William H. Willimon - "Good News - Repent" (December 15, 1991)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(handbells ringing) | 0:00 | |
(handbells chiming) | 0:14 | |
(handbells ringing) | 2:25 | |
(footsteps approaching) | 7:24 | |
- | Good morning, and welcome to this service | 7:48 |
of worship on the third Sunday | 7:49 | |
in the season of Advent. | 7:51 | |
We have been lead in worship by the bellringers | 7:54 | |
of the Henderson Baptist Church | 7:57 | |
Bell Choir, and Mr. Phillip Young is their leader. | 8:01 | |
And they are here for their annual visit to Duke Chapel. | 8:05 | |
We are happy to have all of you here with us | 8:10 | |
during this service, and call your attention | 8:13 | |
to the many activities at the chapel | 8:15 | |
between now and Christmas. | 8:18 | |
Now let us stand for the greeting. | 8:21 | |
Behold, God is my strength and my song, | 8:27 | |
and is become my salvation. | 8:30 | |
Congregation | O God, glory to You. | 8:34 |
(muffled congregation recitation) | 8:37 | |
- | Let us worship God. | 8:43 |
(jubilant organ music) | 8:46 | |
Congregation | ♪ O come, O come, Emmanuel ♪ | 9:27 |
♪ And ransom captive Israel ♪ | 9:34 | |
♪ That mourns in lonely exile here ♪ | 9:41 | |
♪ Until the Son of God appear ♪ | 9:48 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 9:55 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 10:00 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 10:03 | |
♪ O come, Thou Wisdom, from on high ♪ | 10:12 | |
♪ And order all things far and nigh ♪ | 10:19 | |
♪ To us the path of knowledge show ♪ | 10:26 | |
♪ And cause us in her ways to go ♪ | 10:33 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 10:40 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 10:45 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 10:49 | |
♪ O come, o come Thou Lord of might ♪ | 10:57 | |
♪ Who to thy tribes on Sinai's height ♪ | 11:04 | |
♪ In ancient times did give the law ♪ | 11:12 | |
♪ In cloud, and majesty and awe ♪ | 11:19 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 11:26 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 11:31 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 11:35 | |
♪ O come, Thou root of Jesse's tree ♪ | 11:44 | |
♪ An ensign of thy people be ♪ | 11:51 | |
♪ Before thee rulers silent fall ♪ | 11:58 | |
♪ All peoples on thy mercy call ♪ | 12:05 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 12:13 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 12:18 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 12:21 | |
♪ O come, Thou Key of David, come ♪ | 12:30 | |
♪ And open wide our heavenly home ♪ | 12:38 | |
♪ The captives from their prison free ♪ | 12:45 | |
♪ And conquer death's deep misery ♪ | 12:52 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 13:00 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 13:04 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 13:08 | |
♪ O come, Thou Dayspring come and cheer ♪ | 13:17 | |
♪ Our spirits by thy justice here ♪ | 13:24 | |
♪ Disperse the gloomy clouds of night ♪ | 13:31 | |
♪ And death's dark shadows, put to flight ♪ | 13:38 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 13:46 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 13:51 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 13:54 | |
♪ O come, desire of nations, bind ♪ | 14:04 | |
♪ All peoples in one heart and mind ♪ | 14:12 | |
♪ From dust, Thou brought us forth to life ♪ | 14:19 | |
♪ Deliver us from earthly strife ♪ | 14:26 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 14:34 | |
♪ Emmanuel ♪ | 14:39 | |
♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ | 14:43 | |
- | Let us join together | 14:56 |
in the opening prayer on page 201 | 14:58 | |
(congregant coughs loudly) | 15:02 | |
Everyone | Merciful God, | 15:10 |
You sent your messengers, the prophets to preach repentance | 15:12 | |
and prepare the way for our salvation. | 15:17 | |
Give us grace to heed their warnings, and forsake our sins, | 15:20 | |
that we may celebrate aright, | 15:26 | |
the commemoration of the Nativity, | 15:28 | |
and may await with joy the coming and glory | 15:31 | |
of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, | 15:35 | |
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. | 15:38 | |
One God, forever and ever, | 15:43 | |
Amen. | 15:46 | |
- | You may be seated. | 15:47 |
- | Let us pray together, | 16:02 |
the Prayer for Illumination. | 16:03 | |
Everyone | Open our hearts and minds, O God, | 16:07 |
by the power of your Holy Spirit. | 16:11 | |
So the as the word is read and proclaimed, | 16:14 | |
we might be changed by your Advent among us, | 16:18 | |
Amen. | 16:22 | |
- | The reading from the Old Testament | 16:30 |
comes from the prophet, Zephaniah, the third chapter | 16:31 | |
starting with the 14th verse. | 16:36 | |
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion. | 16:39 | |
Shout, O Israel. | 16:42 | |
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, | 16:45 | |
O daughter Jerusalem! | 16:48 | |
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, | 16:52 | |
He has turned away your enemies. | 16:56 | |
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. | 16:59 | |
You shall fear disaster no more. | 17:04 | |
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem, | 17:08 | |
Do not fear, O Zion, | 17:12 | |
Do let not your hands grow weak. | 17:14 | |
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, | 17:18 | |
a warrior who gives victory. | 17:23 | |
He will rejoice over you with gladness. | 17:26 | |
He will renew you in his love. | 17:30 | |
He will exult over you with loud singing, | 17:34 | |
as on a day of festival. | 17:37 | |
I will remove disaster from you, | 17:40 | |
so that you will not bear reproach for it. | 17:43 | |
I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. | 17:47 | |
And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, | 17:51 | |
and I will change their shame into praise | 17:56 | |
and renown in all the earth. | 17:58 | |
At that time, I will bring you home. | 18:01 | |
At the time, when I gather you, | 18:04 | |
for I will make you renowned and praised | 18:07 | |
among all the peoples of the earth, | 18:10 | |
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, | 18:13 | |
says the Lord. | 18:16 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 18:19 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 18:21 |
- | This reading is from Paul's letter to the Philippians, | 18:26 |
chapter four, beginning with the 4th verse. | 18:29 | |
Rejoice in the Lord always. | 18:34 | |
Again, I will say, rejoice. | 18:37 | |
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. | 18:41 | |
The Lord is near. | 18:45 | |
Do not worry about anything, | 18:48 | |
but in everything by prayer and supplication, | 18:51 | |
with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. | 18:54 | |
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, | 19:01 | |
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. | 19:06 | |
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, | 19:12 | |
Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, | 19:16 | |
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, | 19:20 | |
whatever is commendable, | 19:25 | |
if there is any excellence, | 19:28 | |
and if there is anything worthy of praise, | 19:30 | |
think about these things. | 19:33 | |
Keep on doing the things that you have learned, | 19:36 | |
and received, and heard, | 19:39 | |
and seen in Me. | 19:43 | |
And the God of Peace will be with you. | 19:45 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 19:49 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 19:52 |
(handbells ringing) | 20:00 | |
("I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In") | 20:01 | |
- | Today's gospel comes from | 22:59 |
the third chapter of Luke. | 23:00 | |
In the High Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, | 23:06 | |
the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, | 23:09 | |
in the wilderness. | 23:13 | |
And he went into all the region about the Jordan, | 23:15 | |
preaching a baptism of repentance | 23:18 | |
for the forgiveness of sins. | 23:20 | |
As it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah. | 23:23 | |
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, | 23:27 | |
"Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. | 23:30 | |
"Every valley shall be filled, and mountain and hill | 23:34 | |
"shall be brought low. | 23:37 | |
"The crooked shall be made straight. | 23:38 | |
"The rough ways shall be made smooth, | 23:40 | |
"and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." | 23:44 | |
John said therefore to the multitudes | 23:51 | |
that came out to be baptized, | 23:53 | |
"You brood of vipers. | 23:56 | |
"Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? | 23:58 | |
"Bear fruits that befit repentance. | 24:00 | |
"Do not begin to say to yourselves, | 24:03 | |
"'We have Abraham as our father.' | 24:05 | |
"For I tell you, God is able from these stones | 24:08 | |
"to raise up children to Abraham. | 24:11 | |
"Even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. | 24:13 | |
"Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit | 24:18 | |
"shall be cut down and thrown into the fire." | 24:21 | |
And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?" | 24:26 | |
John answered them, "He who has two coats, | 24:30 | |
"let him share with him who has none. | 24:33 | |
"And he who has food, let him do likewise." | 24:36 | |
Tax collectors also came to be baptized, | 24:39 | |
and he said to them, "Teacher, what shall we do?" | 24:43 | |
And he said to them, "Collect no more | 24:46 | |
"than is appointed you." | 24:48 | |
Soldiers also asked him, "What should we do?" | 24:50 | |
And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence | 24:54 | |
"or false accusation. | 24:57 | |
"Be content with your wages." | 24:58 | |
As the people were in expectation, | 25:02 | |
and all questioned in their hearts concerning John, | 25:04 | |
whether perhaps he were the Christ. | 25:07 | |
John answered them all, "I baptize you with water, | 25:09 | |
"but he who is mightier than I is coming, | 25:15 | |
"the thong of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie. | 25:17 | |
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. | 25:21 | |
"His winnowing fork is in his hand | 25:24 | |
"to clear his threshing floor, | 25:27 | |
"to gather the wheat into his grainery. | 25:28 | |
"But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." | 25:31 | |
So with many other exhortations, | 25:37 | |
he preached good news to the people. | 25:41 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 25:45 | |
Everyone | Thanks be to God. | 25:49 |
- | Who is your favorite preacher? | 25:55 |
Who would you rather hear on a Sunday morning | 25:58 | |
more than anybody else? | 26:00 | |
I think of Carlyle Marney, | 26:04 | |
great, big, | 26:06 | |
bass-voiced, | 26:09 | |
Baptist prophet of God. | 26:10 | |
I first heard Carlyle Marney when I was in college. | 26:14 | |
His sermons were thick, incomprehensible, | 26:19 | |
tough to understand, but powerful. | 26:23 | |
However, I also like Fred Craddock, from Emory | 26:29 | |
who preached here many times. | 26:34 | |
High-pitched voice, walled, peering out over the pulpit. | 26:37 | |
Fred just takes a Biblical text, and starts poking at it, | 26:40 | |
enticing the congregation toward it. | 26:46 | |
Just listening to this little man preach, | 26:49 | |
and then whap! | 26:51 | |
End of the sermon, we've been had by the text. | 26:52 | |
I loved to hear Fred preach. | 26:54 | |
But for penitential seasons of the year, like Advent, | 26:58 | |
give me Elizabeth Achtemeier. | 27:03 | |
She's preaching here during Holy Week. | 27:06 | |
She comes into the pulpit, grandmother-type figure. | 27:09 | |
She grabs hold of a Biblical text | 27:13 | |
and starts prodding at the congregation with a Bible, | 27:15 | |
at times flailing away at the congregation. | 27:19 | |
I remember one Sunday during Lent, | 27:22 | |
she preached in this chapel. | 27:24 | |
We had to crawl out of the chapel, | 27:25 | |
just with the weight of that Bible bearing down | 27:28 | |
on our shoulders. | 27:32 | |
Who is your favorite preacher? | 27:35 | |
Harry Emerson Fosdick? | 27:38 | |
James Cleland, who graced this pulpit many years? | 27:40 | |
Billy Graham? | 27:43 | |
I suppose if we had to isolate | 27:49 | |
what there was about a preacher, | 27:54 | |
that makes that preacher memorable, | 27:57 | |
I think we would all say, in some way or another, that | 28:00 | |
that preacher somehow preaches good news. | 28:02 | |
Preaches good news. | 28:07 | |
That's what the word gospel means. | 28:10 | |
The word gospel means good news. | 28:12 | |
Not that a preacher's good news always sounds like good news | 28:17 | |
right at the beginning. | 28:21 | |
Oh no, I remember Marney. | 28:22 | |
I heard him preach the same sermon three times | 28:25 | |
in a four month period. | 28:29 | |
But nobody complained, no. | 28:31 | |
His sermons were so difficult, | 28:33 | |
complex. | 28:37 | |
You had to chew on them again and again. | 28:38 | |
In a funny way, that was what was good about his good news. | 28:42 | |
It reminded you that God is big, | 28:46 | |
and the gospel is something big and important. | 28:48 | |
Good preachers somehow, in some way or another, | 28:53 | |
preach good news, | 28:57 | |
which may make it all the more strange | 29:02 | |
to hear who Jesus' favorite preacher was. | 29:04 | |
If we asked Jesus this morning, | 29:09 | |
"Jesus, who is your favorite preacher?" | 29:11 | |
He would have answered without hesitation. | 29:15 | |
John the Baptist. | 29:19 | |
John the Baptist was Jesus' favorite preacher. | 29:23 | |
In fact, all the gospels begin by telling the story | 29:27 | |
of John the Baptist. | 29:30 | |
It's as if the gospels say, you can't get to Jesus, | 29:31 | |
you can't understand the preaching of Jesus | 29:35 | |
until you first understand the preaching of John. | 29:37 | |
Jesus' words did not arise out of nothing. | 29:44 | |
They had antecedents, and their antecedents | 29:47 | |
were the preaching of John. | 29:49 | |
Jesus learned to preach good news | 29:52 | |
by first hearing John preach it. | 29:55 | |
Mark calls John the beginning of the gospel, | 29:58 | |
the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. | 30:03 | |
Luke says the John and Jesus were first cousins. | 30:07 | |
The evangelist John begins his gospel, | 30:12 | |
there was a man sent from God, his name was John. | 30:15 | |
And when Jesus began preaching, he sounded so much like John | 30:22 | |
that a lot of people thought they were hearing John. | 30:27 | |
Herod Antipas, who had put John into prison | 30:31 | |
to shut him up, | 30:35 | |
and eventually beheaded him. | 30:37 | |
When he heard Jesus preach, he said, "Oh no. | 30:39 | |
"It's John again." | 30:44 | |
When people heard Jesus preach, | 30:46 | |
they'd nudge one another in the pews and they said, | 30:48 | |
haven't we heard this sermon somewhere before? | 30:50 | |
Well you know how young preachers often emulate | 30:53 | |
those older preachers whom they admire. | 30:57 | |
Jesus sounded so much like John, | 30:59 | |
a lot of people thought when he preached, | 31:03 | |
they were hearing John. | 31:05 | |
You know John's sermon. | 31:08 | |
Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand. | 31:09 | |
That's the way Jesus began his first sermon. | 31:12 | |
Repent, the kingdom of God is here. | 31:15 | |
Later Jesus would say, | 31:22 | |
there's never been anybody born of woman, | 31:25 | |
who is as great as John the Baptist. | 31:29 | |
And did we not agree that one of the things | 31:35 | |
that makes a preacher great, | 31:38 | |
is that somehow that preacher preaches good news. | 31:39 | |
The gospel means good news. | 31:46 | |
So my question. | 31:48 | |
Why didn't John's preaching sound more like good news? | 31:51 | |
Does this sound like good news to you? | 31:57 | |
He said to the multitudes, "You brood of vipers! | 32:01 | |
"Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? | 32:05 | |
"I tell you God is able from these stones, | 32:07 | |
"to raise up children to Abraham. | 32:10 | |
"Even now, the ax is laid to the root of the tree. | 32:12 | |
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit | 32:16 | |
"is thrown into the fire." | 32:18 | |
Aristotle said that when you begin a speech, | 32:25 | |
you should begin with ethos, | 32:27 | |
making contact with your listeners, | 32:31 | |
perhaps flattering your listeners, | 32:33 | |
letting your listeners know that you're on their side, | 32:34 | |
that you can relate to them. | 32:37 | |
Obviously John the Baptist did not study preaching | 32:41 | |
with Aristotle. | 32:44 | |
When people came to John and said, | 32:47 | |
"Well what should we do, preacher?" | 32:49 | |
He told them, "He who has two coats, | 32:51 | |
"let him share with one who has none." | 32:55 | |
In fact, John told them, if they thought | 32:59 | |
that he was rough on them, they ought to wait | 33:01 | |
until his graduate student got hold of them. | 33:03 | |
"I baptize you with water, there is one coming after me | 33:08 | |
"who will baptize you with fire. | 33:11 | |
"His winnowing fork is in his hand | 33:14 | |
"to clean off the threshing floor. | 33:16 | |
"The wheat he will separate from the chaff. | 33:19 | |
"The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. | 33:22 | |
"Repent!" | 33:26 | |
Fire, winnowing forks, chaff. | 33:29 | |
Does that sound like good news to you? | 33:34 | |
Well it did to Luke. | 33:39 | |
Luke says, "With this and many other exhortations, | 33:42 | |
"John preached good news | 33:46 | |
"to the people." | 33:50 | |
Good news? | 33:53 | |
Repent! Fire! | 33:56 | |
When John preached, well he didn't preach. | 34:01 | |
He raved, he hurled grenades. | 34:04 | |
Words cast like stones before a congregation. | 34:06 | |
No respecter of social class. | 34:11 | |
When people appeared before John in their Sunday finery | 34:14 | |
with their minks and their fake furs, | 34:16 | |
he said, rip that off, give it to the poor. | 34:19 | |
When General Dummkopf appeared sitting on the front row, | 34:23 | |
he didn't care. | 34:26 | |
He attacked the military, | 34:27 | |
even though they were the Roman Occupation Forces. | 34:29 | |
He attacked the Pentagon, the White House, Wall Street. | 34:32 | |
He looked at all of those substantial, important, | 34:37 | |
heavy-weight people and told them they were just like chaff. | 34:40 | |
Just trash, thrown by the wind | 34:44 | |
into unquenchable fire. | 34:48 | |
And others who trotted out to the desert to hear him, | 34:54 | |
they asked, "What should we do?" | 34:57 | |
He said, "Strip down, give away what you've got. | 35:00 | |
"Repent. | 35:05 | |
"Be baptized, go under the water. | 35:07 | |
"Be cleaned, come forth fresh. | 35:09 | |
"Repent, be baptized!" | 35:12 | |
Now I ask you, | 35:17 | |
why would people keep coming out to the desert | 35:20 | |
to hear that? | 35:23 | |
Why would great multitudes of people come out | 35:26 | |
to hear that kind of preaching? | 35:29 | |
Why would Luke say, "With this and many other exhortations, | 35:33 | |
"he preached good news." | 35:36 | |
These images, | 35:42 | |
strong, earthy images | 35:44 | |
that John used. | 35:49 | |
Well you know preachers use images a lot | 35:50 | |
to try to convey a message. | 35:52 | |
I use images. | 35:54 | |
The butterfly emerging from the cocoon, | 35:55 | |
the return of the robin in the spring. | 35:57 | |
He ain't heavy, he's my brother. | 35:59 | |
Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. | 36:01 | |
What are the images that John used? | 36:04 | |
An ax hacking away at the root of the tree. | 36:09 | |
God turning away from all of the good church-going people | 36:14 | |
and raising up children out of the stones | 36:18 | |
in the muddy Jordan river. | 36:20 | |
He said that Messiah was coming and he had a winnowing fork | 36:22 | |
in his hand to separate the good wheat from the chaff. | 36:26 | |
Why would people have gone out to the wilderness | 36:32 | |
to hear that? | 36:35 | |
What's good news about that? | 36:37 | |
The neurosurgeon walks in and says, | 36:42 | |
"Well I've got good news, | 36:43 | |
"it's been a very successful operation. | 36:45 | |
"We were able to remove the tumor from your husband's brain. | 36:49 | |
"Although there are complications, | 36:53 | |
"he will not be able to walk or talk ever again. | 36:55 | |
"Still, it was a good operation." | 36:57 | |
Good news. | 37:00 | |
They trotted out to the desert to hear this weird preacher | 37:06 | |
named John preach good news. | 37:10 | |
And when they came out, he confronted them with an ax, | 37:13 | |
and a winnowing fork, | 37:17 | |
and a Messiah who was coming to just burn away the chaff. | 37:19 | |
Now why would people have come out to hear that? | 37:26 | |
I'll tell you. | 37:32 | |
Because John dared to speak | 37:35 | |
of change. | 37:39 | |
He preached a message | 37:43 | |
that everybody wanted to hear, | 37:46 | |
that nobody wanted to hear. | 37:50 | |
His sermon was simple. | 37:53 | |
God is coming, | 37:56 | |
and you can change. | 37:58 | |
You can change! | 38:02 | |
That's what the word repentance means. | 38:04 | |
Change, the word in the Greek, metanoia, | 38:06 | |
where we get our word from the Greek, metamorphosis. | 38:08 | |
You can change. | 38:12 | |
Get out and be metanoiaed, be repented. | 38:16 | |
You can change. | 38:19 | |
Where there is wilderness, the ax is laid to the root | 38:22 | |
of the tree, so that a highway can be made. | 38:25 | |
Chaff is burned away, so that the bread can be made | 38:30 | |
from the good wheat. | 38:34 | |
Where there is nothing, God raises up a people | 38:35 | |
out of the stones in the Jordan river. | 38:39 | |
Where there is nothing but this old ore | 38:41 | |
coming out of the ground, and the refiner's fire. | 38:44 | |
It becomes pure gold. | 38:47 | |
You can change. | 38:48 | |
All of John's images were images of change. | 38:51 | |
And when Herod heard John preach, he hated it. | 38:59 | |
He hated it so much, he wanted to kill him | 39:01 | |
for preaching like that. | 39:03 | |
'Cause Herod didn't want to hear about change. | 39:05 | |
But people at the top, people in power, | 39:07 | |
never want to hear about change. | 39:10 | |
They're where they are because of the status quo, | 39:12 | |
and so they spend the rest of their lives | 39:14 | |
protecting things as they are, protecting the status quo. | 39:16 | |
So when Herod heard him, it sounded like bad news, | 39:22 | |
not good news. | 39:25 | |
But there were others, multitudes who came out to hear John. | 39:28 | |
Multitudes, I think that's Luke's way of saying that | 39:33 | |
the majority of us in our better moments are not content | 39:36 | |
with the status quo, and things as they are. | 39:41 | |
So to the multitudes, when John preached, | 39:48 | |
his sermons sounded like good news, | 39:51 | |
because he spoke of change. | 39:54 | |
You can change. | 39:59 | |
A friend of mine is in the Pastoral Counseling Movement. | 40:05 | |
Been counseling for 20 years, told me | 40:09 | |
that in 20 years of counseling people with their problems, | 40:11 | |
he's learned one thing. | 40:13 | |
And that is that people | 40:15 | |
never change. | 40:17 | |
Oh he said in counseling, | 40:20 | |
we work some behavioral modifications, | 40:21 | |
some minor tinkering, | 40:25 | |
but people don't fundamentally change. | 40:27 | |
Yesterday on NPR, they were interviewing prisoners | 40:33 | |
at the Atlanta Federal Prison. | 40:36 | |
Sentenced there under the maximum penalty laws | 40:39 | |
for drug possession, | 40:44 | |
interviewed a man 27 years old. | 40:46 | |
He is sentenced to jail for 20 years with no parole | 40:48 | |
for possessing two ounces of crack cocaine. | 40:54 | |
And when the reporter asked him, "Why do you think | 41:00 | |
"you're serving a longer sentence than people serve | 41:04 | |
"for convicted murderer, or something like that?" | 41:07 | |
He said, "I think one of the reasons is | 41:10 | |
"Americans have just lost faith | 41:13 | |
"that anybody, | 41:17 | |
"a criminal, can change." | 41:19 | |
So when asked to comment on the state of affairs, | 41:26 | |
we glance over the morning paper, | 41:29 | |
we say, Oh nothing new there. | 41:31 | |
See nothing new under the sun. | 41:32 | |
We contort the voice into a whine. | 41:34 | |
When we look back over our lives, we say | 41:38 | |
Oh well I would have, or maybe if I had been allowed to, | 41:40 | |
I could have, | 41:43 | |
A whine- | 41:44 | |
People don't change. | 41:46 | |
Change is painful. | 41:53 | |
The good news, you can change, can sound like bad news. | 41:57 | |
'Cause to change means that I have to let go of the present. | 42:03 | |
I have to admit that there may be a force | 42:07 | |
loose in this world more powerful even | 42:10 | |
than my habits, and my personality, and my psychological, | 42:13 | |
sociological, economic determined life. | 42:17 | |
That can be painful. | 42:22 | |
It's good news. | 42:24 | |
It's bad news. | 42:26 | |
But there are occasions when we hear a word, | 42:32 | |
something which radically reorients us. | 42:35 | |
Before there can be change, | 42:41 | |
there has first got to be a promise of change. | 42:44 | |
There's got to be an announcement of change. | 42:46 | |
And that's what John preached. | 42:51 | |
He spoke to the religious establishment. | 42:54 | |
He spoke to the culturally refined. | 42:56 | |
He spoke to the soldiers. | 42:58 | |
He spoke to the common people on the bottom, | 43:00 | |
and the people up on the top and said, | 43:02 | |
"God has arrived. | 43:06 | |
"God has intruded into our arrangements. | 43:08 | |
"You can change." | 43:10 | |
He told them that Messiah was coming, | 43:14 | |
and now everything was up for grabs. | 43:16 | |
That's good news. | 43:20 | |
Jesus' sermons began with John's sermons. | 43:26 | |
Repent, turn around, change, you can! | 43:28 | |
God is coming! | 43:31 | |
And that is the most frightening news you'll ever hear, | 43:35 | |
and the very best news. | 43:39 | |
You can change. | 43:41 | |
When God's Messiah is born among us, steps into history, | 43:44 | |
knocks at your door, | 43:47 | |
calls you by name. | 43:51 | |
You can change. | 43:52 | |
He's got an ax in his hand. | 43:57 | |
He's got a winnowing fork. | 43:59 | |
Fire, the world begins to shift. | 44:00 | |
For you, this is good news. | 44:03 | |
It was the first day of class, | 44:11 | |
and I was tense. | 44:15 | |
I had this sick feeling right here in my stomach, | 44:16 | |
first day of class. | 44:18 | |
It was a sick feeling, right here in my stomach. | 44:20 | |
I don't know if any of you have ever had it. | 44:23 | |
It's called Algebra. | 44:24 | |
It comes in two varieties, Algebra 1, Algebra 2. | 44:27 | |
This was Algebra 2. | 44:32 | |
And the teacher came in. | 44:37 | |
Well it looked like the same teacher that I had last year. | 44:38 | |
She gave out the books. | 44:42 | |
It looked like the same books we had last year. | 44:44 | |
Nothing in them but Algebra. | 44:46 | |
So I thought that I'd get this over with. | 44:50 | |
I'd go on up to her desk, and I said, "Look, | 44:53 | |
"I'm bad in Algebra. | 44:58 | |
"I did bad in Algebra 1, I probably shouldn't even be here. | 44:59 | |
"I just can't do math." | 45:02 | |
She looked at me and said, "Wait a minute. | 45:06 | |
"You haven't done math with me. | 45:08 | |
"I'm different, I do it all totally different. | 45:11 | |
"Go back to your seat, this is all new." | 45:14 | |
And I said, "But last year I did so poorly." | 45:17 | |
And she said, "What, I like to get people like that. | 45:21 | |
"I like to get people fresh, | 45:23 | |
"unprejudiced by previous information. | 45:25 | |
"That way we can start out fresh, this is all new. | 45:30 | |
"Relax, go back to your seat, it's all new." | 45:33 | |
I went back to my seat. | 45:37 | |
I could breathe. | 45:40 | |
It was just like sort of being born. | 45:42 | |
It was starting over. | 45:46 | |
I could change. | 45:49 | |
I think that's why we love Christmas. | 45:54 | |
Even the most fossilized of us, we love Christmas, | 45:58 | |
because Christmas is about a baby, | 46:03 | |
and a baby is about newness and freshness. | 46:06 | |
It's about change. | 46:09 | |
And we gaze at the manger at Bethlehem, | 46:11 | |
and we see the whole world starting over. | 46:14 | |
We see all of humanity going back to square one. | 46:17 | |
We can change. | 46:20 | |
It's good news. | 46:23 | |
But let's admit it, it can also sound like bad news. | 46:27 | |
Fred Craddock tells a story, a young preacher, | 46:32 | |
he went to visit an old woman, been in the hospital | 46:36 | |
with a serious illness. | 46:40 | |
He went in there, she was lying back on the pillow, | 46:41 | |
mouth open, gasping for breath. | 46:43 | |
He went in, he sat beside the bed, he held her hand. | 46:46 | |
He tried to talk. | 46:50 | |
And then he said to her, "Let's have prayer before I go. | 46:52 | |
"What would you like me to pray for?" | 46:56 | |
She leaned over very weakly, she said, | 47:00 | |
"Well, I want you to pray that I'll be made well. | 47:01 | |
"I want you to pray that God will heal me. | 47:06 | |
"That's what I want you to pray." | 47:08 | |
Well, young preacher sort of gulped, | 47:10 | |
and he knew it wasn't to be. | 47:15 | |
But he went ahead, for politeness' sake, and he prayed, | 47:18 | |
"Oh Lord, we pray that you will stand | 47:21 | |
"beside this sick servant of Thine, | 47:24 | |
"and teach her patience during her time of illness, | 47:26 | |
"and help her to bear up under the weight | 47:29 | |
"that she has on her shoulders now. | 47:31 | |
"We pray for your sustaining care, | 47:33 | |
"et cetera, et cetera. | 47:35 | |
"Amen." | 47:37 | |
Right as he said, "Amen", | 47:39 | |
he looked over and her eyes opened on the pillow. | 47:41 | |
On her elbows, she lifted up. | 47:46 | |
She sat up in bed. | 47:48 | |
To the astonished young preacher, | 47:50 | |
"She threw her legs over the side of the bed | 47:52 | |
"and she stood up. | 47:54 | |
"She stood tall, and she said, | 47:54 | |
"'You know, I feel better. | 47:56 | |
"'I feel great! | 48:00 | |
"I'm well.'" | 48:02 | |
She walked out of the hospital room. | 48:03 | |
He watched her just prance down to the nurse's station, | 48:06 | |
all the way saying, "Look, I'm cured, I'm well!" | 48:11 | |
The young preacher staggered out the door, | 48:13 | |
down the steps, out of the hospital. | 48:17 | |
He walked out to the parking lot. | 48:18 | |
Before grasping to open the door of his car, | 48:22 | |
he looked up into the Heavens, | 48:25 | |
and he said, | 48:29 | |
"Don't you ever do that to me again." | 48:32 | |
(congregation laughs) | 48:35 | |
(jubilant organ music) | 48:40 | |
Congregation | ♪ Wash, O God, our sons and daughters ♪ | 49:26 |
♪ Where your cleansing waters flow ♪ | 49:32 | |
♪ Number them among your people ♪ | 49:38 | |
♪ Bless as Christ blessed long ago ♪ | 49:44 | |
♪ Weave them garments bright and sparkling ♪ | 49:50 | |
♪ Compass them with love and light ♪ | 49:56 | |
♪ Fill, anoint them, send your Spirit ♪ | 50:02 | |
♪ Holy dove and heart's delight ♪ | 50:08 | |
♪ We who bring them long for nurture ♪ | 50:16 | |
♪ By your milk may we be fed ♪ | 50:22 | |
♪ Let us join your feast, partaking ♪ | 50:29 | |
♪ Cup of blessing, living bread ♪ | 50:35 | |
♪ God, renew us, guide our footsteps ♪ | 50:41 | |
♪ Free from sin and all its snares ♪ | 50:47 | |
♪ One with Christ in living, dying ♪ | 50:53 | |
♪ By your Spirit, children, heirs ♪ | 50:59 | |
♪ Oh how deep your holy wisdom ♪ | 51:08 | |
♪ Unimagined, all your ways ♪ | 51:14 | |
♪ To your name be glory, honor ♪ | 51:20 | |
♪ With our lives we worship, praise ♪ | 51:26 | |
♪ We your people stand before You ♪ | 51:32 | |
♪ Water washed and Spirit born ♪ | 51:39 | |
♪ By your grace, our lives we offer ♪ | 51:45 | |
♪ Recreate us, God transform ♪ | 51:51 | |
(jubilant organ music) | 52:03 | |
Assistant Dean | The Lord be with you. | 52:07 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 52:08 |
- | Let us pray, you may be seated. | 52:10 |
O God, we are anxious and ashamed. | 52:24 | |
Too often we are shaped by our fears, not by faith. | 52:28 | |
We have said and done things unworthy of our calling. | 52:34 | |
Our thoughts have been so dominated by the past | 52:39 | |
and the future, that we have failed to live fully | 52:42 | |
in your present. | 52:45 | |
Our lives are filled with discontent, worry, | 52:47 | |
and self-protective pursuits. | 52:52 | |
We have not trusted you, or let you set us on fire | 52:56 | |
with the good news. | 53:00 | |
Forgive us. | 53:04 | |
Change us. | 53:06 | |
Inspire our caring and doing, | 53:09 | |
so we may bear fruit | 53:13 | |
as your forgiven and forgiving children. | 53:15 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 53:19 | |
Because you are in our midst, you tell us, | 53:25 | |
"Do not fear, let not your hands grow weak." | 53:29 | |
Help us to accept and trust | 53:34 | |
your love, your power, your promises. | 53:37 | |
Where there is fear, | 53:43 | |
give us the promise of hope. | 53:45 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 53:49 | |
Where there is hatred, | 53:55 | |
give us the promise of understanding acceptance. | 53:57 | |
In your mercy, come, O come Emmanuel. | 54:02 | |
Where there is addiction, | 54:08 | |
give us the promise of freedom. | 54:10 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 54:14 | |
Where there are broken relationships, | 54:20 | |
give us the promise of reconciliation. | 54:23 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 54:27 | |
Where there is grief at the loss of loved ones, | 54:33 | |
give us the promise of eternal life. | 54:38 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 54:41 | |
Where there is selfishness, | 54:47 | |
give us the promise of self-giving. | 54:50 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 54:54 | |
Where there is poverty, | 55:00 | |
give us the promise of plenty. | 55:02 | |
In your mercy, come O come, Emmanuel. | 55:06 | |
Where there is illness, | 55:12 | |
give us the promise of healing. | 55:14 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 55:17 | |
Where there is loneliness, | 55:23 | |
give us the promise of community. | 55:26 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 55:29 | |
Where there is injustice, | 55:35 | |
give us the promise of justice. | 55:38 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 55:41 | |
Where there is war and enmity, | 55:47 | |
give us the promise of peace. | 55:50 | |
In your mercy, come, O come, Emmanuel. | 55:53 | |
God of grace, you have offered us the good news | 55:59 | |
of your coming with power into the world, | 56:04 | |
but we haven't expected very much from you, | 56:08 | |
or from ourselves. | 56:11 | |
Surprise us once again, | 56:13 | |
as your coming radically reorients our lives, | 56:16 | |
and our world. | 56:20 | |
In the name of the Messiah, | 56:22 | |
who brings good news, | 56:24 | |
Amen. | 56:27 | |
(congregant coughs) | 56:30 | |
Let everyone who has two coats, | 56:33 | |
share with a person who has none. | 56:35 | |
And let everyone who has food, do likewise. | 56:38 | |
Thus we will know the joy of sharing, | 56:42 | |
and appreciate more fully what God has entrusted to us. | 56:45 | |
(handbells tinkling) | 56:58 | |
(jubilant organ music) | 1:00:47 | |
(congregant coughs) | 1:00:50 | |
Congregation | ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:01:26 |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 1:01:33 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:01:39 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:01:47 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:01:54 | |
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ | 1:02:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪ | 1:02:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:02:13 | |
- | Let us pray. | 1:02:26 |
We praise you with our offerings, gracious God, | 1:02:30 | |
and honor you with our gifts. | 1:02:34 | |
Keep us from accepting | 1:02:38 | |
more than our share of the world's resources, | 1:02:39 | |
or from thinking that we have achieved | 1:02:43 | |
all our successes by our own efforts. | 1:02:45 | |
Take control of our lives and ways | 1:02:50 | |
that will draw us nearer to You. | 1:02:52 | |
Yet, increase our sense of responsibility | 1:02:55 | |
towards your other children. | 1:02:58 | |
Take these gifts and multiply them to bring about | 1:03:01 | |
great changes and great healing in our world. | 1:03:04 | |
Amen. | 1:03:10 | |
Let us pray together, the prayer that Jesus taught us. | 1:03:14 | |
Everyone | Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 1:03:17 |
Hallowed be Thy name. | 1:03:20 | |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done | 1:03:23 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:03:26 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:03:29 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:03:32 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:03:35 | |
Lead us not into temptation, | 1:03:38 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:03:41 | |
For Thine is Thy kingdom, | 1:03:43 | |
and the power, and the glory forever, Amen. | 1:03:45 | |
- | The reign of God is drawing near. | 1:03:51 |
This is the good news. | 1:03:54 | |
Let us go forth into the world as an expectant people, | 1:03:56 | |
rejoicing in the power of God. | 1:04:00 | |
The Lord bless you and keep you. | 1:04:03 | |
The Lord make His face to shine upon you, | 1:04:05 | |
and be gracious to you. | 1:04:07 | |
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you | 1:04:09 | |
and give you peace, Amen. | 1:04:12 | |
(handbells chiming) | 1:04:24 | |
(horns heralding) | 1:04:31 | |
Congregation | ♪ Of the Father's love begotten ♪ | 1:05:08 |
♪ Ere the world's began to be ♪ | 1:05:13 | |
♪ He is Alpha and Omega ♪ | 1:05:18 | |
♪ He the source, the ending He ♪ | 1:05:23 | |
♪ Of the things that are and have been ♪ | 1:05:28 | |
♪ And that future years shall see ♪ | 1:05:36 | |
♪ Evermore and evermore ♪ | 1:05:40 | |
♪ O ye heights of Heaven adore Him ♪ | 1:05:50 | |
♪ Angel hosts, His praises sing ♪ | 1:05:55 | |
♪ All dominions, bow before Him ♪ | 1:06:00 | |
♪ And extol our Lord and King ♪ | 1:06:05 | |
♪ Let no tongue on Earth be silent ♪ | 1:06:11 | |
♪ Every voice in concert ring ♪ | 1:06:18 | |
♪ Evermore and evermore ♪ | 1:06:23 | |
♪ Christ, to Thee, with God the Father ♪ | 1:06:32 | |
♪ And with Holy Ghost, to Thee ♪ | 1:06:38 | |
♪ Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving ♪ | 1:06:43 | |
♪ And unwearied praises be ♪ | 1:06:48 | |
♪ Honor, glory, and dominion ♪ | 1:06:54 | |
♪ And eternal victory ♪ | 1:07:02 | |
♪ Evermore and evermore ♪ | 1:07:07 | |
(handbells chiming) | 1:07:14 | |
(jubilant organ music) | 1:07:17 | |
(congregants talking) | 1:07:36 | |
(joyful organ music) | 1:07:41 |
Item Info
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