palatable philosophies | 20:57 | |
| for autonomous free-thinking individuals to live by. | 21:01 | |
| Follow your own light, maximize your own potential, | 21:04 | |
| competition before cooperation, | 21:10 | |
| anything for the sake of a dollar, to name a few, | 21:12 | |
| commandments dressed up not to look like commandments. | 21:16 | |
| Fortunately for the church, our story is based | 21:22 | |
| on the language of commandments | 21:25 | |
| and we acknowledge it as such. | 21:27 | |
| We live under the common authority of God's Word | 21:30 | |
| and the Christian community's interpretation of it | 21:33 | |
| where we have heard the good news of God's intervention | 21:36 | |
| through Christ on our behalf. | 21:39 | |
| In grateful response to God's love for us, | 21:42 | |
| we accept God's commands. | 21:45 | |
| So the John the evangelist makes no bones | 21:49 | |
| about the commandment which Christ has issued | 21:51 | |
| in his farewell discourse to the disciples. | 21:53 | |
| This is my commandment, that you love one another | 21:56 | |
| as I have loved you. | 22:00 | |
| What is initiated by God and is made incarnate | 22:02 | |
| through Christ lives on in the church | 22:05 | |
| through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that is love. | 22:08 | |
| God's entire command to the church as found in John's gospel | 22:12 | |
| is literally summarized in the words love one another. | 22:17 | |
| In contrast to the type of moral or ethical instructions | 22:22 | |
| we often associate with the word commandment. | 22:26 | |
| This evangelist believed it was sufficient to say | 22:30 | |
| that we have the model of Jesus | 22:33 | |
| who came to do God's will which he obeyed even to death, | 22:35 | |
| and that his life compels us to love one another. | 22:39 | |
| That single command includes and fulfills all others. | 22:43 | |
| How to interpret that command | 22:49 | |
| in the various situations we confront each day | 22:50 | |
| can be discerned by those who abide in God's love | 22:53 | |
| and are taught by the Spirit. | 22:57 | |
| As Christ explained to his disciples | 23:00 | |
| in the passage just preceding today's gospel, | 23:02 | |
| the figure of the vine and its branches | 23:05 | |
| is an image which depicts the relationship | 23:08 | |
| of the Christian to God. | 23:10 | |
| I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. | 23:12 | |
| You are the branches; abide in my love. | 23:17 | |
| To abide in Christ suggests a divine | 23:22 | |
| indwelling of the Holy Spirit, | 23:25 | |
| not in terms of a sort of exalted mysticism, | 23:27 | |
| but in terms of keeping God's commandments. | 23:30 | |
| It implies a relationship of trust, | 23:33 | |
| knowledge, unity, and love. | 23:37 | |
| Just as Christ was able to remain or abide in God | 23:40 | |
| from whom he came while he was still on earth, | 23:44 | |
| the disciples and indeed the whole church | 23:47 | |
| are able to abide in Christ after his ascension. | 23:50 | |
| To abide in Christ therefore implies | 23:55 | |
| both love and obedience, which the figure of the vine | 23:57 | |
| and its branches so beautifully illustrates. | 24:01 | |
| Apart from the vine, the source of life, | 24:04 | |
| the branch can never bear fruit. | 24:07 | |
| The branch will whither, be thrown into the fire and burned, | 24:10 | |
| for apart from him, we can do nothing. | 24:13 | |
| But every branch that abides in Christ will bear much fruit | 24:16 | |
| and will be pruned by the vinedresser | 24:20 | |
| to increase its yield that we may glorify God. | 24:22 | |
| In return, if we abide in Christ, | 24:27 | |
| we ask whatever we will and it will be done for us. | 24:29 | |
| God will not forsake us. | 24:32 | |
| Love and obedience are therefore mutually dependent. | 24:35 | |
| We love in obedience to God's command | 24:39 | |
| and we obey God's command because we love. | 24:42 | |
| But can love really be commanded, you ask? | 24:46 | |
| Is this not a misunderstanding of the very nature of love? | 24:50 | |
| Well, based on the population notion | 24:55 | |
| that loves comes to us on a moonlit night | 24:57 | |
| wafting in on a summer breeze, | 24:59 | |
| that may appear to be the case. | 25:01 | |
| But based on Jesus' teachings, it is not. | 25:03 | |
| In the context of Jesus' command, | 25:07 | |
| his distinctive understanding of love, known as agape, | 25:09 | |
| is not primarily a feeling, but an act of will. | 25:14 | |
| As most of us know, producing a warm fuzzy feeling | 25:19 | |
| on demand is about as easy | 25:22 | |
| as producing a yawn or a sneeze. | 25:24 | |
| When Jesus tells us to love one another, | 25:27 | |
| it is not in the sense of producing | 25:29 | |
| a warm feeling on demand. | 25:31 | |
| On the contrary, he is telling us to love our neighborhood | 25:34 | |
| in the sense of being willing to work for their wellbeing, | 25:37 | |
| even if it means sacrificing our own wellbeing to that end. | 25:42 | |
| The primary example by which that love for one another | 25:47 | |
| is measured is God's love for the world and Christ's love, | 25:50 | |
| which carried it out in complete obedience. | 25:54 | |
| According to today's text, the supreme act of love | 25:57 | |
| for each of us is the giving of one's life for the other. | 26:01 | |
| Love, understood in Jesus' terms, | 26:06 | |
| is volitional rather than emotional. | 26:09 | |
| The person who loves truly does so | 26:12 | |
| because of a decision to do so | 26:14 | |
| in response to God's love for us. | 26:17 | |
| That person has made a commitment to be loving, | 26:20 | |
| whether or not a loving feeling is present. | 26:22 | |
| If it is, so much the better. | 26:25 | |
| But if it isn't, the commitment to love, | 26:28 | |
| the will to love, still stands and is exercised. | 26:31 | |
| This is commonly experienced in marriage | 26:36 | |
| when the dewy-eyed, all is right with the world feeling | 26:39 | |
| of romantic love is over, | 26:42 | |
| and the couple wakes up one morning | 26:44 | |
| to discover that their affection for each other | 26:46 | |
| can no longer be taken for granted. | 26:49 | |
| This will to love one another is about to be tested. | 26:51 | |
| Fortunately in the case of marriage, | 26:56 | |
| there are legal and societal norms | 26:58 | |
| meant to lend support to a marriage | 27:01 | |
| which may be tottering on the brink of disaster | 27:04 | |
| more so in the past perhaps than now | 27:07 | |
| which do in fact encourage couples | 27:10 | |
| to willfully carry through on their commitment. | 27:12 | |
| No one rejoices in divorce, and the death of a marriage | 27:16 | |
| is generally experienced with deep loss and grief. | 27:20 | |
| We still believe that marriages are meant to endure. | 27:24 | |
| Such is not always the case | 27:29 | |
| with other kinds of relationships, however. | 27:30 | |
| We live in a fast-paced extremely mobile society. | 27:33 | |
| Let conflicts or differences emerge | 27:37 | |
| between friends or neighbors which require more energy | 27:39 | |
| to resolve than they seem worth, | 27:43 | |
| and the feeling of love is no longer enough | 27:45 | |
| to sustain a relationship. | 27:48 | |
| Relationships come and go for so many different reasons | 27:50 | |
| that we are more inclined to limit | 27:54 | |
| our level of investment in them than to go the extra mile | 27:56 | |
| in order simply to protect ourselves. | 28:01 | |
| Add to that the everyday challenges involved | 28:04 | |
| in loving neighbor who already thinks differently, | 28:06 | |
| acts differently, worships differently, | 28:10 | |
| is of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, | 28:13 | |
| or ethnic background than we happen to be, | 28:17 | |
| and the commandment to love one another | 28:20 | |
| becomes a tremendous test of will. | 28:22 | |
| We cannot expect it to simply come naturally. | 28:25 | |
| In seven years of ministry here at Duke Chapel, | 28:30 | |
| I've had ample opportunity to observe the ways | 28:32 | |
| in which all of us, our own community, | 28:35 | |
| are hungry for more love. | 28:38 | |
| And I am convinced more than ever that loving one another, | 28:40 | |
| be it family, friend, or stranger | 28:43 | |
| requires sustained, concentrated effort, | 28:46 | |
| not just a good feeling or good intentions. | 28:50 | |
| Indeed, love is always a form of work or a form of courage, | 28:54 | |
| according to a well-known psychiatrist. | 28:59 | |
| When we extend ourselves for the sake of another, | 29:01 | |
| we do so in opposition to the inertia of laziness | 29:04 | |
| or the resistance to fear. | 29:08 | |
| Moving out against the inertia of laziness, we call work. | 29:11 | |
| Moving out in the face of fear, we call courage. | 29:15 | |
| If an act of love is not one of work or of courage, | 29:18 | |
| then it is probably not an act of love. | 29:22 | |
| Consider for a moment the work of love. | 29:26 | |
| Perhaps the principle form that it takes is attention. | 29:29 | |
| When we love someone, we give him or her our attention. | 29:33 | |
| We attend to that person's needs. | 29:37 | |
| One of the most common ways | 29:40 | |
| that we exercise attention is by listening. | 29:42 | |
| We spend an enormous amount of time listening. | 29:45 | |
| It seems it would be one of the easiest ways | 29:48 | |
| to love another human being, | 29:50 | |
| yet most of us listen rather poorly. | 29:52 | |
| I'm reminded of the way two different students | 29:56 | |
| may experience a lecture in the same classroom. | 29:59 | |
| For the distracted, preoccupied student, | 30:03 | |
| a lecture on a topic of only marginal interest to him or her | 30:06 | |
| will leave that student bored and listless, | 30:10 | |
| while he or she retains very little of the material. | 30:14 | |
| But for the student who loves the subject and the teacher, | 30:18 | |
| tremendous effort will go into listening to every word | 30:21 | |
| which is exchanged in that class. | 30:24 | |
| Rather than experiencing it as boredom, | 30:27 | |
| he or she will leave the classroom energized and excited. | 30:30 | |
| Listening is a two-way street. | 30:34 | |
| When we give of ourselves, we also are preparing to receive. | 30:37 | |
| An even better example comes from the experience | 30:42 | |
| of any parent or friend to young children. | 30:45 | |
| The idea that children should be seen and not heard | 30:49 | |
| has its origins in the reality | 30:53 | |
| that truly listening to children requires effort. | 30:55 | |
| So children are subjected | 30:59 | |
| to an inordinate amount of fake listening. | 31:00 | |
| Whereas some people may allow the child to chatter away | 31:04 | |
| without fanning any interest at all, | 31:07 | |
| others may pretend to listen, | 31:09 | |
| proceeding along with an occasional uh-huh, | 31:12 | |
| or isn't that nice, | 31:14 | |
| at more or less appropriate times in the monologue. | 31:16 | |
| For those who truly stop to listen to children, | 31:19 | |
| it's obvious that good listening | 31:22 | |
| requires tremendous concentration. | 31:24 | |
| In particular, listening means the giving up | 31:27 | |
| or the setting aside at least of one's own prejudices, | 31:30 | |
| desires, and frames of reference | 31:34 | |
| in an attempt to experience the speaker's world | 31:37 | |
| from the inside. | 31:40 | |
| It also involves a total acceptance of the other, | 31:42 | |
| enabling the speaker to feel less and less vulnerable | 31:45 | |
| and more and more trusting to open up to the listener. | 31:48 | |
| No wonder Jesus chose the example of children | 31:53 | |
| to illustrate to the disciples the approach | 31:57 | |
| they were to take in spreading the news of the kingdom, | 31:59 | |
| an openness to acceptance and inclusion | 32:03 | |
| of the least of these lies at the heart | 32:06 | |
| of the command to love one another, | 32:09 | |
| and that acceptance implies expenditure of effort. | 32:11 | |
| Sadly, the time and energy required for genuine listening, | 32:16 | |
| of being present to another person, | 32:20 | |
| is often in short supply. | 32:23 | |
| How many students have remarked to me | 32:25 | |
| that they never really had the occasion to talk openly | 32:28 | |
| with a faculty member or to be truly heard | 32:31 | |
| by a parent or a busy friend. | 32:34 | |
| Ours is a culture that rewards workaholic behavior | 32:37 | |
| and discounts the importance of time | 32:41 | |
| given to building relationships. | 32:43 | |
| Is it any surprise that students being schooled | 32:45 | |
| in those ways of thinking feel caught in the crunch? | 32:48 | |
| They still have needs, even as they are being taught | 32:53 | |
| by example to ignore them, | 32:55 | |
| especially for those who for too long have had no voice. | 32:58 | |
| The love represented by a listening ear | 33:03 | |
| provides a pathway to healing and empowerment. | 33:05 | |
| The act of love also requires moving out | 33:11 | |
| against resistance created by fear. | 33:13 | |
| When we extend ourselves to love another person, | 33:17 | |
| we enter into new and unfamiliar territory, | 33:19 | |
| and the experience, for most of us at least, is frightening. | 33:24 | |
| It often involves the risk of loss or rejection. | 33:28 | |
| If you reach out to another person, | 33:32 | |
| there's always the risk that person will move away from you. | 33:34 | |
| Love anything that lives, and it will die. | 33:38 | |
| Trust somebody, and you may be hurt. | 33:42 | |
| Depend on anyone, and that one may let you down. | 33:45 | |
| A person who is determined not to risk pain | 33:50 | |
| is unwilling to love. | 33:53 | |
| Try to love another, | 33:55 | |
| and pain as well as joy will be your reward. | 33:56 | |
| A full life will be full of pain | 34:00 | |
| as Christ himself revealed to us. | 34:03 | |
| But the only alternative to that pain | 34:06 | |
| is not truly living at all. | 34:07 | |
| An act of love, therefore, requires courage in spite of fear | 34:10 | |
| and the risk of loss or rejection. | 34:15 | |
| As if loving one's neighbor were not hard enough already, | 34:18 | |
| there are even those times when we're called | 34:22 | |
| to love someone we do not like. | 34:24 | |
| Consider the case of the good Samaritan as an example. | 34:27 | |
| We never really find out in that story | 34:31 | |
| if the good Samaritan liked the man in the ditch | 34:34 | |
| whose life he saved, but it can be surmised | 34:37 | |
| that on first appearances, he had no reason to. | 34:40 | |
| In Jesus' terms, we can love our neighbor | 34:44 | |
| without necessarily liking them. | 34:47 | |
| That doesn't mean that liking may not be a part of loving, | 34:51 | |
| only that it doesn't need to be. | 34:55 | |
| Sometimes, surprisingly enough, | 34:57 | |
| liking can even follow on the heels of loving. | 35:00 | |
| You know, it's hard to work for someone's wellbeing | 35:04 | |
| very long without coming in the end | 35:07 | |
| rather to like him or her. | 35:10 | |
| As Jesus called his disciples friends | 35:13 | |
| because he had revealed the love of God to them, | 35:15 | |
| so we befriend each other as we share that same love, | 35:18 | |
| one with another. | 35:22 | |
| If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. | 35:25 | |
| These things have I spoken to you that my joy may be in you | 35:30 | |
| and that your joy may be full. | 35:34 | |
| To live in the world and yet within the constancy | 35:37 | |
| of God's love is to live the joy of which Christ's speaks. | 35:40 | |
| A parent knows so well the ecstasy | 35:46 | |
| which accompanies the hard work of raising a child. | 35:49 | |
| But so does the concerned volunteer | 35:53 | |
| who faithfully prepared meals at the soup kitchen | 35:55 | |
| know the joy of feeding a hungry person, | 35:58 | |
| the patient doctor or nurse who cares | 36:01 | |
| for the sick and the dying, | 36:04 | |
| the teacher or coach who attentively listens | 36:06 | |
| to children or students who never feel heard at home, | 36:09 | |
| the neighbor who performs a thoughtful deed | 36:13 | |
| in the middle of a crisis, | 36:15 | |
| the stranger who offers a hand | 36:17 | |
| or even a listening ear in time of need. | 36:20 | |
| Christ's parting words to his disciples | 36:24 | |
| could have been filled with grief and despair, | 36:26 | |
| but this assurance from Christ that his joy resides in us | 36:29 | |
| when we love one another is for us a message of hope. | 36:33 | |
| It reminds us that God's commandments are not burdensome, | 36:37 | |
| even though we expect them to be, | 36:41 | |
| when we rest in God's love. | 36:43 | |
| Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the church, | 36:46 | |
| we will do more than simply survive. | 36:49 | |
| We flourish into the fullness of life, | 36:52 | |
| dwelling in God's own presence | 36:55 | |
| when we follow his command to love. | 36:56 | |
| What more could we ever ask for? | 37:00 | |
| Christ has called us to be his friends. | 37:03 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 37:07 | |
| (organ music) | 37:15 | |
| ♪ Love divine, all loves excelling ♪ | 37:45 | |
| ♪ Joy of heaven to earth come down ♪ | 37:51 | |
| ♪ Fix in us thy humble dwelling ♪ | 37:59 | |
| ♪ All thy faithful mercies crown ♪ | 38:06 | |
| ♪ Jesu, thou art all compassion ♪ | 38:12 | |
| ♪ Pure, unbounded love thou art ♪ | 38:19 | |
| ♪ Visit us with thy salvation ♪ | 38:27 | |
| ♪ Enter every trembling heart ♪ | 38:34 | |
| ♪ Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit ♪ | 38:44 | |
| ♪ Into every troubled breast ♪ | 38:52 | |
| ♪ Let us all in thee inherit ♪ | 39:00 | |
| ♪ Let us find that second rest ♪ | 39:06 | |
| ♪ Take away the love of sinning ♪ | 39:14 | |
| ♪ Alpha and Omega be ♪ | 39:21 | |
| ♪ End of faith, as its beginning ♪ | 39:28 | |
| ♪ Sets our hearts at liberty. ♪ | 39:35 | |
| ♪ Come almighty to deliver ♪ | 39:46 | |
| ♪ Let us all thy life receive ♪ | 39:52 | |
| ♪ Suddenly return and never ♪ | 40:00 | |
| ♪ Never more thy temples leave ♪ | 40:07 | |
| ♪ Thee we always would be blessing ♪ | 40:14 | |
| ♪ Serve thee as thy hosts above ♪ | 40:21 | |
| ♪ Pray and praise thee without ceasing ♪ | 40:28 | |
| ♪ Glory in thy perfect love ♪ | 40:35 | |
| ♪ Finish then thy new creation ♪ | 40:45 | |
| ♪ Pure and spotless let us be ♪ | 40:53 | |
| ♪ Let us see thy great salvation ♪ | 41:00 | |
| ♪ Perfectly restored in thee ♪ | 41:08 | |
| ♪ Changed from glory into glory ♪ | 41:15 | |
| ♪ Till in heaven we take our place ♪ | 41:22 | |
| ♪ Till we cast our crowns before thee ♪ | 41:30 | |
| ♪ Lost in wonder, love, and praise ♪ | 41:37 | |
| - | The Lord be with you. | 41:51 |
| - | And also with you. | |
| - | Let us pray. | 41:54 |
| Lord, we live much of our lives as if you do not exist | 42:04 | |
| or as if you do not love us | 42:10 | |
| or as if we worship other gods. | 42:13 | |
| In this silence, we offer you our confessions. | 42:17 | |
| As friend, we trust you to accept them with mercy. | 42:21 | |
| In silence, let us confess. | 42:26 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:01 | |
| Lord, by your cross we know | 43:07 | |
| that you have not just befriended us, | 43:10 | |
| but have also befriended those people in Bangladesh. | 43:13 | |
| We pray for all those suffering there, | 43:18 | |
| the families without homes, | 43:20 | |
| the children who have lost parents, | 43:23 | |
| the parents whose children were swept away. | 43:26 | |
| Because you have made us their friends, | 43:30 | |
| send us, the church, there to share their suffering | 43:34 | |
| and to be your signs of hope and care. | 43:39 | |
| You have commanded us to love them. | 43:44 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:48 | |
| By your cross, you have become friends | 43:55 | |
| with those people in Peru and Chile, | 43:56 | |
| those dying of this cholera epidemic. | 44:00 | |
| You have made us their friends, too, | 44:04 | |
| and have commanded us to love them. | 44:06 | |
| So send us there to take the risk of dying with them, | 44:10 | |
| as a sign of the kind of love you offer. | 44:16 | |
| Send the church to that village | 44:21 | |
| where people need clean water and medicine | 44:23 | |
| and hope and signs of you in the world. | 44:27 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 44:33 | |
| For those refugees in Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, | 44:40 | |
| we pray for all those Arabs you have given us as friends, | 44:45 | |
| we ask your blessings this day. | 44:52 | |
| As friends of theirs, we beg your forgiveness | 44:56 | |
| for all the suffering we have caused. | 44:59 | |
| So send us now to them. | 45:04 | |
| Let Christians replace the soldiers. | 45:09 | |
| Let us restore the homes, plant the fields, | 45:11 | |
| feed the orphans, care for the widows. | 45:17 | |
| Lord, you have commanded us to love. | 45:23 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 45:27 | |
| For all of our friends and family hospitalized | 45:35 | |
| or sick at home, we ask your blessings for them | 45:38 | |
| and on us who must care for them faithfully. | 45:43 | |
| For Rowena Harden and all those we now name for you. | 45:48 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 45:58 | |
| Lord, we pray for all the graduating seniors | 46:04 | |
| and those graduate and professional students | 46:07 | |
| who are graduating this month. | 46:10 | |
| Enable them to find places of ministry | 46:13 | |
| in this world so desperate for you | 46:16 | |
| and signs of your friendship. | 46:19 | |
| Take from them and from all of us that self-serving ambition | 46:22 | |
| and replace it with Christ's heart. | 46:27 | |
| Replace it with your eyes for the poor, | 46:31 | |
| with your hands for the sick and lonely, | 46:33 | |
| with your voice for those desperate to hear good news. | 46:38 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 46:47 | |
| And we pray for Nancy this morning, | 46:53 | |
| giving thanks to you, Lord, for the good news | 46:55 | |
| you have spoken through her throughout her ministry, | 46:58 | |
| for the light you shine through her | 47:02 | |
| into an often dark and violent world, | 47:05 | |
| for all those she has counseled and married in your name, | 47:10 | |
| for all of us who have been led in worship | 47:15 | |
| and shaped into worshipful people, | 47:17 | |
| for all those she has befriended in the name of Jesus | 47:21 | |
| and thus taught us of your friendship with us. | 47:25 | |
| We give you, God, such great thanks. | 47:29 | |
| We believe you will continue to bless her ministry | 47:34 | |
| as she both trains future pastors | 47:37 | |
| and models for future ministers the life of Christ. | 47:41 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 47:46 | |
| Thank you for calling us to prayer | 47:51 | |
| and for hearing us when we do pray. | 47:54 | |
| All these things we ask in your name, amen. | 47:58 | |
| Let us now offer God our signs of friendship | 48:04 | |
| and love and thanksgiving. | 48:08 | |
| (organ music) | 48:43 | |
| (boys' choir vocalizing) | 48:54 | |
| (organ music) | 54:27 | |
| ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 55:15 | |
| ♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪ | 55:21 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 55:27 | |
| ♪ Praise him above ye heavenly host ♪ | 55:35 | |
| ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 55:41 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 55:48 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 55:55 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 56:02 | |
| - | Lord, we come to you as friends, | 56:18 |
| offering you a gesture of thanksgiving. | 56:20 | |
| Help us not to be satisfied with this gesture, | 56:23 | |
| but transform us into people who offer you | 56:26 | |
| our whole lives in prayer and thanksgiving, | 56:30 | |
| a living and holy sacrifice. | 56:33 | |
| Sanctify us through our prayers, | 56:36 | |
| through this prayer you taught us as we say | 56:40 | |
| All | Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 56:43 |
| Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 56:48 | |
| on earth as it is in heaven. | 56:51 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread, | 56:54 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 56:57 | |
| who trespass against us. | 57:01 | |
| And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 57:04 | |
| For thine is the kingdom and the power | 57:09 | |
| and the glory forever, amen. | 57:12 | |
| Christ is risen indeed, | 57:17 | |
| and because of the cross and resurrection, | 57:20 | |
| we can now go into the world in peace and joy | 57:23 | |
| to love as God has loved us. | 57:28 | |
| So go and serve our God, in the name of the blessed Trinity, | 57:31 | |
| world without end, amen. | 57:36 | |
| (boys' choir vocalizing) | 57:49 | |
| (organ music) | 59:04 | |
| ♪ Rejoice the Lord is king ♪ | 59:30 | |
| ♪ Your Lord and king adore ♪ | 59:35 | |
| ♪ Mortals, give thanks and sing ♪ | 59:40 | |
| ♪ And triumph evermore ♪ | 59:43 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 59:50 | |
| ♪ Lift your voice, rejoice ♪ | 59:55 | |
| ♪ Again I say rejoice ♪ | 59:59 | |
| ♪ Rejoice, your Savior reigns ♪ | 1:00:08 | |
| ♪ The God of truth and love ♪ | 1:00:13 | |
| ♪ When he had purged our stains ♪ | 1:00:18 | |
| ♪ He took his seat above ♪ | 1:00:22 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 1:00:28 | |
| ♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪ | 1:00:34 | |
| ♪ Again I say rejoice ♪ | 1:00:38 | |
| ♪ His kingdom cannot fail ♪ | 1:00:48 | |
| ♪ He rules o'er heaven and earth ♪ | 1:00:53 | |
| ♪ The keys of death and hell ♪ | 1:00:58 | |
| ♪ Are to our Jesus given ♪ | 1:01:01 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 1:01:08 | |
| ♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪ | 1:01:13 | |
| ♪ Again I say rejoice ♪ | 1:01:17 | |
| ♪ Rejoice in glorious hope ♪ | 1:01:26 | |
| ♪ Jesus the Judge shall come ♪ | 1:01:33 | |
| ♪ And take his servants up ♪ | 1:01:38 | |
| ♪ To their eternal home ♪ | 1:01:42 | |
| ♪ We soon shall hear the archangel voice ♪ | 1:01:48 | |
| ♪ The trump of God shall sound, rejoice ♪ | 1:01:57 | |
| (organ music) | 1:02:14 |
