Clarence G. Newsome - "Living Without Walls" (August 4, 1991)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to this special service | 6:47 |
of worship here in Duke University Chapel. | 6:48 | |
I am Will Willimon, the Dean of the Chapel | 6:51 | |
and it is my privilege to welcome you, | 6:54 | |
particularly our special guests, | 6:57 | |
the singers and the leaders | 6:59 | |
of the Brightleaf Music Workshop. | 7:02 | |
The Brightleaf Workshop is one of the | 7:05 | |
things for which we in the Triangle Area | 7:08 | |
are intensely proud. | 7:11 | |
This is their second visit to | 7:12 | |
Duke Chapel and these young singers | 7:14 | |
and their dedicated musical leaders | 7:17 | |
are a bright spot in the life of our chapel. | 7:19 | |
And I know that they will bless you today | 7:24 | |
as they did many of us | 7:27 | |
in their presentations yesterday. | 7:29 | |
They have another concert they will be doing this afternoon. | 7:32 | |
We wish them well. | 7:36 | |
We hope they've had a profitable time in our city | 7:38 | |
and wish them godspeed as they return back home. | 7:40 | |
Our guest preacher today | 7:45 | |
is the Reverend Dr. C.G. Newsome. | 7:47 | |
You can see in the bulletin that he is someone | 7:51 | |
of whom we are very proud. | 7:53 | |
He's a product of Duke University. | 7:55 | |
Had a distinguished athletic career here | 7:57 | |
and then combine that with a distinguished academic career | 8:00 | |
and he is now the acting Dean of the Chapel | 8:05 | |
at Howard University in Washington. | 8:07 | |
We welcome him back to the chapel. | 8:11 | |
Now let us stand and join together in the greeting. | 8:14 | |
Come, children of the Creator | 8:21 | |
to learn the fear of God. | 8:22 | |
Congregation | (indistinct) And I will also. | 8:25 |
- | God is near to the brokenhearted | 8:31 |
and saves the crushed in spirit. | 8:32 | |
(congregation speaks indistinctly) | 8:36 | |
- | Many are the afflictions of the righteous, | 8:41 |
but God delivers them from their pain. | 8:43 | |
(congregation speaking indistinctly) | 8:47 | |
(organ music) | 8:55 | |
♪ How firm a foundation ♪ | 9:13 | |
♪ Ye saints of the Lord ♪ | 9:17 | |
♪ Is laid for your faith ♪ | 9:21 | |
♪ In His excellent word ♪ | 9:25 | |
♪ What more can He say ♪ | 9:29 | |
♪ Than to you He hath said ♪ | 9:34 | |
♪ To you who for refuge ♪ | 9:38 | |
♪ To Jesus have fled ♪ | 9:43 | |
♪ Fear not, I am with thee ♪ | 9:50 | |
♪ O be not dismayed ♪ | 9:54 | |
♪ For I am thy God ♪ | 9:57 | |
♪ And will still give thee aid ♪ | 10:02 | |
♪ I'll strengthen and help thee ♪ | 10:06 | |
♪ And cause thee to stand ♪ | 10:12 | |
♪ Upheld by My righteous ♪ | 10:15 | |
♪ Omnipotent hand ♪ | 10:20 | |
♪ When through the deep waters ♪ | 10:27 | |
♪ I call thee to go ♪ | 10:31 | |
♪ The rivers of woe ♪ | 10:35 | |
♪ Shall not thee overflow ♪ | 10:40 | |
♪ For I will be with thee ♪ | 10:44 | |
♪ Thy troubles to bless ♪ | 10:50 | |
♪ And sanctify to thee ♪ | 10:53 | |
♪ Thy deepest distress ♪ | 10:58 | |
♪ When through fiery trials ♪ | 11:05 | |
♪ Thy pathway shall lie ♪ | 11:10 | |
♪ My grace, all sufficient ♪ | 11:13 | |
♪ Shall be thy supply ♪ | 11:18 | |
♪ The flame shall not hurt thee ♪ | 11:23 | |
♪ I only design ♪ | 11:27 | |
♪ Thy dross to consume ♪ | 11:31 | |
♪ And thy gold to refine ♪ | 11:35 | |
♪ The soul that on Jesus ♪ | 11:43 | |
♪ Hath leaned for repose ♪ | 11:48 | |
♪ I will not ♪ | 11:51 | |
♪ I will not desert to his foes ♪ | 11:54 | |
♪ That soul, though all hell ♪ | 12:01 | |
♪ Should endeavor to shake ♪ | 12:05 | |
♪ I'll never, no, never ♪ | 12:10 | |
♪ No, never forsake ♪ | 12:15 | |
- | Great art Thou, Lord | 12:27 |
and greatly to be praised. | 12:28 | |
Great is Thy power. | 12:31 | |
Thee we would praise without ceasing. | 12:33 | |
Thou callest us to delight in Thy praise, | 12:36 | |
for Thou hast made us for Thyself | 12:39 | |
and our hearts are restless | 12:42 | |
till they rest in Thee. | 12:45 | |
To whom would the Son and Holy Spirit | 12:48 | |
all glory, praise and honor be ascribed | 12:50 | |
both now and evermore, amen. | 12:54 | |
Be seated. | 12:59 | |
- | Let us pray. | 13:10 |
All | Prepare our hearts, O God, | 13:12 |
to accept Your Word. | 13:15 | |
Silence in us any voice but Your own, | 13:18 | |
that hearing, we may also obey Your will | 13:21 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 13:25 | |
- | The first reading is taken from the second book of Samuel. | 13:31 |
The Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife | 13:35 | |
bore to David and it became very ill. | 13:39 | |
David therefore pleaded with God for the child. | 13:44 | |
David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. | 13:47 | |
The elders of his house stood beside him, | 13:53 | |
urging him to rise from the ground, but he would not. | 13:56 | |
Nor did he eat food with them. | 14:01 | |
On the seventh day, the child died | 14:04 | |
and the servants of David were afraid to tell him | 14:07 | |
that the child was dead, for they said, | 14:11 | |
While the child was still alive, we spoke to him | 14:14 | |
and he did not listen to us. | 14:19 | |
How then can we tell him the child is dead? | 14:21 | |
He may do himself some harm. | 14:25 | |
But when David saw | 14:29 | |
that his servants were whispering together, | 14:30 | |
he perceived that the child was dead | 14:33 | |
and David said to his servants, | 14:35 | |
Is the child dead? | 14:38 | |
They said, He is dead. | 14:41 | |
Then David rose from the ground, | 14:44 | |
washed, anointed himself and changed his clothes. | 14:47 | |
He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. | 14:52 | |
He then went to his own house | 14:56 | |
and when he asked, | 14:58 | |
they set food before him and he ate. | 15:00 | |
Then his servants said to him, | 15:04 | |
What is this thing that you have done? | 15:07 | |
You fasted and wept for the child, while it was alive. | 15:09 | |
But when the child died, you rose and ate food. | 15:14 | |
He said, While the child was still alive, | 15:19 | |
I fasted and wept, for I said, | 15:23 | |
Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me | 15:26 | |
and the child may live. | 15:31 | |
But now he is dead. | 15:33 | |
Why should I fast? | 15:35 | |
Can I bring him back again? | 15:37 | |
I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. | 15:40 | |
Then David consoled his wife, Bathsheba, | 15:46 | |
and went to her and lay with her, | 15:49 | |
and she bore a son | 15:52 | |
and he named him Solomon. | 15:54 | |
The Lord loved him. | 15:57 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 16:00 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 16:02 |
- | Please stand for the psalter. | 16:08 |
The psalm is found on page 770 | 16:14 | |
beginning at verse 11. | 16:17 | |
Come, O children, listen to me. | 16:29 | |
I will teach you the fear of the Lord. | 16:31 | |
Congregation | Which of you desires life | 16:34 |
and covets many days to enjoy good? | 16:37 | |
- | Keep your tongue from evil | 16:40 |
and your lips from speaking deceit. | 16:42 | |
Congregation | Depart from evil and do good. | 16:45 |
Seek peace and pursue it. | 16:48 | |
- | The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, | 16:50 |
and the ears of the Lord hear their cry. | 16:52 | |
Congregation | The face of the Lord | 16:56 |
is against evildoers, to cut off | 16:57 | |
the remembrance of them from the earth | 17:00 | |
William | When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears | 17:03 |
and delivers them out of all their troubles. | 17:06 | |
Congregation | The Lord is near to the brokenhearted | 17:08 |
and saves the crushed in spirit. | 17:11 | |
- | Many are the afflictions of the righteous, | 17:14 |
but the Lord delivers them. | 17:17 | |
Congregation | The Lord keeps all their bones. | 17:19 |
Not one of them is broken. | 17:22 | |
- | Evil shall slay the wicked, | 17:24 |
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. | 17:27 | |
Congregation | The Lord redeems the life of His servants. | 17:31 |
None of those who take refuge in God will be condemned. | 17:34 | |
(organ music) | 17:39 | |
♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪ | 17:48 | |
♪ Praise to our Redeemer Lord ♪ | 17:55 | |
♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪ | 18:03 | |
♪ Ever three and ever one ♪ | 18:09 | |
♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ | 18:18 | |
♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪ | 18:25 | |
- | You may be seated. | 18:37 |
This reading is from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. | 18:46 | |
So then remember that at one time, you Gentiles by birth | 18:53 | |
call the uncircumcision by those who call | 18:58 | |
the circumcision a physical circumcision | 19:02 | |
made in the flesh by human hands. | 19:06 | |
Remember that you were at that time without Christ, | 19:10 | |
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel | 19:14 | |
and strangers to the covenants of promise, | 19:18 | |
having no hope and without God in the world. | 19:22 | |
But now in Jesus Christ, you who were once far off | 19:26 | |
have been brought near by the blood of Christ. | 19:32 | |
For He is our peace. | 19:36 | |
In His flesh, He has made both groups into one | 19:38 | |
and has broken down the dividing wall. | 19:42 | |
That is, the hostility between us. | 19:46 | |
He has abolished the law | 19:50 | |
with its commandments and ordinances | 19:52 | |
that He might create in Himself | 19:54 | |
one new humanity in place of the two, | 19:57 | |
thus making peace and reconcile both groups to God | 20:01 | |
in one body through the cross, | 20:06 | |
thus putting to death that hostility through it. | 20:10 | |
So He came and proclaimed peace to you | 20:15 | |
who were far off and peace to those who were near. | 20:18 | |
For through Him, both of us have access | 20:23 | |
in one spirit to the Father. | 20:27 | |
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens | 20:29 | |
but you are citizens with the saints | 20:33 | |
and also members of the household of God, | 20:36 | |
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets | 20:40 | |
with Christ Jesus Himself as the Cornerstone. | 20:45 | |
In Him, the whole structure is joined together | 20:49 | |
and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, | 20:54 | |
in whom you also are built together spiritually | 20:58 | |
into a dwelling place for God. | 21:03 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 21:07 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 21:10 |
(instrumental music) | 21:32 | |
(singing in a foreign language) | 21:37 | |
(instrumental music) | 23:45 | |
(singing in a foreign language) | 24:11 | |
- | This reading is taken from the gospel | 25:13 |
according to Saint John. | 25:16 | |
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus | 25:19 | |
nor His disciples were there, | 25:22 | |
they themself got into the boats | 25:26 | |
and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. | 25:28 | |
When they found Him on the other side of the sea, | 25:33 | |
they said to Him, | 25:36 | |
Rabbi, when did You come here? | 25:37 | |
Jesus answered them, Very truly I tell you, | 25:41 | |
you are looking for Me | 25:45 | |
not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill | 25:48 | |
of the loaves. | 25:53 | |
Do not work for the food that perishes, | 25:55 | |
but for the food that endures for eternal life, | 25:58 | |
which the Son of Man will give you. | 26:02 | |
For it is on Him that God the Father has set His seal. | 26:06 | |
Then they said to Him, | 26:10 | |
What must we do to perform the works of God? | 26:12 | |
Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, | 26:17 | |
that you believe in Him whom He has sent. | 26:22 | |
So they said to Him, | 26:26 | |
What sign are You going to give us then, | 26:28 | |
so that we may see it and believe You? | 26:31 | |
What work are You performing? | 26:35 | |
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness | 26:38 | |
as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. | 26:42 | |
Then Jesus said to them, | 26:47 | |
Very truly I tell you, | 26:50 | |
It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, | 26:52 | |
but it is My Father who gives you the true bread for heaven. | 26:56 | |
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven | 27:00 | |
and gives life to the world. | 27:04 | |
They said to Him, Sir, give us this bread always. | 27:07 | |
Jesus said to them, | 27:12 | |
I am the Bread of Life. | 27:14 | |
Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry | 27:16 | |
and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. | 27:19 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 27:23 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 27:27 |
- | Good morning. | 27:40 |
To my good friend, Dr. William Willimon, | 27:44 | |
dean of this grand chapel, | 27:47 | |
to Dr. Putnam, | 27:51 | |
to all my friends, | 27:54 | |
old and new and this glorious | 27:58 | |
sanctuary which I call home, | 28:02 | |
it feels so good to be back here. | 28:06 | |
After nearly 20 years on this campus, | 28:11 | |
there came upon where I could scarcely imagine | 28:16 | |
ever leaving here after three degrees | 28:20 | |
and almost a decade on the faculty. | 28:23 | |
And then came that day when someone | 28:27 | |
made me an offer I could not refuse. | 28:30 | |
And even then it was difficult. | 28:34 | |
I said to my wife, I said, | 28:35 | |
Lynn, who is, by the way, an A.B. Duke scholar, | 28:37 | |
so she's back home also. | 28:41 | |
I can't imagine leaving Perkins Library. | 28:44 | |
She said, Well, | 28:49 | |
there's the Moorland-Spingarn Center at Howard. | 28:50 | |
And besides, there's a Library of Congress in Washington. | 28:54 | |
I said, That's right. | 28:58 | |
I said, Well, I can't imagine | 29:00 | |
leaving the vicinity of Duke Chapel. | 29:05 | |
She said, Well, there is Rankin Chapel at Howard. | 29:10 | |
And besides, there's the National Cathedral in Washington | 29:14 | |
and the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. | 29:18 | |
I said, that's right, but I can't imagine | 29:21 | |
leaving my good friends, my colleagues. | 29:25 | |
She said, Well, you have, I'm sure, | 29:29 | |
good friends and colleagues in the making at Howard. | 29:33 | |
And besides, there are all those senators and c-- | 29:37 | |
On second thought, maybe you ought to reconsider. | 29:40 | |
(audience laughing) | 29:42 | |
I did reconsider, but decided that | 29:47 | |
God would have me elsewhere at this juncture in my life | 29:50 | |
and so I bring you greetings from | 29:53 | |
the Howard School of Divinity over which I now preside | 29:56 | |
as acting dean. | 29:59 | |
The School of Divinity at Howard | 30:01 | |
is one of 18 schools and colleges | 30:02 | |
spread out over five campuses | 30:05 | |
comprising Howard University in Washington. | 30:08 | |
And I invite each of you to come by | 30:11 | |
and see our resplendent campus in Northeast Washington | 30:13 | |
when you're in the area. | 30:17 | |
Let us pray. | 30:18 | |
Almighty God, we ask now that You will cast | 30:22 | |
the divine golden cords beyond | 30:26 | |
the battlements of heaven | 30:30 | |
and draw us nearer to Thee | 30:34 | |
and Thy purpose through the preached word, | 30:38 | |
amen. | 30:42 | |
Living without walls. | 30:45 | |
Living without walls. | 30:51 | |
Perhaps you will join me just for a few minutes | 30:55 | |
in looking at this beautiful passage | 30:58 | |
in the second chapter of the book of Ephesians, | 31:04 | |
verses 11 through 22 | 31:08 | |
and focus at the outset with me | 31:11 | |
on verse 14. | 31:14 | |
Here the author | 31:20 | |
purportedly a Pauline disciple | 31:24 | |
of the next generation | 31:28 | |
depicts Christ in a | 31:32 | |
most fascinating way. | 31:35 | |
Christ is depicted | 31:41 | |
as our peace. | 31:45 | |
That is, as the embodiment of the very bond | 31:50 | |
of our peace, | 31:56 | |
in that He has broken down | 31:59 | |
and replaced | 32:04 | |
the wall of hostility | 32:07 | |
that divides us at all levels | 32:11 | |
of our social life. | 32:17 | |
Now when it comes to describing divisions | 32:23 | |
among men and women, | 32:29 | |
the wall metaphor is very old. | 32:32 | |
It's been used many many times. | 32:37 | |
Indeed if each of us had a proverbial dollar | 32:43 | |
for each time this metaphor has been used, | 32:48 | |
we would all be beyond the financial problems | 32:54 | |
posed by an economy in recession. | 32:59 | |
But then it was not | 33:06 | |
this wall | 33:11 | |
as a symbol of human divisiveness | 33:13 | |
that captured my attention. | 33:17 | |
What caught my eye was | 33:22 | |
the sense in which the metaphor | 33:25 | |
in the context of this verse, verse 14, | 33:30 | |
implies the foolishness | 33:36 | |
of building walls | 33:42 | |
for the purpose of securing peace. | 33:46 | |
I'm so glad to see so many young people | 33:52 | |
in the congregation today, | 33:54 | |
and as I look at this group behind me | 33:56 | |
and in front of me too here today singing, | 33:59 | |
I'm reminded of how important my stint | 34:01 | |
in the chapel choir became to my success | 34:05 | |
at this institution. | 34:10 | |
But I'm also reminded how, at an early age, | 34:12 | |
my parents began to inculcate into me | 34:17 | |
this notion of the foolishness of building walls | 34:21 | |
in order to secure peace. | 34:26 | |
Throughout the history of humankind, | 34:30 | |
the building of walls figures prominently | 34:34 | |
in the effort of people to secure peace, | 34:39 | |
to have peace and to secure it. | 34:43 | |
There are numerous biblical accounts of such. | 34:47 | |
One that comes foremost to mind this morning | 34:52 | |
is the story of Nehemiah's commitment | 34:57 | |
to rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem | 35:02 | |
following its destruction | 35:06 | |
by Babylonian forces | 35:10 | |
in the summer of 586 B.C. | 35:13 | |
For Nehemiah, the peace of Jerusalem | 35:19 | |
was integrally tied up with reconstructing | 35:23 | |
the great wall that once surrounded the city. | 35:28 | |
The temple once refurbished and the inhabitants | 35:34 | |
of the city could be secure as he saw it | 35:39 | |
only if the wall were rebuilt. | 35:43 | |
And so it was rebuilt. | 35:48 | |
And so great a wall was it | 35:52 | |
that at the dedication ceremony, | 35:54 | |
Nehemiah was able to organize | 35:57 | |
a magnificent procession | 36:00 | |
atop the wall. | 36:04 | |
A procession consisting of all the princes | 36:08 | |
of Judah and two great companies | 36:13 | |
of men who walked perhaps 10 to 12 abreast, | 36:16 | |
resplendent in their finest robes, | 36:21 | |
bedecked in their finest jewels | 36:24 | |
and gold adorned all around. | 36:28 | |
And yet, it's ironic. | 36:36 | |
For all that Nehemiah did in getting the wall rebuilt, | 36:40 | |
it's ironic that little was | 36:45 | |
actually accomplished | 36:49 | |
in the way of securing peace for the city. | 36:53 | |
You see, there is something | 36:58 | |
about the nature of walls. | 37:02 | |
Often, walls arouse | 37:08 | |
hostility and enmity | 37:12 | |
both without and within | 37:16 | |
their boundaries. | 37:21 | |
In the book of Nehemiah, for example, | 37:24 | |
we are informed that the wall | 37:29 | |
intensified | 37:33 | |
hostility between the Jews and their enemies, | 37:36 | |
the Samarians and the Ammonites, the Astradites, | 37:40 | |
the Amorites, as my oldest daughter would say, | 37:45 | |
all those dites. | 37:48 | |
(audience laughing) | 37:50 | |
And at the same time, | 37:52 | |
the same wall fostered dissension | 37:55 | |
among the Jews themselves. | 37:59 | |
The enemies of the Jews stood some distance back, | 38:01 | |
I imagine on a slight incline | 38:06 | |
and looking in the direction of Jerusalem | 38:08 | |
saw the Jews busy rebuilding the wall, | 38:11 | |
asking themselves, do they really intend | 38:14 | |
to go through with this project of rebuilding the wall? | 38:17 | |
We just tore it down. | 38:20 | |
We made a pile of ashes. | 38:22 | |
We made rubbish out of that wall. | 38:25 | |
Are they going to rebuild? | 38:27 | |
If so, we will lay it waste again. | 38:28 | |
Nehemiah had to contend with | 38:33 | |
the design of his enemies to interfere | 38:35 | |
with the project of rebuilding the wall. | 38:38 | |
But then among the Jews themselves dissension arose. | 38:42 | |
Many a person went to Nehemiah and complained | 38:49 | |
about all the time given to rebuilding the wall | 38:52 | |
and the concern that some would have to sell their children | 38:56 | |
into slavery in order to get food | 39:01 | |
to eat, because they did not have time to raise food | 39:05 | |
in the fields on account of that wall. | 39:10 | |
Walls have a very curious nature. | 39:16 | |
To be sure, they serve a positive function and purpose. | 39:19 | |
I will leave it though in the interest of time | 39:23 | |
to your imagination to identify those times | 39:26 | |
when walls are necessary. | 39:30 | |
As I look back over the course of history | 39:34 | |
and I think about the Great Wall around China | 39:36 | |
built during the Ching Dynasty. | 39:40 | |
Or as I think about the great Berlin Wall. | 39:43 | |
Or even as I think about this little fence | 39:46 | |
that my wife and I built around our house | 39:49 | |
when we were living in Northern Durham County. | 39:52 | |
I can't help but think that walls have at best | 39:56 | |
a very limited purpose and use. | 39:59 | |
We built this little fence around our backyard | 40:02 | |
so that we could keep our baby daughter safe, so we thought. | 40:06 | |
And everyday, both my wife and I | 40:09 | |
kept peering out of the window. | 40:12 | |
I suppose we spent as much as a half an hour | 40:14 | |
to 45 minutes each day peering out the window | 40:17 | |
to see if the neighbor's children had torn the fence down | 40:19 | |
at any point. | 40:24 | |
No peace of mind. | 40:26 | |
Our first proposition is this. | 40:29 | |
Building walls does not secure peace. | 40:33 | |
And yet, each of us goes about our daily living | 40:37 | |
as if the inverse were true. | 40:40 | |
Daily, even hourly, | 40:43 | |
we build all sorts of walls around us. | 40:47 | |
Individually and collectively as families, | 40:53 | |
as special interest groups, | 40:56 | |
as communities, as denominations, | 40:58 | |
as nations, as races. | 41:02 | |
We let our opinions and we let our customs. | 41:07 | |
We let our habits and we let our biases. | 41:11 | |
We allow our preferences and our wishes | 41:16 | |
and our desires and our ambitions, our aspirations. | 41:21 | |
We let all these things misserve us. | 41:25 | |
Properly understood they should serve us in a way | 41:32 | |
that they enrich the meaning of our living | 41:35 | |
in a way that we can appreciate the variety | 41:40 | |
and the diversity of God's handiwork. | 41:44 | |
But too often, they serve us as walls, | 41:49 | |
which keep others unnecessarily at bay. | 41:53 | |
Walls behind which we seek psychical and emotional | 41:58 | |
and spiritual space | 42:03 | |
in a futile attempt to be at peace. | 42:07 | |
We cannot find peace in this way | 42:13 | |
and the author of Ephesians was well aware of it. | 42:17 | |
In the King James translation of this passage, | 42:23 | |
there is also reference in the 14th verse | 42:27 | |
to the middle wall partition in the temple, | 42:31 | |
which restricted Gentiles to the outer part | 42:38 | |
of the sanctuary. | 42:42 | |
Only Jews by law and by custom | 42:45 | |
were allowed to go beyond the partition | 42:51 | |
into the inner sanctum where sat the ark of the covenant. | 42:55 | |
Reference to this partition is significant | 43:02 | |
for the author wishes to convey symbolically | 43:07 | |
that Christ renders obsolete and irrelevant | 43:11 | |
all things that would divide humankind. | 43:18 | |
It's as if only Duke graduates could come | 43:24 | |
through the portals of the back of this | 43:29 | |
resplendent chapel. | 43:31 | |
The author of Ephesians wishes to convey | 43:36 | |
that all partitions have been | 43:41 | |
rendered meaningless | 43:44 | |
by the life and the death | 43:48 | |
and the resurrection of Christ Jesus | 43:50 | |
and meaningless to Christians, to Jews, to Gentiles. | 43:52 | |
Meaningless. | 43:57 | |
When we try to understand why we are so often divided | 44:01 | |
by our opinions and our customs and our biases and so forth, | 44:04 | |
it becomes apparent that we are prone in our culture | 44:09 | |
to confuse happiness with peace. | 44:13 | |
Happiness is not synonymous with peace, I maintain. | 44:17 | |
Happiness may be derivative of peace | 44:23 | |
but certainly by my standards, | 44:26 | |
peace cannot be reduced to happiness. | 44:29 | |
Perhaps happiness, we can agree, is a mood | 44:33 | |
which comes and goes. | 44:37 | |
A mood which we sometimes mistake for peace. | 44:39 | |
Maybe we could argue that happiness | 44:43 | |
akin to bliss, let us say, | 44:46 | |
is something of a process. | 44:48 | |
Maybe for some of us even, | 44:50 | |
a process of pursuing avenues of escape | 44:53 | |
from reality without dying. | 44:56 | |
Daily I'm seeing people in the Washington area | 45:00 | |
who are trying to get out of life without dying. | 45:03 | |
Trying to be happy without really living. | 45:07 | |
The way in which this drug culture has now | 45:11 | |
so gotten its ugly hands around the spiritual neck | 45:13 | |
of this nation is a sight to behold. | 45:18 | |
Do you know that now in many of the funerals in Washington, | 45:21 | |
the drug dealers arrive at the service | 45:25 | |
not to pay tribute to the person slain, | 45:29 | |
but to shoot the casket during the service? | 45:34 | |
To make sure that the person is dead, so to speak. | 45:39 | |
Where are we in our attempt in this society | 45:45 | |
to be at peace, mistaking happiness or bliss | 45:49 | |
for that matter for peace? | 45:54 | |
Peace, I maintain, is a process. | 45:56 | |
But it's a process of being made whole. | 46:01 | |
Made whole by becoming one with God | 46:07 | |
and one with our fellow men and fellow women. | 46:10 | |
This is precisely the connotation of the word peace | 46:16 | |
as it is derived from its Greek root, eirene, | 46:20 | |
from which we get the name Irene. | 46:24 | |
This word I find most fascinating because | 46:27 | |
in part it means to be at rest. | 46:30 | |
We ask, what does being at rest | 46:34 | |
have to do with peace? | 46:36 | |
Well, it means being at rest | 46:38 | |
because something is whole. | 46:40 | |
How is that connected with peace? | 46:43 | |
Well, when we think about it, | 46:46 | |
we only have friction and tension at the point | 46:47 | |
that something is divided. | 46:51 | |
When things can rub against things, | 46:54 | |
we then have tension and friction. | 46:55 | |
The thing cannot be at rest there. | 46:58 | |
But when something is whole and complete, | 47:02 | |
it is at rest and it is at peace. | 47:05 | |
We ask ourselves as we move towards closing | 47:10 | |
how might we enter into this peace? | 47:13 | |
This process of becoming whole. | 47:17 | |
This brings us to our second proposition | 47:21 | |
which is peace is possible, I maintain, | 47:23 | |
only through our faith in Christ Jesus. | 47:27 | |
In Ephesians, we're told that Christ Jesus, | 47:32 | |
having preached and having pursued peace, | 47:34 | |
even unto the cross is our peace. | 47:36 | |
Jesus is the means, the process | 47:41 | |
by which we become whole. | 47:43 | |
As our peace, we are made one | 47:47 | |
when we enter into Christ Jesus. | 47:50 | |
By the power of the resurrection, | 47:54 | |
God meets us in our faith, | 47:57 | |
receives us as we are. | 47:59 | |
Different though we be by appearance, by habit, by custom. | 48:01 | |
God takes us and creates out of the many, | 48:06 | |
one new humanity. | 48:10 | |
One body with one mind | 48:14 | |
and one wheel, reconcilable to God. | 48:16 | |
Interestingly, in Christ, we are not changed | 48:22 | |
in the way that we lose all distinctiveness as individuals, | 48:25 | |
as communities, as nationalities, | 48:29 | |
as racial groups. | 48:32 | |
In a sense, we do not cease to be who we are. | 48:35 | |
What ceases is the priority of superficial things | 48:40 | |
over our lives. | 48:45 | |
And as a result, | 48:47 | |
we become what we can be in Christ Jesus | 48:49 | |
and in Christ Jesus, we can be at peace. | 48:54 | |
For in His flesh, enmity was brought to an end. | 49:00 | |
All customs and ordinances | 49:05 | |
and commandments were abolished in terms of having priority | 49:07 | |
over our lives. | 49:12 | |
And then here's our final proposition. | 49:17 | |
There is peace when we live without walls. | 49:19 | |
For when we live without walls, | 49:26 | |
God works through Christ Jesus, | 49:28 | |
even as we are in Christ to fashion and to mold | 49:31 | |
and to reshape and to transform our lives | 49:34 | |
so that we can become, as it were, living stones. | 49:38 | |
And with these living stones, | 49:45 | |
God, the Master Builder, | 49:47 | |
begins to build divine walls. | 49:50 | |
Not walls to divide, but walls to unite | 49:56 | |
and to bind together. | 50:01 | |
And in this unity, this binding together, | 50:05 | |
there is peace for these living stones | 50:08 | |
are fashioned and shaped and built | 50:12 | |
into a living temple, a breathing, pulsating, | 50:15 | |
living church, living Christian community | 50:20 | |
in which indwells the God who is peace. | 50:24 | |
It's as if God takes a life and transforms it. | 50:30 | |
So much like David, many of us | 50:33 | |
hold out until the very end and when the end comes, | 50:36 | |
we recognize that God is in control of life | 50:39 | |
and when we give in to God's sovereignty, | 50:43 | |
here comes the flood of blessing. | 50:46 | |
God takes a life. | 50:50 | |
He doesn't care what condition it is when He finds it. | 50:51 | |
He transforms it. | 50:54 | |
He makes it into a living stone | 50:56 | |
and He places it upon the foundation of the apostles. | 50:58 | |
Then He takes another | 51:02 | |
and He transforms it into a living stone | 51:03 | |
and He lays it next to that other life. | 51:05 | |
And He takes another one and He lays it | 51:08 | |
to the one laid before. | 51:10 | |
And He binds all of these living stones | 51:12 | |
with the blood of Christ Jesus. | 51:14 | |
And He builds His living temple. | 51:17 | |
To the end that we might be at peace, | 51:22 | |
I say today, let us all commit ourselves | 51:26 | |
to living without walls, | 51:30 | |
for when we live without walls, there is peace. | 51:31 | |
We have peace with ourselves, we have peace with others. | 51:37 | |
We have peace to live together | 51:41 | |
and peace to work together. | 51:44 | |
We have peace to play together | 51:47 | |
and peace to grow together. | 51:48 | |
When we live without walls, | 51:52 | |
we have the peace of God. | 51:55 | |
Amen. | 52:00 | |
(organ music) | 52:04 | |
♪ Christ is made the sure foundation ♪ | 52:35 | |
♪ Christ the head and cornerstone ♪ | 52:42 | |
♪ Chosen of the Lord and precious ♪ | 52:50 | |
♪ Binding all the church in one ♪ | 52:57 | |
♪ Holy Zion's help forever ♪ | 53:05 | |
♪ And her confidence alone ♪ | 53:13 | |
♪ To this temple, where we call Thee ♪ | 53:22 | |
♪ Come, O Lord of Hosts, today ♪ | 53:30 | |
♪ With Thy faithful lovingkindness ♪ | 53:38 | |
♪ Hear Thy people as they pray ♪ | 53:45 | |
♪ And Thy fullest benediction ♪ | 53:54 | |
♪ Shed within its walls alway ♪ | 54:00 | |
♪ Here vouchsafe to all Thy servants ♪ | 54:10 | |
♪ What they ask of Thee to gain ♪ | 54:18 | |
♪ What they gain from Thee forever ♪ | 54:25 | |
♪ With the blessed to retain ♪ | 54:35 | |
♪ And hereafter in Thy glory ♪ | 54:41 | |
♪ Evermore with Thee to reign ♪ | 54:50 | |
♪ Laud and honor to the Father ♪ | 55:00 | |
♪ Laud and honor to the Son ♪ | 55:08 | |
♪ Laud and honor to the Spirit ♪ | 55:15 | |
♪ Ever three and ever one ♪ | 55:23 | |
♪ One in might and one in glory ♪ | 55:30 | |
♪ While unending ages run ♪ | 55:38 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 55:51 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 55:52 |
- | Let us pray. | 55:54 |
Be seated. | 55:55 | |
O Christ, to whom we were once strangers, | 56:02 | |
separated by our walls. | 56:07 | |
We pray to You, having been by Your grace | 56:11 | |
brought near to You. | 56:15 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 56:17 | |
Hearing the clamor of war, violence in Yugoslavia, | 56:22 | |
continuing suffering in Iraq, | 56:26 | |
we remember that You preached peace. | 56:29 | |
We pray for those who make peace. | 56:34 | |
Particularly this week, we pray for those | 56:37 | |
who work for peace and the breaking of walls in the Mideast. | 56:40 | |
Lord, | 56:46 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 56:47 |
- | This bright summer day, we are reminded | 56:51 |
of the goodness and beauty of Your creation. | 56:53 | |
A creation where we have not always been good stewards | 56:56 | |
of Your gifts. | 56:59 | |
For all those who work for most just distribution | 57:02 | |
of the earth's bounty. | 57:05 | |
For those who strive to preserve the earth from the ravages | 57:07 | |
of ecological exploitation, Lord, | 57:10 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 57:15 |
- | In our health. | 57:18 |
We pray this day for those who are sick. | 57:20 | |
In our vacation joys, | 57:23 | |
we pray for those who are forced to work without rest. | 57:26 | |
In our happiness, we intercede | 57:32 | |
for those this day who are sad. | 57:36 | |
We pray for Pastor and the members of Cresset Baptist Church | 57:41 | |
after their destructive fire yesterday. | 57:46 | |
Lord, | 57:50 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 57:51 |
- | For our preacher and his work in training | 57:54 |
men and women for ministry. | 57:57 | |
For the church's need for bold, competent, | 58:00 | |
spirit-filled leaders for tomorrow. | 58:02 | |
All | Lord, hear our prayer. | 58:05 |
- | For the many young voices who have enriched our worship, | 58:08 |
for hard-working, gifted | 58:13 | |
and under-appreciated music teachers | 58:14 | |
who tune young voices, | 58:18 | |
we give thanks. | 58:20 | |
We pray for a world in which every young person | 58:22 | |
might have the opportunity | 58:25 | |
to use to the fullest | 58:27 | |
those gifts which You have given. | 58:30 | |
Lord, | 58:33 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 58:34 |
- | Give us what we need, O God, | 58:36 |
in order that we might fulfill Your promise of living | 58:40 | |
with hope and thanksgiving. | 58:45 | |
Grant peace in our hearts, | 58:48 | |
peace with our neighbor. | 58:51 | |
O let us sing our song | 58:54 | |
and may our song be heard. | 58:57 | |
Lord, | 59:01 | |
All | Hear our prayer. | 59:02 |
- | Amen. | 59:04 |
All of today's offering goes to the work | 59:06 | |
of Project Build, a program in which | 59:09 | |
dedicated Duke undergraduates | 59:13 | |
are put in places of human need in our area. | 59:15 | |
We invite you to give generously. | 59:19 | |
(instrumental music) | 59:31 | |
♪ The promise of living ♪ | 1:00:16 | |
♪ With hope and thanksgiving ♪ | 1:00:23 | |
♪ Is born of our loving ♪ | 1:00:32 | |
♪ Our friends and our labor ♪ | 1:00:38 | |
♪ The promise of growing ♪ | 1:00:52 | |
♪ With faith and with knowing ♪ | 1:00:58 | |
♪ Is born of our sharing ♪ | 1:01:03 | |
♪ Our love with our neighbor ♪ | 1:01:08 | |
♪ The promise of living ♪ | 1:01:21 | |
♪ The promise of growing ♪ | 1:01:27 | |
♪ Is part of our singing ♪ | 1:01:33 | |
♪ In joy and thanksgiving ♪ | 1:01:38 | |
(organ music) | 1:01:51 | |
♪ For many a year we've known ♪ | 1:01:59 | |
♪ These fields and known all the work that makes them yield ♪ | 1:02:02 | |
♪ Are you ready to lend a hand to work ♪ | 1:02:07 | |
♪ Ready to lend a hand together ♪ | 1:02:10 | |
♪ The blessings of harvest ♪ | 1:02:16 | |
♪ We plant each row ♪ | 1:02:18 | |
♪ With seeds of grain ♪ | 1:02:20 | |
♪ And Providence sends us the sun and the rain ♪ | 1:02:22 | |
♪ By lending a hand ♪ | 1:02:26 | |
♪ By lending an arm ♪ | 1:02:29 | |
♪ Bring out from the farm ♪ | 1:02:30 | |
♪ Bring out the blessings of harvest ♪ | 1:02:33 | |
(indistinct singing) | 1:02:45 | |
♪ Let's sing our song with our hearts ♪ | 1:03:11 | |
♪ And find a promise in that song ♪ | 1:03:15 | |
♪ The promise of living ♪ | 1:03:23 | |
♪ The promise of growing ♪ | 1:03:26 | |
♪ The promise of ending ♪ | 1:03:31 | |
♪ Is labor and sharing ♪ | 1:03:38 | |
♪ And loving ♪ | 1:03:42 | |
(organ music) | 1:04:02 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:05:14 | |
♪ Praise God all creatures here below ♪ | 1:05:21 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:05:27 | |
♪ Praise God above ye heavenly host ♪ | 1:05:35 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:05:42 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:05:47 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:05:54 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 1:06:01 | |
- | What a well-sung song | 1:06:16 |
for young voices listed in praise. | 1:06:17 | |
For a bright summer day | 1:06:21 | |
and all the other of Your gifts, great and small, | 1:06:24 | |
we give thanks, | 1:06:27 | |
offering our gifts as sign of our gratitude | 1:06:29 | |
and praying as we have been taught. | 1:06:34 | |
All | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 1:06:37 |
hallowed be Thy name. | 1:06:40 | |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, | 1:06:42 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:06:46 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 1:06:48 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 1:06:51 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:06:54 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 1:06:58 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:07:01 | |
For Thine is the kingdom | 1:07:03 | |
and the power and the glory forever. | 1:07:05 | |
- | Amen. | 1:07:09 |
For our benediction, I've asked that the choir sing again, | 1:07:12 | |
Not to us, O Lord, but to Your glory. | 1:07:16 | |
They will sing it after the closing hymn, | 1:07:20 | |
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. | 1:07:23 | |
(organ music) | 1:07:29 | |
♪ Guide me O Thou great Jehovah ♪ | 1:07:57 | |
♪ Pilgrim through this barren land ♪ | 1:08:02 | |
♪ I am weak, but Thou art mighty ♪ | 1:08:08 | |
♪ Hold me with Thy powerful hand ♪ | 1:08:13 | |
♪ Bread of heaven, bread of heaven ♪ | 1:08:20 | |
♪ Feed me till I want no more ♪ | 1:08:24 | |
♪ Feed me till I want no more ♪ | 1:08:30 | |
♪ Open now the crystal fountain ♪ | 1:08:38 | |
♪ Whence the healing stream doth flow ♪ | 1:08:43 | |
♪ Let the fiery, cloudy pillar ♪ | 1:08:48 | |
♪ Lead me all my journey through ♪ | 1:08:54 | |
♪ Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer ♪ | 1:08:59 | |
♪ Be Thou still my Strength and Shield ♪ | 1:09:05 | |
♪ Be Thou still my Strength and Shield ♪ | 1:09:11 | |
♪ When I tread the verge of Jordan ♪ | 1:09:18 | |
♪ Bid my anxious fears subside ♪ | 1:09:24 | |
♪ Death of death and hell's destruction ♪ | 1:09:30 | |
♪ Land me safe on Canaan's side ♪ | 1:09:35 | |
♪ Songs of praises, songs of praises ♪ | 1:09:41 | |
♪ I will ever give to Thee ♪ | 1:09:47 | |
(organ music) | 1:10:11 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 1:10:16 | |
(organ music) | 1:12:23 | |
(singing in a foreign language) | 1:12:42 | |
(organ music) | 1:13:34 |