Elizabeth Achtemeier - "Audacious Claim" (April 24, 1988)

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	(harmonious choir music)	0:08
	(peaceful organ music)	2:35
	(harmonious choir music)	2:46
	(coughing)	6:32
-	Good morning.	6:44
	We welcome all of you to worship	6:45
	on this fourth Sunday and Easter.	6:46
	And we have been led in worship by our guest choir,	6:50
	the Elon College Concert Choir and Chamber Choir.	6:54
	Their director is Doctor Steven Ten Eyck.	6:59
	They are regular visitors in the chapel,	7:03
	and it's always a pleasure to have them.	7:05
	Sort of an Elon College day because our Lector	7:08
	is Doctor Walter Westafer, an active participant	7:11
	here at Duke Chapel, and retired member	7:15
	of the Elon College faculty.	7:18
	Our guest preacher today is the Stally Foundation	7:23
	guest preacher, Doctor Elizabeth Achtemeier,	7:27
	who is a professor at Union Theological Seminary	7:31
	in Richmond, Virginia.	7:34
	Doctor Achtemeier is virtually an annual visitor	7:37
	here at the chapel	7:41
	and has held most of our	7:42
	named guest preacher positions here.	7:45
	She is an author	7:49
	of more than a score of books and a hundred articles.	7:51
	She is a master interpreter of the Biblical faith.	7:57
	She's always a great favorite of you Calvinist.	8:02
	And we invite her down each year for that purpose.	8:05
	And it's good to welcome this good friend	8:08
	and great preacher back to our chapel.	8:11
	Next Sunday, May first, we shall be honored	8:14
	to have as our guest preacher,	8:18
	the right Reverend David Jenkins,	8:20
	the Bishop of Durham, England.	8:22
	He will be here in our city for a few days	8:24
	as part of a Durham to Durham exchange.	8:27
	And the Duke Chapel Choir will be back	8:31
	to present John Rudder's Gloria as part of that service.	8:33
	And now, let us continue our worship.	8:39
	(peaceful organ music)	8:44
	(congregation singing)	9:21
	Thou brightness of God's glory	12:06
	and express image of God's person.	12:07
	Whom death could not conquer nor the tomb imprison.	12:11
	As thou has shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,	12:15
	help us to share thine immortal triumph in the spirit.	12:19
	Let no shadow of the grave fright us	12:24
	and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from thee.	12:27
	Reveal thyself to us this day.	12:32
	As the first and the last,	12:35
	the living one, our savior and Lord,	12:38
	amen; be seated.	12:42
	(coughing)	12:48
-	Let us pray.	12:54
Congregation	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	12:57
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	13:01
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	13:04
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	13:08
-	The first lesson is taken from the Book of Acts.	13:15
	On the morrow their rulers and elders	13:21
	and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem	13:26
	with Annas, the high priest,	13:31
	and Caiaphas,	13:35
	and John, and Alexander,	13:37
	and all who were of the high priestly family.	13:40
	And when they had set them in the midst	13:47
	they inquired, "By what power	13:49
	"or by what name did you do this?"	13:52
	Then, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit	13:56
	"Rulers of the people	14:03
	"and elders,	14:06
	"if we are being examined today	14:08
	"concerning a good deed done to a cripple,	14:10
	"by what means this man has been healed,	14:14
	"be it known to you all, and to all the people of Nazareth	14:19
	"who you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,	14:25
	"by him this man is standing before you well.	14:31
	"This is the stone which was rejected by you builders.	14:37
	"But which has become the head of the corner.	14:42
	"And there is salvation in no one else,	14:48
	"for there is no other name under Heaven	14:52
	"given among men by which we must be saved."	14:56
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	15:01
-	Let us stand for the responsive reading of the Psalm.	15:10
	Psalm 23:	15:14
	The Lord is my shepard;	15:21
Congregation	I shall not want.	15:24
-	He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;	15:26
Congregation	He leadeth me beside the still waters.	15:29
-	He restoreth my soul;	15:31
Congregation	He leadeth me in the paths	15:34
	of righteousness for his name's sake.	15:36
-	Yeah, though I walk through the valley	15:39
	of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:	15:40
Congregation	For thou art with me;	15:45
	they rod and thy staff they comfort me.	15:47
-	Thou preparest a table before me	15:50
	in the presence of mine enemies:	15:52
Congregation	Thou anointest my head with oil;	15:55
	my cup runneth over.	15:58
Rev. Willimon	Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me	15:59
	all the days of my life:	16:02
Congregation	And I will dwell	16:05
	in the house of the Lord forever.	16:07
	(peaceful organ music)	16:09
	(congregation singing)	16:19
	(peaceful organ music)	17:33
	(harmonious choir music)	17:38
-	The Gospel lesson is taken from John:	20:57
	I am the good shepard.	21:02
	The good shepard lays down his life for the sheep.	21:05
	He who is a hireling and not a shepard	21:10
	who's own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming	21:15
	and leaves the sheep and flees.	21:20
	And the wolf snatches them and scatters them.	21:24
	He flees because he is a hireling	21:29
	and cares nothing for the sheep.	21:33
	I am the good shepard.	21:37
	I know my own	21:40
	and my own know me.	21:42
	As the Father knows me and I know the Father.	21:45
	And I lay down my life for the sheep.	21:49
	And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.	21:54
	I must bring them, also, and they will heed my voice.	21:58
	So, there shall be one flock,	22:03
	one shepard.	22:08
	For this reason the Father loves me,	22:10
	because I lay down my life,	22:13
	that I may take it again.	22:16
	No one takes it from me,	22:19
	but I lay it down of my own accord.	22:23
	I have power to lay it down	22:27
	and I have power to take it again.	22:31
	This charge I have received from my Father.	22:35
	This ends the reading of the Gospel lesson.	22:40
-	Just let me say that it is always an honor	22:54
	and a pleasure to worship with you in this church.	22:56
	Now, according to our story in the Book of Acts,	23:03
	Peter and John had healed a man, you see.	23:06
	The day before as they were going up to the temple to pray,	23:11
	they had encountered a 40-year-old man	23:15
	laying at the gate of the temple.	23:18
	That gate that was named Beautiful.	23:20
	The man had been lame from his birth	23:24
	and so he could not earn a living.	23:26
	He was simply one of that flotsam and jetsam	23:29
	of disease and maimed and poverty stricken	23:32
	who lined Jerusalem's streets,	23:35
	and who begged for coins from passersby.	23:38
	And seeing the man's need, Peter had said to him,	23:43
	"Gold and silver have I none,	23:45
	"but what I have I give to you.	23:47
	"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"	23:51
	And the cripple had been healed	23:56
	and had gone walking and leaping	24:00
	after the disciples into the temple,	24:01
	praising God for his healing.	24:04
	That had caused a great stir in Jerusalem,	24:08
	and the Jewish Sanhedrin was curious	24:10
	and perhaps a little disturbed by all of the commotion.	24:13
	And so, in our particular lesson from Acts,	24:17
	the Jewish leaders summon the two Apostles	24:20
	to ask them how they have accomplished such a feat.	24:22
	In reply, Peter explains that the power of Christ	24:27
	has made the lame man whole.	24:31
	But then, in his speech to the Jewish religious leaders	24:35
	Peter goes far beyond that explanation.	24:38
	"There is salvation in no one else than Jesus Christ,"	24:42
	Peter proclaims.	24:46
	"For there is no other name under Heaven	24:49
	"given among men and women by which we must be saved."	24:51
	That is an audacious claim, isn't it?	24:58
	To say that God's salvation of us comes solely	25:02
	through the person in power of Jesus Christ.	25:05
	In fact, in our society you might say	25:08
	that such a claim goes over like a lead balloon.	25:10
	We are a pluralistic nation made up of	25:15
	hundreds of different religious faiths	25:18
	that have claimed hundreds of different pathways to God.	25:20
	And to maintain that just one of those religions	25:25
	is the only acceptable way of faith	25:28
	seems like an offense to our neighbors	25:30
	and a division of society into competing causes.	25:34
	Indeed it seems as if every time	25:38
	some so-called Christian group has arrogated to itself	25:40
	the sole claim to religious truth it has ended up	25:44
	bringing persecution and suffering on its neighbors.	25:48
	Hounding the Jews to the end of the Earth.	25:53
	Trying to convert people by torture in the Inquisition.	25:56
	Launching Crusades with the swords of war	26:01
	or setting Protestant against Catholic in Northern Ireland.	26:04
	So, Heaven forbid that the Christian church	26:08
	in some misguided militancy should ever try	26:10
	to become the defender of it's Lord Jesus Christ.	26:14
	Certainly Peter had learned that some months earlier	26:20
	when Jesus had been arrested.	26:23
	Seeing the mob come out to the garden	26:26
	with their lanterns and torches and weapons	26:29
	to jail his Lord and finally to crucify him,	26:31
	Peter had unsheathed his sword and cut off the ear	26:34
	of the high priest's slave.	26:38
	And Jesus had rebuked him for that act	26:41
	and Peter had learned his lesson.	26:43
	And so, now here in our passage from Acts,	26:47
	Peter makes no defense of his claim about Jesus.	26:50
	As the Sanhedrin question him further and then	26:55
	forbid Peter and John to preach of Christ.	26:58
	Those two disciples simply reply,	27:03
	"We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."	27:05
	No, the Christian church is not a defender of Jesus Christ.	27:12
	It is simply a witness to him.	27:17
	And indeed, the Lord to whom we give testimony	27:21
	himself sanctions that peaceful stance.	27:25
	For Jesus is the one who breaks down every barrier	27:29
	that would divide humanity into competing groups.	27:33
	In our Gospel lesson, he puts down all of our exclusive-ism	27:38
	by telling us, I have sheep other,	27:41
	I have other sheep who are not of this fold.	27:44
	And he thereby defeats any proud	27:50
	and self-righteous tendencies we may have	27:52
	to maintain that our side has him captured.	27:55
	You see, we're very good at setting up barriers	28:00
	between human beings, are we not?	28:02
	We may not be crippled in our legs	28:06
	like that beggar at the Beautiful gate of the temple.	28:08
	But we are often very crippled in our souls.	28:12
	Frequently forming in and out groups.	28:17
	Dividing up into us and them.	28:20
	We learn the habit at a very early age.	28:25
	Just watch children in a kindergarten some time	28:28
	ganging up on the shy, the ugly,	28:31
	or the different little child in the corner.	28:33
	And then, that original sin in our souls	28:37
	grows as children grow.	28:40
	Until it becomes hatred of one race for another.	28:44
	The scorn of the haves for the have-nots.	28:49
	The enmity of religion for religion	28:51
	and nation for nation until the Earth is soaked with blood.	28:54
	And all human community has become impossible.	28:59
	But Jesus Christ defies all of that	29:03
	and breaks down every human barrier.	29:06
	"There is one flock," he says in our Gospel lesson.	29:08
	And so he will not pander to the in-group in his society.	29:13
	But he eats and drinks with despised sinners	29:19
	and tax collectors.	29:22
	He will not heed the barriers of race or gender	29:25
	but he shows mercy to a hated Samaritan	29:28
	and makes a supposedly lowly woman	29:31
	the first witness of his Resurrection.	29:34
	He even turns the laws of power upside-down	29:38
	and teaches that the greatest must be servant of all.	29:42
	And finally, he rules by hanging on a cross	29:47
	so that he can draw all people to his love.	29:50
	Know if we want to follow Jesus Christ,	29:52
	we cannot defend him against all the others.	29:55
	We can only acknowledge that God so loved the world	30:00
	that He sent His son to save it.	30:03
	And then, of course, having started the account,	30:08
	we have to tell further why.	30:10
	Why that love of Jesus Christ that wants to gather	30:13
	us all into the fold of his mercy.	30:17
	Why that love that sends His son	30:20
	to be our good and peaceful shepard.	30:22
	Well, Jesus stated the reason for us	30:25
	very simply in our Gospel lesson.	30:27
	He said, "I know my sheep.	30:29
	"As the Father knows me, I know each one of you.	30:33
	"And yes, I know your condition."	30:38
	Now, that was very much like what the heavenly Father	30:42
	had said back there in the Old Testament	30:44
	when Israel was a slave under whips,	30:47
	making bricks for the Pharaoh of Egypt.	30:49
	"I have seen the affliction of my people	30:53
	"who are in Egypt," God told Moses at that time.	30:55
	"And I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters,	30:59
	"I know their sufferings	31:02
	"and I have come down to deliver them."	31:05
	And so, too, here in John, the son of that Father	31:09
	tells us, "I know my sheep, and I know your condition."	31:13
	Jesus Christ knows us and our sufferings.	31:18
	And so, whither shall I go from thy spirit, oh Lord.	31:24
	Or whither I shall flee from thy presence,	31:29
	if I ascend to Heaven, thou art there.	31:33
	If I make my bed in shoal, behold thou art there.	31:37
	Can any one of us here this morning doubt	31:43
	that Christ knows us through and through?	31:45
	The Fourth Gospel tells us that Christ	31:50
	was the one through whom God created us in the beginning.	31:52
	And so, like some sculptor who knows the clay	31:57
	from which he shapes an exquisite work of art,	32:00
	Jesus knows our inward parts and thoughts,	32:05
	our outward ways and speech.	32:09
	Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up.	32:13
	Thou discernest my thoughts from afar.	32:18
	Thou searches out my path in my laying down	32:21
	and are acquainted with all my ways.	32:25
	"I know my sheep," Jesus says to us.	32:30
	"And I have come down to deliver them."	32:34
	I have a sister-in-law who is suffering	32:39
	from multiple myeloma.	32:41
	Which is cancer of the cells of the bone marrow.	32:43
	The doctors caught the disease early	32:48
	and have been trying to halt it with chemotherapy.	32:50
	But as my sister has suffered under the side effects	32:55
	of the drugs given her to save her life	32:58
	she has written to me, "No one can know or understand	33:00
	"what I am going through."	33:05
	No one can know or understand what we are going through.	33:08
	Not our relatives, not our friends, not our spouses.	33:13
	There is a secret sanctuary in the heart of each of us	33:18
	unknown to other people and there is surely suffering	33:22
	borne by each of us that no one else can know.	33:25
	But Jesus knows.	33:30
	"I know my sheep," he says to us.	33:33
	"I know you as well as I know my Father."	33:36
	And he has come down to share our human condition	33:40
	fully with us.	33:44
	You see, this is no shepard who will not suffer	33:46
	the daily trials of the sheep.	33:49
	Who will not bear the wounds of the thorns,	33:52
	the bruises of the rocks along the way.	33:55
	Who is not tempted in all things as we are,	33:59
	or who shuns our creaturely life.	34:01
	No, the Word became flesh.	34:04
	Behold the lamb of God!	34:08
	Jesus became one of us sheep.	34:10
	And like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,	34:15
	he knew our condition.	34:18
	And because he knew it, and because he loves us	34:22
	with the love of God for us, he also shares our death.	34:24
	"The good shepard lays down his life for the sheep,"	34:29
	reads our Gospel lesson.	34:32
	"He who is a hireling and not a shepard,	34:34
	"who's own sheep are not sees the wolf coming	34:37
	"and leaves the sheep and flees.	34:39
	"And the wolf snatches them and scatters them.	34:42
	"He flees because he is a hireling	34:46
	"and cares nothing for the sheep."	34:48
	But Jesus cares!	34:50
	With the infinite care of God.	34:53
	And so, he lays down his life for us.	34:58
	It would not do us much good, would it,	35:03
	if we had a shepard who would not die for us?	35:05
	For death is now a part of our common human condition.	35:09
	Certainly there are a lot of hirelings	35:15
	who give directions to us sheep these days	35:17
	about the paths we are to follow.	35:19
	"Believe this," they tell us, "Do that," they counsel.	35:21
	"Send in your money for the key to life!"	35:24
	But none of them, no one else tells us	35:27
	what to do about our death.	35:31
	You oughta be sure they try to give us answers.	35:35
	"Just face death bravely," says the secular existentialist.	35:37
	Or, "Forget about personal immortality,"	35:42
	writes a leading feminist.	35:45
	Or, "Prepare to spin our never-ending reincarnations	35:48
	"of rewards or punishments on your wheel of karma,"	35:51
	say the new age mystics.	35:54
	And yet, all the while there is the void of that grave	35:58
	that has claimed some dear loved face.	36:01
	And that waits to extinguish	36:06
	all of our own dreams of the future.	36:08
	And no one can be God to us unless he can deal with that.	36:12
	You see, somewhere along the road of our days	36:20
	you and I wandered away from eternal life.	36:22
	Which is just another way of saying	36:26
	that we wandered away from God.	36:27
	Who knows, maybe like a lot of poor dumb sheep,	36:32
	we just nibbled our way lost.	36:34
	But however we did it, by some grievous fault	36:38
	or by a whole series of bad and petty choices,	36:42
	we turned our backs on God and by leaving Him	36:46
	we left the source of all life.	36:49
	God is the author of life.	36:53
	It's creator through Christ and it's sustainer,	36:56
	and when we turn from him we inevitably wander out	36:59
	into the valley of the shadow of death.	37:03
	Apart from God our only end is the grave.	37:06
	And because no one of us here this morning	37:12
	is what God intended us to be when He made us.	37:15
	Because not a soul among us has perfectly live out	37:19
	the creator's will because we would much rather	37:23
	do our own will and satisfy our own desires and aspirations.	37:26
	Indeed, perhaps because we would much rather	37:32
	be our own gods and goddesses instead.	37:34
	We have wandered away from the Lord of our lives	37:38
	and determined that death shall be our destiny.	37:40
	And no god of this world is truly God	37:43
	unless he can deal with that.	37:46
	But God, in His son Jesus Christ can, and has dealt with it.	37:52
	The good shepard has laid down his life for his sheep.	37:59
	"No one takes my life from me," Jesus says	38:04
	in our Gospel lesson, "I lay it down of my own accord."	38:06
	And by that free and loving act,	38:11
	Christ has identified totally with our human condition.	38:13
	He has taken our flesh, embodied our suffering,	38:19
	and taken upon himself all of those consequences	38:22
	that come to wandering and stupid and disobedient sheep	38:25
	far away from their father's fold.	38:28
	Out there in the valley of the shadow,	38:32
	the Lamb of God has died the death that we die.	38:34
	But there is one difference between all of us sheep	38:40
	and that Lamb of God.	38:43
	There is one fact that separates our deaths from his:	38:44
	We die because we do not trust God,	38:50
	the author of our life.	38:53
	Christ dies because it is the will of that God	38:56
	who wants to save us all.	39:01
	"I do nothing of my own accord," Jesus tells us	39:04
	in John's Gospel.	39:07
	"I lay down my life for the sheep.	39:09
	"This charge I have received from my father."	39:11
	Now, to be sure, Jesus prays and prays searchingly	39:18
	as Golgotha looms up before him, "Now is my soul troubled.	39:21
	"And what shall I say?	39:27
	"Father save me from this hour?	39:29
	"No, for this purpose I have come to this hour.	39:34
	"Father, glorify thy name."	39:38
	And so in trust, in obedience, in perfect freedom,	39:42
	Jesus Christ does the Will of God.	39:47
	He goes to the cross,	39:51
	and by that act he takes our place.	39:54
	And he substitutes his obedient faith	39:59
	for our faithless folly.	40:02
	And now, death's claim to be our just reward,	40:05
	the grave's right to be the inevitable outcome	40:10
	of all our wandering from God is denied.	40:13
	Done, ended,	40:17
	made void forever.	40:19
	Oh, death, where is thy victory?	40:22
	Oh, grave, where is thy sting?	40:25
	Yes, good Christians, Jesus Christ is Lord	40:30
	because he has dealt with our death.	40:33
	Now, in John's Gospel, that fact	40:38
	of the crucifixion is the victory.	40:40
	The crown.	40:43
	The triumph of God in His son.	40:45
	And Jesus Christ reigns as Lord from his cross	40:49
	where he has conquered death.	40:53
	But just to be sure that we get the message,	40:55
	John also tells us of Easter morn.	40:57
	"I lay down my life of my own accord,"	41:01
	Jesus says in our Gospel lesson.	41:04
	"And I have power to take it up again."	41:06
	Death has no power to hold our Lord.	41:11
	And on the third day he rises again,	41:15
	appearing first to Mary Magdalene weeping there by the tomb.	41:17
	And then to the disciples in the upper room.	41:23
	And finally, eight days later to Thomas	41:26
	who wants to see the print of the nails in Christ's hand	41:28
	and the wound of the spear in his side.	41:31
	Jesus Christ is risen!	41:35
	He lives and now works in our midst by his spirit.	41:39
	And by his power that crippled man was healed	41:45
	by the disciples at the gate called Beautiful.	41:48
	In his love he knows the heart	41:53
	of each of us through and through,	41:55
	and he shares our condition.	41:57
	In his mercy he calls us to hear his voice	42:01
	that he may lead us home as one flock to the Father	42:04
	where there is life, abundant life	42:09
	for all who trust and follow him.	42:13
	By his obedience he has conquered death	42:17
	and made eternal life possible for each one of us.	42:20
	No, no one has to defend a shepard like that.	42:27
	No one need doubt the claim about him.	42:33
	Thank God.	42:37
	Thank God	42:40
	that there is the name Jesus Christ under Heaven	42:42
	by which we may be saved.	42:47
	Amen.	42:51
	(peaceful organ music)	42:58
	(congregation singing)	43:34
-	Let us unite in this historic confession	46:04
	of the Christian faith:	46:06
Congregation	I believe in God, the Father almighty,	46:08
	maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ,	46:12
	His only son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	46:16
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	46:21
	was crucified dead and buried.	46:25
	The third day he rose from the dead.	46:28
	He ascended into Heaven and siteth at the right hand	46:31
	of God the Father almighty.	46:35
	From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	46:37
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,	46:41
	the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,	46:45
	the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, amen.	46:49
Rev. Willimon	The Lord be with you.	46:56
Congregation	And also with you.	46:58
-	Let us pray.	46:59
	Gracious God,	47:14
	father of our Lord Jesus Christ,	47:17
	the name unlike any other name by which we might be saved,	47:21
	we offer our prayers to you.	47:27
	Good shepard of the sheep	47:31
	who knows us better	47:34
	than we know ourselves,	47:37
	we pray for those in your flock	47:40
	who need your care and your strength this day.	47:43
	We pray for all who earnestly work for peace.	47:48
	We pray for all who have decided to live	47:54
	on less than they might	47:56
	in order to share with those who have less than they need.	47:59
	For all who make it their business	48:06
	to plead the cause of the orphan,	48:08
	the prisoner, and the oppressed.	48:10
	For those who have made sacrifices	48:15
	in their own freedom or independence	48:18
	in order to care for someone who is very old,	48:22
	or very young, very weak, or very sick.	48:26
	For those who teach and those who learn,	48:32
	particularly those at Elon College and Duke University.	48:35
	For those who are having to make difficult choices	48:42
	and are not yet sure of which way to turn.	48:45
	For those who are here this morning	48:49
	desperate to hold on to one last shred of faith,	48:52
	fearful because of their doubts,	48:57
	unable confidently to believe.	48:59
	For those who are blessed with so many talents	49:04
	and therefore so many possibilities,	49:07
	and they're unsure how best to use their gifts.	49:10
	For those who have been the victims	49:16
	of racial prejudice or bigotry of others	49:18
	and are struggling not to be embittered by that experience.	49:22
	For those who have made promises to other people	49:28
	and are having great difficulty keeping their promises.	49:32
	For those who are suffering, sick, dying, or infirm,	49:38
	particularly for those in Duke Hospitals.	49:45
	As well as those who love and care for them there.	49:50
	Great loving God,	49:56
	name above every other name,	49:59
	your love was made visible to us when you died for us.	50:03
	Your power was made visible to us when you rose for us.	50:09
	Therefore, we have been audacious	50:17
	enough to pray to you for what we need.	50:21
	Bold enough to trust your promises made to us.	50:25
	And needy enough to ask for so much.	50:30
	Having learned on Easter	50:36
	that what you want to do for us	50:40
	is so much greater than anything	50:41
	we think or do or say.	50:44
	And thus, we have prayed, amen.	50:49
	As the people of the Resurrection,	50:56
	a people brought back from death to life,	50:59
	let us offer ourselves and our gifts	51:02
	to the work of the living God.	51:05
	(peaceful organ music)	51:10
	(bright organ music)	52:18
	(harmonious choir music)	52:30
	(bright organ music)	56:08
	(harmonious choir music)	56:29
	(peaceful organ music)	57:55
	(congregation singing)	58:15
	Let us pray.	59:25
	God of all life,	59:28
	we celebrate the works of your hands	59:30
	and rejoice in your redemption of all Humankind.	59:32
	We give thanks for your victory over death	59:36
	which is ours in Jesus Christ.	59:40
	And we praise you for all blessing given in him.	59:43
	Especially we thank you for	59:47
	glimpses of the risen Christ today.	59:50
	Signs of life victorious over death.	59:53
	The comfort of friends, the kindness of strangers.	59:56
	Oh, God of peace, in Jesus Christ	1:00:01
	you have restored the whole world to yourself,	1:00:04
	affirming your love for all people.	1:00:07
	And thus we offer our prayers of thanksgiving	1:00:10
	for all the good things which you have given us,	1:00:14
	and all your mighty works done for us, oh risen Christ.	1:00:18
	And so, we are bold to pray:	1:00:24
Congregation	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	1:00:27
	hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done	1:00:30
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	1:00:36
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:00:38
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive	1:00:41
	those who trespass against us.	1:00:44
	Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:00:47
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	1:00:52
	and the glory forever, amen.	1:00:55
	(peaceful organ music)	1:01:03
	(congregation singing)	1:01:31
	And now, may the grace and the power	1:03:31
	of the risen Christ go forth with you	1:03:33
	and be with you always.	1:03:35
	Amen.	1:03:39
	(peaceful organ music)	1:03:42
	(congregation murmuring)	1:06:24
	(energetic organ music)	1:06:30

Item Info

Title:

Elizabeth Achtemeier - "Audacious Claim" (April 24, 1988)

Description:

The uniqueness of Jesus' ability to save us is not a claim to be defended with violence and crusades. Rather it is a truth we must bear witness to. Jesus came to save us because he is the Good Shepherd, and he knows his sheep and their condition. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 22:54. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 42:53.
Key quotation: “If we want to follow Jesus Christ, we cannot defend him against all the others. We can only acknowledge that God so loved the world that he sent his son to save it.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4hh6cm4q

Date:

April 24, 1988

Speaker:

Achtemeier, Elizabeth, 1926-2002

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0078
ref8467_u4t
uachapelsermaud
duke:321350
dcrmv001078
ark:/87924/r4hh6cm4q
7052982f-3fef-46bc-98fd-7cd7772243c7

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Elizabeth Achtemeier - "Audacious Claim" (April 24, 1988)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

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