Harold C. Warlick, Jr. - "Power" (August 12, 1990)
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Transcript
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- | Grace and peace to you | 0:11 |
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. | 0:12 | |
We welcome you to this service of worship | 0:14 | |
at Duke University Chapel, | 0:16 | |
and pray that you will receive a blessing during this hour. | 0:18 | |
We welcome as our guest preacher today, | 0:21 | |
the Reverend Dr. Harold Warlick Jr., | 0:24 | |
Chairman of the Department of Religion and Philosophy | 0:26 | |
and Minister to the College at High Point College | 0:30 | |
in High Point, North Carolina. | 0:33 | |
As a former parish minister, seminary professor, | 0:35 | |
and now college professor, | 0:38 | |
he brings a wide of range of experiences to his preaching. | 0:39 | |
We certainly look forward to his message today. | 0:42 | |
I'd also like to thank Mr. Chuck VanSant, | 0:46 | |
Assistant Dean for Residential Life, | 0:48 | |
for serving as our lector today. | 0:50 | |
We are truly indebted to the Duke Chapel Summer Choir | 0:53 | |
for the offerings they have made throughout the summer | 0:55 | |
to our services. | 0:58 | |
This is their final Sunday for the summer | 0:59 | |
and we wish to thank each and every one of them | 1:03 | |
for their vital contributions here at the chapel. | 1:05 | |
Please note the remaining announcements | 1:09 | |
as they are printed in your bulletins | 1:10 | |
and now let us continue our worship. | 1:12 | |
(choir sings) | 1:18 | |
♪ Praise ye the Lord of hosts ♪ | 1:19 | |
♪ Sing His salvation ♪ | 1:22 | |
♪ Bless His name ♪ | 1:26 | |
♪ Show forth His praise ♪ | 1:29 | |
♪ In His holy house ♪ | 1:31 | |
♪ Earth shall be glad ♪ | 1:35 | |
♪ All ye heavens now be joyful ♪ | 1:39 | |
♪ Christ bringing peace to the earth ♪ | 1:44 | |
♪ All the glad shall sing ♪ | 1:47 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 1:50 | |
("Come, Christians, Join to Sing") | 1:58 | |
(congregation sings) | 2:32 | |
♪ Come Christians join to sing ♪ | 2:34 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 2:38 | |
♪ Loud praise to Christ our King ♪ | 2:42 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 2:47 | |
♪ Let all with heart and voice ♪ | 2:51 | |
♪ Before His throne rejoice ♪ | 2:56 | |
♪ Praise is His gracious choice ♪ | 3:01 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 3:05 | |
♪ Come, lift your hearts on high ♪ | 3:12 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 3:16 | |
♪ Let praises fill the sky ♪ | 3:21 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 3:26 | |
♪ He is our guide and friend ♪ | 3:30 | |
♪ To us He'll condescend ♪ | 3:35 | |
♪ His love shall never end ♪ | 3:39 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 3:44 | |
♪ Praise yet the Lord again ♪ | 4:34 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 4:38 | |
♪ Life shall not end the strain ♪ | 4:43 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 4:47 | |
♪ On heaven's blissful shore ♪ | 4:52 | |
♪ His goodness we'll adore ♪ | 4:57 | |
♪ Singing forevermore ♪ | 5:01 | |
♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪ | 5:06 | |
Mighty God, | 5:19 | |
whom we long to see by some powerful revelation | 5:21 | |
or miraculous intervention, | 5:24 | |
speak to us today in a still small voice. | 5:26 | |
We seek you on behalf of the multitudes | 5:30 | |
who need your transforming power, | 5:33 | |
but also for ourselves. | 5:36 | |
Encourage us to take the next step | 5:39 | |
in response to your summons. | 5:42 | |
Reform our doubts that faith may empower us. | 5:44 | |
Amen. | 5:49 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:01 |
All | Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 6:03 |
by the power of your holy spirit. | 6:06 | |
So that, as the Word is read and proclaimed, | 6:09 | |
we might hear with joy, | 6:13 | |
what you say to us this day, | 6:15 | |
amen. | 6:18 | |
- | The first reading is taken from the book of Exodus. | 6:19 |
Then the angel of God, who went before the host of Israel, | 6:23 | |
moved and went behind them. | 6:27 | |
And the pillar of cloud moved from before them | 6:29 | |
and stood behind them. | 6:32 | |
Coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. | 6:35 | |
And there was the cloud and the darkness | 6:40 | |
and the night passed without one coming near the other | 6:43 | |
all night. | 6:46 | |
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, | 6:49 | |
and God drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night. | 6:52 | |
And made the sea dry land. | 6:58 | |
And the waters were divided. | 7:00 | |
And the people of Israel | 7:04 | |
went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, | 7:05 | |
the waters being a wall to them on their right hand | 7:08 | |
and on their left. | 7:12 | |
The Egyptians pursued and went in after them | 7:14 | |
in the midst of the sea. | 7:16 | |
All Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and drivers. | 7:19 | |
And in the morning watch, | 7:23 | |
God in the pillar of fire and of cloud, | 7:25 | |
looked down upon the host of the Egyptians | 7:27 | |
and confounded the host of the Egyptians, | 7:30 | |
clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. | 7:34 | |
And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel! | 7:38 | |
"For God fights for them against the Egyptians!" | 7:42 | |
Then God said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, | 7:46 | |
"that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, | 7:50 | |
"upon their chariots, and upon their drivers." | 7:54 | |
So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea | 7:59 | |
and the sea returned to its normal flow | 8:02 | |
when the morning appeared | 8:04 | |
and the Egyptians fled into it | 8:06 | |
and God routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. | 8:09 | |
The waters returned and covered the chariots | 8:13 | |
and the drivers and all the hosts of Pharaoh | 8:16 | |
that had followed them into the sea. | 8:18 | |
Not so much as one of them remained. | 8:22 | |
But the people of Israel walked on dry ground | 8:25 | |
through the sea, the waters being a wall to them | 8:28 | |
on their left hand and on their right. | 8:31 | |
Thus God saved Israel that day | 8:35 | |
from the hand of the Egyptians. | 8:37 | |
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore | 8:40 | |
and Israel saw the great work that God had done | 8:44 | |
against the Egyptians and the people feared God. | 8:47 | |
And they believed in God and in his servant Moses. | 8:51 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 8:56 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 8:59 |
- | Please stand as we join together in singing responsively | 9:05 |
Psalms 106, | 9:08 | |
verses four through 12. | 9:10 | |
♪ Remember me, oh Lord, ♪ | 9:22 | |
♪ when you show favor to your people ♪ | 9:24 | |
♪ Help me when you deliver them ♪ | 9:28 | |
♪ That I might see the prosperity of your chosen ones ♪ | 9:33 | |
♪ That I might rejoice in the gladness of your nation ♪ | 9:39 | |
♪ That I may glory with your inheritance ♪ | 9:43 | |
♪ Both we and our forebears have sinned ♪ | 9:49 | |
♪ We have committed iniquity ♪ | 9:53 | |
♪ We have done wickedly ♪ | 9:57 | |
♪ Our forebears, when they were in Egypt ♪ | 10:00 | |
♪ Did not consider your wondrous works ♪ | 10:05 | |
♪ They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love ♪ | 10:11 | |
♪ But rebelled against the most high at the Red Sea ♪ | 10:16 | |
♪ Yet he saved them for his holy name ♪ | 10:22 | |
♪ To make known his power on high ♪ | 10:27 | |
♪ God rebuked the Red Sea and it became dry ♪ | 10:33 | |
♪ And led them through the deep as through a desert ♪ | 10:38 | |
♪ So God saved them from the hand of the foe ♪ | 10:43 | |
♪ And redeemed them from the power of the enemy ♪ | 10:48 | |
♪ And the waters covered their adversaries ♪ | 10:55 | |
♪ Not one of them was left ♪ | 11:00 | |
♪ Then they believed God's words ♪ | 11:04 | |
♪ They sang God's praise ♪ | 11:07 | |
("Gloria") | 11:12 | |
♪ Glory be ♪ | 11:21 | |
♪ To our creator ♪ | 11:24 | |
♪ Praise to our ♪ | 11:28 | |
♪ Redeemer Lord ♪ | 11:31 | |
♪ Glory be ♪ | 11:36 | |
♪ To our Sustainer ♪ | 11:39 | |
♪ Ever three ♪ | 11:44 | |
♪ And ever one ♪ | 11:47 | |
♪ As it was ♪ | 11:51 | |
♪ In the beginning ♪ | 11:54 | |
♪ Now and evermore ♪ | 11:58 | |
♪ Shall be ♪ | 12:03 | |
- | The second reading is taken | 12:19 |
from the gospel according to Matthew. | 12:20 | |
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat | 12:24 | |
and go on ahead to the other side | 12:27 | |
while he dismissed the crowds. | 12:29 | |
After dismissing the crowds, | 12:32 | |
he went up on the mountain to pray by himself. | 12:35 | |
When evening came he was there alone | 12:40 | |
but the boat by this time | 12:42 | |
was many furlongs distant from the land, | 12:44 | |
beaten by the waves for the wind was against them. | 12:47 | |
And in the fourth watch of the night, | 12:52 | |
Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the sea. | 12:53 | |
But when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, | 12:58 | |
they were terrified saying, "It is a ghost!" | 13:02 | |
And they cried out in fear. | 13:06 | |
But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, | 13:09 | |
"Take heart, it is I; have no fear." | 13:13 | |
And Peter answered, "Lord, if it is you, | 13:18 | |
"bid me come to you on the water." | 13:21 | |
Jesus said, "Come." | 13:24 | |
So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water | 13:26 | |
and came to Jesus. | 13:30 | |
But seeing the wind, Peter was afraid and beginning to sink | 13:33 | |
cried out, "Lord, save me!" | 13:38 | |
Jesus immediately reached out and caught Peter saying, | 13:42 | |
"Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?" | 13:46 | |
And when Jesus and Peter got into the boat the wind ceased. | 13:51 | |
And those in the boat worshiped Jesus saying, | 13:56 | |
"Truly, you are the son of God." | 13:59 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 14:03 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 14:06 |
(Requiem, Movement III "Sanctus" by Gabriel Faure) | 14:23 | |
(singing in Latin) | 14:29 | |
- | I am delighted to be with you this morning. | 17:40 |
This is an opportunity for worship. | 17:45 | |
One would think that when you choose a subject | 17:49 | |
for such an opportunity as this, | 17:55 | |
that that subject would be intellectually stimulating, | 17:58 | |
educationally sound, | 18:05 | |
and emotionally compelling. | 18:08 | |
Power is none of those. | 18:13 | |
We clergy do not handle it very well | 18:21 | |
when it comes our way. | 18:26 | |
Yet this morning, we are surrounded | 18:29 | |
by every vestige of power from every direction. | 18:32 | |
The situation in the Middle East reminds us | 18:39 | |
that whether we are Arab or Jew, | 18:44 | |
Christian or Muslim, | 18:47 | |
the fundamental human will to power | 18:51 | |
raises its ugly head in a world of peace. | 18:56 | |
If that were not enough, | 19:03 | |
the ecumenical readings for today | 19:05 | |
are as follows. | 19:10 | |
The Old Testament lesson for August 12th, | 19:13 | |
depicts the power of God | 19:17 | |
to enable Moses to stretch his hands, | 19:21 | |
part the waters, | 19:26 | |
and utterly destroy the entire army | 19:29 | |
of the Pharaoh. | 19:34 | |
The New Testament gospel for today, | 19:36 | |
depicts the power of Jesus | 19:41 | |
to walk on water. | 19:46 | |
The epistle for today, | 19:50 | |
which we did not read, | 19:53 | |
tells of the power of God's word | 19:55 | |
to enable all of us to become children of Abraham. | 20:01 | |
Finally, when you speak at Duke Chapel, | 20:07 | |
they send you tips on the sound system. | 20:12 | |
Speak in a loud powerful voice. | 20:19 | |
It is not too difficult to be too distinct | 20:24 | |
or too dramatic | 20:29 | |
in this very live building. | 20:32 | |
Last night I counseled a young couple, | 20:38 | |
recent graduates of Duke, they're being married in Kentucky | 20:43 | |
and they told me that they loved coming to this Chapel | 20:47 | |
for four years, especially in the summer. | 20:52 | |
But that the summer preachers | 20:57 | |
were either powerful or terrible. | 21:01 | |
We have no choice but to talk about it this morning. | 21:09 | |
I suppose that one first learns about power and control | 21:15 | |
when one goes away from home for the first time. | 21:21 | |
I've always had a special place in my heart | 21:26 | |
for those students on university campuses | 21:30 | |
who are paid to manage dormitories. | 21:34 | |
I served as a resident advisor, | 21:38 | |
managing a dormitory at Harvard University | 21:43 | |
during the Vietnam War era. | 21:47 | |
I grew up in a hurry. | 21:51 | |
It would've been an easy job except for one student. | 21:54 | |
His name was Dan. | 21:59 | |
Dan was a small scrawny little individual | 22:02 | |
but he made up for that with his oversized mouth. | 22:06 | |
His goal in life was to be the world's biggest irritant. | 22:11 | |
He was an expert at it. | 22:17 | |
When a professor would assign a reading from a library book, | 22:21 | |
Dan would go into Widener Library at Harvard University, | 22:26 | |
find the book, look up the chapter, tear it out, | 22:31 | |
fold it up, put it in his pocket, | 22:36 | |
and walk out of the library with it. | 22:39 | |
But his most annoying trait | 22:42 | |
was late night telephoning his fiancee in California. | 22:45 | |
Dan was too cheap to have a phone in his room | 22:52 | |
so he used the payphone in the hallway | 22:56 | |
at 2:00 AM eastern time. | 23:00 | |
Three evenings a week he would go into the payphone | 23:04 | |
and drop umpteen nickels, dimes, and quarters | 23:09 | |
into the machine. | 23:14 | |
Then he would talk to this woman | 23:16 | |
in a loud voice for several hours. | 23:19 | |
All of the students in the dormitory would come to my room, | 23:23 | |
beat on the door, tell me | 23:27 | |
"You're being paid to deal with him. | 23:30 | |
"Make him get off the telephone." | 23:32 | |
I would go and Dan would look at me and say, | 23:36 | |
"Warlick, you don't have the power | 23:39 | |
"to tell me when to use the telephone. | 23:42 | |
"Only the telephone company has the power | 23:46 | |
"to tell me when not to use their telephone." | 23:49 | |
Finally one night, Dan was giving me that | 23:54 | |
you don't have the power to make me do it speech, | 23:58 | |
and Bob walked out of his room. | 24:02 | |
Bob had been an All-American football player | 24:05 | |
at the University of Michigan. | 24:07 | |
He weighed 270 pounds. | 24:10 | |
Without saying a word he took about 15 steps, | 24:13 | |
aimed his shoulder at the telephone, | 24:18 | |
knocked it completely off the wall. | 24:22 | |
Wires whipped everywhere. | 24:26 | |
One of them caught little Dan under his armpit, | 24:29 | |
drew blood, and knocked him on the floor. | 24:33 | |
Bob looked down at him and said, | 24:36 | |
"Now Dan, that's how you use power." | 24:38 | |
Believe it or not, at times, | 24:44 | |
the human race has viewed God's use of power | 24:49 | |
in that manner. | 24:54 | |
The nation Israel at one point, | 24:56 | |
viewed God as a deity who would take | 24:58 | |
all He could stomach of human nature. | 25:01 | |
Let Israel's enemies push her almost to the brink, | 25:06 | |
draw a symbolic line in the sand, | 25:12 | |
and when another nation crossed over, | 25:17 | |
knock them off the wall and start over. | 25:21 | |
At other times, God would take all the irritation | 25:25 | |
he could stand from Israel herself, | 25:29 | |
then he would choose another nation | 25:32 | |
to come in and knock Israel off the wall | 25:35 | |
and say, "Now Israel, that's power." | 25:39 | |
Certainly power is the ability to affect a change. | 25:43 | |
One of the critical elements in the ministry of Jesus | 25:49 | |
was this issue of power. | 25:54 | |
He contended that most of us do not know how God uses power. | 25:57 | |
We often ask if God is so powerful, | 26:03 | |
why does this powerful God allow so much evil to prosper? | 26:06 | |
When those Jews and Christians were praying, | 26:12 | |
why didn't God strike down Adolf Hitler? | 26:16 | |
If I were God, I would've done that. | 26:21 | |
If I were God, we wouldn't have the problems we have | 26:24 | |
in today's world. | 26:28 | |
We would not've had a civil war. | 26:30 | |
I would've ended slavery. | 26:33 | |
We would not have apartheid in South Africa. | 26:36 | |
I would not put up with that mess for one minute. | 26:40 | |
I would show people how to cure cancer. | 26:45 | |
If I were all-powerful, | 26:50 | |
I would not just hear the prayers of the winners. | 26:51 | |
I would've run Marcos out of the Philippines years ago. | 26:56 | |
I would have eliminated Gaddafi, | 27:00 | |
he would be out of this earth. | 27:03 | |
And Iraq would still be beyond the Kuwaiti border. | 27:05 | |
That's power. | 27:11 | |
And Jesus Christ said, "No, it isn't." | 27:14 | |
That that is not real power. | 27:21 | |
That it takes less power to do that | 27:24 | |
than it does to act like God. | 27:27 | |
Jesus said, "God is love." | 27:31 | |
God bears and grieves and cries. | 27:34 | |
And God's power is not related to force. | 27:38 | |
That God's power is related to a purpose. | 27:43 | |
The whole world coming to understand | 27:47 | |
that love is greater than force. | 27:49 | |
The whole world | 27:52 | |
coming to understand that love is greater than force. | 27:54 | |
If that's the goal, | 28:00 | |
God cannot use power selectively. | 28:02 | |
Let me give you an example. | 28:07 | |
A teacher could have a great class | 28:10 | |
if he or she simply excluded all the lazy, | 28:13 | |
average, tiresome, and boring students. | 28:17 | |
If you threw out all the non-A students, | 28:23 | |
you would have a rather exclusive | 28:26 | |
and exciting class to teach. | 28:28 | |
I've known some professors, God forbid, not here at Duke, | 28:32 | |
but at other places I've taught, | 28:37 | |
who use educational power in that manner. | 28:40 | |
The very first class, they throw out a mile a minute lecture | 28:45 | |
and the poor students are sitting there | 28:51 | |
like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. | 28:53 | |
Then they hand out a reading list and a syllabus | 28:59 | |
that terrifies all but the brilliant students. | 29:04 | |
Those average students drop the course. | 29:10 | |
And all that you are left to teach are the good students. | 29:15 | |
It's quite a power play. | 29:19 | |
You see, teachers are not evaluated | 29:21 | |
until the end of the course. | 29:25 | |
And if you don't have any average students in there | 29:28 | |
everyone is going to get a good grade | 29:30 | |
and they're gonna say | 29:32 | |
Dr. Warlick is the greatest thing since sliced bread. | 29:33 | |
But if your purpose is to teach all the students, | 29:37 | |
it's quite another matter. | 29:43 | |
If your purpose is to educate all the students, | 29:45 | |
you cannot use your power to discriminate. | 29:49 | |
If God must operate with our world in a similar manner, | 29:54 | |
what power do you get from being a Christian? | 29:58 | |
What do you have a right to pray for? | 30:03 | |
What does prayer do for us? | 30:07 | |
The only reason I know for prayer | 30:11 | |
is that it gives you the power of an identity | 30:15 | |
that goes back farther than your own birth and race | 30:18 | |
and extends beyond your own death. | 30:23 | |
The power of an identity | 30:28 | |
that goes back beyond your own birth | 30:30 | |
and extends beyond your own death. | 30:33 | |
It's amazing how we become prisoners of amnesia. | 30:36 | |
To forget who you are is called amnesia. | 30:41 | |
I'll never forget the time Big Al Geddie forgot who he was. | 30:46 | |
Big Al was from the little town | 30:52 | |
of Mount Olive, North Carolina. | 30:54 | |
He was the biggest athlete ever recruited | 30:57 | |
by Furman University. | 31:00 | |
Our colors were purple and white, ugly, but distinctive. | 31:03 | |
So we had purple helmets with a white stripe | 31:09 | |
down the middle. | 31:13 | |
Everyone but Big Al. | 31:14 | |
Big Al's head was so big that the Riddell Company | 31:16 | |
could not make a helmet that big, except in white. | 31:21 | |
So Big Al looked funny. | 31:27 | |
All of us running around in our purple helmets | 31:30 | |
and Big Al out there in his white helmet. | 31:32 | |
One day, Big Al did not come to class. | 31:36 | |
For one week, Big All did not come to class. | 31:39 | |
Nothing in Big Al's room was out of order. | 31:44 | |
His clothes were in the closet, his bed was made, | 31:48 | |
even his wallet was on the dresser. | 31:53 | |
But no one knew where Big Al was. | 31:58 | |
No one at the university had seen him in three weeks. | 32:01 | |
No one in his hometown of Mount Olive, North Carolina | 32:05 | |
had seen him in three weeks. | 32:09 | |
The police and media throughout the south | 32:11 | |
searched for Big Al. | 32:15 | |
You could not watch television | 32:17 | |
without seeing Big Al's picture. | 32:19 | |
The Atlanta, Georgia Police Department finally found him. | 32:22 | |
He was wandering around the streets of downtown Atlanta | 32:27 | |
by Five Points. | 32:31 | |
Big Al didn't know who he was. | 32:33 | |
And the Atlanta Police, realizing that he had amnesia, | 32:36 | |
didn't know who he was either. | 32:42 | |
Nobody, least of all Big Al who didn't know he was Big Al, | 32:44 | |
knew how he got to Atlanta, where he stayed at night, | 32:49 | |
or how he had eaten. | 32:53 | |
They took Big Al back home to Mount Olive, North Carolina. | 32:56 | |
And they reintroduced him to his family. | 33:01 | |
It was embarrassing. | 33:04 | |
They said, "Big Al, meet your momma." | 33:06 | |
I don't know that lady. | 33:10 | |
This is your momma, this is where you came from. | 33:12 | |
I don't know that lady. | 33:15 | |
Big Al, this is your daddy. | 33:17 | |
This is your heritage, this is your family. | 33:19 | |
I don't know that man. | 33:23 | |
Big Al, this is where you came from. | 33:25 | |
Well after a year, Big Al's memory came back. | 33:29 | |
He remember who he was, | 33:34 | |
and he came back to college and finished. | 33:35 | |
Big Al didn't forget he was Big Al anymore. | 33:39 | |
It must be a horrible thing to forget who you are | 33:43 | |
and have to be reintroduced to your heritage. | 33:46 | |
Fred Craddock of Emory believes that we humans | 33:51 | |
have a residue of Eden in our memory. | 33:55 | |
That we are all born created | 33:59 | |
with this faint memory | 34:03 | |
in our consciousness of a closeness to God. | 34:05 | |
Consequently, anyone who cannot attach herself or himself | 34:10 | |
to a memory that stretches back beyond their birth, | 34:15 | |
their race, their country, their family, is in real trouble. | 34:20 | |
In essence, prayer gives us the power to tie ourselves | 34:27 | |
to a life that precedes our birth | 34:32 | |
and goes beyond our death. | 34:35 | |
We are enrolled in a story that is larger than | 34:38 | |
Hal Warlick, 44 year old white man, | 34:42 | |
August 12, 1990, Durham, North Carolina. | 34:46 | |
We were there with the ancient Jews. | 34:51 | |
We were in Egypt waiting to get out. | 34:55 | |
We were with Abraham. | 34:59 | |
We were in Jerusalem. | 35:02 | |
We were at Plymouth, Massachusetts. | 35:05 | |
We were in Valley Forge as the snow fell | 35:08 | |
and made our toes frigid. | 35:11 | |
We were with Black Moses, | 35:14 | |
Harriet Tubman, as she struggled across the Susquehanna. | 35:17 | |
If we do not absorb that | 35:23 | |
into our consciousness, | 35:26 | |
our identity is not complete. | 35:29 | |
We are left orphaned to the illnesses, the wars, | 35:33 | |
the sins of our day. | 35:38 | |
It is amazing how amnesia can strike anyone | 35:41 | |
and make us forget that we are children of God | 35:45 | |
and should live by love instead of force. | 35:49 | |
I've forgotten who I was at a time. | 35:53 | |
People had to come to me and say, | 35:57 | |
"Warlick, you're acting differently from your heritage. | 35:58 | |
"That's not the way you were born." | 36:02 | |
The president of a bank can forget who he or she is. | 36:06 | |
The president of a university can forget the heritage. | 36:11 | |
Students come to college and they forget whose they are. | 36:17 | |
It happens all the time. | 36:22 | |
We get orphaned without a memory. | 36:24 | |
I've seen some horrible cases. | 36:28 | |
I'll never forget one. | 36:31 | |
There was a mother, she raised her son | 36:34 | |
amid the rats in a Houston, Texas ghetto. | 36:38 | |
There were rats coming in and out of the one room | 36:43 | |
that they ate and slept in. | 36:48 | |
The mother held two jobs. | 36:51 | |
By day, she was a teacher's aide | 36:54 | |
in the Houston Public School System. | 36:56 | |
At night, she worked in a laundry folding clothes. | 36:59 | |
With every dollar she made | 37:03 | |
that was not needed for the bare essentials, | 37:05 | |
she purchased books for this little son. | 37:09 | |
This boy grew up and made a perfect score | 37:14 | |
on the SAT. | 37:19 | |
1600, the big 1-6-0-0. | 37:21 | |
He went to the University of Texas. | 37:27 | |
While he was there, he made straight As. | 37:30 | |
A 4.0 grade point average. | 37:33 | |
Every major graduate school in the country wanted him. | 37:38 | |
They sent their best minority recruiters | 37:44 | |
to Austin, Texas to meet with him. | 37:48 | |
Full scholarship. | 37:51 | |
Yale wanted him. | 37:53 | |
Duke wanted him. | 37:54 | |
Harvard wanted him. | 37:56 | |
Stanford wanted him. | 37:57 | |
Finally, Harvard University called in | 38:00 | |
its most outstanding black professor | 38:02 | |
and said, "You go to Austin and get this boy." | 38:06 | |
And he said, "I want to take Hal Warlick with me. | 38:11 | |
"He speaks southern." | 38:14 | |
So I went. | 38:16 | |
And there we were, a strange mixture, | 38:18 | |
to offer a scholarship to this intellectual phenom. | 38:22 | |
We met with him in the lobby of a hotel | 38:29 | |
in downtown Austin. | 38:31 | |
He began the interview | 38:34 | |
by discounting completely his childhood. | 38:36 | |
Dumping on the very environment that had produced him. | 38:40 | |
He let it be known in no uncertain terms | 38:45 | |
that he was going to grab it all. | 38:49 | |
He was going to become a millionaire. | 38:53 | |
And by the time he was 25 years old, | 38:56 | |
he would be driving a big Mercedes up Main Street. | 38:58 | |
In four years of college life, | 39:04 | |
he had not been back to see his mother even one time. | 39:07 | |
"I'm beyond that," He said. | 39:11 | |
"I'm beyond her. | 39:13 | |
"We don't have anything in common intellectually. | 39:16 | |
"We can't even talk on the telephone about philosophy, | 39:19 | |
"about theology, about business, | 39:24 | |
"or the political situation." | 39:28 | |
We asked him if he had gone to church | 39:31 | |
or the university chapel, | 39:34 | |
or belonged to any service organization | 39:36 | |
at the University of Texas. | 39:38 | |
Oh, I'm way beyond that too. | 39:41 | |
I'm long past that simplistic emotional stuff. | 39:44 | |
That pie in the sky by and by stuff is for poor people. | 39:49 | |
And for unintelligent saps. | 39:55 | |
Rather sadly, | 39:59 | |
this venerable professor looked at him and said, | 40:01 | |
"Son, we can't offer you a scholarship. | 40:04 | |
"We don't want you. | 40:08 | |
"Go somewhere else. | 40:11 | |
"You don't even know who you are. | 40:13 | |
"Your memory is too short. | 40:17 | |
"It would be a waste of a university's money | 40:21 | |
"to educate you. | 40:25 | |
"This suffering, hurting, violent world | 40:28 | |
"is not going to be helped by one more selfish millionaire | 40:33 | |
"arrogantly driving his Mercedes up Main Street. | 40:37 | |
"Don't you see that?" | 40:42 | |
The boy jumped up and angrily spit the words | 40:45 | |
into the face of that professor. | 40:50 | |
Like hot rivets pounding into a steel girder, | 40:54 | |
he said, "That's okay, | 40:59 | |
"one day I'll have the power | 41:03 | |
"to bury sentimental fools like you." | 41:07 | |
I had a strange sense of deja vu | 41:15 | |
as he walked angrily away | 41:18 | |
through the falling rain of Austin. | 41:20 | |
In terms of knowing who he was, | 41:23 | |
His amnesia was as great as Big Al Geddie's. | 41:26 | |
Walking aimlessly the streets. | 41:29 | |
A memory that can reach no farther back | 41:34 | |
than our own time. | 41:39 | |
The disciples went to Jesus and they said, | 41:41 | |
"Give us the power. | 41:43 | |
"Teach us to pray. | 41:44 | |
"It gives you something that it doesn't give us | 41:46 | |
"and we want it." | 41:49 | |
It's one of the few things they ever asked Him for. | 41:51 | |
And Jesus said, "When you pray, | 41:54 | |
"say our, not my." | 41:57 | |
Our mother, our father, our parent, | 42:02 | |
cosmic father, mother, parent, | 42:05 | |
of all those born before you and to die after you. | 42:08 | |
Reach an identity that goes back farther than your own life | 42:14 | |
and extends beyond your own future. | 42:18 | |
That's the only way you can put up with the suffering | 42:20 | |
and the illness and the sin of the day in which you live. | 42:23 | |
Can there be any more lasting power. | 42:27 | |
The New Testament crystallized this new identity. | 42:30 | |
Jesus is called the angel of the bottomless pit, | 42:34 | |
the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, | 42:37 | |
the power of all powers, | 42:39 | |
the name that is before and beyond every name. | 42:42 | |
As they moved and breathed, loved and died. | 42:46 | |
Peter and John were asked this question: | 42:50 | |
Where do you get the power to be so bold? | 42:55 | |
And Peter responded, "There is no other power | 43:01 | |
"given among humanity | 43:05 | |
"by which one can be saved." | 43:09 | |
With an identity that began before his birth | 43:13 | |
and extended beyond his death, | 43:16 | |
Paul could sweep away every lingering doubt | 43:19 | |
as to God's power with a series of paired opposites. | 43:23 | |
Neither death not life. | 43:28 | |
Neither angels nor powers. | 43:32 | |
Nor things present, nor things to come. | 43:36 | |
No power on high, no power from below, | 43:40 | |
shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God. | 43:44 | |
In a world of violence, confusion, | 43:51 | |
help and helplessness, | 43:56 | |
that is power. | 43:59 | |
So be it. | 44:03 | |
("Give to the Winds Thy Fears") | 44:10 | |
♪ Give to the winds thy fears ♪ | 44:32 | |
♪ Hope and be undismayed ♪ | 44:37 | |
♪ God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears ♪ | 44:42 | |
♪ God shall life up thy head ♪ | 44:48 | |
♪ Through waves and clouds and storms ♪ | 44:55 | |
♪ God gently clears thy way ♪ | 45:00 | |
♪ Wait thou God's time so shall this night ♪ | 45:05 | |
♪ Soon end in joyous day ♪ | 45:10 | |
♪ Leave to God's sovereign sway ♪ | 45:18 | |
♪ To choose and to command ♪ | 45:23 | |
♪ So shalt that wondering own that way ♪ | 45:28 | |
♪ How wise how strong this hand ♪ | 45:34 | |
♪ Let us in life in death ♪ | 45:41 | |
♪ Thy steadfast truth declare ♪ | 45:47 | |
♪ And publish with our latest breath ♪ | 45:53 | |
♪ Thy love and guardian care ♪ | 45:59 | |
Nancy | The Lord be with you. | 46:10 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 46:12 |
- | Let us pray. | 46:13 |
Oh eternal spirit from whom we come, | 46:24 | |
to whom we belong, and in who's service is our peace, | 46:29 | |
we worship you. | 46:34 | |
Mysterious indeed is this vast universe into which, | 46:37 | |
without our asking it, you have ushered us. | 46:41 | |
We stand in awe before your power | 46:45 | |
which is beyond our ability to measure. | 46:47 | |
Yet even as we fail to comprehend | 46:51 | |
the magnitude of your power, | 46:53 | |
to divide and to heal, | 46:56 | |
we rest in the knowledge | 46:59 | |
that yours is also a gentle strength | 47:00 | |
and that you have cared for us | 47:03 | |
ever since you knit us together in our mother's wombs. | 47:05 | |
You have promised never to forget us, | 47:09 | |
for you have carved us in the palms of your hands. | 47:11 | |
Therefore we life these prayers for others unto you, | 47:15 | |
asking you to hear us and to answer. | 47:19 | |
We bring before you, creating God, all our physical needs. | 47:23 | |
We pray for all those weakened by the merciless plague | 47:29 | |
of hunger and malnutrition, | 47:32 | |
for all who are stricken with terminal illness | 47:34 | |
or other disease, especially patients at Duke Hospital | 47:37 | |
and for their families. | 47:41 | |
For all who seek to do injury to themselves or to others, | 47:44 | |
for all who discover in the process of aging, | 47:48 | |
that their bodies are failing them. | 47:51 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 47:54 | |
We bring before you, redeeming God, the needs of our minds. | 47:59 | |
We pray for all those involved in educational pursuits, | 48:04 | |
students, teachers, administrators, staff. | 48:08 | |
For all those suffering from the tyranny of mental illness. | 48:14 | |
For all who seek to expand our minds, | 48:19 | |
inventors, explorers, creative artists. | 48:22 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 48:27 | |
We bring before you, sustaining God, | 48:32 | |
the needs of our relationships. | 48:34 | |
We pray for all those embroiled in conflict, | 48:37 | |
between parent and child, | 48:40 | |
between husband and wife, | 48:42 | |
between friends, | 48:44 | |
and between nations, | 48:46 | |
especially for the people of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, | 48:48 | |
Liberia, Vietnam, Cambodia. | 48:53 | |
We pray for all who suffer from a lack of relationships | 48:57 | |
and are burdened by a sense of loneliness, of failure, | 49:00 | |
or of despair. | 49:03 | |
We pray for all who seek to build new relationships. | 49:06 | |
For all newlyweds, especially for the many couples | 49:09 | |
married in Duke Chapel over the past year. | 49:13 | |
For all new parents. | 49:16 | |
And for the people of western and eastern Europe, | 49:18 | |
as they create new governments, new economies, | 49:21 | |
and new diplomatic alliances. | 49:24 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 49:26 | |
Oh gracious God, we lift these prayers unto you | 49:32 | |
as well as the deep and unspoken needs | 49:35 | |
of this congregation. | 49:37 | |
Bless us in our waking and in our sleeping, | 49:39 | |
in times of contentment and distress, | 49:42 | |
that your name may be praised throughout all eternity. | 49:45 | |
Amen. | 49:50 | |
And now as we remember the mighty acts of God, | 49:55 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 49:58 | |
(organ music) | 50:24 | |
("With a Voice of Singing" by Martin Shaw) | 51:33 | |
♪ With a voice of singing ♪ | 51:39 | |
♪ Declare ye this and let it be heard ♪ | 51:43 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 51:49 | |
♪ Declare ye this ♪ | 51:53 | |
♪ And let it be heard ♪ | 52:02 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:06 | |
♪ Utter it even ♪ | 52:12 | |
♪ Unto the ends ♪ | 52:15 | |
♪ Of the earth ♪ | 52:20 | |
♪ The Lord hath delivered ♪ | 52:24 | |
♪ His people ♪ | 52:29 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:32 | |
♪ The Lord hath delivered His people ♪ | 52:39 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 52:46 | |
♪ Oh be joyful in God ♪ | 53:01 | |
♪ All ye lands ♪ | 53:05 | |
♪ Oh sing praises to the honor ♪ | 53:11 | |
♪ Of His name ♪ | 53:16 | |
♪ Make His praise ♪ | 53:19 | |
♪ to be glorious ♪ | 53:23 | |
♪ With a voice of singing ♪ | 53:38 | |
♪ Declare ye this ♪ | 53:42 | |
♪ And let it be heard ♪ | 53:45 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 53:49 | |
♪ Declare ye this ♪ | 53:54 | |
♪ And let it be heard ♪ | 54:00 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 54:07 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 54:18 | |
♪ Declare ye this ♪ | 54:23 | |
♪ And let it be ♪ | 54:28 | |
♪ Heard ♪ | 54:31 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 54:34 | |
("Doxology") | 54:51 | |
♪ Praise Him from who all blessings flow ♪ | 55:19 | |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 55:25 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 55:31 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 55:35 | |
♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ | 55:39 | |
♪ Praise God the Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 55:45 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 55:51 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 55:54 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 55:57 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 56:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 56:04 | |
God of all mercies, we give you humble thanks | 56:17 | |
for all your goodness and loving kindness, | 56:20 | |
to us and to all whom you have made. | 56:23 | |
We bless you for our creation, preservation, | 56:26 | |
and all the blessings of this life, | 56:29 | |
but above all, for your immeasurable love | 56:31 | |
and the redemption of the world by our Lord, Jesus Christ, | 56:34 | |
for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. | 56:38 | |
And we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, | 56:41 | |
that with truly thankful hearts | 56:45 | |
we may show forth your praise, | 56:46 | |
not only with our lips, but in our lives, | 56:48 | |
by giving up ourselves to your service | 56:51 | |
and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness | 56:54 | |
all our days. | 56:58 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, | 57:00 | |
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, | 57:01 | |
be honor and glory throughout all ages. | 57:03 | |
Amen. | 57:07 | |
And now let us pray with the confidence of children. | 57:08 | |
All | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 57:11 |
hallowed be thy name. | 57:14 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 57:16 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 57:19 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 57:22 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 57:24 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 57:26 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 57:30 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 57:32 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and glory, forever. | 57:34 | |
Amen. | 57:39 | |
- | And now go forth in peace and be of good courage. | 57:42 |
Hold fast that which is good, | 57:46 | |
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. | 57:48 | |
And may the blessings of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, | 57:51 | |
be with you all, now and forever more. | 57:54 | |
(choir sings) | 58:03 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | ||
♪ Amen ♪ | 58:09 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 58:15 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 58:24 | |
("Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart") | 58:38 | |
♪ Rejoice, ye pure in heart ♪ | 59:06 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 59:11 | |
♪ Your glorious banner wave on high ♪ | 59:15 | |
♪ The cross of Christ your King ♪ | 59:20 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 59:25 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 59:30 | |
♪ Your clear hosannas raise ♪ | 59:36 | |
♪ And alleluias loud ♪ | 59:41 | |
♪ Whilst answering echoes upward float ♪ | 59:46 | |
♪ Like wreaths of incense cloud ♪ | 59:51 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 59:56 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 1:00:00 | |
♪ Yes on through life's long path ♪ | 1:00:07 | |
♪ Still chanting as ye go ♪ | 1:00:11 | |
♪ From youth to age by night and day ♪ | 1:00:16 | |
♪ In gladness and in woe ♪ | 1:00:21 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:00:26 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 1:00:31 | |
♪ At last the march shall end ♪ | 1:00:37 | |
♪ The wearied ones shall rest ♪ | 1:00:42 | |
♪ The pilgrims find their heavenly home ♪ | 1:00:47 | |
♪ Jerusalem the blessed ♪ | 1:00:52 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:00:57 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 1:01:02 | |
♪ Praise God who reigns on high ♪ | 1:01:08 | |
♪ The Lord whom we adore ♪ | 1:01:14 | |
♪ The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:01:18 | |
♪ One God forevermore ♪ | 1:01:23 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:01:28 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪ | 1:01:34 | |
Let us go forth in the name of the Lord. | 1:01:44 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 1:01:47 |
(organ music) | 1:01:51 |
Item Info
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