Grant F. Shockley - "The Star in the East" (January 3, 1988)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(bell music) | 0:37 | |
("God Rest You Merry Gentleman" by W. B. Sandys) | 4:41 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to this service of worship | 8:05 |
on this second Sunday in Christmas here at Duke Chapel. | 8:07 | |
We have been led in our worship | 8:11 | |
by the Henderson Bell Ringers. | 8:13 | |
They are making their annual visit to Duke Chapel | 8:16 | |
under the directorship of Mr. Phillip Young. | 8:19 | |
The Henderson Bell Ringers are one of the nation's | 8:22 | |
great church bell choirs and we welcome these | 8:26 | |
talented young people back to Duke Chapel. | 8:31 | |
Our preacher for this Sunday is the | 8:35 | |
Reverend Dr. Grant Shockley, | 8:38 | |
Professor of Christian Education, | 8:40 | |
and director of Black Church Affairs | 8:42 | |
at the Duke Divinity School, | 8:45 | |
a distinguished Christian educator and | 8:47 | |
United Methodist pastor, | 8:51 | |
and we're glad to welcome Dr. Shockley back to the chapel. | 8:53 | |
And now let us continue our worship. | 8:57 | |
(organ music) | 9:04 | |
(singing "Joy to the World") | 9:34 | |
- | As the Maggii of old followed the star. | 12:09 |
(audience responding) | 12:12 | |
As they were led to the Savior. | 12:17 | |
(audience responding) | 12:19 | |
As they brought treasures to the king. | 12:25 | |
(audience responding) | 12:28 | |
As they fell down and worshiped the child. | 12:35 | |
(audience responding) | 12:38 | |
As Herod was kept from doing him harm. | 12:44 | |
(audience responding) | 12:47 | |
As Mary kept all things and pondered them in her heart. | 12:54 | |
(audience responding) | 12:59 | |
As your son shines forever as the light of the world. | 13:03 | |
(audience responding) | 13:08 | |
Holy Jesus come from God. | 13:14 | |
(audience responding) | 13:18 | |
Amen. | 13:21 | |
- | May we pray. | 13:33 |
Open our hearts and minds oh God, | 13:35 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit. | 13:38 | |
So as the word is read and proclaimed, | 13:41 | |
we might hear with joy what you say to us this day. | 13:45 | |
Amen. | 13:49 | |
The first lesson is from Isaiah. | 13:51 | |
Arise, shine, for your light has come | 13:55 | |
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. | 13:59 | |
For darkness shall cover the earth | 14:03 | |
and thick darkness the nations | 14:06 | |
but the Lord will arise upon you and the glory of God | 14:08 | |
will be seen upon you and nations shall come to your light | 14:13 | |
and rulers to the brightness of your rising. | 14:18 | |
Lift up your eyes roundabout and see. | 14:22 | |
They all gather together. | 14:25 | |
They come to you. | 14:27 | |
Your sons shall come from afar and your daughters | 14:29 | |
shall be carried in the arms. | 14:32 | |
Then you will see and be radiant. | 14:35 | |
Your heart shall thrill and rejoice because | 14:38 | |
the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you | 14:42 | |
and the wealth of the nations shall come to you. | 14:45 | |
A multitude of camels shall cover you. | 14:48 | |
The young camels of Midian and Ephah. | 14:52 | |
All those from Sheba shall come. | 14:55 | |
They shall bring gold and Frankincense | 14:59 | |
and shall proclaim the praise of God. | 15:02 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 15:07 | |
The second lesson is from Ephesians. | 15:12 | |
For this reason, I Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus | 15:16 | |
on behalf of you gentiles, assuming that you have heard | 15:20 | |
of the stewardship of God's grace | 15:24 | |
that was given to me for you, | 15:26 | |
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation | 15:29 | |
as I have written briefly. | 15:32 | |
When you read this, you can perceive my insight | 15:35 | |
into the mystery of Christ which was not made known | 15:39 | |
to the human race and other generations as it has now | 15:43 | |
been revealed to Christ's Holy apostles | 15:47 | |
and prophets by the spirit. | 15:50 | |
That is, how the gentiles are joint heirs, | 15:53 | |
members of the same body and partakers of the promise | 15:57 | |
in Christ Jesus through the gospel. | 16:01 | |
Of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the | 16:05 | |
gift of God's grace which was given me | 16:08 | |
by the working of God's power. | 16:11 | |
To me, though I'm the very least of all the saints, | 16:14 | |
this grace was given to preach to the gentiles | 16:18 | |
the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make everyone see | 16:22 | |
what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages | 16:27 | |
in God who created all things. | 16:30 | |
That through the church, the manifold wisdom of God | 16:34 | |
might now be made known to the principalities | 16:38 | |
and powers in the heavenly places. | 16:42 | |
This was according to the eternal purpose | 16:45 | |
which God has realized in Christ Jesus, our Lord | 16:47 | |
in whom we have boldness and confidence of access | 16:52 | |
through our faith in Him. | 16:57 | |
This ends the reading of the second lesson. | 17:01 | |
(bell music) | 17:16 | |
The Gospel lesson is from Matthew. | 20:08 | |
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea | 20:11 | |
in the days of Herod the king, | 20:15 | |
Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, | 20:18 | |
Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews | 20:22 | |
for we have seen his star in the east | 20:26 | |
and have come to worship him. | 20:29 | |
And hearing this, Herod the king was troubled | 20:33 | |
and all Jerusalem as well. | 20:36 | |
And assembling all the chief priests and scribes | 20:39 | |
of the people, he inquired of them | 20:42 | |
where the Christ was to be born. | 20:45 | |
They told Herod, in Bethlehem of Judea | 20:47 | |
for so it is written by the prophet, and you, | 20:51 | |
oh Bethlehem in the land of Judah are by no means | 20:55 | |
least among the rulers of Judah, for from you | 20:58 | |
shall come a ruler who will govern my people, Israel. | 21:02 | |
Then Herod summons the Wise Men secretly, | 21:07 | |
ascertained from them what time the star appeared | 21:10 | |
and sent them to Bethlehem saying, Go and search diligently | 21:13 | |
for the child and when you have found him, | 21:18 | |
bring me word that I too may come and worship him. | 21:21 | |
When they had heard the king, they went their way | 21:25 | |
and the star which they had seen in the east | 21:29 | |
went before them till it came to rest | 21:32 | |
over the place where the child was. | 21:35 | |
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly | 21:39 | |
with great joy and going into the house, | 21:42 | |
they saw the child with Mary, his mother, | 21:45 | |
and they fell down and worshiped him. | 21:48 | |
Then opening their treasures, they offered the child gifts, | 21:52 | |
gold and Frankincense and myrrh, | 21:56 | |
and being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, | 21:59 | |
they departed to their own country by another way. | 22:03 | |
This ends the reading of the gospel. | 22:08 | |
- | Let us pray. | 22:27 |
May the words of my mouth and the meditations | 22:31 | |
of our hearts be accepted before you | 22:36 | |
oh Lord, our rock and our salvation. | 22:41 | |
Amen. | 22:47 | |
The Gospel lesson for the morning is the story of the Maggi. | 22:51 | |
It celebrates God's self revelation | 22:58 | |
as Christ to the world. | 23:02 | |
It is symbolized by three kings | 23:05 | |
being led from the east | 23:09 | |
to the manger in Bethlehem. | 23:12 | |
This story found only in Matthew | 23:16 | |
and with no parallel | 23:20 | |
in any other Christian writing has become | 23:22 | |
the traditional gospel | 23:26 | |
for the Sunday before the Epiphany. | 23:29 | |
Clouded by uncertainties about its origin, time, place, | 23:34 | |
and even its credibility, it remains as the artist | 23:39 | |
Burne-Jones once said, | 23:44 | |
too beautiful not to be true. | 23:47 | |
One might even go further and say, fact or fiction, | 23:52 | |
the story of the wise kings and the star | 23:58 | |
brings us to a beautifully poetic interpretation | 24:03 | |
of the very center of the Christian faith, | 24:08 | |
which is summed up beautifully in John 3:16. | 24:13 | |
God so loved the world that He gave His only son, | 24:18 | |
that whoever believes in Him should not perish | 24:24 | |
but have eternal life. | 24:29 | |
Let us note three things about the star of the east | 24:33 | |
whose truth has lighted the lives of women and men | 24:39 | |
since the world began. | 24:44 | |
The star of the east is a directing star. | 24:49 | |
It is the star that guided the Maggi | 24:56 | |
on their journey from the east to Bethlehem. | 25:01 | |
The star of the east is a transcending star, | 25:06 | |
giving light to the Maggi, giving them insight, | 25:12 | |
sensitivity and humility | 25:18 | |
to act in the present day of their time. | 25:22 | |
The star of the east is a guiding star | 25:28 | |
illumining the paths of the Maggi, | 25:32 | |
their past, their present, their future. | 25:37 | |
Now the star of the east is something of a mystery. | 25:44 | |
What star was it? | 25:49 | |
Was it the star of Jacob that would rule Israel? | 25:52 | |
Was it the same star that announced | 25:58 | |
the birth of Isaac and Moses? | 26:00 | |
Was it the Day Star from on high? | 26:04 | |
What star was it? | 26:08 | |
Honestly, we don't know and scholars do really not agree, | 26:12 | |
but what we believe is this, | 26:18 | |
that it is God speaking to us | 26:22 | |
through a star in his firmament. | 26:26 | |
And whoever wrote about it in the Bible did just that | 26:30 | |
when they should have known and did know how to describe it. | 26:34 | |
They described it in superlatives, | 26:41 | |
the brightest and best | 26:45 | |
of the sons of the morning and the daughters of the day | 26:46 | |
dawn upon us and give us light and the glory of the Lord | 26:51 | |
shone round about them and the glory of the Lord | 26:56 | |
shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. | 27:00 | |
Star of wonder, Day Star from on high, | 27:05 | |
light of lights. | 27:10 | |
These are the terms of magnificence | 27:12 | |
that describe the star from the east. | 27:16 | |
Then the negro spiritual which describes it so well | 27:21 | |
has it this way, Behold that star, | 27:26 | |
behold that star up yonder. | 27:31 | |
Behold that star. | 27:34 | |
It is the star of Bethlehem. | 27:36 | |
Now, this is not an astrological | 27:41 | |
or an astronomical language. | 27:44 | |
This is theological language. | 27:47 | |
It is the language of faith. | 27:50 | |
For there is no real answer to the question, | 27:54 | |
What is the star? | 27:57 | |
To answer that question, we have to ask another question. | 28:00 | |
Who's star is this? | 28:06 | |
We think the Maggi knew the answer to that question. | 28:10 | |
We think that they intuitively sensed that the star | 28:15 | |
they were following was not only a new star, | 28:20 | |
but we think that they believed | 28:25 | |
it was God's own star. | 28:29 | |
Let us notice this, the Maggi never spoke, | 28:33 | |
but in the stillness of silent adoration, | 28:38 | |
they obeyed going on to the place | 28:42 | |
where the Christ child lay. | 28:47 | |
In other words, their journey was a spiritual quest | 28:51 | |
under the direction of the star of the east, | 28:56 | |
which was nothing less than the star of God. | 29:00 | |
But see where that star led. | 29:06 | |
To a lowly infant born to parents of | 29:10 | |
a despised minority | 29:14 | |
in an occupied territory under the terrorist rule | 29:17 | |
of a murderous Herod in a common wealth of nations | 29:21 | |
led by Rome, the most awesome and powerful | 29:26 | |
empire on earth at that time. | 29:31 | |
And yet, the Maggi, themselves kings of the earth | 29:35 | |
fell down and worshiped this | 29:41 | |
infant in that stable. | 29:44 | |
Surely, their wisdom in deciding to do this | 29:48 | |
was beyond their knowledge or their skill | 29:52 | |
or even their experience. | 29:57 | |
Surely this was their faith. | 30:00 | |
As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews would put it, | 30:04 | |
This was the substance of things they hoped for, | 30:08 | |
this was the evidence of things that they had never seen. | 30:11 | |
Surely they had been inspired to know what Josiah Holland | 30:18 | |
put in a hymn, In the light of that star | 30:22 | |
lay the ages in pearled and that song from afar | 30:26 | |
would sweep over the world. | 30:31 | |
Somehow they knew that. | 30:35 | |
Not only did the star in the east give direction to life, | 30:39 | |
it also gave life a sense of transcendence, | 30:45 | |
a sense of beyondness, | 30:50 | |
a sense of otherness, | 30:54 | |
a beckoning kind of come hither, | 30:58 | |
there is yet more to be seen and known of God, | 31:02 | |
a capacity to rise above the limits of the situation, | 31:08 | |
a holy identity to which one | 31:14 | |
is irresistibly drawn. | 31:18 | |
That is a star of transcendence. | 31:21 | |
Now, this wisdom seems to have given the Maggi three gifts, | 31:26 | |
the gift of insight to perceive, | 31:33 | |
the gift of sensitivity to understand, | 31:37 | |
and the gift of humility to worship. | 31:41 | |
The Maggi, we feel, had the gift of insight. | 31:46 | |
Though as kings, they held under their command the most | 31:51 | |
powerful and brutish armies of the world at that time. | 31:55 | |
They had the insight to know | 32:00 | |
that the desire of all nations for peace | 32:04 | |
would never be realized by arming for war. | 32:08 | |
And that the secret of keeping the peace | 32:12 | |
is in making the peace secure. | 32:15 | |
For this, they had come to the manger | 32:20 | |
of the Prince of Peace. | 32:23 | |
The Maggi had the gift of sensitivity. | 32:27 | |
Though as kings, they had unlimited power | 32:32 | |
and tremendous wealth, | 32:36 | |
they knew that that meant more than its possession. | 32:39 | |
They were sensitive somehow to the values | 32:45 | |
that lay behind these. | 32:48 | |
For example, they realized that power is not our strength | 32:52 | |
to do something, but it is our will to commit | 32:56 | |
our strength to God's intention. | 33:01 | |
They realized that wealth is not in what we have, | 33:04 | |
but in what we share, and that what we have | 33:09 | |
and how we get it is just | 33:15 | |
as important as having it. | 33:18 | |
They realized that the joy of living is not self worship, | 33:22 | |
but the service of others | 33:26 | |
who are in need of our service. | 33:28 | |
The Maggi had the gift of humility. | 33:34 | |
Though they were kings, they knew what Thomas à Kempis said. | 33:38 | |
God walks with the humble, reveals himself to the lowly, | 33:44 | |
gives understanding to the little ones. | 33:49 | |
Discloses his meaning to pure minds, | 33:52 | |
but hides his grace from the proud. | 33:57 | |
Humility is a way of loving, | 34:02 | |
a way of loving so amazing, | 34:07 | |
so divine that it demands our souls, | 34:09 | |
our lives, our all, | 34:14 | |
to put it in the words of the hymnist. | 34:17 | |
As we stand just across the threshold of a new year | 34:22 | |
and our thoughts reach out with hope and expectation, | 34:27 | |
we need only a directing star | 34:34 | |
to orient our journey. | 34:39 | |
We need only a transcending star to give us insight | 34:42 | |
and humility and sensitivity, | 34:47 | |
but we also need a guiding star. | 34:51 | |
A guiding star to keep our feet in the right paths | 34:56 | |
less they stray as our negro national anthem says | 35:01 | |
from the places our God where we met thee. | 35:06 | |
The new year just born does not mean that | 35:12 | |
the old year has died, or even that it should. | 35:16 | |
William Faulkner has said, The past is not dead, | 35:22 | |
it isn't even the past. | 35:27 | |
I think that Faulkner meant that the past, | 35:29 | |
especially our relationship to it needs to be understood | 35:33 | |
before we can claim it as gone. | 35:38 | |
What went wrong? | 35:44 | |
Why did it go wrong? | 35:47 | |
Who could have made a difference? | 35:50 | |
Did I make a difference? | 35:53 | |
Remembering that Santayana said, | 35:57 | |
Those who cannot remember the past | 35:59 | |
are condemned to repeat it. | 36:01 | |
Do we understand the past year well enough | 36:04 | |
not to repeat its worst mistakes? | 36:07 | |
Can we learn from the past without being limited | 36:11 | |
by its failures or seduced by its achievements? | 36:14 | |
Dare we ever forget the AIDS victims in our midst. | 36:19 | |
Dare we ever forget the homeless that we have | 36:25 | |
seen on our televisions. | 36:29 | |
Dare we forget the ethical collapse of Wall Street. | 36:32 | |
Dare we forget what is going on in Latin America. | 36:37 | |
The past is not the past | 36:42 | |
until all of that has been claimed | 36:45 | |
as a part of it and understood | 36:48 | |
in the light of our faith. | 36:52 | |
The radiance of the star in the east will not only | 36:56 | |
shed its light on creative ways to appropriate our past. | 37:00 | |
It will help us to live abundantly in the present. | 37:05 | |
The late Howard Thurman, a black theologian and poet, | 37:10 | |
wrote this, When the song of the angel is stilled, | 37:14 | |
when the star in the sky is gone, | 37:20 | |
when the kings and the princes are home, | 37:24 | |
when the shepherds are back with their flocks, | 37:26 | |
the work of Christmas begins. | 37:29 | |
To find the lost, to heal the broken, | 37:33 | |
to feed the hungry, | 37:36 | |
to release the prisoner, to rebuild the cities, | 37:39 | |
to bring peace among the nations, | 37:44 | |
to make music in the heart. | 37:46 | |
The Psalmist was speaking directly to us in saying, | 37:51 | |
This is the day which the Lord has made. | 37:55 | |
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. | 38:00 | |
Let us do our Christmas in the day | 38:03 | |
in which we find ourselves now. | 38:07 | |
Just as the past cannot be claimed unless we understand it, | 38:12 | |
the present is not really ours until we act in it. | 38:18 | |
But in acting, we must neither be tyrannized | 38:23 | |
by the contemporaneity of it all | 38:27 | |
or overwhelmed by its responsibilities. | 38:30 | |
Rather, we must act as if every belief | 38:35 | |
that we have is true, | 38:39 | |
for only in acting do we somehow get the courage | 38:42 | |
to enact the possibilities of | 38:47 | |
a creative present. | 38:50 | |
Now finally, the guiding star | 38:54 | |
illumines the future | 38:58 | |
that the new year is bringing us. | 39:00 | |
It calls us to be what we want it to become. | 39:04 | |
It calls us to fashion it rather than to be fashioned by it. | 39:09 | |
It calls us to risk its unknowns for the sake | 39:15 | |
of exploring its possibilities. | 39:19 | |
As we move out into the new experience of this year, | 39:24 | |
let us remember the fresh and exciting challenge | 39:28 | |
of the scientist philosopher who said, | 39:32 | |
The world is a becoming world, | 39:35 | |
a world ever surpassing itself. | 39:38 | |
It is one where the new proceeds from the old | 39:42 | |
and yet it is the same, and at the same time, | 39:46 | |
new and more. | 39:51 | |
But we shall not do this alone. | 39:53 | |
The light of the guiding star of God will go ahead of us. | 39:57 | |
In the words of the poetess Louise Haskins, | 40:04 | |
And I said to the man who stands at the gate of the year, | 40:08 | |
Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown, | 40:14 | |
and he replied, Go out into the darkness | 40:20 | |
and put your hand into the hand of God. | 40:24 | |
That shall be to you better than light | 40:28 | |
and safer than a known way. | 40:32 | |
Amen. | 40:36 | |
(organ music) | 40:43 | |
(choir singing) | 41:53 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 44:21 |
Audience | And also with you. | 44:24 |
- | Let us pray. | 44:25 |
Gracious God, even as the Maggi of old offered themselves | 44:40 | |
and their gifts to the Christ, so we offer ourselves | 44:45 | |
and our needs to you in prayer. | 44:50 | |
We pray. | 44:55 | |
As the light of the star penetrated the dark world | 44:57 | |
with its light, oh Christ, let your gospel shine | 45:00 | |
in every place where the word of life is not yet received. | 45:03 | |
Draw the whole creation to yourself that your salvation | 45:10 | |
may be known through all the earth. | 45:14 | |
Oh Christ, Savior and Lord, extend your church | 45:18 | |
to every place. | 45:23 | |
Make it a place of welcome for people of every race | 45:25 | |
and tongue, a haven of refuge from the sorrows of the world, | 45:28 | |
a source of courage and hope for the righting of wrong. | 45:35 | |
Oh Christ, ruler of rulers, direct the work and thoughts | 45:41 | |
of the leaders of nations that they may seek | 45:47 | |
justice and further peace for all. | 45:51 | |
Oh Christ, master of all, support of the weak | 45:56 | |
and comfort of the afflicted, strengthen the tempted | 46:01 | |
and raise the fallen. | 46:05 | |
Watch over the lonely and those in danger. | 46:09 | |
Give hope to the despairing and | 46:12 | |
sustain the faith of the persecuted. | 46:16 | |
Particularly do we pray for those who were wearied | 46:19 | |
by their labors and those worn out by grief or sorrow, | 46:23 | |
those who long to lay down the burden of their guilt | 46:30 | |
and all people struggling with suffering and body or mind, | 46:34 | |
all who reach out with gentle love. | 46:42 | |
This we pray to you, oh Christ, for you are one so patient | 46:46 | |
with us and our shortcomings, so generous | 46:54 | |
in meeting our needs that we feel bold to offer you | 46:58 | |
the needs of a sinful and hurting world. | 47:03 | |
This we pray in thy name. | 47:09 | |
Amen. | 47:12 | |
Even as the Maggi of old brought their gifts | 47:17 | |
and laid them at the feet of the Christ child | 47:20 | |
so let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God. | 47:22 | |
(bell music) | 47:35 | |
("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") | 48:55 | |
("The First Noel" by William Sandys and Davies Gilbert) | 51:25 | |
("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") | 53:54 | |
(organ music) | 55:17 | |
(singing "All Creatures of Our God and King") | 55:39 | |
- | Oh, ever living God who has revealed to us the way, | 56:39 |
the truth and the life, we offer unto thee | 56:43 | |
are heartfelt praise and thanksgiving this Christmas season. | 56:47 | |
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, | 56:51 | |
for the beauty of this world and for the mystery of love. | 56:54 | |
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends | 56:58 | |
and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. | 57:01 | |
Most especially, we thank you for the gift of your son, | 57:06 | |
Jesus Christ, for the truth of His word | 57:09 | |
and the example of His life. | 57:12 | |
In whose name we now are bold to pray, | 57:15 | |
Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 57:18 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth | 57:23 | |
as it is in heaven. | 57:27 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 57:28 | |
and forgive us our trespasses as we | 57:30 | |
forgive those who trespass against us. | 57:33 | |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 57:37 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. | 57:41 | |
Amen. | 57:45 | |
(organ music) | 57:50 | |
(singing "Angels We Have Heard High") | 58:35 | |
- | And now go forth in peace to serve God and your neighbor | 1:01:52 |
in all that you do and you have sent in the name of God | 1:01:55 | |
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. | 1:02:00 | |
Amen. | 1:02:03 | |
(organ music) | 1:02:14 |
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