Dennis M. Campbell - "Witnesses to the Things" (April 26, 1992)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(pipe organ music) | 0:00 | |
(pipe organ music) | 1:32 | |
(pipe organ music) | 2:34 | |
("Light's glittering morn bedecks the sky") | 5:09 | |
♪ Light's glittering morn bedecks the sky ♪ | 5:10 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 5:18 | |
♪ Heaven thunders forth its victor cry ♪ | 5:23 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:32 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 5:38 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 5:46 | |
♪ The pains of hell are loosed at last ♪ | 5:54 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 6:03 | |
♪ The days of mourning now are past ♪ | 6:09 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 6:17 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 6:23 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 6:30 | |
♪ All praise be yours O risen Lord ♪ | 6:39 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 6:48 | |
♪ From death to endless life restored ♪ | 6:54 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 7:02 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 7:08 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 7:15 | |
- | All praise be yours oh risen Lord | 7:29 |
from death to endless life restored. | 7:31 | |
Easter continues. | 7:36 | |
We welcome you to this service of worship | 7:37 | |
here at Duke Chapel. | 7:40 | |
We thank our choir. | 7:43 | |
This is their last Sunday singing with us | 7:44 | |
before the summer recess. | 7:48 | |
We thank them for a wonderful year | 7:51 | |
and the leaders of the choir | 7:53 | |
and bid Godspeed to those members of the Chapel Choir | 7:55 | |
that will be graduating this year. | 7:59 | |
If you're going to be in Durham for the summer | 8:03 | |
and are a singer | 8:06 | |
we invite you to apply for the Duke Chapel Summer Choir | 8:07 | |
under the leadership of Donna Sparks. | 8:12 | |
We welcome our guests today, our guest instrumentalists, | 8:15 | |
our guest organist, Dr Thomas Clark, | 8:20 | |
our preacher, Dean Dennis Cambell of the Divinity School. | 8:22 | |
And now let us stand for the greeting. | 8:28 | |
Christ is risen. | 8:35 | |
Congregants | The Lord is risen indeed. | 8:37 |
- | Glory and honor, dominion and power | 8:39 |
be to God forever and ever. | 8:42 | |
Congregants | Christ is risen! | 8:45 |
Alleluia! | 8:46 | |
("O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing") | 8:50 | |
♪ O sons and daughters, let us sing ♪ | 9:20 | |
♪ The King of heaven, the glorious King ♪ | 9:27 | |
♪ O'er death and hell rose triumphing ♪ | 9:35 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 9:43 | |
♪ When Thomas first the tidings heard ♪ | 9:52 | |
♪ How they had seen the risen Lord ♪ | 10:00 | |
♪ He doubted the disciples' word ♪ | 10:08 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 10:17 | |
♪ "My pierced side, O Thomas, see ♪ | 10:26 | |
♪ "My hands, my feet, I show to thee ♪ | 10:34 | |
♪ "Not faithless but believing be" ♪ | 10:42 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 10:50 | |
♪ No longer Thomas then denied ♪ | 11:00 | |
♪ He saw the feet, the hands, the side ♪ | 11:08 | |
♪ "Thou art my Lord and God," he cried ♪ | 11:16 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 11:25 | |
(pipe organ extemporization) | 11:38 | |
♪ How blest are they who have not seen ♪ | 13:38 | |
♪ And yet whose faith hath constant been ♪ | 13:46 | |
♪ For they eternal life shall win ♪ | 13:54 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 14:03 | |
Margaret | Let us pray. | 14:22 |
Oh Jesus our redeemer, | 14:24 | |
we thank you that our fears and sorrows | 14:27 | |
are no barrier to your love. | 14:30 | |
Whenever we've retreated behind closed doors | 14:33 | |
behind our anxious fears and uncertainties | 14:37 | |
you have sought us out to comfort and strengthen us | 14:41 | |
even now you stand in our midst. | 14:46 | |
As you breathe your breath upon us | 14:50 | |
we experience new life | 14:52 | |
and you wrest peace and devotion | 14:55 | |
from our often lonely and fearful hearts. | 14:59 | |
Gather us into one body of hope | 15:04 | |
that we might with boldness | 15:07 | |
proclaim your good news in both word and deed. | 15:09 | |
Grant us fresh visions of you Lord Jesus | 15:14 | |
our crucified and risen Savior. | 15:19 | |
Amen. | 15:23 | |
Congregants | Amen. | 15:24 |
- | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 15:33 |
Congregants | O Living God, | 15:38 |
bring us forth from death to life, | 15:39 | |
so that as the scriptures are read | 15:42 | |
and your word is proclaimed, | 15:45 | |
we might be brought to a sure | 15:47 | |
and living faith in your lordship, | 15:50 | |
amen. | 15:53 | |
- | The first reading is taken from the book of Acts | 15:55 |
the fifth chapter starting with the 27th verse. | 15:58 | |
When they had brought them, | 16:04 | |
they had them stand before the council. | 16:06 | |
The high priest questioned them, saying, | 16:09 | |
"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, | 16:13 | |
"yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching | 16:16 | |
"and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." | 16:20 | |
But Peter and the apostles answered, | 16:24 | |
"We must obey God rather than any human authority. | 16:27 | |
"The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, | 16:32 | |
"whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. | 16:35 | |
"God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior | 16:39 | |
"that he might give repentance to Israel | 16:44 | |
"and forgiveness of sins. | 16:46 | |
"And we are witnesses to these things, | 16:49 | |
"and so is the Holy Spirit | 16:52 | |
"whom God has given to those who obey him." | 16:55 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 16:59 | |
Congregants | Thanks be to God. | 17:01 |
- | The Psalter this morning is Psalm number two | 17:14 |
found on page 739 in the hymnal. | 17:16 | |
Please stand and sing responsively, Psalm number two. | 17:19 | |
(pipe organ introduction) | 17:24 | |
♪ Why do the nations conspire ♪ | 17:29 | |
♪ And the people plot in vain ♪ | 17:33 | |
♪ The kings of the earth rise up ♪ | 17:37 | |
♪ And the rulers take counsel together ♪ | 17:41 | |
♪ Against God and God's anointed, saying ♪ | 17:44 | |
♪ "Let us burst their bonds ♪ | 17:48 | |
♪ "And cast their cords from us." ♪ | 17:52 | |
♪ The One who sits in the heavens laughs ♪ | 17:56 | |
♪ And holds them in derision ♪ | 18:01 | |
♪ Then God will speak to them in anger ♪ | 18:04 | |
♪ And terrify them in fury, saying ♪ | 18:09 | |
♪ "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." ♪ | 18:13 | |
♪ I will tell of the decree of the Lord ♪ | 18:21 | |
♪ Who said to me: "You are my son ♪ | 18:26 | |
♪ "Today I have begotten you ♪ | 18:29 | |
♪ "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage ♪ | 18:33 | |
♪ "And the ends of the earth your possession ♪ | 18:39 | |
♪ "You shall break them with a rod of iron ♪ | 18:45 | |
♪ "And dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." ♪ | 18:50 | |
♪ Now therefore, O kings, be wise ♪ | 18:56 | |
♪ Be warned, O rulers of the earth ♪ | 19:00 | |
♪ Serve the Lord with fear and trembling ♪ | 19:05 | |
♪ Humble yourselves before the Lord ♪ | 19:10 | |
♪ Lest God be angry, and you perish in the way ♪ | 19:14 | |
♪ For God's wrath is quickly kindled ♪ | 19:19 | |
♪ Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord ♪ | 19:24 | |
♪ All glory be to you oh God ♪ | 19:32 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ our Savior ♪ | 19:35 | |
♪ And to the Holy Spirit ♪ | 19:39 | |
♪ As it was err time began ♪ | 19:45 | |
♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪ | 19:49 | |
- | This reading is from the revelation to John | 20:05 |
the first chapter, beginning with the fourth verse. | 20:09 | |
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: | 20:13 | |
Grace to you and peace from him who is | 20:17 | |
and who was and who is to come, | 20:20 | |
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, | 20:23 | |
and from Jesus Christ, | 20:28 | |
the faithful witness, | 20:30 | |
the firstborn of the dead, | 20:31 | |
and the ruler of the kings of the earth. | 20:33 | |
To him who loves us | 20:37 | |
and freed us from our sins by his blood, | 20:39 | |
and made us to be a kingdom, | 20:42 | |
priests serving his God and Father, | 20:44 | |
to him be glory and dominion | 20:47 | |
forever and ever. | 20:50 | |
Amen. | 20:52 | |
Look! | 20:54 | |
He is coming with the clouds; | 20:55 | |
every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; | 20:57 | |
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. | 21:02 | |
So it is to be. | 21:07 | |
Amen. | 21:09 | |
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, | 21:11 | |
who is and who was and who is to come, | 21:15 | |
the Almighty. | 21:20 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 21:22 | |
Congregants | Thanks be to God. | 21:25 |
("O, Clap Your Hands" by Ralph Vaughan Williams) | 21:44 | |
♪ O clap your hands, all ye people ♪ | 21:47 | |
♪ Shout unto God with the voice of triumph ♪ | 21:52 | |
♪ For the Lord most high is terrible ♪ | 22:01 | |
♪ He is a great King over all the earth ♪ | 22:06 | |
♪ God is gone up with a shout ♪ | 22:21 | |
♪ The Lord with the sound of a trumpet ♪ | 22:26 | |
♪ Sing praises to God, sing praises ♪ | 22:33 | |
♪ Sing praises to God, sing praises ♪ | 22:38 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 22:47 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 22:51 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 22:54 | |
♪ Sing praises unto our King ♪ | 22:59 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 23:08 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 23:12 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 23:17 | |
♪ For God is the King of all the earth ♪ | 23:32 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 23:39 | |
♪ Sing ye praises that hath understanding ♪ | 23:42 | |
♪ God reigneth over the heathen ♪ | 23:56 | |
♪ God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness ♪ | 24:06 | |
♪ Sing praises unto our King ♪ | 24:21 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 24:29 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 24:33 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 24:37 | |
♪ Sing praises ♪ | 24:43 | |
- | It is hard for me to believe | 25:19 |
that it is the last Sunday of the academic year. | 25:22 | |
But it is so. | 25:26 | |
And therefore before I read the Gospel and begin the sermon | 25:28 | |
I wanted to just take a moment | 25:32 | |
to express on behalf of myself and you | 25:35 | |
and I think the whole university community | 25:40 | |
our thanks and appreciation to the leadership | 25:43 | |
that goes on week after week in this place. | 25:47 | |
Today marks the end of the first year | 25:51 | |
for Debra Brazzel as assistant dean of the chapel | 25:55 | |
and she has carried on with real distinction. | 25:59 | |
And this day also marks the conclusion | 26:03 | |
for Margaret Via of years of service | 26:07 | |
as pastor to the congregation of Duke Chapel. | 26:09 | |
And we thank you Margaret for your service among us. | 26:14 | |
And it marks the end of the academic year for the choir | 26:19 | |
and for Rodney Wynkoop and David Arcus, my colleagues, | 26:25 | |
who do such a magnificent job | 26:30 | |
week after week. | 26:33 | |
And then of course, to mention also Will Willimon | 26:36 | |
with the superb leadership he gives in this pulpit | 26:40 | |
and in this chapel and throughout the university. | 26:45 | |
As one who travels a good bit across the country | 26:49 | |
to campuses, colleges and universities | 26:52 | |
I would remind us all | 26:56 | |
that we must never take this place for granted. | 26:58 | |
And of course we must never take Duke for granted. | 27:03 | |
Now let us hear the Gospel for this day | 27:10 | |
which is taken from John in the 21st chapter. | 27:14 | |
It is set on the very night of the Resurrection. | 27:20 | |
And we find the disciples gathered together | 27:24 | |
in a house where they met. | 27:27 | |
And Jesus appears to them. | 27:29 | |
Jesus came and stood among them and said, | 27:32 | |
"Peace be with you!" | 27:35 | |
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. | 27:37 | |
Then disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. | 27:41 | |
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you! | 27:45 | |
"As the Father has sent me, so I send you." | 27:49 | |
When he said this he breathed on them and said to them, | 27:54 | |
"Receive the Holy Spirit. | 27:58 | |
"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; | 28:00 | |
"if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." | 28:04 | |
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the 12, | 28:09 | |
was not with them when Jesus came. | 28:12 | |
So the other disciples told him, | 28:15 | |
"We have seen the Lord." | 28:18 | |
But he said to them, | 28:20 | |
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, | 28:21 | |
"and put my finger in the mark of the nails | 28:26 | |
"and my hand in his side, I will not believe." | 28:30 | |
A week later his disciples were again in the house, | 28:36 | |
and Thomas was with them. | 28:39 | |
Although the doors were shut, | 28:41 | |
Jesus came and stood among them and said, | 28:42 | |
"Peace be with you." | 28:45 | |
Then he said to Thomas, | 28:47 | |
"Put your finger here and see my hands. | 28:49 | |
"Reach out your hand and put it in my side. | 28:52 | |
"Do not doubt but believe." | 28:55 | |
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" | 29:00 | |
Jesus said to him, | 29:04 | |
"Have you believed because you have seen me? | 29:06 | |
"Blessed are those who have not seen | 29:10 | |
"and yet have come to believe." | 29:14 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 29:19 | |
Congregants | Thanks be to God. | 29:22 |
- | Last Sunday Christians all over the world | 29:25 |
celebrated the great Good News | 29:28 | |
of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. | 29:30 | |
Today, Orthodox Christians celebrate the triumph of Christ | 29:33 | |
over sin and death. | 29:37 | |
And of course the rest of us continue to do so as well. | 29:38 | |
Have you ever asked yourself | 29:43 | |
what it would've been like to be there? | 29:45 | |
What would it have been like | 29:49 | |
to witness the resurrected Lord? | 29:50 | |
I remember a time about 15 years ago | 29:55 | |
when a man came to see me. | 29:57 | |
He was a successful, young businessman | 30:00 | |
who had met me through the board of the local chapter | 30:03 | |
of the Red Cross on which we both served. | 30:06 | |
He came into my office one afternoon | 30:10 | |
wearing a conservative business suit | 30:12 | |
and a strikingly handsome and obviously expensive tie | 30:14 | |
subtly expressing his sense of style and individuality. | 30:19 | |
He wanted to talk about religion | 30:25 | |
and specifically Christianity. | 30:27 | |
He was sophisticated and engaging. | 30:30 | |
There are people like him all over the Duke campus. | 30:34 | |
"If I had only been a witness to the Resurrection," he said. | 30:38 | |
"If only I could see the risen Lord, | 30:44 | |
"then I could believe, then I could have faith." | 30:48 | |
Now this is an age-old problem. | 30:52 | |
How can one believe in something one has not seen? | 30:55 | |
How can one have faith if one has not been a witness | 31:00 | |
to the extraordinary claims of the Gospel? | 31:05 | |
On the first Sunday after Easter | 31:10 | |
every year scripture lessons deal with this problem. | 31:12 | |
So this is a sermon about seeing and believing; | 31:17 | |
about doubt and faith; | 31:21 | |
about being witnesses to the Gospel. | 31:24 | |
My first observation this morning | 31:31 | |
is that there is no necessary relationship | 31:33 | |
between seeing and believing. | 31:37 | |
As I told that young man in my office | 31:41 | |
seeing does not guarantee belief. | 31:43 | |
The Gospel lesson for this Sunday | 31:48 | |
is always the story of doubting Thomas. | 31:50 | |
Now we should all be able to identify with him, | 31:54 | |
I think we do. | 31:58 | |
He's one of those characters in the Scriptures | 31:59 | |
that we can imagine ourselves being like. | 32:02 | |
He is quintessentially a modern man. | 32:07 | |
He wants to witness the risen Jesus for himself. | 32:11 | |
In fact I think he's a good research university man. | 32:15 | |
I won't believe it unless I see it for myself. | 32:19 | |
We learn from the story, however, | 32:25 | |
that there is no simple relationship | 32:27 | |
between seeing and faith. | 32:30 | |
One can see and not see. | 32:34 | |
In her autobiography Helen Keller tells about a boy | 32:40 | |
who came up to her on one of her trips and said, | 32:44 | |
"Ms. Keller, isn't it terrible not to be able to see?" | 32:46 | |
She replied, "Not half so bad | 32:54 | |
"as to have two good eyes | 32:57 | |
"and still not see." | 33:00 | |
She went on to say that she knew many sighted people | 33:04 | |
who really couldn't see. | 33:08 | |
Their souls voyaged through this enchanted world | 33:11 | |
with a barren stare. | 33:16 | |
One can see and still not be a witness. | 33:20 | |
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who have not seen | 33:27 | |
"and yet have come to believe." | 33:30 | |
The essential point is that seeing is no guarantee of faith, | 33:34 | |
because faith involves a leap and a choice. | 33:41 | |
The question then is not how does one believe | 33:47 | |
if one has not seen, | 33:51 | |
but how can one not believe | 33:54 | |
having seen Christian truth manifested | 33:59 | |
in his witnesses up to this very day? | 34:03 | |
God gives you and me the possibility of faith. | 34:10 | |
That is a gift from God: | 34:14 | |
the possibility of faith. | 34:16 | |
It is up to us to respond. | 34:18 | |
And the way in which we carry on our lives, | 34:24 | |
the very way in which we present ourselves to the world, | 34:27 | |
will indicate something about the nature of our faith. | 34:31 | |
I was reading not long ago a book by Charles Spurgeon | 34:35 | |
the great 19th century preacher | 34:38 | |
who was writing about how other preachers | 34:41 | |
should talk about the faith | 34:45 | |
and he was very interested not only in what the message was | 34:48 | |
but how the message was communicated | 34:51 | |
that is how we look when we communicate the faith. | 34:53 | |
He said, "When you talk about heaven | 34:57 | |
"and when you talk about the Good News of the Gospel | 35:00 | |
"put a smile on your face | 35:03 | |
"and look as though this is the redemption of the world." | 35:05 | |
On the other hand he said, | 35:11 | |
"When you talk about hell, your ordinary looks will do." | 35:12 | |
(congregants laugh) | 35:17 | |
In regard to faith, | 35:20 | |
next point, | 35:24 | |
in regard to faith | 35:25 | |
the original disciples had no advantage over us. | 35:27 | |
On the wall in my office here at Duke | 35:34 | |
there hangs marvelous picture | 35:36 | |
of the 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian | 35:38 | |
Soren Kierkegaard. | 35:43 | |
One of my favorite of his writings | 35:45 | |
is a small book called Philosophical Fragments. | 35:47 | |
In it he deals with this problem | 35:51 | |
of the relationship between seeing and believing. | 35:55 | |
"Did the original disciples," he asked, | 35:59 | |
"who witnessed the risen Jesus | 36:02 | |
"have a benefit over subsequent generations? | 36:04 | |
"Was it easier for them | 36:08 | |
"because they were eyewitnesses to the original event?" | 36:09 | |
Kierkegaard concludes that the answer is no! | 36:14 | |
The first disciples also had to come to faith | 36:18 | |
in the same way we do. | 36:23 | |
Faith as response to God's invitation and gift | 36:26 | |
was no easier for them and it is no harder for us. | 36:31 | |
Kierkegaard writes in that little book, | 36:37 | |
"There is no disciple at second hand. | 36:39 | |
"The first and the last are essentially on the same plane. | 36:44 | |
"Only that a later generation finds its occasion | 36:48 | |
"in the testimony of a contemporary generation." | 36:52 | |
The testimony of a contemporary generation. | 36:57 | |
We have the same possibility of relationship | 37:03 | |
to the risen Lord as the first disciples. | 37:06 | |
They too had to respond in faith. | 37:09 | |
There was no obvious, simple reality. | 37:14 | |
The truth of the Gospel was no easier to accept | 37:17 | |
in the first century than in the 20th century. | 37:20 | |
Real faith involves our willing choice | 37:23 | |
and carries consequences. | 37:27 | |
The believer becomes a witness. | 37:30 | |
That in fact is my third point. | 37:37 | |
All Christian disciples | 37:40 | |
in any time or place | 37:43 | |
are witnesses to the Gospel. | 37:46 | |
The lesson from the book of Acts | 37:50 | |
that Dr Woodard read this morning | 37:52 | |
tells the story of an encounter between the disciples | 37:55 | |
and the religious and governmental leaders of their day. | 37:58 | |
This was after the Resurrection | 38:03 | |
and the disciples were bearing witness to the Gospel. | 38:05 | |
Their actions and teachings were causing crowds to gather. | 38:09 | |
Authorities don't like crowds, maybe understandably so. | 38:14 | |
The official leadership was worried | 38:20 | |
and commanded these disciples to stop. | 38:22 | |
They refused, | 38:26 | |
insisting that God had called them to preach the Gospel. | 38:27 | |
They recounted the message | 38:31 | |
of Jesus' life, death and resurrection | 38:33 | |
and asserted that we are witnesses to these things. | 38:35 | |
Now there are two ways at least | 38:44 | |
that we use the word witness. | 38:46 | |
One is in relationship to witnessing action: | 38:49 | |
I witnessed the accident. | 38:54 | |
The other is to bear witness: | 38:59 | |
I will witness to her innocence. | 39:03 | |
Not long ago I was asked to bear witness. | 39:09 | |
An IRS man called me up on the telephone | 39:12 | |
and asked about a donor. | 39:15 | |
He said, "This man claimed to give $5,000 last year. | 39:18 | |
"Did he?" | 39:24 | |
I thought for a moment and replied, | 39:25 | |
"If he didn't he will." | 39:27 | |
(congregants laugh) | 39:30 | |
Christians are called to be witnesses of both kinds. | 39:38 | |
We are called to be witnesses to the resurrected Lord | 39:42 | |
on a first-hand basis. | 39:46 | |
The first disciples had no advantage over us. | 39:48 | |
They too had to make a leap of faith | 39:52 | |
as a result of their choice through God's grace | 39:55 | |
to believe. | 39:59 | |
And we are called to witness to the Gospel | 40:01 | |
by our actions and words | 40:05 | |
so that we become occasions for others to believe. | 40:08 | |
That's the point. | 40:14 | |
We are called to be witnesses to these things. | 40:17 | |
Men and women come to faith | 40:22 | |
through the evidence of witnesses. | 40:24 | |
That is what Kierkegaard meant | 40:28 | |
by the testimony of a contemporary generation. | 40:30 | |
Just two weeks ago my wife Lisa and I | 40:36 | |
were in Rome on Duke business. | 40:39 | |
For the first time we went out the Appian Way | 40:41 | |
traveling on the original stones from Ancient Rome | 40:46 | |
to visit the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus. | 40:50 | |
Catacombs are burial places | 40:54 | |
in the form of galleries or tunnels. | 40:57 | |
There are mile after mile of them | 41:01 | |
arranged in as many as five tiers or layers | 41:05 | |
carved deep underground. | 41:10 | |
Marble or terracotta slabs mark the openings | 41:14 | |
where the bodies were laid to rest. | 41:19 | |
Early Christians hid, worshiped, prayed, | 41:22 | |
celebrated the Eucharist and were buried in them | 41:26 | |
from the first through the fourth centuries. | 41:31 | |
The persecutions visited upon the Christians | 41:36 | |
were the occasion for incredible witness. | 41:39 | |
These men and women were witnesses to the things of God. | 41:43 | |
We learned | 41:50 | |
that among the hundreds of thousands of Christians | 41:51 | |
buried in the catacombs | 41:54 | |
there were also thousands of unwanted Roman infants | 41:56 | |
who had been left exposed to die. | 42:00 | |
Christians believing that all human life is a gift of God | 42:04 | |
would gather these little bodies and bury them. | 42:08 | |
I think that no one can visit the catacombs | 42:12 | |
without being overwhelmed | 42:16 | |
with the profound sense of the witness and mission | 42:18 | |
represented by the early Christians | 42:22 | |
in a society which not only did not tolerate | 42:25 | |
but actively persecuted them. | 42:28 | |
They were witnesses to the things of God. | 42:31 | |
You and I are called to be witnesses | 42:38 | |
though it may not be in such a dramatic way. | 42:41 | |
One of my favorite contemporary autobiographies | 42:45 | |
is The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day. | 42:48 | |
Some of you may know that Dorothy Day | 42:53 | |
was the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. | 42:55 | |
And because of her faith | 42:59 | |
became one of the leading advocates for social | 43:00 | |
and economic reform in the 20th century. | 43:05 | |
She was not raised a Christian | 43:08 | |
and did not join the church until she was an adult. | 43:11 | |
She tells the story in her autobiography | 43:15 | |
of her conversion. | 43:17 | |
It was not dramatic. | 43:19 | |
In fact she became a Christian, believe it or not, | 43:21 | |
by watching Christians. | 43:24 | |
At one point she commented on such a relatively simple thing | 43:27 | |
as going to church. | 43:32 | |
What impressed her was their choice for the church. | 43:34 | |
She wrote, "They accepted the church. | 43:40 | |
"It may have been an unthinking, unquestioning faith | 43:44 | |
"and yet the chance certainly came again and again | 43:47 | |
"'Do I prefer the Church to my own will,' | 43:51 | |
"even if it was only the small matter | 43:56 | |
"of sitting at home on a Sunday morning with the papers? | 43:59 | |
"And the choice was the Church." | 44:04 | |
Note her observation about our choice. | 44:09 | |
More especially, | 44:13 | |
note the fact that Christian witness can be powerful | 44:15 | |
in undramatic ways. | 44:19 | |
Even the decision to go to church is a witness. | 44:23 | |
And that's hardly an act of martyrdom. | 44:26 | |
No matter how dull the sermon, | 44:30 | |
the choir will be superb. | 44:33 | |
(congregants laugh) | 44:35 | |
Like the early disciples in Acts | 44:39 | |
we are called to be witnesses to these things. | 44:41 | |
Not long ago I came across an article in The New York Times | 44:46 | |
about an incident that happened in Philadelphia. | 44:51 | |
On the front of a brick row house in Northeast Philadelphia | 44:57 | |
a spray painted message appeared. | 45:04 | |
It said, "We don't want no niggers, | 45:07 | |
KKK." | 45:11 | |
It was an all-white neighborhood | 45:16 | |
and a black family had been considering buying that house. | 45:18 | |
There had been some mob violence. | 45:23 | |
And the spray painted message was the last straw. | 45:27 | |
The black family was frightened off. | 45:31 | |
Police went up and down the street seeking witnesses. | 45:35 | |
No one had seen anything. | 45:42 | |
But then there was one 13-year-old boy. | 45:47 | |
John DeMarco came forward and told the truth. | 45:52 | |
He and others had seen one of their 34-year-old neighbors | 45:58 | |
spray paint the message. | 46:05 | |
The man was brought to trial for racial intimidation | 46:08 | |
and found guilty | 46:12 | |
because John DeMarco was brave enough to tell the truth | 46:14 | |
and be a witness. | 46:19 | |
This single witness, a 13-year-old white boy, | 46:23 | |
braved his neighbor's hostility | 46:28 | |
by breaking the unwritten but very powerful | 46:31 | |
code of silence. | 46:36 | |
What especially interested me about the report | 46:40 | |
was the reason given by John DeMarco for his witness. | 46:43 | |
It was right there in The New York Times, it said, | 46:48 | |
"The family are devout Christians | 46:50 | |
"who take the Christian message seriously." | 46:54 | |
John's mother was quoted in the paper as saying, | 46:59 | |
"All my life I have seen things like that | 47:02 | |
"and then here it is in my own backyard. | 47:06 | |
"If you really care you have to do something about it, | 47:10 | |
"if the opportunity comes." | 47:16 | |
She said she gave her son one piece of advice: | 47:19 | |
tell the truth. | 47:24 | |
We live in a time of moral crisis. | 47:28 | |
Our nation, our state, our own city | 47:32 | |
are racked with problems. | 47:37 | |
I don't need to specify them. | 47:41 | |
You know them as well as I do. | 47:43 | |
There are ways in which everyone of us | 47:46 | |
is called to be a witness. | 47:49 | |
We are called to witness to the love | 47:53 | |
and power of the Christian message. | 47:57 | |
We are called to witness | 48:01 | |
that God's truth is greater and more sure | 48:03 | |
than any human reality | 48:09 | |
including any human sin. | 48:12 | |
We are called to witness to the fact | 48:16 | |
that Jesus' resurrection is the truth | 48:19 | |
that ultimately will prevail | 48:23 | |
despite all appearances to the contrary. | 48:25 | |
We can witness the truth of the Resurrection | 48:29 | |
in our time. | 48:32 | |
There are examples everyday, and we can be witnesses. | 48:33 | |
There's no necessary relationship | 48:40 | |
between seeing and believing. | 48:43 | |
We must make a leap and we have a choice. | 48:45 | |
In these matters we have the same opportunity | 48:51 | |
as the original disciples. | 48:55 | |
All Christian disciples | 48:58 | |
are called to be witnesses to these things. | 49:01 | |
Amen. | 49:07 | |
("Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise") | 49:15 | |
♪ Hail the day that sees Him rise ♪ | 49:55 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:00 | |
♪ To His throne above the skies ♪ | 50:06 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:11 | |
♪ Christ, awhile to mortals given ♪ | 50:16 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:22 | |
♪ Reascends His native heaven ♪ | 50:27 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:33 | |
♪ There the glorious triumph waits ♪ | 50:40 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:45 | |
♪ Lift your heads, eternal gates ♪ | 50:50 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 50:55 | |
♪ Christ hath conquered death and sin ♪ | 51:01 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:06 | |
♪ Take the King of glory in ♪ | 51:12 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:17 | |
♪ See the heaven its Lord receives ♪ | 51:25 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:30 | |
♪ Yet He loves the earth He leaves ♪ | 51:36 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:41 | |
♪ Though returning to His throne ♪ | 51:47 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:52 | |
♪ Still He calls mankind His own ♪ | 51:58 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:03 | |
♪ See, He lifts His hands above ♪ | 52:11 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:17 | |
♪ See, He shows the prints of love ♪ | 52:22 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:27 | |
♪ Hark, His gracious lips bestow ♪ | 52:33 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:38 | |
♪ Blessings on His church below ♪ | 52:44 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:49 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 52:58 |
Congregants | And also with you. | 53:00 |
- | Let us pray. | 53:02 |
Lord Jesus, | 53:12 | |
though we did not predict it | 53:17 | |
nor expect it much less believe it | 53:20 | |
Easter You broke the bonds of death | 53:25 | |
You moved through locked doors | 53:29 | |
came back to us | 53:33 | |
breathed on us | 53:35 | |
empowered us | 53:38 | |
and we did not believe it. | 53:42 | |
Make us Lord Jesus, | 53:45 | |
to be not faithless but believing. | 53:48 | |
Because of Easter things we thought impossible are possible. | 53:54 | |
Because of Easter we pray, | 54:01 | |
we pray for those who suffer, | 54:06 | |
for the poor, | 54:09 | |
the homeless, | 54:12 | |
the victims of AIDS, | 54:15 | |
the victims of Guadalajara, | 54:19 | |
the many innocent sufferers of war | 54:23 | |
and civil conflict in our world, | 54:26 | |
in matters of peace, of food, of healthcare, | 54:31 | |
of adequate housing, | 54:37 | |
make us to be not faithless but believing. | 54:39 | |
Because of Easter | 54:47 | |
doors are open which presume to be forever locked. | 54:50 | |
So we pray for the cancer that our medicine cannot cure; | 54:56 | |
we pray against the addiction of someone we love | 55:04 | |
to a substance which kills; | 55:10 | |
the prejudice of bigotry, | 55:15 | |
which is not eradicated merely by a university education; | 55:18 | |
the marriage which seems all but lost; | 55:25 | |
in matters close to us and the source of much pain | 55:32 | |
make us to be not faithless but believing. | 55:39 | |
Because of Easter | 55:48 | |
we dare to lay upon you our burdens, | 55:51 | |
our silent cares, our secret pain, | 55:54 | |
because even in your resurrection | 55:59 | |
you bore scars in hands and side | 56:03 | |
you know. | 56:07 | |
So we pray | 56:11 | |
for sophomores preparing for exams; | 56:13 | |
for seniors trying to figure out | 56:18 | |
what to do after graduation; | 56:19 | |
for the person in Duke Hospital awaiting surgery tomorrow; | 56:23 | |
for the freshman who does not know | 56:28 | |
what to do about her parents. | 56:30 | |
In prayer we link our pain with yours Lord Jesus. | 56:36 | |
Our scars | 56:41 | |
which you have made your own, | 56:45 | |
make us in word | 56:49 | |
and in deed | 56:52 | |
to be not faithless | 56:54 | |
but believing. | 56:58 | |
Amen. | 57:02 | |
Dean Cambell has reminded us not to take for granted | 57:07 | |
the gift that is ours in this chapel. | 57:10 | |
The home for so many religious groups | 57:13 | |
and so much good activity. | 57:15 | |
We invite you to give generously to that fund | 57:18 | |
which makes this possible. | 57:20 | |
Our offertory today you will note | 57:23 | |
is by our beloved chapel organist, David Arcus. | 57:25 | |
Let us give as has been given to us. | 57:29 | |
(Offertory by David Arcus) | 57:57 | |
(pipe organ extemporization on Doxology) | 1:03:29 | |
("Doxology") | 1:04:09 | |
♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:04:23 | |
♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 1:04:29 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:04:36 | |
♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 1:04:43 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:04:49 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:04:55 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 1:04:59 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 1:05:05 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 1:05:09 | |
- | Gracious God, | 1:05:21 |
You are the one who is and was and is to come. | 1:05:23 | |
You are ever present with us | 1:05:28 | |
throughout all of our moments, days and years of our lives. | 1:05:30 | |
We praise you for your eternal love | 1:05:36 | |
expressed in the death of your son, Jesus Christ. | 1:05:39 | |
We thank you for these gifts | 1:05:43 | |
which reflect your greatest gift | 1:05:45 | |
the cleansing power Christ offers us. | 1:05:48 | |
Oh creating God, | 1:05:52 | |
you love all that is beautiful and true to your word. | 1:05:54 | |
We thank you that this chapel continues to be a place | 1:05:58 | |
reflective of your strength and goodness. | 1:06:03 | |
We thank you for those who work here: | 1:06:07 | |
for the ministers who counsel, teach and preach; | 1:06:10 | |
for the great musicians and their gifts of song; | 1:06:14 | |
for those who keep things in order and running smoothly; | 1:06:18 | |
for those who work behind the scenes | 1:06:22 | |
quietly helping others. | 1:06:25 | |
Grant that all might continue to reveal | 1:06:28 | |
your love and grace. | 1:06:31 | |
Tender God look with kindness upon | 1:06:34 | |
those who worship here week after week; | 1:06:36 | |
those who come and quietly pray; | 1:06:39 | |
those who pour out their anguish before you | 1:06:43 | |
from the deep places of their hearts; | 1:06:46 | |
those who are strangers in our midst. | 1:06:49 | |
Remember those who have made solemn vows | 1:06:53 | |
in this sacred place, | 1:06:56 | |
that they may ever be faithful to you. | 1:06:58 | |
God of all journeys be with us whenever we leave this place | 1:07:02 | |
that we may not forget you | 1:07:07 | |
in the name of the One who taught us to pray saying, | 1:07:10 | |
Congregants | Our Father who art in heaven, | 1:07:14 |
hallowed be thy name, | 1:07:16 | |
thy kingdom come, | 1:07:19 | |
thy will be done, | 1:07:20 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:07:22 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:07:24 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 1:07:27 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 1:07:29 | |
and lead us not into temptation | 1:07:33 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 1:07:36 | |
for thine is the kingdom | 1:07:38 | |
and the power | 1:07:39 | |
and the glory forever. | 1:07:40 | |
Amen. | 1:07:42 | |
- | And now may the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead | 1:07:45 |
and made him victor over the dark domain | 1:07:48 | |
raise us all from our deadness and doubt | 1:07:52 | |
and make us true disciples | 1:07:55 | |
now and forever more. | 1:07:57 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 1:07:59 | |
and of the Holy Spirit. | 1:08:02 | |
♪ God be in my head ♪ | 1:08:07 | |
♪ And in my understanding ♪ | 1:08:13 | |
♪ God be in mine eyes ♪ | 1:08:26 | |
♪ And in my looking ♪ | 1:08:33 | |
♪ God be in my mouth ♪ | 1:08:46 | |
♪ And in my speaking ♪ | 1:08:54 | |
♪ God be in my heart ♪ | 1:09:09 | |
♪ And in my thinking ♪ | 1:09:20 | |
♪ God be at my end ♪ | 1:09:34 | |
♪ And in my departing ♪ | 1:09:49 | |
("Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain") | 1:10:21 | |
♪ Come, ye faithful, raise the strain ♪ | 1:11:00 | |
♪ Of triumphant gladness ♪ | 1:11:05 | |
♪ God hath brought forth Israel ♪ | 1:11:10 | |
♪ Into joy from sadness ♪ | 1:11:15 | |
♪ Loosed from Pharaoh's bitter yoke ♪ | 1:11:20 | |
♪ Jacob's sons and daughters ♪ | 1:11:25 | |
♪ Led them with unmoistened foot ♪ | 1:11:30 | |
♪ Through the Red Sea waters ♪ | 1:11:35 | |
♪ 'Tis the spring of souls today ♪ | 1:11:42 | |
♪ Christ hath burst his prison ♪ | 1:11:47 | |
♪ And from three days' sleep in death ♪ | 1:11:52 | |
♪ As a sun hath risen ♪ | 1:11:57 | |
♪ All the winter of our sins ♪ | 1:12:02 | |
♪ Long and dark, is flying ♪ | 1:12:07 | |
♪ From his light, to whom we give ♪ | 1:12:13 | |
♪ Laud and praise undying ♪ | 1:12:18 | |
♪ Now the queen of seasons, bright ♪ | 1:12:25 | |
♪ With the day of splendor ♪ | 1:12:30 | |
♪ With the royal feast of feasts ♪ | 1:12:35 | |
♪ Comes its joy to render ♪ | 1:12:40 | |
♪ Comes to glad Jerusalem ♪ | 1:12:45 | |
♪ Who with true affection ♪ | 1:12:50 | |
♪ Welcomes in unwearied strains ♪ | 1:12:55 | |
♪ Jesus' resurrection ♪ | 1:13:01 | |
♪ Neither might the gates of death ♪ | 1:13:08 | |
♪ Nor the tomb's dark portal ♪ | 1:13:14 | |
♪ Nor the watchers, nor the seal ♪ | 1:13:19 | |
♪ Hold thee as a mortal ♪ | 1:13:24 | |
♪ But today amidst the 12 ♪ | 1:13:29 | |
♪ Thou didst stand, bestowing ♪ | 1:13:34 | |
♪ That thy peace which evermore ♪ | 1:13:40 | |
♪ Passeth human knowing ♪ | 1:13:45 | |
(trumpet fanfare) | 1:13:51 | |
♪ Alleluia now we cry ♪ | 1:14:29 | |
♪ To our King immortal ♪ | 1:14:33 | |
♪ Who triumphant burst the bars ♪ | 1:14:39 | |
♪ Of the tomb's dark portal ♪ | 1:14:44 | |
♪ Alleluia with the Son ♪ | 1:14:50 | |
♪ God the Father praising ♪ | 1:14:55 | |
♪ Alleluia yet again ♪ | 1:15:01 | |
♪ To the Spirit raising ♪ | 1:15:06 | |
("Prelude and Fugue in G Major" BWV541 by JS Bach) | 1:15:38 |