Robert W. Bailey - "Birthplace of Confidence" (June 16, 1991)
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| (Organ music) | 0:00 | |
| - | Welcome to this service at Duke University Chapel, | 4:42 |
| on this fourth Sunday after Pentecost. | 4:46 | |
| We are grateful to Ann Hockridge, administrative coordinator | 4:50 | |
| of the leadership program at the Duke Institute of Policy | 4:53 | |
| Sciences and Public Affairs for serving as lecturer today. | 4:57 | |
| Our guest preacher is Dr. Robert Bailey, a Baptist, | 5:04 | |
| who has served pastorates in Virginia, Kentucky, | 5:08 | |
| North Carolina, and Alabama. | 5:11 | |
| His former ministry in the church took him to mission fields | 5:14 | |
| in this country and abroad. | 5:18 | |
| He is a teacher, a counselor, | 5:20 | |
| and the author of several books. | 5:23 | |
| Dr. Bailey is currently serving as a consultant | 5:26 | |
| in Birmingham, Alabama. | 5:30 | |
| He and his wife Mary Francis are the parents of Kevin, | 5:33 | |
| a recent Duke graduate | 5:37 | |
| who is the cantor for this alter today. | 5:40 | |
| And Courtney, a junior at Duke. | 5:42 | |
| We extend to them and to others of their family, | 5:46 | |
| a warm welcome to Duke Chapel. | 5:50 | |
| And now will you stand for the greeting. | 5:53 | |
| Come all who are troubled, or weary, | 6:03 | |
| who know the pain of the world's people. | 6:06 | |
| (Congregation speaks in low tone) | 6:10 | |
| As we gather we affirm God's presence, | 6:16 | |
| and seek to know as we are known. | 6:19 | |
| (Congregation speaks in low tone) | 6:23 | |
| Be still and know that God is God, | 6:29 | |
| exulted among the nations of this earth. | 6:33 | |
| (Congregation speaks in low tone) | 6:37 | |
| (Organ music) | 6:44 | |
| ♪ A mighty fortress is our God ♪ | 7:34 | |
| ♪ A bulwark never failing ♪ | 7:39 | |
| ♪ Our helper he, amid the flood ♪ | 7:46 | |
| ♪ Of mortal ills prevailing ♪ | 7:51 | |
| ♪ For still our ancient foe ♪ | 7:58 | |
| ♪ Doth seek to work his woe ♪ | 8:03 | |
| ♪ His craft and power are great ♪ | 8:09 | |
| ♪ And armed with cruel hate ♪ | 8:14 | |
| ♪ On earth is not his equal ♪ | 8:20 | |
| ♪ Did we in our own strength confide ♪ | 8:29 | |
| ♪ Our striving would be losing ♪ | 8:35 | |
| ♪ Were not the right man on our side ♪ | 8:41 | |
| ♪ The man of God's own choosing ♪ | 8:47 | |
| ♪ Dost ask who that may be ♪ | 8:54 | |
| ♪ Christ Jesus, it is he ♪ | 8:59 | |
| ♪ Lord Sabbath is his name ♪ | 9:04 | |
| ♪ From age to age the same ♪ | 9:10 | |
| ♪ And He must win the battle ♪ | 9:16 | |
| ♪ And though this world, with devils filled ♪ | 9:25 | |
| ♪ Should threaten to undo us ♪ | 9:30 | |
| ♪ We will not fear, for God hath willed ♪ | 9:36 | |
| ♪ His truth to triumph through us ♪ | 9:42 | |
| ♪ The Prince of Darkness grim ♪ | 9:50 | |
| ♪ We tremble not for him ♪ | 9:55 | |
| ♪ His rage we can endure ♪ | 10:01 | |
| ♪ For lo his doom is sure ♪ | 10:06 | |
| ♪ One little word shall fell him. ♪ | 10:11 | |
| ♪ That word above all earthly powers ♪ | 10:21 | |
| ♪ No thanks to them abideth ♪ | 10:26 | |
| ♪ The Spirit and the gifts are ours ♪ | 10:33 | |
| ♪ Through him who with us sideth ♪ | 10:39 | |
| ♪ Let goods and kindred go ♪ | 10:46 | |
| ♪ This mortal life also ♪ | 10:52 | |
| ♪ The body they may kill ♪ | 10:58 | |
| ♪ God's truth abideth still ♪ | 11:04 | |
| ♪ His kingdom is for ever ♪ | 11:09 | |
| - | Oh eternal God, creator of this world, | 11:23 |
| of every world that was, that is, or that shall be. | 11:28 | |
| Your kingdom is without end. | 11:33 | |
| Transform our weariness into expectation, | 11:36 | |
| as we claim the promise of your abiding spirit. | 11:40 | |
| Always present when we gather together, | 11:45 | |
| in the name of Jesus our Lord and savior. | 11:48 | |
| Increase our hope and joy so that we may be of good courage | 11:53 | |
| as we wait in adoration and thanksgiving before you. | 11:58 | |
| In the name of Jesus who lives and reins with you | 12:04 | |
| and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, amen. | 12:08 | |
| Would you be seated. | 12:15 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 12:24 |
| - | [Preacher and Congregation] Open our hearts | 12:27 |
| and minds oh God. | 12:29 | |
| By the power of your Holy Spirit. | 12:30 | |
| So that as the word is read as proclaimed | 12:33 | |
| we might hear with joy what you say to us this day. | 12:36 | |
| Amen. | 12:41 | |
| - | The first reading is taken | 12:44 |
| from the second book of Samuel. | 12:46 | |
| After the death of Saul, when David had returned | 12:50 | |
| from defeating the Amalekites, | 12:54 | |
| David remained two days in Ziklag. | 12:57 | |
| David intoned this lamentation | 13:01 | |
| over Saul and his son Jonathan. | 13:04 | |
| He ordered that the song of the bow | 13:08 | |
| be taught to the people of Judea. | 13:10 | |
| It is written in the book of Jasher. | 13:13 | |
| He said, your glory oh Israel, | 13:16 | |
| lay slain upon your high places. | 13:20 | |
| How the mighty have fallen. | 13:25 | |
| Tell is not in Gath, proclaim it not | 13:28 | |
| in the streets of Eschalon. | 13:31 | |
| Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice. | 13:34 | |
| The daughters of the uncircumcised will exalt. | 13:38 | |
| You mountains of Gilboa, | 13:44 | |
| let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields. | 13:46 | |
| For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, | 13:52 | |
| the shield of Saul anointed with oil no more. | 13:57 | |
| From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, | 14:03 | |
| the bow of Jonathan did not turn back. | 14:08 | |
| Nor the sword of Saul return empty. | 14:12 | |
| Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely, | 14:17 | |
| in life and in death they were not divided. | 14:22 | |
| They were swifter than eagles, | 14:27 | |
| they were stronger than lions. | 14:29 | |
| Oh daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, | 14:33 | |
| who clothed you with crimson and luxury, | 14:37 | |
| who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. | 14:41 | |
| How the mighty have fallen in the midst of battle. | 14:46 | |
| Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. | 14:51 | |
| I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. | 14:56 | |
| Greatly beloved to you were me. | 15:01 | |
| Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. | 15:05 | |
| How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished. | 15:11 | |
| This is the word of the lord. | 15:17 | |
| - | [Preacher and Congregation] Thanks be to God. | 15:20 |
| (Organ music) | 15:57 | |
| (Choir sings) | 16:49 | |
| Man | Please stand and join with me | 19:46 |
| in the responsive singing of Psalm 46. | 19:48 | |
| ♪ God is our refuge and strength ♪ | 20:04 | |
| ♪ Our very present help in trouble ♪ | 20:09 | |
| ♪ Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change ♪ | 20:13 | |
| ♪ And though the mountains be shaken ♪ | 20:20 | |
| ♪ into the heart of the seas ♪ | 20:22 | |
| ♪ Though its waters roar and foam ♪ | 20:26 | |
| ♪ Though the mountains tremble with its tumult ♪ | 20:30 | |
| ♪ There is a river the streams whereof ♪ | 20:34 | |
| ♪ make glad the city of God ♪ | 20:39 | |
| ♪ The holy tabulation of the most high ♪ | 20:42 | |
| ♪ God is in the midst of the city which shall not be moved ♪ | 20:48 | |
| ♪ God will help it at the dawn of the day ♪ | 20:54 | |
| ♪ The nations raged the kingdoms utter ♪ | 20:59 | |
| ♪ God's voice went out the earth melt ♪ | 21:04 | |
| ♪ The Lord of host is with us ♪ | 21:10 | |
| ♪ The God of Jacob is our refuge ♪ | 21:14 | |
| ♪ Come behold the works of the Lord ♪ | 21:19 | |
| ♪ Who has wrought desolations in the earth ♪ | 21:24 | |
| ♪ Who makes war cease to the end of the earth ♪ | 21:29 | |
| ♪ Who breaks bow shatters the spear ♪ | 21:34 | |
| ♪ And burns the shields with fire ♪ | 21:38 | |
| ♪ Be still and know that I am God ♪ | 21:43 | |
| ♪ I am exalted among the nations ♪ | 21:48 | |
| ♪ I am exalted in the earth ♪ | 21:51 | |
| ♪ The Lord our host is with us ♪ | 21:55 | |
| ♪ The God of Jacob is our refuge ♪ | 21:59 | |
| ♪ All glory be to you oh God ♪ | 22:05 | |
| ♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪ | 22:08 | |
| ♪ And to the Holy Spirit blessed trinity ♪ | 22:12 | |
| ♪ As it was was since time began ♪ | 22:18 | |
| ♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪ | 22:22 | |
| - | This reading is from Paul's second letter | 22:41 |
| to the Corinthians. | 22:44 | |
| So we are always confident even though we know | 22:48 | |
| that while we are at home in the body, | 22:53 | |
| we are away from the Lord. | 22:55 | |
| For we walk by faith not by sight. | 22:58 | |
| Yes we do have confidence, and we would rather be away | 23:03 | |
| from the body and at home with the Lord. | 23:08 | |
| So whether we are at home or away, | 23:13 | |
| we make it our aim to please him. | 23:17 | |
| For all of us must appear | 23:21 | |
| before the judgment seat of Christ. | 23:23 | |
| So that each may receive recompense | 23:26 | |
| for what has been done in the body, | 23:29 | |
| whether good or evil. | 23:32 | |
| For the love of Christ urges us on | 23:36 | |
| because we are convinced that one has died for all, | 23:39 | |
| therefore all have died. | 23:45 | |
| And he died for all so that those who live might live | 23:49 | |
| no longer for themselves but for him | 23:53 | |
| who died and was raised for them. | 23:57 | |
| This is the word of the lord, thanks be to God. | 24:01 | |
| This reading is taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark. | 24:08 | |
| He also said the kingdom of God is as if someone | 24:14 | |
| would scatter seed on the ground | 24:19 | |
| and would sleep and rise night and day | 24:22 | |
| and the seed would sprout and grow. | 24:26 | |
| He does not know how. | 24:29 | |
| The earth produces of itself, first to the stalk, | 24:32 | |
| then the head, then the full grain in the head. | 24:37 | |
| But when the grain is ripe, and once he goes in | 24:41 | |
| with his sickle, because the harvest has come. | 24:45 | |
| He also said, with what can we compare the kingdom of God? | 24:52 | |
| Or what parallel will we use for it? | 24:57 | |
| It is like a mustard seed which when sown upon the ground | 25:01 | |
| is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, | 25:05 | |
| yet when it is sown it grows up | 25:09 | |
| and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, | 25:12 | |
| and puts forth large branches so that the birds of the air | 25:16 | |
| can make nests in its shade. | 25:22 | |
| With many such parables he spoke to them | 25:26 | |
| as they were able to hear it. | 25:29 | |
| He did not speak to them except in parables | 25:32 | |
| but he explained everything in private to his disciples. | 25:36 | |
| This is the word of the lord, thanks be to God. | 25:42 | |
| - | In the 16th century, Hanz Ludwig Babinger | 25:58 |
| wanted desperately to be able to fly. | 26:03 | |
| But when he spoke of flying the people in his town | 26:07 | |
| made fun of him as though he were mad. | 26:10 | |
| Yet that did not deter him. | 26:13 | |
| He continued to work in spite of the people saying, | 26:16 | |
| if God intended for us to fly | 26:19 | |
| he would have made us with wings rather than arms. | 26:21 | |
| But Hans one day he made himself a set of wings | 26:25 | |
| like the birds, jumped off the high hill behind his town | 26:27 | |
| in Germany at the foot of the Bavarian alps. | 26:32 | |
| Where the upcurrents carried him safely aloft. | 26:35 | |
| The word got around the kingdom | 26:40 | |
| about that miraculous flight. | 26:41 | |
| Soon the king came to visit that region. | 26:45 | |
| And the very same city fathers that had belittled him | 26:49 | |
| before demanded of him a performance for the king. | 26:52 | |
| In order to accommodate the royal group entering the city, | 26:59 | |
| Hans used the steep hills across the Danube | 27:04 | |
| on the opposite side of the valley without realizing | 27:08 | |
| that there was a strong downcurrent. | 27:10 | |
| He leaped off the side with his wings mounted. | 27:15 | |
| But instead of soaring as before, | 27:18 | |
| he fell to the ground like a cannonball. | 27:21 | |
| So embarrassed and ridiculed was Hans, | 27:25 | |
| that for the rest of his life | 27:28 | |
| he never again attempted to fly. | 27:31 | |
| He lost his confidence as he lost his face | 27:35 | |
| before his peers in the community and before his king. | 27:38 | |
| What are the sources of our confidence, | 27:44 | |
| or our lack of confidence? | 27:48 | |
| Without question, people bestow | 27:51 | |
| and destroy confidence. | 27:55 | |
| Think with me. | 28:00 | |
| Whom would you include on your list of confidence builders? | 28:01 | |
| Parents, professors, children, | 28:07 | |
| friends, neighbors, | 28:11 | |
| relatives, fiance or spouse, pastor, | 28:14 | |
| authors, mentors. | 28:18 | |
| Much of what I have done in my life was inspired | 28:23 | |
| and nurtured by Dr. John Carlton, and Dr. Carlyle Martin. | 28:25 | |
| Two former professors of Duke | 28:31 | |
| who in seeing my potential gave me the confidence | 28:34 | |
| to aspire to more than acceptable mediocrity. | 28:37 | |
| When Elton Trueblood, author of more than 30 books, | 28:42 | |
| challenged me to write the sequel | 28:45 | |
| to one of his earliest books, | 28:47 | |
| I gained the confidence to begin my writing | 28:49 | |
| and doing my initial research here in Duke's libraries. | 28:53 | |
| Reflecting on his 90th birthday last fall, | 28:57 | |
| Trueblood quoted Abraham Lincoln. | 28:59 | |
| The best part of one's life | 29:03 | |
| consists of his friendships. | 29:06 | |
| Trueblood has described his life as being | 29:11 | |
| in the business of investing in persons. | 29:13 | |
| And as he reviews his investments | 29:18 | |
| and makes his annual report, | 29:20 | |
| he says his business is in good shape. | 29:22 | |
| While people from all of these groups of confidence builders | 29:27 | |
| have listened to me, affirmed me, encouraged me, | 29:31 | |
| believed in me, they did not spare me | 29:34 | |
| the pain of life's experiences. | 29:37 | |
| What these positive people did was to build for me | 29:41 | |
| a birthplace of confidence in which I could grow | 29:44 | |
| and develop strength for the wildernesses | 29:49 | |
| I would encounter in my life. | 29:52 | |
| But just as people can grant us a birthplace | 29:55 | |
| of confidence they also can rob us of our confidence. | 29:58 | |
| The destruction of a slanderous tongue. | 30:03 | |
| The betrayal of a supposed friend. | 30:06 | |
| The devastation of a failure in class. | 30:08 | |
| The disappointment of not getting | 30:11 | |
| the desired school or job. | 30:13 | |
| The exhaustion of the loss of health | 30:15 | |
| or the caring for a loved one. | 30:18 | |
| These and more can deplete us of our confidence. | 30:20 | |
| And create in us a misgiving about | 30:24 | |
| our ability, our worth, our future. | 30:26 | |
| Indeed, people exert a great influence | 30:30 | |
| over the confidence we feel or lack. | 30:34 | |
| I believe David's struggle at the death of Saul and Jonathan | 30:38 | |
| was a combination over the distress of the destructive Saul | 30:41 | |
| who David had served. | 30:46 | |
| Saul who had displeased God. | 30:48 | |
| Along with the deep grief | 30:51 | |
| over the loss of his closest comrade Jonathan. | 30:53 | |
| At such a crucial time in his life, | 30:57 | |
| David lost his best friend whom he called brother. | 31:00 | |
| Blessed are those who have encouragers still | 31:06 | |
| cheering them on. | 31:10 | |
| But even as people contribute to | 31:12 | |
| or detract from our confidence, | 31:15 | |
| experiences can either be the builder or the destroyer | 31:18 | |
| of our confidence. | 31:22 | |
| Shakespeare said in Hamlet, | 31:24 | |
| Of the puzzled will and dread that makes us rather bear | 31:27 | |
| those ills we have, | 31:32 | |
| than to fly to others we know not of. | 31:35 | |
| Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. | 31:39 | |
| Does he not touch so many of us where we live and struggle. | 31:46 | |
| For how often we fearfully allow ourselves | 31:50 | |
| to be imprisoned in undesirable circumstances, | 31:53 | |
| in which we sorely lack confidence. | 31:57 | |
| Rather than to take the risk, | 32:01 | |
| to step into new experiences, | 32:03 | |
| new relationships, new opportunities, | 32:06 | |
| simply because we lack the confidence | 32:10 | |
| to move into the unknown. | 32:13 | |
| What a debilitating, destructive, delimiting choice that is. | 32:16 | |
| The result is we decay in our small world | 32:22 | |
| when we could be exploring a larger one. | 32:25 | |
| We deprive ourselves of additional significant friends. | 32:28 | |
| We diminish our educational experiences. | 32:32 | |
| We decrease our vocational opportunities. | 32:35 | |
| We limit the places where we would live. | 32:38 | |
| We dissolve our unique potential | 32:40 | |
| all because our lack of confidence | 32:43 | |
| blocks our embarking on new paths. | 32:45 | |
| There are times we do step out into the unknown, | 32:51 | |
| but still lack the confidence to blossom | 32:53 | |
| and grow in that new environment. | 32:56 | |
| One of my favorite writers, John Steinbeck, | 32:59 | |
| spoke through his character Elizabeth on her wedding day | 33:02 | |
| in his poignant novel To a God Unknown. | 33:06 | |
| At the church to marry a man she barely knew, | 33:10 | |
| Elizabeth prayed just prior to the wedding. | 33:12 | |
| Lord Jesus, make things easy for me because I am afraid. | 33:16 | |
| And all of the time that I have had to learn about myself, | 33:23 | |
| I have learned nothing. | 33:27 | |
| Be kind to me, Lord Jesus. | 33:31 | |
| At least until I learn what kind of thing I am. | 33:33 | |
| Her past experiences had not given her confidence. | 33:39 | |
| And now she was moving into | 33:43 | |
| the major relationship of her life | 33:44 | |
| filled with apprehension and uncertainty. | 33:47 | |
| She was devoid of the confidence that would have enabled her | 33:51 | |
| to be a unique person. | 33:54 | |
| Our response to the experiences of life either enables us | 33:58 | |
| to grow or accents our fearful weaknesses. | 34:02 | |
| Paul said in our Epistle reading | 34:07 | |
| in the Second Corinthians 5:6, | 34:09 | |
| so we are always confident, | 34:11 | |
| for we walk by faith, | 34:15 | |
| not by sight. | 34:18 | |
| And because of his faith relationship to God, | 34:21 | |
| Paul's experiences increased his confidence. | 34:24 | |
| He says with each one he was learning more of God, | 34:29 | |
| he was understanding more of himself, | 34:32 | |
| he was drawing nearer to God's purpose for him. | 34:34 | |
| That did not mean that Paul lived through his experiences | 34:39 | |
| without pain or fear, no more than does any pilgrim of God. | 34:43 | |
| How Paul did suffer. | 34:49 | |
| 16th Century English Bishop Hugh Latimer | 34:53 | |
| was one of the first in the western world | 34:57 | |
| to preach for social righteousness. | 34:59 | |
| And as a result he was imprisoned | 35:01 | |
| for his courageous pronouncements. | 35:03 | |
| While confined in the Tower of London | 35:07 | |
| he wrote his honest beliefs. | 35:09 | |
| Pray for me. | 35:11 | |
| I say pray for me. | 35:12 | |
| At times I am so afraid that I could creep | 35:15 | |
| into a mouse hole. | 35:18 | |
| But Latimer grew as a result of those early experiences. | 35:22 | |
| It was the same man with far greater confidence | 35:26 | |
| who later walked to a stake at Oxford. | 35:28 | |
| He said to his companion, Nicholas Ridley, | 35:32 | |
| as they marched together, play the man, Master Ridley. | 35:36 | |
| We shall this day light such a candle | 35:42 | |
| by God's grace in England | 35:44 | |
| as I trust shall never be put out. | 35:47 | |
| Many of our experiences might aptly be termed | 35:52 | |
| wilderness experiences because they take us | 35:55 | |
| into the unknown. | 35:58 | |
| They remove us from our ordinary comfortableness. | 35:59 | |
| And they offer us the opportunity | 36:03 | |
| for new growth and development. | 36:05 | |
| Some wilderness experiences are thrust upon us | 36:08 | |
| by the circumstances in the world | 36:11 | |
| and the evil in the heart of human kind. | 36:14 | |
| Other wilderness experiences are our choice, | 36:17 | |
| in order that we might have newness, cleansing and strength. | 36:19 | |
| The point is not if we will have wilderness experiences, | 36:25 | |
| but how we live through | 36:29 | |
| and beyond those experiences. | 36:32 | |
| God is not a mysterious genie | 36:37 | |
| to protect us from trouble. | 36:39 | |
| God is not a substitute for our dealing with our problems. | 36:43 | |
| I firmly believe that God is the ultimate birth place | 36:48 | |
| of our confidence. | 36:53 | |
| For wherever we go, God is there. | 36:55 | |
| Whatever we encounter, God is there. | 36:58 | |
| How ever we fear, God is there. | 37:02 | |
| Whenever we falter, God is there. | 37:06 | |
| Do you not like the way the Psalmists describe us this truth | 37:11 | |
| in Psalm 46? | 37:15 | |
| God is our refuge and our strength, | 37:19 | |
| a very present help in time of trouble. | 37:23 | |
| Therefore we will not fear. | 37:28 | |
| A lonely person needs refuge or shelter. | 37:34 | |
| An insecure person needs strength, a tower of defense | 37:38 | |
| and well proved abiding aide. | 37:42 | |
| For loneliness and insecurity | 37:46 | |
| are usually the prelude to fear. | 37:48 | |
| Especially when the power of nature | 37:51 | |
| and the evil of the world threaten all their forces. | 37:53 | |
| Those like the Psalmists who have lived through powerful | 37:57 | |
| hurricanes, tornados, volcanos, | 38:00 | |
| can surely attest to the terror of helplessness | 38:03 | |
| before the strength of nature. | 38:07 | |
| All the ancient capitals of the near east were | 38:10 | |
| built along life-giving rivers. | 38:13 | |
| The Psalmists said Israel did not have | 38:17 | |
| its capital Jerusalem along the river, | 38:21 | |
| but it was the mercy and the presence of God | 38:23 | |
| that gave life to his people. | 38:28 | |
| It was in light of all that God is, | 38:30 | |
| the Psalmists use a little word | 38:32 | |
| that has such a powerful meaning. | 38:35 | |
| Therefore, because he created us so marvelously, | 38:38 | |
| because he has given us such wonderful opportunity | 38:42 | |
| and potential, because he does not forsake us in the midst | 38:45 | |
| of any circumstances, because he does not say I told you so | 38:48 | |
| when we sin and falter, because he does not cease loving us | 38:55 | |
| regardless of bad choices, because he does not interrupt | 38:59 | |
| his encouraging presence with us, | 39:04 | |
| therefore we can keep enduring in all of life's storms. | 39:07 | |
| Therefore we can keep telling the truth in spite | 39:12 | |
| of all of the world's lies. | 39:15 | |
| Therefore we can keep growing in spite of our pain | 39:18 | |
| and disappointment. | 39:21 | |
| Therefore we can keep learning in spite of our uncertainty. | 39:22 | |
| Therefore we can keep loving in spite of treacherous hatred. | 39:26 | |
| Walter Bruggemann wrote succinctly, | 39:32 | |
| hurt is the home of hope. | 39:34 | |
| When we become still and quiet before the presence of God, | 39:40 | |
| and focus on God's purpose for our lives, | 39:46 | |
| and gain our confidence from his love, | 39:48 | |
| then the pain of our pilgrimage does indeed give us hope | 39:52 | |
| and enables us to declare with the Psalmists, | 39:57 | |
| our sacred therefore. | 40:00 | |
| I firmly believe people make a disarming mistake | 40:06 | |
| when they declare confident faith in God removes all doubts, | 40:08 | |
| all problems, all suffering. | 40:13 | |
| The Bible does not say that God ever promised such a thing. | 40:18 | |
| Indeed on the contrary it is because of our faith | 40:22 | |
| that we raise questions. | 40:24 | |
| It is due to our stand of faith we encounter some of our | 40:27 | |
| greatest difficulties. | 40:30 | |
| It is as a result of our faith that we cannot be confident | 40:32 | |
| or comfortable or content with the evil, the suffering, | 40:36 | |
| the destruction in the world. | 40:39 | |
| Our faith relationship to God | 40:42 | |
| does not eliminate our problems. | 40:44 | |
| Rather our bond with God gives us the strength to endure | 40:47 | |
| in spite of what we face in life. | 40:51 | |
| Some of those who are the closest to God, | 40:55 | |
| who love him the most experience some of the greatest pain | 40:57 | |
| and suffering in this life. | 41:00 | |
| Our owning the eternal creator and loving Lord | 41:04 | |
| as our redeeming God, gives us the birthplace of confidence. | 41:06 | |
| For living productively and creatively all of our days, | 41:11 | |
| be those days easy, or difficult. | 41:15 | |
| But rather than being our escape from trouble, | 41:21 | |
| God has promised to be our abiding help in trouble. | 41:25 | |
| As Martin Luther noted so powerfully in his hymn | 41:31 | |
| inspired by this psalm, A Mighty Fortress. | 41:34 | |
| Throughout history humankind has been bent | 41:39 | |
| on creating fortresses and castles for comfort, for safety. | 41:42 | |
| But across the record of God's interaction | 41:48 | |
| with the human family, | 41:50 | |
| we hear his calling us from the secure to the new. | 41:51 | |
| Just as our religious ancestors realized that God | 41:56 | |
| is not confined to a place, but God is a god on the move. | 41:59 | |
| So God summons us to be pilgrims, | 42:04 | |
| to take risks with him. | 42:08 | |
| Some two years ago as I was seriously contemplating | 42:12 | |
| a change in my career to allow me | 42:15 | |
| to interact with more people and experience fresh creativity | 42:17 | |
| in my work, I recalled the experiences | 42:22 | |
| of my primary encouragers. | 42:26 | |
| Those who had instilled confidence in me. | 42:28 | |
| And suddenly it became clear. | 42:31 | |
| Each of them, including my father, had made a pivotal | 42:34 | |
| career move during their 40s, at a time when they were | 42:39 | |
| near the pinnacle of their existing career | 42:42 | |
| and could have coasted on into retirement. | 42:45 | |
| One of them wrote about his transition, | 42:49 | |
| about the risk and the subsequent success | 42:52 | |
| of what he had done. | 42:55 | |
| Things turned out much better than he expected. | 42:57 | |
| But he observed that's one of the exciting things | 42:59 | |
| about being a pilgrim. | 43:03 | |
| When you take a risk you hope for success, | 43:05 | |
| and sometimes what happens far exceeds your fondest wishes. | 43:08 | |
| But he went on to add that often in his life | 43:15 | |
| he felt he was fumbling, stumbling, | 43:17 | |
| falling in the dark and not knowing where he was going. | 43:19 | |
| Sometimes someone standing nearby would help him up | 43:23 | |
| and sometimes not. | 43:27 | |
| His greatest strength and confidence came when others | 43:29 | |
| were sensitive to his feelings, and his needs, | 43:32 | |
| steering a dark night of his pilgrimage. | 43:37 | |
| Even as others can be the birthplace of confidence in us, | 43:41 | |
| so I feel we have the responsibility and the opportunity | 43:45 | |
| to become a birthplace of confidence for others. | 43:50 | |
| Ethan Hawley was a second class citizen | 43:55 | |
| in aristocratic New England, | 43:58 | |
| because his family had lost their fortune. | 44:00 | |
| His desire for independence, | 44:03 | |
| his wife's desire for wealth and material security | 44:05 | |
| caused him to help an alcoholic friend | 44:08 | |
| drink himself to death. | 44:12 | |
| That he might get a valuable piece of land. | 44:14 | |
| Later Ethan began engaging in dishonest business schemes | 44:18 | |
| to help his drive for success. | 44:21 | |
| And much to his surprise, good things began to happen. | 44:25 | |
| With Ethan's anonymous help his employer | 44:30 | |
| was discovered to be an illegal alien. | 44:32 | |
| But before he was deported this generous man | 44:36 | |
| gave Ethan his business. | 44:38 | |
| Ethan's son was a national finalist in a patriotic | 44:41 | |
| essay writing contest. | 44:44 | |
| But just before national TV experiences, | 44:47 | |
| the judges discovered that what was supposedly | 44:50 | |
| an original essay, was actually a collection of bits | 44:53 | |
| and pieces of the writings of famous American patriots. | 44:57 | |
| Ethan confronted his son, who said, who cares? | 45:02 | |
| Everybody does it. | 45:06 | |
| I bet you took some in your time because the all do. | 45:08 | |
| Filled with guilt for his own actions, | 45:14 | |
| and the accusation of his dishonest, defiant son, | 45:16 | |
| Ethan walked into the ocean, | 45:20 | |
| where he planned to cut his wrists, and float away. | 45:22 | |
| On the final page of Steinbeck's novel, | 45:28 | |
| The Winter of our Discontent, | 45:30 | |
| Ethan declared, my light is out. | 45:31 | |
| There's nothing blacker than a wick. | 45:36 | |
| Inward I say I want to go home. | 45:39 | |
| No, not home. | 45:42 | |
| To the other side of home, where the lights are given. | 45:46 | |
| But as he reached into his pocket for the razor blade, | 45:50 | |
| he found a special stone his daughter had placed there. | 45:53 | |
| That stone symbolized her love, her affection, | 45:58 | |
| her understanding, her concern. | 46:02 | |
| Knowing how she was struggling to be honest and whole, | 46:07 | |
| Ethan changed his mind and chose to live. | 46:11 | |
| He fought his way back out of the water, | 46:15 | |
| and back to his daughter. | 46:18 | |
| He committed himself to helping her mature | 46:20 | |
| and gain confidence, as he said, | 46:23 | |
| else another light should go out. | 46:25 | |
| Only those of us who are fortunate enough to have | 46:29 | |
| such an encouraging daughter, son, spouse, | 46:31 | |
| father, mother, | 46:36 | |
| mentor, friend, only we can fully appreciate | 46:38 | |
| what Ethan experienced. | 46:43 | |
| But when you experience the ultimate blessing of having | 46:46 | |
| someone give you the gift of confidence, | 46:48 | |
| then you realize what your responsibility is to others. | 46:51 | |
| Paul explained it so well in verses 17 and 18 | 46:57 | |
| of Second Corinthians six. | 47:00 | |
| He says so if anyone is in Christ there is a new creation. | 47:02 | |
| Everything old has passed away, | 47:07 | |
| see everything has become new. | 47:09 | |
| All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself | 47:13 | |
| through Christ and has given us | 47:16 | |
| the ministry of reconciliation. | 47:20 | |
| Confidence. | 47:24 | |
| What a rare commodity. | 47:26 | |
| What a rich blessing. | 47:28 | |
| What a remarkable gift. | 47:31 | |
| But even when we find it from others, in our experiences | 47:33 | |
| or from God, that does not remove from us | 47:37 | |
| the pain of living or the sorrow of life. | 47:40 | |
| But when we discover the birthplace of confidence, | 47:43 | |
| we can endure. | 47:47 | |
| The black voice from Birmingham, England, | 47:52 | |
| recently sang in Birmingham, Alabama. | 47:55 | |
| In the melodious witness of their faith, | 47:59 | |
| those six beautiful women sang with many experiences | 48:02 | |
| in their background, much emotion in their voices. | 48:05 | |
| And great expressiveness with her hands. | 48:09 | |
| Earth has no sorrow | 48:13 | |
| that heaven cannot heal. | 48:17 | |
| God is our refuge, our strength, | 48:21 | |
| our present help, | 48:26 | |
| our hope. | 48:28 | |
| Thanks be to God, for the birthplace of confidence. | 48:30 | |
| (Organ music) | 48:49 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul the Lord is on thy side ♪ | 49:28 | |
| ♪ Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain ♪ | 49:38 | |
| ♪ Leave to thy God to order and provide ♪ | 49:48 | |
| ♪ in ev'ry change the faithful will remain ♪ | 49:59 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul thy best thy heav'nly friend ♪ | 50:08 | |
| ♪ Thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end ♪ | 50:19 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul thy God doth undertake ♪ | 50:32 | |
| ♪ To guide the future as he has the past ♪ | 50:42 | |
| ♪ Thy hope thy confidence let nothing shake ♪ | 50:51 | |
| ♪ All now mysterious shall be bright at last ♪ | 51:02 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul the waves and winds still know ♪ | 51:12 | |
| ♪ His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below ♪ | 51:23 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul the hour is hastening on ♪ | 51:35 | |
| ♪ When we shall be forever with the Lord ♪ | 51:45 | |
| ♪ When disappointment grief and fear are gone ♪ | 51:55 | |
| ♪ Sorrow forgot love's purest joys restore ♪ | 52:05 | |
| ♪ Be still my soul when change and tears are past ♪ | 52:16 | |
| ♪ All safe and blessed we shall meet at last ♪ | 52:27 | |
| - | The lord be with you. | 52:42 |
| Congregation | And also with you. | 52:44 |
| - | Let us pray. | 52:46 |
| Be seated. | 52:47 | |
| Oh everlasting God, great are your works | 52:55 | |
| and mighty is your power. | 52:59 | |
| Though the mountains shake and the Earth changes, | 53:03 | |
| we will not fear for you are our strength and help | 53:05 | |
| in times of trouble. | 53:11 | |
| Our secret places deep within us long for you | 53:13 | |
| oh living God. | 53:17 | |
| Our arms reach out to embrace you. | 53:19 | |
| You who are as close as breathing | 53:23 | |
| and as distant as the stars. | 53:25 | |
| Hear our silent prayers and the depths of our hearts | 53:29 | |
| and those we utter with our voices. | 53:32 | |
| Oh lord in your mercy. | 53:37 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 53:39 |
| - | Forgiving God we rejoice that you call us to new life. | 53:41 |
| Around us and within us, we see the brokeness of the world | 53:45 | |
| and of our ways. | 53:50 | |
| We confess our sins, our successes leave us empty. | 53:52 | |
| Our progress does not satisfy. | 53:58 | |
| Our land is not the promised land of our longing. | 54:01 | |
| Forgive our willful neglect of your word, | 54:05 | |
| our insensitivity to the needs of others, | 54:09 | |
| and our failure to feed the spirit within us. | 54:13 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 54:17 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 54:19 |
| - | Oh father god we pray this day for families | 54:22 |
| without fathers. | 54:25 | |
| And fathers without families. | 54:27 | |
| For fathers who cannot work because of sickness, | 54:29 | |
| disability, or financial setbacks, | 54:32 | |
| for fathers who work yet who are too ambitious | 54:35 | |
| to enjoy their homes and their families. | 54:38 | |
| We pray oh God for fathers who are faithful to you | 54:42 | |
| and to their families. | 54:45 | |
| May we celebrate with joy and thanksgiving, | 54:48 | |
| the fathers we have who have made our lives glad. | 54:51 | |
| And we mourn with those whose fathers are gone. | 54:55 | |
| Yet not from their hearts and memories. | 54:59 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 55:02 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 55:05 |
| - | We pray for all who labor in the name of the church | 55:07 |
| throughout the world, | 55:09 | |
| for those who minister in this chapel setting, | 55:11 | |
| especially for the choir, its directors and organist, | 55:14 | |
| and for the congregation and Duke Chapel | 55:18 | |
| who in this place serves you in so many special ways. | 55:20 | |
| For our new Assistant Dean Deborah, | 55:26 | |
| as she soon begins her work among us. | 55:28 | |
| Grant that we may all be united in your service, | 55:31 | |
| placing our confidence in the knowledge | 55:34 | |
| that your kingdom will stand forever. | 55:37 | |
| Help us to live not only for ourselves, | 55:40 | |
| but for the one who died for us | 55:43 | |
| that we might live for others. | 55:46 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 55:48 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 55:50 |
| - | We offer prayers for the newcomer, | 55:52 |
| the stranger and the visitor. | 55:54 | |
| May they find a resting place in this city | 55:56 | |
| and a sanctuary in this chapel. | 55:58 | |
| Light in their load of loneliness, | 56:01 | |
| and their burden of lossness. | 56:04 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 56:06 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 56:08 |
| - | We pray for those in hospitals and homes | 56:10 |
| who find it difficult to continue living | 56:12 | |
| because of illness or pain. | 56:15 | |
| For those who long for the peaceful rest and relief | 56:18 | |
| from the torments they suffer. | 56:20 | |
| Grant to them oh God a foretaste of your blessed peace | 56:23 | |
| and may the beams of your eternal healing light | 56:27 | |
| shine upon them. | 56:30 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 56:32 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 56:34 |
| - | Oh God of compassion stir us to share ourselves | 56:36 |
| and our means with the unloving, the bitter, the poor, | 56:39 | |
| the dispossessed, and the very old. | 56:42 | |
| Work with them and us so that wrongs may be righted, | 56:45 | |
| and wholeness may replace fragmentation. | 56:50 | |
| With a new awareness make us one in our solidarity | 56:54 | |
| with the pain of the world. | 56:58 | |
| Lord in your mercy. | 57:00 | |
| Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 57:02 |
| - | Open our lives to you in living and in dying. | 57:04 |
| And may we live as heirs of your eternal kingdom. | 57:09 | |
| Now and forevermore. | 57:12 | |
| Amen. | 57:15 | |
| Let us bring our offering so that God's truth may prevail, | 57:19 | |
| and God's love may flourish among us and in our world. | 57:23 | |
| (organ music) | 57:31 | |
| (choir sings) | 58:57 | |
| (organ music) | 1:01:44 | |
| (Congregation sings version of "Hallelujah" hymn) | 1:02:03 | |
| - | Oh God of host we behold your works in the heavens. | 1:02:56 |
| You are exalted among the nations and in the earth | 1:03:00 | |
| in thanksgiving we bring these gifts to you, | 1:03:04 | |
| offering them because of our love for you | 1:03:08 | |
| and of your love for us, may they be used to work | 1:03:11 | |
| for the captives and the victims of violence. | 1:03:15 | |
| For the broken bodied and broken hearted, | 1:03:18 | |
| for the hungry of the earth, | 1:03:21 | |
| and for the bringing of good news of love, | 1:03:23 | |
| to all people everywhere. | 1:03:25 | |
| You are a God of glory and majesty. | 1:03:28 | |
| A God of mystery and wonder. | 1:03:31 | |
| Raise us up as people of your heavenly kingdom. | 1:03:34 | |
| Set free for others. | 1:03:37 | |
| Set free for joy. | 1:03:39 | |
| Set free for grace. | 1:03:41 | |
| Set free for you in your everlasting kingdom, | 1:03:45 | |
| in the name of the one who taught us to pray, saying, | 1:03:49 | |
| - | [Preacher and Congregation] Our father who art in heaven, | 1:03:54 |
| hallowed be your name. | 1:03:56 | |
| Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:03:58 | |
| on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:04:02 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:04:04 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:04:07 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:04:09 | |
| And lead us not into temptation, | 1:04:12 | |
| but deliver us from evil. | 1:04:15 | |
| For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory | 1:04:17 | |
| for ever and ever. | 1:04:21 | |
| Amen. | 1:04:22 | |
| Preacher | And now may God whose love never lets us go | 1:04:26 |
| save, preserve and keep you this day, | 1:04:30 | |
| and throughout all eternity. | 1:04:34 | |
| In the name of the father and of the son, | 1:04:36 | |
| and of the Holy Spirit. | 1:04:39 | |
| Amen. | 1:04:40 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah amen amen ♪ | 1:04:46 | |
| (organ music) | 1:04:58 | |
| ♪ Rejoice the Lord is king ♪ | 1:05:28 | |
| ♪ Your Lord and king adore ♪ | 1:05:32 | |
| ♪ Rejoice give thanks and sing ♪ | 1:05:36 | |
| ♪ And triumph evermore ♪ | 1:05:39 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 1:05:45 | |
| ♪ Lift up your voice ♪ | 1:05:49 | |
| ♪ Rejoice again I say rejoice ♪ | 1:05:51 | |
| ♪ Jesus the Savior reigns ♪ | 1:06:01 | |
| ♪ The God of truth and love ♪ | 1:06:05 | |
| ♪ When He has purged our stains ♪ | 1:06:10 | |
| ♪ He took his seat above ♪ | 1:06:14 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 1:06:19 | |
| ♪ Lift up your voice ♪ | 1:06:24 | |
| ♪ Rejoice again I say rejoice ♪ | 1:06:26 | |
| ♪ His kingdom cannot fail ♪ | 1:06:36 | |
| ♪ He rules o'er earth and heav'n ♪ | 1:06:41 | |
| ♪ The keys of death and hell ♪ | 1:06:45 | |
| ♪ Are to our Jesus giv'n ♪ | 1:06:48 | |
| ♪ Lift up your heart ♪ | 1:06:54 | |
| ♪ Lift up your voice ♪ | 1:06:58 | |
| ♪ Rejoice again I say rejoice ♪ | 1:07:00 | |
| ♪ Rejoice in glorious hope ♪ | 1:07:11 | |
| ♪ Jesus the judge shall come ♪ | 1:07:15 | |
| ♪ And take his servants up ♪ | 1:07:20 | |
| ♪ To their eternal home ♪ | 1:07:23 | |
| ♪ He soon shall rein ♪ | 1:07:29 | |
| (Congregation sings) | 1:07:34 | |
| (organ music) | 1:07:56 |