Jacquelyne J. Jackson - "The Words from the Cross" Good Friday Service Part 3 (April 4, 1969)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(church organ playing) | 0:03 | |
♪ What thou, my Lord, hast suffered ♪ | 0:06 | |
♪ Was all for sinners' gain ♪ | 0:14 | |
♪ Mine, mine was the transgression ♪ | 0:23 | |
♪ But thine the deadly pain ♪ | 0:31 | |
♪ Lo, here I fall, my Savior ♪ | 0:40 | |
♪ 'Tis I deserve thy place ♪ | 0:49 | |
♪ Look on me with thy favor ♪ | 0:56 | |
♪ And grant to me thy grace ♪ | 1:05 | |
♪ What language shall I borrow ♪ | 1:15 | |
♪ To thank thee, dearest friend ♪ | 1:24 | |
♪ For this, thy dying sorrow ♪ | 1:33 | |
♪ Thy pity without end ♪ | 1:41 | |
♪ Oh, make me thine forever ♪ | 1:50 | |
♪ And should I fainting be ♪ | 1:58 | |
♪ Lord, let me never, never ♪ | 2:07 | |
♪ Outlive my love to thee ♪ | 2:16 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 2:26 | |
- | Oh thou, who does give us | 2:45 |
both the limits and the possibilities | 2:47 | |
of our lives, | 2:50 | |
who art our father, our judge, our comforter. | 2:52 | |
We pause before thee, | 3:00 | |
to remember those who have found their outer limit | 3:03 | |
during this past year, | 3:07 | |
those who have found that thou cruciform existence led | 3:10 | |
to a violent and sudden death. | 3:14 | |
On this day, we especially remember | 3:19 | |
the life and death of Martin Luther King | 3:22 | |
and others who have given their lives in the fight | 3:26 | |
for freedom and humanity for all peoples. | 3:29 | |
We also lift before thee | 3:35 | |
those who have found their outer limits of their existence | 3:38 | |
with little redeeming possibilities, | 3:42 | |
those who everyday utter, | 3:46 | |
"It is finished, and yet I'm still alive." | 3:48 | |
Oh Lord our God, father of the crucified, | 3:54 | |
the comfort of the sorrowful, | 4:00 | |
the strength of the sufferers. | 4:03 | |
We give thee thanks for him | 4:06 | |
who came forth from thee, | 4:08 | |
a light into our darkness, | 4:10 | |
who in divine love carried in His own soul | 4:13 | |
our limits and possibilities, | 4:17 | |
our sins and woes, | 4:20 | |
through thick shadows | 4:23 | |
and who went down through the ways of death | 4:25 | |
so that none of us should cry in vain | 4:28 | |
for the light of thy face. | 4:31 | |
In His name therefore we pray | 4:33 | |
for all who are tyrannized, | 4:37 | |
ill-treated, who are wronged, oppressed, | 4:40 | |
defrauded, or betrayed. | 4:46 | |
Defend them from despair and anger, | 4:50 | |
from empty justice and hollow sympathy. | 4:53 | |
For all who are downcast | 4:58 | |
by fruitless toils and studies, | 5:00 | |
or shattered hopes, | 5:03 | |
who hurt and bruised in spirit, | 5:06 | |
serve without thanks and toil without recompense, | 5:09 | |
preserve them by thy good spirit | 5:14 | |
from utter grief of heart. | 5:17 | |
For all who are left behind and forgotten, | 5:21 | |
all who are alone and afraid, | 5:25 | |
the defeated, the timid, the broken hearted. | 5:29 | |
Befriend, comfort, and abide with them. | 5:34 | |
For all who desire to do thy will, | 5:39 | |
yet falter continually, | 5:43 | |
all with doubtful feet stumble in search of love, | 5:46 | |
all those who would follow thee but fear thy cross, | 5:50 | |
give strength and vision to them. | 5:55 | |
For those who are limited by disease, | 6:00 | |
was stricken by accident. | 6:03 | |
All who are helpless and hopeless, | 6:06 | |
relieve their suffering, | 6:10 | |
expel their maladies, | 6:12 | |
revive their spirits, | 6:14 | |
heal thy wounds, make them whole. | 6:17 | |
Relieve and comfort us all, oh Lord, | 6:22 | |
and make us to rejoice in every experience | 6:26 | |
however hard, bitter, or costly, | 6:28 | |
through the power and mercy of him who cried | 6:33 | |
"It is finished," amen. | 6:38 | |
- | The blessed text for the sixth word of Christ comes from | 6:59 |
St. John 17:1-8, 19:30. | 7:05 | |
These words spake Jesus, | 7:14 | |
and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, | 7:16 | |
"Father, the hour is come." | 7:19 | |
"Glorify thy son, | 7:23 | |
that thy son also may glorify thee. | 7:25 | |
As thou has given him power over all flesh | 7:28 | |
that He should give eternal life | 7:31 | |
to as many as thou hast given him. | 7:33 | |
And this is life eternal, | 7:36 | |
that they may know thee, | 7:38 | |
the only true God, | 7:40 | |
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. | 7:41 | |
I have glorified thee on the earth: | 7:45 | |
I have finished the work | 7:48 | |
which thou gavest me to do. | 7:50 | |
And now Father, glorify thou me with thine own self | 7:53 | |
with a glory which I had with thee | 7:58 | |
before the world was. | 8:00 | |
I have manifested thy name unto the men, | 8:03 | |
which thou gavest me out of the world: | 8:06 | |
thine they were, and thou gavest them me; | 8:09 | |
and they have kept thy word. | 8:12 | |
Now they have known that all things whatsoever | 8:15 | |
thou hast given me are of thee. | 8:18 | |
For I have given unto them the words | 8:22 | |
which thou gavest me, | 8:25 | |
and they have received them, | 8:27 | |
and have known surely that I came out from thee, | 8:30 | |
and they have believed that thou didst send me." | 8:34 | |
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, | 8:42 | |
He said, "It is finished." | 8:47 | |
And He bowed His head and gave up the ghost. | 8:52 | |
♪ It is finished ♪ | 9:05 | |
(church organ playing) | 9:21 | |
♪ In His name, it is done ♪ | 9:23 | |
("The Seven Last Words of Christ, Sonata VI" by Haydn) | 9:39 | |
(sorrowful violin music) | 9:53 | |
(sorrowful string music) | 9:57 | |
(sorrowful string music) | 10:13 | |
(joyful string music) | 10:28 | |
(joyful string music) | 10:44 | |
(intense string music) | 11:07 | |
(joyful string music) | 11:23 | |
(joyful string music) | 12:11 | |
(joyful string music) | 14:23 | |
(joyful string music) | 14:56 | |
- | Oh Lord, give me strength to speak in your name. | 15:17 |
It is finished. | 15:22 | |
What was finished on the cross at Golgotha? | 15:26 | |
From a secular perspective, | 15:31 | |
"It is finished" may mean the life of Jesus. | 15:34 | |
The man is over, at an end. | 15:39 | |
It expired on the cross. | 15:42 | |
He expired like many other criminals of His days. | 15:47 | |
A gruesome spectacle to be sure, | 15:52 | |
but one which not many people paid attention to then. | 15:56 | |
Surely the inhabitants of Jerusalem went around | 16:01 | |
their activities unconcerned that Friday. | 16:04 | |
So another crucifixion took place, so what? | 16:07 | |
The day was one that could be taken for granted. | 16:13 | |
When the day is over, it is finished. | 16:18 | |
How many then really cared what was going on the cross? | 16:23 | |
And today, how many care that it is Good Friday? | 16:30 | |
At Duke, is today celebrated as Good Friday | 16:37 | |
in solemnity by the university | 16:42 | |
because it is the day of the Crucifixion, | 16:45 | |
or is today seen as the end of another school week? | 16:48 | |
A trivial school day, | 16:55 | |
when classes have no occasion to be called off, | 16:58 | |
a day when spring festivities can launch the weekend. | 17:02 | |
It is finished. | 17:09 | |
From a religious perspective, | 17:13 | |
from a Christian perspective, | 17:15 | |
"It is finished" takes on another meaning, | 17:18 | |
a religious significance of cosmic importance. | 17:21 | |
The mystery of the incarnation is finished. | 17:25 | |
The good God has sent His beloved Son | 17:30 | |
to redeem an evil world. | 17:32 | |
That is a mystery. | 17:35 | |
And Jesus accepts His divine mission | 17:38 | |
from His Father, | 17:40 | |
and part of this mission of redemption involves | 17:41 | |
the humiliation of the second person of the Trinity. | 17:44 | |
That is also an element of the Christian mystery. | 17:48 | |
And Christ is crucified like an ordinary criminal. | 17:52 | |
And the humiliation is complete when Christ, | 17:57 | |
who reigns in heaven with His Father, | 18:01 | |
is offered vinegar, a further insult. | 18:04 | |
The humiliation and degradation | 18:08 | |
of the Son of God is finished. | 18:11 | |
"It is finished" has an equivocal meaning. | 18:17 | |
"Finished" means in one sense | 18:22 | |
that which is over, at an end, completed, | 18:28 | |
exhausted, done for. | 18:35 | |
Finished, however, also means ready. | 18:42 | |
So paradoxically for something to start, | 18:50 | |
something has to be finished. | 18:54 | |
And Christ's mission is over on the cross, | 18:57 | |
for in this mystery Christ dies of the agonies | 19:00 | |
of taking the sins of fallen mankind as His own. | 19:03 | |
It is the most intense spiritual suffering | 19:07 | |
which Christ undergoes so as to redeem | 19:10 | |
and purify the world. | 19:13 | |
And when the world is finished, | 19:17 | |
it is also ready for the new life in Christ. | 19:20 | |
The paradox of Christianity is contained on the cross. | 19:24 | |
From a non-Christian point of view, | 19:30 | |
Christ's death is an utter failure. | 19:33 | |
In Luke 23:35 for example, | 19:38 | |
we read the spectators saying, | 19:43 | |
"He saved others, let him save himself | 19:45 | |
if he be Christ, the chosen of God." | 19:49 | |
But Christ does not get away from the cross. | 19:54 | |
He is a failure, finished. | 19:58 | |
But from a Christian point of view, | 20:02 | |
the crucifixion is the opposite of failure. | 20:05 | |
The Christian point of view has to begin and end | 20:09 | |
with a crucifixion. | 20:14 | |
The secular mundane world is finished with a cross. | 20:17 | |
The secular world has played all its trump cards. | 20:23 | |
It has tried to detract Christ | 20:27 | |
from His mission of redemption in every way. | 20:29 | |
And the last thing it can do is | 20:33 | |
to try to kill Christ. | 20:36 | |
And after that, it is finished. | 20:39 | |
After that, Christ triumphs over death | 20:43 | |
and Christianity begins. | 20:48 | |
One is finished. | 20:51 | |
The other starts. | 20:53 | |
Today, the crucifixion is again being reenacted, | 20:57 | |
being part of the divine cosmic mystery. | 21:05 | |
It is reenacted each year. | 21:09 | |
Each year, we have the occasion | 21:12 | |
to be participants in the mystery. | 21:15 | |
We have the option to carry the cross | 21:20 | |
with Christ like Simon the Cyrenian, | 21:23 | |
or the option to deny that we have anything | 21:28 | |
to do with Christ like Peter that fateful day. | 21:32 | |
A very human reaction of fear on His part. | 21:36 | |
And today to be identified as a Christian is | 21:40 | |
certainly a very dangerous thing, even at Duke. | 21:44 | |
It is finished. | 21:50 | |
What is finished? | 21:52 | |
The false prophets say that it is Christianity | 21:54 | |
which is finished, | 21:59 | |
that this is a post-Christian society. | 22:01 | |
But perhaps from a Christian point of view, | 22:06 | |
it is the world which has finished, | 22:11 | |
which is coming to an end as the scripture has it. | 22:14 | |
The moral dissolution of the world, | 22:19 | |
the degeneration of standards is hailed | 22:22 | |
by an infamous minority as the new morality | 22:25 | |
in which they see the new freedom, | 22:30 | |
forsaking the only to freedom, | 22:32 | |
which is to be found in Christ. | 22:35 | |
Is this a cause for rejoicing? | 22:39 | |
Hardly any more than the Crucifixion is | 22:42 | |
a cause for rejoicing. | 22:45 | |
For all its secular glories | 22:48 | |
of material riches of technological wizardry, | 22:50 | |
of vast sources of political power, | 22:53 | |
the secular world is exhausting itself | 22:56 | |
in a sweeping current of frenzied violence | 23:00 | |
and bacchanalian orgies. | 23:04 | |
Just as the great majority of citizens of Jerusalem | 23:07 | |
then did not realize it, | 23:10 | |
just as the citizens of the Roman Empire | 23:13 | |
then did not realize it. | 23:16 | |
And just as sadly perhaps | 23:18 | |
the majority of the members | 23:21 | |
of the Duke community do not realize it. | 23:22 | |
The Crucifixion we are celebrating today is | 23:25 | |
the only true source of regeneration, | 23:30 | |
of rebirth, of spiritual transfiguration. | 23:33 | |
It is finished. | 23:38 | |
It is ready. | 23:41 | |
Let us pray. | 23:44 | |
Lord God, our Father, we thank you for allowing us | 23:50 | |
to participate in your son's misery | 23:56 | |
for it is in agony and despair and torture | 24:00 | |
that we find Christian hope and faith. | 24:06 | |
It is because of His suffering | 24:11 | |
that Christ offers us infinite compassion. | 24:13 | |
Give us strength to accept His cross, | 24:18 | |
to suffer as Christians and to participate | 24:22 | |
in His mission of redeeming a fallen world today | 24:26 | |
as nearly 2000 years ago, amen. | 24:30 | |
(church organ playing) | 24:37 | |
♪ 'Tis finished! The Messiah dies ♪ | 25:03 | |
♪ Cut off for sins, but not His own ♪ | 25:09 | |
♪ Accomplished is the sacrifice ♪ | 25:17 | |
♪ The great redeeming work is done ♪ | 25:23 | |
♪ The veil is rent in Christ alone ♪ | 25:31 | |
♪ The living way to heav'n is seen ♪ | 25:38 | |
♪ The middle wall is broken down ♪ | 25:46 | |
♪ And all mankind may enter in ♪ | 25:52 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 26:02 | |
- | Let us pray. | 26:20 |
Heavenly Father, as we hear the words of your Son, | 26:23 | |
our savior from the cross, | 26:29 | |
we realized that He had the courage | 26:33 | |
to commend His spirit unto you, | 26:35 | |
and we wonder how fully or completely | 26:40 | |
we have ever done that ourselves. | 26:42 | |
Or even if we actually did it | 26:46 | |
at sometime in the past, | 26:48 | |
how much of that commitment has eroded away | 26:51 | |
between then and now? | 26:53 | |
Help us in this hour to face our own predicament | 26:58 | |
squarely and honestly, | 27:03 | |
to see our escapes and dodges for what they are, | 27:06 | |
to understand the selfishness | 27:12 | |
behind our rationalizations, | 27:15 | |
to acknowledge with new candor | 27:18 | |
how uncommitted our spirits are, | 27:20 | |
but how committed they must be. | 27:24 | |
if our lives finally are to have any meaning. | 27:25 | |
We pray, oh God, | 27:32 | |
that you will stab us out of our complacency | 27:34 | |
on this Memorial Day, | 27:37 | |
with the examples of Jesus Christ, | 27:40 | |
of Martin Luther King, | 27:44 | |
and a great cloud of witnesses | 27:46 | |
who have had the faith, the courage, | 27:49 | |
and the unselfish love sufficient to say | 27:52 | |
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" | 27:57 | |
and to mean it. | 28:03 | |
We pray for grace to understand | 28:06 | |
the meaning of Good Friday | 28:08 | |
in terms of what it requires of us | 28:09 | |
and of our society | 28:12 | |
so that we and our society might have | 28:15 | |
an Easter of resurrection to a new life. | 28:19 | |
We pray in His name, amen. | 28:25 | |
- | This is a reading of the scriptures | 28:41 |
from Luke 23:44-47. | 28:43 | |
It was now about the sixth hour | 28:50 | |
and there was darkness over the whole land | 28:52 | |
until the ninth hour while the sun failed, | 28:54 | |
and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. | 28:57 | |
Then Jesus, crying in a loud voice said, | 29:01 | |
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." | 29:04 | |
And having said this, | 29:08 | |
he breathed His last. | 29:09 | |
Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, | 29:13 | |
He praised God and said, | 29:16 | |
"Certainly this man was innocent." | 29:18 | |
♪ Father, into your hands ♪ | 29:32 | |
♪ I commend my spirit ♪ | 29:46 | |
(joyful string music) | 30:07 | |
(joyful string music) | 30:32 | |
(joyful string music) | 30:49 | |
(joyful string music) | 31:11 | |
(joyful string music) | 31:29 | |
(joyful string music) | 31:55 | |
(joyful string music) | 32:16 | |
(joyful string music) | 32:43 | |
(joyful string music) | 33:00 | |
(joyful string music) | 33:24 | |
(joyful string music) | 33:34 | |
(joyful string music) | 34:12 | |
(joyful string music) | 35:04 | |
- | The seven words from the cross come to us | 35:24 |
across centuries through processes | 35:27 | |
of translation involving a number of languages. | 35:29 | |
They also include the desires | 35:34 | |
of many unnamed men, | 35:36 | |
desires to explain impressions and insights, | 35:38 | |
which go beyond the limits of our reason. | 35:41 | |
The par of these words is reflected not so much | 35:44 | |
in a precision associated | 35:47 | |
with accurate observation and reporting, | 35:50 | |
but more in the miracle | 35:53 | |
that the events and viewpoints, | 35:55 | |
what they represent, | 35:57 | |
are still a coherent part of human expression. | 35:58 | |
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." | 36:04 | |
Our service of worship states | 36:10 | |
that these words involved confidence | 36:11 | |
at the cross. | 36:13 | |
Why should these words represent confidence? | 36:15 | |
There are three possibilities, | 36:20 | |
which we might consider briefly. | 36:22 | |
These possibilities involve a false confidence, | 36:24 | |
a desire to relieve feelings of guilt, | 36:29 | |
and finally confidence associated | 36:32 | |
with the acceptance of reality. | 36:35 | |
Let's just briefly consider the first possibility. | 36:39 | |
There are times when arrogance | 36:44 | |
or lack of understanding an insight | 36:46 | |
into the real situation can give a person | 36:49 | |
a sense of confidence or lead | 36:51 | |
to an impression of confidence. | 36:53 | |
However, such words as "blessed are the meek" | 36:56 | |
and "blessed are the poor in spirit" | 36:59 | |
from the Sermon on the Mount do not suggest | 37:01 | |
that the confidence which Jesus represents is | 37:04 | |
one of arrogance. | 37:06 | |
Furthermore, it is apparent that we believe | 37:09 | |
that Jesus displayed unusual understanding | 37:12 | |
and insight into reality. | 37:14 | |
That is, he's vested with a capacity | 37:16 | |
to cure the sick, | 37:18 | |
and he provided food and understanding. | 37:20 | |
The chaplains who gave their lives to others | 37:24 | |
aboard a sinking ship during World War II, | 37:26 | |
were giving expression to a similar viewpoint. | 37:30 | |
So it seems that we are not dealing | 37:33 | |
with a false confidence or arrogance. | 37:36 | |
Let's consider the second possibility. | 37:40 | |
That is, a confidence associated with our guilt. | 37:44 | |
Death on the cross with all the dust, dirt, | 37:50 | |
pain, anguish, ridicule, shame, rejection. | 37:54 | |
And here we are centuries later | 38:01 | |
in a quiet sanctuary talking about confidence. | 38:04 | |
Maybe we want to confess, | 38:09 | |
or do we want to ignore our guilt | 38:11 | |
by giving this downtrodden person the last word? | 38:14 | |
What guilt need we confess or ignore? | 38:18 | |
We weren't present at the Crucifixion. | 38:22 | |
But the word of the Bible speaks | 38:26 | |
beyond literal terms. | 38:28 | |
And we recognize our guilt by association | 38:30 | |
with other less dramatic, | 38:32 | |
but maybe more insidious activity, | 38:34 | |
or lack of activity. | 38:37 | |
Possibly we sense our guilt | 38:40 | |
in a death of hopes and aspirations, | 38:41 | |
which call for faith and support, | 38:44 | |
which go beyond our limited vision. | 38:47 | |
A constrained vision, | 38:50 | |
which calls a lack of capacity to see, | 38:52 | |
capacity to see darkness. | 38:55 | |
That is, some of the darkness which we feel | 38:59 | |
may be due to a lack of vision | 39:02 | |
rather than lack of illumination. | 39:04 | |
We tend to strike out | 39:08 | |
into the supposed darkness causing injury | 39:09 | |
for which there is a feeling of guilt. | 39:12 | |
We may have that feeling of guilt | 39:14 | |
by trying to console an injured life | 39:16 | |
with words of confidence. | 39:19 | |
There may be some validity in the view | 39:21 | |
that we use the so-called words of confidence | 39:23 | |
to apologize for our unrecognized blindness. | 39:26 | |
However, this interpretation does not carry | 39:30 | |
the strength to propagate | 39:34 | |
a faith through centuries. | 39:35 | |
There must be more. | 39:38 | |
Let's turn to the third possibility. | 39:39 | |
Confidence at the cross is associated | 39:46 | |
with a large loud cry, | 39:48 | |
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." | 39:51 | |
Luke indicates that these were | 39:57 | |
the last words of Jesus before His death. | 39:58 | |
Death represents an interesting combination | 40:03 | |
of certainty and uncertainty. | 40:05 | |
There is certainty about the grave | 40:09 | |
and the quiet tomb. | 40:11 | |
There is uncertainty about what lies | 40:14 | |
beyond the tomb. | 40:16 | |
Uncertainty does not always bring forth confidence. | 40:19 | |
We tend to associate certainty and security, | 40:25 | |
and from security, | 40:28 | |
we move to confidence. | 40:29 | |
However, it seems that these words of confidence | 40:31 | |
of Jesus could represent genuine confidence, | 40:33 | |
productive confidence, the kind | 40:37 | |
that provides understanding and balance | 40:39 | |
through the ages and all conditions. | 40:41 | |
We know that confidence can stem | 40:46 | |
from seeing reality beyond the confines | 40:48 | |
of our limited vision. | 40:51 | |
That is, that dying man | 40:52 | |
on the cross was really confident | 40:54 | |
because he had reasons and feelings | 40:56 | |
which overcame the pain, the dirt, | 40:58 | |
ridicule, shame, and rejection. | 41:02 | |
What did he see? | 41:04 | |
How could he be confident? | 41:06 | |
In a scientific age, | 41:10 | |
confidence is often placed in repeatable, | 41:11 | |
predictable, rational phenomena and behavior. | 41:14 | |
However, there are clear inconsistencies | 41:19 | |
with a view of repeatability, | 41:22 | |
even in the science of sciences, physics. | 41:24 | |
For out of periodicity, | 41:27 | |
the ultimate, and the repeatable, | 41:29 | |
the wave mechanics of modern physics produces | 41:31 | |
a quantum view of matter with uncertainty | 41:34 | |
at its center. | 41:37 | |
The second law of thermodynamics, | 41:39 | |
a doctrinal pillar of physics indicates | 41:41 | |
that entropy of a closed system tends to increase, | 41:44 | |
and entropy is synonymous with uncertainty. | 41:47 | |
That is, if the physical universe is viewed | 41:52 | |
as a closed system, physical law points | 41:55 | |
to increasing uncertainty and chaos | 41:57 | |
as time passes. | 42:00 | |
The businessman and administrator talk | 42:03 | |
of careful organization and planned development. | 42:05 | |
However, they know that an element | 42:10 | |
of uncertainty provides zest and openings | 42:12 | |
which make the predictable repeatable aspects | 42:14 | |
of His endeavors effective and necessary. | 42:17 | |
So the scientists and the businessman, | 42:21 | |
models of persons involved | 42:23 | |
with repeatable phenomena and predictable behavior, | 42:25 | |
find uncertainty a vital part of reality. | 42:28 | |
Unfortunately, one has the impression | 42:33 | |
that these characteristics, | 42:35 | |
that is, uncertainty and unpredictability, | 42:36 | |
are often viewed as enemies to be destroyed | 42:40 | |
rather than reality to be accepted or used. | 42:43 | |
The housewife in her home making activities | 42:47 | |
knows that unpredictable events combine | 42:50 | |
with fairly predictable periodic day-by-day routines | 42:52 | |
to give added dimensions | 42:56 | |
to growing family relationships. | 42:57 | |
That is, what will Jimmy think of next? | 43:00 | |
The modern student has been introducing unscheduled events, | 43:04 | |
that is, uncertainty, | 43:08 | |
into the heavily scheduled academic world | 43:10 | |
at an increasing rate. | 43:13 | |
Sometimes it seems that the unscheduled events | 43:15 | |
in our lives might lead to threatening situations | 43:17 | |
unless we are open to the unexpected aspects | 43:21 | |
or randomness of reality, | 43:24 | |
even the tenured professor must realize | 43:26 | |
that his measured way has unmeasurable dimensions. | 43:29 | |
So in a scientific technological age, | 43:34 | |
characterized by an emphasis | 43:37 | |
on the repeatable predictable phenomena, | 43:39 | |
we find randomness and uncertainty, | 43:42 | |
which point to a post-scientific world | 43:45 | |
with more chaos, more randomness, | 43:47 | |
more acceptance of the validity | 43:50 | |
of the unpredictable. | 43:52 | |
As we try to look | 43:56 | |
through the certainty of the tomb, | 43:56 | |
into the uncertainty of the unknown | 43:59 | |
beyond the tomb, | 44:01 | |
there is a need for a realistic confidence. | 44:02 | |
That final cry from the cross displays | 44:08 | |
the capacity to respond effectively | 44:10 | |
to unpredictability and uncertainty. | 44:12 | |
Out of randomness can come hope | 44:16 | |
and opportunity for growth. | 44:18 | |
As the new patterns form, | 44:20 | |
and as the old patterns fade, | 44:22 | |
we have the opportunity | 44:24 | |
for enhanced view and perspective. | 44:26 | |
However, we also have the possibility | 44:29 | |
of diminished perspective and vision. | 44:31 | |
Whether we move into new reality | 44:35 | |
with certain uncertainties | 44:36 | |
in a manner which leads to a deeper understanding | 44:39 | |
and fuller realization of the promises of being, | 44:41 | |
depends upon our choices as new patterns evolve. | 44:45 | |
Let us pray. | 44:52 | |
Most great God, source of being, | 44:58 | |
forgive our lack of vision. | 45:02 | |
Help us to overcome the blindness | 45:05 | |
which refuses to admit the light. | 45:07 | |
And as we respond as individuals | 45:10 | |
and as a community, | 45:14 | |
we praise thee for the balance | 45:16 | |
of the known and the unknown, | 45:17 | |
which can provide zest being, amen. | 45:19 | |
(church organ playing) | 45:30 | |
♪ Behold the Savior of mankind ♪ | 45:52 | |
♪ Nailed to the shameful tree ♪ | 45:59 | |
♪ How vast the love that Him inclined ♪ | 46:05 | |
♪ To bleed and die for thee ♪ | 46:12 | |
♪ Har, how He groans, while nature shakes ♪ | 46:20 | |
♪ And earth's strong pillars bend ♪ | 46:27 | |
♪ The temple's veil in sunder breaks ♪ | 46:34 | |
♪ The solid marbles rend ♪ | 46:40 | |
♪ 'Tis done! The precious ransom's paid ♪ | 46:48 | |
♪ "Receive my soul!" He cries ♪ | 46:55 | |
♪ See where He bows His sacred head ♪ | 47:02 | |
♪ He bows His head and dies ♪ | 47:09 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 47:18 | |
Now may the grace of the crucified Christ be | 47:27 | |
with us today so that the power | 47:30 | |
of the risen Christ may be with us | 47:33 | |
on Easter, amen. | 47:36 |
Item Info
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