William H. Willimon - "Take Heart" (August 8, 1993)

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	(organ music)	0:00
-	Good morning and welcome to Duke Chapel.	1:15
	Remind you of a concert that will be held here	1:19
	on Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m.	1:21
	With the Caldwell Singers and the public is invited.	1:23
	Let us now stand for the greeting.	1:28
	Oh, give thanks to the Lord,	1:35
	call on God's name,	1:37
	make known God's deeds among the peoples.	1:38
	(congregation replies)	1:42
	Glory in God's holy name.	1:48
	Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.	1:50
	(congregation replies)	1:54
	Remember the wonderful works God has done,	1:59
	the miracles and judgements God has uttered.	2:02
	(organ music)	2:08
	(choir and congregation sings)	2:41
-	Let us unite your hearts in prayer.	5:55
	Almighty and everlasting God,	6:00
	in whom we live and move and have our being.	6:04
	You have led us apart from the busy world	6:09
	into the quiet of your house.	6:12
	Grant us grace to worship you in spirit and in truth	6:16
	to the comfort of our souls and the up building	6:21
	of every good and perfect desire.	6:25
	Enable us to do perfectly	6:29
	the work to which you have called us,	6:32
	that we may not fear the coming of the night,	6:35
	when we shall resign into your hands	6:39
	the tasks which you have committed to us.	6:42
	So, may be worship you,	6:47
	not with our lips in this hour,	6:49
	but in word and deed all the days of our lives.	6:53
	Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, we pray,	6:58
	Amen.	7:03
-	Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.	7:19
	Open our hearts and minds oh God,	7:24
	by the power of your holy spirit.	7:27
	So that as the word is read and proclaimed,	7:30
	we may hear your message with joy this day.	7:34
	Amen.	7:37
	The epistle is written in the tenth chapter	7:40
	of Paul's letter to the Romans,	7:43
	beginning at the fifth verse,	7:46
	"Moses writes concerning the righteousness	7:50
	"that comes from the law,	7:52
	"that the person who does these things	7:54
	"will live by them.	7:56
	"But, the righteousness that comes from faith says,	7:58
	"Do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven,	8:01
	"that is to bring Christ down,	8:05
	"or who will descend into the abyss,	8:07
	"that is to bring Christ up from the dead.	8:10
	"But, what does it say?	8:13
	"The word is near you,	8:16
	"on your lips and in your heart.	8:18
	"That is the word of faith that we proclaim,	8:21
	"because if you confess with your lips	8:24
	"that Jesus is Lord,	8:26
	"and believe in your heart that God raised him	8:28
	"from the dead,	8:31
	"you will be saved.	8:32
	"For one believes with the heart and so is justified.	8:34
	"And one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.	8:39
	"The scripture says,	8:43
	"no one who believes in Him will be put to shame,	8:45
	"for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek,	8:49
	"the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all	8:53
	"who call on Him.	8:57
	"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord	8:59
	"shall be saved.	9:01
	"But, how are they to call on one	9:03
	"in whom they have not believed?	9:05
	"And how are they to believe in one of whom	9:08
	"they have never heard?	9:10
	"And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him?	9:12
	"And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent?	9:17
	"As it is written,	9:22
	"how beautiful are the feet	9:23
	"of those who bring good news."	9:26
	This is the word of the Lord.	9:29
congregation	Thanks be to God.	9:32
-	Today's Psalm is number 77 verses 16-20	9:38
	found on page 789 in the hymnal.	9:43
	Please stand and sing the Psalm and Gloria responsively.	9:46
	(organ music)	9:53
	♪ when the waters saw you O God ♪	10:00
	♪ when the waters saw you ♪	10:04
	♪ They were afraid. ♪	10:06
	♪ The very deeps trembled ♪	10:09
	(congregation sings reply)	10:12
	♪ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind ♪	10:27
	♪ Your lightnings illuminated the world ♪	10:32
	(congregation sings reply)	10:36
	♪ Your way was through the sea ♪	10:40
	♪ Your path through the great waters ♪	10:43
	♪ Your footprints were unseen ♪	10:47
	(congregation sings reply)	10:51
	♪ All glory be to you Creator ♪	11:00
	♪ and to Jesus Christ our Savior ♪	11:03
	(congregation sings reply)	11:07
	♪ As it was as time began ♪	11:14
	(congregation sings reply)	11:19
-	Please be seated.	11:28
	(choir sings "How Lovely are the Messengers")	11:53
-	Jesus needs a vacation.	15:14
	He's been working and teaching and healing crowds,	15:18
	pressing in upon him.	15:23
	He tries to get away to a lonely place,	15:26
	but when he and his disciples get there,	15:31
	the place is anything but lonely.	15:32
	Hungry people, crowding in upon him,	15:34
	and he instructs his disciples to feed the crowd.	15:39
	They take the few loaves and they take the fishes	15:43
	that they have and the multitudes are fed.	15:47
	And, that was the gospel story	15:52
	that engaged us here last week,	15:56
	and that is the context for today's scripture	16:00
	where Jesus again goes away to a lonely place,	16:03
	to be alone to prayer and that is where today's scripture	16:09
	opens and you can follow the gospel	16:13
	along here in your bulletin.	16:16
	Going to do bible study.	16:18
	Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat	16:22
	and go on ahead to the other side	16:26
	while he dismissed the crowds.	16:29
	After he dismissed the crowds,	16:32
	he went up the mountain by himself to pray.	16:33
	When evening came he was there alone.	16:38
	But, by this time,	16:42
	the boat, battered by the waves	16:43
	was far against them.	16:44
	And, early in the morning	16:46
	he came walking toward them on the sea.	16:49
	And, when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,	16:52
	they were terrified saying,	16:55
	"It is a ghost."	16:56
	They cried out in fear,	16:58
	but immediately Jesus spoke to them and said,	17:01
	"Take heart.	17:04
	"It is I.	17:05
	"Do not be afraid."	17:07
	Peter answered him,	17:11
	"Lord, if it is you,	17:12
	"command me to come to you on the water."	17:13
	He said, "Come."	17:16
	So Peter got out of the boat,	17:18
	started walking on the water and came toward Jesus.	17:20
	But, when he noticed the strong wind	17:24
	he became frightened.	17:27
	Beginning to sink, he cried out	17:29
	"Lord, save me."	17:31
	Jesus immediately reached out his hand	17:34
	and caught him saying to him,	17:37
	"You of little faith, why did ya doubt?"	17:39
	when they got into the boat the wind ceased.	17:45
	Those in the boat worshiped Him saying,	17:48
	"Truly, you are the son of God."	17:51
	This is the word of the Lord.	17:56
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	18:00
	Jesus is trying to get away by himself.	18:05
	He's seeking time alone.	18:11
	And, at this time in Matthew's gospel,	18:15
	we think that maybe he's seeking time alone	18:18
	because he's becoming increasingly isolated.	18:21
	Opposition to Jesus is growing.	18:24
	And so, he seeks time alone to pray.	18:27
	And he sends his disciples on ahead of them.	18:32
	He makes them get into a boat and sends them on ahead.	18:34
	And then, he was there alone.	18:38
	And what would Jesus have prayed as he prayed alone?	18:45
	Faithful Jew that he was, I think that he would've	18:48
	begun as Jews began by praying the Shema.	18:50
	"Hear, O Israel,	18:56
	"the Lord your God is one."	18:59
	God is unique.	19:05
	God is alone.	19:08
	This is Israel's great spiritual contribution.	19:11
	And, Jesus is alone.	19:16
	He is one.	19:18
	He is isolated at prayer.	19:19
	And, he prays the prayer of God's absolute oneness	19:22
	and uniqueness.	19:26
	God is one.	19:27
	At evening, Jesus is there alone.	19:28
	And, we, knowing what lies ahead for Jesus	19:32
	in the story,	19:36
	we know that he is alone,	19:36
	not only geographically,	19:39
	but also personally.	19:40
	It's evening.	19:44
	It's getting dark.	19:45
	And, Jesus is alone.	19:47
	And, the disciples are also alone,	19:52
	but they're out in the boat.	19:56
	And, they're far from land.	19:59
	Literally, in the Greek,	20:03
	these words say they are many stadia away.	20:05
	A stadia.	20:09
	A stadia is about 200 yards.	20:10
	We don't know how many stadia there are,	20:14
	but they're a long, long way from Jesus.	20:16
	There is a great gap	20:19
	between the disciples in the boat and Jesus.	20:21
	There's a long way between them.	20:24
	Jesus is alone with God in prayer	20:28
	and they are alone in the boat	20:31
	on an increasingly turbulent sea.	20:33
	And the boat is buffeted by the waves.	20:38
	The boat is battered by the waves,	20:41
	harassed, thrashed, battered.	20:43
	And the word, in Greek here, is (in foreign language)	20:46
	(in foreign language), (in foreign language),	20:52
	even if you don't know Greek	20:55
	you know what this word means.	20:56
	It's battered, (in foreign language).	20:57
	You can just hear it in the Greek	20:59
	boom, boom, boom the waves are thrashing the boat.	21:01
	(in foreign language).	21:06
	The boat is being battered by the waters	21:11
	and the wind.	21:15
	The waters and the wind.	21:16
	What do you think?	21:21
	What do you hear when you hear bible talk	21:23
	about waters and wind?	21:26
	Do you hear an echo of an earlier biblical story?	21:30
	The earliest?	21:33
	Genesis one.	21:34
	On the first day of creation,	21:38
	the wind, the numah of God hovered over the waters.	21:40
	It brooded over the waters, the wind.	21:45
	I think there's an echo here	21:48
	just a little remembrance of that creative wind.	21:50
	And our remembrance of creation,	21:56
	that first day is further confirmed when we hear	21:58
	what time it is.	22:03
	Our text says merely that it was early in the morning,	22:07
	but in the Greek it is literally during the fourth watch.	22:11
	The fourth watch,	22:17
	that's between three and six in the morning.	22:18
	Just at the very break of day.	22:22
	That's when this occurs.	22:26
	Here, at the dawning of a new day	22:28
	sometime just before dawn,	22:30
	the little boat with the disciples	22:32
	(in foreign language) battered by the waves	22:34
	and the wind.	22:37
	And it is there that they see	22:40
	Jesus walking on the waves.	22:43
	At the beginning of a new day	22:48
	with the waters of chaos comes Jesus	22:52
	walking on the waters,	22:55
	while the disciples are being battered and tossed about	22:59
	by the waves in their boat.	23:03
	"Look, it's a ghost," they say.	23:07
	"It's a fantasma."	23:09
	They're afraid of the waves and the wind yes,	23:13
	but note that they're also afraid of Jesus.	23:15
	Is this a ghost?	23:19
	Who is this?	23:22
	What is this?	23:23
	"Take heart. It is I.	23:26
	"Do not be afraid,"	23:31
	Jesus says.	23:35
	He says to them there, "It is I."	23:39
	In the Greek, the word is ego eimi.	23:44
	"It is I." Ego eimi.	23:51
	But literally, in the Greek, it means I am.	23:55
	Ego eimi, I am.	24:00
	I am.	24:03
	Do you hear an echo there of an earlier story?	24:07
	I am.	24:09
	Take courage, I am.	24:12
	You remember, back in Exodus,	24:15
	how did the exodus get started?	24:17
	It got started with Moses being confronted	24:19
	by a burning bush and a voice came from the bush	24:21
	and the voice just said, "I am."	24:24
	That's the name that God told Moses to call him.	24:30
	Call me I am.	24:33
	Pharaoh asks you,	24:35
	"Who sent you to bring these slaves	24:36
	out of slavery into freedom,"	24:38
	you just tell him, I am has sent me.	24:39
	I am.	24:43
	And, here on the lake they here that same deep voice,	24:47
	I am.	24:51
	And Peter blurts out, "Well, if it is you,	24:56
	"If it is I am, then	24:59
	bid me to come forth over the waters."	25:02
	And Peter launches out on the sea	25:07
	the word, on the waters, over the waters,	25:10
	Pete launches out and again we hear an echo	25:13
	back to Genesis one with these waters.	25:15
	Where the spirit moved over the face of the waters	25:19
	and created new world out of chaos,	25:22
	the first day.	25:26
	And then we're told when Peter,	25:29
	in your translation it says,	25:31
	when Peter noticed the wind,	25:32
	literally when Peter saw the wind,	25:36
	how do you see wind?	25:38
	Have any of you ever seen wind?	25:40
	I tell you this summer, hot day,	25:41
	sky grew dark, trees started to move,	25:43
	limbs cracked, crashed to the ground.	25:48
	I saw wind.	25:51
	When Peter saw the wind	25:55
	and the water	25:59
	he began to sink.	26:04
	Psalm 69, the psalmist cries out,	26:06
	Save me God because the waters have come up to my neck.	26:11
	Save me.	26:15
	The waters are up to my neck.	26:16
	Do any of you know that cry?	26:17
	Save me God the waters are up to my neck.	26:22
	Where was the psalmist standing when he uttered that cry?	26:28
	Maybe he was standing on dry land	26:34
	when he said, "Save me God, the waters are up to my neck.	26:36
	"Save me."	26:39
	Maybe he was in Des Moines,	26:41
	or in Missouri standing beside the rising river,	26:43
	or maybe he was standing in a corridor of Duke Hospital	26:49
	beside an oncologist,	26:52
	or maybe he was standing up in the front office	26:57
	with the boss when the boss said, "We're going through	26:58
	"some reorganization here at the bank and you don't	27:01
	fit into the plans."	27:05
	It's just like waters rising.	27:08
	Save me O God, the waters are up to my neck.	27:11
	And it's then that Jesus reaches out	27:18
	his hand to Peter.	27:21
	The early fathers of the church love to speak of Jesus	27:25
	as the right hand of God.	27:28
	God's right hand.	27:31
	Jesus reaches out his right hand	27:35
	and he calls to him,	27:38
	"Oh, little faith,"	27:41
	that's how it reads in the Greek.	27:46
	"Oh, little faith."	27:48
	It's like Robin Hood called one of his men,	27:50
	"Oh, Little John."	27:51
	Here Jesus says to Peter, "Oh, little faith,"	27:52
	little faith.	27:56
	Mr. Little Faith why did you doubt?	27:59
	Doubt is a consistent theme throughout	28:05
	the whole gospel of Matthew.	28:07
	Everybody's doubting.	28:09
	Why do ya doubt?	28:11
	And it is there, we are reminded	28:14
	that those disciples are there in the boat for us.	28:16
	They listen to Jesus.	28:21
	They watch Jesus.	28:22
	But, they still doubt.	28:23
	And Jesus is there with them.	28:25
	He's working with their doubt.	28:29
	Why did you doubt?	28:31
	Oh, they think they've got it figured out,	28:34
	but then there are the wind and the waves	28:36
	and they begin to sink and they doubt.	28:38
	But, Jesus keeps reaching out to them with his right hand.	28:40
	He keeps working with them.	28:43
	Why did ya doubt?	28:45
	When Matthew's gospel ends in Matthew 28,	28:49
	Jesus appears in all of his glory with his disciples	28:52
	standing up on the mountain.	28:55
	He tells them to go into all the world	28:57
	and make more disciples.	28:59
	"Lo, I'm going to be with you always," he tells them.	29:02
	And at that moment, Matthew says they fell down	29:08
	on their knees and they worshiped him.	29:10
	But, some doubted.	29:15
	Even there, right at the end,	29:17
	there were some still doubting.	29:19
	Doubt all the way through.	29:21
	He keeps working with them.	29:22
	Lo, I am with you always,	29:25
	even in your doubt reaching out.	29:27
	I'm there.	29:29
	Right down to the end.	29:32
	Right down to the very last chapter	29:33
	of the gospel of Matthew some doubted.	29:35
	They struggle with it.	29:37
	They try to figure out,	29:38
	is it a ghost?	29:39
	Who is this?	29:40
	What's going on here?	29:41
	He reaches out.	29:42
	I am with you,	29:44
	and the doubt's okay,	29:49
	because he doesn't desert them in their doubt.	29:52
	He reaches out.	29:54
	Oh, little faith.	29:56
	I am.	29:59
	As a child, I vividly remember	30:06
	the worst journey I ever had to take	30:11
	was that long journey from our house	30:13
	down the winding driveway through the woods	30:16
	out to the mailbox at night.	30:19
	It was a long, interminable journey,	30:24
	maybe 50 yards through the woods.	30:26
	And, you got in those dark woods and you knew	30:31
	that anything could jump out of those woods	30:33
	and get you at night.	30:35
	And, nobody would here you cry	30:37
	as it snatched you up into the darkness.	30:38
	And, I remember the night, a dark night,	30:41
	no moon out,	30:43
	I had to make that long journey to retrieve something	30:44
	from the mailbox that had been put in that afternoon,	30:47
	and it was dark.	30:49
	And I entered that dark wood and I heard footsteps	30:51
	moving toward me,	30:56
	heavy footsteps coming from the darkness.	30:57
	And, I knew such big, heavy footsteps	31:03
	it wouldn't do any good to run.	31:05
	Such heavy footsteps could catch you	31:07
	and then right as I was about to cry out,	31:10
	Save me.	31:15
	A voice.	31:16
	It's me.	31:19
	It's Uncle Charles.	31:21
	And, just the voice, I am,	31:26
	it's like a new world is created.	31:30
	Light comes on.	31:31
	Everything is different.	31:32
	Don't be afraid.	31:36
	Take heart.	31:38
	I am.	31:41
	It's just a voice, just words	31:45
	and yet, it transforms.	31:47
	It makes a world.	31:50
	We're saved.	31:53
	And, he gets into the boat with them.	31:57
	And they bowed down and they worshiped	32:01
	and they say,	32:03
	"Truly, you are the son of God."	32:04
	Now, when Mark tells this same story,	32:11
	at the end of the story he has the disciples say,	32:15
	"Who is this?"	32:17
	Who is this?	32:19
	I mean, even the wind and the waves obey him.	32:20
	Who is this?	32:22
	But here, with Jesus, the right hand of God	32:26
	reaching out to us,	32:29
	when he gets into the boat and the wind ceases,	32:32
	they say, "Truly, you are the son of God."	32:35
	They worship.	32:39
	In Mark, they don't get it.	32:40
	All they can say, who is this?	32:42
	Here, it's different.	32:44
	He's identified.	32:46
	In this stunning moment, the disciples see	32:49
	the son of God.	32:52
	God's right hand in the boat with them.	32:54
	Now, we're conditioned, you and I	33:00
	by our modern minds to hear a story like this	33:01
	and in our minds we say,	33:06
	"Now, how?	33:09
	"How could something like this happen?	33:12
	"walking on the water, the waves, how?"	33:15
	How could this happen?	33:20
	How could Jesus be both truly God and truly human	33:20
	at the same time?	33:25
	How could that be?	33:26
	But I think in this evocative story,	33:30
	the disciples are begging us to ask the question,	33:33
	Who?	33:37
	Not the merely,	33:40
	the boringly scientific, how?	33:43
	But the much more interesting, who?	33:47
	Who, who, who is this?	33:51
	That even the wind and the waves obey,	33:53
	who?	33:55
	And just before dawn,	33:59
	buffeted by wind and waves,	34:02
	they know.	34:06
	Peter,	34:12
	the one whom Jesus nicknamed Little Faith,	34:15
	Peter is saved	34:20
	just by allowing Jesus to reach out	34:23
	and grab hold of him by his right hand.	34:26
	Little Faith.	34:32
	Fortunately, it doesn't take all that much faith	34:35
	if you'll read back,	34:39
	Matthew 13,	34:40
	you're gonna find out you don't have to have much faith,	34:42
	just a mustard seed will do.	34:44
	Peter, Mr. Little Faith, ventured to live	34:48
	as if there were a new world taking shape,	34:52
	being formed on it's way.	34:56
	Peter ventured forth as if dawn was breaking.	35:00
	Peter ventured out on nothing more than a gut level hunch,	35:04
	that maybe it was nearly dawn.	35:08
	Faith.	35:12
	Faith here is not some quiet, peaceful inner reassurance.	35:14
	Faith is not some closed-eyed, clench-fisted determination	35:19
	to gulp and swallow the inconceivable	35:24
	and believe, just believe.	35:27
	Faith is just venturing out on the waters.	35:30
	Faith is being forced by Jesus to get into the boat,	35:35
	tossed by wind and wave and the conviction	35:40
	that maybe a new day, maybe a new day is coming,	35:43
	maybe a new world is dawning,	35:48
	rather than taking out insurance,	35:50
	feathering our nests, perfecting our pension plans,	35:52
	in faith, we just venture forth	35:55
	out on the waves with God.	35:58
	He made his disciples go on ahead of him in the boat.	36:02
	You notice that in the story?	36:07
	He made his disciples get in that boat.	36:10
	And when things didn't work out,	36:15
	when they were battered (in foreign language)	36:18
	by the waves, he came to them.	36:20
	He came all the way out, many stadia,	36:25
	came out to them, reached out with his right hand,	36:27
	and he saved them.	36:29
	I am.	36:34
	And it was dawn.	36:37
	You know what this story means.	36:43
	Now, how did you decide to move to Durham	36:49
	in your retirement, I ask her.	36:52
	Well, as it turned out, decide was not exactly	36:56
	the right word.	36:58
	She was made to move here.	37:01
	It was her only choice in her post retirement years.	37:05
	She was made to leave friends and leave familiar	37:10
	surroundings and her home of 40 years,	37:13
	and venture forth on the sea uncertain.	37:16
	And yet, she could report that even in Durham,	37:22
	what seemed to her once like the beginning of night	37:28
	was the dawning of a new day.	37:34
	The creation of new world.	37:38
	Little faith is enlarged by daring to venture forth	37:44
	over the waters.	37:49
	Faithful discipleship means a willingness	37:52
	to have Jesus make us get into the boat	37:56
	and launch us out on ahead of him.	38:00
	He made them get in the boat.	38:04
	And, it's only as we test the waters	38:08
	that we hear the voice.	38:12
	Take heart.	38:15
	I am.	38:17
	And we feel his strong right hand.	38:22
	Earlier in this service, we have sung Psalm 77.	38:28
	I cry aloud to God that God may here me.	38:33
	Save me O God, the waters are getting up to my neck.	38:37
	They're battering (in foreign language) me.	38:39
	Yet, when the water saw you O God, they got scared.	38:43
	Your way, you cut a way right through the sea.	38:48
	Your path was through the great waters.	38:51
	You led your people as a shepherd leads a flock.	38:54
	Now, what's he talking about there in that Psalm?	38:58
	You remember an earlier biblical story,	39:01
	their path was through the sea,	39:02
	through the mighty waters.	39:05
	You know what he's talking about.	39:07
	He's talking about the crossing	39:08
	of the Red Sea and the exodus.	39:09
	The exodus from slavery.	39:12
	That night, that night out in the boat,	39:17
	you get to see the Red Sea crossed again.	39:22
	There he comes.	39:28
	Mr. Right Hand of God, walking on the water.	39:29
	The great I am treading a path through the sea.	39:33
	That night in the exodus going through the sea,	39:39
	a new people was made.	39:41
	And that night, on the sea,	39:45
	the same way that God created a new people, Israel,	39:48
	by crossing the sea,	39:52
	by coming out in the exodus.	39:53
	Here, Jesus is doing it one more time	39:55
	creating a new people through the waters.	39:58
	Just as a new world came into being,	40:02
	by God's holy wind moving over the face of the Red Sea,	40:05
	so a new people is created in the waters of baptism.	40:10
	The spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.	40:14
	There was new creation.	40:18
	Floods on the Mississippi,	40:22
	waters rising sweeping away everything,	40:24
	battering away all that we've got.	40:27
	Melanoma, operable or not?	40:34
	Waves, battering, beating.	40:39
	And then, in the storm, a voice.	40:46
	Take heart.	40:50
	I am.	40:53
	And a hand,	40:58
	and he gets in the boat with us.	41:00
	God is busy	41:05
	reforming chaos into creation.	41:09
	Taking our chaos, fear, floods and making a new world	41:13
	through holy breath.	41:17
	The creative spirit moving over the face of dark waters,	41:19
	I am.	41:23
	It's a new day, new world.	41:25
	It is dawn.	41:28
	Take heart.	41:32
	(organ music)	41:37
	(choir and congregation sing "Jesus Calls Us")	41:59
-	Let us join together in the Apostle's Creed	44:11
	found on page 881 in the back of your hymn book.	44:14
	I believe in God,	44:28
	the father almighty,	44:29
	maker of heaven and earth,	44:31
	and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord,	44:33
	who was conceived by the holy spirit,	44:37
	born of the virgin Mary,	44:40
	suffered under Pontius Pilate,	44:42
	was crucified, dead, and buried.	44:45
	The third day, he rose from the dead.	44:48
	He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand	44:50
	of God, the father almighty.	44:54
	From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	44:56
	I believe in the holy spirit, the holy Catholic church,	45:00
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	45:05
	the resurrection of the body,	45:09
	and the life everlasting.	45:11
	Amen.	45:14
	The Lord be with you.	45:16
Congregation	And also with you.	45:17
-	Let us pray.	45:20
	You may be seated.	45:21
	O God of gracious word and mighty deed,	45:34
	we give thanks for your holy presence,	45:39
	that reaches out to us in the darkness	45:42
	with the comforting assurance,	45:45
	take heart,	45:48
	I am.	45:50
	For Lord, we are in darkness in so many ways.	45:53
	And, like the disciples, we have feared	45:57
	that in the dark, the waves of chaos would overcome us.	46:00
	So, we come together in this time of worship,	46:07
	listening once again for your voice	46:10
	to break through the darkness.	46:14
	Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.	46:17
	Lord, we give thanks that you are a proactive God,	46:22
	a God who reaches out to us in the darkness,	46:26
	a God who moves over the face of the waters of chaos,	46:30
	taming them, reshaping them into a new creation.	46:34
	Lord, come into our lives once again.	46:40
	Tame the chaos that threatens to overcome us.	46:44
	Reshape us into the new creations that you	46:49
	would have us to be.	46:52
	Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.	46:54
	We especially pray this day for those	47:00
	who are facing the waters of the chaos	47:03
	of the mighty Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.	47:06
	Be with all who have lost home and business	47:11
	and hope in the floods.	47:16
	Comfort them with your presence	47:19
	and move us who have witnessed this tragedy	47:22
	to offer help.	47:25
	Lord, transform the devastation into a new creation	47:28
	as only you can.	47:32
	Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.	47:35
	Lord, we pray also for those who face	47:40
	personal waters of chaos,	47:43
	for those who are ill,	47:46
	for those who seek employment,	47:48
	for those who battle addiction,	47:52
	for those who seek reconciliation	47:55
	in a troubled relationship,	47:58
	for those who face financial hardship.	48:01
	May your voice bring hope and a way through the chaos	48:05
	as you touch each one of these, saying,	48:10
	"Take heart.	48:13
	"I am.	48:15
	"Be not afraid."	48:16
	Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.	48:20
	We pray also for those who face political chaos.	48:25
	Be with all who suffer because of political unrest,	48:30
	the politics of hunger,	48:35
	the violence of war and terrorism.	48:37
	Tame the forces that struggle for power	48:42
	and bring forth a more humane world order.	48:45
	Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.	48:50
	Lord, there is so much more that we have to pray for	48:56
	and we offer you our private prayers at this time.	49:01
	(silence)	49:06
	There is a voice reaching out to us in the darkness.	49:23
	A voice that reassures.	49:27
	Take heart.	49:30
	I am.	49:31
	Be not afraid.	49:33
	Lord, help us to reach out toward your voice	49:36
	and grasp your hand that whatever chaos we face	49:40
	we may know that we need not face it alone.	49:45
	In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.	49:49
	Let us give freely of ourselves and our resources	49:56
	that little faith may venture forth to create	49:59
	a new creation with our Lord,	50:03
	in the name of Christ.	50:05
	(organ music)	50:47
	(choir sings)	50:51
	(organ music)	53:32
	(choir sings)	54:55
-	Let us pray together the prayer of thanksgiving.	55:43
	Almighty and merciful God,	55:46
	from you comes every good and perfect gift.	55:50
	We give you praise and thanks for your mercies.	55:54
	Your goodness has created us.	55:59
	Your bounty has sustained us.	56:03
	Your discipline has chastened us.	56:07
	Your patience has born us.	56:10
	Your love has redeemed us.	56:13
	Give us hearts to love and serve you,	56:17
	and enable us to show our thankfulness	56:21
	for all your goodness and mercy,	56:25
	but giving of ourselves in your service.	56:28
	This is our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord	56:32
	who taught us when we pray together to say,	56:37
	Our Father,	56:42
	who art in heaven,	56:43
	hallowed be thy name,	56:45
	thy kingdom come,	56:47
	thy will be done,	56:50
	on earth as it is in heaven.	56:52
	Give us this day,	56:55
	our daily bread,	56:56
	and forgive us our debts	56:58
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	57:01
	And, lead us not into temptation,	57:05
	but deliver us from evil.	57:08
	For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.	57:10
	Amen.	57:16
	(organ music)	57:19
	(choir and congregation sings "How Firm A Foundation")	57:54
-	The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	1:00:57
	the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:01:01
	be with you now and always, amen.	1:01:03
	(organ music)	1:01:10

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Take Heart" (August 8, 1993)

Description:

Sermon start time: 15:14. Sermon end time: 41:37.
This sermon attests to Jesus’ divinity and argues that through all things, God is the same God: from the creation, to leading the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, and to Jesus Christ calming the storms. The preacher explains how faithful discipleship means the willingness to suffer the storm with Jesus and experience His power and protection. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r44b2xk66

Date:

August 8, 1993

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Matthew

Chapter and Verse:

Matthew 14:22-33

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0330
ref9291_itm
uachapelsermaud
duke:321386
dcrmv001316
ark:/87924/r44b2xk66
c50ec49c-7b3e-44e4-89cd-27a4d1e3c672

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

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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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William H. Willimon - "Take Heart" (August 8, 1993)

Transcript

Item Info

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Duke University Archives