Robert E. Cushman - Holy Communion (October 7, 1956)

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	(church organ music with choir singing)	0:03
	♪ The Lord is in his holy temple; ♪	0:07
	♪ Let all the earth keep silence before him. ♪	0:17
	(church organ music)	0:35
	(choir singing)	1:23
	♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪	1:24
	♪ Lord God Almighty! ♪	1:27
	♪ Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; ♪	1:32
	♪ Holy, holy, holy! ♪	1:41
	♪ Merciful and mighty! ♪	1:45
	♪ God in three persons blessed Trinity ♪	1:50
	♪ Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, ♪	2:01
	♪ Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; ♪	2:09
	♪ Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, ♪	2:18
	♪ Who was, and is, and evermore shall be. ♪	2:27
	♪ Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, ♪	2:38
	♪ Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; ♪	2:46
	♪ Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, ♪	2:56
	♪ Perfect in power, in love, and purity. ♪	3:05
	♪ Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! ♪	3:16
	♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, ♪	3:24
	♪ in earth, and sky, and sea; ♪	3:29
	♪ Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty! ♪	3:34
	♪ God in three Persons, blessed Trinity! ♪	3:43
	♪ Amen. ♪	3:55
Priest	Be with you.	4:07
Congregation	And with your spirit.	4:08
Priest	Let us pray.	4:10
All	Almighty God, under whom all hearts are open,	4:18
	all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden,	4:22
	cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration	4:28
	of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee	4:32
	and lovingly magnify thine holy name;	4:37
	through Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.	4:41
	Oh God, who has prepared for them that love thee,	4:47
	such good things as passed men's understanding;	4:53
	pour into our hearts such love towards thee,	4:58
	that we, loving thee above all things,	5:03
	may obtain thy promises,	5:06
	which exceed all that we can desire,	5:10
	through Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.	5:14
	(church organ music)	5:26
	Hear the word of God as it is found	6:13
	in Saint Paul's epistle to the Corinthians,	6:18
	the 11th chapter beginning at the 23rd verse;	6:22
	'For I received of the Lord,	6:29
	that which also I delivered unto you,	6:31
	that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed,	6:35
	took bread and when he had given thanks did break it	6:39
	and said, "This is my body which is for you,	6:44
	this do in remembrance of me."	6:50
	'In like manner, also the cup after supper saying,	6:54
	"This cup is the New Covenant in my blood.	6:59
	This do as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me.	7:04
	For as oft as you eat this bread and drink the cup,	7:11
	ye proclaimed and Lord's death till he come."	7:16
	Beloved, today we celebrate the Lord's supper.	7:26
	And it is not only in our beloved chapel	7:32
	that Holy Communion will be celebrated,	7:36
	but throughout a greater part of world Christendom.	7:40
	On such a day as this, when words ought to give way	7:46
	to acts of total self dedication,	7:50
	there is a small opportunity and even doubtful place	7:55
	for very much indoctrination.	8:00
	If what we do here today is to be meaningful,	8:03
	then almost surely the grounds for our actions	8:08
	must rest back upon established convictions	8:13
	that root deep in childhood instruction	8:18
	and family practice.	8:21
	If ever and again	8:26
	there is need of conscious recollection and recall	8:27
	that merely form a usage and familiar custom,	8:32
	may not substitute for vital participation	8:37
	in the sacrament of Our Lord.	8:42
	Over and over, because life has a way	8:46
	of dimming our best insights,	8:49
	we need to recapture the meaning of our activities,	8:53
	lest we lapse into spiritless routine,	8:58
	from which the bloom of earnest participation has departed.	9:02
	This is true in the common affairs of life	9:10
	as it is certainly true in the exalted affairs of religion.	9:13
	So we need to recall, even if briefly,	9:20
	what we do at the Lord's Supper,	9:23
	and we have only one thing to remember today	9:26
	that I would stress, out of many possible ones.	9:30
	It is summed up in Saint Paul's words,	9:37
	"As often as ye eat this bread and drink the cup,	9:41
	ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come."	9:48
	Now this is Paul's account	9:54
	of what we actually do at the Lord's table.	9:55
	We proclaim the Lord's death till he come.	10:00
	And simple as is this statement,	10:05
	it prompts, I think, two questions,	10:09
	which I would like to raise with you.	10:12
	One question is this:	10:15
	What is really meant by proclaiming the Lord's death?	10:17
	And the other question:	10:23
	How do we, how does the Christian really proclaim it?	10:25
	In considering the first question,	10:33
	there's no blinking the fact	10:36
	that death has a strangely central place	10:39
	in the Christian faith and Witness.	10:43
	Even if it is balanced	10:46
	by the good news of the resurrection,	10:48
	even if the final word of Christian faith	10:51
	is not the word about Good Friday	10:55
	but the one about Easter,	10:58
	it is still true St Paul emphatically declared	11:00
	that he preached Christ crucified.	11:07
	And he preached Christ crucified despite the fact	11:11
	that it was then an offense to the Jews	11:16
	and a stumbling block to the Greeks	11:21
	and is even yet, puzzling to most of man.	11:24
	Why should anyone proclaim death?	11:29
	Even the death of Christ?	11:33
	Obviously, all depends on what we understand by death.	11:36
	There is the crux of the matter.	11:42
	For most men, for most of us, death means one thing	11:45
	and something to be avoided.	11:50
	For Jesus, on the other hand,	11:53
	there is a dying, which in spite of appearances,	11:56
	is truly living.	12:00
	And conversely, there is an apparent living,	12:02
	which is really dying.	12:07
	It is urgently necessary,	12:10
	according to our Lord's firm conviction	12:12
	that each one of us distinguish which is which.	12:15
	Now, Jesus once put the whole matter in a memorable way	12:21
	to his apostles, to his disciples,	12:25
	"Whosoever," he said, "whosoever would save his life,	12:29
	shall certainly lose it.	12:34
	And whosoever shall lose his life,	12:37
	for God's sake and the kingdom's, shall certainly save it."	12:39
	Then he added, "What should it profit a man	12:46
	if he gain the whole world and lose his own self?"	12:49
	Now, perhaps you think that my use of Jesus's words	12:58
	and this connection to explain a dying that is truly living,	13:01
	is offering an enigma in place of an explanation.	13:07
	Admittedly, Jesus's words need fuller exegesis	13:13
	then they can be given here this morning.	13:17
	But I think you catch something of our Lord's meaning.	13:20
	It's simply this:	13:25
	Losing the life is only giving it up to God,	13:28
	with whom, and in who's keeping,	13:33
	it cannot finally be lost.	13:37
	And if a cross looms ahead,	13:40
	it is only an apparent dying.	13:43
	And however agonizing,	13:46
	it is the hard and narrow way to life fulfillment	13:48
	in unbroken community with God the Father.	13:54
	Any other way than this was for our Lord, a blind alley.	13:59
	And however broad and attractive it might appear,	14:05
	a blind alley, of which men are forever trending	14:10
	to sole frustration.	14:14
	Cannon Quick, a distinguished churchmen of England	14:19
	once said this:	14:25
	"Men are still debating whether that faith,	14:28
	in which Jesus went to Jerusalem and Calvary,	14:31
	is to be judged as the infatuation of a fanatic	14:35
	or as the deepest insight into the nature of the real,	14:39
	which man has ever attained."	14:45
	Now, it is just this crucial either or,	14:49
	this possibility that our Lord	14:52
	may have been right and most men wrong,	14:55
	it is this, that which has shattered	14:59
	and will always shatter the complacency of the ages of man.	15:01
	But the Christian is one who is convinced,	15:10
	who has made his choice, made up his mind	15:16
	that in Jesus dying and living	15:20
	is to be found the deepest insight	15:23
	into the nature of reality.	15:26
	So he has committed to the dying, which is truly living.	15:30
	And so he proclaims as St Paul affirms:	15:36
	"The Lord's death till he come."	15:41
	Now, in what Manner does the Christian	15:45
	proclaim the death of Christ?	15:47
	That's the second question.	15:51
	How do we, how may we today proclaim the death of Christ?	15:54
	The answer to this second question is really quite plain:	16:01
	The Christian proclaims Christ's death	16:06
	by participating in it,	16:09
	that is, through a living reenactment.	16:12
	He does this by voluntarily identifying himself	16:18
	with the Lord in the sacrament	16:23
	of the broken bread and the cup.	16:25
	And so the Sacrament in which we participate today	16:30
	is representative of the dying of Christ.	16:35
	But it is also representative of the whole Christian life.	16:39
	For in the life of faith, we seek to be united to Christ.	16:45
	in the likeness of his death,	16:51
	that with him, we might partake of newness of life.	16:54
	This is life begun here and now.	17:01
	But because it is life with God the Father,	17:06
	it does belong to it also,	17:11
	an eternal prospect, amen.	17:16
	Let us pray.	17:20
	Almighty God, our heavenly Father,	17:26
	who hast, in Jesus Christ,	17:30
	stripped the veil from our eyes and opened unto us	17:32
	the true way to life eternal,	17:37
	create and strengthen in us	17:40
	the will to be identified with him,	17:43
	in the reception of this holy sacrament,	17:46
	that we may truly proclaim his death	17:50
	by the witness of our lips and the manner of our lives.	17:54
	Through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.	18:00
	(church organ music)	18:10
	(choir singing)	20:45
	♪ Let us break bread together ♪	20:47
	♪ On our knees; ♪	20:57
	♪ Yes on our knees. ♪	21:00
	♪ Let us break bread together ♪	21:08
	♪ On our knees; ♪	21:17
	♪ Yes on our knees ♪	21:21
	♪ When I fall on my knees ♪	21:29
	♪ with my face to the rising sun, ♪	21:39
	♪ O Lord, ♪	21:49
	♪ Have mercy on me. ♪	21:57
	♪ Oh on me ♪	22:06
	♪ Let us drink wine together ♪	22:14
	♪ On our knees; ♪	22:24
	♪ Yes on our knees ♪	22:30
	♪ Let us drink wine together ♪	22:38
	♪ On our knees. ♪	22:48
	♪ Yes on our knees ♪	22:53
	♪ When I fall on my knees ♪	23:00
	♪ With my face to the rising sun, ♪	23:11
	♪ O Lord, ♪	23:21
	♪ Have mercy on me. ♪	23:26
	♪ Oh on me ♪	23:39
	♪ Let us praise God together ♪	23:45
	♪ On our knees; ♪	23:54
	♪ Yes on our knees ♪	23:57
	♪ Let us praise God together ♪	24:02
	♪ On our knees. ♪	24:10
	♪ Yes on our knees ♪	24:13
	♪ When I fall on my knees ♪	24:21
	♪ With my face to the rising sun, ♪	24:31
	♪ O Lord, ♪	24:43
	♪ Have mercy on me. ♪	24:50
	♪ Oh on me ♪	25:05
	(church organ music)	25:22
	(choir singing)	25:57
	Oh God, who hast given thy self to us,	26:33
	we give ourselves to thee.	26:38
	Let this offering be the symbol of our dedication	26:43
	to thee and to thy son,	26:47
	Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.	26:51
	(church organ music)	27:04
	He, who do truly and endlessly repent you of your sins,	27:22
	and are in love and charity with your neighbor	27:27
	and intend to lead a new life	27:32
	following the commandments of God	27:36
	and walking from henceforth in his holy ways	27:39
	draw near with faith	27:45
	and take this holy sacrament	27:49
	to your comfort and make your humble confession	27:51
	to almighty God.	27:57
	Let us pray.	28:00
All	Almighty god, father of our Lord Jesus Christ	28:10
	maker of all things, judge of all men,	28:14
	we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness,	28:18
	which we from time to time most grievously have committed	28:23
	by thought, word, and heed against thy divine majesty	28:28
	provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us,	28:33
	we do earnestly repent and are actually sorry	28:38
	for these our misdoings,	28:43
	the remembrance of them is grievous unto us.	28:45
	Have mercy upon us most merciful father	28:49
	for thy son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake	28:53
	forgive us all that is past	28:56
	and grant that we ever hereafter serve and please thee	28:59
	in newness of light to the honor and glory of thy name	29:03
	through Jesus Christ Our Lord, amen.	29:08
Priest	Almighty God, our heavenly father,	29:15
	who of thy great mercy,	29:18
	has promised forgiveness of sins,	29:20
	to all them, that with hearty repentance and true faith,	29:23
	come unto thee, have mercy upon us.	29:28
	Come and deliver Us from all of our sins,	29:34
	confirm and strengthen us in all goodness	29:38
	and bring us to everlasting life,	29:42
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	29:47
	(church organ music)	29:55
	(choir singing)	30:21
	Lift up your hearts.	31:48
Congregation	We lift them up to the Lord.	31:50
Priest	Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.	31:53
Congregation	It is meet and right to do.	31:56
Priest	Let us pray.	31:59
	It is meet right and our bounden duty	32:06
	that we should at all times and in all places	32:11
	give thanks unto thee	32:14
	oh Lord Holy Father Almighty everlasting God.	32:17
	(church organ music)	32:24
	(choir singing)	32:28
	We do not presume to come to this thy table,	33:28
	oh merciful Lord,	33:32
	trusting in our own righteousness	33:35
	but in thy manifold and great mercies	33:38
	we are not worthy so much as to to gather up the crumbs	33:43
	under thy table	33:49
	but thou art the same Lord whose mercy is unfailing	33:52
	grant us, therefore gracious Lord,	33:58
	so to partake of these memorials of thy son Jesus Christ	34:02
	that we may be filled with the fullness of his light,	34:07
	may grow unto his likeness,	34:12
	and may evermore dwell in him	34:16
	and he in us, amen.	34:20
	Almighty God, who art a god of order and of beauty,	34:28
	we dedicate to thy glory	34:36
	and in loving memory of Margaret Lewis,	34:39
	this fair linen cloth	34:44
	for the service of thy son	34:49
	who's table is spread for our benefit, amen.	34:51
	Almighty God, our heavenly father,	34:59
	who of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only son,	35:03
	Jesus Christ, to suffer death upon the cross	35:06
	for our redemption.	35:09
	Who made, thereby, his oblation of himself,	35:11
	once offered a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice	35:13
	for the sins of the whole world	35:17
	and did institute, and in his holy gospel,	35:21
	command us to continue a perpetual memory	35:23
	of his precious death until his coming again.	35:27
	And who, in the same night that he was betrayed,	35:32
	took bread and when he had given thanks,	35:35
	he break it and gave to his disciples saying,	35:40
	"Take, eat, this is my body,	35:44
	which is given for you.	35:50
	Do this in remembrance of me."	35:53
	Likewise, after supper, he took the cup	35:59
	and when he had given thanks,	36:02
	he gave it them saying,	36:04
	"Drink ye all of this,	36:07
	for this is my blood of the new covenant,	36:10
	which is shed for you and for many,	36:13
	for the remission of sins.	36:17
	Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me."	36:20
	Hear us oh merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee,	36:28
	and grant that we, receiving these thy creatures	36:32
	of bread and wine according to thy son,	36:35
	our savior Jesus Christ's, holy institution	36:38
	in remembrance of his death and compassion,	36:43
	may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood,	36:46
	that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, amen.	36:52
	(church organ music)	37:05
	Jesus said, "This is my body,	41:31
	which gift for you."	41:36
	Take and eat this in remembrance	41:39
	that Christ died for you and feel him in your hearts	41:41
	by taking with thanksgiving.	41:45
	Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood."	41:57
	Drink thee all of it in memory that Christ died for you	42:05
	and be thankful.	42:13
	(church organ music)	42:21
	Let us all call unto God our unison prayer of thanksgiving	59:17
	for this table and our prayer of three dedications.	59:22
	Let us pray.	59:27
All	Oh Lord, our heavenly Father,	59:34
	we thy humble servants desire thy fatherly goodness	59:36
	mercifully to accept this, our sacrifice	59:41
	of praise and thanksgiving, most humbly beseeching thee	59:43
	to grant, by the merits and death of thy son,	59:48
	Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood,	59:52
	we and thy whole church, may obtain remission of our sins	59:56
	and all other benefits of his passion	1:00:00
	and here we offer and present unto thee, oh Lord,	1:00:03
	ourselves, our souls and bodies to be a reasonable	1:00:06
	holy and lively sacrifice unto thee,	1:00:12
	humbly beseeching thee that all we,	1:00:15
	who are partakers of this holy communion,	1:00:18
	may be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction	1:00:21
	and, although, we be unworthy through our manifold sins	1:00:26
	to offer unto thee any sacrifice,	1:00:30
	yet we beseech thee to accept this,	1:00:33
	our bounded duty and service,	1:00:35
	not weighting our merits but pardoning our offenses.	1:00:38
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord,	1:00:43
	by whom and with whom, in the unity of the holy spirit,	1:00:45
	all honor and glory be unto thee,	1:00:49
	oh Father almighty, world without end, amen.	1:00:53
	(church organ music)	1:01:00
	(choir singing)	1:01:31
Priest	The peace of God,	1:04:07
	which passes all understanding,	1:04:09
	keep your hearts and minds	1:04:12
	in the knowledge of the loving God	1:04:15
	and of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord,	1:04:18
	and the blessing of God almighty,	1:04:22
	the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit	1:04:26
	be upon you and remain with you always.	1:04:31
	(church organ music)	1:04:39
	(choir singing)	1:04:43
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:45
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:52
	♪ Amen, Amen ♪	1:05:01
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:10
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:20
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:31
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:46

Item Info

Title:

Robert E. Cushman - Holy Communion (October 7, 1956)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 7:26. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 17:18.
In this World Communion Sunday sermon, the preacher tackles two questions: what does it mean to proclaim the Lord's death and how is it that we proclaim it? (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "For in the life of faith, we seek to be united to Christ, in the likeness of his death, that with him, we might partake of newness of life."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4jq0tb0p

Date:

October 7, 1956

Speaker:

Cushman, Robert E.

Liturgical Calendar:

Biblical Book:

1 Corinthians

Chapter and Verse:

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0026
ref5273_aly
uachapelsermaud
duke:324125
dcrau002047
ark:/87924/r4jq0tb0p
c9c67015-2908-4386-9162-241cc18434a0

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.

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In Copyright

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Robert E. Cushman - Holy Communion (October 7, 1956)

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