William H. Willimon - "Choice, Chance, or the Hand of God?" (September 13, 1987)

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	(organ music)	0:01
-	Grace and peace to you	5:14
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.	5:15
	We welcome you to the service	5:18
	of worship at Duke University Chapel	5:19
	on this 14th Sunday after Pentecost.	5:21
	We pray that you will receive	5:24
	a blessing during this hour.	5:26
	We also extend greetings to those of you	5:28
	in our radio and television audiences.	5:30
	Our preacher for this morning's service	5:32
	is the Reverend Dr. William H Willimon,	5:34
	Minister to the University.	5:37
	In your bulletin this morning you have received	5:39
	a card soliciting information about you,	5:41
	the worshipers, at Duke Chapel.	5:43
	If you would be so kind as to fill out this card	5:45
	and to drop it into the plate during the offering	5:48
	this morning, we would be most appreciative.	5:51
	Please note the other announcements	5:54
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	5:55
	Now let us continue our worship.	5:57
	(choir singing)	6:09
	(organ music)	7:20
	(assembly singing)	7:51
	O eternal God, because without you	12:19
	we are not able to please you,	12:23
	mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit	12:26
	may, in all things, direct and rule our hearts.	12:29
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord,	12:33
	who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.	12:36
	One God, now and forever.	12:39
	Amen.
-	Let us pray.	12:52
All	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	12:55
	by the power of your Holy Spirit.	12:58
	So that as the word is read and proclaimed,	13:01
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	13:05
	Amen.	13:10
	The first lesson this morning is taken from Genesis.	13:12
	When Joseph's brother saw that their father was dead	13:16
	they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us	13:20
	and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him."	13:24
	So they sent a message to Joseph saying,	13:28
	"Your father gave this command before he died.	13:31
	Say to Joseph, 'Forgive, I pray you, the transgressions	13:36
	of your brothers and their sin	13:40
	because they did evil to you.'	13:43
	And now, we pray you, forgive the transgressions	13:46
	of the servants of the God of your father."	13:50
	Joseph wept when they spoke to him.	13:53
	His brothers also came and fell down before him	13:56
	and said, "Behold, we are you servants."	13:59
	But Joseph said to them, "Fear not,	14:04
	for I am in the place of God.	14:07
	As for me, you meant evil against me,	14:10
	but God meant it for good, to bring it about	14:14
	that many people should be kept alive as they are today.	14:18
	So do not fear, I will provide for you	14:23
	and your little ones."	14:26
	Thus he reassured them and comforted them.	14:29
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	14:33
	(organ music)	14:37
Assembly	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	14:52
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	14:55
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	15:00
	♪ The Lord is the stronghold of my life ♪	15:07
	♪ I will never be afraid ♪	15:12
	♪ When he people once tried to kill me ♪	15:17
	♪ It is they who stumble and fall ♪	15:21
	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	15:27
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	15:30
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	15:35
	♪ Though an army marches against me ♪	15:43
	♪ I will have no fear in my heart ♪	15:48
	♪ Though war breaks out against me ♪	15:53
	♪ Even then will I trust in the Lord ♪	15:57
	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	16:04
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	16:07
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	16:12
	♪ There is one thing I ask of the Lord ♪	16:20
	♪ For this only do I long ♪	16:24
	♪ To live in the Lord's house all my life ♪	16:29
	♪ To see the glory of the Lord ♪	16:34
	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	16:39
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	16:42
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	16:47
	♪ In the time of trouble ♪	16:54
	♪ I shall be safe ♪	16:56
	♪ I will hide in the shelter he sends ♪	17:00
	♪ I shall be lifted up ♪	17:06
	♪ Lifted high upon a rock ♪	17:10
	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	17:15
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	17:18
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	17:23
	♪ I shall try and honor my host ♪	17:30
	♪ I will offer a sacrifice of joy ♪	17:35
	♪ I will sing a song ♪	17:40
	♪ I will sing praises to the Lord ♪	17:44
	♪ The Lord is my light ♪	17:49
	♪ The Lord is my refuge ♪	17:52
	♪ Of whom shall I be afraid ♪	17:57
	(assembly singing)	18:15
-	The second lesson is taken from Paul's letter	19:17
	to the Romans.	19:20
	One person esteems one day as better than the other,	19:23
	while another person esteems all days alike.	19:26
	Let everyone be fully convinced in his or her own mind.	19:32
	One who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord.	19:36
	One also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord,	19:42
	since he or she gives thanks to the Lord,	19:47
	while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord	19:50
	and give thanks to God.	19:55
	None of us lives to ourselves,	19:58
	and none of us dies to ourselves.	20:01
	If we live, we live to the Lord.	20:04
	And if we die, we die to the Lord.	20:06
	So then, whether we live or whether we die,	20:10
	we are the Lord's.	20:13
	For to this end Christ died and lived again,	20:16
	that he might be Lord of both the dead	20:20
	and of the living.	20:22
	Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?	20:24
	Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?	20:28
	For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God,	20:32
	for it is written, "As I life, says the Lord,	20:36
	every knee shall bow to me and every tongue	20:40
	shall give praise to God."	20:43
	So each of us will give account of ourselves to God.	20:46
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	20:51
	The Gospel is taken from Matthew.	20:55
	Then Peter came up and said to him,	20:59
	"Lord, how often shall my brother or sister sin against me,	21:01
	and I forgive him or her?	21:06
	As many as seven times?"	21:09
	Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times,	21:12
	but seventy times seven."	21:16
	Therefore the kingdom of Heaven may be compared	21:19
	to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.	21:22
	When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him	21:27
	who owed him ten thousand talents.	21:29
	And as he could not pay, his Lord ordered him to be sold	21:33
	with his wife and children and all that he had,	21:37
	and payment to be made.	21:41
	So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him,	21:43
	"Lord have patience with me and I will pay you everything."	21:46
	And out of pity for him, the lord of that servant	21:50
	released him and forgave him the debt.	21:53
	But that same servant, as he went out,	21:57
	came upon one of his fellow servants and owed him	22:00
	a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat,	22:03
	he said, "Pay what you owe."	22:07
	So his fellow servant fell down and besought him,	22:10
	"Have patience with me, I will pay you."	22:13
	He refused and went and put him in prison	22:17
	until he could pay the debt.	22:19
	When his fellow servants saw what had taken place,	22:22
	they were greatly distressed, and they went	22:25
	and reported to their Lord all that had taken place.	22:27
	Then his lord summoned him and said to him,	22:31
	"You wicked servant.	22:34
	I forgave you all that debt because you besought me	22:37
	and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant,	22:39
	as I had mercy on you?	22:43
	And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers	22:46
	until he should pay all his debt.	22:49
	So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you,	22:52
	if you do not forgive your brother or sister	22:57
	from your heart.	23:00
	This ends the reading of the Gospel.	23:02
	(organ music)	23:08
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	23:57
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	24:02
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	24:08
	♪ Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	24:13
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	24:23
	♪ O Judah, Rejoice! ♪	24:32
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice O Judah in songs divine ♪	24:36
	♪ With Cherubim and Seraphim harmonious join! ♪	24:44
	♪ With Cherubim and Seraphim harmonious join! ♪	24:49
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	24:55
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	25:01
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	25:06
	♪ Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪	25:11
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	25:21
	♪ O Judah, Rejoice! ♪	25:30
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice O Judah in songs divine ♪	25:34
	♪ With Cherubim and Seraphim harmonious join! ♪	25:42
	♪ With Cherubim and Seraphim harmonious join! ♪	25:47
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	25:53
	♪ Rejoice in songs divine ♪	26:00
	♪ Harmonious join ♪	26:05
	♪ Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah, Amen ♪	26:09
	♪ Amen ♪	26:19
	♪ Amen ♪	26:24
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	26:27
	♪ Amen ♪	26:32
-	During the past few weeks,	27:11
	in the rounds of receptions and convocations,	27:14
	as we've welcomed new students here,	27:17
	I've enjoyed asking people,	27:21
	"What lead you to Duke?"	27:23
	"My mother graduated from here," one person said.	27:27
	"I like ACC basketball," said another.	27:31
	I hate to tell you faculty, but just about no one	27:37
	tells me they came here because of the superior faculty.	27:40
	But of course, absolutely no one told me	27:45
	that he or she came here because of the preaching, either.	27:47
	But nearly all, whatever reason they give,	27:53
	explain their presence here in terms of either	27:58
	a matter of choice or a matter of chance.	28:04
	Choice or chance.	28:10
	"I had three or four schools that I was interested in,"	28:15
	one person said,	28:19
	"and I was going to look	28:22
	at Duke and Georgetown and Princeton.	28:25
	I came to Duke first, there was this snowstorm.	28:28
	I went to this party and I never got up	28:31
	to Georgetown or Princeton, so here I am."	28:33
	A matter of chance, or choice.	28:38
	"I was looking at three or four schools	28:41
	and I got them narrowed down, and I picked	28:43
	the one farthest away from my parents."	28:45
	Choice, choice or chance.	28:48
	And in our post-enlightenment age,	28:53
	to hear most of us explain our lives,	28:56
	that's the way we explain it,	28:58
	a matter of choice or a matter of chance.	28:59
	I remember when I was a student at Yale.	29:02
	They had to ask a number of distinguished professors	29:04
	to explain how they were in their chosen field of endeavor.	29:07
	And surprise, most of them said	29:11
	they didn't really choose it at all.	29:13
	It was a matter of luck.	29:16
	One distinguished professor, I remember,	29:18
	said that he was going to sign up for a zoology course,	29:20
	but the thing filled up before he got there	29:24
	so he walked across the hall to geology	29:26
	and he and he had been there ever since.	29:29
	The best selling book on college campuses a few years ago	29:34
	was by Rabbi Harold Kushner,	29:38
	"When Bad Things Happen to Good People."	29:41
	Why do bad things happen to good people,	29:44
	Rabbi Kushner says, well it's mostly a matter of chance.	29:47
	There's this great roulette wheel of life	29:50
	and when certain numbers come up bad things happen to you,	29:54
	and when certain other numbers come up	29:57
	good things happen to you, that's the way life is.	29:59
	Nobody means anything by it, it just happens.	30:01
	Choice or chance.	30:05
	On the other hand, many of us moderns enjoy	30:10
	thinking of ourselves as choosers of our fate.	30:12
	"My life is the sum of my choices,	30:16
	my life is what I decided to be.	30:18
	I decided to go out for football,	30:21
	I decided to go to this university,	30:23
	I chose this person for my wife."	30:25
	We mold our lives through our choices.	30:28
	Choice or chance.	30:30
	And yet, what would you say if I suggested to you today	30:35
	that you are here today	30:39
	because God meant for you to be here.	30:46
	That you are here today because God means it that way.	30:50
	Not just here at Duke, or even here in the chapel,	30:55
	but here in your life.	30:58
	That in your life there are plans and purposes	31:01
	and directives being worked out.	31:05
	That there is this hand busy in you.	31:10
	Now I have no way to demonstrate the truth of that assertion	31:17
	except to tell you a story.	31:20
	And it is a long complicated story.	31:24
	The story of Joseph and his brothers.	31:27
	It is today's first lesson from Genesis.	31:32
	And we're coming in towards the end of this long story,	31:36
	so we're sort of slipping in to the theater	31:40
	during the last act of the play.	31:42
	Today's first lesson is a segment	31:45
	from the end of the story of Joseph and his brothers.	31:48
	Their father, Jacob, has died.	31:54
	And now the older brothers tremble	31:57
	lest now that the old man is gone,	32:02
	little brother Joseph turns and repays them	32:04
	for all the nasty things they did to him.	32:07
	But Joseph attempts to put their minds at ease.	32:14
	Fear not, Joseph says, you meant it for evil.	32:18
	But God meant it for good.	32:24
	If you read the whole story of Joseph and his brothers,	32:29
	beginning some twelve chapters earlier	32:33
	in the book of Genesis, you would see why	32:35
	Joseph's brothers had good cause to fear	32:39
	little brother Joseph.	32:43
	He was one of his father's last children.	32:47
	Father Jacob loved him from the first	32:51
	with an unashamed favoritism.	32:53
	Little brother Joseph, but I tell you,	32:56
	it was those dreams that really got them.	32:58
	Imagine your little brother coming down	33:01
	to the breakfast table in the morning	33:03
	and over corn flaked telling you,	33:05
	"I had the most wonderful dream last night."	33:07
	"Really?"	33:12
	"Yes, we were all out gathering wheat in the fields,	33:13
	and when we gathered up the sheaths of wheat	33:16
	all of your sheaths bowed down to my sheath."	33:18
	"Really?"	33:25
	"Yes, and then I had this other wonderful dream.	33:27
	I dreamed I was the moon and there were these eleven stars	33:30
	and all these eleven stars bowed down to me	33:34
	and worshiped me."	33:36
	"Really," said the eleven brothers.	33:39
	Well, we're gonna give him something to dream about.	33:45
	"I wonder what Freud would say of my dream,"	33:48
	little brother Joseph said.	33:51
	And their chance came one afternoon	33:54
	when the father sent Joseph out into the field,	33:56
	where the brothers were working,	33:59
	he sent them out with their lunch.	34:00
	He didn't want little Joseph to do any hard work,	34:02
	it might get his hands dirty.	34:04
	He sent him out with their lunch.	34:06
	And when they saw him coming they said,	34:09
	"Let us do in this dreamer of dreams."	34:11
	And they threw him down into a pit,	34:17
	meaning to leave him there.	34:19
	But they thought better about it,	34:22
	and they pulled him back up and they sold him	34:24
	to a group of Ishmaelite slave traders	34:26
	on their way to Egypt.	34:28
	And they got home and they said,	34:31
	"Dad, the worst thing happened today.	34:32
	Guess what ate Joseph?"	34:35
	But Joseph always managed to land on both feet.	34:39
	He got to Egypt and he impressed Potiphar,	34:42
	a chancellor of the Pharaoh, with his intellect.	34:46
	And Potiphar didn't treat him like a slave.	34:48
	He put him in charge of many responsible projects.	34:51
	Unfortunately, Mrs. Potiphar noticed	34:56
	Joseph's other attributes.	34:58
	And she demanded that Joseph, one evening,	35:03
	but you're not interested in that part of the story.	35:08
	(assembly laughing)	35:10
	Mrs. Potiphar lied and Potiphar was enraged	35:12
	and he threw Joseph into jail,	35:15
	but even in jail he continued to interpret dreams.	35:17
	And one day he interpreted a dream of the Pharaoh	35:23
	that nobody else could interpret,	35:26
	that there was going to be a great famine in Egypt.	35:27
	And the Pharaoh was so impressed he brought him	35:30
	out of prison and put him in charge	35:32
	of the Egyptian welfare program.	35:34
	And in the midst of this famine,	35:37
	guess who should show up in Egypt looking for food?	35:40
	The brothers, and they did not recognize	35:44
	that this powerful Egyptian official was none other	35:48
	than little brother Joseph.	35:51
	Eventually, Joseph reveals himself in this tearful scene.	35:58
	And when he did, the older brothers figured	36:06
	that they were done for.	36:09
	They remembered the pit, and the slave traders,	36:11
	and the prison.	36:14
	But Joseph said to them, "Fear not.	36:17
	You meant this for evil, but God meant this for good.	36:21
	So that many might be saved from hunger."	36:27
	Their attempt to put Joseph to death	36:33
	had been used by God to preserve his chosen family.	36:36
	They meant it for evil, God meant it for good.	36:43
	And for a few thousand years, people have loved to tell	36:48
	this story of Joseph and his brothers.	36:50
	And if we had the time and the honesty to tell our stories,	36:56
	my story, your story, I bet that they too	37:01
	would be long and complicated.	37:06
	Full of twists and turns and setbacks.	37:09
	And if we could tell our story	37:16
	with so unflinching realism and honesty	37:18
	as the story of Joseph and his brothers.	37:24
	Oh, because you know that whenever we look at our lives,	37:26
	we can be counted on to engage in a great deal of cover up	37:31
	if not downright deceit about who we are	37:35
	and from where we have come.	37:38
	We grew up in a loving, adoring family	37:42
	with fair and just parents, adoring brothers and sisters.	37:48
	It was Ozzie and Harriet and David and Little Ricky	37:53
	and Ward and June and the Beaver.	37:57
	That's where we came from.	38:01
	But the Bible doesn't tell stories like that.	38:05
	The Bible is true. The Bible knows that here	38:07
	is a story of a real family.	38:11
	A family more like the one that you and I	38:15
	really grew up in, if we had the strength to tell it.	38:17
	For in any family, even the very best of families,	38:21
	there is always this confusing mixture	38:28
	of competition and struggle and unfairness and injustice	38:32
	and the threat of violence.	38:36
	Home is not just this alleged haven in a heartless world,	38:38
	but home is also the place	38:42
	where love and hate get mixed.	38:46
	There is the sideward glance and the downcast eyes.	38:49
	There is this anger that bubbles up out of nowhere	38:52
	and rage mixed with popcorn by the fire	38:55
	and presents around the tree.	38:58
	This is home too, and you wonder sometimes looking back	39:00
	how anybody makes it out alive.	39:03
	You see what I'm pointing to is	39:08
	that even in the best of families	39:09
	and even in the best of lives,	39:11
	there's always these twists and these turns	39:14
	and these setbacks and this things	39:17
	that you wish weren't there.	39:19
	And why is it that sometimes the people	39:23
	who love you the most, hurt you the most?	39:25
	And you, they?	39:28
	And the one who is your brother is also the one	39:32
	who can cast you into the pit.	39:34
	It's a true story.	39:38
	And yet, it is also a story about certitude	39:43
	in the midst of real life.	39:48
	You meant it for evil, God meant it for good.	39:51
	A story which began with resentment and betrayal	39:56
	and violence turns out, by the end,	40:00
	to be a story about the preservation of God's people.	40:03
	There is something, some deep, loving presence	40:09
	behind the pages of this story.	40:12
	There is some hand, there is some author	40:14
	who is greater than the individual actors.	40:18
	Greater than the brothers' guilt and evil deeds.	40:23
	The dream lives.	40:30
	We find out that God's busy dreaming too,	40:33
	and God's dreams are not stumped	40:36
	by the older brothers' resentment.	40:38
	The hero of the story is not bratty little brother Joseph;	40:45
	the hero of the story is God.	40:50
	For there is an author of another plan	40:54
	that makes this story eternally worth retelling,	40:57
	a plan hidden but sure.	41:02
	Joseph tells his brothers, "You meant it for evil,	41:05
	God meant it for good."	41:08
	God's plans triumph.	41:15
	We're not told how they triumph,	41:17
	even the Bible doesn't do that.	41:19
	We are simply told that they do triumph.	41:22
	"God," says Luther, "can shoot with a crooked bow	41:28
	or ride a lame horse."	41:32
	We're so accustomed to thinking of life as	41:38
	a matter of choice or chance.	41:40
	Life is what I do, what I decide and choose it to be.	41:42
	Or else some roulette wheel, a matter of sheer luck.	41:47
	Is that why we so often feel so helpless and hapless	41:52
	in the face of life's difficulties?	41:55
	Because we're at least smart enough to know	41:59
	that if life is all left up to us,	42:01
	then we are without hope.	42:04
	Modern people like to think of ourselves	42:10
	as so powerful and so able to change the world,	42:12
	but what we get for that is this terrible paralysis	42:17
	which sets in when we know that to really be a lie.	42:20
	If the fate of the world, if the outcome of the future	42:26
	is solely left up to us, then a good freshman course	42:29
	in Western civilization will let you know we are doomed.	42:33
	No wonder we feel frail and frightened in the face	42:38
	of the bomb and AIDS and thinning O-Zone	42:41
	and even exams, because if it's all left up to us,	42:44
	I mean, we know the story.	42:50
	But Joseph, by the end of the story,	42:56
	is able to look back on all the strange	43:03
	twists and the turns and the heartache and the setback	43:06
	and proclaim, "Fear not, you meant it for evil,	43:10
	but surprise, God was busy meaning it for good."	43:15
	Now I'm not talking about the silly notion	43:23
	that everything that happens in this world	43:25
	happens because God means it to be that way.	43:27
	Rather, I'm talking about the amazing resilience	43:33
	of God's purposes for the world.	43:39
	God's intent for the world isn't stumped	43:44
	by the older brothers.	43:48
	Augustine, at the very beginning of his	43:54
	immortal City of God, had to face a tough question.	43:56
	Why was it when the barbarians sacked Rome,	44:04
	that Christians suffered just as much as pagans?	44:07
	Specifically, he had to come to terms	44:11
	with the violent crime of rape.	44:14
	Augustine's first answer is, we can be thankful	44:18
	that the barbarians were at least exposed to Christianity,	44:22
	or pagans and Christians would have suffered worse.	44:25
	But as if he knows that doesn't quite get to the heart	44:29
	of the matter, Augustine says that Christians	44:32
	are distinguished, not by what happens to them,	44:37
	but by how they respond to what happens to them.	44:42
	In a memorable passage, he writes,	44:47
	"For even in the likeness of our sufferings,	44:51
	"there is an unlikeness in the sufferers.	44:54
	"And though exposed to the same anguish, virtue and vice	44:59
	"are not the same thing.	45:02
	"The great difference between human beings	45:05
	"is found not in what ills they suffer,	45:08
	"but in what kind of persons suffer the ills."	45:13
	Christians differ not in what happens to them,	45:20
	but in the fact that they respond in faith	45:24
	that God is there.	45:29
	Calvinist, though I am not, I think I do believe	45:34
	in a kind of predestination.	45:38
	But only in the backward look.	45:41
	That is, while I sure don't believe that everything	45:44
	that happens in this world happens	45:48
	because God wants it that way,	45:49
	there's still too many older brothers around	45:51
	to believe that, I do believe	45:53
	that sometimes	45:59
	when you look back on your life, even the worst of it,	46:01
	the twists and the turns, the setbacks,	46:08
	it is amazing how well it fits.	46:13
	It's as if there was this hand,	46:17
	an overriding purpose,	46:22
	as if some divine intent were there.	46:24
	As if God meant it to be.	46:29
	Oh, the people who told this story first were not so naive	46:34
	about the facts of life as to take	46:39
	some Pollyanna-like view that, well,	46:43
	it all just works out somehow.	46:46
	No, what they wanted to say was	46:50
	that when it is all said and done,	46:52
	God has the last word in human history.	46:54
	God really is busy in your life,	47:01
	in ways you have yet to comprehend.	47:07
	Later, Saint Augustine commented	47:12
	that when you look back on your life,	47:14
	and you think about where you are,	47:18
	at first glance, looking at your life	47:21
	is like looking at a muddy chicken yard	47:23
	full of chicken tracks, you know little chicken tracks	47:25
	in the mud going this way, that way.	47:29
	No pattern, no meaning, no direction.	47:31
	But seeing through the eyes of faith	47:36
	in a God who is there and who means something.	47:38
	Surprise, your life starts to	47:44
	take on pattern and meaning and coherence.	47:49
	And it's that point that you agree with Saint Paul.	47:55
	In everything, God works for good,	48:02
	with those who love him, who are called according	48:06
	to God's purposes.	48:11
	Amen.	48:15
	(organ music)	48:22
	(assembly singing)	49:05
-	The Lord be with you.	52:37
Assembly	And also with you.	52:39
-	Let us pray.	52:40
	O Eternal God, from everlasting to everlasting,	52:52
	the Alpha and the Omega of this vast universe,	52:57
	we worship thee.	53:01
	Thou hast created each of us as a unique stripe	53:04
	in the fabric of humanity.	53:07
	Yet we remember the bond which unites us	53:09
	with our sisters and brothers around the world	53:12
	even in our diversity.	53:15
	Hear now these prayers, offered for the entire human family,	53:18
	as we acknowledge our oneness with thee.	53:23
	Let us pray for all poor and neglected persons,	53:29
	the homeless the unemployed, and destitute, the sick,	53:33
	the dying, the hungry, and the forlorn.	53:40
	Nourish their souls and comfort them	53:46
	with thy healing presence.	53:49
	Inspire in each of us the manner	53:51
	of Christ own ministry to those who suffer.	53:53
	Let us pray for all who live in the midst of injustice,	53:59
	terror, disease, and death.	54:03
	Look on them with compassion, merciful God,	54:08
	and strengthen their faith.	54:10
	Inspire us all to continue in our struggles	54:14
	for justice and truth.	54:17
	Teach us to confront one another without hatred	54:20
	or bitterness, but to work together	54:22
	with mutual forbearance and respect.	54:25
	May we become a truly reconciled people,	54:30
	even with those whom we call our enemies.	54:34
	Let us pray for all those charged with the responsibilities	54:40
	of governance, grant all those in authority	54:43
	the wisdom and the strength to know and to do thy will.	54:48
	Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness	54:53
	and make them mindful of their calling	54:58
	to serve with integrity.	55:00
	Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted,	55:03
	for those who seek to harm themselves or others,	55:08
	for those who indulge in material excess,	55:13
	attempting to fill an interior void.	55:18
	For those who live within institutions,	55:22
	surrounded by people yet lonely beyond words.	55:25
	Heal these, thy children, O God,	55:30
	that they may know the unique worth	55:33
	thou hast bestowed upon them.	55:35
	Let us pray for all who face new beginnings,	55:39
	and especially for the Class of 1991,	55:42
	and those charged with the responsibilities of leading them.	55:46
	Remembering any who live with anxiety, fear, or self-doubt,	55:51
	we pray for a renewed vision of thy purpose in their lives	55:57
	and a reassurance of thy unfailing love and acceptance.	56:02
	Deliver to their sides, O God,	56:06
	good friends and wise counsel.	56:08
	These prayers we lift unto thee, Almighty God,	56:14
	hope of our world, trusting in thy eternal goodness,	56:17
	grateful for the guidance of thy sure hand in our lives.	56:23
	In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.	56:27
	Amen.	56:31
	And now in the spirit of Thanksgiving,	56:35
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	56:37
	(organ music)	56:41
	(choir singing)	58:49
	(organ music)	1:01:58
	(choir singing)	1:02:12
	O everliving God, we offer unto you our thanks	1:03:12
	and praise for all that you have done for us.	1:03:15
	We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation,	1:03:18
	for the wonder of life and for the mystery of love,	1:03:21
	we thank you for the blessing of family and friends	1:03:25
	and for the loving care that surrounds us on every side.	1:03:28
	We thank you for setting us at task,	1:03:32
	which demand our best efforts.	1:03:34
	And for leading us to accomplishments	1:03:37
	which satisfy and delight us.	1:03:39
	Above all, we thank you for your son Jesus Christ,	1:03:42
	for the truth of his word and the power of his resurrection,	1:03:45
	through which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.	1:03:49
	And it is in His holy name that we are bold to say	1:03:53
All	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	1:03:56
	hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,	1:03:59
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	1:04:04
	Give us this day our daily bread,	1:04:06
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:04:09
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	1:04:11
	and lead us not into temptation,	1:04:14
	but deliver us from evil.	1:04:17
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	1:04:19
	Amen.	1:04:24
	(organ music)	1:04:28
	(assembly singing)	1:05:40
-	And now may the grace of our Lord and Savior	1:09:20
	Jesus Christ, love of God and the fellowship	1:09:22
	of the Holy Spirit, be with you now and always.	1:09:25
	(choir singing)	1:09:34
	(fast organ music)	1:10:48

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Choice, Chance, or the Hand of God?" (September 13, 1987)

Description:

Sermon start time: 27:11. Sermon end time: 48:16.
The preacher argues in favor of God’s predestination for humanity; that that life is not about individual choice or chance, but about God’s plan. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “When it is all said and done, God has the last word in human history.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4kw57z90

Date:

September 13, 1987

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Genesis

Chapter and Verse:

Genesis 50:15-21

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0048
ref8394_eh4
uachapelsermaud
duke:321699
dcrmv001048
ark:/87924/r4kw57z90
0088436b-d611-4604-a505-bf067933f4f7

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

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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William H. Willimon - "Choice, Chance, or the Hand of God?" (September 13, 1987)

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1. William H. Willimon - "Choice, Chance, or the Hand of God?" (September 13, 1987)

Duke University Archives

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William H. Willimon - "Choice, Chance, or the Hand of God?" (September 13, 1987)

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Duke University Archives

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