Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Life behind the Title" (September 15, 1985)

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	(church music)	0:03
-	Grace and peace to you in the name	8:36
	of the Lord Jesus Christ.	8:38
	We welcome you to the service of worship	8:40
	at Duke University chapel.	8:42
	And pray that each of you will receive a blessing here.	8:44
	We extend special greetings to members	8:48
	of the Duke Campus Ministry on this DCM Sunday.	8:50
	Duke Campus Ministry is an interfaith organization	8:54
	made up of the different religious fellowship groups	8:57
	on campus, along with other members of the Duke	8:59
	and their own communities.	9:03
	The DCM celebration will continue at one o'clock	9:05
	in the gardens today.	9:08
	And we invite all interested persons to attend.	9:10
	The cost of the mill is $1.	9:13
	A reception honoring DCM will be given	9:15
	by the Congregation and Duke Chapel immediately	9:18
	after today's service on the quadrangle.	9:21
	All are invited.	9:24
	I would draw your attention to the schedule of DCM meetings	9:26
	which is printed on the back of your bulletin.	9:30
	One group was inadvertently omitted	9:32
	and this was the Presbyterian fellowship.	9:35
	They gather each Thursday evening at 7 p.m.	9:37
	in the chapel basement.	9:40
	Please refer to the other announcements	9:42
	as they are printed in the bulletin.	9:44
	And now, let us join our hearts as one.	9:47
	As we prepare to worship God.	9:50
	(people singing church song)	10:19
-	Let us pray.	16:04
	Oh God, without whose blessing,	16:07
	we are not able to please you.	16:09
	Mercifully grant that your holy spirit	16:12
	may in all things, direct and govern our hearts.	16:14
	Through Jesus Christ, your son our Lord,	16:18
	who lives and reigns with you and then holy spirit	16:21
	one God, now and forever.	16:24
	Amen.	16:27
	Congregation may be seated.	16:29
	Let us pray.	16:41
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God.	16:44
	By the power of your holy spirit.	16:47
	So that as the word is read and proclaimed.	16:50
	We might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	16:54
	Amen.	16:59
	The first lesson is taken from then book of Proverbs.	17:01
	A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.	17:05
	And favor is better than silver or gold.	17:10
	The rich and the poor meet together.	17:14
	The Lord is the maker of them all.	17:17
	He who sows injustice will reap calamity.	17:20
	And the rod of his fury will fail.	17:24
	He, who has a bountiful eye will be blessed	17:28
	for he shares his bread with the poor.	17:32
	This ends the reading on the first lesson.	17:36
	(people singing Hallelujah)	17:50
	The second lesson is taken from the book of James.	21:33
	My brethren.	21:37
	Show no partiality as you hold the faith	21:39
	of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.	21:42
	For for man with gold rings and in fine clothing	21:45
	comes into your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing	21:49
	also come in, and you pay attention to the one	21:54
	who wears the fine clothing and say,	21:57
	have a seat here please.	22:00
	While you say to the poor man, stand there.	22:02
	Or, sit at my feet.	22:05
	Have you not made distinctions among yourselves?	22:07
	And become judges with evil thoughts?	22:11
	Listen, my beloved brethren.	22:15
	Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world	22:17
	to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?	22:21
	Which he has promised to those who love him?	22:24
	If you really fulfill the royal law	22:28
	according to the scripture,	22:31
	you shall love your neighbor as yourself.	22:33
	You do well.	22:37
	But, if you show partiality, you commit sin	22:38
	and are convicted by the law as transgressors.	22:43
	For whoever keeps the whole law	22:47
	but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.	22:50
	What does it profit, my brethren?	22:56
	If a man says he has faith, but has not works.	22:58
	Can his faith save him?	23:03
	If a brother or sister is ill-clad,	23:05
	and in lack of daily food,	23:08
	and one of you says to them, go in peace.	23:10
	Be warm and filled.	23:14
	Without giving them the things needed for the body.	23:16
	What does it profit?	23:19
	So, faith by itself, if it had no works, is dead.	23:21
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	23:28
-	A reading from the gospel according to Saint Mark.	23:40
	And Jesus went on with his disciples	23:46
	to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.	23:49
	And on the way, He asked His disciples,	23:52
	"Who do men say that I am?"	23:55
	And they told Him, John the Baptist.	23:59
	And others say Elijah.	24:02
	And others one of the prophets.	24:05
	And He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?"	24:08
	Peter answered him, "You are the Christ."	24:14
	And He charged them to tell no one about him.	24:19
	And He began to teach them that the Son of Man	24:22
	must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders	24:26
	and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed.	24:30
	And after three days, rise again.	24:34
	And He said this plainly.	24:38
	And Peter took him and began to rebuke him.	24:40
	But turning and seeing His disciples, he rebuked Peter.	24:45
	And said, "Get behind me, Satan.	24:50
	For you are not on the side of God, but of men."	24:52
	And He call to him the multitude with His disciples	24:57
	and said to them, "If any man would come after me,	25:01
	let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.	25:06
	For whoever would save his life will lose it.	25:14
	And whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels,	25:18
	will save it.	25:22
	For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world	25:25
	and forfeit his life?	25:29
	For what can a man give in return for his life?	25:31
	For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words,	25:36
	in this adulterous and sinful generation,	25:40
	of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed.	25:43
	When He comes in the glory of His Father	25:47
	with the holy angels."	25:50
	Here ends the reading of the gospel.	25:53
	Those of us who have spent more than about 24 hours	26:01
	in an academic environment knows something	26:04
	about the importance of titles.	26:07
	And I'm not referring to the groups of words	26:11
	you find listed on the syllabi each semester,	26:13
	or that little piece of paper which tells the real owner	26:16
	of the motor vehicle you drive.	26:20
	The kind of titles I'm referring to is the sort	26:23
	that refers to people like a dean.	26:27
	A distinguished professor an RA or an AC.	26:32
	A university president.	26:38
	As you know, titles can run the gamut	26:41
	from those which are held in very high esteem	26:43
	such as the aforementioned, to those which are held in	26:46
	rather low esteem.	26:50
	During my days as a Duke undergraduate,	26:53
	one of my more memorable titles happen to be	26:55
	of the latter sort.	26:58
	I was appointed as one of two headhunters	27:00
	for the Duke Chorale.	27:04
	I guess you know about headhunters.	27:06
	They are the chosen ones.	27:09
	Male and female freshmen.	27:10
	Responsible on tour for finding the most accessible bathroom	27:13
	upon arrival at a new site.	27:18
	(crowd laughing)	27:21
	My peers kept trying to convince me	27:25
	the position was truly an honorable one.	27:27
	And we all agreed it was a critical one.	27:30
	Nevertheless, it was one of those titles I was grateful	27:34
	to be able to hand over to an unsuspecting freshman	27:37
	the following year.	27:40
	Since all freshmen are unsuspecting by definition.	27:42
	At least until about the second day of class.	27:45
	Somehow for me, even as a freshman,	27:48
	the title headhunter never quite seemed to fit.	27:51
	Most titles of any significance however,	27:55
	do eventually fit the ones who bear it.	27:58
	That's usually the reason why a title is given	28:02
	in the first place.	28:04
	Because an individual seems up to it.	28:06
	It is on those occasions when one who has been entrusted	28:10
	with a title then fails to meet our expectations	28:13
	that we are taken aback.	28:18
	And in some cases, outraged.	28:20
	How would it look for instance, for an RA	28:24
	to cast disparaging remarks about his or her dorm?	28:27
	Surely, that would be grounds for impeachment.	28:31
	And wouldn't we all be a little embarrassed	28:33
	if university administrators started using poor grammar	28:36
	in public or wearing cut offs and UNC T-shirts to work?	28:39
	Even the dean of Trinity College acknowledged	28:45
	in a chronical interview this past week,	28:47
	the significance of wearing a tie in the Allen Building.	28:49
	Though this is optional for women, I believe.	28:54
	The nation at large, has even greater expectations	28:58
	of its leaders.	29:01
	The shock of an American President defending	29:03
	his own integrity on national television	29:06
	will leave its mark on this country for decades.	29:09
	Ministers who cheat on income taxes.	29:14
	Scholars who plagiarize another's work.	29:17
	Therapists who have affairs with patients.	29:20
	All call into question the integrity of their titles.	29:23
	Titles we like to believe give us a handle	29:28
	on what to expect to other person.	29:30
	Not only of the way he or she does a job,	29:33
	but of the way he or she lives a life.	29:36
	Visit in the homes of faculty and administrators	29:41
	have always intrigued students	29:44
	for the view it offers of the real person.	29:46
	And not just the professional, public one.	29:49
	And that it's not appropriate that they should look further	29:53
	and the letters MD, PHD or even REV	29:56
	to discover for themselves the level of meaning	30:02
	with which a life is lived.	30:05
	And not just prescribed.	30:07
	In today's gospel lesson, we encounter Jesus	30:11
	and His disciples in a discussion about titles.	30:14
	"Who do men say that I am?"	30:19
	Asked Jesus.	30:21
	And they gave Him their varied impressions.	30:23
	"But who do you say that I am?"	30:26
	He pressed them further.	30:28
	This was His characteristic way of obliging his heroes	30:30
	to determine their own attitude toward Him	30:34
	as a mark of their understanding.	30:37
	Not a particularly strong point for the disciples	30:40
	in Mark's gospel.	30:43
	It was Peter who perceived Jesus' true identity,	30:45
	if not its full implication.	30:48
	You are the Christ.	30:51
	And hearing this familiar text, we almost instinctively	30:54
	associate the image of Jesus nodding approval	30:58
	of Peter's confession as he blesses Peter	31:01
	and proclaims him the leader of the church.	31:04
	This is the account that Matthew's gospel provides.	31:07
	But Mark's account, unlike Matthew's,	31:11
	depicts a much more mysterious response from Jesus.	31:14
	He rebukes the disciples and charges them to tell no one.	31:18
	Immediately after which, he offers the first prediction	31:23
	of The Passion.	31:27
	Peter is astounded by this contradiction and terms.	31:29
	A Messiah who will be rejected?	31:32
	He took Jesus the scripture reads and rebuked Him.	31:36
	Such a reaction is understandable to any of us	31:41
	who have ever been shocked by the truth	31:44
	about a greatly revered title.	31:47
	Suffering, rejection, death.	31:50
	Standing on this side of the cross, you and I	31:55
	have the benefit of Easter morning	31:57
	in understanding these aspects of Jesus' life.	32:00
	But not so for the disciples.	32:03
	They anticipated the Messiah as God's agent sent to proclaim	32:06
	a glorious victory over the powers of evil.	32:10
	The title just didn't seem to fit	32:13
	with what Jesus was saying to them.	32:16
	Yet, this was Jesus' very point.	32:19
	The Messiah would be the savior of the world,	32:22
	not simply because of what they already expected,	32:25
	but because of the varied life he was about to give.	32:28
	The ultimate explanation of the name he bore.	32:33
	Jesus the Christ.	32:36
	No wonder, for Peter's strong objections	32:40
	to this startling revelation.	32:43
	Somehow, it always seems easier to envision	32:45
	the glorious victory of the Messiah still to come	32:48
	than to accept the suffering servanthood	32:52
	of a Messiah who has already come.	32:54
	Many 20th century Christians, no less than Jesus'	32:58
	own first century disciples are lured by this same desire	33:01
	to reach the kingdom of God	33:06
	by a path that bypasses Golgotha.	33:08
	Thus, a kind of popularized apocalyptic view is proclaimed	33:12
	in certain circles which looks forward to the rapture	33:16
	while the needs of the world go by.	33:20
	I know at least one 20th century Christian	33:24
	who stands in contrast to this shallow approach to faith.	33:27
	And has taken out his cross to follow Christ.	33:32
	He happened to be my academic dean	33:36
	for my first three years at Duke	33:38
	as an undergraduate.	33:41
	But his impact on my life went way beyond his title.	33:43
	His name was Jim Little.	33:47
	And I would like to tell a bit of his story.	33:49
	Dean Little called me into his office one day	33:53
	during my junior year in the spring of 1974.	33:56
	To explain that he, his wife,	34:00
	and their two-year-old daughter	34:03
	would be leaving Duke the coming year.	34:04
	Where will you be going?	34:08
	I asked, sorely disappointed they were leaving.	34:09
	But hopeful he had landed a choice position somewhere.	34:12
	Dean Little was a colorful and much beloved	34:17
	professor of New Testament.	34:19
	"We've decided to return to Glasgow," his native city.	34:22
	"To live and to work in the intercity.	34:27
	Many of the children seem to be leaving school	34:31
	by the ages of 12 or 13.	34:33
	Only to lead lives of violence.	34:35
	My wife and I intend to teach	34:38
	in the elementary schools there	34:40
	and to live in a Christian community."	34:42
	Which is related to the Iona community.	34:44
	I could hardly believe my ears.	34:48
	How could such a gifted man be throwing away	34:50
	his hard-earned doctorate?	34:53
	I thought to myself.	34:55
	Not to mention deserting students at Duke	34:57
	who needed him like me.	34:59
	What about his unpublished articles?	35:02
	And the courses he'd promised to teach?	35:05
	I had never been to an intercity.	35:08
	But I could not imagine it was a very nice place	35:10
	for raising a child either.	35:13
	I tried arguing to dissuade him,	35:15
	but all I got out of him was,	35:17
	"And what are you planning to do with your life?"	35:20
	Several weeks later, just as they were about to leave	35:24
	for Scotland, Dean Little delivered a sermon	35:26
	from this pulpit.	35:29
	Which I recently reread.	35:31
	In his opening paragraph, he quoted from Harry Williams,	35:34
	professor of Theology at Cambridge University.	35:37
	I resolved that I would not preach about any aspect	35:41
	of Christian belief unless it had become part	35:45
	of my own life blood.	35:48
	For I realize that the Christian truth	35:50
	I tried to proclaim would speak to those who listened	35:52
	only to the degree to which it was an expression	35:56
	of my own identity.	36:00
	Intimidating words for any preacher to hear, I assure you.	36:03
	Dean Little went on to explain his reasoning	36:08
	behind the decision to return to Glasgow.	36:10
	No amount of issues of our day,	36:14
	no amount of barbed wire, no amount of defense spending	36:16
	will keep the violence of our own hearts	36:20
	and of our fellow human beings at bay.	36:22
	Only the servant community can seek and save the lost	36:26
	in the way of Jesus, beginning with ourselves.	36:29
	Dean Little invited me to visit him and his family	36:35
	in their new community in Glasgow anytime I could get there.	36:38
	Thanks to a study program I participated in that summer,	36:43
	I was, in fact, able to visit them about three months later.	36:46
	Getting off at the train station was a real eye opener.	36:51
	The physical environment was even worse	36:56
	than I had imagined.	36:58
	Abandoned buildings, broken windows, filthy streets.	36:59
	Why did they ever choose to leave their comfortable home	37:04
	in Durham, I wondered.	37:07
	Yet, it was only a matter of hours until I experienced	37:10
	the warmth of a community which truly believed	37:13
	in the saving efficacy of the cross,	37:16
	as Dean Little like to put it.	37:19
	And were empowered by it in some amazing ways.	37:21
	I cannot tell you exactly what thoughts came to my mind	37:25
	during that visit, I was too innocent	37:29
	to think theological thoughts, I suppose.	37:32
	I only remember the overwhelming impact of the revelation	37:35
	that is what a Christian does with his or her life.	37:39
	That really matters.	37:43
	And not just what they think.	37:45
	Which I had always priority to before.	37:47
	Harry Williams elaborates on this point and his introduction	37:51
	to the collection of sermons, "True Wilderness."	37:55
	He says, "Academic theology is an essential	37:58
	for a knowledge of Christian truth as a house is to a home.	38:01
	But only if it becomes part of what I am,	38:07
	like my home, can it be the living truth	38:10
	which Christ came to give."	38:14
	Christian truth, in other words,	38:17
	must be in the blood	38:19
	as well as in the brain.	38:22
	If it is only in the brain, it is without life	38:24
	and powerless to save.	38:27
	I have the people of Easter House Glasgow to thank	38:30
	for making this point dramatically clear to me.	38:34
	Dean Little, who I haven't heard from in some years now,	38:38
	would be more than a little uncomfortable	38:41
	with my lifting up his name here,	38:44
	as a disciple of Christ who has made a difference.	38:47
	For he was more aware of his shortcomings	38:51
	than most people it seemed.	38:53
	Yet we know from Jesus' rebuke of Peter	38:56
	that no disciple is perfect.	38:59
	No motive is ever completely pure.	39:01
	Peter, who recognized Christ	39:04
	rather than failing to perceive,	39:07
	who sought to defend Jesus rather than opposing him,	39:09
	was still rebuked for not being on God's side.	39:13
	Peter embodies for us all the paradox of one	39:18
	whose best intentions can still be clouded	39:22
	by self-interest and doubt, regardless of title.	39:24
	Making penitents always a more appropriate	39:29
	pasture than pride.	39:31
	With such humility, there is hope.	39:34
	Even for the worst of us.	39:37
	Consider Peter the disciple most resistant	39:39
	to the news of the Passion.	39:42
	Who became in time, the rock on which the church was built.	39:44
	On this DCM Sunday, we acknowledge the presence	39:50
	on the Duke campus, of a group of persons,	39:53
	students, staff and towns people join together	39:56
	to form an ecumenical religious community.	40:00
	It seems that the majority of people	40:04
	have heard of our title, Duke Campus Ministry.	40:05
	Thanks to our snazzy T-shirts.	40:08
	And a host of activities around campus.	40:10
	But as with any single disciple, we are challenged	40:14
	as a community of believers, to constantly move	40:17
	beyond the title.	40:20
	To define who we are with lives.	40:22
	Not just with reputation.	40:25
	For Christians, that action finally boils down	40:27
	to taking up our cross and following Christ.	40:30
	How will the call to be a servant community	40:35
	within Duke University,	40:38
	such as we read in today's gospel lesson,	40:40
	determine our agenda for the coming year?	40:43
	A friend of mine who happens to be	40:47
	a United Methodist clergy woman,	40:49
	tells a story about her early days in hospital chaplaincy.	40:51
	About 10 or 12 years ago, before there were very many women	40:56
	being ordained, she was ministering	40:59
	in a large hospital in Chicago.	41:02
	Because a clergy woman was such an oddity,	41:06
	she chose always to wear a clerical color to work	41:09
	in order to reinforce her ordained status	41:13
	in the eyes of the community.	41:15
	The place where she got off the subway each morning	41:18
	was usually very crowded, such that people frequently	41:20
	bumped into one another as they jazzled about.	41:23
	This did in fact, happened to her from time to time.	41:26
	Until one day a man bumped into her	41:30
	and seeing only her clerical color muttered,	41:33
	"Excuse me, father."	41:36
	(crowd laughing)	41:39
	I shared this anecdote with you only to say	41:42
	how far we can go astray when a title is invoked	41:44
	without looking beyond it.	41:48
	It is the life beyond the title which gives it meaning.	41:51
	Jesus instructed the disciples to tell no one	41:54
	he was the Christ, until he had endured	41:57
	the events of the Passion.	42:00
	Today, we celebrate the Holy Eucharist	42:03
	as the culmination of those events.	42:06
	Where we can proclaim the name of Christ	42:08
	in all its fullness.	42:11
	As we share the bread and wine,	42:13
	we remember the flesh and blood he gave.	42:15
	In order that we might carry that name on our lips	42:18
	and have eternal life.	42:22
	Come to the table with joy and with thanksgiving	42:24
	as one of the family of God bearing the title Christian.	42:28
	While proclaiming God's mighty acts and looking forward	42:33
	to his coming and final victory,	42:36
	we stand in the meantime, before the path,	42:39
	to which Christ calls us.	42:42
	Let us follow in his foot steps unafraid.	42:45
	Thanks be to God.	42:50
-	The Lord be with you.	43:05
-	The Lord be with you.	43:07
-	Let us pray.	43:09
	Receive our prayers oh Lord, for the gift of life	43:12
	and all that sustains it.	43:15
	Receive our praise for the gifts of your spirit	43:17
	by which our spirit is enliven, renewed and strengthened	43:20
	for our service to you.	43:24
	Receive our praise for all things good and beauty.	43:26
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	43:29
	Hear the urgency of our prayer, Lord God almighty,	43:34
	as we seek peace in the world.	43:37
	Not by our hands, oh Lord, shall it come,	43:39
	for we are too self-seeking, too narrow in our vision,	43:42
	too unwilling to seek the common good	43:46
	when it called for the sacrifice	43:48
	of our own comfort and security.	43:50
	Therefore, we ask from your hand a new spirit.	43:53
	A willingness to give up our life.	43:57
	That they may be the lives that bring peace into the world.	44:01
	Bring such a spirit into the hearts of rulers	44:06
	and citizens of national leaders and international giant.	44:09
	Implant a will to peace among us that swords may be beaten	44:12
	into plow shares, and that a common church	44:16
	for the welfare of all people may prevail.	44:19
	Especially Lord with mercy upon this thrive torn areas	44:23
	of our world oh God.	44:26
	Sending a special measure of your spirit into South Africa,	44:28
	into Lebanon, into the Middle East, into Afghanistan,	44:32
	into Ireland, and among all who feel the tensions	44:35
	between conflicting interests, can test of land masses	44:39
	and discrimination amongst people and races.	44:43
	And remember your church, oh holy spirit.	44:47
	That it may be unflagging in its zeal for righteousness.	44:50
	Grant those who name themselves by your name,	44:55
	the piece that passes human understanding.	44:57
	So that though the peace living in them,	45:00
	a peace may flow from you through them into all the world.	45:03
	Be with all who honor your name that in their lives,	45:07
	your praise might be known among all people everywhere.	45:11
	Be with those who receive your son's	45:15
	body and blood on this day.	45:18
	That it may become for them, a food and a drink	45:20
	that nourishes unto life in you.	45:24
	And where there is prosecution for righteousness' sake	45:28
	oh Lord, grant strength to the prosecuted.	45:31
	Where there is troubling distress embody our soul.	45:34
	Send your healing and your comfort.	45:38
	Where there is need, grant aid through helping hands	45:41
	and willing heart.	45:44
	Be with the unemployed, the orphan and widowed and bereaved.	45:46
	The emotionally disturbed, the forsaken and distressed,	45:49
	the refugee and the homeless.	45:52
	Oh Lord, our world cries with its hurts and aches and pain.	45:54
	Be to it, a father and a mother,	45:59
	a lover and a consoler, a savior and redeemer.	46:02
	For your own name's sake oh Lord,	46:07
	that the promises you have so richly given,	46:09
	may be seen fulfilled before our eyes.	46:12
	Amen.	46:18
	Christ invites to his table all who love Him	46:22
	and who desire to live in peace with one another.	46:25
	Let us now offer each other, signs of God's peace and love.	46:28
	Let us now offer the gifts of our material substance	47:05
	and welfare to God as though they were our very hands	47:08
	and feet, our very hearts and lives	47:11
	and help from us, to serve God here and in our community.	47:14
	(church music)	47:23

	(up-tempo organ music)	0:03
	(dramatic organ music)	0:48
	(choir sings dramatically)	1:17
	(choir sings dramatically)	3:00
	(organ music ends)	3:47
	(dramatic celebratory organ music)	3:53
	(choir and congregation sings)	4:11
	♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪	4:23
	(choir and congregation sings)	4:31
	♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪	4:43
	♪ Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪	4:49
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	4:56
	(organ music ends)	5:15
Pastor	The lord be with you.	5:27
Congregation	And also with you.	5:29
Pastor	Lift up your hearts.	5:31
Congregation	We lift them up to the lord.	5:33
Pastor	Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.	5:34
Congregation	It is right to give God thanks and praise.	5:37
Pastor	It is truly right to glorify you, father	5:41
	and to give you thanks.	5:44
	For you alone are God, living and true,	5:47
	dwelling in light, inaccessible,	5:50
	from before time and forever.	5:53
	Fountain of life and source of all goodness,	5:56
	you made all things and fill them with your blessing.	6:00
	You created them to rejoice	6:04
	in the splendor of your radiance.	6:06
	Countless throngs of angels stand before you	6:08
	to serve you night and day.	6:11
	And beholding the glory of your presence,	6:14
	they offer you unceasing praise.	6:17
	Joining with them and giving voice to every creature	6:20
	under heaven, we acclaim you	6:23
	and glorify your name as we say	6:26
-	[Pastor and Congregation] Holy, holy, holy lord,	6:29
	God of power and might.	6:32
	Heaven and Earth are full of your glory,	6:34
	Hosanna in the highest.	6:37
	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord.	6:39
	Hosanna in the highest.	6:42
Pastor	We remember with joy the grace by which	6:45
	you created all things and made us in your own image.	6:48
	We rejoice that you called a people in covenant	6:53
	to be a light to the nations,	6:55
	yet we rebelled against your will.	6:58
	In spite of profits and pastors sent forth to us,	7:01
	we continue to break your covenant.	7:04
	In the fullness of time,	7:07
	you sent your only son to save us.	7:09
	Incarnate by the holy spirit,	7:12
	born of your favorite one, Mary.	7:14
	Sharing our life, he reconciled us to your love.	7:17
	At the Jordan, your spirit descended upon him,	7:22
	anointing him to preach the good news of your reign.	7:26
	He healed the sick and fed the hungry,	7:29
	manifesting the power of your compassion.	7:33
	He sought out the lost and broke bread with sinners,	7:35
	witnessing the fullness of your grace,	7:39
	we beheld his glory.	7:42
	On the night before he died, Jesus took bread.	7:45
	Giving thanks to you, he broke the bread	7:49
	and offered it to his disciples, saying	7:52
	take this and eat.	7:55
	This is my body which is given for you.	7:57
	Do this in remembrance of me.	8:00
	Taking a cup, again he gave thanks to you,	8:06
	shared the cup with his disciples and said	8:10
	this is the blood, this is the cup	8:13
	of the new covenant in my blood.	8:15
	Drink from this all of you.	8:18
	This is poured out for you and for many	8:20
	for the forgiveness of sins.	8:23
	After the meal, our lord was arrested,	8:27
	abandoned by his followers and beaten.	8:30
	He stood trial and was put to death on a cross.	8:33
	Having emptied himself in the form of a servant,	8:37
	and being obedient even to death,	8:40
	he was raised from the dead and exalted	8:44
	as lord of heaven and Earth.	8:47
	Through him, you bestow the gift of your spirit,	8:49
	uniting your church, empowering its mission,	8:53
	and leading us into the new creation you have promised.	8:57
	Gracious God we celebrate with joy the redemption	9:01
	won for us in Jesus Christ.	9:04
	Grant that in praise and thanksgiving,	9:07
	we may be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable	9:10
	in your sight, that our lives may proclaim	9:14
	the mystery of faith.	9:17
-	[Pastor and Congregation] Christ has died.	9:19
	Christ is risen.	9:21
	Christ will come again.	9:23
Pastor	Send the power of your holy spirit on us.	9:26
	Gathered here out of love for you and on these gifts.	9:29
	May the spirit help us know in the breaking of this bread	9:33
	and the drinking of this wine	9:36
	the presence of Christ, who gave his body and blood for all.	9:39
	And may the spirit make us one with Christ,	9:44
	one with each other, and one in service to all the world.	9:47
	Through your son, Jesus Christ, with the holy spirit	9:52
	in your holy church, all glory and honor is yours,	9:54
	almighty father, now and forever.	9:58
-	[Pastor and Congregation] Amen.	10:02
	Our father, who art in heaven.	10:04
	Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done	10:06
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	10:12
	Give us this day our daily bread	10:14
	and forgive us our trespasses	10:17
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	10:20
	and lead us not into temptation	10:23
	but deliver us from evil.	10:26
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory	10:28
	forever, Amen.	10:32
	(coughs)	10:42
	(coughs)	10:47
Pastor	The gifts of God for the people of God.	10:51
	(down-tempo organ music)	11:16
	(optimistic organ music)	12:20
	(choir and congregation sings)	12:56
	(choir and congregation sings)	13:51
	(choir and congregation sings)	15:32
	(soft organ music)	16:42
	(hopeful organ music)	17:38
	(choir and congregation sings)	18:05
	(soft organ music)	20:14
	(high-pitched organ music)	22:10
	(choir and congregation sings)	22:26
	(choir and congregation sings)	23:56
	(contemplative organ music)	25:23
	(contemplative organ music)	27:05
	(contemplative organ music)	28:37
Pastor	Let us pray.	29:37
	We give you thanks almighty God that you have refreshed us	29:40
	through the healing power of this gift of life	29:43
	and we pray that in your mercy, you would strengthen us	29:47
	through this gift in faith toward you	29:50
	and in fervent love toward one another.	29:54
	For the sake of Jesus Christ our lord, Amen.	29:58
	(dramatic organ music)	30:18
	(choir and congregation sings)	31:05
	(choir and congregation sings)	32:02
	(dramatic organ music)	33:39
	(dramatic organ music)	34:41
Male Pastor	Go in peace with the blessing of the lord.	34:59
	The lord bless you and keep you.	35:02
	The lord make his face shine upon you	35:05
	and be gracious to you.	35:07
	The lord look upon you with his favor	35:10
	and give you peace.	35:13
	(choir singing ethereally)	35:18
	♪ Amen ♪	35:21
	♪ Amen ♪	35:26
	♪ Amen ♪	35:36
	♪ Amen ♪	35:42
	♪ Amen ♪	35:49
	♪ Amen ♪	35:56
	♪ Amen ♪	36:06
	♪ Amen ♪	36:17
	(dramatic organ music)	36:31
	(dramatic organ music)	38:37
	(dramatic organ music)	40:23
	(dramatic organ music)	42:05
	(dramatic organ music)	43:42
	(organ music ends)	44:43
	(indistinct muffled chatter)	44:46
	(indistinct chatter)	47:06

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Life behind the Title" (September 15, 1985)

Description:

Sermon start time: 26:01. Sermon end time: 42:54.
While titles play an important role in our society, helping us to know what we should expect from certain people, it is the life that one lives that is of true importance, not the title one is given. Thus, we must seek to live a life worthy of the title "Christian." (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “It is the life beyond the title which gives it meaning.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4fn11623

Date:

September 15, 1985

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0285
ref8091_6qh
uachapelsermaud
duke:320544
dcrau001272
ark:/87924/r4fn11623
c8dcc4a4-7298-4ba2-bec3-5d5945a65095

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Unknown Rights-Holder

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Life behind the Title" (September 15, 1985)

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1. Nancy Ferree - "The Life Behind the Title" (September 15, 1985)

Duke University Archives

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "The Life behind the Title" (September 15, 1985)

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Duke University Archives

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