William B. Lawrence - "The Taste of Bitter Dessert" (July 23, 1995)

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	(inspirational choral music)	0:13
	(mellow organ music)	3:04
-	Grace and peace to you	3:57
	in the name of Lord, Jesus Christ.	3:58
	And welcome to this celebration	4:00
	of holy Eucharist here at Duke Chapel.	4:01
	We are delighted to welcome each of you	4:04
	here today.	4:05
	As our guest preacher, we welcome	4:07
	to our pulpit, the Reverend Dr. William B. Lawrence.	4:09
	Dr. Lawrence is Professor of the Practice	4:12
	of Christian Ministry and Associate Director	4:14
	of the JM Ormond Center for Research,	4:17
	Planning and Development at Duke Divinity School.	4:20
	We look forward to his message today.	4:24
	We also welcome as our lecturer, the Reverend	4:26
	Dr. Russell Richey, Associate Dean	4:28
	for Academic Programs and Professor of Church History	4:30
	at the Divinity School.	4:33
	We are privileged to enjoy music	4:35
	in our service today provided by the Moses Hogan Choral	4:38
	from New Orleans, Louisiana.	4:41
	This distinguished choir and their conductor,	4:43
	Mr. Moses Hogan are in Durham for the weekend	4:46
	as guest of the Brightleaf Music Workshop.	4:49
	We are indebted to them for giving this time	4:52
	to us today in their busy schedules.	4:54
	They'll be leaving tonight for a long bus trip	4:56
	back to New Orleans.	4:59
	This afternoon they will be performing	5:00
	a concert of sacred and popular music	5:02
	here at the chapel at 3:00 p.m.	5:05
	Admission is free and the public is invited	5:07
	to attend.	5:10
	Immediately after church today, the congregation	5:12
	at Duke Chapel invites you to enjoy refreshments	5:14
	in the South Arcade which is just	5:17
	to the right of the front steps as you exit	5:19
	the building.	5:22
	If you have questions regarding the congregation	5:23
	or any other aspects of the chapels ministry,	5:25
	please direct your questions to one of our members	5:28
	who will be hosting that event.	5:31
	And now let us stand for the greeting.	5:33
	Create in me a clean heart, oh God.	5:42
All	Renew a right spirit within me.	5:45
-	Open my lips, oh Lord.	5:49
-	My mouth will declare Your praise.	5:51
	(inspirational choral music)	5:55
	When we gather to praise God,	9:45
	we recognize that we are evoking people	9:46
	who have failed to do God's will.	9:50
	Therefore let us confess our sins	9:52
	before God and one another.	9:54
	Most merciful God.	9:58
	We confess that we have sinned against you.	10:00
All	In thought, word and deed,	10:03
	by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.	10:06
	We have not loved you with our whole heart.	10:09
	We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	10:13
	We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.	10:17
	For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,	10:20
	have mercy on us and forgive us.	10:24
	That we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,	10:27
	to the glory of your Name.	10:32
	Amen.	10:36
	Almighty God have mercy on you,	10:47
	forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ,	10:49
	strengthen you in all goodness,	10:54
	and by the power of the Holy Spirit	10:57
	keep you in eternal life.	11:00
	Amen.	11:03
-	Let us pray the prayer for illumination.	11:17
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God.	11:21
All	By the power of your Holy Spirit,	11:24
	so that as the word us read and proclaimed,	11:27
	we may hear your message with joy this day.	11:31
	Amen.	11:34
	The gospel reading is from Luke 10:38-42.	11:38
	Now as they went on their way,	11:48
	he entered a certain village where a woman	11:50
	named Martha welcomed him into her home.	11:53
	She had a sister named Mary who sat	11:57
	at the Lord's feet and listened to what	12:01
	he was saying.	12:04
	But Martha was distracted by her many tasks	12:07
	so she came to him and asked,	12:11
	"Lord, do you not care that my sister	12:14
	"has left me to do all the work by myself?	12:18
	Tell her then to help me."	12:22
	But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha,	12:26
	you are worried and distracted by many things.	12:32
	"There is need of only one thing.	12:36
	"Mary has chosen the better part which will	12:39
	"not be taken away from her."	12:43
	This is the word of the Lord.	12:48
All	Thanks be to God.	12:50
	The Old Testament lesson is from Amos 8:1-12.	12:54
	This is what the Lord, God showed me.	13:02
	A basket of summer fruit.	13:05
	He said, "Amos, what do you see?"	13:08
	And I said, "a basket of summer fruit."	13:11
	Then the Lord said to me, "the end has come	13:14
	"upon my people, Israel, I will never again	13:18
	"pass them by.	13:22
	"The psalms of the temple shall become wailing's	13:24
	"in that day," says the Lord, God.	13:27
	"The dead bodies shall be many, cast out	13:30
	"in every place, be silent.	13:33
	"Hear this, you that trample on the needy,	13:40
	"and bring to ruin the poor of the land saying,	13:43
	"when will the new moon be over so that we may	13:48
	"sell grain and the sabbath so that we may	13:50
	"offer wheat for sale?	13:54
	"We will make the ephah small and the shekel great	13:57
	and practice deceit with false balances,	14:00
	buying the poor for silver	14:04
	and the needy for a pair of sandals.	14:06
	And selling the sweepings of the wheat.	14:09
	The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob	14:13
	"Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.	14:16
	"Shall not the land tremble on this account,	14:20
	"and everyone mourn who lives in it,	14:24
	"and all of it rise like the Nile,	14:27
	"and be tossed about and sink again,	14:29
	"like the Nile of Egypt?	14:32
	"On that day," said the Lord, God,	14:35
	"I will make the sun go down at noon	14:38
	"and darken the earth in broad daylight.	14:42
	"I will turn your feasts into mourning	14:45
	"and all your songs into lamentation.	14:49
	"I will bring sackcloth on all loins	14:53
	"and baldness on every head.	14:56
	"I will make it like the mourning for an only son	14:58
	"and the end of it like a bitter day.	15:02
	"The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,	15:06
	"when I will send a famine on the land,	15:09
	"not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,	15:12
	"but of hearing the words of the Lord.	15:15
	"They shall wander from sea to sea,	15:19
	"and from north to east,	15:22
	"they shall run to and fro,	15:24
	"seeking the word of the Lord,	15:27
	"but they shall not find it."	15:30
	This is the word of the Lord.	15:33
All	Thanks be to God.	15:36
-	Let us pray.	15:49
	May the words spoken be the word	15:58
	that you spoke, oh Lord.	16:01
	May the word heard be the word you proclaim.	16:05
	In the name of the Father and of the Son	16:10
	and of the Holy Spirit.	16:12
	Amen.	16:14
	(clears throat)	16:17
	During the past few weeks, a syndicated	16:19
	national columnist named James J. Kilpatrick	16:23
	has written a number of fascinating pieces	16:27
	on a very important topic.	16:30
	Not Medicare and health care for the elderly.	16:34
	Not the 1996 Presidential election.	16:38
	And certainly not the OJ Simpson trial.	16:41
	What Mr. Kilpatrick has been writing about	16:45
	is the English language.	16:47
	To be specific, he's been writing	16:49
	about heteronyms.	16:53
	All of us learned in elementary school,	16:57
	I trust, that synonyms are different words	16:59
	that have the same meaning.	17:02
	And everyone who has ever tried to take	17:04
	a scholastic aptitude exam, the SAT,	17:07
	has struggled with the peculiarities	17:09
	of antonyms.	17:11
	Which are different words with opposite meanings.	17:13
	Mr. Kilpatrick's heteronyms are words	17:16
	with the same spelling but unrelated meanings.	17:19
	Like, minute and minute.	17:23
	Or resume and resume.	17:27
	Now the grammar lesson is almost over,	17:31
	hang on with me.	17:34
	But let me mention one other.	17:35
	Homonyms.	17:38
	Homonyms are words which sound alike	17:41
	but have different spellings and different meanings.	17:43
	For example, the other day I read a book	17:45
	that had a red cover.	17:49
	Or, that mechanic would have finished fixing	17:51
	my brakes if he hadn't taken so many breaks.	17:55
	Homonyms.	18:00
	For those of us who like puzzles and poetry,	18:03
	homonyms are wonderfully entertaining.	18:05
	And for those of us who are waiting to hear	18:08
	the word of the Lord, they can be indispensable.	18:10
	But we have to listen carefully.	18:15
	For God can speak not only in English	18:19
	but in other tongues.	18:22
	So God said, "Amos, what do you see?"	18:25
	And Amos answered, "a basket of summer fruit."	18:30
	and God said to Amos, "the end has come."	18:35
	Now it's abut that point in the reading	18:41
	of the lesson when you and I begin to wonder	18:43
	if we dozed off between the verses.	18:45
	How in the world did we get from a basket	18:48
	of summer fruit, which Amos received as a gift	18:50
	from God, to an announcement the end has come?	18:54
	And the end of what, pray tell?	18:59
	The answers have to do with a Hebrew homonym.	19:03
	Two different words that sound alike	19:07
	and one means summer fruit and the other	19:10
	means end.	19:13
	So what God delivered to Amos as a vision	19:17
	of summer fruit was God's word that the end	19:20
	was at hand.	19:23
	Back in the early days of my pastoral ministry,	19:26
	parishioners were trying to be exceedingly	19:30
	helpful in so many ways and they looked	19:33
	for an abundance of meanings to help me	19:35
	translate my recent theological education	19:37
	into the practice of ministry in the real world.	19:40
	One of them was Tony.	19:44
	Tony heard me preach a few times and apparently	19:47
	Tony and his wife decided that what this	19:50
	young pastor who is a descendant of Welsh	19:53
	and English coal miners really needed	19:55
	was a good Italian meal.	19:57
	Tony had been raised in an ethnic neighborhood	20:01
	in New York City.	20:03
	He had never learned to speak any other language	20:06
	than Italian until he was 12 years old.	20:08
	Over the years Tony had become an actor,	20:12
	a dancer and a computer engineer.	20:14
	But through it all, he believed that	20:18
	what matters best in life is revealed in food.	20:20
	He and his wife invited us to their home	20:25
	on a Saturday.	20:27
	They told us to arrive at 3:00 in the afternoon	20:29
	and they told us not to eat lunch.	20:32
	We sat at the table at 3:00.	20:36
	And the experience began.	20:39
	Appetizers, then soup.	20:42
	Then salad, then pasta in the form	20:46
	of impressive portions of lasagna.	20:50
	Then veal surrounded by vegetables.	20:54
	Then dessert.	20:59
	And finally, at the end, there came	21:02
	to the center of the table,	21:04
	a bowl of fresh fruit.	21:07
	It was 9:00.	21:10
	The meal had taken six hours	21:12
	and between each of the seven courses,	21:16
	there had been time for extended conversation	21:18
	covering all manner of theological,	21:21
	pastoral, cultural and political issues.	21:23
	All that time and all that talk	21:27
	had made it possible for us to savor	21:30
	every portion of the meal.	21:32
	Proper beverages had moistened every morsel.	21:34
	And at 9:00 when it was coming to a close,	21:38
	none of us felt uncomfortably full.	21:41
	Dessert had been sweet and light.	21:44
	And then the bowl of fruit appeared.	21:48
	It was a sign that the time of feasting	21:50
	was over.	21:52
	That a wonderful day had come to an end.	21:54
	God said, "Amos, what do you see?"	21:58
	And Amos answered, "a basket of summer fruit."	22:01
	God said to Amos, "The end has come."	22:06
	Not just the end of the meal however.	22:13
	But the end.	22:16
	Not just the end of feasting.	22:19
	But the end.	22:22
	Not just the end of bright conversation	22:24
	and comfortable fellowship, but the end.	22:27
	The end of economic prosperity.	22:30
	The end of cultural civility.	22:32
	The end of national security.	22:35
	The end of religious activity.	22:37
	The end of all festivity.	22:39
	From time to time in our own age	22:44
	we hear the voices of so called prophets	22:45
	telling us that the end of the age is coming.	22:48
	They say they can read the signs	22:52
	of the times, that they can discern God's plan	22:54
	for a great climactic moment	22:57
	which will be the end of the age.	22:59
	Sometimes we listen for awhile,	23:03
	but mostly we don't.	23:05
	Sometimes we're troubled by what they tell us	23:07
	about the signs that the end is near	23:10
	but then we go on.	23:12
	Occasionally we wonder about their capacity	23:14
	for destruction of others and themselves	23:17
	and we remember David Koresh.	23:19
	Amos heard God say, "the end has come."	23:23
	So Amos took a year off from his work	23:29
	as a shepherd and a caretaker of fig trees	23:31
	and he went up to Israel to make	23:33
	the announcement.	23:36
	But Amos arrived in the kingdom of Israel	23:38
	about 750 years before the birth of Jesus	23:40
	at a time when Israel was at its most prosperous,	23:43
	most politically secure, most religiously active.	23:46
	He announced that he had seen a vision	23:50
	of a basket of summer fruit and that the time	23:52
	of the end had come and his message found	23:54
	few listeners.	23:58
	They were feasting.	24:00
	It was the best of times.	24:01
	The temples and religious shrines	24:02
	were overflowing.	24:04
	It was the most outwardly religious era	24:05
	in Israel's history.	24:08
	The markets were growing.	24:10
	They could hardly wait for a religious	24:12
	holiday to end or a sabbath day	24:14
	to come to a close so they could return	24:15
	to business and find a way to raise	24:18
	a price here or shave the weight there.	24:21
	To squeeze a few more ounces out of their	24:24
	suppliers grain or squeeze a few more pennies	24:26
	profit out of the poor customers who bought	24:28
	their fruit.	24:31
	"The end of this has come," Amos said.	24:33
	The end of corrupt commerce.	24:36
	The end of empty religious rituals.	24:39
	The end.	24:42
	At times he was ignored.	24:45
	At other times, he was beaten.	24:48
	His only authority was this self-proclaimed	24:51
	vision from God.	24:53
	None of his message seemed consistent	24:56
	with the signs of the times.	24:58
	But somebody did bother to write his words down.	25:00
	And then, within scarcely	25:05
	a generation, the end came.	25:08
	An enemy overran the nation of Israel.	25:15
	The religious shrines, gone.	25:17
	The people, dispersed.	25:19
	The basket of summer fruit	25:22
	had been a true vision.	25:23
	The feast had ended.	25:25
	And Israel was left with a taste	25:28
	of a bitter dessert.	25:30
	I have some Christian friends	25:32
	who tell me that 1996 will be the year.	25:35
	The year of the end, they say.	25:40
	Not the end of the Clinton presidency.	25:43
	Not the end of the Republican control	25:45
	of Congress, nothing that trivial.	25:47
	They say that 1996 will be the end.	25:49
	Because God has revealed it, they say.	25:54
	And they say it calmly and quietly	25:57
	and with a peculiar sense of assurance.	26:01
	I have another friend who might not	26:07
	necessarily agree about the date.	26:08
	But he goes about his work as a professional	26:11
	theologian with a sense of impending doom.	26:14
	During a meeting at which I attended,	26:18
	he spoke with remarkable personal candor.	26:19
	He surveyed the present age in his comments	26:23
	and then he said, "the future of the world	26:25
	"is envisioned for us in Bosnia."	26:29
	And he went on to say that all of us	26:34
	are living on the edge of interethnic self-destruction.	26:36
	And according to Tom Gjelton books,	26:42
	Sarajevo Diary, the Head of the Bosnian Serbs,	26:44
	Momčilo Krajišnik promised a year and a half ago,	26:46
	in January 1994 that one day the battle	26:50
	for Sarajevo would be fought.	26:54
	"And when it is over, he said, it will be	26:57
	"easier to count the living than it will be	26:59
	"to count the dead."	27:02
	So Amos told Israel to see things	27:04
	from the perspective of the end.	27:08
	And voices today are offering visions	27:10
	of the end.	27:13
	And for those who have been feasting,	27:15
	it will mean a taste of bitter dessert.	27:17
	But wait a minute.	27:19
	Wait a minute.	27:21
	It would also mean the end	27:24
	of the rich and powerful exploiting the poor.	27:26
	It would also mean the end of the age	27:31
	when war can destroy peace.	27:34
	It would also mean the end of addiction,	27:37
	the end of abuse, the end of AIDS.	27:39
	To see things from the perspective	27:44
	of the end might be a way to find	27:46
	the promises of God again.	27:48
	It was 30 years ago, I was an undergraduate	27:53
	on this campus.	27:57
	And through the offices of the campus	27:59
	ministry program, a man named Joe Matthews	28:01
	arrived for a weekend retreat.	28:04
	He dared us in that weekend to acknowledge	28:07
	the possibility that if we looked at life	28:10
	from the end, we could find God's promises.	28:11
	For every decision he had to make,	28:17
	for every decision we have to make,	28:20
	he said this.	28:24
	"Take a spiritual and emotional walk	28:27
	"over the edge of your life,	28:31
	"over to the edge of your grave.	28:34
	"Stand on your toes, he said, bounce	28:38
	"on the edge of your grave and take a look,	28:40
	"if you dare, over your shoulder, behind you,	28:43
	"there at the hole in the ground	28:46
	"and then look back over the span of your life,	28:48
	"to this decision, today's moment.	28:52
	"Today's challenge and determine from	28:56
	"the perspective of the end, what you should do	29:00
	"with your life now."	29:04
	And Jesus met with his disciples in the upper room.	29:08
	It was the end all right.	29:12
	It was the end of his ministry on earth.	29:14
	It was the end of the journey	29:18
	that had allowed him to speak the truth	29:20
	to overly busy people like Martha.	29:21
	It was the end of his physical opportunities	29:25
	on earth to show his followers what happens	29:27
	when you touch a leper in his name.	29:30
	You don't get leprosy, you cure the leper.	29:32
	It was the end of those sacred moments.	29:39
	When someone would meet Jesus on the road	29:41
	and ask him a difficult theological question like,	29:43
	"who is my neighbor?"	29:46
	and Jesus would answer with a story	29:48
	about a mugging victim and a couple of	29:50
	thoughtless religious leaders	29:53
	and a Samaritan.	29:56
	A story that's not only about neighborliness	29:58
	but about our deliverance from fear	30:01
	and racism and self-centeredness.	30:03
	When all those moments of teaching	30:07
	and healing were at an end when	30:09
	they gathered in the upper room.	30:12
	Jesus had warned them what was going to happen.	30:14
	This would be their last supper together, they knew.	30:16
	Then in the midst of the meal he took break,	30:22
	gave thanks and broke the bread and he gave	30:25
	it to them with words of promise and power.	30:29
	He took wine and he spoke to them	30:33
	of his blood but then said this isn't	30:35
	about his doom, it's about their deliverance.	30:37
	And the next events moved very quickly.	30:41
	There was prayer in the garden.	30:44
	There was a kiss.	30:46
	Then a cross.	30:48
	Then a tomb.	30:49
	And within three days some of them	30:51
	was leaving town, walking to Emmaus.	30:53
	And there he was again.	30:57
	In their midst with presence and power,	30:59
	breaking bread again, promising that his church	31:03
	would receive his power to forgive,	31:07
	to heal, to make peace, to give new life.	31:10
	Suddenly the perspective of the end	31:16
	is a gift.	31:18
	"A gift of new beginnings for us," he said.	31:20
	A gift of new beginnings for all of his servants	31:23
	in the church.	31:26
	A gift of new beginnings to announce salvation.	31:28
	To the people and the systems of the world.	31:31
	And ever since that day, here and there,	31:35
	in moments of great despair, the church has	31:38
	heard that promise, felt that power,	31:41
	and moved.	31:42
	Back in 1870, in a section in the city of Chicago	31:45
	where many people were crowded together.	31:49
	Anybody who had an ounce of moral conscience	31:53
	would have had cause to surrender to despair.	31:55
	In that neighborhood, housing was overcrowded,	31:59
	disease ridden, dangerous.	32:01
	Healthcare practically nonexistent.	32:06
	And when one wanted to paint a picture	32:10
	of hopelessness, Chicago in this neighborhood	32:13
	in 1870 would have been it.	32:15
	One description said that they did have	32:17
	three churches in the neighborhood,	32:19
	but they also had 270 saloons, 85 wine houses,	32:21
	seven opium dens, eight gambling dens,	32:26
	and 92 houses of prostitution.	32:29
	And into that scene, stepped a Methodist woman	32:31
	named Lucy Rider Meyer, who established	32:35
	a school to train deaconesses.	32:38
	And by the turn of the century,	32:41
	she and her colleagues had taught	32:43
	and deployed 2,000 women whose faith	32:45
	and work transformed horrible death	32:49
	into hopeful resurrection.	32:52
	Surely there were voices telling her,	32:56
	the task was too immense.	32:58
	The times too hopeless.	33:00
	The despair too deep.	33:02
	The cost too high.	33:04
	There's no doubt there were voices	33:07
	telling Amos that if he really believed	33:09
	in his vision of the end, he shouldn't	33:12
	even have bothered telling anybody	33:14
	about it let alone having someone	33:16
	write it down.	33:18
	Just as many felt it was pointless	33:21
	for Jesus to tell his disciples	33:24
	when his ministry on earth was at an end,	33:26
	to take bread, give thanks,	33:30
	break it and give it.	33:34
	But the witness of the scripture is that God	33:40
	has yet to run out of visions to reveal.	33:43
	That God has yet to run out of peacemakers	33:48
	to commission.	33:50
	That God has yet to run out of servants to call.	33:52
	That God has yet to run out of the poor	33:56
	who need to be served.	33:58
	In fact, God has invited us, you and me,	34:00
	to a banquet this morning.	34:03
	A banquet where we can feast with Jesus	34:05
	on the food of heaven.	34:07
	The food that he took for which he	34:10
	gave thanks.	34:13
	Broke and gave.	34:15
	So that we might have a taste	34:18
	of resurrection and new beginning by	34:20
	his presence and power and that we might	34:22
	decide even today, from the perspective of the end	34:25
	of our days, that we might decide today	34:28
	to follow him once more.	34:31
	Amen.	34:35
	(background chatter)	34:42
-	The Lord be with you.	34:49
All	And also with you.	34:52
-	Let us pray.	34:52
	Oh loving God, you hear our prayers	34:58
	before we speak, and answer before we know our need.	35:01
	Though we cannot pray, may your spirit pray in us,	35:07
	drawing us to you and toward our neighbors on Earth.	35:11
	Let us pray for all prophets and saints	35:17
	in our midst, who, like Amos, awaken us	35:20
	from our sloth, that they may continue	35:24
	to hold their torches high in a world darkened	35:27
	by prejudice, greed, and self-centeredness,	35:31
	may they ever be obedient, and may we	35:35
	be obedient to that heavenly vision.	35:38
	Lord, in your mercy...	35:41
All	Hear our prayer.	35:42
-	Let us pray for the church, make it strong	35:46
	and love, and in all good work, and establish	35:50
	it int he faith revealed in the saints.	35:54
	Weave it together in one great tapestry	35:58
	of different colors and textures,	36:00
	yet united in its witness to you,	36:02
	the creator and redeemer of all.	36:05
	Lord, in your mercy...	36:08
All	Hear our prayer.	36:09
-	Let us pray for those who govern our country,	36:13
	who make, administer, or judge our laws,	36:17
	or who work for the betterment of our communities.	36:20
	May new bridges of understanding and mutual	36:24
	forebearance enable a greater vision	36:27
	of peace and justice for all to flourish	36:29
	in our land and in our world.	36:32
	Lord, in your mercy...	36:35
All	Hear our prayer.	36:38
-	Let us pray for any who do not believe,	36:41
	who feel hopeless beyond any consolation, who have	36:44
	no examples to inspire them to dream dreams.	36:48
	Open their eyes to see beyond	36:52
	the brokenness of our world,	36:54
	the wonders of your love displayed in Jesus	36:57
	of Nazareth, and to answer his call.	36:59
	Lord, in your mercy...	37:02
All	Hear our prayer.	37:05
-	Let us pray for our enemies	37:08
	as Christ commanded, for those who oppose us	37:10
	or scheme against us, also children of your love.	37:14
	Shield us from infectious hate or desire for vengeance.	37:19
	Lord, in your mercy...	37:25
All	Hear our prayer.	37:27
-	Let us pray for all who are in sorrow or need,	37:31
	sickness or adversity.	37:34
	Guard those who suffer from the ravages of war,	37:37
	starvation, inadequate healthcare,	37:40
	have mercy on those to whom death draws near.	37:43
	Bring consolation to those in sorrow or mourning,	37:48
	and to all grant the strength of your presence,	37:51
	surrounding them with your loving care.	37:55
	Lord, in your mercy...	37:58
All	Hear our prayer.	38:01
-	Let us pray in thanksgiving for those who have	38:03
	loved and served you in your church on Earth	38:06
	who now rest in their labors, as we gather	38:09
	around the communion table, we give thanks	38:12
	for their lives.	38:15
	Keep us in fellowship with all your saints,	38:16
	and bring us at last to the joy of your heavenly kingdom.	38:20
	Lord, in your mercy...	38:24
All	Hear our prayer.	38:26
-	Gracious God, you have poured out your power	38:29
	upon us, instilling your possibilities within us.	38:32
	Free us from any false identities which ensnare	38:36
	us, and empower us to claim the clarion call	38:40
	you have given us to follow the law of love.	38:43
	In the name of Christ, we pray.	38:47
	Amen.	38:50
	Christ invites to his table	38:54
	all who love him and seek to live in peace	38:55
	with one another, therefore,	38:59
	let us stand as we offer one another signs	39:01
	of love and reconciliation.	39:03
	(background chatter)	39:06
	As a forgiven and reconciled people,	39:26
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves	39:28
	unto God with thanksgiving.	39:30
	(soft inspirational music)	39:43
	(Inspirational choral music)	41:09
	(inspirational organ music)	44:35
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	45:53
	♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪	46:00
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	46:07
	♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪	46:16
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	46:23
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	46:30
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	46:37
	The Lord be with you.	46:56
All	And also with you.	46:58
-	Lift up your hearts.	46:59
All	And also yours.	47:01
-	Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.	47:02
All	We give you thanks and praise.	47:05
-	It is right and a good and joyful	47:08
	thing always and everywhere to give thanks	47:10
	to you, almighty God, creator of heaven and Earth.	47:13
	You formed us in your image and breathed	47:17
	into us the breath of life.	47:20
	When we turned away and our love failed,	47:22
	your love remained steadfast.	47:25
	You delivered us from captivity,	47:28
	made covenant to be our sovereign God	47:30
	and spoke to us through your prophets,	47:33
	and so, with your people on Earth	47:35
	and all the company of heaven, we praise your name	47:37
	and join their unending hymn.	47:39
All	Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and mind,	47:42
	heaven and Earth are full of your glory,	47:47
	Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes	47:50
	in the name of the Lord, Hosanna the highest.	47:53
-	Holy are you and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ.	47:57
	Your spirit anointed him to preach good news	48:01
	to the poor, to proclaim release	48:04
	to the captives, and recovering of sight	48:06
	to the blind, to set at liberty	48:08
	those who are oppressed, and to announce	48:11
	that the time had come when you would save	48:13
	your people.	48:16
	He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners,	48:17
	by the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection,	48:22
	you gave birth to your church,	48:25
	delivered us from slavery and sin and death,	48:27
	and made with us a new covenant by	48:30
	water and the spirit, when the Lord Jesus	48:32
	ascended, he promised to be with us always,	48:35
	and the power of your word and holy spirit.	48:38
	On the night in which he gave himself	48:42
	up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you,	48:44
	broke the bread, gave it to his disciples,	48:47
	and said, take, eat, this is my body,	48:50
	which is given for you.	48:54
	Do this, and remembrance of me.	48:56
	When the supper was over, he took the cup,	48:59
	gave thanks to you, gave it to his	49:03
	disciples and said, drink from this, all of you,	49:05
	this is my blood of the new covenant,	49:08
	poured for you and for the many	49:10
	for the forgiveness of sins.	49:12
	Do this as often as you drink it	49:14
	in remembrance of me.	49:15
	And so, in remembrance of these,	49:20
	you mighty acts in Jesus Christ,	49:21
	we offer ourselves in praise	49:23
	and thanksgiving as a holy	49:25
	and living sacrifice in union with	49:27
	Christ offering for us as we proclaim	49:30
	the mystery of faith.	49:33
All	Christ has died, Christ has risen,	49:35
	Christ will come again.	49:38
-	Pour out your holy spirit on us gathered here	49:40
	and on these gifts of bread and wine.	49:43
	Make them be, for us, the body and blood	49:46
	of Christ, that we may be for the world,	49:49
	the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.	49:51
	By your spirit, make us one with Christ,	49:55
	one with each other, and one in ministry	49:57
	to all the world until Christ comes	50:00
	in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.	50:02
	Through your son, Jesus Christ with the holy spirit	50:06
	in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours,	50:08
	almighty father, now and forever.	50:12
	Amen.	50:15
	And now, with the confidence of the children	50:17
	of God, we are bold to pray.	50:19
All	Our Father who art in heaven,	50:21
	hallowed be thy name.	50:23
	Thy kingdom come.	50:25
	Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	50:27
	Give us this day our daily bread;	50:30
	and forgive us our trespasses,	50:33
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	50:35
	and lead us not into temptation,	50:38
	but deliver us from evil.	50:40
	For thine is the kingdom, power, and glory, forever.	50:43
	Amen.	50:47
-	When we break the bread, is it not a means	50:54
	of sharing in the body of Christ?	50:56
	When we give thanks over the cup,	51:03
	is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ?	51:05
	(soft inspirational music)	51:22
	(inspirational organ music)	53:24
	♪ Let us break bread together ♪	56:49
	♪ On our knees ♪	56:54
	♪ On our knees ♪	56:58
	♪ Let us break bread together ♪	57:03
	♪ On our knees ♪	57:10
	♪ On our knees ♪	57:13
	♪ When I fall on my knees ♪	57:19
	♪ With my face to the rising sun ♪	57:33
	♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪	57:55
	♪ On me ♪	58:03
	♪ O Lord, have mercy ♪	58:07
	♪ On me ♪	58:15
	♪ On me ♪	58:20
	♪ Let us drink wine together ♪	58:25
	♪ On our knees ♪	58:33
	♪ On our knees ♪	58:39
	♪ Let us drink wine together ♪	58:45
	♪ On our knees ♪	58:52
	(Harmonizing)	58:59
	♪ Amen ♪	59:16
	(harmonizing)	59:26
	♪ Amen ♪	59:33
	(gentle organ music)	59:54
	(inspirational choral music)	1:00:21
	Please stand as we pray.	1:01:56
	Eternal God, we give you thanks	1:02:05
	for this holy mystery in which you have	1:02:07
	given yourself to us.	1:02:09
	Grant that we may go into the world	1:02:11
	in the strength of your spirit	1:02:13
	to give ourselves for others in the name	1:02:15
	of Jesus Christ, our Lord.	1:02:18
	Amen.	1:02:21
	(inspirational choral music)	1:02:23
-	And now, wherever you go, may God go with you.	1:05:43
	Whatever you need, may God provide.	1:05:49
	Whenever you falter, may God forgive.	1:05:54
	And when, at the end of your days,	1:06:00
	you lay yourself down for the last time,	1:06:04
	may God raise you up for all time.	1:06:07
	Amen.	1:06:12
	(soft inspirational music)	1:06:15

Item Info

Title:

William B. Lawrence - "The Taste of Bitter Dessert" (July 23, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 16:19. Sermon end time: 34:37.
Though the end is a time in which God's judgment is exacted, it is also a time in which new beginnings arise, for it means an end to all oppression and war. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “To see things from the perspective of the end might be a way to find the promises of God again.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4b56dk55

Date:

July 23, 1995

Speaker:

Lawrence, William B.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0433
ref9607_udx
uachapelsermaud
duke:321339
dcrmv001411
ark:/87924/r4b56dk55
fceddd4d-477d-4883-9f08-694c7642e352

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings

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Language:

English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William B. Lawrence - "The Taste of Bitter Dessert" (July 23, 1995)

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Duke University Archives