Thomas G. Long - "Praying Without Losing Heart" (October 29, 1995)

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	(bells chiming)	0:00
	(bells chiming)	0:49
-	Grace and peace to you	6:33
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,	6:34
	and welcome to this service of worship	6:37
	at Duke University Chapel.	6:38
	We extend warm greetings to any visitors	6:41
	who are with us today, and especially for those returning	6:43
	alumni who are on campus for class reunions this weekend.	6:46
	We welcome as our guest preacher today	6:50
	the reverend Dr. Thomas Long,	6:52
	professor of homiletics and preaching at Princeton Seminary.	6:54
	Tom Long is no stranger to Duke Chapel,	6:58
	having graced this pulpit on numerous occasions.	7:00
	The word he brings to us	7:03
	is always a powerful and a memorable one.	7:05
	We look forward to his returning to the chapel again	7:07
	for the month of January,	7:10
	when he will preach for three Sundays in January.	7:11
	We'd also like to welcome Mr. Attiba Ellis	7:16
	as our lector today who is a Trinity College senior	7:18
	and was last year's student preacher.	7:21
	I'd like to thank the Raleigh Bell Ringers	7:24
	and their director Mr. David Harris	7:26
	for their beautiful musical offering for today's service.	7:28
	Our chapel choir is away today in Washington DC	7:32
	where they are the guest choir for services	7:35
	at the Church of the Epiphany.	7:38
	Please note the remaining announcements	7:40
	as they are printed in your bulletins,	7:42
	and now please stand for the greeting.	7:44
	The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.	7:54
Congregation	And also with you.	7:57
-	The risen Christ is with us.	7:59
Congregation	Praise the Lord.	8:01
	("A Mighty Fortress is Our God" by Martin Luther)	8:04
	♪ A mighty fortress is our God ♪	9:04
	♪ A bulwark never failing ♪	9:10
	♪ Our helper he amid the flood ♪	9:18
	♪ Of mortal ills prevailing ♪	9:24
	♪ For still our ancient foe ♪	9:32
	♪ Doth seek to work us woe ♪	9:38
	♪ His craft and power are great ♪	9:44
	♪ And armed with cruel hate ♪	9:51
	♪ On earth is not his equal ♪	9:57
	♪ Did we in our own strength confide ♪	10:07
	♪ Our striving would be losing ♪	10:13
	♪ Were not the right man on our side ♪	10:20
	♪ The man of God's own choosing ♪	10:27
	♪ Dost ask who that may be ♪	10:35
	♪ Christ Jesus it is he ♪	10:41
	♪ Lord Saboath his name ♪	10:48
	♪ From age to age the same ♪	10:54
	♪ And he must win the battle ♪	11:00
	♪ And though this world with devils filled ♪	11:09
	♪ Should threaten to undo us ♪	11:16
	♪ We will not fear for God hath willed ♪	11:24
	♪ His truth to triumph through us ♪	11:30
	♪ The prince of darkness grim ♪	11:38
	♪ We tremble not for him ♪	11:44
	♪ His rage we can endure ♪	11:50
	♪ For lo his doom is sure ♪	11:56
	♪ One little word shall fell him ♪	12:02
	♪ That word above all earthly powers ♪	12:11
	♪ No thanks to them abideth ♪	12:18
	♪ The spirit and the gifts are ours ♪	12:26
	♪ Through him who with us sideth ♪	12:32
	♪ Let goods and kindred go ♪	12:40
	♪ This mortal life also ♪	12:46
	♪ The body they may kill ♪	12:52
	♪ God's truth abideth still ♪	12:59
	♪ His kingdom is forever ♪	13:05
-	Oh living God, we thank you that in Jesus Christ,	13:19
	you have built a house not made with hands,	13:24
	a people among whom you live.	13:27
	We thank you that you have called us	13:31
	and that we belong to you.	13:33
	We come now, longing to know the touch of your spirit	13:35
	that we may be empowered to serve you in the world.	13:40
	Come to us that we may recognize you and sing your praise	13:44
	through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	13:49
-	Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.	14:05
All	Open our hearts and minds oh God,	14:11
	by the power of your Holy Spirit	14:15
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	14:17
	we may hear your message with joy this day, amen.	14:21
	The Old Testament reading for this morning	14:29
	is from the Book of Joel,	14:32
	chapter two verses 23 through 32.	14:34
	Oh children of Zion, be glad and rejoice	14:42
	in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain	14:45
	for your vindication.	14:50
	He has poured down for you abundant rain,	14:52
	the early and the later rain as before.	14:55
	The threshing floor shall be full of grain,	15:00
	the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.	15:03
	I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust	15:07
	has eaten the hopper.	15:11
	The destroyer and the cutter, my great army	15:13
	which I sent against you.	15:16
	You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied	15:20
	and praise the name of the Lord your God	15:23
	who has dealt wondrously with you.	15:27
	And my people shall never again be put to shame.	15:30
	You shall know that I am he in the midst of Israel,	15:36
	and that I the Lord am your God,	15:41
	and there is no other.	15:45
	And my people shall never again be put to shame.	15:48
	Then afterward, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.	15:54
	Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.	15:59
	Your old men shall dream dreams	16:02
	and your young men shall see visions.	16:04
	Even on the male and female slaves in those days,	16:08
	I will pour out my spirit.	16:12
	I will show portent in the heavens	16:16
	and on the earth blood and fire and columns of smoke.	16:19
	The sun shall be turned to darkness,	16:25
	and the moon to blood before	16:28
	the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.	16:31
	Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord	16:36
	shall be saved, for in Mount Zion and Jerusalem	16:39
	there shall be those who escape,	16:44
	as the Lord has said, and among the survivors	16:47
	shall be those whom the Lord calls.	16:51
	This is the word of the Lord.	16:56
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	16:59
-	The epistle for this morning	17:03
	is from Paul's second letter to Timothy,	17:06
	chapter four verses six through eight.	17:09
	As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation,	17:16
	and the time of my departure has come.	17:21
	I have fought the good fight.	17:25
	I have finished the race.	17:28
	I have kept the faith.	17:29
	From now on there is reserved for me	17:33
	the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,	17:36
	the righteous judge, will give me on that day.	17:40
	And not only to me, but also to all	17:45
	who have longed for his appearing.	17:49
	This is the word of the Lord.	17:54
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	17:57
-	Please stand as we read responsively Psalm 65.	18:06
	Praise is due to you, oh God in Zion.	18:20
Congregation	And to you shall vows be performed.	18:24
-	To you who hear prayer,	18:27
	all flesh shall come because of their sins.	18:29
Congregation	When our transgressions prevail over us,	18:33
	you forgive them.	18:37
-	Blessed are those whom you choose and bring near	18:38
	to dwell in your courts.	18:42
Congregation	We shall be satisfied	18:45
	by the goodness of your house, of your holy temple.	18:46
-	By dread deeds you answer us with deliverance,	18:51
	oh God of our salvation.	18:54
Congregation	You are the hope of all	18:56
	the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.	18:58
	Your righteousness established the mountains	19:02
	having girded it with your might.	19:05
-	Who stills the roaring of the seas,	19:08
	the roaring of their waves,	19:10
	the tumult of the peoples	19:12
	so that those who dwell at Earth's farthest bounds	19:14
	are afraid at your signs.	19:18
Congregation	You make the morning	19:21
	and the evenings resound with your joy.	19:22
-	You visit the earth and water it.	19:26
	You greatly enrich it.	19:28
Congregation	The river of God is full of water	19:31
	and you provide their grain	19:34
	for so you have prepared it.	19:35
-	You water its furrows abundantly,	19:39
	settling its ridges, softening it with showers,	19:41
	and blessing its growth.	19:45
Congregation	You crown the year with your bounty.	19:47
	The tracks of your chariot drip with fatness.	19:50
-	The pastures of the wilderness drip.	19:54
	The hills gird themselves with joy.	19:56
Congregation	The meadows clothe themselves with flocks.	20:00
	The valleys deck themselves with grain.	20:03
	They shout and sing together for joy.	20:06
	(organ music)	20:11
	(congregation singing)	20:19
	(bells chiming)	21:31
-	It is wonderful to be back at Duke.	24:34
	One of the best parts of being in this chapel	24:37
	is the chance to work with student liturgical leaders	24:40
	like Attiba Ellis.	24:44
	You heard him read that Old Testament and epistle lesson.	24:46
	He even sounded like an Old Testament prophet	24:50
	there for a while.	24:52
	He is a prize winning preacher.	24:55
	The strange thing about Attiba is	24:57
	that he does not yet know	25:00
	what is so apparent to the rest of us	25:02
	that God is calling him to go to seminary.	25:05
	(congregation laughs)	25:07
	Maybe Duke, probably Princeton, but some seminary.	25:09
	(congregation laughs)	25:13
	He thinks God wants him to go to graduate school in history	25:16
	but maybe after the service you will help me	25:19
	let him know what God's true will is for his life.	25:22
	(congregation laughs)	25:25
	Our Gospel lesson comes from	25:28
	the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Luke.	25:30
	Then Jesus told them a parable about their need	25:37
	to pray always, and not to lose heart.	25:41
	He said in a certain city there was a judge	25:47
	who neither feared God nor had respect for people.	25:50
	In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him	25:55
	and saying grant me justice against my opponent.	26:00
	For a while, he refused, but later he said to himself	26:06
	though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,	26:11
	yet because this widow keeps bothering me	26:17
	I will grant her justice so that she may not	26:21
	wear me out by continually coming.	26:24
	And the Lord said listen to what the unjust judge says,	26:28
	and will not God grant justice to his chosen ones	26:33
	who cry to him day and night?	26:38
	Will he delay long in helping them?	26:41
	I tell you he will quickly grant justice to them,	26:43
	and yet when the Son of Man comes,	26:48
	will he find faith on the Earth?	26:50
	This is the word of the Lord.	26:54
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	26:57
-	When the late Leonard Bernstein	27:03
	was composing his contemporary mass,	27:04
	his rock and blues and jazz mass,	27:07
	he wanted it to be an honest mass.	27:12
	He wanted the music and the lyrics of this mass	27:15
	genuinely to express the religious sensibilities	27:20
	of our age, our anxiety-ridden time.	27:24
	He knew that the most troubling words of the mass,	27:29
	the most threatening words of the liturgy	27:32
	for people of our time are	27:35
	let us pray.	27:39
	If you think about it, the words let us pray	27:44
	when they sink in, raise all of the questions.	27:47
	What is prayer?	27:52
	Does God hear our prayer in any personal way?	27:55
	Is there even a God to listen at all?	27:58
	If I pray for my sick child, and she gets better,	28:02
	does that mean my prayer changed God's mind?	28:07
	Wouldn't God have healed my child	28:11
	whether I prayed or not?	28:13
	The words let us pray	28:19
	lift up all of the questions that we have,	28:22
	and they make us put our chips on the table	28:25
	and wager about faith.	28:29
	In the mass, when the time came for prayer	28:34
	and the words let us pray are uttered,	28:37
	Bernstein has the chorus begin obediently	28:40
	to atone a prayer of confession,	28:43
	but rising above the sound of the chorus	28:45
	is one singer who tells the truth.	28:48
	If I could, I'd confess good and loud nice and slow	28:52
	get this load off my chest.	28:57
	Yes, but how Lord?	28:59
	I don't know.	29:00
	What I say I don't feel, what I feel I don't show.	29:02
	What I show isn't real, what is real Lord I don't know.	29:05
	No, no, no, I don't know.	29:09
	Jesus told them a parable	29:15
	in order that they might pray always and not lose heart.	29:18
	Now Leonard Bernstein probably assumed	29:25
	that our problems with prayer	29:27
	are because we are modern people.	29:29
	They are products of the contemporary secular age,	29:30
	but the writer of the Gospel of Luke knew better.	29:34
	He knew that his community	29:38
	was already in trouble about prayer.	29:39
	The earliest Christian church	29:41
	was already having problems with prayer.	29:43
	In fact, Luke may be telling us that even Jesus' disciples	29:45
	were having problems with prayer	29:50
	practically minutes after Jesus had told them how to pray.	29:52
	Pray like this.	29:56
	Father hallowed be your name.	29:57
	Your kingdom come, give us each day our daily bread.	29:59
	But Luke knows, Christians always have	30:03
	and they always will have problems with prayer.	30:08
	Now if we were to make a list of our problems	30:13
	it would probably be a pretty long list.	30:14
	Some of them would be trivial.	30:17
	Is it all right to pray in the end zone after a touchdown?	30:19
	Is it worth a five yard penalty or a 15 yard penalty?	30:23
	(congregation laughs)	30:26
	Some of them are more practical.	30:27
	I just can't find time for prayer	30:29
	given the business of my life.	30:32
	Some of them are ethical.	30:34
	Is it all right to pray for good weather	30:35
	for the Special Olympics	30:38
	if the farmers in the next county need rain?	30:40
	Some of them are metaphysical.	30:44
	What does it mean in a post-Einsteinian universe	30:45
	to appeal to God to cause something to happen?	30:50
	We've got a lot of problems about prayer,	30:53
	but Luke knows when you get all the way down	30:56
	the real problem about prayer,	31:00
	the underlying problem about prayer,	31:02
	the problem beneath all the other problems about prayer	31:04
	is that we simply lose heart.	31:07
	If we really thought that praying for peace in Bosnia	31:14
	would bring healing to that war torn land, we would pray.	31:18
	If we really believed that praying for security	31:23
	for our children, for joy in our lives,	31:26
	for peace in the world, for food for the hungry,	31:29
	that justice would roll down	31:32
	like the waters and it would happen	31:33
	you couldn't keep us out of the prayer closet.	31:35
	But we lose heart.	31:39
	We just lose heart.	31:43
	Jesus told them a parable	31:48
	that they might pray always and never lose heart.	31:51
	The parable he told them was about this scurrilous judge.	31:58
	He is not Judge Watner by any means.	32:03
	He neither fears God and he despises people.	32:06
	He doesn't go to church	32:09
	and he doesn't give to the United Way.	32:10
	He is the kind of sleazebag jurist	32:13
	who makes the phrase your honor a joke.	32:16
	Unfortunately appearing in his courtroom	32:20
	is a widow who needs justice,	32:23
	and widows in the first century don't have any rights.	32:25
	They don't have any power, they don't have any clout,	32:28
	they don't have any political IOUs they can call on.	32:31
	They have nothing.	32:34
	Even in a good courtroom, she probably wouldn't get justice	32:35
	and here she is before the worst judge in the land	32:39
	and she has nothing.	32:43
	Well she does have one thing.	32:46
	She has the ability to pester the judge, and so she does.	32:49
	She cries out day and night.	32:54
	She bangs on his chamber door.	32:56
	She leaves messages on his answering machine.	32:58
	She cries for justice in every way that she can.	33:01
	I think it was Bill Cosby who said,	33:05
	"When children come to their parents wanting justice,	33:08
	"Billy took my teddy bear and it's not fair,	33:11
	"they think parents want justice	33:14
	"but parents don't want justice, they want quiet."	33:15
	(congregation laughs)	33:19
	And so it is with this judge.	33:21
	In a marvelous soliloquy he stands up and says,	33:25
	"Though I despise God and the whole human race,	33:28
	"I will give this woman justice	33:32
	"because she is absolutely wearing me out."	33:34
	Jesus told them this parable	33:40
	in order that they might pray always	33:45
	and not lose heart.	33:49
	What is it about that story that would enable us to pray	33:53
	and not lose heart?	33:58
	What is it that Jesus wants us to see	34:00
	in that story about the judge and the widow?	34:04
	Maybe, just maybe, Jesus wants us to see	34:08
	in that story a testimony to the fact	34:12
	that in human society, though it may look broken and corrupt	34:16
	God has indeed put the structures of justice	34:21
	if we simply know how to look for them.	34:25
	It looked like a corrupt judge,	34:27
	but he gave her justice.	34:29
	Several years ago a writer for the new York Times	34:33
	went to Yankee Stadium on a chilly September night	34:36
	to see the Yankees play baseball.	34:39
	They were a million games out at first,	34:41
	but it was a nice, crisp night for baseball	34:43
	and he enjoyed the game.	34:46
	About the second inning however,	34:49
	a foul ball came over into their part of the stands	34:51
	headed right for a nine year old boy	34:54
	who was wearing a Yankees cap,	34:57
	an oversized Little League glove,	34:59
	and a cheap pair of binoculars.	35:01
	The foul ball was just about to land	35:04
	in the little boy's eager glove,	35:06
	when a 35 year old man wearing horn-rimmed glasses	35:09
	reached roughly over the kid and grabbed the foul ball,	35:13
	breaking the kid's binoculars and the kid's heart.	35:17
	He sat down with the ball and the stands stunned	35:23
	began to chant, "Give the kid the ball."	35:28
	(congregation laughs)	35:32
	"Give the kid the ball."	35:34
	He shook his head and put the ball in his coat pocket.	35:36
	More and more the stands began to shout it.	35:41
	It began to spread into areas of the stadium	35:44
	that hadn't even seen what happened.	35:46
	Give the kid the ball, give the kid the ball.	35:48
	Inning after inning.	35:51
	About the seventh inning, a man went down	35:54
	and talked to horn-rims compassionately, softly.	35:57
	Whatever he said turned the key,	36:01
	because he pulled the ball out of his pocket	36:03
	and he gave it to the delighted kid.	36:06
	Everybody jumped on their feet!	36:09
	He gave the kid the ball!	36:11
	He gave the kid the ball!	36:13
	Players on the field were looking into the stands.	36:15
	There was more interest in the stands than on the field.	36:18
	Another foul ball came into the stands	36:22
	and the man who caught it handed it to horn-rims.	36:24
	That was a good thing you did, here have another ball.	36:27
	A man with a Fu Manchu mustache handed the kid another ball	36:31
	and at the end of the game, he had two balls,	36:36
	a smile on his face, and everybody in the stands	36:38
	was impressed with the fairness of life.	36:42
	Maybe that's what Jesus wants us to see.	36:47
	Underneath it all, there are structures of justice.	36:51
	I don't think so.	36:57
	Because if that were the lesson of this parable,	37:00
	it would only be things are better	37:04
	than they appear, so don't lose heart.	37:06
	But the message of this parable is pray always,	37:12
	and don't lose heart.	37:17
	Well maybe Jesus wants us to focus then	37:21
	on the character of the widow, and to learn the lesson	37:23
	from this parable that persistent and dogged prayer	37:27
	really does knock down the barriers.	37:31
	This woman was persistent and she finally got justice	37:34
	and maybe that's what we're supposed to see.	37:37
	Keep on praying, you'll finally get prayer to work.	37:40
	You may remember the name Edward Bennett Williams.	37:44
	He was a famous criminal lawyer in the Washington DC area.	37:47
	In fact, during Watergate for a while	37:51
	he was Richard Nixon's attorney.	37:53
	Evan Thomas has just written a biography	37:56
	of Edward Bennett Williams, and he tells the day	37:59
	that Mother Teresa came to visit Edward Bennett Williams.	38:02
	The reason she did is that Edward Bennett Williams	38:06
	and his friend Paul Dietrich	38:09
	were in charge of a charitable foundation	38:11
	and Mother Teresa wanted to ask for money	38:14
	for her new AIDS hospice.	38:17
	Well Edward Bennett Williams and Paul Dietrich	38:21
	got together before she came,	38:23
	and Williams said, "Dietrich, AIDS is not	38:24
	"my favorite disease."	38:27
	They talked it over and they decided on a strategy.	38:30
	They'd let the woman talk,	38:34
	but then they would politely refuse her.	38:36
	When Mother Teresa arrived, Williams and Dietrich	38:41
	sat on one side of the desk	38:44
	and the diminutive saint sat on the other side of the desk,	38:45
	her little face barely coming up	38:49
	over the mahogany furniture.	38:51
	She made her appeal, and then Williams very apologetically	38:53
	but politely refused.	38:59
	Let us pray, said Mother Teresa.	39:03
	Williams rolled his eyes at Dietrich,	39:07
	but they bowed their heads.	39:09
	When the prayer was over,	39:11
	Mother Teresa made the same speech.	39:12
	Gave the same appeal.	39:14
	Williams said, "I'm very sorry but the answer is still no."	39:17
	"Let us pray," she said.	39:24
	(congregation laughs)	39:25
	And at this point, Williams looked up at the ceiling	39:29
	and said "All right, all right, get me my checkbook."	39:31
	Maybe that's what Jesus wants us to learn.	39:38
	Dogged and persistent prayer finally...	39:41
	I don't think so.	39:47
	Because if that were the lesson of this parable	39:50
	it would simply be when the going gets tough,	39:52
	the tough get going with prayer.	39:55
	But Luke says it's deeper than that.	39:58
	He told them this parable	40:02
	in order that they might pray always	40:04
	and not lose heart.	40:08
	It's not a story about	40:11
	the structures of justice in human society.	40:12
	It's not a story about the rewards of persistent prayer.	40:14
	It is a story about the character of God.	40:19
	If even a scurrilous judge	40:24
	can give an annoying woman justice,	40:28
	how much more	40:33
	will the God who created you in the womb,	40:35
	who called you by name, who counts the hairs on your head,	40:38
	give justice to God's own children?	40:43
	It's a story about the trustworthiness of God.	40:48
	The sociologist of religion Peter Berger says,	40:53
	"When a child cries out in the middle of the night	40:56
	"with a nightmare and his mother runs to him	40:59
	"and tucks the blanket under his chin	41:02
	"and says, 'There there honey, everything is all right.'	41:04
	"It is more than just comfort.	41:09
	"It is a confession of her faith."	41:12
	That in more than this room,	41:18
	and in more than this one nightmare,	41:22
	and in more than this one mother and child relationship,	41:25
	that all of us are sailing on a sea	41:31
	of grace and providence.	41:36
	From the God who nurtures us like a mother,	41:39
	and a father.	41:44
	It's a story about the trustworthiness of God.	41:46
	You may remember that wonderful, final scene	41:53
	in Jean Anouilh's play Becket.	41:56
	The king has appointed his old drinking buddy	42:00
	Thomas a Becket as archbishop	42:02
	because he needs something from the church	42:05
	and he knows that Becket will give it,	42:07
	but surprisingly, stunningly, Becket stands up	42:11
	against his old friend and he refuses to yield.	42:14
	"Becket, this is not like you!" says the king.	42:19
	"I am no longer like myself."	42:22
	"You've begun to love God."	42:27
	"I have started to love the honor of God,"	42:32
	said Becket.	42:38
	This is a story about loving the honor of God.	42:42
	That if even a dishonorable judge	42:48
	can give a persistent widow justice,	42:51
	how much more will the God who spangles the heavens	42:56
	with stars, who raises the sun for us each day,	42:59
	give justice to those who cry out?	43:05
	But how do we know	43:14
	that God is trustworthy?	43:16
	The only thing I know to say	43:23
	is that the one who told this parable	43:27
	was not Socrates or Kafka or Aesop,	43:29
	but Jesus,	43:34
	who is himself the disclosure of the character of God.	43:37
	Who came to us in our dark night,	43:41
	and touched our fevered brow,	43:45
	and carried our pain to the cross.	43:49
	Therefore,	43:55
	pray always.	43:58
	And do not lose heart.	44:04
	Let us pray.	44:10
	We do not even know what	44:21
	we are doing when we pray, oh God.	44:23
	But the spirit prays in us with sighs too deep for words.	44:28
	We trust you oh God, we trust you.	44:36
	Give us justice.	44:41
	And give us peace.	44:44
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	44:46
	(organ music)	44:52
	(congregation singing)	45:17
-	The Lord be with you.	47:11
Congregation	And also with you.	47:13
-	Let us pray.	47:15
	Creating God, you have filled us	47:20
	your earthen vessels, with strength and promise	47:24
	yet we are tempted to hide the treasure you have given us.	47:29
	We acknowledge our likeness to the Pharisees	47:33
	when we depend less on your mercy	47:36
	than on our own purity.	47:39
	Grant us the wisdom to truly acknowledge our weakness,	47:43
	and to persevere in prayer.	47:47
	Lord in your mercy.	47:51
All	Hear our prayer.	47:52
-	Let us pray for the Church of Jesus Christ,	47:56
	your body on earth	47:58
	that begun, maintained, and nurtured by your spirit	48:01
	it may be true to its calling,	48:05
	living as a faithful community of disciples	48:08
	persevering to the end.	48:11
	Lord in your mercy.	48:14
All	Hear our prayer.	48:16
-	Let us pray for the leaders of all the nations.	48:19
	For our president, our Congress, our governor,	48:23
	state legislators, our mayor,	48:27
	our city council, county commissioners,	48:31
	and school board members that they may provide	48:33
	wise and compassionate leadership	48:36
	as they seek the way of peace and justice for all.	48:38
	Lord in your mercy.	48:44
All	Hear our prayer.	48:46
-	Let us pray for prisoners and captives,	48:49
	and for all who live within war torn countries.	48:52
	For all who are suffering	48:56
	because of their faithfulness to truth.	48:57
	Lord in your mercy.	49:01
All	Hear our prayer.	49:02
-	Let us pray for the sick, the afflicted,	49:06
	and for those who care for them.	49:09
	Let us pray for any who cannot afford adequate healthcare.	49:12
	Lord in your mercy.	49:18
All	Hear our prayer.	49:20
-	Let us pray for all whose livelihood is insecure.	49:23
	For those whose work is difficult	49:27
	and for those who cannot find employment.	49:30
	Lord in your mercy.	49:34
All	Hear our prayer.	49:36
-	Let us pray for those who suffer	49:39
	from conflicts at home between husband and wife,	49:41
	parent and child, or sister and brother,	49:44
	especially those subjected to physical or emotional abuse.	49:48
	Lord in your mercy.	49:53
All	Hear our prayer.	49:55
-	Let us pray for this university.	49:58
	For those who teach and those who learn.	50:00
	For those who feed us, who clean for us,	50:03
	who daily perform the scores of unseen tasks	50:06
	which enable the business of learning,	50:09
	of discovering, and of healing to carry on.	50:12
	Lord in your mercy.	50:16
All	Hear our prayer.	50:18
-	Let us pray for improved race relations	50:21
	within our city, our country, and our world.	50:24
	Lord in your mercy.	50:29
All	Hear our prayer.	50:31
-	Let us pray for all those who are in any way	50:34
	affected by violence in our community.	50:37
	Lord in your mercy.	50:41
All	Hear our prayer.	50:43
-	Let us pray for our enemies as Christ commanded.	50:46
	For those who oppose us or scheme against us,	50:50
	also children of your love.	50:55
	Lord in your mercy.	50:58
All	Hear our prayer.	51:00
-	Let us pray for the unspoken needs of this congregation,	51:03
	and for all who are forgotten by us but dear to you.	51:07
	Lord in your mercy.	51:12
All	Hear our prayer.	51:14
-	Redeeming God you have poured out your power upon us,	51:18
	promising never to forsake us.	51:21
	Free us from the false identities which ensnare us,	51:25
	and strengthen us to follow the call of Christ	51:28
	for it is in his name we pray, amen.	51:31
	And now let us present the offerings of our life	51:39
	and our labor unto the Lord, with thanksgiving.	51:41
	(bells chiming)	52:23
	(organ music)	56:33
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	57:31
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	57:37
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	57:43
	♪ Praise him above ye heavenly host ♪	57:51
	♪ Praise father son and holy ghost ♪	57:58
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	58:03
	♪ Alleluia alleluia ♪	58:10
	♪ Alleluia ♪	58:16
-	We give you thanks eternal God	58:29
	for those who have run the race of faith before us,	58:32
	and now surround us like a cloud of witnesses.	58:36
	We thank you for the church around the world	58:39
	that we count as our sisters and brothers in Christ	58:42
	people of all races, tongues, and nations.	58:45
	Especially we thank you for those who witness	58:48
	faithfully to you in the midst of oppression or turmoil.	58:50
	Oh living God you have given each of us parts to play	58:55
	in the great drama of your love.	58:58
	Speak through us and move through us	59:00
	that the story of your mighty deeds	59:02
	will be known in our own time and place,	59:04
	with faithful people of all ages	59:07
	may we be Christ's body on Earth	59:10
	for it is in his name that we are bold to pray.	59:13
All	Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	59:16
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	59:21
	on earth as it is in heaven.	59:24
	Give us this day our daily bread,	59:26
	and forgive us our trespasses	59:29
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	59:31
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil	59:35
	for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	59:40
	Amen.	59:45
	(organ music)	59:47
	(congregation singing)	1:00:26
	The blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah,	1:01:53
	the blessing of Jesus Christ born of Mary,	1:01:56
	the blessing of the Holy Spirit who broods over us	1:01:59
	like a mother over her children	1:02:02
	be with you and remain with you always, amen.	1:02:04
	(bells chiming)	1:02:11

Item Info

Title:

Thomas G. Long - "Praying Without Losing Heart" (October 29, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 24:34. Sermon end time: 44:51.
Jesus' parable about the persistent widow and the dishonorable judge is about the trustworthiness of God. If even a scurrilous judge will give a persistent widow justice, how much more will the God who created us give us justice if we ask? (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “It’s not a story about the structures of justice in human society. It’s not a story about the rewards of persistent prayer. It is a story about the character of God.”

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4g15ts3b

Date:

October 29, 1995

Speaker:

Long, Thomas G., 1946-

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0449
ref9653_1ty
uachapelsermaud
duke:321742
dcrmv001426
ark:/87924/r4g15ts3b
6bf1cd43-d693-46f6-8c61-f85d8f7aa5dc

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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CC BY-NC 4.0

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Thomas G. Long - "Praying Without Losing Heart" (October 29, 1995)

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