James L. Travis, III - "A Hope That Will Not Cheat" (June 14, 1992)

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	(somber organ music)	0:01
-	Good morning.	2:16
	Welcome to Duke Chapel on this Trinity Sunday.	2:17
	Our guest preacher today is the	2:21
	Reverend Doctor James L. Travis,	2:22
	Director of Pastoral Services at	2:25
	Duke University Medical Center,	2:27
	and Clinical Professor of Pastoral Care	2:29
	at the Divinity School.	2:32
	He holds graduate degrees from	2:34
	Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Emory University.	2:36
	It is our pleasure to welcome Dr. Travis	2:40
	once again to our pulpit at Duke Chapel.	2:42
	Please stand as we continue our worship with the greeting.	2:45
	In the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.	2:54
Congregation	Amen.	2:59
	(lively organ music)	3:02
	(choir sings)	3:46
-	Let us pray.	7:30
	God of grace and glory, who made the heavens,	7:34
	the earth, and all that is in them.	7:38
	Who created us to be as children,	7:42
	and who has loved us as a Father and a Mother.	7:45
	Make your presence known to us as we worship this morning.	7:49
	Jesus, our Christ, who took on our humanity	7:54
	to redeem it from bondage to sin,	7:58
	may your name be praised from	8:02
	the rising of the sun to the midnight hour,	8:04
	and may our lives be a reflection of your life.	8:08
	Spirit of Holiness, who touched us with your power	8:13
	to make real God's love and God's presence in our lives,	8:17
	come among us again, that we might be	8:22
	bound together in Christian love and unity.	8:25
	Oh God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,	8:30
	be known to us today, transform our lives	8:36
	and our community, in the image of Jesus Christ,	8:40
	in whose name we pray, Amen.	8:44
	You may be seated.	8:49
-	Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.	9:03
All	Open our hearts and minds, Oh God,	9:09
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	9:12
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	9:15
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, Amen.	9:19
-	The first reading is taken	9:27
	from the Book of Proverbs, the 8th chapter,	9:28
	starting with the 22nd verse.	9:32
	Wisdom is speaking of her origin.	9:35
	"The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,	9:39
	"The first of his acts, long ago.	9:43
	"Ages ago, I was set up at the first,	9:46
	"Before the beginning of the earth.	9:49
	"When there were no depths, I was brought forth;	9:52
	"When there were no springs abounding with water.	9:55
	"Before the mountains had been shaped,	9:59
	"Before the hills, I was brought forth.	10:00
	"When he had not yet made earth and fields,	10:04
	"Or the world's first bit of soil,	10:06
	"When he established the heavens, I was there.	10:09
	"When he drew a circle on the face of the deep,	10:13
	"When he made firm the skies above,	10:15
	"When he established the fountains of the deep,	10:17
	"When he assigned to the sea its limits,	10:20
	"So that the waters might not transgress his command,	10:22
	"When he marked out the foundations of the earth,	10:26
	"Then I was beside him, like a master worker.	10:29
	"And I was his delight, rejoicing before him always,	10:32
	"Rejoicing in his inhabited world,	10:36
	"And delighting in the human race."	10:39
	This is the word of the Lord.	10:41
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	10:44
-	Today's Psalm is number 8,	10:57
	found on page 743 in the hymnal.	10:59
	Please stand and sing responsively.	11:02
	(organ music)	11:05
	♪ Oh Lord, our Lord ♪	11:12
	♪ How majestic is your name in all the earth ♪	11:16
	♪ Your glory is chanted above all heavens ♪	11:22
	♪ By the mouth of babes and infants ♪	11:29
	♪ You have established strength because of your foes ♪	11:33
	♪ To still the enemy and the avenger ♪	11:39
	♪ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers ♪	11:45
	♪ The moon and stars which you have set in place ♪	11:51
	♪ What are human beings that you are mindful of them ♪	11:58
	♪ And the son of man that you care for him ♪	12:03
	♪ Yet you have made them little less than God ♪	12:09
	♪ And crowned them with glory and honor ♪	12:14
	♪ You have given them dominion over the works of your hands ♪	12:20
	♪ You have put all things under their feet ♪	12:27
	♪ All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field ♪	12:33
	♪ The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea ♪	12:42
	♪ Whatever passes along the paths of the seas ♪	12:48
	♪ Oh Lord, our Lord ♪	12:55
	♪ How majestic is your name in all the earth ♪	12:59
	♪ All glory be to you, Creator ♪	13:06
	♪ And to Jesus Christ, our Savior ♪	13:10
	♪ And to the Holy Spirit ♪	13:14
	(congregation sings)	13:16
	♪ As it was 'ere time began ♪	13:21
	(congregation sings)	13:25
-	This reading is from the 16th chapter	13:49
	of the Gospel according to Saint John.	13:51
	Beginning with the 12th verse,	13:54
	Jesus speaks to his disciples.	13:56
	"I still have many things to say to you,	14:01
	"but you cannot bear them now.	14:04
	"When the spirit of truth comes,	14:07
	"He will guide you into all the truth.	14:09
	"For he will not speak on his own,	14:12
	"But he will speak whatever he hears.	14:15
	"And he will declare to you the things that are to come.	14:17
	"He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine,	14:22
	"and declare it to you.	14:25
	"All that the Father has is mine.	14:28
	"For this reason I said that he will take what is mine,	14:31
	"and declare it to you."	14:34
	This is the word of the Lord.	14:38
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	14:40
	(lively organ music)	14:47
	(choir sings)	15:38
-	The lesson from the Epistle	18:00
	is in the 5th chapter of the letter to the Church at Rome.	18:07
	"Therefore having been justified by faith,	18:14
	"We have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.	18:18
	"Through him also we have obtained our introduction by faith	18:23
	"into this grace wherein we stand.	18:27
	"And we exalt in hope of the glory of God.	18:30
	"Not only this, but we also exalt in our tribulations,	18:35
	"Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance,	18:40
	"And perseverance proven character.	18:44
	"And proven character, hope.	18:47
	"And hope does not disappoint or cheat us.	18:51
	"Because the love of God has been	18:59
	"poured out within our hearts through	19:01
	"the Holy Spirit, who is given to us.	19:04
	This is the word of the Lord.	19:09
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	19:12
-	In 1971, a British dairy farmer	19:22
	sold his entire operation:	19:26
	cattle, equipment, farm;	19:29
	and with his family, set out to sail around the world.	19:33
	He was able to purchase a decent sized,	19:38
	and well-equipped ship, and after considerable preparation,	19:41
	followed in the steps of many British mariners	19:45
	who went down to the sea in ships.	19:49
	Accompanied by his wife and three sons,	19:53
	and a teenage friend of his oldest son,	19:55
	the farmer allowed for a full year's time	19:58
	to complete their journey.	20:01
	Their venture into a different kind of education	20:03
	for both children and the parents.	20:06
	I can appreciate the decision	20:12
	to get away from the dairy farm.	20:13
	Growing up on a farm myself, milking cows by hand,	20:15
	keeping the relentless seven day a week schedule,	20:19
	I often fantasied other, clearly more exciting	20:24
	alternatives to that drudgery.	20:28
	But I don't think I ever imagined sailing around the world.	20:32
	I too much identified with the ancient Jews	20:38
	and their discomfort with the ocean,	20:41
	its vast expanse and its fathomless depths.	20:43
	Quite frankly, I would have been too afraid to imagine that.	20:48
	From my viewpoint, this was an exercise	20:52
	in either extraordinary courage,	20:54
	or foolhardiness, I'm not sure which.	20:58
	But it turned out to be much more than either.	21:01
	The first leg of the journey was uneventful, but exciting.	21:06
	Demanding, but satisfying.	21:10
	In and out of different ports,	21:12
	the challenge of the high seas an invigorating experience.	21:14
	A goodly time into the trip, they set sail	21:19
	on a longer than usual stint between ports.	21:22
	Early into this part of their journey,	21:26
	they met with disaster.	21:29
	One night, they were literally	21:31
	run over by a herd of killer whales,	21:33
	at least that's what they later concluded.	21:35
	Now the whales meant them no harm.	21:39
	They simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time,	21:41
	and came out much the loser.	21:44
	The ship was so badly damaged	21:46
	and began so quickly to sink,	21:48
	that they could scarcely escape with their lives.	21:51
	They managed to get off that vessel	21:55
	into their inflatable life raft,	21:57
	with only a few provisions:	22:00
	a bag of onions, a few lemons,	22:03
	a knife, a very few other essentials.	22:05
	Along with this inflatable raft,	22:09
	they had a small dinghy that they had used	22:10
	for exploring while they were in port.	22:13
	There they were, adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean	22:17
	with very few resources by which	22:22
	to sustain themselves and survive.	22:24
	I can remember reading this story for the first time	22:30
	and became aware of how my level	22:34
	of horrified fascination began to rise.	22:36
	It is enough to be on the ocean in a seaworthy vessel,	22:39
	but cast adrift in a tiny life raft,	22:44
	that's something else.	22:48
	I saw more clearly why they had entitled their story	22:50
	"Survived the Savage Sea".	22:53
	But survive they did, and they were	22:56
	rescued 37 days later by a Japanese freighter.	22:59
	All of them in reasonably good physical and mental shape.	23:03
	However, as Paul Harvey would say,	23:07
	"There is the rest of the story."	23:10
	We'll get back to that in a moment.	23:13
	First, let's return to our New Testament lesson	23:16
	in Paul's letter to the Church at Rome.	23:19
	The passage read just a moment ago	23:23
	concluded with an unlikely connection	23:25
	of life events and phenomena,	23:27
	which came together in the form of hope.	23:29
	Suffering leads to endurance, endurance leads to character,	23:33
	and character produces hope.	23:38
	Moreover, writes Paul, he rejoices in suffering	23:42
	as the starting point for the development	23:45
	of this hope, which does not disappoint,	23:48
	or as some translate it, put to shame,	23:52
	or as others, cheat us.	23:54
	That simply will not find much approval in our world today,	24:01
	which is often preoccupied, if not obsessed,	24:04
	with avoiding suffering, rather than enduring it.	24:08
	Hope for us, is fixed upon not having to suffer.	24:12
	When suffering and pain come,	24:18
	as they inevitably do, we feel betrayed.	24:19
	What we have held on to as hope	24:24
	vanishes as we feel emptiness,	24:25
	which probably is more the true opposite	24:30
	of hope than anything else.	24:32
	That great, empty chasm inside.	24:35
	Place alongside that a later statement,	24:41
	just a few chapters over into this letter,	24:44
	in which Paul rather cryptically states	24:48
	"For in hope we have been saved,	24:51
	"But hope that is seen is not hope.	24:53
	"For why does one also hope for what he sees?	24:58
	"But if we hope for what we do not see,	25:03
	"With perseverance, we wait eagerly for it."	25:07
	Is this more of Paul's verbal antics	25:11
	in which he stretches paradox beyond its limits	25:14
	to something more like a kind of confusing double talk?	25:17
	To read some of the commentaries,	25:21
	you might wonder since they offer	25:23
	little in the way of clarification.	25:24
	I must admit to my own bewilderment as to what he meant.	25:27
	However, there is one possibility	25:33
	which makes some sense to me.	25:35
	If as Paul sees it, there is	25:38
	a hope which does not disappoint, does not cheat,	25:40
	there may well be a hope which does.	25:45
	Could it be that a primary difference	25:48
	between the two hopes is that one	25:50
	cannot be seen, the other can?	25:52
	Could it be that the hope you can see	25:57
	is really kind of a counterfeit hope,	25:59
	one which will put its holder to shame	26:02
	which will make promises it can never deliver,	26:05
	in other words, will cheat you?	26:08
	The real hope, the hope that is central	26:13
	in the Christian faith, is one you cannot see.	26:16
	It is a hope which happens only	26:21
	when the situation and life seem hopeless.	26:24
	If that seems to be only more double talk,	26:31
	this time the Travis variety,	26:33
	let me draw upon a recent work by Christopher Lasch,	26:35
	in an attempt to clarify what I'm talking about.	26:39
	This was a book published last year	26:42
	and reviewed recently in "The Christian Century".	26:44
	It was entitled	26:47
	"The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics"	26:48
	This is a formidable challenge	26:54
	for a books, its range of history, culture and politics,	26:56
	and its merciless scrutiny of	27:00
	the assumptions of Progressive Liberalism,	27:02
	namely that scientific knowledge and moral fervor	27:05
	could light the path to truth and justice.	27:08
	In this book, and important distinction for Lasch,	27:14
	is that distinction between what he calls optimism and hope.	27:17
	While this is not a commentary on Romans,	27:23
	the distinction has an uncanny	27:25
	similarity to my earlier point.	27:27
	According to Lasch, believers in progress	27:31
	who still cling to that wistful hope against hope,	27:33
	that things will somehow work out for the best,	27:37
	they operate out of a context of optimism,	27:41
	this he calls improvidence, a kind of blind faith.	27:44
	This optimism rest more on confidence	27:49
	in the future, what lies ahead, than in the past.	27:53
	There is a sense that somehow history is slowly but surely	27:59
	moving towards peace and justice. As Lasch says,	28:03
	"Though they like to think of themselves	28:08
	"as the party of hope, actually these	28:09
	"believers in progress have little need for hope."	28:11
	Maybe that is, because to go back to the apostle's words,	28:15
	"They think they can see their destiny	28:20
	coming toward them, unmarred by tragedy or suffering."	28:23
	The truth is, they are in big time	28:28
	denial of life's tragic character.	28:32
	The promises of this optimism are forever	28:36
	being broken or postponed, because human life and history	28:39
	simply do not oblige this kind of hope.	28:44
	Hope that is seen is not hope.	28:50
	But then as Lasch continues, there are the hopeful.	28:55
	Those who live with a deep seated trust in life	28:58
	that appears absurd to others	29:01
	who do not have this kind of hope.	29:04
	In this sense, hope rests on confidence	29:06
	more in the past, than in the future.	29:09
	Coming from early memories, even memories which	29:14
	as we've grown up, have become distorted.	29:18
	Those memories in which the experience	29:22
	of order and contentment were so intense	29:24
	that subsequent disillusionments cannot dislodge it.	29:27
	This real hope becomes a powerful conviction,	29:32
	not that the past was better than the present,	29:35
	but that trust is never completely misplaced,	29:39
	even though it may never be completed justified either.	29:43
	There will be disappointments, this is acknowledged.	29:47
	This hope, rather than preventing us	29:51
	from expecting the worst, actually prepares us for it,	29:53
	and equips us with, as he put it	29:58
	"The disposition to see things through	30:00
	"even when they don't work out for the best."	30:03
	But this is not a morbid and passive	30:07
	resignation to life's disappointments.	30:09
	The response of the three young Hebrews,	30:14
	who were threatened with incineration in a fiery furnace	30:17
	if they did not fall down and worship	30:21
	Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, captures this tension.	30:23
	Hear the words they reportedly said to the king,	30:28
	"If it be so, our God whom we serve	30:34
	"is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire.	30:37
	"And he will deliver us out of your hand, oh King.	30:43
	"But even if he does not, let it be known to you,	30:47
	"oh King, that we are not going to serve your gods,	30:53
	"or worship the golden image which you have set up."	30:56
	This hope does not cheat us.	31:02
	But it may yet come clearer,	31:09
	if we move from these written documents,	31:11
	back to the living, human documents,	31:13
	and revisit our story of the British farm family,	31:15
	who took to the high seas, faced disaster, and survived.	31:19
	Certainly it didn't happen as simply	31:25
	as I told it a moment ago.	31:26
	What about the rest of the story?	31:29
	Well it goes like this:	31:33
	After it became clear that they	31:34
	were not in any immediate danger,	31:36
	the dairy farmer surveyed the situation	31:39
	and concluded that their chances were pretty good.	31:41
	The inflatable raft was seaworthy.	31:46
	They had the dinghy for spare.	31:48
	Although their provisions were limited,	31:50
	they did have enough to survive for several days.	31:52
	Most importantly, they were in the primary shipping lanes	31:56
	in that part of the Pacific Ocean,	32:00
	and that surely meant that soon	32:03
	they would be spotted by a passing ship,	32:05
	and then would be rescued.	32:07
	He communicated this to his wife and the children,	32:10
	and they set about to be as comfortable	32:13
	as they could while waiting to be rescued.	32:14
	The currents seemed to be pulling them along	32:19
	rather strongly, but for the moment,	32:21
	that did not seem to be a pressing problem.	32:24
	They even began to imagine the kind of stories	32:28
	they would have to tell their family and friends	32:30
	back in England, when they returned.	32:32
	The next few days were uncomfortable to say the least.	32:35
	Rationing their provisions was frustrating.	32:39
	The close company was aggravating, sometimes embarrassing,	32:42
	and so it was with an incredible surge of relief	32:47
	when on the 7th day, they spotted	32:49
	a freighter on the horizon.	32:51
	Excitement soared; they readied their flare gun,	32:54
	and the dot on the horizon grew larger.	32:57
	Then to their utter dismay, disbelief and shock,	33:01
	the smoke of the freighter thinned,	33:06
	the ship began to disappear.	33:09
	The burst of their flare gun apparently	33:12
	had gone unnoticed, and within moments,	33:14
	the ship had totally vanished from the horizon.	33:17
	Apparently the currents had pulled them	33:21
	far out of the central part of these shipping lanes,	33:24
	but even if they had known that earlier,	33:29
	they had no means to alter their direction.	33:31
	No sail, no motor, no power.	33:34
	There they were, adrift at the	33:39
	mercy of the ocean, powerless.	33:41
	Shock gave way to anger, anger gave way to terror,	33:46
	and terror gave way to apathy.	33:51
	Out of the primary path of passing ships,	33:55
	provisions almost exhausted,	33:57
	little means of protecting themselves	34:00
	from the harsh elements, they would surely perish.	34:02
	Nothing they could do would make a difference.	34:06
	Their hopes for rescue had been dashed.	34:10
	They felt betrayed and clearly	34:15
	no optimism would carry them to safety.	34:18
	The father particularly felt the burden, the awful burden	34:21
	of having placed his family in this situation.	34:25
	He was overcome with a great sense of shame	34:28
	that his incompetence, his foolhardiness,	34:31
	his worthlessness in this situation	34:34
	had gotten them to this point.	34:36
	They would all die; it would be his fault.	34:39
	Then, in some way, not readily explained,	34:44
	he, and with his leadership, his family, made a change.	34:49
	He swore to himself that he would die trying,	34:55
	if it took that, to bring his family to safety.	35:01
	He worked to convince his wife and sons	35:05
	that even without the likelihood of a ship's rescue,	35:07
	they yet could survive the sea,	35:11
	if they remembered that they had trained for this trip.	35:15
	They had prepared even for similar kind of eventualities,	35:20
	where they might be in a crisis.	35:24
	They certainly were no strangers	35:27
	to grueling labor and long hours.	35:28
	They had their faith and they had each other.	35:32
	Putting all their knowledge and skills together	35:38
	they could make a difference,	35:40
	at least a day at a time.	35:42
	For the next 30 days, they did just that.	35:46
	Furthermore, they abandoned the wishful thought	35:51
	that they would be rescued by some passing ship.	35:54
	In other words, if we go back to Lasch's terms,	35:58
	they replaced their initial optimism with hope.	36:01
	They took what they thought they could see	36:07
	as the prospect for rescue and safety,	36:10
	and they replaced that with an awareness	36:14
	that this was a port beyond which they could not see.	36:17
	They could only have some hope	36:21
	that by their strength and God's grace,	36:26
	they could survive from day to day.	36:28
	Folks, if we take this story as a modern parable of hope,	36:35
	we must not dismiss the horrors which they endured,	36:39
	and the ever present possibility that they would perish.	36:43
	They suffered through scorching sun,	36:48
	through agonizing thirst.	36:52
	They dealt with the dangers of	36:55
	vicious sharks and fierce storms.	36:57
	They encountered the sea on its own terms,	37:00
	and found ways to wrestle food	37:02
	and fresh water from its stingy elements.	37:05
	Just when it seemed that they	37:08
	had this survival thing in hand,	37:10
	their inflatable raft began to leak.	37:13
	Finally, it was beyond repair or bailing out,	37:17
	and they had to abandon it to crowd	37:20
	all of them into this small dinghy.	37:22
	Their hope took many fierce beatings, but they endured.	37:27
	That endurance undergirded their brave resolve	37:31
	not to give up, even when it appeared	37:34
	for certain that the sea had finally triumphed.	37:37
	A modern parable of hope.	37:42
	Now we may need to ask,	37:47
	is there a word for us today	37:50
	in this story, or in Paul's statements,	37:54
	ever how cryptic they may have been to the Church at Rome.	38:00
	If there is, it may take the form	38:05
	of affirming yet disquieting questions.	38:08
	Will you and I challenge our optimistic preoccupation	38:14
	with only that which we can see or think we can see?	38:18
	Will we come to terms with the	38:23
	limits of our lives and our world?	38:25
	Will we risk a hope that is not seen?	38:30
	Is hope truly possible only when there seems to be no hope?	38:35
	Will we evoke and lay hold on those	38:42
	powerful memories which as Lasch wrote,	38:45
	"Leave as their residue an unshakeable conviction	38:48
	"that life may be trusted even	38:52
	"in the face of disappointments."	38:54
	May such memories be cast in the	38:59
	form of ordinary human moments,	39:03
	which even in their ordinariness	39:06
	yet reflect that one who is for us.	39:10
	That one who, as Paul also wrote,	39:15
	"While we were yet sinners, died for us."	39:18
	But I want to leave you with more than just questions.	39:26
	I want to call you to remember,	39:33
	to draw on your memories of God's presence and grace	39:37
	in your lives, ever how much that may have been in disguise.	39:42
	For that, I borrow the words of a friend's benediction.	39:49
	"Depart now in the fellowship of God the Father,	39:57
	"and as you go, remember.	40:01
	"In the goodness of God, you were born into this world.	40:06
	"By the grace of God, you have been kept	40:11
	"all the day long, even until this hour,	40:14
	"and by the love of God, fully revealed	40:20
	"in the face of Jesus,	40:25
	you are being redeemed."	40:28
	In the name of God the Creator, God the Son,	40:34
	and God the Holy Spirit, Amen.	40:37
	(joyful organ music)	40:45
	(congregation sings)	41:17
-	[Asst. Dean Brazzel] The Lord be with you.	43:03
Congregation	And also with you.	43:05
-	Let us pray.	43:07
	Oh God our Creator, when we look at the heavens,	43:17
	at the work of your hands, the moon and the stars,	43:21
	the mountains and the oceans,	43:26
	the forests and the gardens, the birds and the beasts,	43:29
	we are astounded that you are mindful of us,	43:35
	that you have entrusted your creation to our care,	43:39
	and that you have chosen us as heirs to your kingdom.	43:44
	There is so much we have to be grateful for.	43:50
	A world where everything needed	43:53
	for life to thrive is provided.	43:55
	People in our lives who have loved us, and cared for us,	44:00
	experiences that have left us	44:05
	marveling at the wonder of life,	44:08
	the beauty of a mountaintop, the birth of a child,	44:11
	amazing grace that we did not deserve,	44:16
	unexpected success, the joy of friendship,	44:21
	the healing power of laughter.	44:27
	We are grateful for these things and so many more,	44:31
	which we name in our hearts.	44:35
	Sometimes Lord, we must confess that we lose sight	44:40
	of all the things that we have to celebrate about life.	44:45
	We lose our hope in the essential trustworthiness of life,	44:50
	as we are pulled down into despair,	44:56
	through the experiences of life that cause us suffering.	44:58
	We lift up these experiences to you	45:04
	and ask for your healing touch,	45:07
	for illnesses that we are powerless to prevent,	45:10
	for tragedies that strike unexpectedly,	45:14
	for the loss of loved ones,	45:19
	for the loneliness and emptiness we feel,	45:22
	for betrayals we have experienced,	45:26
	for the pain we've caused when we have been the betrayers,	45:30
	for the mess we've made of our environment,	45:35
	as we fail to live as responsible stewards of your creation,	45:39
	for the suffering we've caused	45:44
	through our self-centeredness	45:46
	and callousness toward those in need,	45:49
	for the uncertainty and fear we feel about the future.	45:52
	It is easy for us to become overwhelmed	45:58
	by our own suffering, and the suffering we see around us,	46:00
	for life so often disappoints our optimistic expectations.	46:05
	Yet, dear God, our Father and Mother,	46:10
	help us lift our eyes to you,	46:14
	from whom our help comes, and the only true hope in life.	46:17
	Remind us that as the Creator of all that is,	46:22
	you have the power to renew life.	46:26
	As the Son, you became fully human,	46:30
	and you fully assumed our pain, our suffering,	46:34
	our failure, our loneliness, even our betrayal,	46:38
	to transform them, to bring new life where	46:43
	before there had been only death.	46:47
	As the ever present Spirit, you have given us	46:51
	your sustaining love and power,	46:54
	and you remind us that life is not as it seems.	46:57
	The status quo does not have the last word.	47:01
	For we know that you are working in the world	47:05
	to recreate it, as you are working	47:08
	to recreate us into the image of Christ.	47:11
	Our hope is in your power and in your love.	47:16
	For we know that there is no greater power,	47:20
	and no greater love in all the heavens,	47:23
	and in all the earth, and this is a hope we can count on,	47:26
	a hope that has been proven trustworthy in the past,	47:31
	a hope that can be relied on today.	47:35
	A hope which gives us courage to face	47:39
	whatever suffering tomorrow might bring.	47:41
	Knowing you use all things to work for good,	47:45
	of those who love you.	47:49
	This is a hope that will not cheat,	47:52
	that will never betray us.	47:55
	We give you thanks for our hope to live by,	47:58
	in the name of the Father, and of the Son,	48:02
	and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.	48:05
	God has placed all things under our feet.	48:12
	That responsibility to care for all creation calls for	48:16
	our daily commitment to reach out with helping hands.	48:20
	Let us celebrate that commitment with our offering.	48:24
	(cheerful organ music)	48:30
	(choir sings)	49:38
	(majestic organ music)	53:26
	(congregation sings)	54:02
	Let us pray. Loving Creator,	55:03
	we bring these symbols of our stewardship,	55:07
	seeking your blessing on all the work we do.	55:10
	Grant us the depth of character,	55:14
	truly to appreciate and care for all you have made.	55:17
	We dedicate to your service our time, our talent,	55:21
	and all the riches we accumulate.	55:26
	May what we share here be well used	55:29
	in ministry to one another, and in outreach to those	55:32
	who are suffering in our community, Amen.	55:35
	In the name of Christ, let us	55:40
	pray together the Lord's Prayer.	55:42
All	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	55:44
	Hallowed be thy name.	55:47
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	55:49
	on earth as it is in heaven.	55:52
	Give us this day our daily bread,	55:55
	and forgive us our trespasses,	55:57
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	56:00
	Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	56:03
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	56:08
	and the glory forever, Amen.	56:11
	Let all who suffer, hear and rejoice.	56:14
	Through the love of God and Jesus Christ,	56:18
	we are empowered to bear all things,	56:20
	believe all things, endure all things, hope all things.	56:23
	This great hope shall not disappoint,	56:29
	for love has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit,	56:32
	and nothing can separate us from the Love of God.	56:37
	Go forth giving thanks, in the name of the Father,	56:41
	and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.	56:44
	♪ Hallelujah Amen Amen ♪	56:50
	(organ music)	56:59
	(congregation sings)	57:47

Item Info

Title:

James L. Travis, III - "A Hope That Will Not Cheat" (June 14, 1992)

Description:

True Christian hope is not to be confused with the cheap optimism of liberal progress. While the latter believes it can see clearly that the future will not contain suffering or hardship, the former, not seeing what lies ahead, trusts that, even in the midst of suffering and hardship, the faithfulness of God will prevail. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 19:22. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 40:42.
Key quotation: “The real hope, the hope that is central in the Christian faith, is one you cannot see. It is a hope which happens only when the situation and life seem hopeless.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4k931n4f

Date:

June 14, 1992

Speaker:

Travis, James L., III

Biblical Book:

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Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0284
ref9111_zno
uachapelsermaud
duke:321600
dcrmv001271
ark:/87924/r4k931n4f
dd69cd59-d9ab-4a2c-a695-af8fd8f8f5c8

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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English

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United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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James L. Travis, III - "A Hope That Will Not Cheat" (June 14, 1992)

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