John M. Stapleton - "The Ultimate Sovereignty" (June 30, 1991)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to worship | 6:04 |
in the Duke University Chapel. | 6:05 | |
Only those of you who've worshiped here over several years | 6:08 | |
can fully appreciate the comfort of this room. | 6:10 | |
Those of us who antedate the air conditioning system here | 6:13 | |
are particularly grateful this day | 6:16 | |
when the weather forecast promises 90 degrees, | 6:18 | |
that we have air conditioning comfort in which to worship. | 6:22 | |
It's always a pleasure and privilege | 6:25 | |
for me to participate in the service. | 6:27 | |
Today especially so because I have the honor | 6:29 | |
of presenting to you our new Assistant Dean of the Chapel | 6:32 | |
and Director of Religious Life, | 6:37 | |
the Reverend Debra Brazzel. | 6:40 | |
Reverend Brazzel comes to us from the Dallas area | 6:42 | |
where she trained for ministry | 6:46 | |
at Perkins School of Theology | 6:48 | |
at Southern Methodist University, | 6:51 | |
where she was a campus minister | 6:54 | |
and served on the staff of a local church. | 6:56 | |
And most recently, was director of the Bethlehem Center, | 6:59 | |
which is a center focusing upon inner city ministry | 7:03 | |
in the city of Dallas. | 7:08 | |
For those of you who have been parts | 7:11 | |
of certain committees know what an anxious time it is | 7:13 | |
when there's a change of staff. | 7:16 | |
It has been, for those of us close to the chapel, | 7:17 | |
and we were delighted that | 7:21 | |
we had a number of strong candidates, | 7:22 | |
but delighted more so that Debra accepted the invitation | 7:26 | |
of the University to assume this position. | 7:29 | |
Debra, we welcome you and the wonderful gifts you bring, | 7:32 | |
and welcome you to this community. | 7:35 | |
- | Thank you. | 7:37 |
- | So glad to have you. | |
We also welcome today as our preacher, | 7:40 | |
the Revered John Stapleton, | 7:42 | |
who was pastor at the Trinity United Methodist Church | 7:44 | |
in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. | 7:47 | |
Those of us in theological education | 7:50 | |
and ordained ministry have known his name | 7:53 | |
from publications and teaching, | 7:55 | |
so it's a real treat to have him with us today. | 7:57 | |
Both Dr. Stapleton and Reverend Brazzel | 7:59 | |
will be glad to greet you in the rear of the chapel | 8:02 | |
at the end of the service. | 8:07 | |
By the way, I did forget to mention, | 8:10 | |
and let me do mention at this time, | 8:12 | |
that Debra is married to Mr. Geoffrey Dunkak, | 8:13 | |
and they are now living in their home. | 8:18 | |
Actually, Debra's been here for a couple of weeks already. | 8:19 | |
- | Two weeks. | 8:23 |
- | So. | |
Thank you, Debra. | 8:24 | |
- | Thank you. | |
- | One announcement that is not in the bulletin | 8:25 |
that you might like to know about, | 8:27 | |
there will be a choir songfest this afternoon at 6:00 pm | 8:31 | |
to benefit the homeless shelter. | 8:35 | |
The songfest will be at Mount Gilead Church | 8:38 | |
at 404 Dowd Street. | 8:41 | |
Participating choirs are Mount Gilead, | 8:43 | |
the Greater Joy Choir, and the Mount Zoar Choir. | 8:46 | |
The preacher for the occasion will be | 8:50 | |
the Reverend James Daniel of the Mount Gilead church. | 8:51 | |
So would you stand. | 9:01 | |
Lift up your heads, o' people of God, | 9:07 | |
to meet the glorious ruler of all worlds. | 9:09 | |
(congregation answering) | 9:13 | |
Who shall ascend to the hill of God | 9:19 | |
and who shall stand in God's holy place? | 9:21 | |
Congregation | Those who have clean hands and pure hearts. | 9:25 |
- | Make merry before God with all your being. | 9:31 |
Praise God with instruments and singing. | 9:33 | |
(congregation answering) | 9:37 | |
(organ music) | 9:46 | |
♪ Immortal, invisible, god only wise ♪ | 10:15 | |
♪ In light inaccessible hid from our eyes ♪ | 10:22 | |
♪ Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days ♪ | 10:30 | |
♪ Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise ♪ | 10:37 | |
♪ Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light ♪ | 10:46 | |
♪ Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might ♪ | 10:53 | |
♪ Thy justice like mountains high soaring above ♪ | 11:01 | |
♪ Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love ♪ | 11:08 | |
♪ To all life Thou givest, to both great and small ♪ | 11:18 | |
♪ In all life Thou livest, the true life of all ♪ | 11:25 | |
♪ We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree ♪ | 11:32 | |
♪ And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee ♪ | 11:39 | |
♪ Great Father of glory, pure Father of light ♪ | 12:47 | |
♪ Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight ♪ | 12:54 | |
♪ All praise we would render; O help us to see ♪ | 13:02 | |
♪ 'Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee ♪ | 13:09 | |
- | Let us pray. | 13:24 |
Oh God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments | 13:26 | |
by loving you and our neighbor. | 13:29 | |
Grant us the grace of your holy spirit | 13:32 | |
that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, | 13:35 | |
and united to one another with pure affection | 13:38 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 13:42 | |
who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, | 13:43 | |
one God forever and ever, amen. | 13:47 | |
- | Let us pray. | 14:03 |
All | Open our hearts and minds oh god, | 14:09 |
by the power of your holy spirit, | 14:12 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 14:15 | |
we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen. | 14:19 | |
- | The first reading is taken from II Book of Samuel. | 14:27 |
In this passage, David is attempting to | 14:30 | |
more firmly establish his monarchy | 14:33 | |
by making Jerusalem the religious center | 14:36 | |
for a United Israel. | 14:39 | |
He has already captured Jerusalem | 14:41 | |
and declared it the political capital for his monarchy | 14:45 | |
in his efforts to strengthen his new rule | 14:47 | |
over the northern and southern tribes of Israel. | 14:50 | |
To accomplish this, David is moving the Ark, | 14:53 | |
the symbol of God's covenant with Israel, to Jerusalem. | 14:57 | |
Listen now for the word of God. | 15:01 | |
David, again, gathered all | 15:06 | |
the chosen people of Israel, 30,000. | 15:08 | |
David and all the people with him set out | 15:12 | |
and from Baalah in Judah to bring up from there | 15:15 | |
the Ark of God, which is called by the name | 15:18 | |
of the Lord of Hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. | 15:22 | |
They carried the Ark of God on a new cart | 15:26 | |
and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, | 15:29 | |
which was on the hill. | 15:31 | |
Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, | 15:33 | |
were driving the new cart with the Ark of God, | 15:36 | |
and Ahio went in front of the Ark. | 15:39 | |
David and all the house of Israel were dancing | 15:42 | |
before the Lord with all their might, | 15:45 | |
with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines | 15:47 | |
and castanets and cymbals. | 15:52 | |
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, | 15:55 | |
Uzzah reached out his hand to the Ark of God | 15:58 | |
and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. | 16:00 | |
The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, | 16:04 | |
and God struck him there | 16:07 | |
because he reached out his hand to the Ark, | 16:08 | |
and he died there beside the Ark of God. | 16:11 | |
David was angry because the Lord had burst forth | 16:15 | |
with an outburst upon Uzzah, | 16:18 | |
so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day. | 16:20 | |
David was afraid of the Lord that day. | 16:25 | |
He said, how can the Ark of the Lord come into my care? | 16:28 | |
So David was unwilling to take the Ark of Lord | 16:32 | |
into his care in the City of David. | 16:35 | |
Instead, David took it to the house | 16:39 | |
of Obed-edom, the Gittite. | 16:41 | |
The Ark of Lord remained in the house | 16:44 | |
of the Obed-edom the Gittite three months, | 16:46 | |
and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. | 16:49 | |
It was told King David, the Lord has blessed | 16:53 | |
the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him | 16:56 | |
because of the Ark of God. | 17:00 | |
So David went and brought up the Ark of God | 17:02 | |
from the house of Obed-edom | 17:04 | |
to the City of David with rejoicing. | 17:06 | |
And when those who bore the Ark of the Lord | 17:09 | |
had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. | 17:11 | |
David danced before the Lord with all his might. | 17:17 | |
David was girded with a linen ephod, | 17:21 | |
so David and all the house of Israel | 17:23 | |
brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting | 17:27 | |
and with the sound of the trumpet. | 17:29 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 17:33 | |
Congregation | This is the word. | 17:36 |
- | Please stand for the singing of the Psalm, | 17:48 |
which is found on page 755. | 17:50 | |
(organ music) | 17:57 | |
♪ The Earth is the Lord's ♪ | 18:03 | |
♪ And the fullness thereof ♪ | 18:05 | |
♪ The world and all who dwell therein ♪ | 18:09 | |
♪ Our God has founded it upon the seas ♪ | 18:13 | |
♪ And established upon the waters ♪ | 18:18 | |
♪ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord ♪ | 18:23 | |
♪ Who may stand in His holy place ♪ | 18:27 | |
♪ Those who have clean hands and pure hearts ♪ | 18:33 | |
♪ Who does not lift up his soul to an idol ♪ | 18:38 | |
♪ Or swear deceitfully ♪ | 18:44 | |
♪ They will receive blessing from the Lord ♪ | 18:48 | |
♪ And vindication from the God of their salvation ♪ | 18:53 | |
♪ Such is the generation of those who seek the Lord ♪ | 18:58 | |
♪ Who seek Your face, O God of Jacob ♪ | 19:04 | |
♪ Lift up your heads, O gates ♪ | 19:10 | |
♪ And be lifted up, O ancient doors ♪ | 19:13 | |
♪ That the ruler of glory may come in ♪ | 19:18 | |
♪ Who is the ruler of glory ♪ | 19:23 | |
♪ The Lord is strong and mighty ♪ | 19:27 | |
♪ The Lord mighty in battle ♪ | 19:30 | |
♪ Lift up your heads, O gates ♪ | 19:34 | |
♪ Be lifted up O ancient doors ♪ | 19:37 | |
♪ That the ruler of glory may come in ♪ | 19:43 | |
♪ Who is this ruler of glory ♪ | 19:48 | |
♪ The Lord of hosts ♪ | 19:53 | |
♪ Our God is the King of Glory ♪ | 19:55 | |
♪ All glory be to You O God ♪ | 20:01 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ, our savior ♪ | 20:04 | |
♪ O Holy Spirit, the Trinity ♪ | 20:08 | |
♪ As it was since time began ♪ | 20:15 | |
♪ It is now and will be forever more ♪ | 20:19 | |
- | Our second reading is from Paul's second letter | 20:40 |
to the Corinthians, hear now the word of God. | 20:43 | |
Now as you excel in everything, | 20:47 | |
in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost earnestness, | 20:49 | |
and in our love for you, | 20:54 | |
so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. | 20:56 | |
I do not say this as a command, | 21:01 | |
but I am testing the genuineness of your love | 21:03 | |
against the earnestness of others. | 21:07 | |
For you know the generous act of our Lord, Jesus Christ, | 21:09 | |
that though he was rich, for your sakes, He became poor | 21:13 | |
so that by his poverty, you might become rich. | 21:17 | |
And in this matter, I am giving my advice. | 21:21 | |
It is appropriate for you, | 21:25 | |
who began last year not only to do something, | 21:27 | |
but even to desire to do something. | 21:30 | |
Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness | 21:33 | |
and your earnestness may be matched | 21:38 | |
by completing it according to your needs. | 21:39 | |
For if the eagerness is there, | 21:43 | |
the gift is acceptable according to what one has, | 21:45 | |
not according to what one does not have. | 21:49 | |
I do not mean that there should be relief | 21:52 | |
for others and pressure on you, | 21:54 | |
but it is a question of a fair balance | 21:56 | |
between your present abundance and their need | 21:59 | |
so that their abundance may be for your need | 22:03 | |
in order that there may be a fair balance. | 22:07 | |
As it is written, the one who had much, | 22:10 | |
did not have too much, | 22:14 | |
and the one who had little, | 22:17 | |
did not have too little. | 22:19 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 22:22 | |
Congregation | This is the Word. | 22:25 |
(organ music) | 22:35 | |
♪ Hear my prayer, O God ♪ | 22:59 | |
♪ Turn not from me ♪ | 23:04 | |
♪ Hearken unto the voice of my supplication ♪ | 23:11 | |
♪ I will call on God ♪ | 23:24 | |
♪ He alone will be my salvation ♪ | 23:29 | |
♪ He endureth ♪ | 23:39 | |
♪ He endureth for all generations ♪ | 23:45 | |
♪ O Lord Almighty, turn not ♪ | 23:57 | |
♪ Turn not Thyself from me ♪ | 24:06 | |
♪ Turn not Thyself from me ♪ | 24:13 | |
♪ I pray Thee, O Lord God ♪ | 24:20 | |
♪ O hear my prayer ♪ | 24:28 | |
♪ O hear my prayer ♪ | 24:35 | |
- | This reading is taken from the Gospel | 25:18 |
according to Saint Mark. | 25:20 | |
Listen now for God's word to us, this day. | 25:21 | |
Now there was a woman who had been suffering | 25:26 | |
from hemorrhages for 12 years. | 25:28 | |
She had endured much under many physicians, | 25:32 | |
and had spent all that she had, | 25:35 | |
and she was no better, but rather grew worse. | 25:37 | |
She had heard about Jesus | 25:43 | |
and came up behind Him in the crowd | 25:44 | |
and touched his cloak. | 25:47 | |
For she said, if I but touch his clothes, | 25:49 | |
I will be made well. | 25:52 | |
Immediately her hemorrhage stopped, | 25:55 | |
and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. | 25:57 | |
Immediately aware that power had gone forth from Him, | 26:03 | |
Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, | 26:06 | |
Who touched my clothes? | 26:09 | |
And His disciples said to Him, | 26:12 | |
you see the crowd pressing in on you, | 26:14 | |
how can you say, who touched me? | 26:16 | |
But Jesus looked all around to see who had done it. | 26:19 | |
The woman, knowing what had happened to her, | 26:24 | |
came in fear and trembling, fell down before Him, | 26:27 | |
and told Him the whole truth. | 26:31 | |
He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. | 26:34 | |
Go in peace and be healed of your disease. | 26:40 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 26:45 | |
Congregation | This is the word. | 26:48 |
- | Once more, let us be together in prayer. | 26:59 |
Almighty God, you have indeed promised | 27:04 | |
that you would not turn your face from us. | 27:08 | |
So now in words, let us hear your word. | 27:12 | |
Dwelling among us, full of grace and truth. | 27:17 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, amen. | 27:22 | |
Duke Chapel, Duke University, | 27:32 | |
June 30th, 1991. | 27:36 | |
A few million years, and here we are, | 27:42 | |
some would say, beasts, who have learned something | 27:46 | |
about love and other important matters. | 27:50 | |
And learned the rather delicate art of shaving. | 27:54 | |
Here we are, picking out just here and there, | 28:01 | |
almost 1,500 years, | 28:07 | |
as Augustine was writing the City of God, | 28:10 | |
as the barbarians were overwhelming Rome. | 28:14 | |
A few hundred years into what has been called | 28:19 | |
the Scientific Revolution. | 28:22 | |
About 100 years of Freudian psychology. | 28:26 | |
14th year since the death of Elvis Presley. | 28:31 | |
(audience laughing) | 28:34 | |
11th year of the reign of Saddam Hussein. | 28:38 | |
I was rather interested to note the other day | 28:45 | |
that it's the 54th year or, | 28:47 | |
if I'm not completely wrong, | 28:50 | |
the 54th year of someone named Jane Fonda. | 28:52 | |
Second year or so of Madonna-mania. | 28:58 | |
A third or fourth year of Gorby-mania. | 29:04 | |
About the third year of the term | 29:08 | |
of our brother and President, George Bush. | 29:10 | |
But also, June 30th, | 29:16 | |
the 1991st year | 29:20 | |
of the reign of Jesus Christ, | 29:23 | |
and still world struggles with the issues of sovereignty. | 29:27 | |
Forgive my poor words, but when I say that, | 29:34 | |
I have something in mind like | 29:37 | |
who is really in charge of things? | 29:39 | |
Who really reigns? | 29:42 | |
To whom does the Earth really belong? | 29:45 | |
To whom do I belong and to whom do you belong? | 29:50 | |
Who really is in charge of it all? | 29:55 | |
What is going on? | 29:58 | |
What values really count? | 30:02 | |
What finally can we ultimately, all of us, depend on. | 30:05 | |
What is finally and conclusively | 30:09 | |
and ultimately sovereign? | 30:12 | |
Those are the questions among all of others | 30:17 | |
that the world and people like us keep struggling with. | 30:20 | |
But am I wrong, am I not right to say, | 30:27 | |
totally right to say that for people like us, | 30:30 | |
when the questions come and the perplexities arise, | 30:33 | |
we know very well, do we not, how to respond? | 30:37 | |
Are we not kin? | 30:44 | |
And do we not experience the same compulsions, | 30:45 | |
and I do call them that, | 30:51 | |
the same compulsions that those Jews felt | 30:54 | |
as in their worship, the Psalm that we sang | 30:59 | |
just a moment ago, emerged? | 31:02 | |
With us it's probably something like | 31:09 | |
getting up this morning, waking up this morning, | 31:11 | |
hopping out of bed, | 31:17 | |
some of us dragging out of bed, | 31:20 | |
others of us staggering out of bed, | 31:23 | |
some of us, if you're like me, | 31:27 | |
you just kind of very carefully roll over | 31:30 | |
and get up very carefully. | 31:33 | |
And yet, there it was about that as the sun came, | 31:38 | |
inevitably, under or into the window. | 31:42 | |
The sun, inevitably, into the window, | 31:47 | |
a kind of compulsiveness about it, | 31:49 | |
and I found, as I suspect some of you found, | 31:53 | |
being who you are, a people of faith, | 31:57 | |
and being who I am, a man of faith, | 32:01 | |
poor as all of our faith can be. | 32:03 | |
Something like this is the day the Lord hath made, | 32:07 | |
stumbling into the shower, | 32:13 | |
and sometimes I have found, | 32:17 | |
and I suspect you have found, | 32:19 | |
that faith comes over us almost like a song | 32:22 | |
in the shower when you don't always even remember the words. | 32:26 | |
And even if it's not a song of faith, | 32:32 | |
maybe a song of faith interrupts that song, | 32:33 | |
or at least a memory of that song of faith, | 32:37 | |
and you find yourself saying almost despite yourself, | 32:42 | |
the Earth is Lord's, the fullness thereof. | 32:47 | |
You get breakfast, if you're a breakfast person, | 32:54 | |
you get with your companion, | 32:57 | |
come to church maybe, or just by yourself, | 32:59 | |
you come with, I dare say, | 33:04 | |
I will be bold enough to say, | 33:07 | |
with a certain thrill of anticipation, | 33:09 | |
a certain race of the heart, | 33:12 | |
a certain compulsion, to use the word again, of the heart. | 33:15 | |
You almost can't help it and you come, | 33:20 | |
and as you walk into this place | 33:23 | |
and you hear the bells ringing | 33:24 | |
and you hear the organ playing, | 33:26 | |
there is something in your heart that says, | 33:28 | |
lift up your head, ye gates. | 33:31 | |
Be lifted up, o ancient doors. | 33:34 | |
You come into this place | 33:40 | |
singing a song of praise. | 33:43 | |
Don't get me wrong. | 33:49 | |
I'm not saying that you did not come without any doubts, | 33:52 | |
but I am saying you came in spite your doubts. | 33:57 | |
Do not get me wrong. | 34:03 | |
I did not say that you did not come | 34:06 | |
perhaps dragging a set of despair and impediment. | 34:08 | |
Despair, broken kingdoms, defeated rules, | 34:13 | |
empty, meaningless relationships, | 34:20 | |
and yet somehow you gathered that despair up into your faith | 34:24 | |
and you brought it into this place, almost, | 34:29 | |
maybe completely, | 34:33 | |
because you really just couldn't help it. | 34:35 | |
Maybe you did come in a kind of stupor, | 34:40 | |
and yet you knew that here you would find a certain clarity. | 34:44 | |
You did come full of perplexities, full of confusions, | 34:49 | |
dragging a whole bunch of tragedies, | 34:54 | |
and yet, and yet you couldn't quite help it. | 34:58 | |
Lift up your heads, o ye gates, | 35:03 | |
and be ye lifted up, the everlasting doors. | 35:07 | |
Faith is like that, praise is like that. | 35:12 | |
It comes over us, it requires us, | 35:17 | |
it brings us in here to this place, | 35:20 | |
regardless sometimes, and in spite of, | 35:25 | |
and because of doubts, despair, | 35:30 | |
perplexities, confusion. | 35:35 | |
But for us professedly Christians, | 35:40 | |
and there is something else, | 35:43 | |
who is this ruler of glory? | 35:46 | |
The Psalm requires that the ruler of glory may come in, | 35:50 | |
everybody wants that ruler to come in, | 35:54 | |
everybody sang it, everybody was yearning for it, | 35:59 | |
everybody's hoping for it. | 36:02 | |
But we Christians have always found in this psalm | 36:06 | |
a certain intensification. | 36:09 | |
It has enlarged itself. | 36:12 | |
We have had to enlarge it to embrace Jesus Christ | 36:14 | |
as the ruler of glory, as the ultimate sovereign. | 36:20 | |
Again, we need to be very careful here, do we not? | 36:27 | |
This is not rulers as we think of rulers, | 36:32 | |
Kings and Queens as we ordinarily think Kings and Queens. | 36:35 | |
No, this is a ruler who came to give his life | 36:41 | |
as a ransom for many. | 36:45 | |
This is a ruler who became obedient unto death, | 36:48 | |
a ruler born of a lowly peasant woman, | 36:52 | |
a ruler who was rich, | 36:57 | |
so as the Church reflected, | 37:01 | |
was rich, but for our sakes, | 37:04 | |
became poor. | 37:08 | |
Obedient unto death, carrying the burden | 37:12 | |
of the world's sin unto His cross. | 37:16 | |
And even in the psalm, the early church decided very quickly | 37:21 | |
that it was not just a psalm to be sung | 37:27 | |
proclaiming the rule of Jesus Christ in places like this, | 37:30 | |
and in worlds like ours, | 37:34 | |
but even into the depths of hell, | 37:37 | |
even to hell, | 37:42 | |
Jesus Christ was ruler of glory. | 37:45 | |
Yeah, that's who we are. | 37:52 | |
And so we come here, how many of us, | 37:55 | |
not having some time | 37:59 | |
experienced to the incalculable | 38:00 | |
and inevitable claim of His life | 38:05 | |
upon our life? | 38:09 | |
How many of us? | 38:11 | |
How many of us have not come to this place | 38:13 | |
having experienced His forgiveness? | 38:17 | |
He knows that He can forgive us, | 38:22 | |
and we have felt our sins forgiven. | 38:26 | |
We know that, | 38:31 | |
we have allowed Him to touch us. | 38:35 | |
Who can ascend to the holy hill? | 38:38 | |
He who has pure hands and a clean heart. | 38:41 | |
Not always, but the good news of the Gospel is, | 38:45 | |
is that in terms of this psalm, | 38:51 | |
he has descended the hill to us. | 38:54 | |
And if we want to reach forth, like some sick, | 38:59 | |
despairing woman, | 39:03 | |
we too can be forgiven and healed, | 39:06 | |
and we know that we have been forgiven and healed. | 39:10 | |
This is why we are here. | 39:14 | |
How many of us have come here, | 39:19 | |
or some other place, | 39:23 | |
time after time after time, | 39:25 | |
we have come and found that His meaning touches us | 39:28 | |
if we let His meaning touch us? | 39:34 | |
His meaning touches us and gives us courage | 39:37 | |
and hope for the future, | 39:41 | |
the courage to go on living | 39:45 | |
for all of the reasons, despite all the reasons | 39:47 | |
that we have maybe for not living, | 39:50 | |
but we have discovered in Him courage | 39:54 | |
and hope and love. | 39:57 | |
Love surpassing thought and fantasy. | 40:01 | |
All thought, all fantasy, | 40:05 | |
and so Jesus Christ, | 40:09 | |
we say, became flesh, the word became flesh, | 40:12 | |
dwelt among us full of grace and truly greater | 40:17 | |
than our whimsical mercy, | 40:21 | |
greater than our Earthbound moralities, | 40:24 | |
thunder and lightning from the sky have saved us. | 40:28 | |
We have beheld His glory. | 40:33 | |
Glory as of the only begotten son of the Father, | 40:37 | |
and from his fullness have we all | 40:41 | |
received grace upon grace. | 40:45 | |
Duke Chapel, July 30th, | 40:53 | |
1991st year of His reign. | 40:57 | |
This is less a sermon, I guess, than it is a statement | 41:06 | |
of your and my celebration. | 41:11 | |
Who is this ruler of glory? | 41:17 | |
He is Jesus Christ and we are here, | 41:21 | |
almost because we can't help it, | 41:26 | |
despite our despair, despite our doubts, | 41:30 | |
despite all of the reasons we could give | 41:33 | |
and excuses we could manufacture | 41:37 | |
for not being here, | 41:40 | |
but we are here. | 41:43 | |
We can hardly help it. | 41:45 | |
Now there is a kind of hiddenness to this rulership. | 41:51 | |
Not a kind of hiddenness, let's just go ahead and say it is | 41:57 | |
sometimes and often, and more often than not, hidden. | 42:00 | |
And even though it is hidden, | 42:06 | |
we somehow find that we cannot resist the fact | 42:07 | |
that it is truth, it is strict truth, | 42:11 | |
it is truth of truth, it is hope of hopes. | 42:15 | |
It is love of love. | 42:20 | |
We just can't deny that, | 42:23 | |
despite all of the contradictions | 42:27 | |
that human life can throw up against it. | 42:30 | |
Even in the depths of evil, | 42:37 | |
even in the depths of evil it can be experienced, | 42:41 | |
it can be known, it can be hoped for, | 42:45 | |
this rulership of Jesus Christ. | 42:50 | |
Let me explain. | 42:57 | |
I'm sure that some of you have stood, | 43:00 | |
at one time or another, as I stood a few years ago, | 43:02 | |
a little place, a little suburb | 43:08 | |
of Munich, Germany called Dachau. | 43:10 | |
I had taken the subway out there and a bus | 43:15 | |
on a very cold, wintry day. | 43:20 | |
Snow was falling, as the Rosetti poem has it, | 43:25 | |
snow upon snow, | 43:30 | |
a wintry, desolate day. | 43:34 | |
I wandered with just one or two other people | 43:38 | |
into that Death Camp of Hitler's Germany, | 43:41 | |
the scene along with other Death Camps of those days | 43:48 | |
of the awful Holocaust. | 43:53 | |
Six million of God's children had been | 43:56 | |
systematically oppressed, put to death. | 43:59 | |
I wandered by myself and was by myself | 44:05 | |
in the little gas ovens, and I say little. | 44:10 | |
I couldn't imagine that they would have been so small. | 44:13 | |
Let that pass for whatever that means. | 44:19 | |
I saw the shower rooms where innocent people | 44:23 | |
had been taken so called for cleansing purposes, | 44:27 | |
but really so that gas could be released | 44:32 | |
through the shower heads, | 44:36 | |
and they could all be ruthlessly exterminated. | 44:38 | |
I looked up above me and saw gallows, | 44:43 | |
saw gallows where people had been hung, | 44:46 | |
some of them, instead of being gassed. | 44:52 | |
But then again, those little ovens, | 44:56 | |
those gas ovens where some of them, | 45:00 | |
some of them not even completely dead, | 45:04 | |
had been burned, had been cremated. | 45:08 | |
I stood there trying to take it all in. | 45:14 | |
And old poem of TS Eliot came to me. | 45:18 | |
It was a favorite among students of my generation. | 45:22 | |
A lot of us here, I guess, some of us at least | 45:27 | |
have heard that old song. | 45:32 | |
Maybe it's an old, Southern song. | 45:34 | |
♪ Here we go 'round the mulberry bush ♪ | 45:38 | |
♪ Here we go 'round the mulberry bush ♪ | 45:41 | |
♪ Here we go 'round the mulberry bush ♪ | 45:44 | |
♪ So early in the morning ♪ | 45:46 | |
Apologies to the singers here. | 45:50 | |
TS Eliot took that old song | 45:55 | |
and put it in a poem of his, | 45:57 | |
and kind of intensified it. | 46:00 | |
He put it this way, | 46:03 | |
♪ Here we go 'round the prickly pear ♪ | 46:04 | |
♪ The prickly pear, the prickly pear ♪ | 46:08 | |
♪ Here we go 'round the prickly pear ♪ | 46:11 | |
♪ At five o'clock in the morning ♪ | 46:14 | |
My cliff notes on the poem, | 46:19 | |
other people besides people at Duke read cliff notes. | 46:22 | |
Cliff notes on the poem says | 46:27 | |
there is no physical action in the poem. | 46:29 | |
To which, with my lay response, | 46:33 | |
I'm tempted to say, nonsense. | 46:35 | |
Around and 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round | 46:39 | |
and 'round and 'round a meaningless existence, | 46:42 | |
except in the Eliot poem that bores on through, | 46:45 | |
bores and bores and bores down into another world | 46:48 | |
with his images of dying stars and shadowy kingdoms | 46:55 | |
of dead valleys, of tumid rivers. | 47:02 | |
'Round and 'round and 'round and 'round, | 47:07 | |
and for my generation, | 47:12 | |
and for the generation of our fathers and mothers, | 47:14 | |
the poem itself bores on through until it ends. | 47:18 | |
Same cadence, same rhythm. | 47:24 | |
♪ This is the way the world ends ♪ | 47:29 | |
♪ This is the way the world ends ♪ | 47:32 | |
♪ This is the way the world ends ♪ | 47:36 | |
♪ Not with a bang, ♪ | 47:40 | |
♪ but a whimper ♪ | 47:44 | |
Somebody who knows more about poetry than I do, | 47:51 | |
I guess, writing in a recent issue | 47:54 | |
of The New Yorker Magazine said TS Eliot is too tame now | 47:56 | |
for the savagery we have accumulated. | 48:01 | |
I'm not so sure. | 48:05 | |
At least he wasn't for me. | 48:08 | |
I am not aware, | 48:10 | |
I am not aware that any death, however explosive, | 48:12 | |
does not end sometimes with an uttered sigh, | 48:15 | |
sometimes with an unuttered sigh. | 48:20 | |
I am not sure that anyone, at any death, | 48:23 | |
does not end ones world, not with a bang, | 48:27 | |
but a whimper. | 48:33 | |
I'll swear to you, at least that's all | 48:37 | |
I could think about that day as I stood there | 48:40 | |
in the gas ovens. | 48:44 | |
And then I'll swear to you again, | 48:46 | |
I'll swear to you again as I stood there all by myself, | 48:49 | |
whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. | 48:55 | |
But I'll swear to you that I heard music. | 48:59 | |
Music from way up high, high, high music, | 49:04 | |
maybe like children's voices, | 49:09 | |
maybe like angels voices, unearthly voices, | 49:12 | |
up high and descending down in curling, | 49:17 | |
wafting like smoke, in and around, | 49:21 | |
and in and around those little gas ovens. | 49:25 | |
Music, it went like this. | 49:30 | |
Same cadence, same rhythm. | 49:35 | |
♪ For thine is the Kingdom ♪ | 49:39 | |
♪ The power and the glory ♪ | 49:44 | |
♪ For thine is the kingdom ♪ | 49:48 | |
♪ Forever and forever ♪ | 49:53 | |
Even in a place like that, | 50:02 | |
even in a life like that, | 50:04 | |
even in a situation like that, | 50:07 | |
even an experience like that, | 50:09 | |
even there, we have discovered | 50:12 | |
and can discover | 50:17 | |
the good news of the rulership of Christ. | 50:19 | |
Your program notes state that I was once | 50:27 | |
a member of the faculty at Emory University. | 50:32 | |
And a time came when we decided we needed | 50:37 | |
to break ground for a chapel, | 50:41 | |
and we were able to get, | 50:46 | |
because of His close ties | 50:50 | |
with the university and other persons there, | 50:52 | |
we were able to get there one of George's favorite sons | 50:56 | |
to come and break ground for us. | 51:01 | |
A favorite son by the name of Jimmy Carter | 51:05 | |
then President of the United States. | 51:09 | |
What a flurry of preparations there were | 51:14 | |
to get ready for Jimmy, if we dared call him that. | 51:19 | |
A flurry of preparations, | 51:24 | |
and I will never forget, | 51:25 | |
that we were sitting there in that great hall | 51:27 | |
waiting for him, | 51:32 | |
all of us blase academics, | 51:35 | |
of us objectively thinking people, | 51:40 | |
and we couldn't help ourselves. | 51:44 | |
We almost felt impelled to celebrate, | 51:46 | |
we really couldn't help ourselves, | 51:50 | |
one of the members, a native German on our faculty, | 51:53 | |
said, trying to explain his own feelings and our feelings. | 51:59 | |
"There is something," he says, "about power. | 52:02 | |
"There is something about ze power of ze state." | 52:05 | |
He grew up in Hitler's Germany, he should know. | 52:09 | |
And that awesome feeling we had as we sat there, | 52:13 | |
pins and needles, and finally the word came | 52:19 | |
out of the Heavens, Ladies and Gentlemen, | 52:23 | |
the President of the United States. | 52:28 | |
And he came striding in, | 52:34 | |
and we almost couldn't help ourselves. | 52:37 | |
We had to get to our feet and cheer and applaud. | 52:40 | |
Now, that's as true as it goes, | 52:48 | |
friends. | 52:53 | |
June 30th, 1991, | 52:55 | |
ladies and gentlemen, | 53:02 | |
Jesus Christ, the savior, | 53:05 | |
the ruler of the world. | 53:10 | |
That, too, ladies and gentlemen, | 53:15 | |
more than anything else, that, too, | 53:19 | |
more than anything else. | 53:23 | |
Let us pray. | 53:32 | |
Even so, come Lord Jesus, | 53:39 | |
come, amen. | 53:45 | |
(organ music) | 53:54 | |
♪ My faith looks up to thee ♪ | 54:17 | |
♪ Thou Lamb of Glory ♪ | 54:23 | |
♪ Savior divine ♪ | 54:28 | |
♪ Now hear me while I pray ♪ | 54:34 | |
♪ Take all my guilt away ♪ | 54:39 | |
♪ O let me from this day ♪ | 54:46 | |
♪ Be wholly thine ♪ | 54:51 | |
♪ May thy rich grace impart ♪ | 54:59 | |
♪ Strength to my fainting heart ♪ | 55:05 | |
♪ My zeal inspire ♪ | 55:11 | |
♪ As thou hast died for me ♪ | 55:16 | |
♪ O may my love to thee ♪ | 55:22 | |
♪ Pure, warm, and changeless be ♪ | 55:28 | |
♪ A living fire ♪ | 55:34 | |
♪ While life's dark maze I tread ♪ | 55:43 | |
♪ And griefs around me spread ♪ | 55:49 | |
♪ Be thou my guide ♪ | 55:55 | |
♪ Bid darkness turn to day ♪ | 56:00 | |
♪ Wipe sorrow's tears away ♪ | 56:07 | |
♪ Nor let me ever stray ♪ | 56:13 | |
♪ From thee aside ♪ | 56:18 | |
♪ When ends life's transient dream ♪ | 56:28 | |
♪ When death's cold, sullen stream ♪ | 56:34 | |
♪ Shall o'er me roll ♪ | 56:39 | |
♪ Blessed Savior, then in love ♪ | 56:45 | |
♪ Fear and distrust remove ♪ | 56:51 | |
♪ O bear me safe above ♪ | 56:58 | |
♪ A ransomed soul ♪ | 57:03 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 57:15 |
Let us pray. | 57:18 | |
O ruler of the universe, o savior of the world, | 57:35 | |
remember the peoples of the world divided | 57:41 | |
into many nations and tongues. | 57:44 | |
We remember them. | 57:47 | |
Deliver us from every evil | 57:50 | |
which obstructs your saving purpose | 57:51 | |
and fulfill your promises of old | 57:55 | |
to establish your kingdom of peace. | 57:58 | |
O prince of peace, deliver us from the curse of war | 58:03 | |
and all that it unleashes upon your good creation. | 58:08 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 58:14 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 58:17 |
- | O source of truth and righteousness, | 58:20 |
deliver us from perpetuating unflattering | 58:23 | |
and distorting stereotypes of other peoples and nations. | 58:27 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 58:33 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 58:35 |
- | O sovereign God of every nation and race, | 58:39 |
deliver us from narrow loyalties | 58:43 | |
and selfish isolation. | 58:46 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 58:51 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 58:54 |
- | O thou who emptied and humbled yourself | 58:58 |
out of love for sinners, | 59:00 | |
deliver us from fear and distrust | 59:03 | |
of other nations and peoples, | 59:05 | |
from false pride, from self-deceit. | 59:09 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 59:16 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 59:18 |
- | O fount of every blessing, | 59:22 |
giver of every good gift, deliver us from lust | 59:24 | |
for riches and power which divide the peoples everywhere | 59:29 | |
from your love, with an everlasting love. | 59:35 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 59:40 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 59:43 |
- | Suffering servant who is exalted on a humiliating cross, | 59:47 |
that we might be recipients of your incomprehensible love, | 59:52 | |
save us from confidence and weapons of war, | 59:57 | |
and from want of faith and the power | 1:00:02 | |
of God's justice and gracious will. | 1:00:05 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 1:00:11 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 1:00:14 |
- | Holy spirit, advocate, and comforter | 1:00:17 |
of those who call upon you in faith, | 1:00:20 | |
deliver us from every thought, word, and deed | 1:00:24 | |
which divide the human family | 1:00:29 | |
and separate us from the realization | 1:00:32 | |
of your love in this life. | 1:00:34 | |
Lord, in your mercy, | 1:00:40 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 1:00:43 |
- | Amen. | 1:00:45 |
Our Lord said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. | 1:00:49 | |
It is our privilege to worship God | 1:00:53 | |
through the offering of our gifts. | 1:00:56 | |
(organ music) | 1:01:11 | |
♪ Lift up your heads ♪ | 1:01:57 | |
♪ O ye gates ♪ | 1:01:59 | |
♪ And be ye lifted up ♪ | 1:02:02 | |
♪ Ye everlasting doors ♪ | 1:02:04 | |
♪ And the King of glory shall come in ♪ | 1:02:06 | |
♪ Who is the King of glory? ♪ | 1:02:12 | |
♪ The King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:16 | |
♪ Who is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:18 | |
♪ Who is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:20 | |
♪ The Lord strong and mighty ♪ | 1:02:23 | |
♪ The Lord strong and mighty ♪ | 1:02:25 | |
♪ Strong and mighty in battle ♪ | 1:02:28 | |
♪ Lift up your heads ♪ | 1:02:30 | |
♪ O ye gates ♪ | 1:02:33 | |
♪ And be lifted up ♪ | 1:02:35 | |
♪ Ye everlasting doors ♪ | 1:02:37 | |
♪ And the King of Glory shall come in ♪ | 1:02:40 | |
♪ And the King of Glory shall come in ♪ | 1:02:44 | |
♪ Who is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:49 | |
♪ Who is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:52 | |
♪ Who is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:02:54 | |
♪ The Lord of all of Hosts ♪ | 1:02:56 | |
♪ The Lord of all Hosts ♪ | 1:03:01 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:06 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:09 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:11 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:14 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:17 | |
♪ The King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:19 | |
♪ The Lord of all Hosts ♪ | ||
♪ He is the King of all of Hosts ♪ | 1:03:27 | |
♪ The Lord mighty ♪ | 1:03:39 | |
♪ The King ♪ | 1:03:41 | |
♪ Of glory ♪ | 1:03:43 | |
♪ The Lord of all ♪ | 1:03:49 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:53 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:03:56 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:00 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:02 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:05 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:07 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:09 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:17 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:20 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:22 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:24 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:26 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:29 | |
♪ The Lord of Hosts ♪ | 1:04:31 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:33 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:41 | |
♪ He is the King of Glory ♪ | 1:04:44 | |
♪ Of Glory ♪ | 1:04:48 | |
(organ music) | 1:05:04 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:05:38 | |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 1:05:44 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:05:51 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:05:53 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessing blow ♪ | 1:05:58 | |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 1:06:04 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:11 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:14 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:17 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:20 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:24 | |
- | Let us pray. | 1:06:38 |
Oh Lord, our sovereign and ruler, | 1:06:42 | |
you are the author of abundant life, | 1:06:45 | |
eager to share your all with all your creatures. | 1:06:49 | |
We bring these gifts to acknowledge our love, | 1:06:54 | |
to thank you that you have equally given | 1:06:59 | |
your abundant self to us. | 1:07:02 | |
Bless our gifts that they may extend your life giving work | 1:07:06 | |
to those with greatest need. | 1:07:11 | |
We pray that as you bless these gifts | 1:07:15 | |
to extend your saving work in your world, | 1:07:18 | |
you will bless us that by your grace, | 1:07:23 | |
we may be agents of your reconciling love. | 1:07:27 | |
Wherever we live and work, | 1:07:32 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, | 1:07:35 | |
who taught us when we pray to say, | 1:07:38 | |
All | Our father, who art in Heaven. | 1:07:42 |
Hallowed be thy name, | 1:07:45 | |
they kingdom come, they will be done, | 1:07:48 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:07:51 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:07:53 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:07:56 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 1:07:58 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 1:08:02 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:08:05 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 1:08:07 | |
and the glory forever, amen. | 1:08:10 | |
- | Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, | 1:08:15 |
the love of God, the rich fellowship | 1:08:18 | |
and communion of the Holy Spirit, | 1:08:21 | |
be with us all this day and forever more. | 1:08:23 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:08:33 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:08:35 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:08:38 | |
(organ music) | 1:08:46 | |
♪ Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates ♪ | 1:09:13 | |
♪ Behold, the King of glory waits ♪ | 1:09:20 | |
♪ The King of kings is drawing near ♪ | 1:09:26 | |
♪ The Savior of the world is here ♪ | 1:09:33 | |
♪ Fling wide the portals of your heart ♪ | 1:09:43 | |
♪ Make it a temple, set apart ♪ | 1:09:49 | |
♪ From earthly use for heaven's employ ♪ | 1:09:56 | |
♪ Adorned with prayer and love and joy ♪ | 1:10:03 | |
♪ Redeemer, come, with us abide ♪ | 1:10:13 | |
♪ Our hearts to thee we open wide ♪ | 1:10:19 | |
♪ Let us thy inner presence feel ♪ | 1:10:27 | |
♪ Thy grace and love in us reveal ♪ | 1:10:33 | |
♪ Thy Holy Spirit lead us on ♪ | 1:10:43 | |
♪ Until our glorious goal is won ♪ | 1:10:50 | |
♪ Eternal praise, eternal fame ♪ | 1:10:57 | |
♪ Be offered, Savior, to thy name ♪ | 1:11:04 | |
(organ music) | 1:11:20 |