Thomas G. Long - "Getting Down to the Local Issues" (April 18, 1993)

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	(peaceful organ music)	0:00
	(congregation singing)
-	Let us pray.	0:38
	We come before you, oh God, in Easter joy,	0:43
	seeking to be a people of the Resurrection.	0:47
	Be known among us.	0:51
	Grant us the assurance of your presence,	0:54
	your love, and your renewing power.	0:57
	Through your Word and spirit,	1:01
	reveal to us your purpose in our lives.	1:03
	We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.	1:07
	You may be seated.	1:12
-	Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.	1:25
Congregation	Oh, living God,	1:30
	bring us forth from death to life	1:32
	so that as the Scriptures are read	1:35
	and your Word is proclaimed, we may be brought	1:37
	to a sure and living faith in your lordship, amen.	1:41
-	The first reading is taken from the Book of Acts,	1:48
	the second Chapter, starting with the 14th verse:	1:50
	But Peter, standing with the 11 raised his voice	1:55
	and addressed them, "You that are Israelites,	1:59
	"listen to what I have to say.	2:03
	"Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God	2:05
	"with deeds of power, wonders, and signs	2:09
	"that God did through him, among you,	2:12
	"as you yourselves know this man handed over to you	2:15
	"according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,	2:19
	"you crucified and killed by the hands	2:23
	"of those outside the law.	2:26
	"But God raised him up, having freed him from death	2:28
	"because it was impossible for him to be held in its power."	2:32
	For David says, concerning him,	2:37
	"I saw the Lord always before me.	2:39
	"For he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.	2:42
	"Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.	2:46
	"Moreover, my flesh will live in hope	2:50
	"for you will not abandon my soul to Hades	2:53
	"or let your holy one experience corruption.	2:55
	"You have made known to me the ways of life.	3:00
	"You will make me full of gladness with your presence.	3:02
	"Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently	3:06
	"of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried	3:10
	"and his tomb is with us to this day."	3:14
	Since he was a prophet, he knew that God	3:18
	had sworn an oath to him that	3:20
	he would put one of his descendants on his throne.	3:22
	For seeing this, David spoke of	3:26
	the Resurrection of the Messiah, saying,	3:28
	"He was not abandoned to Hades	3:31
	"nor did his flesh experience corruption.	3:33
	"This Jesus, God raised up	3:36
	"and of that all of us are witnesses."	3:40
	This is the Word of the Lord.	3:44
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	3:46
-	Today's Psalm is number 16, verses five through 11.	3:55
	Found on page 748 in the Hymnal.	3:59
	Please stand.	4:02
	And sing the Psalm In Gloria Responsibly.	4:05
	(peaceful organ music)	4:12
	♪ The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup ♪	4:16
	♪ You hold my lot ♪	4:21
	♪ The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places ♪	4:25
	♪ Indeed I have a beautiful inheritance ♪	4:31
	♪ I bless the Lord who gives me counsel ♪	4:37
	♪ Even at night my heart instructs me ♪	4:42
	♪ I have set the Lord always before me ♪	4:46
	♪ Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved ♪	4:52
	♪ Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices ♪	4:59
	♪ My body also dwells secure ♪	5:05
	♪ For you will not abandon me my soul to Sheol ♪	5:09
	♪ Or let your holy one see corruption ♪	5:14
	♪ You show me the path of life ♪	5:20
	♪ In your presence there is fullness of joy ♪	5:23
	♪ At your right hand are pleasures forevermore ♪	5:29
	♪ All glory to you creator and to Jesus Christ our savior ♪	5:36
	♪ Let glory be his and strength we see ♪	5:42
	♪ As it was that time began ♪	5:49
	♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪	5:53
-	This reading is from Chapter one	6:19
	of the First Letter of Peter, beginning with the 3rd verse:	6:21
	Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.	6:27
	By his great mercy he has given us a new birth	6:31
	into a living hope through the Resurrection	6:34
	of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance	6:37
	that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,	6:42
	kept in Heaven for you who are being protected	6:46
	by the power of God through faith	6:49
	for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.	6:51
	In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while	6:57
	you have had to suffer various trials.	7:00
	So that the genuine-ness of your faith	7:03
	being more precious than gold,	7:06
	that though perishable, is tested by fire.	7:09
	May be found to result in praise and glory and honor	7:13
	when Jesus Christ is revealed.	7:17
	Although you have not seen him, you love him.	7:20
	And even though you do not see him now,	7:24
	you believe in him and rejoice with	7:27
	an indescribable and glorious joy,	7:29
	for you are receiving the outcome of your faith.	7:33
	The salvation of your souls.	7:36
	This is the Word of the Lord.	7:39
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	7:42
	(peaceful organ music)	7:45
	(harmonious choir music)	8:06
-	The writer of the Gospel of Luke	10:52
	spends the first 12 verses of the 24th Chapter	10:54
	telling us of the startling events of Easter.	10:59
	The women go to the tomb and in amazement discover	11:03
	"He is not here, he has risen."	11:06
	In the 13th verse, the writer turns to what happens	11:10
	later in the day, listen:	11:15
	Now on that same day, two of them were going	11:20
	to a village called Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem.	11:24
	And talking with each other	11:29
	about all these things that had happened.	11:31
	While they were talking and discussing,	11:35
	Jesus himself came near and went with them.	11:37
	But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.	11:40
	And he said to them, "What are you discussing	11:44
	"with each other while you walk along?"	11:45
	They stood still looking sad,	11:48
	then one of them, who's name was Cleopas, answered him,	11:50
	"Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem	11:53
	"who does not know the things	11:56
	"that have taken place there in these days?"	11:58
	He asked them, "What things?"	12:01
	They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth,	12:04
	"who was a prophet mighty indeed in word	12:07
	"before God and all the people.	12:09
	"And how our chief priests and leaders	12:11
	"handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified.	12:13
	"But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.	12:17
	"Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day	12:20
	"since these things took place.	12:23
	"Moreover, some of women of our group astounded us.	12:25
	"They were at the tomb early this morning	12:29
	"and when they did not find his body they came back	12:31
	"and told us that they had seen a vision of angels	12:33
	"who said that he was alive.	12:37
	"Some of those who were with us went to the tomb	12:39
	"and found it just as the women had said,	12:41
	"but they did not see him."	12:44
	Then he said to them,	12:47
	"Oh, how foolish you are, how slow of heart	12:49
	"to believe all that the prophets have declared.	12:53
	"Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer	12:56
	"these things and enter into His glory?	12:59
	Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets	13:02
	he interpreted to them the things about himself	13:05
	in all the Scriptures.	13:09
	As they came near the village to which they were going,	13:11
	he walked ahead as if he were going on,	13:15
	but they urged him strongly saying, "Stay with us,	13:18
	"it's almost evening, the day is now nearly over."	13:21
	So he went in to stay with them	13:25
	and when he was at table with them	13:27
	he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them.	13:30
	Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.	13:35
	And he vanished from their sight.	13:40
	They said to each other, "Weren't not our hearts	13:42
	"burning within us while he was talking to us on the road,	13:45
	"while he was opening the Scriptures to us?"	13:49
	That same hour, they got up and returned to Jerusalem	13:52
	and they found the 11 and their companions gathered together	13:55
	they were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed!	14:00
	"And he has appeared to Simon."	14:02
	Then they told what had happened on the road.	14:05
	And how he had been made known to them	14:10
	in the breaking of bread.	14:13
	This is the Word of the Lord.	14:16
Congregation	Praise be to God.	14:19
-	The professional pundits and the other experts	14:25
	who claim they know something about American politics	14:29
	have been telling us lately that American political life	14:34
	has changed dramatically.	14:37
	Politics has become much more local,	14:41
	much more focused, much more specific.	14:45
	You could tell it, they say, in the political campaign	14:49
	for President last fall.	14:52
	The candidates for President no longer engaged	14:55
	in broadcasting, they engaged in narrow casting.	14:58
	They didn't go on NBC and have a Fireside Chat for everybody	15:04
	They went on MTV and engaged in a dialogue	15:08
	with a narrow segment of the population.	15:12
	The American voter, we are told,	15:15
	is no longer content with broad, vague,	15:17
	general platforms about harnessing the engine	15:22
	of a great nation, they want somebody who will	15:26
	crawl under the hood and fix it.	15:29
	We're no longer content, we're told,	15:33
	with misty-eyed speeches about	15:35
	our hopes and our aspirations	15:39
	but as Bill Clinton reminded himself,	15:41
	"It's the economy, stupid."	15:44
	We want to know about our jobs.	15:47
	We wanna know about the price of eggs at the Kroger store.	15:50
	We wanna know what's gonna happen when our spouse gets sick	15:54
	and goes to the hospital.	15:58
	The issues in politics are hot and local.	16:00
	Well, maybe this is one place where the church	16:07
	needs to learn a lesson from politics.	16:09
	Usually, I suppose, it's the other way around:	16:13
	Politicians need to learn some lessons from the church.	16:15
	But maybe, here's the case where the local-ness of politics	16:18
	can instruct the life of the faithful community.	16:22
	Where the political question that burns	16:25
	can become the theological question that burns.	16:28
	What does the Christian faith mean	16:32
	when it gets down to the local issues?	16:36
	Or to put it more specifically,	16:40
	this is the season of Easter.	16:42
	What difference does the Resurrection of Jesus Christ make	16:44
	when it gets down to the local issues?	16:49
	Now, you think about your life:	16:53
	You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth,	16:54
	you head out the door, you muddle your way through	16:56
	trying to maintain your integrity, your sense of charity,	17:00
	to secure the relationships you have,	17:03
	to take care of the responsibilities that are yours.	17:05
	What difference does it make in the texture	17:11
	of your real life, that two millennia ago	17:13
	a Rabi named Jesus, who was dead as a doornail	17:17
	on Friday afternoon,	17:20
	was not found in his tomb	17:23
	on Sunday morning?	17:27
	What difference does the Resurrection make	17:29
	when it gets down to the local issues?	17:33
	The wonderful novelist and essayist Fredrick Buechner,	17:40
	who is also a preacher	17:44
	was once preparing a sermon	17:47
	on Jesus' line in the Gospel of John,	17:49
	"I am the Resurrection and the life."	17:51
	During the week that he was preparing that sermon,	17:56
	he and his wife went to a dinner party.	17:59
	As they were going to the party they remembered	18:02
	that they needed to pick up some groceries	18:04
	so they pulled into a 7-11.	18:07
	They were running late.	18:09
	They were in a hurry, so they took their shopping list	18:11
	and tore it in half.	18:14
	Buechner headed down one aisle,	18:16
	his wife headed down another.	18:18
	No sooner had they gotten separated	18:20
	than Buechner remembered something they had left	18:23
	off of the grocery list.	18:25
	So, he leaned over the Pampers and the Cheerios	18:27
	and he shouted to his wife,	18:30
	"Don't forget the chocolate syrup!"	18:32
	She shouted back, "Don't you forget you're on a diet!"	18:36
	He leaned back and said, "Well, you only live once!"	18:41
	At which point the woman at the cash register	18:45
	leaned over the Lifesavers and the TV Guides and said,	18:48
	"Don't you think once is enough?"	18:52
	(congregation laughing)	18:55
	"Well," said Buechner,
	"It was a mild jest, and I laughed a little,	18:57
	"my wife laughed a little, even the stock boy	18:59
	"putting up the dog food on the shelf laughed a little.	19:01
	"But suddenly, in the middle of that,	19:04
	"I thought I heard something.	19:07
	"I looked at the woman at the cash register,	19:11
	"her hair soaked with perspiration,	19:12
	"her face lined with weariness	19:15
	and I think what she said was	19:18
	""I'm tired.	19:22
	""I'm tired of my job, I'm tired of these people.	19:24
	""I'm tired of myself; I'll do my job to the end,	19:27
	""but when the end comes,	19:31
	""I won't complain."	19:34
	"Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the life."	19:37
	"She rang up the shampoo and said,	19:42
	""Once is enough, thank you.""	19:45
	What difference	19:49
	does the Resurrection of Jesus Christ make	19:52
	when it gets down to the local issues?	19:56
	Well, that is the beauty and power of this story	20:00
	in the Gospel of Luke that we have come to call	20:03
	the Story of the Road to Emmaus.	20:06
	It was told and remembered and cherished	20:10
	by the Christian community because they understood	20:12
	this story not to answer the question: How did God	20:15
	raise Jesus from the dead?	20:19
	Or even: Why did God raise Jesus from the dead?	20:20
	In a metaphysical sense, but where?	20:24
	This story deals with the question of: Where?	20:27
	And the answer: Where is the Resurrection experienced	20:30
	in this story, is a very	20:34
	local one.	20:37
	In this story, the Resurrection gets down	20:39
	to the local issues.	20:44
	You know how the story goes:	20:47
	Two relatively unknown followers of Jesus	20:49
	are trudging down the dusty road,	20:52
	seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus	20:54
	when suddenly the risen Christ joins them	20:59
	incognito on their journey.	21:02
	His face, like all faces,	21:05
	his glory hidden behind the contentments	21:09
	of a stranger.	21:14
	By the time they reached the end of their journey	21:17
	they have moved from discouragement and despair	21:19
	to hope and renewed faith.	21:23
	And the first readers of this Gospel	21:26
	would have wept with joy to have read this story	21:29
	because they recognized that this road down which	21:32
	these disciples were walking was not simply	21:36
	the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus,	21:38
	it was the road, the way.	21:40
	Which was for them a symbol of the whole Christian life.	21:45
	As a matter of fact, they were called:	21:48
	The People of the Road, the People of the Way.	21:50
	And in this story was the promise:	21:55
	If you want to experience the Resurrection of Jesus Christ	21:58
	as a local issue in the texture of your life,	22:02
	get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other	22:07
	and head down the Road.	22:12
	The Way.	22:17
	In the context of living out	22:19
	one's ordinary mission and life.	22:21
	Once I was asked to be the preacher	22:28
	at a conference on the coast of South Carolina.	22:30
	When we had finished the conference	22:35
	I was on the plane headed home and found myself	22:36
	seated next to a man, a man in his 70's	22:39
	who had also been at the conference.	22:43
	We struck up a conversation.	22:45
	Gradually our conversation became more candid,	22:49
	and at one point he told me that he and his wife	22:52
	were the parents of several children, one of them a son	22:57
	in his 30's who was confined to a nursing home.	23:01
	He'd been in an automobile accident several years before.	23:05
	His brain had been damaged and he was	23:08
	in a permanent comatose state.	23:10
	He startled me when he said,	23:15
	"We had stopped loving our son.	23:18
	"We visited him every week; it was our duty as parents.	23:22
	"But we stopped loving him.	23:26
	"Love is a reciprocal relationship, giving and receiving.	23:28
	"Our son could not receive, our son could not give.	23:32
	"We went to visit him, but we had stopped	23:35
	"loving him.	23:39
	"Until one day, we went to visit our son	23:42
	"and were surprised that he already had	23:46
	"a visitor in his room.	23:50
	"We did not know this person; he was a stranger.	23:51
	"Turned out to be the Lutheran minister from down the street	23:54
	"who just routinely visited in the nursing home.	23:56
	"We waited outside in the hall, and we saw this visitor	24:01
	"engage in a conversation toward our son,	24:05
	"and I thought to myself, as if my son	24:08
	"could appreciate a conversation!	24:10
	"Then he took out a Bible and read my son a Psalm.	24:14
	"As if my son could appreciate a Psalm!	24:17
	"And then he prayed with my son.	24:21
	"As if my son could participate in prayer!	24:23
	"I wanted to say, "You fool, don't you know?"	24:26
	"And then it dawned on me:	24:32
	"He does know.	24:35
	"Of course he knows.	24:38
	"But he sees my son	24:42
	"not simply through clinical eyes,	24:45
	"but through the eyes of faith.	24:49
	"And he treats my son	24:53
	"as a child of God."	24:56
	The Resurrection is, of course, the announcement	25:01
	that in the power of God, life is stronger than death	25:04
	and love is stronger than hate.	25:07
	And the Resurrection became a local issue	25:11
	that day in the nursing home.	25:15
	"We learned," he said that day,	25:18
	"How to love	25:20
	"our son	25:22
	"again."	25:24
	People know the name Molly Blackburn	25:29
	in the town of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.	25:31
	She is not only a person of great faith,	25:34
	she is a person who is a social activist.	25:37
	She knows that she cannot change the whole social structure	25:40
	in South Africa but she can try to change the local issues.	25:43
	She has become interested in criminal justice,	25:49
	particularly how political prisoners are treated.	25:53
	She makes herself known and her presence felt	25:58
	in local jails and prisons.	26:01
	One day she heard that a man whom she knew a little	26:04
	had been arrested as a political prisoner	26:07
	and was being confined; she wasn't sure where	26:08
	but she sought to find out.	26:11
	It took her a couple of weeks until she discovered	26:14
	that he was in a squalid little local jail,	26:17
	only had two cells, out in a village.	26:20
	She went immediately to that jail.	26:24
	She confronted the jailer.	26:26
	She said, "I wanna know about how this prisoner	26:28
	"is being treated, is his cell sanitary and clean?	26:31
	"Is he given enough food?	26:34
	"Is he being treated with dignity?"	26:36
	And the jailer answered yes each time.	26:37
	"I wanna see him," she said, "I wanna know	26:41
	"if you're telling me the truth."	26:42
	"No, I'm sorry, I can't let you do that."	26:43
	"Why not?"	26:46
	"It's policy, we just can't let you see him, Ms. Blackburn."	26:46
	She insisted, back and forth they debated.	26:50
	Finally he said, "Alright, I can't let you see him,	26:52
	"but I will take you and let you see the other cell,	26:56
	"the one right next to him.	27:00
	"But you mustn't speak a word or acknowledge his presence."	27:02
	She agreed.	27:06
	They went into a dark and dank cell area.	27:08
	She couldn't see the prisoner in the cell,	27:13
	but she could hear his breathing,	27:16
	aware that he was aware of her presence.	27:17
	The jailer took her into the empty cell and said, "See!"	27:21
	Knowing that the prisoner was listening,	27:25
	with a loud voice she said,	27:27
	"Is he being given adequate food?	27:30
	"Is he being treated with dignity?	27:32
	"Are his conditions sanitary?"	27:35
	And when the prisoner heard her voice he said,	27:38
	"Thank God, Molly, thank God!	27:43
	"I am not forgotten."	27:46
	The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise	27:50
	that one day God will set things right and bring in justice.	27:53
	And in a two-cell jail in South Africa,	27:58
	through the voice of Molly Blackburn,	28:03
	the Resurrection became a local issue.	28:06
	The first readers of the Gospel of Luke	28:12
	would not simply have wept with joy	28:14
	because they knew that this road was their road.	28:17
	They also would of laughed with delight	28:20
	when they heard this story.	28:22
	Because the way Luke tells it, it becomes clear to them	28:24
	that something strange is going on in this story.	28:29
	Did you notice it?	28:32
	When Jesus and the two are talking with each other,	28:33
	they say, "You must be the only person in the whole area	28:37
	"who doesn't know what's been going on."	28:40
	And he said, "What do you mean?	28:42
	"What things?"	28:43
	And suddenly, as if they were the Bobsey twins,	28:44
	in unison they begin to say something	28:47
	that no one would ever say on a road.	28:49
	They begin to say things like:	28:52
	Concerning Jesus of Nazarath, a prophet mighty	28:54
	in word and deed before God and all the people.	28:58
	That's not road conversation.	29:01
	The readers of Luke would recognize	29:03
	that's a creed.	29:07
	That's the creed we use in worship.	29:08
	Then, inexplicably, Jesus imaginatively takes out a Torah,	29:13
	unfolds the scroll, and in all of the Scriptures	29:17
	proclaims the things pertaining to himself.	29:21
	And the readers of Luke would say,	29:24
	"That's the Bible reading and the sermon	29:26
	"that we do in worship."	29:29
	Then they draw near to the village	29:31
	and the guest becomes the host.	29:33
	Taking bread, breaking bread, giving bread,	29:36
	and the readers of Luke would know,	29:40
	"Why, that's the Lord's supper."	29:42
	This story is the promise	29:46
	that the Resurrection is experienced as a local issue	29:50
	in the bulletin of our Sunday worship	29:56
	as we march through creed and Bible	30:01
	and sermon and anthem and song,	30:04
	we are not abandoned.	30:08
	But the power of the risen Christ	30:11
	is with us.	30:14
	A friend of mine named Ed lost his wife	30:18
	on the Saturday before Easter.	30:21
	She got sick in the morning; she was gone by the afternoon.	30:25
	He said, "I found myself the next day seated on a pew	30:32
	"with my children in an Easter sanctuary	30:36
	"full of lilies and brass choirs	30:39
	"and a springtime congregation	30:41
	"singing Jesus Christ is Risen Today.	30:43
	"And the Easter hymns stuck in my throat.	30:46
	"I didn't believe in the Resurrection,	30:50
	"not then, not that day, not with what had happened.	30:52
	"But as I listened to the voices of the congregation	30:57
	"I realized	31:02
	"I don't have to believe in the Resurrection.	31:05
	"They're believing in the Resurrection for me	31:09
	"until I can believe in it again."	31:13
	In the faith of the gathered community,	31:19
	the Resurrection had become	31:23
	a local issue.	31:26
	But not just in the faith of the gathered community.	31:30
	There are many reasons for us to be here today:	31:35
	This is a beautiful building, the music is always fantastic,	31:37
	the worship is planned with care.	31:41
	But if that is all there is, this is a sad place.	31:46
	But the promise of this story	31:51
	is that as we gather in faith and worship,	31:55
	the power of God in Jesus Christ	31:59
	that shook off death on Easter,	32:01
	claims us	32:06
	now.	32:08
	Claims us	32:10
	here.	32:12
	Claims us	32:14
	in this place	32:16
	as God's	32:19
	very own.	32:22
	Here.	32:24
	And now.	32:26
	The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is	32:29
	a local issue.	32:33
	She told me last fall that her father	32:39
	had died over the summer.	32:43
	"It was a hard last week," she said.	32:46
	"Because my father had a stroke and lost his power of speech	32:48
	"and you know how hard that would be for my daddy;	32:52
	"He loved to talk.	32:54
	"But his last few days he couldn't speak	32:55
	"and couldn't communicate.	32:59
	"I never will forget, my sisters and my brothers and I	33:01
	"were gathered in his hospital room	33:04
	"on the last day of his life, and we were feeling	33:06
	"the pain and the struggle as he tried	33:09
	"to communicate with us.	33:11
	"Finally, he motioned toward my brother	33:14
	"as if to say, "Get me a glass of water."	33:16
	"My brother went over to the sink and filled a glass	33:21
	"with water and brought it to my father	33:23
	"but he wouldn't drink it.	33:25
	"He motioned as if to say to my brother, "You drink it."	33:26
	"So, my brother	33:33
	"took a sip.	33:35
	"Then my father made a motion, give it to your sister.	33:38
	"He handed the glass to my sister.	33:43
	"And she took a sip.	33:48
	"And then he motioned, pass it to me.	33:51
	"And suddenly, my brother said, "Oh, my God!	33:55
	""He's serving communion."	34:00
	"And we knew that neither death nor life	34:04
	"nor powers nor principalities,	34:09
	"nor anything else in all creation	34:11
	"could separate any of us	34:15
	"from the love of God in Jesus Christ."	34:18
	And the Resurrection became,	34:21
	in that hospital room,	34:24
	a local issue.	34:28
	(peaceful organ music)	34:38
	(congregation singing)	35:02
-	[Asst. Dean Brazzel] The Lord be with you.	37:15
Congregation	And also with you.	37:18
-	Let us pray; you may be seated.	37:19
	Oh, God, in Christ our Lord	37:30
	you revealed your power over life and death.	37:33
	In Jesus you turned the world upside-down,	37:38
	making folly of the world's wisdom,	37:42
	and wisdom of the world's folly.	37:46
	Christ, our Lord is alive!	37:50
	Seated at the right hand of God	37:53
	interceding for us,	37:56
	we are witnesses to amazing good news.	37:59
	For who are we that you should concern yourself with us?	38:04
	As far as the east is from the west	38:09
	and the north from the south,	38:12
	you are above us.	38:15
	And yet, you are as close as a breath.	38:18
	As intimate as a heartbeat.	38:22
	Truly you are worthy to be praised.	38:26
	Like the first disciples,	38:30
	we would draw near to you to share our hopes and burdens.	38:34
	To walk beside you on our journey through life.	38:39
	To listen as you open the Scriptures to our understanding.	38:43
	Come among us and break bread with us.	38:50
	That we might see and understand all that you would teach us	38:54
	Lord, we give thanks that you are Emmanuel, God with us,	39:02
	concerned about each one of us,	39:08
	involved in the local issues.	39:11
	Because you are an ever present God,	39:16
	we have confidence to face whatever difficulties beset us	39:19
	knowing that we do not face them alone,	39:25
	knowing we are not forgotten.	39:29
	Because you are intimately involved with each one of us,	39:33
	you also call us to become	39:37
	intimately involved with one another.	39:40
	Help us become activists in your Kingdom	39:44
	on the local level,	39:47
	that we might more deeply share one another's joy and pain.	39:49
	We pray especially this morning for	39:56
	those in our community who are suffering.	39:58
	That those who are sick may be healed.	40:02
	That those who are estranged from family	40:06
	and friends may be reconciled.	40:10
	That those who are grieving may be comforted.	40:14
	That those who are anxious may find peace.	40:18
	That those who are in despair may know hope.	40:23
	Dear Lord, to these and to us we pray	40:29
	that the Resurrection might be real,	40:32
	alive, on the local level.	40:35
	Help us, Lord, to be attentive to the needs of one another.	40:40
	That this might be a more caring community,	40:44
	a more caring world.	40:47
	And fill us with your divine grace	40:50
	that each one of us might be raised to a new life	40:52
	of loving service on the local level.	40:56
	Through Christ our Lord, amen.	41:01
	How amazing are the works of God?	41:08
	By God's mercy we are alive.	41:11
	In God's presence we are filled with hope.	41:14
	Let us share that hope and new life with one another	41:17
	as we rededicate ourselves and our gifts in loving service.	41:20
	(peaceful organ music)	41:29
	(harmonious choir music)	42:03
	(peaceful organ music)	48:01
	(congregation singing)	48:48
-	[Asst. Dean Brazzel] Let us pray.	49:47
	Oh, God, by who's example, giving is a blessed way of life.	49:50
	Fill us now with the exultant joy of your love.	49:56
	May we be bold to proclaim	50:00
	the glorious good news of salvation with glad hearts	50:02
	and with deep and genuine trust.	50:07
	Grant us the opportunity through these gifts	50:10
	and in our daily living to lead others	50:13
	to a life affirming faith.	50:16
	In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.	50:19
	Now, let us pray together as Jesus taught us.	50:23
Congregation	Our Father, who art in Heaven	50:26
	hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done	50:29
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	50:34
	Give us this day our daily bread	50:37
	and forgive us our trespasses	50:40
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	50:42
	Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.	50:46
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	50:50
	and glory forever, amen.	50:53
	(peaceful organ music)	50:59
	(congregation singing)	51:48

Item Info

Title:

Thomas G. Long - "Getting Down to the Local Issues" (April 18, 1993)

Description:

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a local issue, touching every part of our day to day lives, and infusing them with the power of God. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 14:25. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 34:33.
Key quotation: “If you want to experience the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as a local issue in the texture of your life, get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other and head down the Road. The Way. In the context of living out one’s ordinary and life.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r40p0x59q

Date:

April 18, 1993

Speaker:

Long, Thomas G., 1946-

Liturgical Calendar:

Easter

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0319
ref9247_lli
uachapelsermaud
duke:321403
dcrmv001305
ark:/87924/r40p0x59q
37165ac0-a691-44c4-aa60-306a1f55112d

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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