J. Michael Laidlaw - "God as Poet and Persons on Pilgrimage" (June 24, 1984)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(reverential organ music) | 0:03 | |
(reverential organ music) | 1:58 | |
(reverential organ music) | 4:44 | |
(reverential organ music) | 6:29 | |
(reverential organ music) | 9:02 | |
(reverential organ music) | 13:36 | |
("Come, Thou Almighty King") | 17:49 | |
♪ Come, Thou Almighty King ♪ | 18:17 | |
♪ Help us Thy name to sing ♪ | 18:22 | |
♪ Help us to praise ♪ | 18:27 | |
♪ Father, all glorious ♪ | 18:30 | |
♪ O'er all victorious ♪ | 18:33 | |
♪ Come, and reign over us ♪ | 18:37 | |
♪ Ancient of Days ♪ | 18:40 | |
♪ Come, Thou incarnate Word ♪ | 18:46 | |
♪ Gird on Thy mighty sword ♪ | 18:51 | |
♪ Our prayer attend ♪ | 18:56 | |
♪ Come, and Thy people bless ♪ | 18:59 | |
♪ And give Thy word success ♪ | 19:03 | |
♪ Spirit of holiness ♪ | 19:06 | |
♪ On us descend ♪ | 19:09 | |
♪ Come, holy Comforter ♪ | 19:15 | |
♪ Thy sacred witness bear ♪ | 19:20 | |
♪ In this glad hour ♪ | 19:25 | |
♪ Thou who Almighty art ♪ | 19:29 | |
♪ Now rule in every heart ♪ | 19:32 | |
♪ And ne'er from us depart ♪ | 19:35 | |
♪ Spirit of power ♪ | 19:39 | |
♪ To Thee, great One in Three ♪ | 19:44 | |
♪ Eternal praises be ♪ | 19:50 | |
♪ Hence evermore ♪ | 19:55 | |
♪ Thy sov'reign majesty ♪ | 19:58 | |
♪ May we in glory see ♪ | 20:02 | |
♪ And to eternity ♪ | 20:05 | |
♪ Love and adore. ♪ | 20:09 | |
- | The Lord is in His holy temple. | 20:19 |
Let all the earth keep silence before Him. | 20:21 | |
Grace be unto you, and peace from God, our Father, | 20:27 | |
and from the Lord Jesus Christ. | 20:32 | |
Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. | 20:36 | |
Come, oh Gracious One, | 20:52 | |
to this occasion of repentance. | 20:54 | |
Open your heart to our confession, | 20:57 | |
even as we open our souls to your mercy. | 21:00 | |
Our sin weighs heavy upon us. | 21:05 | |
Our guilt is a burden. | 21:08 | |
We neglect your world and its peoples. | 21:11 | |
Lusting after privilege and place, | 21:15 | |
we misuse our power. | 21:19 | |
Nations rage, | 21:21 | |
the ground trembles beneath machines of war. | 21:24 | |
The earth is stained with blood. | 21:29 | |
Love is thwarted, and the neighbor injured. | 21:32 | |
Forgive, oh Lord, our sin. | 21:37 | |
Put to flight our arrogance, | 21:40 | |
greed, angers, | 21:43 | |
that your kingdom may be realized on earth, | 21:46 | |
as it is in heaven. | 21:49 | |
Empower us to realize your vision of a world at peace, | 21:52 | |
that tools of war will give way to implements of healing, | 21:58 | |
that reconciliation will replace division, | 22:04 | |
that all nations will embrace your lordship, | 22:09 | |
and make of us a people quickened, transformed, | 22:14 | |
ready to hear your call, and do your will, | 22:19 | |
through Jesus Christ, | 22:24 | |
our Brother, and our Redeemer. | 22:26 | |
Amen. | 22:30 | |
The almighty and merciful Lord | 23:11 | |
grant you absolution and remission of all your sins. | 23:15 | |
True repentance, amendment of life, | 23:21 | |
and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. | 23:25 | |
Amen. | 23:30 | |
Let us give thanks, for God is good, | 23:33 | |
and God's love is everlasting. | 23:36 | |
Thanks be to God whose love creates us. | 23:40 | |
Thanks be to God whose mercy redeems us. | 23:44 | |
Thanks be to God whose grace leads us into the future. | 23:48 | |
Good morning, from Duke University Chapel. | 23:59 | |
The preacher this morning | 24:04 | |
is the Reverend John Michael Laidlaw, | 24:06 | |
who is the acting assistant minister to the university. | 24:10 | |
This is Mike's last | 24:16 | |
sermon at this chapel. | 24:20 | |
In fact, this is Mike's last presence in the chapel | 24:25 | |
as acting assistant minister. | 24:30 | |
He has been a good friend to me. | 24:35 | |
He has been a good assistant minister to the university. | 24:40 | |
And I know I speak for all of you, | 24:46 | |
and for all those who are listening on the radio, | 24:49 | |
when I express to him my personal gratitude, | 24:53 | |
for you, and them, to him, | 24:58 | |
and to wish for him all the best | 25:03 | |
that God in his grace can offer. | 25:06 | |
- | Let us pray. | 25:24 |
Almighty God, | 25:26 | |
in whom I have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, | 25:28 | |
open up our eyes, | 25:33 | |
that we may behold wondrous things out of your word, | 25:34 | |
and give us grace, that we may clearly understand, | 25:38 | |
and heartily choose the way of your love. | 25:42 | |
Through Jesus Christ, our lord, amen. | 25:46 | |
The old testament lessons | 25:54 | |
is from Genesis 12th chapter, verses one through nine. | 25:56 | |
The LORD said to Abram, | 26:03 | |
"Leave your own country, your kinsmen, | 26:06 | |
"and your father's house, | 26:10 | |
"and go to a country that I will show you. | 26:12 | |
"I will make you into a great nation. | 26:16 | |
"I will bless you, and make your name so great, | 26:18 | |
"that it shall be used in blessings. | 26:22 | |
"Those that bless you, I will bless. | 26:25 | |
"Those that curse you, I will excerate. | 26:28 | |
"All the families on earth | 26:33 | |
"will pray to be blessed as you are blessed." | 26:35 | |
And so Abram set out as the LORD had bidden him, | 26:39 | |
and Lot went with him. | 26:43 | |
Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. | 26:46 | |
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, | 26:50 | |
all the property they had collected, | 26:55 | |
and all the dependents they had acquired in Haran, | 26:58 | |
and they started out to their journey to Canaan. | 27:02 | |
When they arrived, Abram passed through the country, | 27:06 | |
to the sanctuary at Shechem, the terebinth tree of Moreh. | 27:10 | |
At that time the Canaanites lived in this land. | 27:16 | |
There the LORD appeared to Abram and said, | 27:21 | |
"I give this land to your descendants." | 27:24 | |
So Abram built an altar there | 27:27 | |
to the LORD who had appeared to him. | 27:30 | |
Thence he went on to the hill country, | 27:33 | |
east of Bethel, and pitched his tent | 27:36 | |
between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. | 27:39 | |
There he built an altar to the LORD | 27:44 | |
and invoked the LORD by name. | 27:47 | |
Thus Abram journeyed by a stage towards the Negeb. | 27:50 | |
Here ends the reading from the Old Testament. | 27:56 | |
The epistle lesson is from Romans, chapter three, | 28:05 | |
verses 21 through 28. | 28:10 | |
But now, quite independently of law, | 28:15 | |
God's justice had been brought to light. | 28:19 | |
The Law and the prophets both bear witness to it. | 28:23 | |
It is God's ways of righting wrong, | 28:28 | |
effective through faith in Christ | 28:32 | |
for all who have such faith, all without distinction. | 28:35 | |
For all alike have sinned, | 28:39 | |
and are deprived of the divine splendor, | 28:41 | |
and all are justified by God's free grace alone, | 28:45 | |
through his act of liberation in the person of Christ Jesus. | 28:49 | |
For God designed him to be the means of expiating | 28:54 | |
sin by his sacrificial death, effective through faith. | 28:58 | |
God meant by this to demonstrate his justice, | 29:02 | |
because in his forbearance, | 29:06 | |
he had overlooked the sins of the past, | 29:09 | |
to demonstrate his justice now in the present, | 29:12 | |
showing that he is himself just, | 29:16 | |
and also justifies any man who puts his faith in Jesus. | 29:20 | |
What room then is left for human pride? | 29:25 | |
It is excluded, and of what principle? | 29:28 | |
The keeping of the law would not exclude it, for faith does. | 29:32 | |
For our argument is that a man is justified by faith | 29:37 | |
quite apart from success in keeping the law. | 29:42 | |
Here ends the reading of the epistle. | 29:45 | |
♪ Master, ♪ | 29:54 | |
♪ Master ♪ | 29:58 | |
♪ We shall not all night long ♪ | 30:00 | |
♪ Avenge thee ♪ | 30:06 | |
♪ We have not all night long ♪ | 30:10 | |
♪ Avenged thee ♪ | 30:15 | |
♪ And not one, and not one doubt we, doubt we God ♪ | 30:19 | |
♪ And not one doubt we, doubt we, God ♪ | 30:27 | |
♪ We have all night long avenged thee ♪ | 30:33 | |
♪ And not one, and not one, not one doubt we, God ♪ | 30:39 | |
♪ And for thy power ♪ | 30:52 | |
♪ Will I not get thrown out ♪ | 30:55 | |
♪ My God has woken ♪ | 31:01 | |
♪ Will I not get thrown out ♪ | 31:04 | |
♪ My God, at your word ♪ | 31:10 | |
♪ Will I not get thrown out ♪ | 31:14 | |
♪ At your word, at your word ♪ | 31:21 | |
♪ Will I not get, will I not get ♪ | 31:27 | |
♪ Will I not get, will I not get ♪ | 31:31 | |
♪ Thrown, thrown out ♪ | 31:38 | |
- | Would the congregation please stand | 31:56 |
for the reading of the gospel lesson? | 31:58 | |
Not everyone who calls me "Lord, Lord" | 32:05 | |
will enter the kingdom of Heaven, | 32:08 | |
but only those who do the will of my heavenly Father. | 32:11 | |
When that day comes, many will say to me, | 32:15 | |
"Lord, Lord, did we not prophesize in your name, | 32:18 | |
"cast out devils in your name, | 32:23 | |
"in your name perform many miracles?" | 32:25 | |
Then I will tell them to their face, | 32:28 | |
"I never knew you, out of my sight, | 32:32 | |
"you and your wicked ways!" | 32:35 | |
What then of the man who hears these words of mine | 32:38 | |
and acts upon them? | 32:42 | |
He is like a man | 32:44 | |
who had the sense to build his house on rock. | 32:45 | |
The rain came down, the floods rose, | 32:48 | |
the wind blew, and beat upon the house, | 32:52 | |
but it did not fall, because its foundations were on rock. | 32:55 | |
But what of the man who hears these words of mine, | 33:00 | |
and does not act upon them? | 33:04 | |
He is like a man who was foolish enough | 33:07 | |
to build his house on sand. | 33:09 | |
The rain came down, the floods rose, | 33:11 | |
the wind blew, and beat upon that house. | 33:15 | |
Down it fell with a great crash. | 33:18 | |
When Jesus had finished this discourse, | 33:21 | |
the people as were astounded at his teaching. | 33:24 | |
Unlike their own teachers, | 33:28 | |
he taught with a note of authority. | 33:30 | |
Here ends the reading of the gospel. | 33:34 | |
("Glory Be") | 33:38 | |
♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪ | 33:46 | |
♪ Praise to our Redeemer ♪ | 33:53 | |
♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪ | 34:00 | |
♪ Ever three and ever one ♪ | 34:07 | |
♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ | 34:14 | |
♪ Ever shall be, amen. ♪ | 34:21 | |
- | Praying together. | 34:45 |
May the words of my mouth, | 34:50 | |
and the meditations of our hearts, | 34:53 | |
be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, our strength, | 34:56 | |
our only hope, | 35:01 | |
and our redeemer. | 35:05 | |
Amen. | 35:08 | |
It's a Saturday night, let us say, | 35:15 | |
not late as Saturdays go, | 35:19 | |
but late enough for the movie to be over, | 35:21 | |
and darkness to have come, | 35:24 | |
and the warmth of the summer day | 35:27 | |
to be have begun to give way to the cool of evening. | 35:29 | |
And you're fourteen years old, or fifteen maybe. | 35:35 | |
And it's you that has been to the movie, | 35:40 | |
and now you're on your way home. | 35:43 | |
And as you make your way along the main thoroughfare, | 35:46 | |
you hear behind you a sound | 35:50 | |
that you've heard on so many other nights, | 35:52 | |
just like this one. | 35:55 | |
The gears grind a bit, and you know already, | 35:58 | |
even before the speed-limit sign | 36:04 | |
gives its blessing to do so, | 36:06 | |
that the Detroit-bound Greyhound bus | 36:10 | |
is bolting out of town as rapidly as it can. | 36:13 | |
And you look over your shoulder, | 36:19 | |
and into the darkened bus, | 36:20 | |
and the street lamp throws just enough light inside, | 36:23 | |
to see a dozen of its riders, or 20 maybe, | 36:27 | |
some tired, sleeping, | 36:33 | |
their heads rolling only | 36:37 | |
as the bus jerks from acceleration. | 36:40 | |
Others with faces pressed to the window | 36:45 | |
to see what there might be in that place | 36:50 | |
that would cause anyone to want to live there. | 36:53 | |
And one or two, maybe, trying to sleep, | 36:58 | |
but finding that they can't, | 37:03 | |
restless, uneasy, fitful, | 37:06 | |
seeing neither their fellow-passengers, | 37:12 | |
nor the scenes that are going by them | 37:15 | |
outside the bus window. | 37:17 | |
Their minds, you see, | 37:20 | |
have carried them back to that Tennessee town | 37:22 | |
from which they made their exodus several hours ago, | 37:25 | |
and also to that city to which the bus will carry them, | 37:30 | |
from that place that they have known all of their lives, | 37:36 | |
to that destination that they have only read about, | 37:41 | |
or heard about from an uncle, or a sister already there. | 37:45 | |
And so, it's not only fatigue that fills that bus, | 37:50 | |
and curiosity, | 37:55 | |
but also a thick, | 37:58 | |
so thick that you can almost rub it between your fingers, | 38:01 | |
mixture of excitement, | 38:05 | |
and a little panic, and not a little fear. | 38:08 | |
And as the bus speeds by you, | 38:14 | |
it leaves you with hardly more | 38:17 | |
than its fading, muffled roar, | 38:19 | |
and the snapshot that your mind's camera | 38:22 | |
has taken of those women and men, | 38:25 | |
at once leaving somewhere, and going somewhere, | 38:28 | |
though for some, God only knows where. | 38:34 | |
It's enough, though, | 38:40 | |
to make you pause under the street light, | 38:41 | |
and to remember again that you also | 38:43 | |
were created to travel. | 38:46 | |
And if perchance you ever forget that about yourself, | 38:49 | |
well, well all that it takes to remind you, | 38:53 | |
is the pungent fragrance of diesel fumes, | 38:57 | |
or the night lights at an airport, | 39:01 | |
or the graceful silhouette of a seagull, gliding, | 39:04 | |
gliding on the ocean's surface. | 39:09 | |
Or maybe, maybe you take your daughter down | 39:16 | |
to see the circus train off to its next destination. | 39:19 | |
The elephants have been loaded on one more time. | 39:23 | |
And one more time the clowns, | 39:28 | |
and high-wire artists, and the big cats, | 39:31 | |
and the host of people who make circus happen, | 39:35 | |
are all on board, | 39:39 | |
and the train begins to inch away from where it has been. | 39:41 | |
And today, because you're braver than usual, | 39:48 | |
you let your daughter's hand slip out of your hand. | 39:51 | |
And she runs just a few feet ahead of you, | 39:55 | |
following alongside the train | 39:59 | |
until she sees that she can no longer keep up with it. | 40:01 | |
But it's in you, | 40:06 | |
it's in you that the strange sensation occurs, | 40:08 | |
that feeling that is something like | 40:12 | |
a surge of electricity running through your body, | 40:15 | |
and then settling at the bottom of your stomach. | 40:18 | |
Like being filled with dread and joy all at once. | 40:23 | |
Like being lost and discovered in the very same moment. | 40:28 | |
And even if you're half aware, half conscious, | 40:36 | |
you know that the name | 40:39 | |
for that feeling that fills your insides | 40:41 | |
as the train moves away, is homesickness. | 40:44 | |
It's to know in your heart | 40:50 | |
that on that train, or a train like it somewhere, | 40:53 | |
is something that you want, something that you need, | 40:57 | |
a yearning, a yearning not so much for a particular place, | 41:03 | |
but rather for a particular state of being, | 41:09 | |
a kind of life, a quality of life. | 41:12 | |
Now Yahweh said to Abram, | 41:21 | |
"Leave your country and your kindred, | 41:24 | |
"and go to a land that I will show you." | 41:27 | |
And what did he do? | 41:32 | |
We need to remember what he did, | 41:34 | |
and we need to remember how difficult it was | 41:38 | |
for that old man of clan and soil to do what he did. | 41:41 | |
The anonymous writer of the letter to Hebrews | 41:47 | |
catches the drama and the twist of it best, I think. | 41:50 | |
Abraham obeyed the call, | 41:55 | |
and he left home | 41:58 | |
without knowing where he was going. | 42:01 | |
When everyone else was settling into retirement, | 42:07 | |
and resting in the shade, and enjoying the grandchildren, | 42:10 | |
Abraham was packing up his bags, and folding up his tent, | 42:15 | |
and kissing his kin. | 42:19 | |
And he and Sarah, | 42:21 | |
and their nephew Lot, struck out for parts unknown. | 42:24 | |
Of all the words had surely been spoken that day, | 42:32 | |
the word that Abraham heard, and the word that he obeyed, | 42:36 | |
was the word, go. | 42:40 | |
"Go to a place that I will show you." | 42:43 | |
And I cannot help but remember | 42:51 | |
what Alfred North Whitehead once observed, | 42:52 | |
that God, God is the poet of the world, | 42:56 | |
with tender patience leading it by his vision of truth, | 43:01 | |
and beauty, and goodness. | 43:07 | |
What a strange designation, this one of God as poet. | 43:12 | |
But not inappropriate, I think. | 43:18 | |
For is not the poet the one whose creative endeavors | 43:22 | |
are born out of words, | 43:26 | |
words fashioned from the world's feelings and moods, | 43:28 | |
our desires, and needs, and longings, and failures? | 43:32 | |
Is it not the poet who sifts through all of these, | 43:38 | |
and examines all of these, and calls them what they are? | 43:44 | |
Some of them born of the divine image | 43:49 | |
that dwells within each of us, | 43:51 | |
and thus able to be used by God, | 43:54 | |
some shallow, | 43:58 | |
and selfish, and tawdry, | 44:01 | |
and therefore best left to grace alone. | 44:05 | |
The poet, | 44:10 | |
providing us a vision of who we are, | 44:12 | |
and more, who we are called to become. | 44:17 | |
And in an ultimate sense, such is the creating, | 44:24 | |
redeeming endeavor of God, | 44:28 | |
that one whose very power to create, | 44:32 | |
to transform, to give life, to save life, | 44:36 | |
that one whose very power resides in the word. | 44:42 | |
Said God, "Let us make humankind in our own image," | 44:48 | |
and so God created humankind in God's own image. | 44:52 | |
Male and female, God created them. | 44:57 | |
"These are the words of Yahweh," said the prophet Ezekiel, | 45:02 | |
"Come, oh wind, and breathe into these bones, | 45:05 | |
"that they may come to life," | 45:09 | |
and breath came into them, and they came to life. | 45:12 | |
The word, then, was with God at the beginning, | 45:20 | |
and through him all things came to be, | 45:23 | |
and the word became flesh, and came to dwell among us. | 45:28 | |
Then Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave." | 45:34 | |
All of these a poet's word, | 45:40 | |
creating, fashioning, redeeming, | 45:44 | |
at last demanding, compelling. | 45:49 | |
And God said, "Go!" | 45:53 | |
But what does it mean to go, to journey, | 46:00 | |
to be for God's sake a pilgrim, | 46:03 | |
travelling from somewhere to somewhere, what does it mean? | 46:06 | |
Well, among other things, | 46:14 | |
it is the knowledge that we have been found, | 46:15 | |
even as we feel inside of ourselves the urge to seek, | 46:18 | |
found by something that feels like grace and wonder, | 46:23 | |
and by someone who feels like love, it is this. | 46:29 | |
"Deep calls to deep," promises the psalmist. | 46:35 | |
And so, it is also to live out of life's depths, | 46:40 | |
and not only in the shallow places, | 46:44 | |
the depths of God, | 46:47 | |
beckoning to the depths of the human soul. | 46:50 | |
To be on pilgrimage is also to know a peculiar hunger, | 46:58 | |
which is to say an appetite for righteousness, | 47:02 | |
for those things that make for peace and mercy | 47:07 | |
in a world that is threatened | 47:11 | |
and gone crazy by their absence. | 47:13 | |
It is also to be curious, as a child is curious, | 47:19 | |
because curious, I think, is how God wishes us to be. | 47:23 | |
And it is, from time to time at least, if not always, | 47:30 | |
to feel yourself filled, | 47:34 | |
filled with an insane and remarkable oneness with creation, | 47:38 | |
with the human family, yes, but also with the earth, | 47:44 | |
and the pelican, and the shooting star. | 47:50 | |
All of which is to say, | 47:56 | |
that it's not so much where we hope to go, | 47:57 | |
as what we hope to do. | 48:00 | |
And what we hope to do, I believe, is to come alive, | 48:03 | |
to be human, | 48:08 | |
to be human in the way that God has always... | 48:10 |
- | The stature of Jesus Christ. | 0:03 |
It is to be all of these and more of course. | 0:09 | |
All of these are intended by that outrageous word | 0:13 | |
that comes to us and says to us, | 0:17 | |
depart, be on the move. | 0:19 | |
Oh most of us try to avoid that word, to be sure. | 0:25 | |
We fane deafness to it. | 0:29 | |
Or try to convince ourselves that it is some other word. | 0:32 | |
Or maybe if Jesus is right, we hide behind our Lord, Lords. | 0:37 | |
But the word is persistent and it does come. | 0:44 | |
And as often as not it comes in odd ways | 0:50 | |
and surely at unexpected times. | 0:52 | |
Perhaps as a dream in the night | 0:58 | |
which the next morning leaves you shaken and uncertain | 1:02 | |
and all that you know is that what is before you | 1:05 | |
is not what you had ever thought was before you. | 1:09 | |
Or as a passage in a book may be, or just a sentence, | 1:14 | |
and maybe you've even read it before. | 1:19 | |
But this time, this time it explodes with a meaning | 1:22 | |
and an urgency that you've never noticed before. | 1:26 | |
Or perhaps it comes as you stand by a courtroom window, | 1:33 | |
waiting, waiting for the jury to return with it's verdict | 1:37 | |
on your life. | 1:41 | |
Looking out and seeing not so much the streets | 1:44 | |
that's there with all of the old men sitting on the benches, | 1:48 | |
and the young hardware store clerk returning from lunch, | 1:52 | |
and the trees turned a sort of beige by the drought's dust, | 1:56 | |
not so much these as your own life, | 2:02 | |
as you've lived it up to that moment. | 2:06 | |
And lived it not gracefully either, | 2:09 | |
but more out of a bid for success | 2:12 | |
as the world measures success. | 2:14 | |
Or again maybe it's that out of all the words | 2:18 | |
that you have heard that day, one word has broken through. | 2:21 | |
I mean really gotten inside of you and unnerved you. | 2:26 | |
And shown you, let us say, | 2:31 | |
that the arms race is surely madness. | 2:32 | |
And you realize that you can no longer live your life | 2:36 | |
pretending that that word has not been spoken. | 2:39 | |
Or could it be that it comes to you | 2:46 | |
in the face of a stranger. | 2:48 | |
Nothing is said between you, no words exchanged, | 2:51 | |
but in the expression of her face, | 2:57 | |
in the dark sadness of her eyes, | 3:00 | |
in the weighted curve of her shoulders, | 3:03 | |
you know not only that all is not well with her world, | 3:07 | |
but not all is well with your world. | 3:12 | |
The world. | 3:16 | |
That somehow this ones wretchedness connects you | 3:18 | |
to all of the wretchedness of the world. | 3:22 | |
And for as before, you can pass it by or let it pass you by. | 3:26 | |
This time, instead of passing you by, | 3:32 | |
it has gotten inside of you. | 3:36 | |
But however it comes to you, | 3:43 | |
however it comes to you, in whatever experience | 3:46 | |
or moment of your life, the message is the same. | 3:49 | |
Pack up your bags and while you're at it, | 3:54 | |
pick up your cross, and follow me. | 3:58 | |
Don't worry about where you're going. | 4:04 | |
When the time comes, you'll know well enough. | 4:07 | |
But now, be content to go. | 4:11 | |
Of course, of course, | 4:19 | |
how the word comes to you really doesn't matter in the end. | 4:22 | |
What does matter is that it has come. | 4:26 | |
And it's to you of all people that it has been spoken. | 4:30 | |
And this time it is a word | 4:34 | |
spoken so loudly and so clearly | 4:37 | |
and with such compelling force, | 4:41 | |
that hiding is simply out of the question. | 4:43 | |
And so you go. | 4:48 | |
And so you go. | 4:50 | |
Haltingly at first. | 4:54 | |
And fear filled most likely. | 4:57 | |
But go you do. | 5:01 | |
Because no longer can you not go. | 5:04 | |
And as you shake the dust from your shoes, | 5:08 | |
you begin the journey that is also a shaking from your soul. | 5:12 | |
All that it is that prevents your being human. | 5:16 | |
And not you alone, but all of us going together. | 5:21 | |
The dancing ones and the crippled ones. | 5:27 | |
The singing ones and the silent ones. | 5:30 | |
The half alive and those almost dead. | 5:34 | |
The fakes and the truth tellers. | 5:38 | |
Preachers and prophets and priests. | 5:41 | |
Charlatans and old men and young. | 5:44 | |
The girl and the woman. | 5:47 | |
The vain and the humble. | 5:50 | |
The wise and the silly. | 5:51 | |
The hope filled and those desperately wanting to hope. | 5:54 | |
All of us, all of us, | 6:01 | |
this parade at once so tragic and grotesque, | 6:04 | |
yet so grand and enchanted. | 6:09 | |
And all of it, all of us, | 6:13 | |
so very God's. | 6:18 | |
Oh yes, the journey is long. | 6:23 | |
Or so it seems as it stretches out before us. | 6:27 | |
And yet, as more of it falls behind us, | 6:31 | |
just as the highway ribbons behind us on other journeys, | 6:34 | |
it begins to seem as if it won't be long enough. | 6:39 | |
As if maybe there's more to do then we can ever get done. | 6:44 | |
And of course there is. | 6:49 | |
More to get done then we can ever possibly do. | 6:51 | |
More places to go then we can ever possible go. | 6:55 | |
In this lifetime at least. | 6:59 | |
But we're on the way. | 7:02 | |
By God, we're on the way. | 7:05 | |
It's all a miracle I dare say. | 7:16 | |
It's all a miracle. | 7:19 | |
That somehow into the midst of all the words | 7:22 | |
that come our way on any given day, | 7:24 | |
came this word. | 7:27 | |
And not only came, but was heard at last. | 7:30 | |
And not only heard, but also obeyed. | 7:36 | |
The miracle I suppose is that whatever it is | 7:42 | |
that is called God and God's foolishness, | 7:44 | |
is somehow more to our liking after all, | 7:49 | |
then any or all of the world's foolishness. | 7:52 | |
That we can no longer be content with our lives | 7:57 | |
as they have been and the world as it is. | 8:00 | |
But now, we must be up and on the way. | 8:04 | |
Why? Why? | 8:11 | |
If only because there is something in the movement | 8:17 | |
that makes us human. | 8:20 | |
Or keeps us human. | 8:23 | |
Or at least opens the door to our becoming human. | 8:26 | |
And at last, | 8:31 | |
that restlessness that we have always known, | 8:34 | |
now has a name and that name is God. | 8:39 | |
People, us, | 8:48 | |
you and me and on pilgrimage, and God as poet. | 8:52 | |
God said. | 9:00 | |
God said. | 9:03 | |
And out of that word comes a life and a vision | 9:06 | |
and a hope | 9:12 | |
and a courage. | 9:15 | |
Maybe not all of the courage that we would want. | 9:18 | |
But courage enough nevertheless. | 9:23 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 9:31 | |
and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. | 9:35 | |
(organ music) | 9:47 | |
♪ How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord ♪ | 10:17 | |
♪ Is laid for your faith in His excellent word ♪ | 10:24 | |
♪ What more can He say than to you He hath said ♪ | 10:32 | |
♪ To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled ♪ | 10:39 | |
♪ Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed ♪ | 10:49 | |
♪ For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid ♪ | 10:57 | |
♪ I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand ♪ | 11:05 | |
♪ Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand ♪ | 11:13 | |
♪ When through the deep waters I call thee to go ♪ | 11:23 | |
♪ The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow ♪ | 11:30 | |
♪ For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless ♪ | 11:39 | |
♪ And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress ♪ | 11:47 | |
♪ When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie ♪ | 11:58 | |
♪ My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply ♪ | 12:05 | |
♪ The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design ♪ | 12:13 | |
♪ Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine ♪ | 12:21 | |
♪ The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose ♪ | 12:32 | |
♪ I will not, I will not desert to his foes ♪ | 12:40 | |
♪ That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake ♪ | 12:48 | |
♪ I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake ♪ | 12:56 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 13:11 |
- | We believe in God, | 13:15 |
who has created and is creating. | 13:17 | |
Who has come in the truly human Jesus, | 13:20 | |
to reconcile and make new. | 13:23 | |
Who works in us and others by the spirit. | 13:26 | |
We trust God who calls us to be the church, | 13:30 | |
to celebrate life and it's fullness, | 13:35 | |
to love and serve others, | 13:38 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 13:41 | |
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, | 13:44 | |
our judge and our hope. | 13:48 | |
In life and death and life beyond death. | 13:51 | |
God is with us, we are not alone. | 13:56 | |
Thanks be to God. | 14:00 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 14:03 |
- | And also with you. | 14:06 |
- | Let us pray. | 14:07 |
This is another day oh Lord, | 14:24 | |
we do not know what it will bring forth, | 14:27 | |
but make us ready, | 14:31 | |
Lord, for whatever it may be. | 14:34 | |
If we are to stand up, help us to stand bravely. | 14:38 | |
If we are to sit still, help us to sit quietly. | 14:45 | |
If we are to lie low, help us to do it patiently. | 14:52 | |
If we are to do nothing, let us do it gallantly. | 15:01 | |
Make these words more than words | 15:09 | |
and give us the spirit of Jesus. | 15:14 | |
Amen. | 15:18 | |
Let us pray | 15:23 | |
for our country. | 15:28 | |
Oh almighty God who has given us | 15:32 | |
this good land for our heritage, | 15:34 | |
we humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves | 15:39 | |
a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. | 15:43 | |
Bless our land with honorable industry, | 15:50 | |
sound learning, and pure manners. | 15:54 | |
Save us from violence, discord and confusion, | 16:01 | |
from pride and arrogance | 16:08 | |
and from every evil way. | 16:12 | |
Defend our liberties and fashion into one united people, | 16:17 | |
the multitudes brought hither | 16:24 | |
out of many kindreds, and tongues. | 16:27 | |
And do with a spirit of wisdom, those to whom in thy name | 16:31 | |
we entrust the authority of governor. | 16:36 | |
That there may be justice and peace at home | 16:41 | |
and that through obedience to our Lord, | 16:46 | |
we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. | 16:49 | |
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness | 16:54 | |
and in the day of trouble, suffer not | 17:00 | |
our trust in thee to fail. | 17:03 | |
All of which we ask, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 17:07 | |
Amen. | 17:12 | |
Let us pray for the human family. | 17:18 | |
Oh God, you made us in your image | 17:23 | |
and redeemed us through Jesus your son. | 17:25 | |
Look with compassion on the whole human family. | 17:29 | |
Take away the arrogance and hatred which infects our hearts. | 17:33 | |
Break down the walls that separate us. | 17:39 | |
Unite us in bonds of love. | 17:42 | |
And work through our struggle and confusion, | 17:45 | |
to accomplish your purposes on earth. | 17:49 | |
That in your good time, all nations and races may serve you | 17:53 | |
in harmony, around your heavenly throne. | 17:58 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 18:02 | |
Let us give thanks, for the ministry of John Michael Ledlow. | 18:10 | |
Heavenly Father, shepard of your people, | 18:18 | |
we thank you for your servant John Michael, | 18:22 | |
who is faithful in the care and nurture of your flock. | 18:27 | |
And we pray that following his example | 18:32 | |
and the teaching of his life, | 18:35 | |
we may by your grace, grow into the stature | 18:38 | |
of the fullness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, | 18:41 | |
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, | 18:46 | |
one God, forever and ever, amen. | 18:48 | |
Oh God who wonderfully created and yet more wonderfully | 18:56 | |
restored the dignity of human nature, | 19:00 | |
grant that we may share the divine life of him | 19:04 | |
who humbled himself to share our humanity, | 19:07 | |
your son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns, | 19:11 | |
with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, | 19:15 | |
one God, forever and ever, amen. | 19:19 | |
The Lord's prayer. | 19:24 | |
- | Our Father in heaven. | 19:28 |
Thy name be sanctified. | 19:30 | |
Thy kingdom come, | 19:33 | |
on earth as in heaven, thy will be done. | 19:35 | |
Give us today the bread we shall eat in thy kingdom. | 19:40 | |
Do not abandon us to the evil one, | 19:45 | |
but deliver us from his rage. | 19:48 | |
For the kingdom is thine, | 19:52 | |
power is thine, glory is thine. | 19:54 | |
Now and forever, amen. | 19:58 | |
(organ music) | 20:05 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 21:04 | |
(organ music) | 27:11 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessing flow ♪ | 27:29 | |
♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪ | 27:35 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 27:40 | |
♪ Praise him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ | 27:47 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 27:53 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 27:58 | |
♪ Alleluia, alleluia, ♪ | 28:04 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 28:10 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 28:17 | |
- | Lord Christ, when you came among us, | 28:28 |
you proclaim the kingdom of God in villages, | 28:30 | |
towns and lonely places. | 28:34 | |
Grant that your presence and power may be known | 28:37 | |
throughout this land. | 28:41 | |
Have mercy upon all of us who live in rural areas. | 28:44 | |
Especially this state. | 28:51 | |
And grant that all the people of our nation | 28:54 | |
may give thanks to you for food and drink | 28:57 | |
and all other bodily necessities of life. | 29:01 | |
Respect those who labor to produce them | 29:06 | |
and honor the land and the water | 29:10 | |
from which these good things come. | 29:14 | |
Bless our offering. | 29:20 | |
Send us into the world. | 29:26 | |
Grant that as we give of our substance | 29:31 | |
thy grace may be given to us. | 29:37 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord | 29:42 | |
amen. | 29:46 | |
(organ music) | 29:50 | |
♪ O For a thousand tongues to sing ♪ | 30:12 | |
♪ My dear Redeemer's praise ♪ | 30:17 | |
♪ The glories of my God and King ♪ | 30:23 | |
♪ The triumphs of His grace! ♪ | 30:28 | |
♪ My gracious Master and my God ♪ | 30:35 | |
♪ Assist me to proclaim ♪ | 30:41 | |
♪ To spread through all the world abroad ♪ | 30:46 | |
♪ The honors of Thy name ♪ | 30:51 | |
♪ Jesus the Name that charms our fears ♪ | 30:58 | |
♪ That bids our sorrows cease ♪ | 31:03 | |
♪ 'Tis music in the sinner's ears ♪ | 31:09 | |
♪ 'Tis life, and health, and peace ♪ | 31:15 | |
♪ He breaks the power of canceled sin ♪ | 31:22 | |
♪ He sets the prisoner free ♪ | 31:27 | |
♪ His blood can make the foulest clean ♪ | 31:33 | |
♪ His blood availed for me ♪ | 31:38 | |
♪ He speaks and listening to his voice ♪ | 31:45 | |
♪ New life the dead receive ♪ | 31:51 | |
♪ The mournful, broken hearts rejoice ♪ | 31:56 | |
♪ The humble poor believe ♪ | 32:02 | |
♪ Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb ♪ | 32:09 | |
♪ Your loosened tongues employ ♪ | 32:14 | |
♪ Ye blind, behold your Savior come ♪ | 32:20 | |
♪ And leap, ye lame, for joy ♪ | 32:26 | |
- | It has been a magnificent journey, | 32:39 |
this time at Duke Chapel. | 32:42 | |
And to so many of you I say my thanks, | 32:47 | |
to Charlene Camburger for entrusting me | 32:51 | |
with responsibilities, but more than that | 32:53 | |
the opportunity to minister here. | 32:55 | |
To my colleagues in ministry, both lay and ordained, | 32:59 | |
thank you for ministering with me and to me. | 33:05 | |
And to each of you my friends, | 33:10 | |
for your spirit of grace and truth | 33:13 | |
and your desire to know the word of God | 33:18 | |
and to do it. | 33:20 | |
I bid you farewell this day, | 33:23 | |
in the words of my Scottish ancestors, | 33:26 | |
and a blessing that comes from them. | 33:32 | |
Deep peace of the running wave to you. | 33:36 | |
Deep peace of the flowing air to you. | 33:40 | |
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you. | 33:44 | |
Deep peace of the shining stars to you. | 33:47 | |
Deep peace of the Prince of Peace to each of you, | 33:52 | |
this day and forever. | 33:57 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 34:00 | |
and of the Holy Spirit, amen. | 34:02 | |
(organ music) | 34:09 |
Item Info
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