Peter J. Storey - Sermon Untitled (September 18, 1988)

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	(hymnal organ music)	0:00
	♪ God is my strong salvation ♪	1:43
	♪ What foe have I to fear? ♪	1:47
	♪ In darkness and temptation ♪	1:52
	♪ My light, my help is near ♪	1:56
	♪ Though hosts encamp around me ♪	2:00
	♪ Firm in the fight I stand ♪	2:05
	♪ What terror can confound me ♪	2:10
	♪ With God at my right hand? ♪	2:14
	♪ Place on the Lord reliance, ♪	2:22
	♪ My soul, with courage, wait ♪	2:26
	♪ His truth will be my sustenance ♪	2:31
	♪ When faint and desolate ♪	2:36
	♪ His might my heart shall strengthen ♪	2:40
	♪ His love my joy increase ♪	2:45
	♪ Mercy my days shall lengthen ♪	2:50
	♪ The Lord will give me peace ♪	2:54
-	Good morning and welcome to the chapel.	3:09
	Our guest preacher today is a distinguished visitor	3:12
	from South Africa.	3:16
	His second visit to Duke chapel,	3:18
	the Reverend Dr. Peter Story,	3:20
	a tireless crusader for social justice	3:24
	and an honored Methodist pastor	3:28
	and we're glad to have him back in Duke Chapel	3:31
	and we're glad that you're here, also,	3:35
	particularly those who worship with us by television	3:37
	in the Duke hospitals and on the radio.	3:43
	And now, let us continue our worship.	3:46
	(hymnal organ music)	3:51
	(congregation singing hymn)	4:30
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	4:57
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	5:02
	(choir and congregation singing)	5:09
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	5:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	5:41
	(hymnal organ music)	5:48
	(choir and congregation singing hymn)	9:11
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	9:38
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	9:43
	When we gather together to worship,	9:55
	we are reminded of the majesty of God	9:57
	and also, of the reality of our distance	10:01
	from God by our sin.	10:04
	Therefore, let us begin by confessing our sin before God	10:07
	and one another.	10:11
	Prayer of confession, number 726.	10:14
	Let us pray.	10:18
	Almighty and most merciful God	10:19
	who know'est the thoughts of our hearts,	10:22
	we confess that we have sinned against thee	10:25
	and done evil in Thy sight.	10:29
	We have transgressed Thy holy laws,	10:31
	we have neglected Thy word and ordinances.	10:35
	Forgive us, oh Lord, we beseech Thee,	10:39
	and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things	10:42
	that, being delivered from the bondage of sin	10:47
	we may bring forth fruit worthy or repentance	10:51
	and henceforth, may ever walk in Thy holy ways	10:54
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	10:58
	Amen.	11:01
	Hear these comfortable words from scripture	11:03
	for all who turn to the Lord.	11:06
	The Lord is gracious and slow to anger,	11:09
	abounding and steadfast love.	11:13
	This is the message we have heard from Him	11:17
	and we now proclaim to you,	11:19
	that God is light and, in God, is no darkness at all.	11:21
	If we walk in the light as He is in the light,	11:26
	we have fellowship with one another	11:29
	and the blood of Jesus Chris, His son,	11:31
	cleanses us from all sin.	11:34
	Your sins are forgiven for His sake.	11:37
	Amen.	11:40
	Be seated.	11:42
-	Let us pray.	11:53
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	11:55
	by the power of Your holy spirit so that as the word	11:59
	is read and proclaimed, we might hear with joy	12:03
	what You say to us this day.	12:08
	Amen.	12:11
	The first lesson is taken from the book of Job.	12:13
	Whence then comes wisdom	12:17
	and where is the place of understanding.	12:20
	It is hid from the eyes of all living	12:23
	and concealed from the birds of the air.	12:27
	Ibadan and death say, we have heard a rumor of it	12:30
	with our ears.	12:35
	God understands the way to it and He knows its place,	12:37
	for He looks to the ends of the earth	12:43
	and sees everything under the Heavens.	12:46
	When He gave to the wind its weight	12:51
	and metered out the waters by measure,	12:54
	when He made a decree for the rain	12:57
	and a way for the lightning or the thunder,	13:01
	then He saw it and declared it.	13:05
	He established it and searched it out	13:09
	and He said to man, behold the fear of the Lord.	13:13
	That is wisdom.	13:19
	And, to depart from evil is understanding.	13:21
	This is the reading of the first lesson.	13:25
	(hymnal organ music)	13:29
	♪ God is my strong salvation ♪	14:08
	♪ What foe have I to fear? ♪	14:12
	♪ In darkness and temptation ♪	14:17
	♪ My light, my help is near ♪	14:21
	♪ Though hosts encamp around me ♪	14:26
	♪ Firm in the fight I stand ♪	14:31
	♪ What terror can confound me ♪	14:36
	♪ with God at my right hand? ♪	14:40
	♪ Place on the Lord reliance ♪	14:47
	♪ My soul, with courage, wait. ♪	14:52
	♪ His truth will be my sustenance ♪	14:57
	♪ when faint and desolate ♪	15:01
	♪ His might my heart shall strengthen ♪	15:05
	♪ His love my joy increase ♪	15:11
	♪ Mercy my days shall lengthen ♪	15:16
	♪ The Lord will give me peace ♪	15:21
	The second lesson is taken from the letter of James.	15:39
	Who is wise and understanding among you?	15:43
	By His good life, let Him show His works	15:47
	in the meekness of wisdom,	15:50
	but if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition	15:53
	in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.	15:57
	This wisdom is not such as comes down from above,	16:03
	but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish,	16:08
	for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,	16:13
	there will be disorder and every vile practice,	16:17
	but the wisdom from above is, first, pure,	16:21
	then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,	16:25
	full of mercy and good fruits,	16:31
	without uncertainty or insincerity	16:36
	and the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace	16:40
	by those who make peace.	16:43
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	16:46
	(hymnal organ music)	16:50
	(choir and congregation singing)	17:19
	Please, stand for the reading of the gospel.	19:28
	This lesson comes to us from the gospel, according to Mark.	19:36
	And, they came to Capernaum	19:41
	and when he was in the house, he asked them,	19:44
	what were you discussing on the way?	19:48
	But, they were silent, for on the way,	19:51
	they had discussed with one another who was the greatest	19:54
	and He sat down and called the 12	19:59
	and He said to them, if anyone would be first,	20:02
	he must be last of all and servant of all;	20:08
	and He took a child and put him in the midst of them	20:13
	and, taking him in His arms, he said to them,	20:18
	whoever receives one such child in my name receives me	20:22
	and whoever receives me, receives not me,	20:30
	but Him who sent me.	20:34
	(hymnal organ music)	20:40
	♪ Glory be to our creator ♪	20:49
	♪ Praise to our redeemer, Lord ♪	20:56
	♪ Glory be to our sustainer ♪	21:03
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	21:11
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	21:19
	♪ Now and ever, Lord, shall be ♪	21:26
-	Let me say, this morning, what a joy it is	21:49
	to be back in Duke Chapel,	21:52
	to have the privilege in sharing in worship	21:56
	with this great congregation	21:58
	and to, once more, be able to ask you to share	22:01
	with that which is on my heart today.	22:05
	Before I preach to you this morning, I want to thank you.	22:09
	There is a group of students at Duke University	22:12
	who gathered text books and have been sending them	22:16
	in significant numbers to the Central Methodist Mission	22:19
	in Johannesburg, where I do my work.	22:23
	Now, those text books have found their way	22:28
	into a little study library in a part of Soweto,	22:31
	which is called Jabavu.	22:36
	Students who live in Soweto	22:41
	can never study privately.	22:47
	There is no place for them to go in their small houses,	22:51
	away from the rest of the family	22:55
	and so, the church has provided a study center,	22:58
	a study library, and that library is the one	23:02
	which is being stocked with books collected by students	23:06
	of this university.	23:11
	On behalf of the Reverend Sisue and Babani,	23:13
	who runs that library, and the young people of Soweto	23:16
	who crowd it out, day after day,	23:21
	in their search for learning, I want to say thank you.	23:24
	There is a saying in the Hausa language,	23:30
	which means, don't get tired, even tomorrow.	23:34
	Don't get tired of sending those books, even tomorrow.	23:41
	This morning, I want to speak to you	23:48
	about the cross of Jesus Christ	23:50
	and I want to talk about what happens when that cross	23:54
	lays hold on you.	23:59
	A cross continues to be a center of fascination	24:05
	and a point of challenge for all of humanity.	24:10
	I want to say that, until we engage with some	24:17
	of the significance of that cross,	24:21
	we will never understand Jesus and His life and His death	24:28
	and neither will we understand ourselves and our lives	24:31
	and what we are meant to live and die for.	24:36
	There was a young man, long ago,	24:40
	who made his encounter with the cross	24:42
	in a totally unexpected and surprising way.	24:45
	He was simply part of a group of religious pilgrims.	24:47
	He'd saved his money for a special festival,	24:54
	he'd taken leave from his hometown,	24:59
	which was probably Tripoli, and he had set out with others	25:01
	and now, his destination was in sight	25:05
	and as he came over the brow of the hill,	25:07
	there he could see the city that he was making for	25:10
	and swept along with the crowd.	25:12
	He was also buoyed up by tremendous excitement	25:15
	and then, something happened,	25:20
	something that would change his life.	25:23
	Suddenly, the flow of the crowd altered	25:25
	and, instead of sweeping toward the city gates,	25:28
	it began to move in the other direction	25:31
	and he was caught up with it	25:32
	and the mood of the crowd changed, as well.	25:34
	Suddenly, he found himself facing a wedge of steel	25:40
	behind which a group of armed soldiers were marching	25:43
	three men who were carrying three crosses	25:50
	and, at that moment, one of the men stumbled and fell,	25:54
	and the weight of the cross crushed him to the ground	26:02
	and it was then that our traveling friend,	26:06
	looking forward to nothing more than a religious festival,	26:11
	felt a sting across his shoulder blades.	26:16
	He'd been hit with the flat side of a Roman sword	26:22
	and the sergeant in charge of this small,	26:33
	military detachment says, you, what's your name?	26:36
	And, he says, I'm Simon from Cyrene.	26:39
	He says, all right, Simon, you've got a job now.	26:45
	Get up, carry this cross.	26:47
	And, in Luke, chapter three, in verse 26,	26:51
	as they led Jesus away to execution,	26:56
	they seized upon a man called Simon from Cyrene,	26:58
	on his way back from the country,	27:02
	put the cross on his back and made him walk	27:05
	behind Jesus, carrying it.	27:09
	There are some circumstances in which the cross of Jesus	27:19
	is laid upon us, and this was one of them.	27:27
	But, Jesus says, if you want to be my disciple,	27:39
	then you've got to learn to carry crosses	27:45
	and to follow Him.	27:52
	They made him walk behind Jesus,	27:56
	carrying a cross.	27:59
	I want to say, this morning, that my prayer	28:06
	is that the cross of Jesus will lay hold on you.	28:09
	What happens when the cross lays hold on you?	28:23
	I think the first thing that happens is that it moves you	28:27
	from religion to faith.	28:30
	Now, everybody's got some religion.	28:35
	You pick it up from your parents	28:40
	like you pick up your blue eyes and your freckles, perhaps.	28:41
	You pick up a bit of religion.	28:44
	Everybody's got some religion.	28:48
	You absorb it from the culture you breathe,	28:52
	like the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.	28:54
	You begin to learn that life goes better	29:01
	not only with Coke, but with a little religion, as well.	29:03
	But, I want to say that religion is not enough.	29:09
	Religion will never be enough.	29:14
	Religion, in fact, can be deeply	29:19
	destructive and dangerous.	29:24
	It is partly in the name of religion	29:32
	that people kill one another in Ireland.	29:36
	It is religion, amongst other things,	29:44
	that is tearing Lebanon apart.	29:47
	I come from a land where religious people	29:53
	invented one of the most iniquitous and evil policies	29:57
	in the world, the policy of apartheid.	30:02
	And, it is religious people who go on ruthlessly	30:09
	implementing that policy	30:12
	in the face of the fact	30:17
	that it has been judged evil in the councils of God,	30:19
	that it has been rebuked and rejected	30:24
	in every nation on the planet.	30:28
	The same people who implement that policy	30:34
	would call themselves religious.	30:40
	I want to say that, not only is religion not enough,	30:46
	but you can keep religion,	30:48
	you can have religion,	30:51
	for religion often simply becomes nothing more	30:57
	than a label to distinguish ourselves from others	31:00
	and to deepen the divides that there are	31:03
	between people in this world.	31:06
	Religion often becomes a mask behind which we can live out	31:12
	our prejudices and blame them on God.	31:15
	I believe that Simon, on that day,	31:23
	looking forward to a religious festival,	31:27
	was challenged to move from religion into faith.	31:30
	For faith is a relationship encounter	31:36
	with the one whom God sent into the world as His Son	31:41
	and as His word to the world	31:45
	and as His gift to the world.	31:47
	Faith is coming face to face with that one,	31:51
	encountering Him, engaging Him,	31:56
	being encountered by Him.	32:02
	Faith is what happens when you meet	32:10
	the cross and the person carrying it	32:16
	and then, you are called out to the crowd,	32:21
	you are called out of the safety of religion,	32:26
	you are called out of the security of non-involvement,	32:32
	and you are called into risk,	32:37
	and you are called into commitment,	32:40
	and you are called into vulnerability,	32:42
	and you are called into faith.	32:44
	That is the powerful pressure of the cross.	32:49
	And, there are those who call the cross an offense	32:59
	and there are others who called it foolishness	33:01
	and there are others who saw it as a stumbling block,	33:03
	but there it is and,	33:06
	like Simon, you've gotta decide.	33:10
	There lives in my land an old gentleman, now.	33:18
	He's getting on.	33:21
	His name is Bayes Nowdaya,	33:22
	pronounced in America Bayes Nowdaya.	33:26
	Bayes Nowdaya was, perhaps, one of the most brilliant	33:33
	young preachers and	33:39
	leaders in the hierarchy	33:44
	of the Dutch Reform Church	33:47
	and there came a moment where this young man,	33:51
	who had grown out of one of the great Africana families,	33:54
	one of the establishment families,	33:58
	whose road to the top in church and, probably, in nation	34:00
	was already paved for him.	34:05
	He had all the credentials to be one of the ruling elite	34:07
	in white South Africa.	34:10
	There came a day when he read his bible	34:16
	and he looked at what was happening in his land	34:20
	and he said, these two don't add up.	34:23
	There came a day when he had to decide	34:26
	whether he was going to follow the road of dead religion	34:28
	or whether, in fact, he was going to commit himself	34:33
	in faith to the Jesus who came to care for the poor	34:36
	and to bring justice in the world	34:40
	and he had to make his decision.	34:43
	And so, the day came when Bayes Nowdaya,	34:46
	standing in the pulpit of one of the most fashionable	34:49
	Dutch Reform churches in Johannesburg	34:54
	had to say to his people that he had made his choice,	34:58
	that the cross had laid hold on him,	35:03
	and at the end of that sermon,	35:10
	he took off his black preaching robe	35:14
	and laid it across the side of the pulpit	35:18
	and walked out of that church	35:21
	to start the lonely road	35:25
	of being a prophet for justice in South Africa.	35:30
	Amongst his people, the Africana people,	35:34
	that day, as he stood at the door of his church,	35:40
	most of his congregation walked past him	35:44
	in silence.	35:50
	They wanted to live with a religion	35:56
	which did not disturb them.	35:59
	Bayes Nowdayas had chosen faith in Jesus,	36:02
	who is always the disturber of what is wrong	36:07
	and unjust.	36:12
	So, when the cross lays hold of you,	36:14
	be careful because it may move you from religion to faith	36:20
	and I pray it does.	36:23
	The second thing I want to say is this:	36:24
	that when the cross lays hold of you,	36:26
	then you bare some of God's burden for the world.	36:29
	At Easter time, at the Central Methodist Mission	36:38
	in Johannesburg, we erect a great cross in the foyer	36:40
	of the church, which opens out onto a pedestrian mall	36:43
	where people move up and down and that cross	36:48
	just stands there silently and speaks of something	36:51
	of the meaning of Easter,	36:54
	but on the Thursday night, after we have shared	36:55
	in our service of the shadows by candlelight,	36:59
	around the cross in the foyer of our church,	37:02
	we have to carry it upstairs because our large sanctuary,	37:05
	our main sanctuary, is upstairs	37:09
	and a couple of us stay behind afterwards	37:14
	and we lift this cross and we carry it up the stairs.	37:16
	I did it once because nobody else seemed to be around	37:23
	to help, but I do it every year now.	37:25
	I deliberately stay behind because it's important to me,	37:28
	before I preach on Good Friday, to feel something	37:32
	of the weight of a real cross	37:36
	and I want to tell you that there is no comfortable way	37:42
	of carrying one.	37:46
	There just isn't.	37:48
	There is a weight to the cross.	37:56
	Because Jesus was carrying that cross for the world.	38:02
	Because God so loved the world that He gave His Son.	38:07
	And Simon, Simon of Cyrene, one of the crowd,	38:17
	suddenly found that he was called to carry that cross.	38:24
	There was a school boy some years ago	38:29
	who read the story of Simon of Cyrene	38:31
	and he wrote this little poem:	38:35
	step up, Simon, today you meet your maker,	38:36
	the Nazarene woodman	38:40
	whose load is yours to bear,	38:42
	the blood, the burning tears fall	38:47
	to the steeply cobbled walk, trod by the heel of God.	38:50
	Lift upon your powered shoulder the hated tree of death,	38:56
	for He bears today the wrongs of man.	39:02
	Why are you here, Simon?	39:06
	To mock the perfect born or to give strength to one	39:08
	who hangs against the tree?	39:12
	Step up, Simon, for this tree is yours to bear.	39:15
	I think we have to decide	39:19
	whether we stand back from the burden	39:26
	that God carries for His world	39:28
	or whether we are called to give strength	39:30
	to one who hangs against the tree.	39:34
	Is it irreverent to suggest that God needs our strength?	39:38
	Of course not.	39:43
	From the very beginning, Jesus made himself vulnerable	39:45
	to a group, a circle around him,	39:48
	and said, I need you, and in the end,	39:50
	he left the job to them.	39:54
	And so, we are here to give strength to the one	39:57
	who hangs against the tree.	39:59
	And, perhaps, the deepest privilege in the world, my friend,	40:06
	is to say, Lord, let me carry just a little corner	40:11
	of your cross.	40:15
	You carry it for so many,	40:20
	you carry it for the poor,	40:21
	you carry it for the homeless,	40:26
	you carry it for those who are oppressed and tortured,	40:28
	you carry it for the outcast,	40:33
	you carry it for the frightened and the sinful and the last.	40:34
	Lord, let me just carry a little corner of your cross	40:39
	because, my friend, when you come into an encounter	40:47
	with the cross of Jesus, you come into an encounter	40:50
	with all those for whom Jesus carried that cross	40:53
	and there's a sense in which he nails you to them,	40:57
	he nails you to your neighbor,	40:59
	and it can be costly to be nailed to your neighbor.	41:07
	In my land, there is a body which has, perhaps,	41:11
	done more than any other to try and care	41:15
	for those who are broken and beaten	41:18
	and wounded and hurt by a partite	41:23
	and that is the South African Council of Churches.	41:25
	And, time again, when there has been a need,	41:30
	when there's been need for legal defense,	41:34
	when there's been need to get to somebody	41:36
	who's in detention without trial,	41:38
	when there's been need to stand up	41:40
	and speak against what is wrong,	41:42
	it has been that council which has somehow been out there	41:44
	on the cutting edge and there is a price to pay for that.	41:48
	Just two weeks ago, a great car bomb exploded	41:50
	in the basement of Khotso House,	41:54
	the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches,	41:58
	the biggest explosion that has yet taken place	42:02
	in all the violence of our land.	42:06
	Khotso House.	42:12
	Khotso, Khotso, Khotso means peace.	42:13
	The house of peace.	42:17
	And yet, just a couple of days later,	42:24
	I was together with a group of people	42:27
	and there stood up amongst us and 18 year old white boy	42:32
	and, in spite of what had happened that week,	42:43
	in spite of the proof of	42:45
	what devastating violence	42:50
	those who support evil will try to destroy those	42:53
	who witness for the truth,	42:58
	this 18 year old stands up and says,	43:01
	I have read my bible, I am a Christian,	43:05
	I follow Jesus, Jesus tells me that everybody	43:08
	is my brother and sister, and therefore,	43:12
	I will not serve in the military.	43:15
	I will not go and shoot my brothers and sisters.	43:18
	Now, that 18 year old knew	43:23
	that he would be 25 years old	43:27
	before he came out of paying the price for that,	43:30
	six years of imprisonment,	43:33
	but I have hope,	43:42
	when I see an 18 year old white kid in South Africa	43:45
	saying, Jesus, can I carry	43:50
	just a little corner of your cross	43:53
	for those you care about	43:57
	and help me when I have to pay the price?	44:02
	The third and last thing I want to say is this:	44:06
	that when the cross lays hold of you,	44:09
	you find that it is a healing burden.	44:11
	When Simon was asked to carry the cross of Jesus,	44:16
	he must have been afraid.	44:19
	Of course he was.	44:20
	He must have been resentful, as well.	44:21
	Somehow, everything he had planned had gone wrong,	44:24
	but also, somehow, I believe that, on that day,	44:32
	he was given the opportunity to become a whole person,	44:37
	a free person, a new person.	44:42
	By engaging with Jesus in His suffering,	44:46
	Simon found new life because he was now being drawn	44:50
	into the center of all of life's meaning,	44:55
	which is about self-giving.	45:00
	It's a mystery as to how the cross heals people,	45:08
	but the cross heals people,	45:12
	I promise you that.	45:18
	A couple of years ago, we met together,	45:26
	the Methodist people from around the world in Nairobi	45:29
	and we had an open air procession	45:32
	on a Sunday afternoon through Nairobi.	45:35
	Representatives of Methodist churches from 60 or 70	45:38
	different countries in the world,	45:42
	very colorful with our banners,	45:43
	but also, reasonably dignified, as befits Christians	45:46
	marching through town on a Sunday afternoon.	45:49
	There was only one trouble with the procession,	45:52
	there was only one piece of chaos,	45:54
	there was only one thoroughly disorganized	45:56
	and un-organizable bunch of people in the procession	45:59
	and they were right at the back	46:03
	and they were the South Africans, black and white,	46:04
	from South Africa, and including exiles	46:10
	who had not seen their home for 20 years,	46:13
	and they were having a party and they were dancing	46:18
	and they were singing and we even press-ganged	46:21
	into that group and archbishop of Cape Town,	46:24
	whose name is Desmond Tutu,	46:27
	and who doesn't like to be reminded,	46:30
	but needs to be reminded that he was baptized a Methodist	46:31
	and, for five kilometers or so, we danced and sang	46:37
	and celebrated and it was incredible	46:41
	and somebody come afterwards and said,	46:43
	what is this all about?	46:45
	How is it possible, after all we've heard	46:50
	and all we know, after all the agony and the discord	46:54
	and the violence and the hate,	46:59
	which comes into our minds the moment	47:01
	we mention South Africa?	47:03
	How can you celebrate like that?	47:06
	How can such joy somehow emerge from such pain?	47:09
	But, it does.	47:16
	People who have seen the cross	47:20
	and people who have carried some part of it know.	47:24
	They know something which is the source of incredible joy	47:28
	and that is that evil is only the second most powerful force	47:33
	in the universe.	47:37
	Do you know that?	47:39
	Because that's what the cross tells you,	47:41
	that there's something bigger and wider and deeper	47:47
	than evil and that's the power	47:49
	of suffering love.	47:54
	Do you believe that?	47:57
	When Khotso house was blown up,	48:02
	we made the central mission,	48:06
	which is just a few city blocks away, the new headquarters	48:08
	of the South African Council of Churches,	48:12
	and we gathered this exiled community	48:15
	of about 100 staff members and others	48:18
	into our chapel that morning,	48:22
	just hours after that bomb blast,	48:26
	and there, we had our staff prayers, as usual,	48:34
	and as we prayed,	48:43
	that congregation recited together	48:45
	the 23rd psalm: the Lord is my shepherd.	48:50
	I will want for nothing.	48:55
	He leads me beside still waters.	48:58
	He restores, heals my soul.	48:59
	Even when I walk through a valley, dark as death,	49:04
	I will fear no evil, for you are with me	49:07
	and evil is only the second strongest force in the universe	49:14
	and, what was true for that community, my friends,	49:22
	is also true for you,	49:24
	that whatever it is in your life,	49:27
	which sometimes seems to have such a hold on you	49:28
	that it threatens to break you and force you down,	49:31
	wholeness and freedom and newness	49:40
	are there for you in the cross.	49:46
	It was interesting to me that,	49:49
	as that bomb blew the face of Khotso House,	49:51
	suddenly, in all the dust and the debris,	49:56
	the great banner that hangs in the foyer	50:02
	of Jesus holding out His hands and offering His gift	50:05
	of peace to all was suddenly	50:08
	exposed to the street,	50:12
	to the world, and as that building was surrounded	50:14
	by heavily armed security policemen,	50:18
	somehow, behind them, in the foreground,	50:26
	we had the usual message that the world offers:	50:30
	do it my way or I'll beat you up.	50:35
	Do it my way or I'll blow you up.	50:37
	But, in the background, now open for all to see,	50:41
	was the way of the cross.	50:48
	When you meet the cross, some word is spoken in that event	50:55
	that can be said in no other way	51:02
	and it's a word which makes you and me whole again.	51:06
	So, my friends, thank you for listening to me this morning	51:15
	and remember, will you,	51:17
	that as we look at the cross	51:20
	on our altar as we conclude our worship,	51:22
	God wants to move you from religion,	51:28
	which is not a good place to be, to faith,	51:32
	which is where it can really happen,	51:38
	and God really longs for you to carry	51:42
	just a little corner of His burden for the world	51:44
	and God wants you to find that, in that faith	51:52
	and in that burden, there is really the healing,	51:57
	the making whole, of who you are.	52:04
	Amen.	52:10
	(hymnal organ music)	52:17
	(choir and congregation singing)	52:42
William	The Lord be with you.	54:28
Congregation	And, also with you.	54:29
-	Let us pray.	54:31
	Be seated.	54:32
	For our prayer for others today,	54:37
	we will be led by the prayers of God's people	54:38
	from the Anglican church of the province of South Africa.	54:42
	Father, we are Your children.	54:51
	Your spirit lives in us and we are in Your spirit.	54:52
	Hear us, for it is Your spirit	54:58
	who speaks through us as we pray.	55:00
	Gracious God, you created the human family	55:05
	in Your own image.	55:07
	Teach us to honor You and our brothers and sisters.	55:10
	You provide for all children.	55:15
	Grant good grains for our crops.	55:18
	You inspire the prophets of old.	55:23
	Grant that Your church may faithfully proclaim	55:26
	Your truth to the world.	55:28
	Lord, Jesus, You called the apostles to be fissures of men.	55:33
	Bless the bishops and all other ministers of Your church.	55:39
	Lord, Jesus, for Your sake, men and women forsook all	55:48
	and followed you, called many to serve You	55:52
	in the ordained ministry of Your church.	55:57
	Lord, Jesus, You call men and women to be Your disciples,	56:02
	deepen in each of us a sense of vocation.	56:06
	You forgave the thief on the cross.	56:11
	Bring to all penitence and reconciliation.	56:14
	You gave us peace.	56:19
	Bring the people of this world to live	56:21
	in true community and concord.	56:23
	You were rich, yet, for our sake, became poor.	56:27
	Move those who have wealth to share generously	56:31
	with those who are poor.	56:35
	You sat among the learned,	56:38
	listening and asking them questions.	56:39
	Inspire all who teach and all who learn.	56:42
	You cured, by Your healing touch and word,	56:47
	healed the sick and bless all who minister to them.	56:50
	You were unjustly condemned by Pontius Pilate.	56:56
	Strengthen our brothers and sisters	57:00
	who suffer injustice and persecution.	57:01
	You lived as an exile in Egypt.	57:06
	Be with all migrant workers and protect their families.	57:10
	You have been glorified in the lives	57:16
	of innumerable saints.	57:18
	Give us strength, through their prayers,	57:21
	to follow in their footsteps.	57:23
	Have mercy upon us, most merciful father.	57:27
	In Your compassion, forgive us our sins,	57:31
	known and unknown, things done and left undone,	57:33
	and so uphold us by Your spirit	57:36
	that we may live and serve You in newness of life	57:40
	to the honor and glory of Your name,	57:42
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	57:46
	Amen.	57:49
	Let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	57:51
	(hymnal organ music)	57:55
	♪ It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord ♪	58:45
	♪ And to and to sing praises unto thy name ♪	58:52
	♪ Oh, Most High ♪	58:58
	(hymnal organ music)	59:01
	♪ To tell of Thy loving kindness early in the morning ♪	59:31
	♪ And all Thy truth in the night season ♪	59:40
	(hymnal organ music)	59:47
	♪ Upon an instrument of ten strings and upon the lute ♪	1:00:30
	♪ Upon a loud instrument and upon the harp ♪	1:00:38
	(hymnal organ music)	1:00:47
	♪ For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works ♪	1:01:28
	♪ And I will rejoice in giving praise ♪	1:01:36
	♪ For the operations of thy hands. ♪	1:01:40
	(hymnal organ music)	1:01:48
	(choir and congregation singing)	1:03:01
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:14
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:17
	(choir and congregation singing)	1:03:21
	♪ Praise God, the Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:03:28
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:34
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:37
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:40
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:43
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:03:46
	♪ Amen ♪	1:03:55
	It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Oh, Lord,	1:04:06
	for the gift of Thy word and for all the gifts	1:04:10
	by which you enrich our lives and make life so good for us.	1:04:13
	Therefore, we pray that you would receive us	1:04:18
	and our gifts as tokens of our thanksgiving.	1:04:22
	Our father, who art in Heaven,	1:04:26
	hallowed be Thy name.	1:04:29
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth	1:04:31
	as it is in Heaven.	1:04:35
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	1:04:37
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:04:40
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:04:42
	Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:04:46
	For Thine is the kingdom and the power	1:04:50
	and the glory forever.	1:04:53
	Amen.	1:04:55
	(hymnal organ music)	1:04:58
	(choir and congregation singing)	1:05:43
	(hymnal organ music)	1:06:28
	(choir and congregation singing)	1:07:08
	(hymnal organ music)	1:07:53
	(choir and congregation singing)	1:08:23
	(hymnal organ music)	1:09:09
	The grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	1:09:46
	the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:09:48
	be with you now and always.	1:09:51
	♪ Amen ♪	1:09:57
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:00
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:03
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:15
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:21
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:33
	(hymnal organ music)	1:10:47

Item Info

Title:

Peter J. Storey - Sermon Untitled (September 18, 1988)

Description:

We must allow the cross to lay hold of us if we are truly to understand Jesus. From such an encounter with the cross of Christ, three things occur: First, it moves you from religion to faith. Second, you bear some of God's burden for the world. And, third, you find that it is a healing burden. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 21:49. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 52:15.
Key quotation: “People who have seen the cross, and people who have carried some part of it know. They know something which is the source of incredible joy, and that is that evil is only the second most powerful force in the universe…there is something bigger and wider and deeper than evil, and that’s the power of suffering love.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r45718321

Date:

September 18, 1988

Speaker:

Storey, Peter J., 1938-

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0098
ref8511_avn
uachapelsermaud
duke:321312
dcrmv001097
ark:/87924/r45718321
b85821b4-da38-4a4a-8219-98e4f4d2c458

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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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Peter J. Storey - Sermon Untitled (September 18, 1988)

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Duke University Archives

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