Peter J. Gomes - "The Right Choice" (February 14, 1993)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(instrumental church organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning; welcome to this service | 2:03 |
of worship at Duke Chapel. | 2:05 | |
This afternoon at 5:00 p.m. | 2:09 | |
Steven Brown, who's a member of the Chapel Choir will | 2:14 | |
be giving his senior organ recital | 2:16 | |
and all are invited. | 2:19 | |
This Tuesday, one of the most popular learning events | 2:22 | |
that we have during the year, | 2:27 | |
our symposium on inner faith dating and marriage will | 2:28 | |
be held in room 139 of the Social Sciences building | 2:32 | |
and Rabbi John Friedman will be leading that discussion. | 2:36 | |
Remind you that we're having a series | 2:42 | |
on the reading of scripture every Sunday morning | 2:46 | |
at 9:45 in room 211 of the Divinity School | 2:49 | |
being led by the popular Duke religion professor, | 2:52 | |
Doctor Dale Martin, and that continues through next Sunday. | 2:56 | |
Our guest preacher today is one of our favorite | 3:02 | |
guest preachers here in the chapel, | 3:05 | |
the Reverend Doctor Peter Gomes. | 3:07 | |
He preaches at a chapel at a sister school of ours | 3:09 | |
to the north, and we're glad that he is with us again, | 3:15 | |
and we give him a warm welcome. | 3:18 | |
And now let us stand for the greeting. | 3:22 | |
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 3:28 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 3:31 |
- | The splendor of Christ shines upon us. | 3:33 |
Congregation | Praise the Lord! | 3:36 |
(instrumental church organ music) | 3:38 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪ | 4:20 | |
♪ Lord God Almighty! ♪ | 4:25 | |
♪ Early in the morning ♪ | 4:31 | |
♪ our song shall rise to Thee; ♪ | 4:35 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy, ♪ | 4:41 | |
♪ merciful and mighty! ♪ | 4:46 | |
♪ God in three Persons, ♪ | 4:51 | |
♪ blessed Trinity! ♪ | 4:56 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪ | 5:04 | |
♪ All the saints adore Thee, ♪ | 5:09 | |
♪ Casting down their golden crowns ♪ | 5:14 | |
♪ around the glassy sea; ♪ | 5:19 | |
♪ Cherubim and seraphim ♪ | 5:25 | |
♪ falling down before Thee, ♪ | 5:30 | |
♪ which wert, and art, ♪ | 5:35 | |
♪ and evermore shall be. ♪ | 5:40 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪ | 5:48 | |
♪ Though the darkness hide Thee, ♪ | 5:53 | |
♪ Though the eye of sinful man ♪ | 5:59 | |
♪ Thy glory may not see; ♪ | 6:03 | |
♪ Only Thou art holy; ♪ | 6:10 | |
♪ there is none beside Thee, ♪ | 6:15 | |
♪ Perfect in pow'r, ♪ | 6:20 | |
♪ in love, and purity. ♪ | 6:25 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 6:32 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪ | 7:55 | |
♪ Lord God Almighty! ♪ | 7:59 | |
♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, ♪ | 8:05 | |
♪ and sky, and sea; ♪ | 8:11 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy; ♪ | 8:15 | |
♪ merciful and mighty! ♪ | 8:20 | |
♪ God in three Persons, ♪ | 8:26 | |
♪ blessed Trinity! ♪ | 8:31 | |
- | Let us pray. | 8:41 |
O God, whose ways reach beyond horizons we cannot see, | 8:45 | |
and whose law plumbs the depths | 8:51 | |
we only dimly discern. | 8:54 | |
Teach us today. | 8:57 | |
We want to love you, | 8:59 | |
but we do not know how to do that. | 9:01 | |
We want to keep your commandments, | 9:05 | |
but we find it hard to distinguish | 9:07 | |
between eternal truths and human invention. | 9:09 | |
We want to make the right choices in life, | 9:15 | |
but often there are no clear directions | 9:18 | |
through the clouds and shadows that beset us. | 9:21 | |
Come among us. | 9:25 | |
Dwell within us | 9:27 | |
as we seek to worship you | 9:30 | |
in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. | 9:33 | |
You may be seated. | 9:37 | |
- | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 9:48 |
- | [Eleanor With Congregation] Open our hearts and minds, | 9:53 |
O God, by the power of your Holy Spirit | 9:55 | |
so that as the Word is read and proclaimed, | 9:59 | |
we may hear your Word with joy this day. | 10:02 | |
Amen. | 10:06 | |
- | The epistle is written in the third chapter | 10:09 |
of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, | 10:11 | |
beginning at the first verse: | 10:14 | |
And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak | 10:18 | |
to you as spiritual people, | 10:21 | |
but rather as people of the flesh; | 10:23 | |
As infants in Christ. | 10:26 | |
I fed you with milk, not solid food, | 10:28 | |
for you were not ready for solid food. | 10:32 | |
Even now you are still not ready | 10:35 | |
for you are still of the flesh. | 10:38 | |
For as long as there is jealousy | 10:42 | |
and quarreling among you, | 10:44 | |
are you not of the flesh | 10:46 | |
and behaving according to human inclinations? | 10:48 | |
For when one says "I belong to Paul", | 10:52 | |
and another, "I belong to Apollos", | 10:55 | |
are you not merely human? | 10:59 | |
What then is Apollos? | 11:02 | |
What is Paul? | 11:04 | |
Servants through whom you came to believe | 11:06 | |
as the Lord assigned to each. | 11:08 | |
I planted, Apollos watered, | 11:11 | |
but God gave the growth. | 11:14 | |
So neither the one who plants | 11:16 | |
nor the one who waters is anything, | 11:19 | |
but only God who gives the growth. | 11:22 | |
The one who plants and the one who waters | 11:25 | |
have a common purpose, | 11:28 | |
and each will receive wages according | 11:30 | |
to the labor of each. | 11:32 | |
For we are God's servants working together. | 11:34 | |
You are God's field, God's building. | 11:38 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 11:42 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 11:45 |
- | Today's psalm is number 119, verses 1-8, | 11:51 |
found on page 840 and 841 in the hymnal. | 11:55 | |
Please stand and sing the psalm and Gloria responsively. | 11:59 | |
♪ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, ♪ | 12:11 | |
♪ who walk in the law of the Lord. ♪ | 12:16 | |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ Blessed are those | 12:20 |
♪ who keep God's testimonies, ♪ | 12:22 | |
♪ who seek God with their whole heart. ♪ | 12:26 | |
- | ♪ Who also do no wrong ♪ | 12:31 |
♪ but walk in God's ways. ♪ | 12:35 | |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ You have commanded | 12:39 |
♪ your precepts to be kept diligently. ♪ | 12:40 | |
Psalm Leader | ♪ Oh, that my ways may be steadfast ♪ | 12:46 |
♪ in keeping your statutes! ♪ | 12:50 | |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ Then I shall not | 12:54 |
♪ be put to shame, having my eyes fixed ♪ | 12:56 | |
♪ on all your commandments. ♪ | 13:01 | |
- | ♪ I will praise you with an upright heart ♪ | 13:05 |
♪ when I learn your righteous ordinances. ♪ | 13:09 | |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ I will observe | 13:15 |
♪ your statutes; O forsake me not utterly. ♪ | 13:17 | |
- | ♪ All glory be to you, Creator, ♪ | 13:25 |
♪ And to Jesus Christ our Savior, ♪ | 13:28 | |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ And to the Holy Spirit, | 13:32 |
♪ blessed Trinity. ♪ | 13:35 | |
- | ♪ As it was, our time began, ♪ | 13:39 |
- | [Psalm Leader With Congregation] ♪ This now | 13:44 |
♪ and will be forevermore. ♪ | 13:45 | |
- | Please be seated. | 13:52 |
- | The holy gospel is written in the fifth chapter | 14:01 |
of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. | 14:04 | |
Beginning at the 21st verse: | 14:07 | |
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, | 14:11 | |
you shall not murder, and, | 14:14 | |
whoever murders shall be liable to judgment, | 14:17 | |
but I say to you that if you are angry | 14:21 | |
with a brother or sister, | 14:24 | |
you will be liable to judgment, | 14:25 | |
and if you insult a brother or sister, | 14:28 | |
you will be liable to the council, | 14:30 | |
and if you say "You fool", | 14:33 | |
you will be liable to the hell of fire. | 14:36 | |
So when you are offering your gift at the alter, | 14:39 | |
if you remember that your brother or sister | 14:42 | |
has something against you, | 14:45 | |
leave your gift there before the alter and go. | 14:47 | |
First, be reconciled to your brother or sister, | 14:51 | |
and then come and offer your gift. | 14:55 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 14:59 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God! | 15:02 |
(choir singing gospel music) | 15:24 | |
- | The lesson from the Old Testament | 18:38 |
is written in the 30th chapter | 18:40 | |
of the book of Deuteronomy, | 18:42 | |
beginning at the 15th verse: | 18:44 | |
See, I have set before you today, | 18:52 | |
life and prosperity, | 18:56 | |
death and adversity. | 18:58 | |
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God | 19:01 | |
that I am commanding you today, | 19:05 | |
by loving the Lord your God, | 19:08 | |
walking in his ways, | 19:10 | |
and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, | 19:12 | |
then you shall live and become numerous, | 19:18 | |
and the Lord your God will bless you | 19:21 | |
in the land that you are entering to possess. | 19:23 | |
But if your heart turns away | 19:27 | |
and you do not hear, | 19:30 | |
but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, | 19:32 | |
I declare to you today, | 19:38 | |
that you shall perish. | 19:40 | |
You shall not live long in the land | 19:42 | |
that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. | 19:45 | |
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today; | 19:50 | |
That I have set before you life and death, | 19:56 | |
blessings and curses. | 20:00 | |
Choose life. | 20:04 | |
So that you and your descendants may live, | 20:06 | |
loving the Lord your God, | 20:11 | |
obeying him, and holding fast to Him. | 20:14 | |
For that means life to you and length of days. | 20:18 | |
So that you may live in the land | 20:23 | |
that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, | 20:26 | |
to Abraham, to Isaac, | 20:30 | |
and to Jacob. | 20:34 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 20:37 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 20:41 |
- | Help us Lord to become masters of ourselves | 20:50 |
that we may become the servants of others. | 20:54 | |
Take our hands and work through them. | 20:58 | |
Take our minds and think through them. | 21:01 | |
Take our lips and speak through them | 21:05 | |
and take our hearts | 21:09 | |
and set them on fire | 21:11 | |
for Christ's sake, | 21:14 | |
Amen. | 21:17 | |
Before we turn to the Word of God | 21:24 | |
and my words about the Word of God, | 21:27 | |
let me say two or three things to you. | 21:30 | |
The first is that I always rejoice | 21:34 | |
in the opportunity to come to Duke Chapel. | 21:37 | |
Here, it is always Easter | 21:41 | |
and I rejoice in the company of you Easter Christians. | 21:44 | |
Secondly, I want to say what a privilege it is | 21:49 | |
to again be the wilder preacher | 21:53 | |
and I rejoice in that relationship as well. | 21:57 | |
And perhaps I might also extend | 22:02 | |
a word of welcome to your Dean. | 22:04 | |
I take it he's not been around lately, and, | 22:06 | |
I think all of us are glad to see him here. | 22:11 | |
Now let me presume one more word to you | 22:15 | |
to speak of something of which I know a great deal | 22:18 | |
and of which you know nothing at the moment. | 22:21 | |
I am a trusty of Wellesley College | 22:24 | |
and that means that I know a great deal about your future, | 22:28 | |
and I can assure the people of Duke University | 22:32 | |
that our enormous loss | 22:35 | |
is your tremendous gain. | 22:39 | |
In Nan Keohane, your President Elect, | 22:42 | |
you have made, to quote a brilliant sermon, | 22:46 | |
the right choice, | 22:49 | |
and I trust you will live long to rejoice in it. | 22:51 | |
Having said all of these things, | 22:56 | |
let me ask you to turn with me | 22:58 | |
to the 19th verse of the 30th chapter | 23:00 | |
of the Book of Deuteronomy, | 23:03 | |
which you just heard the text: | 23:05 | |
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day | 23:08 | |
that I have set before you, life and death, | 23:14 | |
blessings and curses. | 23:18 | |
Therefore, if you're smart; that's not in the text, | 23:21 | |
but it's implied; if you're smart, choose life! | 23:25 | |
You and your descendants | 23:29 | |
may live. | 23:33 | |
This is a sermon about freedom. | 23:36 | |
It is a sermon about freedom to choose who, | 23:40 | |
and whose, and what you are. | 23:45 | |
This is a sermon that says you do not have to be | 23:50 | |
who and what you are | 23:55 | |
right now. | 23:58 | |
There are choices for you | 23:59 | |
and the essence of freedom | 24:02 | |
is the exercise of those choices. | 24:05 | |
Now, if I forget that during the course | 24:10 | |
of this sermon, your job is to remember it. | 24:13 | |
And if you forget it, my task is to remind you of it. | 24:16 | |
You do not have to be who and what you are. | 24:21 | |
You can choose something better, something other. | 24:27 | |
The choice is yours. | 24:32 | |
That is what it means to be free. | 24:34 | |
Now, freedom is not simply the absence of restraint | 24:39 | |
or compulsion, nor is freedom simply the right | 24:44 | |
to do anything you want to do, anywhere, anytime, | 24:48 | |
and as much of it as you please. | 24:52 | |
Those are elements of freedom, | 24:56 | |
but they are really not the essence of freedom | 24:58 | |
because the essence of freedom is choice, | 25:02 | |
and the essence of free choice | 25:06 | |
is the ability to choose to do the right thing. | 25:09 | |
The ability to make a decision, to take a choice; | 25:14 | |
This is freedom. | 25:18 | |
Choice is to freedom as air is to fire. | 25:20 | |
You cannot have the one without the other. | 25:24 | |
And this is the point that Moses | 25:29 | |
is trying to make, and to make a sermon much longer | 25:31 | |
than this one in this passage which we have just heard | 25:34 | |
from Deuteronomy, he is preaching to his vast, | 25:38 | |
unruly, and impatient crowd of damp Jews | 25:42 | |
just out from the Red Sea. | 25:46 | |
They are free, he tells them, they are free | 25:49 | |
from Pharaoh, they are free from bondage, | 25:51 | |
they are free from slavery, | 25:55 | |
they are free from Egypt, | 25:57 | |
but their essential freedom consists in their choice | 25:59 | |
of what kind of people they will now be free to become. | 26:05 | |
How shall they define themselves? | 26:10 | |
To whom will they be loyal? | 26:14 | |
What will be the basis | 26:16 | |
of their conduct and of their belief? | 26:18 | |
They have the freedom to define themselves, | 26:21 | |
to redefine themselves, to recreate themselves, | 26:26 | |
as it were, on the spot. | 26:30 | |
They have, as we say at Harvard Business School, | 26:33 | |
they have options. | 26:36 | |
Now maybe options sound better to deal with than choices, | 26:38 | |
but they are the same thing, | 26:41 | |
and their freedom begins in the exercise | 26:43 | |
of these options. | 26:48 | |
They're called upon to choose and to make the right choice: | 26:50 | |
I have set before you life and death, | 26:54 | |
blessing and curse. | 26:57 | |
Who in his or her right mind would choose death over life? | 27:00 | |
Who in his or her right mind | 27:05 | |
would choose curses over blessing? | 27:06 | |
But just in case you and they forget it, | 27:09 | |
therefore choose life, | 27:11 | |
that you and your descendents, your posterity, future; | 27:14 | |
You and they may live. | 27:19 | |
You are free to choose | 27:24 | |
but you will not be truly free | 27:26 | |
unless and until you make the right choice. | 27:29 | |
Life over death, faith over fear, | 27:34 | |
the future over the past, | 27:38 | |
hope over doubts, | 27:40 | |
your higher nature over your lesser natures. | 27:41 | |
So choice is the essence of freedom. | 27:49 | |
You all know this to be true. | 27:52 | |
For example, this morning, | 27:56 | |
you could have chosen to go | 27:57 | |
to another place to worship today, | 27:59 | |
but you chose, for whatever reasons, | 28:02 | |
to come to Duke Chapel. | 28:05 | |
The right choice, I think. | 28:07 | |
The right choice, I hope. | 28:09 | |
You could have chosen to stay at home | 28:11 | |
but here you are, again, | 28:13 | |
the right choice, I think. | 28:15 | |
The right choice, I hope. | 28:18 | |
I could have stayed home in Cambridge | 28:20 | |
but I am here, again, | 28:23 | |
I think the right choice, | 28:25 | |
coming from the Duke of the North | 28:28 | |
to the Harvard, or shall we now say, | 28:30 | |
the Wellesley of the South. | 28:32 | |
(congregation chuckles) | 28:35 | |
We've all exercised our freedom. | 28:36 | |
We have all made our choices | 28:39 | |
in matters great and small. | 28:41 | |
That is all that really counts. | 28:44 | |
Moses says that if you choose | 28:47 | |
and make the right choice, | 28:49 | |
you and your descendants, that is, | 28:51 | |
you and the future | 28:54 | |
will live in freedom. | 28:57 | |
Now, having said all that, | 29:03 | |
I'm very much aware that this is | 29:05 | |
a University congregation. | 29:07 | |
And that means you are clever and urbane. | 29:11 | |
You have heard it all before. | 29:15 | |
It means that in the cluster | 29:18 | |
of these transepts and this nave, | 29:21 | |
there are probably more overeducated people | 29:24 | |
than one can shake a stick at. | 29:27 | |
You're all clever men and women of the world; | 29:30 | |
Shrewd, sensible, not easily taken in, | 29:34 | |
good judges of horse flesh, | 29:39 | |
that's what you specialize in here, | 29:41 | |
and beneath these pious and plastic exteriors of yours | 29:44 | |
upon which I now gaze, | 29:49 | |
what I call your church faces; | 29:51 | |
I know beneath there is a certain skepticism, | 29:54 | |
a certain cynicism, | 29:58 | |
a certain notion that you know | 30:00 | |
that there is a good deal more | 30:03 | |
to all of this than all of that. | 30:04 | |
You know that there is less here | 30:08 | |
than meets the eye. | 30:10 | |
This business of choice is not as simple | 30:12 | |
as Moses or as I am making it out to be. | 30:15 | |
For all of you every day, | 30:19 | |
struggle with the ambiguity of choices; | 30:21 | |
What is right, what is wrong? | 30:24 | |
What is in the middle? | 30:26 | |
Choice, at best, is ambiguous. | 30:27 | |
On what basis do we choose or make our choices? | 30:30 | |
Is it so that life really consists of making choices | 30:35 | |
in the absence of all of the evidence? | 30:40 | |
Well of course it is true. | 30:43 | |
If you had all of the evidence, | 30:45 | |
it would hardly be a choice at all. | 30:47 | |
You would know what to do. | 30:49 | |
But what makes life interesting is that you must choose | 30:51 | |
in the absence of all of the evidence. | 30:54 | |
Perhaps that is why so many of us choose | 30:59 | |
to spend so long in the University | 31:03 | |
looking for all of the evidence | 31:06 | |
and not making any choices until we find it, | 31:09 | |
which means that we never make any choices. | 31:13 | |
Perhaps that explains the inertia | 31:15 | |
of places like Harvard and Duke, | 31:18 | |
but that's another sermon for another time. | 31:21 | |
There are good choices you are aware of. | 31:25 | |
There are bad choices, | 31:27 | |
and there are not so good choices, | 31:29 | |
and these are, and they are also as well, | 31:32 | |
the chosen, and the choosers. | 31:35 | |
And amidst all these ambiguities, | 31:38 | |
even not to choose, as my colleague Harvey Cox once said, | 31:41 | |
is to choose; it is to choose not to choose, | 31:46 | |
which is, of course, to choose; | 31:49 | |
To leave things just as they are, which is a choice. | 31:51 | |
And indeed, is it not really true | 31:57 | |
that other people really make most | 32:00 | |
of our important choices for us? | 32:03 | |
Over the past few months, I have been in the | 32:08 | |
heady business of writing letters of application, | 32:11 | |
letters of reference, actually, for people applying | 32:15 | |
for colleges across the nation. | 32:19 | |
I have to deal with the children | 32:22 | |
of my colleagues and my friends, | 32:24 | |
and write sweet letters to admissions committees | 32:26 | |
all across the country, | 32:29 | |
saying to these admissions committees, of course, | 32:31 | |
that the candidate is the best thing since sliced bread. | 32:33 | |
And if, in this exercise, a gentle purgery | 32:38 | |
is involved on all our parts, | 32:43 | |
well, what's wrong with it? | 32:46 | |
Because, if we told the truth | 32:47 | |
about the people for whom | 32:49 | |
we must write letters of reference, | 32:51 | |
no institution would admit them, | 32:52 | |
and if no institution admitted them, | 32:54 | |
then we would be out of work, | 32:56 | |
and so you see there is a certain kind of cycle | 32:58 | |
that is involved, but, | 33:01 | |
in many cases, these young people for whom I end up writing | 33:04 | |
these letters of application to | 33:07 | |
Harvard and to Wellesley and to Duke, | 33:10 | |
and heaven knows where all else; | 33:12 | |
These young people actually believe | 33:14 | |
that it makes a difference in their lives | 33:17 | |
if they do or do not get into what they call | 33:20 | |
the college of their choice. | 33:24 | |
"I'll die if I don't get into Duke." | 33:27 | |
I believe I have heard that many times. | 33:30 | |
I remember all of this very well | 33:34 | |
because 33 years ago or so, I applied | 33:36 | |
to the college of my first choice, | 33:39 | |
and I felt I would die if I wasn't admitted | 33:41 | |
to Bowdoin College in Maine, and, | 33:45 | |
I was rejected. | 33:49 | |
I thought I'd never get over it. | 33:51 | |
It took me fully two weeks to adapt | 33:53 | |
to my second choice college, which was Bates. | 33:55 | |
Bowdoin chose not to accept me, | 34:00 | |
which was my first choice, | 34:02 | |
and so I had no choice, | 34:04 | |
but to go to my second choice, | 34:06 | |
which was no choice because it wasn't my first choice. | 34:07 | |
Do you follow the logic of that? | 34:10 | |
And so I went to Bates | 34:14 | |
and in a very short time, | 34:15 | |
I got over it and I got on | 34:17 | |
and the rest is history | 34:19 | |
and a very happy history, indeed. | 34:21 | |
But that's not the point of this story. | 34:23 | |
Nearly 25 years later, | 34:26 | |
after I had entered upon my present glories | 34:29 | |
as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard, | 34:32 | |
I received another letter in the mail from Bowdoin College. | 34:35 | |
This time not a letter of rejection, | 34:40 | |
but one of invitation, inviting me to preach | 34:43 | |
at the rededication of their chapel. | 34:46 | |
Now, they didn't invite me to do this | 34:49 | |
because I was of the great and the good. | 34:50 | |
They invited me because I was the successor | 34:52 | |
to the Plummer Professor, | 34:55 | |
who 100 years before had done the very same thing. | 34:57 | |
They were being true to the historical record, | 35:00 | |
so I accepted with alacrity, and I went; | 35:03 | |
I was wonderfully treated at Bowdoin College. | 35:07 | |
The new President who was younger than I | 35:10 | |
introduced me warmly on the occasion, | 35:12 | |
stringing out all of my virtues, | 35:16 | |
making much of the fact that this was my first visit | 35:18 | |
to Bowdoin College, and he hoped it would not be my last. | 35:20 | |
And he went on and on and on. | 35:23 | |
And I thought to myself, should I, | 35:26 | |
or should I not? | 35:29 | |
(congregation laughs) | 35:30 | |
This was one of those tempting little choices | 35:32 | |
for which we all live and pray, | 35:36 | |
and so I decided, why not? | 35:38 | |
What do I gotta lose? | 35:40 | |
(congregation claps) | 35:42 | |
So I said, Sir, this is not my first visit | 35:43 | |
to your college. | 35:47 | |
On my first visit, many years ago, | 35:49 | |
you chose not to accept me, | 35:52 | |
and there was this awful pause | 35:54 | |
in the middle of the row. | 35:56 | |
Then I went on, I said, | 35:58 | |
but, your choice enabled me | 35:59 | |
to choose Bates which was the right choice | 36:03 | |
where I was so well educated | 36:07 | |
that I now have the honor to speak to you today. | 36:09 | |
(congregation laughs) | 36:12 | |
So you see, there is always a choice. | 36:14 | |
We always have options, | 36:17 | |
no matter how bleak, | 36:19 | |
or how boxed in we appear to be, | 36:21 | |
we always have options to exercise. | 36:25 | |
And even when we seem least free, | 36:28 | |
even when it appears that other people | 36:32 | |
are making our choices for us, | 36:34 | |
that we are locked into circumstances beyond our control, | 36:37 | |
choices are there to be made, | 36:42 | |
and you and I by the nature of who we are, | 36:45 | |
are empowered to make those choices. | 36:49 | |
The prisoner bound in chains | 36:54 | |
subject to torture and humiliation and degradation; | 36:58 | |
That prisoner is fundamentally free | 37:02 | |
despite all appearances to the contrary. | 37:06 | |
That prisoner is fundamentally free, | 37:10 | |
who knows that he has within him | 37:13 | |
the capacity, even in bondage, | 37:17 | |
to choose how he will deal | 37:20 | |
with his circumstances. | 37:24 | |
The little choices under such circumstances | 37:27 | |
become the ultimate choices. | 37:31 | |
This was the freedom, for example, | 37:34 | |
of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, | 37:36 | |
free even under death. | 37:39 | |
The Nazis could, and did kill him, | 37:41 | |
but they could not enslave him, | 37:44 | |
they could not convert him, | 37:46 | |
they could not destroy him, | 37:48 | |
for the essence of his freedom | 37:50 | |
was to choose in his chains | 37:52 | |
to maintain the freedom and the dignity | 37:55 | |
of his spirit, despite the circumstances of his bondage. | 37:58 | |
He had a choice, and he made it, | 38:02 | |
and it was the right one. | 38:04 | |
This was true of Nelson Mandela, | 38:07 | |
whose spirit could not be destroyed | 38:10 | |
by the prison houses of South Africa. | 38:12 | |
He was in his bondage always more free | 38:15 | |
than those captors of his | 38:20 | |
who held the keys. | 38:22 | |
He was always freer than they were | 38:24 | |
because he chose to maintain a free spirit | 38:28 | |
in the face of captivity. | 38:32 | |
And in a subject tender to you and to me, | 38:37 | |
I have seen pictures, | 38:42 | |
lurid photographs of black men, | 38:45 | |
lynched here in the South, | 38:48 | |
or beaten by mobs in the North, | 38:51 | |
where it is clear | 38:55 | |
from the expressions captured for all time | 38:57 | |
by the merciless lens of the camera | 39:00 | |
that the victims chose | 39:03 | |
to suffer in liberating dignity | 39:06 | |
while their oppressors were truly | 39:10 | |
the victims of their passions and fears, | 39:13 | |
and rage; you can see it in their faces, | 39:16 | |
and you can see it in the faces | 39:20 | |
of those hateful mobs. | 39:23 | |
And when we look at the death of Jesus | 39:27 | |
on the cross, this we know as well | 39:30 | |
to be true, he chose not to give into death, | 39:33 | |
or the fear of death. | 39:37 | |
He chose the future over the past | 39:39 | |
and he chose the better nature of those | 39:43 | |
who did him in. | 39:47 | |
That is the liberating essence of the Passion. | 39:49 | |
We know this to be true. | 39:53 | |
Even in the face of death itself, | 39:55 | |
there are choices to be make, | 39:59 | |
and you and I, can and must, make them. | 40:01 | |
The gospel, the good news, reminds us | 40:06 | |
that we always have choices. | 40:09 | |
We are never without choices. | 40:11 | |
We are always free to choose. | 40:14 | |
The question is, will we make the right choice? | 40:18 | |
The choice that enables life and the future. | 40:22 | |
Or will we choose not to choose for fear | 40:25 | |
of making the wrong choice, | 40:29 | |
or out of the belief that we have no choice? | 40:31 | |
The gospel of Jesus Christ is here to remind you | 40:36 | |
that you have the freedom to choose | 40:40 | |
for yourselves, here and now, a new life. | 40:43 | |
You are free to redefine yourself | 40:48 | |
right here and right now. | 40:52 | |
You do not have to wait for divine intervention. | 40:55 | |
You may, here and now, reinvent yourself, | 40:58 | |
recreate yourself; you have that choice. | 41:03 | |
You do not have to make the choices | 41:06 | |
your ancestors made for you. | 41:10 | |
You are not bound up by the duties | 41:12 | |
and the chains of destinies. | 41:15 | |
You are not struck and stuck | 41:17 | |
with the choices of your past | 41:20 | |
or your parent's, or your place, or your present. | 41:22 | |
You are not, my friends, you are not. | 41:26 | |
You are free to change your mind. | 41:29 | |
You are free to change your attitude. | 41:32 | |
You are free to change your opinions | 41:35 | |
because you are white, male, southern, straight, | 41:38 | |
black, female, northern, gay, poor, or rich, | 41:41 | |
dumb, or smart, does not mean that all | 41:45 | |
of your choices have been made. | 41:48 | |
It doesn't mean that at all. | 41:51 | |
You are not creatures of some predestined set | 41:53 | |
of roles and opinions, | 41:56 | |
and habits in which you have | 41:59 | |
neither choice nor responsibility. | 42:01 | |
Now, if you're a Presbyterian, | 42:04 | |
you may think that is so, | 42:06 | |
but here in this cathedral, to Methodism | 42:08 | |
and free will, you ought to know better, | 42:11 | |
and it will take a Baptist to tell you that | 42:13 | |
that is the case. | 42:15 | |
(congregation chuckles) | 42:17 | |
The wonderful story of a Presbyterian | 42:18 | |
and a Methodist who found themselves | 42:21 | |
on an exchange that had been arranged for some time, | 42:23 | |
an exchange of pulpits, | 42:26 | |
and they were riding in their buggies | 42:28 | |
on their way, each, to the other's pulpit, | 42:31 | |
and they met at a crossing in the woods, | 42:33 | |
and the Presbyterian says to his Methodist brother, | 42:36 | |
"Brother, does it not please you to know | 42:39 | |
"that before the beginning of time | 42:42 | |
"in the predestination of all things, | 42:44 | |
"it was meant that you and I | 42:46 | |
"should exchange pulpits this morning." | 42:48 | |
And the Methodist praised God, said | 42:51 | |
"If that's so, I ain't goin'", | 42:53 | |
and turned around and went home. | 42:55 | |
(congregation laughs) | 42:57 | |
There are choices to be made | 42:58 | |
and you are free to make them. | 43:00 | |
You can choose to change | 43:03 | |
and you can change. | 43:05 | |
You already have. | 43:07 | |
You already have, | 43:09 | |
you are not the person you once were. | 43:10 | |
You are not the people you once were. | 43:13 | |
The fact that I stand to you today | 43:17 | |
as I have several times before | 43:20 | |
in this very pulpit, | 43:22 | |
and the fact that the Dukes | 43:24 | |
have not yet risen up from their tombs | 43:26 | |
in righteous protest against me, | 43:28 | |
is to prove that choices have been made, | 43:31 | |
minds and hearts have changed, | 43:34 | |
attitudes are not what they were, | 43:36 | |
God is not done with you or me, | 43:38 | |
and I continue to pray for Jesse Helms. | 43:41 | |
(congregation laughs) | 43:44 | |
You don't have to remain what you are, | 43:46 | |
praise God, or where you are. | 43:50 | |
You are free to choose in Christ, | 43:53 | |
a higher road, an unknown road, | 43:56 | |
but a road that leads to life for you | 44:00 | |
and for all who will come after you. | 44:04 | |
Where would you be if you had not changed? | 44:07 | |
Where would we be if our country had not changed? | 44:11 | |
Where would the world be if men and women | 44:15 | |
had not embraced choice, | 44:18 | |
and more often than not, made the right choice? | 44:21 | |
But it begins, not at council tables, | 44:24 | |
and at high levels of policy. | 44:27 | |
It begins with you, here and now. | 44:29 | |
But, I think you know that. | 44:34 | |
I think that's old news. | 44:38 | |
It's still good, | 44:40 | |
but it's old news, | 44:42 | |
and I think that is why you are here | 44:43 | |
in this holy place. | 44:47 | |
I think that you know | 44:50 | |
that the essence of your freedom in Christ | 44:52 | |
is to choose to be more than you now are. | 44:55 | |
To be more than you have been. | 45:01 | |
And so if you know this to be true | 45:06 | |
as I believe you do, | 45:09 | |
no matter how young and inexperienced you are, | 45:12 | |
no matter how frail an undergraduate you may be, | 45:16 | |
or how old and set in your ways you are, | 45:20 | |
how rooted to the ways of your fathers and mothers; act. | 45:25 | |
Act upon this freedom to make the right choice. | 45:32 | |
Act upon it, live it, rejoice in it, | 45:37 | |
wallow in it; | 45:41 | |
such freedom for which the world aspires. | 45:43 | |
It is yours for you, | 45:47 | |
your descendants, and for that future | 45:50 | |
that awaits you until Jesus comes to North Carolina. | 45:53 | |
That future belongs to you! | 45:59 | |
All of us, heaven and earth, | 46:03 | |
are watching and waiting | 46:06 | |
to see what you do. | 46:09 | |
Therefore, you sensible, shrewd, | 46:13 | |
practical sinners that you all are, | 46:17 | |
in your own interest, | 46:21 | |
choose life. | 46:24 | |
Choose blessing. | 46:26 | |
Choose the future. | 46:29 | |
Attempt to make the right choice | 46:31 | |
in the absence of all the evidence, | 46:34 | |
do the right thing, | 46:37 | |
make the right choice, for Christ's sake, | 46:39 | |
and for yours. | 46:44 | |
Let us pray. | 46:47 | |
O gracious and generous God, | 46:52 | |
you have called us up out of bondage, | 46:54 | |
and set us in high and slippery places. | 46:57 | |
Guide our feet, our minds, our wills, | 47:02 | |
and our spirits | 47:06 | |
that we may choose that thing which is well pleasing | 47:08 | |
in your sight, and that we might do so forever, | 47:12 | |
Amen. | 47:17 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 47:20 | |
Congregation | ♪ Jesus, priceless Treasure, ♪ | 48:27 |
♪ Source of purest pleasure, ♪ | 48:34 | |
♪ Truest friend to me. ♪ | 48:42 | |
♪ Long my heart hath panted, ♪ | 48:48 | |
♪ Till it almost fainted, ♪ | 48:55 | |
♪ Thirsting after Thee. ♪ | 49:03 | |
♪ Thine I am, O spotless Lamb, ♪ | 49:09 | |
♪ I will suffer naught to hide Thee, ♪ | 49:17 | |
♪ Ask for naught beside Thee. ♪ | 49:26 | |
♪ In Thy arms I rest me; ♪ | 49:35 | |
♪ Foes who would molest me ♪ | 49:42 | |
♪ Cannot reach me here. ♪ | 49:49 | |
♪ Though the earth be shaking, ♪ | 49:56 | |
♪ Every heart be quaking, ♪ | 50:04 | |
♪ Jesus calms my fear. ♪ | 50:11 | |
♪ Sin and hell in conflict fell, ♪ | 50:18 | |
♪ With their heaviest storms assail us: ♪ | 50:26 | |
♪ Jesus will not fail us. ♪ | 50:35 | |
♪ Hence, all thought of sadness! ♪ | 50:44 | |
♪ For the Lord of gladness, ♪ | 50:52 | |
♪ Jesus, enters in. ♪ | 51:00 | |
♪ Those who love the Father, ♪ | 51:07 | |
♪ Though the storms may gather, ♪ | 51:14 | |
♪ Still have peace within; ♪ | 51:21 | |
♪ Yea, whate'er we here must bear, ♪ | 51:28 | |
♪ Still in Thee lies purest pleasure, ♪ | 51:36 | |
♪ Jesus, priceless Treasure! ♪ | 51:45 | |
- | You may be seated. | 51:57 |
Let us pray together, the litany being prayed | 52:04 | |
in churches and synagogues throughout the Durham area today, | 52:07 | |
to promote racial justice and harmony in our community. | 52:11 | |
O God, your justice is like rock | 52:16 | |
and your mercy like pure flowing water. | 52:20 | |
Judge and forgive us. | 52:24 | |
If we have turned from you, | 52:26 | |
return us to your way. | 52:28 | |
For without you, we are lost people. | 52:31 | |
From divisions and mistrust, | 52:34 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Deliver us, O God. | 52:37 |
- | From public deceptions that we can trust, | 52:40 |
from self-seeking in high political places, | 52:43 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Deliver us, O God. | 52:47 |
- | From divisions among us of class or race, | 52:49 |
from wealth that will not share, | 52:53 | |
and poverty that feeds on bitterness, | 52:55 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Deliver us, O God. | 52:58 |
- | From neglecting rights, | 53:01 |
from overlooking the hurt, | 53:03 | |
the imprisoned, and the needy among us, | 53:05 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Deliver us, O God. | 53:09 |
- | Eternal God, before you, communities rise and fall. | 53:12 |
They grow strong or wither by your design. | 53:17 | |
Help us to repent our community's wrong, | 53:20 | |
and to choose your way in unity and renewal, | 53:24 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Amen. | 53:28 |
- | Give us a glimpse of the peace you would have on earth, | 53:30 |
where pain and sorrow will be gone, | 53:33 | |
and communities gather in the light of your presence. | 53:36 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Great God, renew this community. | 53:40 |
Debra | Teach us peace, | 53:44 |
so that we may plow up battlefields, | 53:46 | |
and pound weapons into building tools, | 53:49 | |
and learn to talk across old boundaries | 53:52 | |
as brothers and sisters in your love. | 53:55 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Great God, renew this community. | 53:59 |
- | Talk sense to us, that we may wisely end all prejudice, | 54:02 |
and may put a stop to cruelty, | 54:07 | |
which divides and wounds the human family. | 54:10 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Great God, renew this community. | 54:14 |
- | Draw us together as one people who do your will | 54:17 |
so that this may be a place where all may live | 54:21 | |
in joy and peace. | 54:25 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] Great God, renew this community. | 54:27 |
- | Defend us from ignorance that nourishes injustice | 54:31 |
and from indifference that causes hearts to break, | 54:35 | |
that in uncertain and difficult times, | 54:38 | |
we may demonstrate your love, | 54:41 | |
and live as your children. | 54:44 | |
- | [Debra With Congregation] O Lord, please hear us. | 54:47 |
- | In the name of the one who gives us the freedom | 54:49 |
to make the right choices and choose life | 54:52 | |
for ourselves and our community, Amen. | 54:55 | |
We are called in freedom as instruments of God. | 55:01 | |
Coworkers of God's love in the world. | 55:04 | |
Let us offer ourselves and our gifts | 55:07 | |
that God's love may be evident to a hurting world. | 55:10 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 55:16 | |
(choir sings gospel music) | 57:33 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 1:02:43 | |
(congregation sings gospel music) | 1:03:34 | |
Congregation | ♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:03:47 |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:03:50 | |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:04:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:04:09 | |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:04:13 | |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:04:16 | |
♪ Hallelujah. ♪ | 1:04:19 | |
- | O loving God, you have set before us the way of life. | 1:04:32 |
You have enriched us immeasurably | 1:04:37 | |
with so many good and worthy choices. | 1:04:38 | |
You have given us on many occasions in life, a way, | 1:04:43 | |
when we thought there was no way, | 1:04:47 | |
For such good gifts, we now offer you | 1:04:51 | |
our exuberant thanks. | 1:04:55 | |
Take us, and take our gifts, | 1:04:58 | |
and use them for your good purposes. | 1:05:01 | |
Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 1:05:05 | |
- | [William With Congregraton] Hallowed by Thy name, | 1:05:08 |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, | 1:05:11 | |
on earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:05:14 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:05:16 | |
forgive us our trespasses, | 1:05:19 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 1:05:21 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 1:05:25 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:05:27 | |
Thine is the kingdom, the power, | 1:05:30 | |
and glory forever, Amen. | 1:05:32 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 1:05:37 | |
Congregation | ♪ God of grace and God of glory, ♪ | 1:06:21 |
♪ on thy people pour thy power; ♪ | 1:06:26 | |
♪ crown the ancient church's story; ♪ | 1:06:33 | |
♪ bring its bud to glorious flower. ♪ | 1:06:39 | |
♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, ♪ | 1:06:45 | |
♪ for the facing of this hour, ♪ | 1:06:51 | |
♪ for the facing of this hour. ♪ | 1:06:58 | |
♪ Lo, the hosts of evil round us, ♪ | 1:07:06 | |
♪ scorn thy Christ, assail his ways! ♪ | 1:07:12 | |
♪ Through the night that long has bound us, ♪ | 1:07:18 | |
♪ free our hearts to love and praise. ♪ | 1:07:25 | |
♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, ♪ | 1:07:31 | |
♪ for the living of these days, ♪ | 1:07:37 | |
♪ for the living of these days. ♪ | 1:07:44 | |
♪ Cure thy children's warring madness, ♪ | 1:07:52 | |
♪ bend our pride to thy control; ♪ | 1:07:58 | |
♪ shame our wanton, selfish gladness, ♪ | 1:08:05 | |
♪ rich in things and poor in soul. ♪ | 1:08:11 | |
♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, ♪ | 1:08:18 | |
♪ lest we miss thy kingdom's goal, ♪ | 1:08:24 | |
♪ lest we miss thy kingdom's goal. ♪ | 1:08:30 | |
♪ Save us from weak resignation ♪ | 1:08:39 | |
♪ to the evils we deplore; ♪ | 1:08:45 | |
♪ let the search for thy salvation ♪ | 1:08:51 | |
♪ be our glory evermore. ♪ | 1:08:57 | |
♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, ♪ | 1:09:04 | |
♪ serving thee whom we adore, ♪ | 1:09:09 | |
♪ serving thee whom we adore. ♪ | 1:09:16 | |
- | The grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, | 1:09:26 |
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 1:09:30 | |
be with you now and always. | 1:09:32 | |
(choir sings gospel music) | 1:09:38 | |
(instrumental church organ music) | 1:11:34 |
Item Info
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