Thomas G. Long - "What We Don't Know about Jesus" (January 14, 1996)
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Transcript
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(calm church organ music) | 0:01 | |
- | Good morning. | 3:46 |
We'd like to welcome you to Duke Chapel | 3:47 | |
for this opening Sunday of the spring semester, | 3:50 | |
and also our Martin Luther King Sunday. | 3:53 | |
We'd like to welcome back the chapel choir | 3:56 | |
who is returning from its Christmas recess | 3:58 | |
and we're glad to have their musical | 4:01 | |
leadership again this morning. | 4:03 | |
We also would like to welcome Dr. Paul Jeffrey. | 4:05 | |
Dr. Jeffrey is Director of the | 4:09 | |
Jazz Studies program at Duke University. | 4:11 | |
Our guest preacher today is the Reverend Dr. Thomas G. Long. | 4:15 | |
Dr. Long is the Landey Patton Professor of Preaching | 4:20 | |
and Worship at Princeton Theological Seminary. | 4:23 | |
He will also be our preacher next week. | 4:26 | |
The flowers that you see in front of you | 4:31 | |
this morning have been given to | 4:34 | |
the glory of God by the Anne and | 4:36 | |
Taylor Cole Chapel Endowment Fund. | 4:38 | |
Immediately following the service of | 4:41 | |
worship today, the congregation will be | 4:43 | |
sponsoring a coffee in the chapel basement | 4:45 | |
and we hope you'll be able to stay for that. | 4:48 | |
Let us continue our worship as you stand for the greeting. | 4:50 | |
Let us praise the Lord. | 4:59 | |
God makes our steps secure. | 5:05 | |
Let us speak of God's faithfulness. | 5:11 | |
(calm church organ music) | 5:18 | |
If we claim we have no sin, we deceive | 10:27 | |
ourselves and the truth is not in us, | 10:30 | |
but if we confess our sins, God who is | 10:33 | |
faithful and just will forgive our sins | 10:36 | |
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. | 10:39 | |
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. | 10:42 | |
Please join in the prayer of confession found on page 890. | 10:45 | |
Most merciful God, we confess that | 10:54 | |
we have sinned against you in thought, | 10:57 | |
word, and deed, by what we have done | 11:00 | |
and by what we have left undone. | 11:04 | |
We have not loved you with our whole heart. | 11:07 | |
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. | 11:10 | |
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. | 11:13 | |
For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, | 11:18 | |
have mercy on us and forgive us that we | 11:20 | |
may delight in your will and walk | 11:24 | |
in your ways to the glory of your name. | 11:26 | |
Amen. | 11:30 | |
Almighty God have mercy upon us. | 11:36 | |
Forgive all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ. | 11:39 | |
Strengthen us in all goodness, and by the | 11:43 | |
power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal light. | 11:46 | |
Amen. | 11:50 | |
You may be seated. | 11:52 | |
- | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 12:04 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 12:08 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit. | 12:11 | |
So that, as the word is read and proclaimed, | 12:13 | |
we may hear your message with joy in this day. | 12:16 | |
Amen. | 12:20 | |
The first reading is taken from the book | 12:24 | |
of Isaiah, Chapter 49, beginning with Verse One. | 12:25 | |
Listen to me, oh coastlands. | 12:31 | |
Pay attention, you peoples far away. | 12:33 | |
The Lord called me before I was born. | 12:37 | |
While I was in my mother's womb he named me. | 12:40 | |
He made my mouth like a sharp sword. | 12:43 | |
In the shadow of his hand he hid me. | 12:46 | |
He made me a polished arrow. | 12:49 | |
In his quiver, he hid me away. | 12:51 | |
And he said to me you are my servant, | 12:54 | |
Israel, in whom I will be glorified. | 12:57 | |
But I said I have labored in vain. | 13:01 | |
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity. | 13:05 | |
Yet surely my cause is with the | 13:08 | |
Lord and my reward with my God. | 13:10 | |
And now the Lord says who formed me in the womb | 13:14 | |
to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, | 13:17 | |
and that Israel might be gathered to him. | 13:21 | |
For I am honored in the sight of the Lord | 13:25 | |
and my God has become my strength. | 13:27 | |
He says it is too light a thing that | 13:30 | |
you should be my servant to raise up the tribes | 13:33 | |
of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel. | 13:35 | |
I will give you as a light to the nations | 13:40 | |
that my salvation may reach to the end of the Earth. | 13:42 | |
Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel | 13:46 | |
and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, | 13:49 | |
abhorred by the nations, slave of rulers. | 13:52 | |
Kings shall see and stand up princes, | 13:57 | |
and they shall prostrate themselves | 14:00 | |
because of the Lord, who is faithful. | 14:02 | |
The Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. | 14:04 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 14:09 | |
Thanks be to God. | 14:11 | |
The second reading if from Paul's | 14:17 | |
first Letter to the Corinthians. | 14:18 | |
The first chapter, beginning with the first verse. | 14:20 | |
Paul, called to be an apostle of | 14:25 | |
Christ Jesus by the will of God, | 14:27 | |
and our brother Sosthenes, to the church | 14:29 | |
of God that is in Corinth, to those who | 14:31 | |
are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called | 14:34 | |
to be saints, together with all those | 14:36 | |
who in every place call on the | 14:39 | |
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 14:40 | |
Both their Lord and ours. | 14:42 | |
Grace to you and peace from God | 14:45 | |
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 14:47 | |
I give thanks to my God always for you. | 14:50 | |
Because of the grace of God that has | 14:53 | |
been given you in Christ Jesus. | 14:55 | |
For in every way you have been enriched in him. | 14:57 | |
In speech and knowledge of every kind. | 15:00 | |
Just as the testimony of Christ has been | 15:03 | |
strengthened among you so that you | 15:05 | |
are not lacking in any spiritual gift. | 15:08 | |
As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 15:11 | |
He will also strengthen you to the end | 15:15 | |
so that you may be blameless on | 15:18 | |
the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 15:19 | |
God is faithful. | 15:22 | |
By him you are called into the | 15:24 | |
fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. | 15:26 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 15:31 | |
Congregation | Praise be to God. | 15:33 |
- | Our gospel lesson for this day is a story | 15:41 |
in the first chapter of John about John the Baptist. | 15:43 | |
What has been happening is that John | 15:48 | |
the Baptist has been preaching and | 15:50 | |
baptizing in the Judean wilderness | 15:52 | |
saying something like this world is doomed. | 15:54 | |
There is coming a new world, something much | 15:59 | |
more hopeful from the hand of God, | 16:02 | |
I stand here as a voice in the wilderness | 16:04 | |
saying prepare the way of the Lord. | 16:07 | |
That sounded vaguely revolutionary to the establishment. | 16:11 | |
So they sent investigators to interrogate John. | 16:15 | |
Who are you? | 16:18 | |
What are you doing out here in this godforsaken place? | 16:20 | |
Me, he said, I'm nobody. | 16:24 | |
I'm just a messenger. | 16:26 | |
Pointing to one you do not know. | 16:29 | |
Then this happens. | 16:35 | |
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him | 16:39 | |
and declared here is the lamb of God | 16:43 | |
who takes away the sin of the world, this is he | 16:48 | |
of whom I said after me comes a man who | 16:51 | |
ranks ahead of me because he was before me. | 16:55 | |
I myself did not know him, but I came | 17:01 | |
baptizing with water for this reason, | 17:06 | |
that he might be revealed to Israel. | 17:10 | |
And John testified I saw the spirit | 17:14 | |
descending from Heaven like a dove and it | 17:17 | |
remained on him, I myself did not know him. | 17:20 | |
But the one who sent me to baptize | 17:26 | |
with water said to me he on whom | 17:28 | |
you see the Spirit descend and remain | 17:31 | |
is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. | 17:34 | |
And I myself have seen and testified this is the son of God. | 17:38 | |
The next day, John again was standing with | 17:46 | |
two of his disciples, and as he watched | 17:49 | |
Jesus walk by he exclaimed look! | 17:52 | |
Here is the Lamb of God! | 17:57 | |
The two disciples heard him say | 18:00 | |
this and they followed Jesus. | 18:02 | |
When Jesus turned and saw them following | 18:05 | |
he said to them what are you looking for? | 18:08 | |
They said to him Rabbi, which is | 18:11 | |
translated teacher, where are you staying? | 18:15 | |
He said to them come and see. | 18:19 | |
They came and they saw where he was | 18:24 | |
staying and they remained with him that day. | 18:27 | |
It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. | 18:30 | |
One of the two who heard John speak and | 18:33 | |
followed him was Andrew, Simon and Peter's brother. | 18:35 | |
He first found his brother Simon and said to him | 18:39 | |
we have found the Messiah, which means anointed. | 18:42 | |
He brought Simon to Jesus who looked | 18:46 | |
at him and said you are Simon, son of John. | 18:48 | |
You are to be called Cephas. | 18:53 | |
Which is translated Peter. | 18:56 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 18:59 | |
Congregation | Praise be to God. | 19:01 |
(calm church organ music) | 19:31 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 19:51 | |
- | Most of you who are here this morning are not ministers. | 23:17 |
You are not preachers. | 23:21 | |
Therefore, you may not know that on | 23:24 | |
the preacher side of lots of pulpits | 23:27 | |
in many churches is a little brass plaque. | 23:30 | |
It is positioned so that those of us | 23:35 | |
who preach will see it just before | 23:37 | |
we stand up to preach our sermons. | 23:40 | |
On the plaque is inscribed a verse from the gospel of John. | 23:43 | |
"Sir, we would see Jesus." | 23:49 | |
Now as you can imagine, in recent years | 23:54 | |
many of those plaques have been updated | 23:56 | |
"Sir or madam, we would see Jesus," | 23:59 | |
but the point remains the same. | 24:03 | |
It is a reminder to those of us who preach | 24:06 | |
that when all is said and done, people come | 24:10 | |
to a service of Christian worship not | 24:14 | |
to count the snowflakes, or to hear a | 24:16 | |
book review of the hottest title on the | 24:20 | |
New York Times list, or even for meditation | 24:22 | |
and self-reflection, but for an encounter. | 24:25 | |
You have come to encounter the living God, God with us. | 24:31 | |
In Jesus. | 24:36 | |
Preacher, we want to see Jesus. | 24:38 | |
Well you can imagine how that makes preachers feel. | 24:44 | |
Talk about pressure. | 24:48 | |
As one preacher, Fred Craddock has put it, | 24:50 | |
you stand in the pulpit and every word | 24:53 | |
in your pathetic little sermon raises | 24:57 | |
its hand and says may I please be excused? | 24:59 | |
I read once about an old Welsh preacher | 25:05 | |
who was climbing up the staircase into | 25:08 | |
his pulpit and about halfway up he | 25:10 | |
was overcome with the awesomeness of | 25:12 | |
his assignment and he began to back | 25:15 | |
down as if he had seen a ghost. | 25:17 | |
He looked out at the congregation, | 25:20 | |
his face pale with fear, and he said | 25:22 | |
I will not go into that awful place. | 25:24 | |
Fortunately his vocation overcame | 25:30 | |
his intimidation and he climbed | 25:33 | |
back up in the pulpit and he preached. | 25:35 | |
The theologian Karl Barth said the only | 25:39 | |
proper attitude for anyone who | 25:41 | |
stands in a pulpit is embarrassment. | 25:43 | |
Because we do not have, we cannot possess, | 25:48 | |
the one thing we are there to provide, | 25:52 | |
the living encounter with God, it must | 25:54 | |
be given as an act of God's free grace. | 25:57 | |
Which is Barth's way of saying that the | 26:01 | |
preacher is in the same position as the | 26:04 | |
one in the pew, all of us need to see Jesus. | 26:06 | |
The problem is Jesus is notoriously difficult to see. | 26:15 | |
Not because he is like a busy executive | 26:20 | |
who does not have time for us, | 26:22 | |
but because we are hard of seeing. | 26:25 | |
We look for him in the wrong places and in the wrong ways, | 26:29 | |
we look for him through our own presumptions that blind us. | 26:32 | |
You may have read recently about the | 26:38 | |
famous Jesus seminar, it's a collection | 26:40 | |
of 200 New Testament scholars, and in their | 26:43 | |
own way the Jesus seminar wants to see Jesus. | 26:47 | |
But not just any old Jesus, they wanna | 26:52 | |
see the real Jesus, the historical Jesus. | 26:54 | |
I mean we've known for a long time that all | 26:58 | |
of the things recorded in the New Testament | 27:00 | |
that Jesus said and did were not actually | 27:03 | |
done and said by Jesus, the New Testament | 27:06 | |
is written in the faithful memory of | 27:10 | |
the church, and memory forgets and | 27:12 | |
elaborates, adds and subtracts. | 27:14 | |
The Jesus seminar wants to use the tools | 27:18 | |
of historical research to get at the real Jesus | 27:20 | |
underneath the fog of the legend and the myth. | 27:24 | |
They even vote about it. | 27:29 | |
They will be given a saying of Jesus and | 27:31 | |
each member of the seminar tosses a | 27:34 | |
colored bead into a box indicating | 27:36 | |
whether they think it's a true statement or not. | 27:39 | |
A black bead means that's not Jesus. | 27:43 | |
Another colored bead means that's | 27:47 | |
probably not Jesus, another means | 27:49 | |
maybe it's Jesus, another means | 27:52 | |
sounds a lot of Jesus, and a red | 27:55 | |
bead means that's Jesus for sure. | 27:58 | |
Now underneath this there is a serious purpose. | 28:03 | |
They wanna see Jesus. | 28:08 | |
Trapped in the calipers of the historian. | 28:12 | |
Imprisoned in the bell jar of the scientist, | 28:16 | |
here look, we've got him, the real Jesus. | 28:19 | |
The wonderful thing is that the real Jesus is | 28:23 | |
a living presence who keeps eluding their grasp. | 28:25 | |
He's not a historical artifact and he will not | 28:30 | |
remain on the examining table for the autopsy. | 28:32 | |
He keeps spilling over the wall that is | 28:36 | |
built to separate the past from the present. | 28:39 | |
In fact, one of the members of the seminar, | 28:44 | |
a man named Dominic Crossan who has | 28:46 | |
written one of the most ambitious and | 28:48 | |
controversial books about the historical | 28:50 | |
Jesus, had a daydream that he was | 28:53 | |
visited by the living Jesus one day. | 28:55 | |
Jesus came to him and said Dominic, I've read your book. | 29:00 | |
Are you ready now to follow me? | 29:07 | |
No Jesus, said Dominic, I don't think I have the courage, | 29:11 | |
but it was a good book wasn't it, especially the method. | 29:15 | |
It was something, Dominic. | 29:19 | |
Is it enough, Jesus? | 29:23 | |
Is it enough? | 29:24 | |
No, Dominic. | 29:27 | |
It's not enough. | 29:29 | |
We wanna see Jesus. | 29:34 | |
But we are blinded by our presumptions. | 29:37 | |
It's not just the presumptions, by the way | 29:40 | |
the academic community, all of us | 29:41 | |
have presumptions, one of the things | 29:43 | |
that bothers me for example about the | 29:45 | |
Christian Coalition is not the fact | 29:47 | |
that they're involved in politics, | 29:49 | |
I think Christians oughta be involved in politics. | 29:51 | |
It's that they presume to know to be able to see Jesus. | 29:54 | |
They know how Jesus would vote on a balanced budget. | 29:59 | |
They know how Jesus feels about welfare, | 30:03 | |
they know how Jesus casts his ballot | 30:05 | |
on everything, they know so much | 30:08 | |
about Jesus, and I need not be | 30:10 | |
smug about that, I do the same thing. | 30:12 | |
I always see Jesus in my own image. | 30:15 | |
Therefore, it is a wonderful thing when | 30:22 | |
out text today comes to us both as | 30:24 | |
a challenge and a comfort to say to us | 30:27 | |
there is a lot about Jesus we don't know. | 30:30 | |
There is a lot about Jesus that we can't see. | 30:34 | |
Now it would seem that if there is one | 30:38 | |
person in the world who did know Jesus | 30:40 | |
and could point to him and did see | 30:43 | |
him it would be John the Baptist. | 30:45 | |
The one who always points behold the Lamb of God, | 30:48 | |
in fact my image of John the Baptist comes | 30:51 | |
from that wonderful portrait of him in | 30:54 | |
the Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar, France, | 30:57 | |
maybe you've seen it, where he is | 31:00 | |
forever pointing at the crucified Jesus. | 31:03 | |
I must decrease that he may increase. | 31:06 | |
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away | 31:09 | |
the sins of the world, he points at Jesus. | 31:12 | |
Surely John the Baptist knows Jesus. | 31:15 | |
Surely he sees him. | 31:17 | |
But refreshingly, twice in the story, | 31:20 | |
twice for emphasis, John says I didn't know him. | 31:23 | |
My whole ministry was anticipating | 31:31 | |
him, but I didn't know him. | 31:34 | |
John the Baptist stood in the middle of history. | 31:39 | |
I am a voice crying in the wilderness. | 31:42 | |
I know that the world as we know it | 31:46 | |
at hand is not what God intended it to be. | 31:48 | |
God is bringing in something much more | 31:51 | |
hopeful, but I can't quite see it. | 31:53 | |
I don't yet know it. | 31:58 | |
I think a lot of the Christian life is like that. | 32:02 | |
Those of you who teach school and work | 32:06 | |
for the dignity of children in a | 32:09 | |
world that tries to strip it away. | 32:11 | |
Those of you who are in business and strive for | 32:15 | |
fairness and integrity in a world that double deals. | 32:18 | |
Those of you who are in medicine, | 32:23 | |
and work for health in a land of disease. | 32:26 | |
Those of you who are in law and work for justice | 32:31 | |
in an unjust society, all of you who will | 32:34 | |
tomorrow morning get up out of bed and | 32:38 | |
go out and try to make the world a better place, | 32:41 | |
if somebody came to you and said theologically exactly | 32:44 | |
what are you doing, you might not be able to say. | 32:48 | |
You'd be like John the Baptist I suppose. | 32:55 | |
I stand here in the wilderness hoping and striving | 32:58 | |
for a better world, but I cannot yet name it. | 33:03 | |
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day all | 33:12 | |
across our land, and the story of his life | 33:14 | |
and work will be told and retold, and one | 33:18 | |
of the memories we will have is that story | 33:21 | |
about the very beginning when a tired woman | 33:23 | |
named Rosa Parks, at the end of a long day, | 33:27 | |
when a bus driver said you've gotta get | 33:31 | |
up out of that seat and go back to the rear | 33:33 | |
of the bus where you belong, simply said no. | 33:36 | |
Those who were there said her voice was | 33:42 | |
so soft that you could hardly hear it | 33:45 | |
above the rumble of the bus engine. | 33:48 | |
But she said no. | 33:53 | |
Now in that one word you don't yet | 33:58 | |
have a full Christian theology. | 34:00 | |
What you have is a John the Baptist creed. | 34:04 | |
The world at hand is not the way God intended it. | 34:07 | |
And I am confident that something | 34:11 | |
more hopeful is coming, I cannot yet see it, | 34:14 | |
I cannot name it, but to this world I will say no. | 34:17 | |
I happened to be in Alabama on the 25th | 34:25 | |
anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery. | 34:28 | |
The man who is the mayor of Selma, Alabama | 34:32 | |
today is the same man who was mayor 25 years ago. | 34:35 | |
He was standing on the platform at the anniversary, | 34:39 | |
beside him was George Wallace in a wheelchair. | 34:42 | |
Behind him were people who had | 34:46 | |
marched, now aging and graying. | 34:48 | |
He looked at the crowd and he said | 34:52 | |
25 years ago Governor Wallace and I were wrong. | 34:53 | |
We were wrong. | 34:59 | |
We thought this was outside agitation. | 35:01 | |
We did not know that it was the coming of justice. | 35:04 | |
I didn't even know, said John the Baptist. | 35:12 | |
My whole ministry was pointing | 35:15 | |
toward him, but I didn't even know him. | 35:17 | |
If John the Baptist discovered that he | 35:23 | |
could only see Jesus as he worked in | 35:25 | |
the middle of his ministry, the same truth was | 35:28 | |
discovered the next day by John's own disciples. | 35:31 | |
When Jesus went by, John said look, | 35:35 | |
there's the Lamb of God, and a couple | 35:37 | |
of John's disciples began to follow | 35:40 | |
Jesus, but at a strategic distance. | 35:41 | |
Jesus turned around and noticed them following | 35:45 | |
and said what are you looking for? | 35:48 | |
Sheepishly they responded well Rabbi, where are you staying? | 35:52 | |
Which at one level means where do you live, | 35:57 | |
where's your lodging, but at a deeper theological | 35:59 | |
level means where are you working in the world? | 36:01 | |
We'd like to know what this is | 36:06 | |
about before we get too close. | 36:07 | |
What are you doing in the world? | 36:09 | |
To which Jesus responded... | 36:11 | |
Come and see. | 36:16 | |
You can't see Jesus at work in the world at a distance. | 36:19 | |
Like John the Baptist you have to get involved in | 36:24 | |
the middle of it even when you can't name it. | 36:27 | |
Striving for a world of hope and peace, | 36:30 | |
even when you can't quite see it, | 36:32 | |
and then and only then do you see the presence | 36:35 | |
of the living Christ at work in the world. | 36:38 | |
I have a friend who is a minister who | 36:43 | |
was touring Scotland not too long ago | 36:45 | |
and one afternoon he went into a | 36:47 | |
magnificent Scottish cathedral. | 36:50 | |
As it happened, he was the only person | 36:53 | |
there that day, and so he walked around | 36:55 | |
in the emptiness of that vast and holy space. | 36:58 | |
He made his way down the nave and came to the chancel area. | 37:04 | |
This particular cathedral had a winding | 37:08 | |
staircase that led to a lofty pulpit. | 37:11 | |
He stood at the foot of it and looked up and | 37:14 | |
he saw on the pulpit that little brass plaque. | 37:17 | |
He thought to himself I cannot think | 37:24 | |
of anything more inspiring than if | 37:27 | |
I could stand in that pulpit and look out | 37:30 | |
in this great space and read those words | 37:32 | |
"Sir, we would see Jesus." | 37:35 | |
Sensing that no one was around, he ventured up the stairs. | 37:40 | |
When he got up into the tip-top of the pulpit | 37:45 | |
he looked out into the great cathedral, | 37:47 | |
he breathed deeply, and then he looked at the plaque. | 37:50 | |
And to his surprise it read "Remember Edna Bailey." | 37:56 | |
(laughter) | 38:01 | |
Evidently the pulpit was as memorial | 38:03 | |
to some saint named Edna Bailey. | 38:05 | |
At first he was disappointed, he wanted | 38:09 | |
to see "Sir, we would see Jesus." | 38:11 | |
But then it dawned on him that | 38:15 | |
maybe God was teaching him a truth. | 38:16 | |
The only way to see Jesus is to remember Edna Bailey. | 38:20 | |
And Tom Smith. | 38:27 | |
And Francis Wilson. | 38:29 | |
To get involved with the people of God. | 38:31 | |
In doing the work of God in the world. | 38:34 | |
Come and see. | 38:38 | |
Joanna Adams is a minister in Atlanta | 38:42 | |
and for a while she was in charge of a | 38:45 | |
homeless shelter in one of the downtown churches. | 38:48 | |
There is in Atlanta a Christian radio station | 38:53 | |
that has a talk show hosted by a | 38:56 | |
religious Rush Limbaugh, and he | 38:58 | |
interviewed Joanna about the night shelter. | 39:01 | |
He asked her about it, she said well | 39:06 | |
we take in homeless people, we provide | 39:08 | |
lodging and food, and he was clearly suspicious. | 39:10 | |
What does this have to do with | 39:14 | |
the gospel of Jesus Christ? | 39:15 | |
Well, she said, we try to show the | 39:18 | |
compassion of Christ's people. | 39:20 | |
We care for these people, we provide | 39:22 | |
medical care and vocational guidance. | 39:23 | |
You didn't hear my question, what does | 39:26 | |
this have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ? | 39:28 | |
Well we try to take care not only | 39:33 | |
of their physical needs, said Joanna, | 39:34 | |
but also their spiritual needs, we try | 39:36 | |
to show them compassion, we are | 39:39 | |
concerned for them as human beings. | 39:41 | |
You're not listening to my question, he said, | 39:43 | |
I wanna know where is Jesus Christ in all that. | 39:46 | |
Joanna thought for a minute and then she said... | 39:52 | |
You just have to be there. | 39:57 | |
Come and see, said Jesus. | 40:01 | |
One we do not know is already at | 40:06 | |
work in the world, come and see. | 40:08 | |
And as C.S. Lewis once said, "When the world stands | 40:12 | |
"at the foot of the triumphant throne of Christ, | 40:17 | |
"it will look up and in unison | 40:19 | |
"say so it was you all along." | 40:22 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 40:41 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 40:43 |
- | Let us pray. | 40:44 |
Oh Lord our God, you have blessed us | 40:51 | |
in countless ways with your wondrous deeds. | 40:54 | |
But there is so much that we don't see. | 40:59 | |
So much that we don't know about you. | 41:02 | |
Yet even in our limited understanding | 41:07 | |
of your glory, we stand in awe of | 41:09 | |
your majesty and graciousness. | 41:12 | |
Accept our words, our prayers, our songs of praise. | 41:16 | |
Teach us to sing out boldly so that our whole lives | 41:23 | |
might proclaim your greatness to all the earth. | 41:27 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 41:32 | |
Lord, we admit that we are hard of | 41:37 | |
seeing, often looking for you in ways | 41:38 | |
and places that are not your ways. | 41:41 | |
Free us from idolatry, from seeing you in our | 41:45 | |
own image, from putting other things in your place. | 41:49 | |
Give us courage to draw near to you. | 41:55 | |
Lead us into your service with your people | 41:58 | |
that we might learn to see your ways | 42:02 | |
in the world and our place in it. | 42:05 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 42:10 | |
Almighty and ever-living God, through your | 42:15 | |
son Jesus Christ you taught us to pray | 42:18 | |
not only for ourselves, but for others, | 42:21 | |
and to give thanks for all of life. | 42:24 | |
Inspire your church with the | 42:27 | |
spirit of power, unity, and peace. | 42:29 | |
Grant that all who trust you may | 42:34 | |
receive your word and live together in love. | 42:35 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 42:39 | |
Lead all people and nations in | 42:44 | |
the ways of justice and goodwill. | 42:47 | |
Remind us of Dr. Martin Luther King's insight, | 42:50 | |
that injustice anywhere is a threat | 42:53 | |
to justice everywhere, that whatever affects | 42:56 | |
one directly affects all indirectly. | 42:59 | |
Therefore let us pray that we may see | 43:04 | |
nothing in isolation, but may know | 43:06 | |
ourselves bound to one another | 43:08 | |
and to all people under Heaven. | 43:10 | |
Make us justice seekers and justice | 43:13 | |
workers for all the world. | 43:15 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:18 | |
Direct those in power, in families, | 43:23 | |
institutions, and governments to use | 43:26 | |
their influence to uphold those in need | 43:30 | |
and defend the oppressed and powerless. | 43:33 | |
That this world may claim your rule and know true peace. | 43:36 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:42 | |
Comfort and relieve, oh Lord, all who are in trouble. | 43:47 | |
Sorrow. | 43:52 | |
Poverty. | 43:54 | |
Sickness. | 43:57 | |
Grief. | 43:59 | |
Or any other need. | 44:02 | |
Especially those known to us | 44:04 | |
whom we name before you in silence. | 44:07 | |
Heal them, in body, mind, or circumstance. | 44:17 | |
Working in them by your grace wonders | 44:23 | |
beyond all they may dream or hope. | 44:26 | |
Through Jesus Chris our savior, amen. | 44:30 | |
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. | 44:36 | |
To this peace we were called as | 44:39 | |
members of a single body, let us | 44:41 | |
engage signs of God's peace with one another. | 44:44 | |
Please stand. | 44:48 | |
You may be seated. | 45:10 | |
With gladness, let us present the | 45:20 | |
offerings of our life and labor to the Lord. | 45:22 | |
(gentle saxophone music) | 45:39 | |
(calm church organ music) | 57:02 | |
(choir singing Hallelujah) | 57:57 | |
The Lord be with you. | 58:55 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 58:57 |
- | Lift up our hearts. | 58:58 |
Congregation | We lift them up to the Lord. | 59:00 |
- | Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. | 59:02 |
Congregation | It is right to give our thanks and praise. | 59:05 |
- | It is right and a good and joyful thing, | 59:07 |
always and everywhere, to give thanks to you, | 59:10 | |
almighty God, creator of Heaven and Earth. | 59:13 | |
Before the mountains were brought forth, | 59:16 | |
or you had formed the Earth from | 59:19 | |
everlasting to everlasting, you alone are God. | 59:21 | |
You created light out of darkness | 59:25 | |
and brought forth life on the Earth. | 59:27 | |
You formed us in your image and | 59:30 | |
breathed into us the breath of life. | 59:32 | |
When we turned away and our love | 59:35 | |
failed, your love remained steadfast. | 59:37 | |
You delivered us from captivity, | 59:40 | |
made covenant to be our sovereign God, | 59:42 | |
and spoke to us through your prophets. | 59:45 | |
And so with your people on Earth and | 59:47 | |
all the company of Heaven, we praise | 59:49 | |
your name and join their unending hymn. | 59:51 | |
(calm church organ music) | 59:54 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪ | 1:00:04 | |
♪ God of power and might ♪ | 1:00:08 | |
♪ Heaven and Earth are full of your glory ♪ | 1:00:12 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 1:00:17 | |
♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord ♪ | 1:00:22 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 1:00:29 | |
- | Holy are you, and blessed is your son Jesus Christ, | 1:00:41 |
in whom you have revealed yourself, | 1:00:44 | |
our light and our salvation. | 1:00:46 | |
In his baptism, and in table fellowship, | 1:00:49 | |
he took his place with sinners. | 1:00:52 | |
Your spirit anointed him to preach | 1:00:55 | |
good news to the poor, to proclaim release to | 1:00:57 | |
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. | 1:01:00 | |
To set at liberty those who are oppressed | 1:01:04 | |
and to announce that the time had | 1:01:07 | |
come when you would save your people. | 1:01:08 | |
By the baptism of his suffering, | 1:01:11 | |
death, and resurrection, you gave | 1:01:13 | |
birth to your church, delivered us | 1:01:15 | |
from slavery to sin and death, and made | 1:01:17 | |
with us a new covenant by water and the spirit. | 1:01:19 | |
On the night in which he gave himself | 1:01:24 | |
up for us, he took bread, gave thanks | 1:01:25 | |
to you, broke the bread, gave it to | 1:01:28 | |
his disciples and said take, eat. | 1:01:31 | |
This is my body given for you. | 1:01:34 | |
Do this in remembrance of me. | 1:01:36 | |
And when the supper was over he took | 1:01:39 | |
the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it | 1:01:41 | |
to his disciples and said drink from | 1:01:44 | |
this all of you, this is the cup | 1:01:47 | |
of the new covenant, poured out for | 1:01:49 | |
you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. | 1:01:51 | |
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. | 1:01:54 | |
And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts | 1:02:00 | |
in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves | 1:02:02 | |
in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and | 1:02:05 | |
living sacrifice in union with Christ offering | 1:02:08 | |
for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith. | 1:02:11 | |
♪ Christ has died ♪ | 1:02:17 | |
♪ Christ is risen ♪ | 1:02:19 | |
♪ Christ will come again ♪ | 1:02:21 | |
- | Pour out your Holy Spirit on us | 1:02:28 |
gathered here, and on these gifts | 1:02:30 | |
of bread and wine, make them be | 1:02:32 | |
for us the body and blood of Christ | 1:02:35 | |
that we may be for the world the | 1:02:37 | |
body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. | 1:02:39 | |
By your spirit make us one with Christ, | 1:02:42 | |
one with each other, and one in | 1:02:45 | |
ministry to all the world, until Christ | 1:02:47 | |
comes in final victory and we | 1:02:50 | |
feast at his heavenly banquet. | 1:02:52 | |
Through your son, Jesus Christ, | 1:02:54 | |
with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, | 1:02:56 | |
all honor and glory is yours, | 1:02:58 | |
Almighty Father, now and forever. | 1:03:00 | |
♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 1:03:06 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:03:11 | |
- | And now, with the confidence of the | 1:03:17 |
children of God, let us pray together saying | 1:03:20 | |
our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 1:03:22 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:03:28 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:03:31 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:03:34 | |
and forgive us our trespasses as | 1:03:36 | |
we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:03:38 | |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 1:03:42 | |
For thine is the kingdom, and the | 1:03:46 | |
power, and the glory forever, amen. | 1:03:48 | |
When we break the bread, is it not a means | 1:03:55 | |
of sharing in the body of Christ? | 1:03:59 | |
When we give thanks over the cup, | 1:04:05 | |
is it not a means of sharing in the blood | 1:04:07 | |
of Christ which cleanses us from all sin? | 1:04:09 | |
The body of Christ, given for you. | 1:04:16 | |
The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. | 1:04:22 | |
This is the Lord's table. | 1:04:57 | |
Our savior invites those who trust him | 1:04:59 | |
to share the feast which he has prepared. | 1:05:01 | |
Won't you come? | 1:05:05 | |
(calm church organ music) | 1:05:22 | |
♪ Shall we gather at the river ♪ | 1:10:56 | |
♪ Where bright angel feet have trod ♪ | 1:11:02 | |
♪ With its crystal tide forever ♪ | 1:11:10 | |
♪ Flowing by the throne of God ♪ | 1:11:16 | |
♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ | 1:11:23 | |
♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ | 1:11:30 | |
♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ | 1:11:38 | |
♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ | 1:11:44 | |
♪ On the bosom of the river ♪ | 1:11:59 | |
♪ Where the Savior-King we own ♪ | 1:12:06 | |
♪ We shall meet, and sorrow never ♪ | 1:12:13 | |
♪ 'Neath the glory of the throne ♪ | 1:12:19 | |
♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ | 1:12:27 | |
♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ | 1:12:34 | |
♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ | 1:12:41 | |
♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ | 1:12:47 | |
♪ Ere we reach the shining river ♪ | 1:13:03 | |
♪ Lay we every burden down ♪ | 1:13:10 | |
♪ Grace our spirits will deliver ♪ | 1:13:16 | |
♪ And provide a robe and crown ♪ | 1:13:23 | |
♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ | 1:13:31 | |
♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ | 1:13:38 | |
♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ | 1:13:45 | |
♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ | 1:13:52 | |
♪ Soon we'll reach the shining river ♪ | 1:14:10 | |
♪ Soon our pilgrimage will cease ♪ | 1:14:17 | |
♪ Soon our happy hearts will quiver ♪ | 1:14:24 | |
♪ With the melody of peace ♪ | 1:14:30 | |
♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ | 1:14:38 | |
♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ | 1:14:45 | |
♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ | 1:14:52 | |
♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ | 1:14:58 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:15:11 | |
- | Please stand. | 1:15:34 |
Let us pray. | 1:15:46 | |
Gracious God, you have made us one | 1:15:49 | |
with all your people in Heaven and on Earth. | 1:15:52 | |
You have fed us with the bread of life | 1:15:55 | |
and renewed us for your service. | 1:15:57 | |
We give ourselves to you and | 1:16:00 | |
ask that our daily living may be | 1:16:02 | |
part of the life of your kingdom. | 1:16:04 | |
May our love be your love, reaching | 1:16:07 | |
out into the life of the world | 1:16:10 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 1:16:11 | |
(calm church organ music) | 1:16:18 | |
Go forth in peace to serve God | 1:21:23 | |
and your neighbor in all that you do. | 1:21:25 | |
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, | 1:21:27 | |
the love of God, and the communion of | 1:21:30 | |
the Holy Spirit be with you and keep you. | 1:21:32 | |
(choir singing) | 1:21:38 |