Debra K. Brazzel - "Who Are the Blessed?" (January 28, 1996)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(classical organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord | 2:29 |
Jesus Christ and welcome to this service of worship here at | 2:31 | |
Duke University Chapel on this fourth Sunday after Epiphany. | 2:34 | |
Our preacher for today's service is | 2:38 | |
the Reverend Debra Brazzel, acting Dean of the Chapel | 2:40 | |
and Director of Religious Life. | 2:43 | |
Our preacher for next Sunday's service will be David Hollar, | 2:45 | |
a Trinity College junior. | 2:49 | |
David was chosen as this year's student preacher | 2:50 | |
through a campus-wide competition. | 2:53 | |
We look forward to his message. | 2:56 | |
Please note the announcements as they are | 2:58 | |
printed in your bulletins. | 3:00 | |
And now please stand for the greeting. | 3:02 | |
The Lord has brought us from bondage. | 3:12 | |
(congregation responding) | 3:15 | |
Therefore let us praise the name of the Lord. | 3:18 | |
(congregation responding) | 3:21 | |
("Holy, Holy, Holy" introduction on organ) | 3:25 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ♪ | 4:08 | |
♪ Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee ♪ | 4:17 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty ♪ | 4:28 | |
♪ God in three persons, blessed Trinity ♪ | 4:38 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore Thee ♪ | 4:49 | |
♪ Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea ♪ | 5:00 | |
♪ Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before Thee ♪ | 5:10 | |
♪ Which wert and art and evermore shall be ♪ | 5:21 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide Thee ♪ | 5:34 | |
♪ Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see ♪ | 5:44 | |
♪ Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee ♪ | 5:55 | |
♪ Perfect in power, in love, and purity ♪ | 6:05 | |
(organ interlude) | 6:18 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ♪ | 8:37 | |
♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy Name ♪ | 8:47 | |
♪ In earth, and sky, and sea ♪ | 8:52 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty ♪ | 8:58 | |
♪ God in three persons, blessed Trinity ♪ | 9:08 | |
All glorious God, we enter your sanctuary singing | 9:27 | |
laud and honor to you name, yet as your prophet has told us, | 9:31 | |
we are mindful that only humble seekers of righteousness | 9:36 | |
are welcome on your holy mountain. | 9:40 | |
We recognize that to worship a God of justice | 9:43 | |
we ourselves must be a just people, | 9:47 | |
authentic in our desire to be transformed. | 9:51 | |
Help us to overcome our folly that we might find | 9:55 | |
what is truly wise; | 9:59 | |
to overcome our weakness that we might see | 10:02 | |
what is truly powerful; | 10:04 | |
to overcome our sin that we might discover | 10:06 | |
what is genuinely good. | 10:10 | |
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, | 10:13 | |
the light of the world, amen. | 10:16 | |
You may be seated. | 10:20 | |
Let us pray the prayer for illumination. | 10:31 | |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, by the power of | 10:35 | |
your Holy Spirit, so that as the word is read and proclaimed | 10:38 | |
we may hear your message with joy this day, amen. | 10:43 | |
A reading from the prophet, Micah. | 11:45 | |
Hear what the Lord says, arise, plead your case | 11:49 | |
before the mountains and let the hills hear your voice. | 11:53 | |
Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord | 11:57 | |
and you, enduring foundations of the earth, | 12:00 | |
for the Lord has a controversy with his people | 12:03 | |
and he will contend with Israel. | 12:06 | |
Oh my people, what have I done to you | 12:09 | |
and what have I wearied you? | 12:12 | |
Answer me for I brought you up from the land of Egypt | 12:15 | |
and redeemed you from the house of bondage | 12:19 | |
and I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam. | 12:22 | |
Oh my people, remember what Balak, King of Moab devised | 12:26 | |
and Balaam, son of Beor answered him and what happened | 12:30 | |
from Shittim to Gilgal that you may know | 12:36 | |
the saving acts of the Lord. | 12:39 | |
With what shall I come before the Lord | 12:41 | |
and bow myself before God on high? | 12:44 | |
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, | 12:47 | |
with calves a year old? | 12:50 | |
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, | 12:52 | |
with ten thousands of rivers of oil? | 12:56 | |
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, | 12:59 | |
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? | 13:02 | |
He has showed you what is good and what does | 13:06 | |
the Lord require of you but to do justice | 13:09 | |
and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. | 13:13 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 13:19 | |
Thanks be to God. | 13:22 | |
A reading from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. | 13:29 | |
For the message about the cross is foolishness | 13:33 | |
to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved | 13:36 | |
it is the power of God. | 13:40 | |
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise | 13:43 | |
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. | 13:47 | |
Where is the one who is wise? | 13:51 | |
Where is the scribe? | 13:53 | |
Where is the debater of this age? | 13:55 | |
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? | 13:57 | |
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know | 14:01 | |
God through wisdom, God decided through the foolishness | 14:05 | |
of our proclamation to save those who believe. | 14:08 | |
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom | 14:12 | |
but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block | 14:16 | |
to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. | 14:19 | |
But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, | 14:22 | |
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. | 14:26 | |
For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom | 14:30 | |
and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. | 14:34 | |
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters, | 14:38 | |
not many of you were wise by human standards, | 14:41 | |
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth | 14:44 | |
but God chose what is foolish in the world | 14:49 | |
to shame the wise. | 14:52 | |
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. | 14:54 | |
God chose what is low and despised in the world, | 14:59 | |
things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are | 15:03 | |
so that no one might boast in the presence of God. | 15:07 | |
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus | 15:12 | |
who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness | 15:15 | |
and sanctification and redemption in order that, | 15:19 | |
as it is written, let the one who boast boast in the Lord. | 15:24 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 15:30 | |
Thanks be to God. | 15:33 | |
- | This morning's Psalm is Psalm 15, | 15:44 |
found on page 747 of your hymnal. | 15:47 | |
Please stand and sing the Psalm and glory responsively. | 15:50 | |
(organ introduction) | 15:55 | |
♪ Oh Lord, who shall abide in your tent ♪ | 16:01 | |
♪ Who shall dwell in your holy hill ♪ | 16:06 | |
♪ The one who walks with integrity, and works righteousness ♪ | 16:11 | |
♪ And speaks truth in his heart ♪ | 16:17 | |
♪ Who does not slander with the tongue ♪ | 16:22 | |
♪ And does no evil to a friend ♪ | 16:26 | |
♪ Nor takes up a reproach against a neighbor ♪ | 16:30 | |
♪ In whose eyes a reprobate is despised ♪ | 16:34 | |
♪ But who honors those who fear the Lord ♪ | 16:39 | |
♪ Who does not put out money at interest ♪ | 16:44 | |
♪ And does he take a bribe against the innocent ♪ | 16:49 | |
♪ The one who does these things will never be moved ♪ | 16:54 | |
♪ All glory be to your, Creator ♪ | 17:01 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ the Savior ♪ | 17:04 | |
♪ And to the Holy Spirit, blessed Trinity ♪ | 17:08 | |
♪ As it was as time began ♪ | 17:13 | |
♪ Is now and will be forevermore ♪ | 17:18 | |
Please be seated. | 17:28 | |
- | Our gospel lesson is from the book of Matthew, | 17:38 |
chapter five, beginning with verse one. | 17:41 | |
In this passage, Jesus went up the mountain. | 17:44 | |
Now the mountain was the traditional symbol | 17:47 | |
of the place for divine revelation. | 17:50 | |
It is the holy mountain. | 17:53 | |
This is what follows. | 17:55 | |
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain | 17:57 | |
and after he sat down his disciples came to him. | 18:01 | |
Then he began to speak and taught them saying, | 18:06 | |
blessed are the poor in spirit | 18:10 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 18:13 | |
Blessed are those who mourn, for the will be comforted. | 18:16 | |
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. | 18:21 | |
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness | 18:27 | |
for they will be filled. | 18:30 | |
Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. | 18:33 | |
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. | 18:39 | |
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called | 18:43 | |
children of God. | 18:48 | |
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake | 18:51 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 18:55 | |
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you | 18:58 | |
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely | 19:02 | |
on my account. | 19:06 | |
Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. | 19:08 | |
For in the same way they persecuted the prophets | 19:13 | |
who were before you. | 19:17 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 19:19 | |
Thanks be to God. | 19:22 | |
(organ introduction to choral music) | 19:25 | |
♪ Oh Lord, remember us when Thou comest into Thy kingdom ♪ | 19:44 | |
♪ Thy kingdom ♪ | 19:57 | |
♪ Blessed are the poor in spirit ♪ | 20:02 | |
♪ For theirs is the kingdom of heaven ♪ | 20:09 | |
♪ Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted ♪ | 20:15 | |
♪ Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit ♪ | 20:28 | |
♪ The kingdom of heaven ♪ | 20:35 | |
♪ Blessed are they which doth hunger and thirst ♪ | 20:41 | |
♪ After righteousness for they shall be filled ♪ | 20:45 | |
♪ Blessed are the merciful ♪ | 20:55 | |
♪ For they shall obtain mercy ♪ | 21:01 | |
♪ Blessed are the pure in heart ♪ | 21:10 | |
♪ For they shall see God ♪ | 21:14 | |
♪ Blessed are the peacemakers ♪ | 21:18 | |
♪ For they shall be called the children of God ♪ | 21:22 | |
♪ Blessed are they which are persecuted ♪ | 21:34 | |
♪ For righteousness sake ♪ | 21:40 | |
♪ For theirs is the kingdom of heaven ♪ | 21:46 | |
♪ Blessed are ye when men shall revile you ♪ | 22:04 | |
♪ And persecute you ♪ | 22:09 | |
♪ And shall say all manner of evil against you falsely ♪ | 22:11 | |
♪ For my sake ♪ | 22:18 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice and be exceeding glad ♪ | 22:25 | |
♪ For great is your reward in heaven ♪ | 22:32 | |
In her book, "Gospel Medicine", Barbara Brown Taylor | 23:06 | |
says that she thinks Jesus should have asked the crowd | 23:11 | |
to stand on their heads when he taught them the Beatitudes | 23:16 | |
because that's what he was doing. | 23:20 | |
He was turning the known world upside down. | 23:22 | |
Because we've heard them so many times | 23:28 | |
we're at risk of not really hearing the Beatitudes. | 23:31 | |
Their bite has been dulled by their familiarity. | 23:35 | |
The crocheted plaque on the bathroom wall reads like | 23:39 | |
a sweet platitude, quaint but perhaps a bit trite. | 23:42 | |
Their shock value has been lost so maybe we need to | 23:47 | |
hear them again, not sitting complacently, | 23:51 | |
reciting the familiar lines as they're read | 23:55 | |
but standing on our heads, looking at the world | 23:57 | |
from a new perspective. | 24:01 | |
Seeing as if for the first time, upside down. | 24:04 | |
Where what we thought was on top wound up on the bottom | 24:09 | |
and what was on the bottom is now on top. | 24:14 | |
We need to listen to the Beatitudes standing on our heads | 24:20 | |
because like a favorite story that we've heard | 24:23 | |
countless times before, the surprise has worn off. | 24:25 | |
We know what to expect and what the outcome will be. | 24:29 | |
See, I can tell it's the advantage of this height | 24:33 | |
in this pulpit, you can see a long way | 24:38 | |
and I can tell that you're ready to lean back, relax. | 24:41 | |
Another sermon on the Beatitudes. | 24:45 | |
Nice, but harmless. | 24:48 | |
Beatitudes were also familiar in Jesus' day. | 24:52 | |
It was a common formula for wisdom sayings. | 24:56 | |
Something like what we might find in a fortune cookie | 24:59 | |
or on the calendar. | 25:03 | |
They were everyday sayings about the good life, | 25:05 | |
listing the virtues that anyone would be pleased to have. | 25:09 | |
Blessed are the wise, for they shall not be fooled. | 25:13 | |
Blessed are the strong for their enemies fear them. | 25:17 | |
Blessed are the wealthy for they shall never go hungry. | 25:20 | |
Blessed are those who have invested well | 25:24 | |
for their old age shall be secure. | 25:27 | |
As Jesus began teaching the crowd of disciples | 25:31 | |
on the mountain, the first three words out of his mouth | 25:34 | |
would have tipped his audience off about what was to follow. | 25:38 | |
Blessed are the, people would have settled back | 25:43 | |
to listen to the familiar wisdom sayings about | 25:47 | |
how to get along and prosper in a hostile world. | 25:50 | |
Unlike us, they would have been surprised at what he said. | 25:55 | |
Shocked at the vision of the good life that he portrayed. | 26:00 | |
Unnerved by the virtues that he extolled. | 26:04 | |
Blessed are the meek, the mournful, the poor in spirit. | 26:08 | |
Rejoice and be glad when you're persecuted. | 26:13 | |
Who would want to emulate these virtues? | 26:17 | |
Everyone knows that you can't get ahead in life | 26:21 | |
by being meek and certainly poverty of body or spirit | 26:23 | |
is to be avoided, not sought. | 26:27 | |
What a contradiction. | 26:31 | |
Blessed are the mournful. | 26:33 | |
Or as another translation puts it, happy are the sad. | 26:35 | |
Be glad when you're persecuted? | 26:40 | |
Ridiculous. | 26:43 | |
As Taylor says, no one with a lick of common sense | 26:45 | |
would vote for any of these definitions of the good life. | 26:48 | |
But Jesus didn't ask for anyone's approval. | 26:52 | |
He just redefined the good life in nine short sentences. | 26:55 | |
He held them out for everyone to see. | 27:01 | |
Nine portraits of kingdom people previously known as | 27:03 | |
victims, dreamers, pushovers and fools. | 27:08 | |
These are the chosen ones, he said, the blessed ones | 27:14 | |
who shall see God face to face. | 27:19 | |
These are the happy ones, the lucky ones, | 27:21 | |
the one who shall be satisfied. | 27:24 | |
Not because they got an advance copy of the rules | 27:27 | |
and played them to win, but because winning | 27:29 | |
was the farthest thing from their minds. | 27:32 | |
It comes down to what vision of blessedness you believe. | 27:36 | |
What portrait of the good life you strive for. | 27:41 | |
And if we are honest about the vision and the values | 27:45 | |
that we live by, most of us would have to admit | 27:48 | |
that the Beatitudes are just as foreign to us, | 27:52 | |
just as shocking, as they were the day that Jesus spoke them | 27:56 | |
and turned the world upside down. | 28:01 | |
Let's talk about Beatitudes. | 28:05 | |
The portrait of the good life in our age. | 28:08 | |
These are the unspoken values and assumptions | 28:12 | |
that we have about life that determine what we strive for | 28:15 | |
and what we use to measure the quality of blessedness, | 28:20 | |
happiness or good fortune in our own lives. | 28:23 | |
These might include things like blessed are the rich | 28:27 | |
for wealth and possessions bring security, independence | 28:32 | |
and a comfortable life. | 28:36 | |
Blessed are those who are happy and carefree | 28:39 | |
for they shall not be dragged down by anxiety or sadness. | 28:42 | |
Blessed are the powerful for they shall win | 28:47 | |
and come out on top. | 28:50 | |
Blessed are those who buy our product for their hunger | 28:53 | |
and thirst shall be satisfied. | 28:56 | |
Blessed are those who show no mercy for no one | 29:00 | |
will take advantage of them. | 29:03 | |
Blessed are those who know how to compromise | 29:06 | |
for they shall succeed no matter which way the wind blows. | 29:11 | |
Blessed are the strong for they shall defeat their enemies. | 29:15 | |
Blessed are those who know how to be silent | 29:20 | |
for they shall avoid trouble. | 29:22 | |
And blessed are those with a good reputation | 29:25 | |
for others will not speak badly of them. | 29:27 | |
Does it sound familiar? | 29:31 | |
These are some of the values that our culture promotes | 29:34 | |
and that common sense affirms. | 29:37 | |
Most of us live by this wisdom in our right side up world. | 29:42 | |
A world where only the strong survive | 29:48 | |
and winning is everything. | 29:51 | |
A world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. | 29:53 | |
A world where self-sufficiency and independence are | 29:59 | |
so valued that we've forgotten who to be a community. | 30:01 | |
A world where entertainment and escapism | 30:05 | |
is fast becoming our largest export. | 30:08 | |
A world where violence, suspicion | 30:12 | |
and fear of other reign. | 30:14 | |
A world where we've learned to barricade ourselves | 30:19 | |
behind locked doors and arm ourselves for battle. | 30:22 | |
Humanity has been pursuing these practical values | 30:28 | |
for millennia and we've created one hell of a mess. | 30:32 | |
In the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us to stand on our heads. | 30:37 | |
He turns the world upside down and confronts us | 30:42 | |
with another vision of reality. | 30:45 | |
He challenges us to see that the values and goals | 30:48 | |
of the world and those of God's reign | 30:51 | |
are diametrically opposed to one another. | 30:55 | |
He invites us to nothing less than a new way of life. | 30:58 | |
You see, upside down you begin to see that the | 31:04 | |
poor in spirit don't glorify poverty or being dispirited | 31:07 | |
but acknowledge their absolute dependence upon God | 31:13 | |
for their life and livelihood. | 31:17 | |
You begin to understand that those who mourn are not | 31:21 | |
the perpetually depressed but those who act compassionately | 31:24 | |
to relieve the suffering and injustice of the world. | 31:28 | |
Upside down you begin to see that the meek walk gently | 31:34 | |
on the earth, harming none of God's creation | 31:39 | |
or God's creatures. | 31:41 | |
And that those who hunger and thirst for God have not | 31:45 | |
a void to be filled but an appetite to be envied. | 31:48 | |
Upside down you begin to see that the merciful | 31:55 | |
are just handing out what they've already received. | 31:58 | |
And that the pure of heart have just never gotten | 32:02 | |
the hang of barricading themselves behind locked doors. | 32:04 | |
Upside down you begin to see that the peacemakers are not | 32:09 | |
impractical idealists but physicians | 32:13 | |
prescribing God's own tranquility. | 32:16 | |
Upside down you begin to see that those who've been bruised | 32:20 | |
for their faith are not the sad ones but the happy ones | 32:23 | |
because they found something worth being bruised for. | 32:28 | |
Upside down you begin to get a glimpse | 32:34 | |
of what God's kingdom looks like. | 32:36 | |
And upside down it's easier to recognize the blessed ones | 32:39 | |
who embody the kingdom way for they give us a glimpse of the | 32:43 | |
good life that Jesus said was possible for you and for me. | 32:48 | |
But sometimes the distance between the values of | 32:55 | |
the right side up world that we know so well | 32:58 | |
and the values of the upside down kingdom of heaven | 33:02 | |
revealed in the Beatitudes seems too great for us to bridge | 33:04 | |
and it is. | 33:10 | |
But yet it is possible for us to become the blessed | 33:12 | |
for the Beatitudes weren't given as law but gospel. | 33:16 | |
We aren't dependent upon our own efforts to be meek enough | 33:21 | |
and mournful enough and merciful enough to become blessed. | 33:26 | |
There's no imperative in this passage, | 33:30 | |
do this and you will receive this, | 33:33 | |
do that and you will receive that. | 33:34 | |
The language of the Beatitudes is descriptive. | 33:37 | |
This is who these people are now | 33:41 | |
and this is what the future holds for them. | 33:44 | |
Before Jesus finished this sermon, | 33:48 | |
he would tell the gathered crowd that all they needed to do | 33:51 | |
was strive first for the kingdom of God | 33:55 | |
and God's righteousness and that all these other things | 33:58 | |
would be added to them. | 34:01 | |
You see, blessedness is a gift of God's grace. | 34:04 | |
God desires to bless us. | 34:08 | |
God desires to make us kingdom people. | 34:12 | |
But we have to desire God first and above all else | 34:15 | |
before God can begin to reorder our priorities | 34:20 | |
and reshape our character for blessedness | 34:23 | |
is the natural expression of our relationship with God. | 34:27 | |
As we love God more then we will value and love the people | 34:31 | |
and things that God loves more and our lives will | 34:35 | |
begin to embody this love. | 34:40 | |
It might start out with one experience of mercy | 34:44 | |
that leads you to greater and greater depths of mercy. | 34:47 | |
Like Dr. Paul Farmer who won the | 34:51 | |
Humanitarian Service Award this year. | 34:53 | |
His experience while he was in school at Duke | 34:56 | |
with the Catholic Student Center in Haiti, | 34:59 | |
showed the suffering of the Haitian people to him | 35:03 | |
and it changed his life. | 35:07 | |
He came back and changed his career from a focus on learning | 35:09 | |
surgery and becoming a surgeon to infectious diseases. | 35:14 | |
And then once he graduated it changed his career | 35:19 | |
and he now spends 50% if his time working | 35:22 | |
with the Haitian people. | 35:25 | |
But it didn't start out that way. | 35:28 | |
It was a little step, it was a little thing, an act of mercy | 35:30 | |
that changed him and reshaped his life and transformed him. | 35:33 | |
Or it might happen to you like it did to Jason | 35:39 | |
and Caroline Burnhart, whose experiences in local | 35:41 | |
and foreign mission projects while they were students | 35:45 | |
led them to accept the challenge of organizing | 35:48 | |
and running an orphanage in Bolivia when they graduated. | 35:50 | |
Or like Sister Helen Prejean, whose conviction | 35:55 | |
that killing was wrong led her to advocate for death row | 35:58 | |
inmates while at the same time ministering | 36:02 | |
to the families of their victims. | 36:06 | |
Or any one of the countless kingdom people | 36:09 | |
who find that their desire to serve God leads them | 36:12 | |
to stand on their head and turn their world upside down | 36:16 | |
so that they begin to see possibilities for hope | 36:20 | |
and wholeness where before there was only despair | 36:23 | |
and brokenness. | 36:26 | |
The world looks funny upside down but maybe that is just | 36:30 | |
how lit looks when you've got your feet planted in heaven. | 36:34 | |
Jesus did it all the time and seemed to think | 36:38 | |
that we could do it also. | 36:41 | |
So blessed are those who stand on their heads | 36:44 | |
for they shall see the world as God sees it. | 36:47 | |
They shall also find themselves in good company, | 36:51 | |
turned upside down by the only one who really knows | 36:55 | |
which way is up. | 36:59 | |
(organ introduction to choral music) | 37:35 | |
(choir singing hymn) | 37:54 | |
- | You may be seated. | 40:00 |
The Lord be with you. | 40:09 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 40:10 |
- | Let us pray. | 40:12 |
Gracious God, we bow before you, painfully aware | 40:18 | |
of our individual longings and unmet needs. | 40:22 | |
Some of us doubt our own worth and attempt to fill | 40:26 | |
an inner void with possessions and activities. | 40:30 | |
Others among us have fooled ourselves with pious pretensions | 40:34 | |
and false pride. | 40:39 | |
Some are bewildered and afraid while others are overly | 40:41 | |
confident of their superior status and achievements. | 40:45 | |
In the face of these false identities you present us with | 40:49 | |
a Savior who embodies wisdom, righteousness and redemption | 40:52 | |
and calls us to follow him. | 40:59 | |
Hear now our fervent prayers that you may transform us into | 41:03 | |
a people able to receive the abundance of your blessings. | 41:07 | |
Oh Creator of the universe, you have shown us that happy are | 41:13 | |
the poor in spirit as you came to earth to live among us. | 41:17 | |
Help us to know that apart from you we have nothing. | 41:22 | |
Save us from the pride that mistakes your gifts | 41:26 | |
for our possessions. | 41:29 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 41:32 | |
Heavenly King, you have taught us happy are those who mourn | 41:35 | |
for they shall be comforted. | 41:39 | |
As you triumphed over evil and death on the cross | 41:42 | |
we pray for hope that strengthens us in the face of grief, | 41:46 | |
pain and despair. | 41:52 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 41:55 | |
Dayspring from on high, you have taught us, | 41:59 | |
happy are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth. | 42:03 | |
Restrain our arrogance that tempts us | 42:07 | |
to place ourselves above others. | 42:09 | |
Teach us how to become more like children | 42:12 | |
that we may receive the gift of your grace as a blessing | 42:15 | |
and not as a right. | 42:18 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 42:21 | |
Bread of Heaven, you taught us happy are those who hunger | 42:25 | |
and thirst for what is right for they shall be satisfied. | 42:29 | |
While you overturned rules of human making | 42:34 | |
you lived your law in perfect love. | 42:37 | |
Stir up in us a desire for justice, | 42:40 | |
forgive us our careless living. | 42:43 | |
Help us, the church, to be able to discern what is right | 42:46 | |
as we struggle to resolve conflicts within the community | 42:51 | |
of faith over abortion, homosexuality, capital punishment, | 42:55 | |
or any other divisive issue. | 43:00 | |
Empower us to live according to your justice. | 43:04 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:08 | |
Lamb of God, you said happy are the pure in heart | 43:12 | |
for they shall see God. | 43:16 | |
As you lived a life of pure love, which revealed the face | 43:18 | |
of God, teach us the way of selfless living, | 43:21 | |
deliver us from prideful hearts, grant us the desire | 43:25 | |
to love and serve you above all others. | 43:29 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:33 | |
Savior of the world, you said happy are the peacemakers | 43:37 | |
for they shall be called children of God. | 43:40 | |
As you broke down walls of hate which separate us, | 43:43 | |
enable us to be reconciled one to another. | 43:46 | |
Forgive us the discord, prejudice, gossip and fear | 43:50 | |
which we spread among our neighbors. | 43:54 | |
Call forth peacemakers among the warring factions around | 43:59 | |
the globe that your peace might reign throughout the earth. | 44:02 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 44:07 | |
Fountain of Hope, you said happy are those | 44:12 | |
who are persecuted in the cause of right | 44:14 | |
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | 44:16 | |
As you took the cross upon yourself for our sakes, | 44:19 | |
help us to risk ourselves for the right. | 44:22 | |
Give us anger without hate and courage to obey | 44:26 | |
your call at all cost. | 44:29 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 44:33 | |
Joy of the Soul, you said happy are you | 44:37 | |
when people persecute you and speak all kinds of | 44:40 | |
evil against you on my account. | 44:43 | |
Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven. | 44:46 | |
Give us the will to live by your commandments, oh God. | 44:51 | |
Empower us to be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ our Lord | 44:55 | |
that his light might shine for all the world to see. | 44:59 | |
We ask no reward other than to know you | 45:04 | |
and to serve you faithfully all our days. | 45:07 | |
In the name of Christ our Lord, we pray, amen. | 45:12 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people, | 45:17 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 45:20 | |
(classical organ music) | 45:26 | |
♪ Praise ye the name of the Lord ♪ | 47:28 | |
♪ Praise ye the Lord ♪ | 47:34 | |
♪ Praise ye the Lord ♪ | 47:39 | |
♪ Praise ye the name of the Lord ♪ | 47:45 | |
♪ All praise God ♪ | 47:56 | |
♪ All praise our God ♪ | 48:01 | |
♪ For he is God ♪ | 48:08 | |
♪ For he is the God ♪ | 48:14 | |
♪ Above him, above him ♪ | 48:18 | |
♪ Our great God ♪ | 48:24 | |
♪ Praise God all in His temple ♪ | 48:34 | |
♪ Praise God all in His temple ♪ | 48:40 | |
♪ Praise God, adore Him ♪ | 48:47 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 48:51 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 49:00 | |
♪ All-le-lu-ia ♪ | 49:04 | |
♪ All-le-lu-ia ♪ | 49:10 | |
♪ All-le-lu-ia ♪ | 49:18 | |
♪ All-le-lu-ia ♪ | 49:27 | |
♪ All-le-lu-ia ♪ | 49:30 | |
(organ introduction to hymn) | 49:59 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 50:30 | |
♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 50:37 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 50:43 | |
♪ Praise God, ye heavenly hosts ♪ | 50:52 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 50:58 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 51:05 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 51:12 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:18 | |
All good gifts around us come from you, oh God, | 51:33 | |
as you have so richly blessed us, | 51:36 | |
so we humbly offer these gifts in thanksgiving | 51:39 | |
for your abundant mercy toward us | 51:43 | |
and pray your blessing upon them. | 51:45 | |
Use them to proclaim the gospel message | 51:47 | |
to any who are in need. | 51:50 | |
And may praise, glory, honor and thanksgiving | 51:52 | |
descend upon your holy name, now and forever. | 51:55 | |
These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ | 51:59 | |
who taught us to pray with confidence. | 52:02 | |
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. | 52:05 | |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth | 52:10 | |
as it is in heaven. | 52:13 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 52:15 | |
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 52:18 | |
who trespass against us. | 52:21 | |
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. | 52:24 | |
For Thine is the kingdom, the power | 52:28 | |
and the glory forever, amen. | 52:31 | |
("Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" organ introduction) | 52:35 | |
♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee ♪ | 53:16 | |
♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪ | 53:20 | |
♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee ♪ | 53:24 | |
♪ Opening to the sun above ♪ | 53:30 | |
♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪ | 53:35 | |
♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪ | 53:39 | |
♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪ | 53:44 | |
♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪ | 53:48 | |
♪ All thy works with joy surround Thee ♪ | 53:57 | |
♪ Earth and heaven reflect thy rays ♪ | 54:01 | |
♪ Stars and angels sing around Thee, ♪ | 54:05 | |
♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪ | 54:10 | |
♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪ | 54:14 | |
♪ Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪ | 54:19 | |
♪ Chanting bird and flowing fountain ♪ | 54:23 | |
♪ Call us to rejoice in Thee ♪ | 54:28 | |
♪ Thou art giving and forgiving ♪ | 54:36 | |
♪ Ever blessing, ever blest ♪ | 54:41 | |
♪ Well-spring of the joy of living ♪ | 54:45 | |
♪ Ocean depth of happy rest ♪ | 54:50 | |
♪ Thou our Father, Christ our brother ♪ | 54:55 | |
♪ All who live in love are Thine ♪ | 54:59 | |
♪ Teach us how to love each other ♪ | 55:04 | |
♪ Fill us with the joy divine ♪ | 55:08 | |
♪ Mortals, join the mighty chorus ♪ | 55:16 | |
♪ Which the morning stars began ♪ | 55:20 | |
♪ Love divine is reigning ov'r us ♪ | 55:25 | |
♪ Binding all within its span ♪ | 55:30 | |
♪ Ever singing, march we onward ♪ | 55:34 | |
♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪ | 55:38 | |
♪ Joyful music leads us sunward ♪ | 55:43 | |
♪ In the triumph song of life ♪ | 55:47 | |
(organ finale to hymn) | 55:53 | |
And now go forth in peace and be of good courage. | 56:39 | |
Hold fast that which is good, | 56:42 | |
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. | 56:45 | |
And may the blessings of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, | 56:47 | |
be with you and remain with you always, amen. | 56:51 | |
♪ God be in my head ♪ | 56:56 | |
♪ And in my understanding ♪ | 57:04 | |
♪ God be in mine eyes ♪ | 57:14 | |
♪ And in my looking ♪ | 57:21 | |
♪ God be in my mouth ♪ | 57:32 | |
♪ And in my speaking ♪ | 57:38 | |
♪ God be in my heart ♪ | 57:51 | |
♪ And in my thinking ♪ | 57:58 | |
♪ God be at mine end ♪ | 58:09 | |
♪ And in my departing ♪ | 58:21 | |
(classical organ music) | 58:49 |