William H. Willimon - "The Logic of Easter" (April 16, 1995)

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-	Anniversary of the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.	0:00
	Eberhard Bethge will be here preaching.	0:03
	This will be the last Sunday of the school year	0:06
	that our choir will be with us,	0:09
	and invite you to that special service.	0:11
	Christ is risen.	0:15
	Christ is risen, indeed.	0:17
	♪ Thy resurrection, O Christ our savior ♪	0:24
	♪ The angels sing ♪	0:32
	(muffled singing)	0:36
	(solemn music)	1:06
	♪ Christ the Lord is risen today ♪	1:51
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:56
	♪ Earth and heaven in chorus say ♪	2:01
	♪ Alleluia ♪	2:07
	♪ Raise your joys and triumphs high ♪	2:13
	♪ Alleluia ♪	2:18
	♪ Sing, ye heavens and earth reply ♪	2:24
	♪ Alleluia ♪	2:30
	♪ Lives again our glorious King ♪	2:38
	♪ Alleluia ♪	2:43
	♪ Where, O death, is now thy sting ♪	2:49
	♪ Alleluia ♪	2:54
	♪ Once he died our souls to save ♪	3:00
	♪ Alleluia ♪	3:05
	♪ Where's thy victory, boasting grave ♪	3:11
	♪ Alleluia ♪	3:17
	♪ Love's redeeming work is done ♪	3:25
	♪ Alleluia ♪	3:31
	♪ Fought the fight, the battle won ♪	3:36
	♪ Alleluia ♪	3:42
	♪ Death in vain forbids him rise ♪	3:48
	♪ Alleluia ♪	3:53
	♪ Christ has opened paradise ♪	3:59
	♪ Alleluia ♪	4:05
	♪ Soar we now where Christ has led ♪	4:13
	♪ Alleluia ♪	4:18
	♪ Following our exalted Head ♪	4:24
	♪ Alleluia ♪	4:30
	♪ Made like him, like him we rise ♪	4:35
	♪ Alleluia ♪	4:41
	♪ Ours the cross, the grave, the skies ♪	4:46
	♪ Alleluia ♪	4:52
	(triumphant music)	4:59
	♪ Thine is the glory ♪	5:09
	♪ Risen, conquering Son ♪	5:14
	♪ Endless is the victory ♪	5:20
	♪ Thou o'er death hast won ♪	5:25
	♪ Angels in bright raiment ♪	5:31
	♪ Rolled the stone away ♪	5:36
	♪ Kept the folded grave ♪	5:42
	♪ Clothes where thy body lay ♪	5:46
	♪ Thine is the glory ♪	5:52
	♪ Risen conquering son ♪	5:58
	♪ Endless is the victory ♪	6:03
	♪ Thou o'er death hast won ♪	6:09
	♪ Lo, Jesus meets thee ♪	6:16
	♪ Risen from the tomb ♪	6:21
	♪ Lovingly he greets thee ♪	6:27
	♪ Scatters fear and gloom ♪	6:32
	♪ Let the church with gladness ♪	6:37
	♪ Hymns of triumph sing ♪	6:43
	♪ For our Lord now liveth ♪	6:48
	♪ Death hath lost its sting ♪	6:53
	♪ Thine is the glory ♪	6:59
	♪ Risen conquering son ♪	7:04
	♪ Endless is the victory ♪	7:10
	♪ Thou o'er death hast won ♪	7:15
	♪ No more we doubt thee ♪	7:30
	♪ Glorious Prince of life ♪	7:35
	♪ Life is naught without thee ♪	7:40
	♪ Aid us in our strife ♪	7:46
	♪ Make us more than conquerors ♪	7:52
	♪ Through thy deathless love ♪	7:57
	♪ Bring us safe through Jordan ♪	8:02
	♪ To thy home above ♪	8:08
	♪ Thine is the glory ♪	8:14
	♪ Risen conquering son ♪	8:19
	♪ Endless is the victory ♪	8:25
	♪ Thou o'er death hast won ♪	8:31
-	Let us pray.	8:55
	Giver of new life, we come this morning	8:59
	with our alleluias, our banners, and flowers,	9:03
	and trumpets, and song.	9:07
	We come to worship in beauty and in truth	9:10
	because we have faith that Jesus Christ	9:13
	is raised from the dead.	9:16
	Because we have hope that	9:18
	the resurrection will enter into each	9:20
	of our lives and transform them.	9:22
	And because through Christ's spirit	9:25
	we have experienced your love for us,	9:28
	and the possibility of our love for one another.	9:31
	Accept our worship, gracious god.	9:35
	Be present with us as miracle, mystery,	9:39
	and tender hands of grace.	9:43
	Amen.	9:46
	You may be seated.	9:48
-	Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.	9:59
Congregation	O Living God, bring us forth	10:04
	from death to life,	10:06
	so that as the scriptures are read	10:09
	and your word is proclaimed,	10:11
	we might be brought to a sure	10:13
	and living faith in your lordship.	10:15
	Amen.	10:18
-	The epistle reading is from 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.	10:20
	Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,	10:27
	how can some of you say that there	10:30
	is no resurrection of the dead?	10:32
	If there is no resurrection of the dead,	10:34
	then Christ has not been raised.	10:36
	If Christ has not been raised,	10:39
	then our proclamation has been in vain	10:41
	and your faith has been in vain.	10:43
	We are even found to be misrepresenting God,	10:46
	because we testified of God that he raised Christ,	10:48
	whom he did not raise,	10:52
	if it is true that the dead are not raised.	10:54
	For if the dead are not raised,	10:57
	then Christ has not been raised.	10:59
	If Christ has not been raised,	11:02
	your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.	11:04
	Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.	11:08
	If for this life	11:13
	only we have hoped in Christ,	11:15
	we are of all people most to be pitied.	11:17
	But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead,	11:20
	the first fruits of those who have died.	11:24
	This is the Word of the Lord.	11:27
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	11:30
-	The Psalm appointed for this Easter Sunday,	11:41
	is 118, verses 14 through 24.	11:43
	Let us praise God together	11:48
	in singing the psalm responsively,	11:50
	and then the Gloria as printed in the bulletin.	11:52
	Please rise.	11:55
	♪ The Lord is my strength and my power ♪	12:04
	♪ The Lord has become my salvation ♪	12:09
	♪ There are joyous songs of the free ♪	12:15
	♪ In the tents of the righteous ♪	12:20
	♪ The right hand of the Lord does valiantly ♪	12:25
	♪ The right hand of the Lord is exalted ♪	12:29
	♪ The right hand of the Lord does valiantly ♪	12:34
	♪ I shall not die, but I shall live ♪	12:41
	♪ And recount the deeds of the Lord ♪	12:46
	♪ The Lord has chastened me sorely ♪	12:51
	♪ But he has not given me over to death ♪	12:56
	♪ Open to me the gates of righteousness ♪	13:03
	♪ That I may enter through them ♪	13:07
	♪ And give thanks to the Lord ♪	13:10
	♪ This is the gate of our Lord ♪	13:14
	♪ The righteous shall enter through it ♪	13:18
	♪ I thank you that you have answered me ♪	13:24
	♪ And have become my salvation ♪	13:29
	♪ The stone that the builders rejected ♪	13:35
	♪ Has become the cornerstone ♪	13:40
	♪ This is the Lord's doing ♪	13:46
	♪ It is marvelous in our eyes ♪	13:50
	♪ This is the day which the Lord has made ♪	13:55
	♪ Let us rejoice and be glad in it ♪	14:01
	(solemn music)	14:11
	♪ Glory be to our creator ♪	14:19
	♪ Praise to our Redeemer Lord ♪	14:26
	♪ Glory be to our sustainer ♪	14:34
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	14:41
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	14:50
	♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪	14:57
-	Please be seated.	15:08
-	The Gospel reading is from Luke 24:1-12.	15:19
	But on the first day of the week,	15:27
	at early dawn,	15:28
	they came unto the tomb,	15:29
	taking the spices that they had prepared.	15:31
	They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.	15:34
	But when they went in they did not find the body.	15:36
	While they were perplexed about this,	15:40
	suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.	15:41
	The women were terrified	15:45
	and bowed down their faces to the ground.	15:47
	But the men said to them,	15:49
	Why do you look for the living among the dead?	15:51
	He is not here, but has risen.	15:54
	Remember how he told you,	15:56
	while he was still in Galilee,	15:58
	that the Son of man must be handed over to sinner	16:00
	and be crucified,	16:03
	and the third day rise again.	16:04
	Then they remembered his words,	16:07
	and returning from the tomb,	16:08
	they told all this to the 11,	16:10
	and to all the rest.	16:12
	Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,	16:14
	Mary the mother of James,	16:16
	and the other women with them	16:18
	who told this to the apostles.	16:20
	But these words seemed to them an idle tale.	16:23
	And they did not believe them.	16:26
	But Peter got up and ran to the tomb.	16:28
	Stooping and looking in,	16:30
	he saw the linen cloths by themselves,	16:32
	then he went home, amazed at what had happened.	16:36
	This is the Word of the Lord.	16:40
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	16:43
	(triumphant music)	16:55
	(orchestral music drowns out singing)	17:00
	(solemn music)	18:53
-	"Everyday I set less store	20:36
	"upon the intellect", says Proust.	20:40
	What intellect restores to us of the past	20:45
	is not really the past.	20:49
	The first place in important matters	20:53
	must be given to instinct.	20:58
	That which is past is past.	21:03
	Unretrievable by mere powers of human intellect.	21:06
	Perhaps, says Proust, your instinct may help you to think.	21:12
	But not mere intellect.	21:18
	Every so often, there is this professor who comes by	21:24
	to report to me on his research of the Shroud of Turin.	21:28
	You may have read this in the paper yesterday.	21:35
	He has proved, he says, proved scientifically.	21:38
	That this is the actual burial shroud of Jesus.	21:43
	He's got the evidence.	21:48
	Irrefutable evidence.	21:50
	And some of you may wish that he	21:54
	had been invited to preach today,	21:57
	because you long for evidence.	22:00
	But what would you make of such evidence?	22:07
	Even if it could be proved that this is the actual	22:10
	burial clothes of Jesus.	22:14
	What of it?	22:18
	The shroud might prove that there had been	22:20
	a victim of capital punishment	22:22
	in the 30s of the first millennium.	22:23
	That his name was Jesus,	22:27
	but how would that evidence help you with Easter?	22:28
	History, that refuse left over after past deeds.	22:36
	Well, that's one thing.	22:42
	In our research, poking around the leftover burial clothes	22:44
	and the potsherds, and the papyri of the past,	22:49
	what can that tell us about Easter?	22:52
	The resurrection is outside the gaze of history.	22:56
	History might confirm the martyrdom of Jesus.	23:00
	But our logic, our history,	23:04
	can take us up only to the edge of a vast precipice	23:10
	in which we look over,	23:15
	over a great gap.	23:20
	Here we live with what we can see, taste, and touch.	23:25
	And over there is the mysterious ground of the resurrection.	23:29
	How can we reach it?	23:36
	I know you.	23:38
	You live in world of credit cards and tax deadlines	23:40
	and beeping watches, and the assorted stuff of time.	23:44
	But Easter, the Easter I have to proclaim,	23:48
	says that time has been obliterated	23:52
	by the resurrection of Jesus.	23:54
	No wonder, that in another university town,	23:57
	when Paul preached the resurrection,	24:00
	at another university town named Athens,	24:04
	and not Georgia,	24:07
	Acts 17 says,	24:08
	When they heard of the resurrection, some mocked.	24:10
	I've got no shroud to offer you as evidence.	24:18
	There's no historic bridge over there to the resurrection.	24:22
	All you've got is my voice telling you that it is so.	24:27
	Is that enough?	24:34
	Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, says, it's enough.	24:38
	Listen to Paul's logic.	24:42
	I have preached to you that Christ is raised from the dead.	24:45
	Now, if I preached that,	24:48
	how can some of you say there's no resurrection of the dead?	24:50
	Now, if there's no resurrection of the dead,	24:54
	then Christ has not been raised,	24:56
	and that would mean when I preached, I lied.	24:58
	And your faith is futile.	25:02
	But I did tell the truth in my preaching.	25:04
	And just to prove it, I'm going to preach it to you again.	25:06
	Christ has been raised from the dead.	25:11
	There.	25:14
	What kind of circular merry-go-round logic is that?	25:17
	We want proof of Easter, and all Paul gives is preaching!	25:21
	I told you the resurrection.	25:25
	You don't believe the resurrection?	25:27
	Well, then let me tell you about the resurrection.	25:29
	Logicians say that this is an If This, Then This	25:34
	kind of logic.	25:38
	If this is true, if A is true, then B must be true.	25:40
	But such arguments are heavily dependent	25:48
	upon their ability to touch down somewhere	25:51
	in actual human irrefutable experience.	25:54
	If the first proposition is not true,	26:01
	then the second is untrue.	26:05
	Try it.	26:08
	If your roommate is asleep now in the dorm,	26:10
	then she cannot be here in chapel.	26:13
	For the logic to work, you need some proof	26:18
	of the first assertion.	26:20
	You need to work back.	26:22
	Anne call 684-9192 and see if Sue's roommate answers.	26:24
	That will prove it.	26:30
	Our logic always moves deductively,	26:32
	beginning with that which we know for sure.	26:35
	She's asleep in the dorm,	26:38
	to that which can logically be inferred from that knowledge.	26:40
	Therefore she's not here in the chapel.	26:44
	If this, then this.	26:47
	And yet sometimes logic moves in the other direction.	26:51
	Not back from what we know,	26:56
	but toward what we know.	27:00
	We say, if your roommate is asleep in the dorm,	27:08
	then therefore she cannot be wandering around the campus	27:13
	on Sunday morning looking for a good time,	27:16
	therefore she's not in chapel.	27:18
	But suppose you say, "But she is in the chapel!	27:20
	"There she is singing in the choir!	27:24
	"I can see her.	27:26
	"I said her phone number is 684-9199, not 684-9192."	27:27
	See, here the logic moves in another direction.	27:33
	She's not in the dorm because we experience her here	27:39
	in the chapel.	27:44
	The logic moves from what we don't know for sure,	27:47
	toward what we can experience for certain.	27:52
	Thus, reasons Paul,	27:57
	if there is no resurrection of the dead,	28:01
	then Christ has not been raised.	28:03
	And if Christ has not been raised,	28:05
	then our preaching was a lie.	28:08
	And if our preaching was a lie, then your faith is futile.	28:09
	But at this point,	28:17
	at this point, what Paul was expecting those Corinthians	28:20
	to stand up and shout in union,	28:23
	"But our faith is not futile."	28:25
	I don't have time to go into the whole story,	28:30
	but the Corinthians had a lot of problems.	28:32
	They had problems with love, getting along with one another.	28:36
	You can read about it in 1 Corinthians 13.	28:39
	They had problems holding things together in the church.	28:43
	But nobody could say they didn't have faith.	28:46
	Oh, they had faith.	28:50
	They believed, they spoke in tongues, they had visions,	28:52
	they had knockdown drag-outs over the theology of baptism.	28:57
	They killed each other over a right	29:01
	understanding of communion.	29:03
	They had people ascending up into the third heaven.	29:05
	Nobody could dispute their experience,	29:09
	their faithful experience of Easter.	29:14
	Anybody who worshiped at one of their Sunday free for all,	29:17
	knockdown drag-outs called worship,	29:20
	might think that the Corinthian Christians were weird.	29:23
	But nobody could deny that here among these pagans,	29:26
	some kind of life giving force had been unleashed.	29:32
	Stuff was going on there that could not be explained	29:38
	by any merely human evidence.	29:42
	So reverse the order in the logic.	29:48
	Because any fool can see that your faith is not futile,	29:52
	then that must mean that our preaching was not a lie.	29:59
	Therefore, Christ has been raised.	30:04
	Therefore there is resurrection of the dead.	30:06
	See?	30:10
	We can't get historically over there to Easter.	30:11
	We can't work from there back to here.	30:16
	You can only get there from here	30:22
	working back to there.	30:26
	Easter begins to get in you not by my	30:31
	assembling alleged evidence.	30:34
	The butterfly emerging from the cocoon.	30:37
	The return of the robin in the spring.	30:39
	Producing a shroud to convince you.	30:43
	Easter always begins with your recognition that your faith	30:48
	is not futile.	30:55
	Easter begins in your experience the risen Christ	31:01
	roaming among you.	31:06
	It's not the testimony of preachers like me.	31:10
	It's the experience of believers like you	31:14
	that is the evidence.	31:18
	When that blessed bread and wine touched your lips	31:21
	and you know the real presence of Christ.	31:25
	Remember when you thought your heart would break with grief?	31:31
	But it didn't because he was standing there	31:37
	beside you in the dark.	31:41
	When you dragged in the chapel, cold in heart, skeptical	31:46
	and distant, and then somehow,	31:50
	was it the hymns, the anthems, something got hold of you,	31:53
	and you rose to meet him and said,	31:58
	"My faith is not futile."	32:02
	That's the logic of Easter.	32:07
	And you see, that's why we began this service with music.	32:12
	Vivid, undeniable affirmation of resurrection.	32:15
	Music is the logical place to start thinking about Easter.	32:20
	Then after the choir has had its way with you,	32:24
	we get to the preaching.	32:28
	Having experienced Easter, we now try to find the words	32:30
	to talk about it.	32:35
	Because your faith is not futile, this sermon is no lie.	32:38
	Jesus has been raised, therefore you are raised,	32:43
	death is dead.	32:47
	You can see this in the story of the first Easter	32:53
	which Javier read.	32:56
	The despondent women went out to the cemetery	32:58
	to pay their respects for poor dead Jesus.	33:00
	They got out there.	33:03
	The tomb was empty.	33:04
	Shocked by bright messengers who proclaimed,	33:06
	"He isn't here!	33:09
	"He's been raised!"	33:11
	And then after that weird, wonderful frightening experience,	33:14
	Luke says, "Then the women remembered His words."	33:20
	See?	33:27
	They moved from their undeniable experience of Easter,	33:29
	to words about Easter.	33:32
	That's how it happens.	33:37
	It happened to me this last week.	33:40
	I began this week, Monday morning,	33:42
	with a three hour required diversity training workshop	33:45
	over in the Bryan Center.	33:51
	And they handed out like four pages of rules about	33:53
	sexual and racial discrimination in the workplace.	33:58
	And we talked about it for three hours.	34:02
	At the end of three hours,	34:06
	someone leaned over to me and said,	34:07
	"What good are these rules gonna do?	34:11
	"Stuff like this has been around for thousands of years.	34:14
	"I don't think this is gonna help.	34:19
	"We're just caught!"	34:22
	Friday, as I was getting ready to come over	34:26
	to the Good Friday service,	34:29
	on the evening news, the person of the week	34:32
	was a former white supremacist.	34:35
	A man who had spent his entire adult life	34:38
	planning hate crimes.	34:42
	Blowing up a church with little children in it,	34:45
	arrested with 20 sticks of dynamite going to blow up	34:52
	a Jewish businessman's home.	34:56
	This man said, to explain where he is now, he said,	35:01
	"In prison, I met the risen Christ.	35:08
	"And after that happens to you,	35:15
	"you just you're not the same."	35:18
	He is now engaged in a nationwide ministry	35:22
	of racial reconciliation uniting black and white	35:25
	Christians as one.	35:30
	You couldn't have told me,	35:35
	"What's the proof of the resurrection?"	35:37
	I would've said, there!	35:39
	On the 6:30 news.	35:42
	That's all the evidence we get and that's all we need.	35:47
	You're here this morning because in one way or another	35:51
	you've heard the risen Christ upon His call upon your life.	35:54
	Even when you did not know that was what you heard.	35:58
	You didn't come here in order	36:01
	to get proof of the resurrection.	36:03
	You came here because you are proof of the resurrection.	36:04
	And you're here hoping maybe that maybe the music,	36:09
	the sermon, the building, the gathered believers	36:11
	will enable you to say, "Yes, my faith is not futile."	36:13
	They came out to the cemetery looking for dead	36:20
	trapped in time Jesus.	36:24
	But the angel said,	36:28
	"Why are you looking for the living among the dead?	36:31
	"He's not here.	36:35
	"He's there with you."	36:36
	And then they knew their faith was not in vain.	36:43
	A while back one of you said something to me which,	36:50
	at first startled, then when I thought about it,	36:52
	it reassured me.	36:56
	I asked you, something about the sermon that Sunday,	36:59
	and you replied to me,	37:05
	"Well, I haven't understood most of what's been preached	37:08
	"from the chapel pulpit in years."	37:12
	And I said, "Well, why do you come?"	37:17
	And you said, "Because I hardly ever leave a Sunday	37:21
	"without knowing that I've been before the throne	37:27
	"of the living God."	37:35
	That's the logic of Easter.	37:41
	Happy Easter.	37:45
	Your faith is not futile.	37:46
	(triumphant music)	38:03
	♪ Come, ye faithful, raise the strain ♪	38:44
	♪ Of triumphant gladness ♪	38:49
	♪ God hath brought his Israel ♪	38:54
	♪ Into joy from sadness ♪	38:59
	♪ Loosed from Pharaoh's bitter yoke ♪	39:04
	♪ Jacob's sons and daughters ♪	39:09
	♪ Led them with unmoistened foot ♪	39:14
	♪ Through the Red Sea waters ♪	39:19
	♪ Tis the spring of souls today ♪	39:27
	♪ Christ hath burst his prison ♪	39:32
	♪ And from three days' sleep in death ♪	39:37
	♪ As a sun hath risen ♪	39:42
	♪ All the winter of our sins ♪	39:48
	♪ Long and dark, is flying ♪	39:53
	♪ From his light, to whom we give ♪	39:58
	♪ Laud and praise undying ♪	40:03
	♪ Now the queen of seasons, bright ♪	40:10
	♪ With the day of splendor ♪	40:15
	♪ With the royal feast of feasts ♪	40:20
	♪ Comes its joy to render ♪	40:26
	♪ Comes to glad Jerusalem ♪	40:31
	♪ Who with true affection ♪	40:36
	♪ Welcomes in unwearied strains ♪	40:42
	♪ Jesus' resurrection ♪	40:47
	♪ Neither might the gates of death ♪	40:54
	♪ Nor the tomb's dark portal ♪	40:59
	♪ Nor the watchers, nor the seal ♪	41:04
	♪ Hold thee as a mortal ♪	41:09
	♪ But today amidst thine own ♪	41:15
	♪ Thou didst stand, bestowing ♪	41:20
	♪ Thine own peace, which evermore ♪	41:25
	♪ Passeth human knowing ♪	41:30
	♪ Alleuia now we cry ♪	41:56
	♪ To our King immortal ♪	42:01
	♪ Who, triumphant, burst the bars ♪	42:06
	♪ Of the tomb's dark portal ♪	42:12
	♪ Alleluia with the Son ♪	42:17
	♪ God the Father praising ♪	42:23
	♪ Alleluia yet again ♪	42:29
	♪ To the Spirit raising ♪	42:35
-	The Lord be with you.	42:48
Congregation	And also with you.	42:50
-	Let us pray.	42:52
	You may be seated.	42:53
	God of power and majesty.	43:01
	With the rising of the sun you have raised Jesus Christ	43:04
	and delivered Him from death's destruction.	43:08
	We believe that Jesus was resurrected	43:12
	because we have experienced the risen one	43:16
	in the particularities of our lives.	43:19
	And because he has been raised,	43:22
	we have confidence that we too will be delivered	43:24
	from the powers of darkness and death.	43:28
	We praise you for your goodness and mercy.	43:31
	And we offer you our humble thanksgiving	43:35
	for blessing us with the gift of new life.	43:38
	O risen Lord	43:43
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	43:44
-	We are grateful for all the ways the Lord of life	43:47
	has manifested in our lives.	43:50
	Especially we think you for the ways that you work within us	43:53
	to overcome sin and evil.	43:56
	We're grateful that you never give up on us	44:00
	and that in spite of our brokenness,	44:02
	you see us as whole and you work to make us whole.	44:04
	Help us become all that you have desired.	44:10
	O risen Lord,	44:14
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	44:15
-	We give thanks for the blessings of life that we enjoy.	44:19
	For loyalty and love of friends and family.	44:23
	For the newborn and newly baptized.	44:28
	For the renewal of nature.	44:32
	For the continuing witness of the church.	44:34
	And for the assurance that we and all your people	44:37
	will find new life in your eternal home.	44:41
	O risen Lord,	44:45
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	44:46
-	God of eternity, you are present with us	44:50
	because of Christ rising from the dead.	44:53
	And you persist in lifting us to new life in Him.	44:55
	We bring to you our prayers for this world	45:00
	so greatly in need of resurrection.	45:02
	We pray for nations and peoples in strife.	45:06
	May all nations come to know your peace.	45:09
	O risen Lord,	45:13
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	45:15
-	We pray for all those who had been victimized	45:18
	for the color of their skin or ethnic background.	45:20
	Teach us to value the rich diversity of your people	45:25
	and to see all as you see us as your own beloved children,	45:28
	brothers and sisters to one another.	45:33
	O risen Lord,	45:37
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	45:38
-	We pray for the poor and impoverished at home and abroad.	45:41
	Bridge the chasm that separates us from them	45:45
	and move us to share their pain and our resources.	45:49
	O risen Lord,	45:53
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	45:55
-	We pray for those we know	45:58
	in particular circumstances of distress.	45:59
	Especially for Charles and Heidi,	46:03
	two Duke students who were injured last week	46:05
	in a car accident.	46:08
	And for all those dear to us whom we name in our hearts.	46:10
	O risen Lord,	46:21
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	46:23
-	We pray for the diseased and dying.	46:25
	Help us not to turn away from them	46:28
	for fear of being reminded of our own mortality.	46:30
	Knowing that their hope and our hope	46:34
	is based upon nothing less than Christ' own resurrection	46:37
	from the dead.	46:41
	O risen Lord,	46:43
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	46:45
-	We pray for all who follow the risen Christ,	46:47
	that we may be lead into ways of new life	46:51
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	46:55
	As recipients of new life,	47:01
	our cup runs over with the gifts of grace.	47:03
	Let us respond with our love and our offerings.	47:06
	(upbeat music)	47:23
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:40
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:42
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:46
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:47
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:49
	♪ Alleluia ♪	47:50
	(music drowns out singing)	47:58
	♪ Alleluia ♪	48:32
	♪ Alleluia ♪	48:35
	♪ Alleluia ♪	48:38
	♪ Alleluia ♪	48:40
	(muffled singing)	48:49
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:05
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:17
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:18
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:20
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:21
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:23
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:25
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:27
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:29
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:31
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:33
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:34
	♪ Alleluia ♪	49:36
	(muffled singing)	49:38
	♪ Alleluia ♪	50:03
	♪ Alleluia ♪	50:04
	♪ Alleluia ♪	50:05
	♪ Alleluia ♪	50:10
	♪ Alleluia ♪	50:15
	(muffled singing)	50:26
	♪ My soul is free ♪	50:59
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:00
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:02
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:05
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:07
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:10
	♪ My soul is free ♪	51:12
	(music drowns out singing)	51:20
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:44
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:46
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:48
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:50
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:52
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:55
	♪ Amen ♪	52:09
	(soft music)	52:44
	♪ Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow ♪	54:18
	♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪	54:24
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:30
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:33
	♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪	54:38
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	54:44
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:50
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:54
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:57
	♪ Alleluia ♪	55:00
	♪ Alleluia ♪	55:04
-	Let us pray.	55:17
	All we have to give,	55:20
	we offer in praise and thanksgiving	55:22
	for the amazing good news of the resurrection.	55:25
	We are especially grateful for the ways	55:29
	that we have experienced the resurrected Lord	55:31
	in the particularities of our lives.	55:34
	We give thanks that our faith is not futile.	55:38
	May these gifts equip us to serve others	55:42
	as we bear witness to the reality of new life	55:46
	through our Lord Jesus Christ	55:50
	who taught us to pray together saying,	55:53
	Our Father,	55:55
	Who art in heaven,	55:57
	Hallowed be Thy Name.	55:58
	Thy Kingdom come.	56:00
	Thy Will be done,	56:02
	on earth as it is in Heaven.	56:04
	Give us this day our daily bread.	56:06
	And forgive us our trespasses,	56:09
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	56:11
	And lead us not into temptation,	56:15
	but deliver us from evil.	56:17
	For thine is the kingdom and the power	56:20
	and the glory forever.	56:22
	Amen.	56:24
	(triumphant music)	56:27
	♪ All hail the power of Jesus' name ♪	57:02
	♪ Let angels prostrate fall ♪	57:07
	♪ Bring forth the royal diadem ♪	57:13
	♪ And crown Him ♪	57:18
	♪ Crown Him ♪	57:22
	♪ Crown Him ♪	57:24
	♪ Crown Him Lord of all ♪	57:29
	♪ Ye chosen seed of Israel's race ♪	57:38
	♪ Ye ransomed from the fall ♪	57:44
	♪ Hail Him who saves you by His grace ♪	57:49
	♪ And crown Him ♪	57:55
	♪ Crown Him ♪	57:58
	♪ Crown Him ♪	58:01
	♪ Crown Him Lord of all ♪	58:06
	♪ Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget ♪	58:15
	♪ The wormwood and the gall ♪	58:21
	♪ Go spread your trophies at His feet ♪	58:27
	♪ And crown Him ♪	58:33
	♪ Crown Him ♪	58:36
	♪ Crown Him ♪	58:39
	♪ Crown Him Lord of all ♪	58:45
	♪ Let every kindred, every tribe ♪	58:54
	♪ On this terrestrial ball ♪	59:00
	♪ To Him all majesty ascribe ♪	59:06
	♪ And crown Him ♪	59:12
	♪ Crown Him ♪	59:15
	♪ Crown Him ♪	59:18
	♪ Crown Him Lord of all ♪	59:24
	♪ O that with yonder sacred throng ♪	59:34
	♪ We at His feet may fall ♪	59:39
	♪ We'll join the everlasting song ♪	59:45
	♪ And crown Him ♪	59:51
	♪ Crown Him ♪	59:54
	♪ Crown Him ♪	59:58
	♪ Crown Him Lord of all ♪	1:00:04
-	The power of the risen Christ	1:00:17
	be with you always.	1:00:19
	(choir vocalizing)	1:00:24
	(lively organ music)	1:00:43

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "The Logic of Easter" (April 16, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 20:36. Sermon end time: 37:51.
The preacher argues that even if there is no historic evidence of the resurrection, we know that Easter is true, and faith is not futile; we see the evidence of the Risen Christ within the church, in the lives of Christians. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4639km0g

Date:

April 16, 1995

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Easter

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0420
ref9565_2dk
uachapelsermaud
duke:321574
dcrmv001399
ark:/87924/r4639km0g
a675b5a4-1af0-48c7-9e0f-8bca6cdd6b80

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 - "The Logic of Easter" (April 16, 1995)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives