Thomas A. Langford - Communion Meditation (July 30, 1967)

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	( religious music playing)	0:03
Male Preacher	Beloved as we prepare our hearts	1:17
	for the celebration of this blessed sacrament	1:19
	of holy communion,	1:23
	may we hear the words of scripture	1:25
	that will inform us	1:28
	and prepare us for this most blessed of occasions.	1:31
	The words of Jesus, taken from the book of Revelation,	1:37
	"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.	1:42
	If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,	1:46
	I will come into him and eat with him and he with me."	1:50
	And then from the book of John, again, the words of Jesus,	1:57
	"I am the living bread, which came down from heaven.	2:03
	If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.	2:09
	And the bread which I shall give	2:14
	for the life of the world is my flesh."	2:16
	The words of the apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians,	2:23
	"The cup of blessing, which we bless,	2:27
	is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?	2:32
	The bread which we break,	2:37
	Is it not a participation in the body of Christ?	2:39
	Because there is one loaf,	2:44
	we who are many are one body	2:46
	for we all partake of the same loaf."	2:50
	Now in our bulletins, let us turn to the prayer	2:56
	which we call the Collect for Purity and pray together.	3:00
	Let us pray.	3:04
	Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open,	3:07
	all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid,	3:11
	cleanse the thoughts of our hearts	3:16
	by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,	3:18
	that we may perfectly love thee,	3:21
	and worthily magnify thy holy name	3:24
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	3:27
	Hear of what our Lord Jesus Christ said.	3:32
	The first commandment is,	3:35
	"Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,	3:37
	and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart	3:43
	and with all thy soul and with all thy mind	3:47
	and with all thy strength."	3:52
	The second is this,	3:55
	"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.	3:57
	There is none other commandment greater than this.	4:02
	A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another,	4:12
	even as I have loved you,	4:17
	that ye also love one another."	4:19
	Almighty God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ,	4:31
	maker of all things, judge of all men,	4:35
	we acknowledge and bewail our manifold,	4:39
	sins and wickedness,	4:42
	which we, from time to time,	4:44
	most grievously have committed	4:45
	by thought, word and deed,	4:48
	against thy divine Majesty	4:50
	provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.	4:53
	We do earnestly repent	4:58
	and are heartedly sorry for these our misdoings.	4:59
	The remembrance of them is grievous unto us.	5:03
	Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father,	5:07
	for thy son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake	5:10
	forgive us all that is past,	5:13
	and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee	5:16
	in newness of life to the honor and glory of thy name	5:20
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.	5:25
	Almighty God, our heavenly Father,	5:31
	Who of thy great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins	5:34
	to all of them that with heart repentance and true faith,	5:39
	turn onto thee,	5:42
	have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins,	5:44
	confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,	5:50
	and bring us to everlasting life through Jesus Christ	5:54
	our Lord. Amen.	5:58
	Oh God, the creator and preserver of all mankind,	6:03
	we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men	6:07
	that thou wouldest be pleased	6:12
	to make thy ways known unto them,	6:13
	thy saving health unto all nations.	6:16
	More especially we pray for the holy church universal,	6:20
	that it may be so guided and governed by the good spirit	6:24
	that all who profess and call themselves Christians	6:28
	may be led into the way of truth	6:32
	and hold the faith in unity of spirit,	6:35
	in the bond of peace and in righteousness of life.	6:38
	Finally, we commend thy Fatherly goodness,	6:44
	all those who are in any way afflicted	6:47
	or distressed in mind, body or estate,	6:50
	that it may please thee to comfort	6:54
	and relieve them according to their several necessities,	6:56
	giving them patience under their suffering	7:00
	and a happy issue out of all their afflictions.	7:04
	And this we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.	7:08
Male Preacher	Our scripture lesson	7:34
	is from the 148th Psalm,	7:35
	some selected verses.	7:39
	"Praise the Lord,	7:43
	praise the Lord from the heavens,	7:45
	praise him in the heights,	7:49
	praise him all his angels.	7:51
	Praise him all his host.	7:55
	Praise the Lord.	7:59
	Praise the Lord from the earth,	8:01
	you see monsters and all deeps,	8:04
	fire and hail, snow and frost,	8:08
	praise the Lord.	8:13
	(religious music playing)	8:21
	We are blind when we cannot see the holy in the common	9:10
	and such a malady afflicts our time,	9:19
	how strange our ways of seeking.	9:25
	We searched for God in the out of the way places	9:30
	in things which seldom appear	9:35
	or appear only in a femoral vision.	9:38
	We seek God with six senses,	9:43
	which is tuned the fairy sounds	9:47
	with a sense of the quixotic.	9:51
	We lift our eyes to see God,	9:56
	and perhaps the lifting itself is misleading.	10:00
	For we look to the skies to spirits,	10:05
	to anything which seems unnatural or non-material	10:11
	or which is said to reside beyond the skies.	10:17
	We squint our eyes,	10:22
	these far searching eyes.	10:25
	We draw deep discriminating breaths.	10:29
	We listen with attentive ears,	10:34
	we reach and touch with braille trained fingers,	10:38
	but God seems to elude us.	10:46
	His ways are past our finding out	10:50
	and his trails seems a vapor gone.	10:54
	Where is God?	11:00
	If only our senses were enlarged.	11:03
	If only we could see the invisible,	11:07
	hear the silent word.	11:11
	Where is God?	11:16
	Our searching is in vain.	11:19
	For we have been looking in the wrong places.	11:23
	We have deserted the obvious	11:27
	in search of the esoteric.	11:30
	We are blind,	11:35
	when we cannot see the holy in the common.	11:37
	As they were eating,	11:46
	He, Jesus took a loaf and blessed it	11:48
	and he broke it in pieces and gave it to them saying,	11:54
	"Take this, this is my body."	11:57
	And he took the wine cup and gave thanks for it	12:02
	and gave it to them	12:07
	and they all drank from it.	12:10
	And he said to them, "This is my blood."	12:13
	How mundane, how terribly mundane,	12:20
	Jesus takes bread, common bread,	12:27
	the one food, all men eat,	12:33
	and he said it is in the breaking of bread	12:38
	that we shall meet him.	12:42
	Jesus took wine, common wine,	12:46
	and he said he was in drinking of wine,	12:52
	that we shall meet him.	12:56
	The Lord's supper is the most concrete	13:01
	of all the symbols of Christian worship.	13:03
	It's elements come from the common life of men.	13:06
	They are parts of the material world,	13:11
	not at all esoteric, unnatural, vague.	13:15
	The one consistent promise	13:23
	of Jesus' continual presence with us	13:25
	mentioned even more than the presence of the holy spirit	13:29
	was connected with these common physical elements.	13:33
	How do we meet Jesus?	13:40
	That man who lived so long ago?	13:43
	So distant from our touch,	13:47
	uncaptured by our sight,	13:51
	inaudible to our ears?	13:54
	How does Jesus engage us,	13:58
	we who live in an earth bound world of material reality?	14:02
	He said it would be through the tangible symbols	14:09
	of bread and wine.	14:10
	And it is here we touch him.	14:14
	It is here we see him.	14:16
	Jesus meets us in the bread and wine,	14:22
	in the eating and drinking	14:26
	just as mundane as that.	14:30
	And we are blind,	14:34
	if we cannot see the holy in the common.	14:37
	In bread and wine in these properties of our common life,	14:46
	we find God identifying with us.	14:51
	But not just bread, broken bread, shared bread,	14:55
	and wine, table line,	15:03
	shared wine.	15:07
	Here in these concrete elements, Christ is present.	15:11
	He is a part of our world, a part of our daily life.	15:16
	God, God in Christ,	15:23
	comes to us not primarily through out of the ordinary,	15:28
	nor through visions in the night,	15:33
	nor through disembodied spirits,	15:37
	God,	15:41
	God in Christ, comes to us through bread and wine.	15:44
	And we respond to God,	15:52
	not through transports from the world,	15:55
	not by forsaking the flesh, the physical,	15:59
	the earthy,	16:04
	we meet God when we eat this bread,	16:07
	and know that here is the presence of Jesus.	16:10
	We meet God,	16:15
	when we drink this wine, the table wine of fellowship.	16:17
	And we are blind	16:24
	when we cannot see	16:26
	the holy in the common.	16:29
	God, God in Christ,	16:35
	comes to us in the form of bread and wine,	16:40
	and ever to receive in such physical ways,	16:44
	we are to share with others.	16:46
	We understand the meaning of communion.	16:50
	Not only would we see God approaching us	16:53
	in these common ingredients,	16:55
	but when we also take God to the world	16:59
	as bread and wine.	17:03
	It's just as mundane as that.	17:07
	It's just as common as that.	17:11
	Bread and wine, eating and drinking, sharing together,	17:15
	we receive Christ in the bread,	17:22
	we share Christ with bread.	17:25
	Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty,	17:29
	and so the communion is enlarged,	17:35
	if only we can see the holy in the common.	17:40
	Oh, Christ who art the bread of life,	17:48
	may we eat this bread today,	17:52
	knowing thou art presence.	17:55
	May we share the bread of common life in such a way	17:59
	that thy presence may be realized. Amen.	18:03
	(religious music playing)	18:20
	Almighty God,	24:04
	we pause now to dedicate these materials things	24:05
	to thy glory and thy use.	24:08
	The bread and the wine shared	24:12
	to make known the presence of Christ in our midst here,	24:15
	the money shared to make known the presence of Christ	24:20
	around the world.	24:24
	In his name, amen.	24:26
	Congregation will be seated.	24:45
	Lift up your hearts.	24:56
	Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.	25:01
	Let us pray.	25:07
	It is very neat, right, and our bound and duty	25:16
	that we should at all times and in all places	25:20
	give thanks unto thee oh Lord,	25:23
	holy father, almighty everlasting, God.	25:25
	(religious music playing)	25:32
	Almighty God our heavenly Father,	26:16
	who of thy tender mercy,	26:18
	didst give thine only son Jesus Christ	26:20
	to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption,	26:23
	who made there by his ablation of himself once offered	26:27
	a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice	26:31
	for the sins of the whole world	26:35
	and did institute and in his holy gospel,	26:38
	command us to continue	26:42
	a perpetual memory of his precious death	26:45
	until his coming again	26:47
	and who, in the same night that he was betrayed,	26:50
	took bread and when he had given thanks,	26:53
	he broke it and gave to his disciples saying,	26:55
	"Take, eat. This is my body,	27:00
	which is given for you.	27:05
	Do this in remembrance of me."	27:09
	Likewise, after supper, he took the cup,	27:14
	and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying,	27:16
	"Drink of it, all of you.	27:20
	For this is my blood of the new covenant,	27:23
	which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sin.	27:27
	Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."	27:33
	Hear us, oh, merciful father, we most humbly beseech thee,	27:40
	and granted we receiving these thy creatures	27:44
	of bread and wine, according to thy son,	27:47
	our savior Jesus Christ, holy institution	27:50
	in remembrance of his death and passion	27:53
	may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood	27:57
	that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, amen.	28:02
	Let us pray the prayer of humble access.	28:10
	We do not presume to come to this thy table	28:14
	oh merciful Lord,	28:17
	trusting in our own righteousness,	28:18
	but in thy manifold and great mercies.	28:21
	We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs	28:24
	under thy table,	28:27
	but thou art the same Lord whose mercy is unfailing.	28:28
	Grant us, therefore a gracious Lord,	28:33
	so to partake of these memorials of thy son, Jesus Christ,	28:35
	that we may be filled with the fullness of his life,	28:40
	may grow into his likeness	28:43
	and may ever mark dwell in him and he in us.	28:45
	Amen.	28:49
	(religious music playing)	28:52
	Ye who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins	32:02
	and are in love and charity with your neighbors	32:06
	and intend to lead a new life,	32:11
	following the commandments of God	32:13
	and walking from henceforth in his holy ways,	32:14
	draw near with faith	32:19
	and take this holy sacrament to your comfort.	32:21
	Jesus said, "This is my body, which is given for you.	32:33
	Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you	32:40
	and feed on him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving."	32:45
	Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood,	32:55
	which is shed for you.	33:01
	Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you	33:03
	and be thankful."	33:06
	(religious music playing)	33:11
	Let the congregation join in the prayer	39:06
	of Thanksgiving and dedication.	39:09
	Let us pray.	39:11
	Almighty and everliving God,	39:14
	we most heartily thank thee	39:16
	that thou dost vouch safe to feed us	39:18
	who have duly received these holy mysteries	39:21
	with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood	39:24
	of thy son, our savior Jesus Christ,	39:28
	and thus assures us thereby	39:31
	of thy favor and goodness towards us.	39:33
	And that we are very members incorporate,	39:36
	in the mystical body of thy son,	39:39
	which is the blessed company of all faithful people	39:41
	and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom	39:45
	by the merits of his most precious death and passion.	39:49
	And we humbly beseech thee Oh heavenly father,	39:53
	so to assist us with thy grace,	39:56
	that we may continue in that holy fellowship.	39:58
	And here we offer an present unto thee, oh Lord ourselves,	40:02
	our souls and bodies to be a reasonable, holy	40:06
	and lively sacrifice under thee.	40:10
	Humbly beseeching thee	40:13
	that all we who are partakers of this holy communion,	40:15
	may be filled with nice grace and heavenly benediction	40:18
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord	40:22
	by whom and with whom in the unity of the holy spirit,	40:24
	all honor and glory be unto thee, Oh Father almighty	40:29
	world without end, amen.	40:33
	The peace of God, which passeth all understanding,	40:41
	keep your hearts and minds and the knowledge and love of God	40:45
	and of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord,	40:50
	and the blessing of God almighty	40:53
	the father, the son, and the holy spirit	40:55
	be amongst you and remain with you always.	40:58
	(religious music playing)	41:06

Item Info

Title:

Thomas A. Langford - Communion Meditation (July 30, 1967)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r44t6k453

Date:

July 30, 1967

Speaker:

Langford, Thomas A.

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0393
ref5989_vab
uachapelsermaud
duke:628227
dcrau002387
ark:/87924/r44t6k453
6654d849-1c49-430a-9143-4fb6cfe2076b

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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CC BY-NC 4.0

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This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Thomas A. Langford - Communion Meditation (July 30, 1967)

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