Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 3:00 pm (May 4, 1986)

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	(upbeat music)	0:03
	(peppy music)	9:23
	♪ Beautiful Savior ♪	21:44
	♪ Lord of all nations ♪	21:51
	♪ Son of God ♪	21:58
	♪ And Son of man ♪	22:03
	♪ Glory and honor ♪	22:12
	♪ Grace adoration ♪	22:19
	♪ Now and forever ♪	22:25
	♪ More be Thine ♪	22:30
	♪ Now and forever ♪	22:37
	♪ More be Thine ♪	22:46
	(upbeat music)	22:59
	(lyrics drowned out by organ)	23:38
-	As a forgiven people, we recognize that it is only	27:27
	the love of God that can save us and not we ourselves.	27:30
	Therefore, let us confess our sins to	27:36
	Almighty God that we may be reconciled	27:38
	unto our Maker who redeems and sustains us.	27:42
	Please be seated.	27:46
	Most merciful God, we confess that we have	28:06
	sinned against You in thought, word and deed,	28:10
	by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.	28:14
	We have not loved You with our whole heart.	28:19
	We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	28:22
	We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent.	28:26
	For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy	28:30
	on us and forgive us that we may delight in	28:33
	Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your name.	28:37
	Amen.	28:43
	For as the heavens are high above the earth,	28:45
	so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.	28:48
	As far as the east is from the west,	28:53
	so far does he remove our transgressions from us.	28:57
	Amen.	29:01
-	As minister to the university, it is my pleasure	29:10
	to welcome you to this baccalaureate service.	29:12
	And also to welcome back to the pulpit of Duke Chapel,	29:16
	our guest preacher, the Reverend Dr. Peter Gomes,	29:20
	minister to Memorial Church and	29:25
	Plummer professor at Harvard University.	29:27
	We are pleased to have him back today and we welcome him.	29:32
-	Let us pray.	29:46
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God, by the power of Your	29:48
	Holy Spirit, so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	29:52
	we might hear with joy what You say to us this day.	29:56
	Amen.	30:01
	The first lesson is taken from Acts.	30:03
	But some men came down from Judea and were	30:07
	teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised	30:10
	according to custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.	30:14
	And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension	30:18
	and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some	30:21
	of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem	30:25
	to the apostles and the elders about this question.	30:28
	Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders	30:33
	with the whole church, to choose men from among them	30:35
	and send them to Antioch with Paul and with Barnabas.	30:40
	And they sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas,	30:45
	leading men among the brethren, with the following letter.	30:49
	The brethren, both the apostles and the elders,	30:54
	to the brethren who are the Gentiles	30:58
	in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting.	31:00
	Since we have heard that some persons from us	31:06
	have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds,	31:08
	although we gave them no instructions,	31:13
	it has seemed good to us, having come to	31:15
	one accord to choose men and send them to you	31:18
	with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have	31:22
	risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.	31:26
	We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves	31:31
	will tell you the same things by word of mouth.	31:35
	For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay	31:38
	upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.	31:44
	That you abstain from what has been	31:48
	sacrificed to idols, and from blood,	31:50
	and from what is strangled, and from unchastity.	31:54
	If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.	31:58
	Farewell.	32:05
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	32:07
	(serene music)	32:14
	(lyrics drowned out by the music)	32:28
-	The congregation will please rise	35:53
	for the reading of the Gospel.	35:55
	The Gospel lesson is taken from St. John.	36:02
	Jesus answered him, if a man loves Me, he will keep My Word.	36:06
	And my Father will love him.	36:11
	And We will come to him and make Our home with him.	36:14
	He who does not love Me, does not keep my Words.	36:18
	And the Word which you hear is not Mine,	36:22
	but the Father's who sent Me.	36:25
	These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.	36:28
	But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,	36:32
	whom the Father will send in My name, He will	36:35
	teach you all things, and bring to you remembrance.	36:39
	All that I have said to you, peace I leave with you.	36:43
	My peace I give to you,	36:48
	not as the world gives do I give to you.	36:50
	Let not your hearts be troubled.	36:53
	Neither let them be afraid.	36:56
	You heard Me say to you, I go away, and I will come to you.	36:58
	If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I	37:03
	go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.	37:07
	And now, I have told you before it takes place,	37:12
	so that when it does take place, you may believe.	37:16
	This ends the reading of the Gospel.	37:20
	(upbeat music)	37:23
	(lyrics drowned out by music)	37:32
-	The Epistle is written in the 16th chapter	38:47
	of St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians,	38:51
	beginning at the first verse.	38:56
	Now, concerning the contribution for the saints,	39:03
	as I directed the church of Galatia, so you also are to do.	39:08
	On the first day of every week, each of you is to	39:15
	put something aside and store it up as he may prosper,	39:20
	so that contributions need not be made when I come.	39:25
	And when I arrive, I will send those whom you	39:30
	accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.	39:34
	If it seems advisable that I should	39:39
	go also, they will accompany me.	39:41
	I will visit you after passing through Macedonia,	39:45
	for I intend to pass through Macedonia,	39:49
	and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter,	39:52
	so that you may speed me on my journey wherever I go.	39:57
	For I do not want to see you now just in passing.	40:02
	I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits.	40:06
	But, I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost.	40:11
	For a wide door for effective work has opened	40:16
	to me and there are many adversaries.	40:20
	When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you,	40:26
	for he is doing the work of the Lord as I am.	40:30
	So, let no one despise him.	40:34
	Speed him on his way in peace, that he may return to me,	40:37
	for I am expecting him with the brethren.	40:42
	Here ends the reading from the Epistle.	40:48
	Let us pray.	40:53
	Help us, Lord, to become masters of ourselves,	40:57
	that we may become the servants of others.	41:01
	Take our hands and work through them.	41:05
	Take our minds and think through them.	41:08
	Take our lips and speak through them.	41:12
	And take our hearts and set them on fire.	41:15
	For Christ's sake, amen.	41:20
	I take as my text the ninth verse	41:30
	from this chapter from 1 Corinthians,	41:35
	which you have just heard	41:38
	these words of the apostle Paul.	41:41
	For a wide door for effective work	41:46
	has opened to me	41:52
	and there are many adversaries.	41:55
	For hundreds of years,	42:02
	the old have assembled the young before them,	42:06
	very much in scenes like this.	42:11
	And the old have inflicted upon the young,	42:15
	such as you are,	42:19
	one last bit of unsolicited advice.	42:22
	This is the season of the year when that ritual takes place	42:28
	across the land with painful	42:33
	regularity and frequency.	42:36
	The formula for the advice that we	42:40
	give to you is something like this;	42:44
	the world is in terrible shape,	42:49
	but you can handle it.	42:53
	Or, the world is in very good shape	42:57
	and you're very lucky to be going out into it.	43:00
	Or, the world is in terrible shape, and so are you.	43:05
	(audience laughing)	43:10
	Now, given this advice, with it's mixed signals,	43:13
	is it no wonder that many students, perhaps some of you,	43:18
	have initiated demands for	43:23
	some sort of student tenure.	43:26
	It was George Plimpton, who in a class day speech	43:30
	at Harvard some years ago, put this sentiment	43:34
	very clearly when addressing the seniors about to depart.	43:37
	George Plimpton said to them, I have just	43:41
	one word of advice to you seniors, who are	43:43
	about to go out into the world; don't go.	43:47
	(audience laughing)	43:52
	It's hell out there.	43:54
	But you must go.	43:57
	You've hired these robes, you've got to go.	43:59
	Your parents can't afford to keep you here any longer.	44:03
	(audience laughing and clapping)	44:07
	Duke University cannot afford to have you around	44:15
	any longer, because now you all know too much.	44:19
	You see, the university is really in	44:25
	the business of ignorance, not of knowledge.	44:27
	That is why when you know too much, you are graduated,	44:31
	given a degree, certified,	44:36
	and sent away like Adam and Eve,	44:39
	expelled or graduated from the Garden of Eden.	44:42
	They were expelled not because they were stupid,	44:47
	but because they knew too much, and not for their own good.	44:51
	(audience laughing)	44:56
	The preachers task on an occasion	44:58
	such as this is to try to make sense of this expulsion,	45:01
	to attempt a sorting out.	45:06
	Both to speed you on your way, to get you out of here	45:09
	as quickly as possible with all decency.	45:12
	And to do so without imposing too much upon	45:16
	your good time, your good humor, or your good sense.	45:20
	I take this task seriously, for I have a	45:26
	healthy regard for what transpires here at Duke.	45:29
	I take this task seriously because I care for	45:34
	the world into which you are now about to enter.	45:37
	And I take this task seriously because	45:42
	I have high hope and confidence in you,	45:45
	in your character, in your mind, and in your souls.	45:49
	It would be an easy temptation to use this sermon	45:56
	and this occasion as an opportunity to compliment	46:00
	you all on all of those skills and abilities	46:03
	that have sustained you here in your days at Duke.	46:08
	But you already know how clever you are,	46:12
	how attractive you are, how bright you are.	46:16
	You know, better than I, how hard you have worked.	46:20
	Some, to make the system work for you.	46:25
	Others of you, to avoid all work at all.	46:29
	Not a few of you are here today solely by the grace of God.	46:33
	(audience laughing)	46:38
	You, more than most, should attend	46:41
	all three of these baccalaureate services.	46:43
	But the task before us is just that,	46:49
	it is before us out there.	46:53
	It will not do to rehearse the past,	46:56
	no matter how glorious or how difficult it was.	46:59
	It is not the point to try to	47:04
	recall back the days that have been.	47:07
	We are now called to celebrate the moment	47:12
	before the next.	47:17
	As Adam said to Eve on the eve of their	47:19
	first commencement,	47:24
	my dear, we live in an age of transition.	47:25

-	And that is the subject for another sermon.	0:03
	(laughter)	0:07
	The presumption that we live in a very unique age	0:08
	which therefore, requires some very unique counsel	0:11
	because we are very unique people,	0:15
	it's simply put,	0:18
	not a very unique presumption.	0:20
	To help us frame this then	0:23
	I've taken as my text,	0:26
	a modest bit of enigmatic prose	0:28
	from Saint Paul's first letter	0:32
	to the Corinthians.	0:35
	These words.	0:36
	For a wide door for effective work	0:38
	has been opened to me	0:43
	and there are many adversaries.	0:45
	That is not the sort of verse you would memorize	0:50
	in Sunday school	0:54
	nor is it so a verse that would be inscribed in Bibles	0:55
	presented to you,	1:00
	or written even in religious calendar art.	1:01
	It is rather obscure,	1:06
	enigmatic, eminently forgettable,	1:10
	the ideal subject for a sermon	1:14
	on occasion such as this.	1:16
	(laughter)	1:19
	Now if you can remember	1:20
	a few minutes ago, back to that chapter	1:22
	from Corinthians which	1:24
	I read to you, you may have wondered	1:26
	what on Earth is going on?	1:29
	And why here and why now?	1:32
	It seems one of those little business notes	1:35
	that Paul is always jotting off to his constituents	1:38
	a combination of homily, gossip,	1:43
	scolding, advice, and preaching	1:46
	much more like a collage of messages	1:50
	taped to the refrigerator door	1:53
	than a philosophical essay or a reasoned discourse.	1:56
	Well I ask you to forget the travel,	2:02
	forget about Macedonia,	2:05
	forget about the offering for the Saints	2:07
	at Jerusalem and even the advice	2:10
	concerning Timothy.	2:12
	Focus for a moment on that almost	2:15
	parenthetical statement that talks about a	2:17
	wide door for effective work.	2:21
	A wide door that the apostle believes has opened to him.	2:26
	And perhaps the most important word	2:32
	in the passage, and there are many	2:35
	adversaries.	2:40
	Note that the apostle says,	2:42
	"And there are many adversaries,"	2:44
	rather than, "But there are many adversaries,"	2:46
	or, "Unfortunately, there are many adversaries,"	2:50
	or, "It's too bad that there are many adversaries."	2:53
	He doesn't say any of that.	2:57
	He says, "A wide door for effective work,	2:59
	"opportunity, has opened for me	3:02
	"and there are many adversaries,"	3:05
	or obstacles, or difficulties.	3:09
	There are by definition,	3:14
	adversaries at the point of every opportunity.	3:18
	With every opportunity	3:23
	there comes adversity	3:26
	and if this is so, so to is the opposite.	3:29
	With adversity, there comes a necessity,	3:33
	opportunity.	3:39
	Saint Paul recognized that in some sense	3:41
	adversity was not the opposite of opportunity,	3:45
	it was the consequence of opportunity.	3:50
	He understood as so many of us do not that both opportunity	3:55
	and adversity are seasons of grace.	4:00
	They are together, a part of the normal	4:05
	ordinary business of living.	4:09
	And the university community	4:14
	especially as privileged University community	4:15
	as this one is,	4:18
	one frequently is brought up with the view	4:20
	that one has a ticket only	4:24
	to opportunity and a first class ticket at that.	4:26
	Somehow here, we the sifted few	4:32
	in Henry James' deliciously cynical phrase,	4:36
	"Pay these exorbitant fees,	4:41
	"and those of us who teach	4:44
	"are paid these pitiful salaries	4:45
	(laughter)	4:48
	"to be protected from adversity	4:49
	"of any sort."	4:52
	We are subsidized in the view	4:55
	that a carefree opportunity	4:58
	belongs to us as a right	5:02
	and that anything less than this	5:05
	is in the academic equivalent	5:07
	of sin, unfair.	5:10
	It is unfair, say some of you	5:14
	that your generation should inherit the threat	5:18
	of nuclear annihilation,	5:22
	thus, raining on your parade.	5:24
	It is unfair that the nations	5:28
	of the economy will make it likely	5:31
	that your standard of living	5:34
	will be lower than that of your parents.	5:36
	It is unfair that we cannot resolve	5:39
	the wrongs in Latin America,	5:43
	South Africa, the Middle East,	5:46
	or Northern Ireland, or downtown	5:48
	without undo inconvenience to ourselves.	5:52
	It is unfair that we should be kicked out of Duke	5:57
	just when we got to figure out how the place ran	6:01
	and could almost do it by ourselves.	6:05
	Indeed, the University education	6:09
	ought to teach one how to make the most of one's	6:11
	opportunities, but it is also engaged	6:15
	at it's best in the business	6:19
	of dealing with the adversity	6:22
	that comes with it.	6:24
	For nothing less than life itself	6:27
	is the business of learning.	6:30
	It was (mumbles) who in criticism	6:34
	of Hegel said,	6:36
	"He teaches you everything	6:38
	"you need to know in the world	6:41
	"except how to live your life	6:44
	"and die your death."	6:47
	What a sad verdict	6:50
	on such a wise man.	6:52
	There will probably still be commencement orators	6:57
	across the land,	7:02
	who will continue to sound the trumpets	7:04
	of opportunity in technological terms.	7:07
	And will tell you that we are	7:11
	the able now to make better mouse traps,	7:14
	than we were last year.	7:17
	They will tell us we can do anything	7:20
	we want to do.	7:23
	They will give audiences such as you	7:25
	license to sing that grammar school taunt,	7:28
	anything you can do, I can do better.	7:32
	And because so many of you have been here	7:36
	so long, worked so hard,	7:39
	and paid out so much	7:42
	you will be tempted to believe	7:44
	these easy profits of easy progress.	7:48
	Now don't get me wrong,	7:53
	I do not despise progress,	7:55
	I am not a Luddite.	7:58
	I am not a member of the Amish community.	8:01
	I do not hold the view	8:05
	of the little ole lady from Dubuque	8:06
	who said that if God had intended man to fly	8:09
	he would not have invented the railroad.	8:12
	(laughter)	8:15
	No, I like my microwaves.	8:16
	I like the internal combustion engine.	8:20
	I like digital clocks	8:25
	and all the other marvelous products	8:27
	from Japan.	8:30
	(laughter)	8:31
	But I hope that neither you	8:34
	nor I will mistake these achievements	8:36
	and wonders for any thing more than	8:40
	what they really are.	8:44
	Means and diversions.	8:46
	Perhaps we need to remember Pharaoh's words,	8:50
	When in voting against the extension of the telegraph lines	8:53
	from Concord to Boston in 1847,	8:58
	he said, "All our progress	9:01
	"is but improved means to unimproved ends."	9:04
	We don't need to be chastened by anything	9:11
	quite so modest as the extension	9:15
	of the telegraph	9:18
	from Concord to Boston.	9:19
	The Challenger disaster in January may have	9:23
	delayed the exploration of outer space,	9:27
	but it may as well in that enigmatic way	9:31
	have accelerated the exploration	9:36
	of inner space.	9:39
	When the disaster revealed itself	9:42
	before our eyes,	9:45
	we were assured first that it was	9:47
	a terrible thing but some kind of technical	9:50
	or technological answer	9:55
	surely could be found to correct	9:57
	a technical or technological error.	10:00
	And once this had been detected,	10:04
	once we had found out	10:06
	what was wrong,	10:08
	we could correct the matter	10:10
	and there would be no loss to progress	10:13
	or to science despite the regrettable human loss.	10:16
	Our commentators were concerned	10:22
	for our children who watched this disaster	10:24
	on television.	10:27
	Concerned not that the children would be traumatized	10:29
	by death, they see that all of the time.	10:32
	That was nothing new.	10:37
	What they feared was that	10:40
	children would be traumatized	10:42
	by the failure of technology.	10:44
	Not the loss of life	10:48
	but the imperfection of the machine.	10:50
	And that was new.	10:54
	But now we are sadder and wiser.	10:58
	We know that at the heart of the shuttle failure	11:03
	was not technology as such,	11:07
	but as in all human things,	11:10
	there was at the heart of the enterprise,	11:15
	human failure.	11:18
	A lie here, a cover up there.	11:21
	The desire for NASA to push things through	11:25
	as quickly as possible.	11:29
	The need for the appearance of success	11:31
	at any cost.	11:34
	The unwillingness to entertain even	11:37
	the hypothesis of failure.	11:39
	The unwillingness to entertain adversity	11:43
	as a colleague of opportunity.	11:47
	Human error, not ignorance,	11:51
	not evil, but error,	11:54
	seems to be the culprit here	11:56
	and ambition for achievement at any cost.	12:00
	Fame, distinction, power, all of those things	12:05
	you have been taught to grab for	12:10
	so quickly, all of those things that	12:12
	from time in memorial,	12:15
	have deluded us into thinking ourselves	12:18
	wiser, and better than we are or can be.	12:21
	The opportunity for wide	12:27
	and effective work is great	12:30
	but often, more often then not,	12:33
	the adversaries that always accompany it	12:36
	are not only out there,	12:40
	and beyond, but rather within	12:42
	and very near indeed.	12:47
	There is an arrogance	12:52
	that comes with knowledge	12:54
	such as you and I posses	12:57
	and that arrogance my dear friends,	13:01
	is just as dangerous as ignorance	13:04
	and even moreso.	13:08
	There is also an arrogance that comes	13:11
	with virtue as well.	13:13
	And you who would be virtuous	13:16
	ought to pay heed to that danger.	13:19
	There is an aphorism that says,	13:23
	"A surplus of virtue is more dangerous	13:26
	"than a surplus of vice.	13:30
	"For a surplus of virtue is not subject	13:33
	to the constraints of conscience."	13:37
	Think of it,	13:42
	how much harm is done in the name of good?	13:43
	How much real wickedness	13:48
	is done by those who in the name	13:51
	or what they believe to be a just cause,	13:55
	will stop at nothing.	13:58
	University men and women	14:01
	are subject as few others are	14:03
	to the arrogance of knowledge	14:06
	and virtue.	14:09
	Thinking that all who disagree	14:11
	with you, are either stupid	14:12
	or wicked or both.	14:14
	One of the virtues of the world beyond these walls,	14:17
	is that you will not be permitted	14:23
	the uncontested luxury	14:25
	of either of these options for long.	14:27
	It will be tempting even seductive	14:33
	to believe that the world today	14:37
	is now a very different place	14:39
	from what it was 25 or 50	14:42
	or 100 years ago.	14:46
	And certainly there is no comparison	14:49
	with the world of Adam and Eve	14:52
	or even of Saint Paul.	14:55
	Happily we say, we are freed from all of those	14:58
	anxieties and ignorances.	15:03
	Our medieval academic costume	15:06
	and our medieval Ecclesiastical architecture	15:10
	and our Wesleyan piety	15:14
	are simply on a mental props	15:17
	for a brave show,	15:20
	for a brave new people and a brave new world.	15:22
	I rather think that this is a false	15:28
	even dangerous view.	15:32
	The world, I suggest,	15:35
	nuclear threat and all,	15:37
	is fundamentally the same	15:40
	as it is always been and so to	15:42
	for better or worse, are men and women.	15:46
	The same fears, hopes,	15:50
	weaknesses, and ambitions	15:53
	confront us as confronted our mothers	15:55
	and fathers, we are not so much different than they.	15:59
	Is it then not a source of some profound	16:05
	reassurance that the God who cared for them	16:09
	continues to care for us	16:14
	and that the gospel which was true	16:18
	for them continues to be true for you	16:20
	and for me as well.	16:25
	In the midst of all the discontinuities	16:29
	of life, that is the only continuity	16:32
	worth holding on to.	16:37
	And if that is true	16:40
	is it not one of the hopeful ironies	16:42
	of our time, that we should be prepared	16:45
	to enter a secular and crazy world	16:48
	by a service of prayers,	16:53
	hymns, and thanksgiving	16:56
	before the the altar of the living God.	17:00
	Not in the laboratory,	17:05
	not in the library,	17:07
	not on the fields of endeavor	17:09
	not in the rooms in which you have spent many hours,	17:12
	but in this place	17:16
	the temple of the living God.	17:18
	What encouraged Saint Paul	17:23
	to pass through that wide door for effective work,	17:25
	and to embrace the adversaries	17:30
	within and without,	17:33
	was the conviction that God	17:35
	in Jesus Christ was the same yesterday,	17:38
	today, and forever.	17:43
	No less a conviction than this	17:46
	would enable or empower him	17:49
	in the face of his own arrogance,	17:52
	and weakness,	17:54
	in the face of his own abysmal ignorance	17:55
	and profound temptation.	17:59
	Not only those adversaries within,	18:02
	but the opposition of many without and beyond.	18:06
	If there is continuity in the sin	18:12
	of the world, there is also continuity	18:15
	in the hope of the world	18:18
	and you now are part of that hope.	18:20
	You cannot act the part alone,	18:25
	and that is why all of you,	18:28
	scholars old and young	18:30
	find yourselves here today	18:33
	to receive the prayers and the blessings	18:36
	of the church.	18:40
	For some of you, this may seem just one more pious	18:42
	archaism in the midst of a Gothic quadrangle	18:47
	translated from 15th century Europe,	18:52
	to the glades of North Carolina.	18:55
	That, what has this you might well say,	18:59
	to do with me?	19:03
	Well a great deal.	19:06
	For the power of the Christian faith,	19:07
	the power of the faith that sustains you	19:12
	and nurtures you,	19:14
	does not depend upon whether you believe in God	19:16
	or not, but rather, it depends upon	19:22
	the glorious fact that God	19:25
	believes in you.	19:28
	Upon such a bold premise,	19:31
	is our church founded	19:34
	this University nourished	19:36
	and the hope of the world in you maintained.	19:39
	So are we asking you to be heroes,	19:48
	dare to be a Daniel,	19:52
	dare to be a Paul,	19:54
	as the old pious Sunday school song goes.	19:55
	Are we asking you to join the saints	19:59
	and the martyrs, the brightest and the best	20:02
	in the field of endeavor	20:05
	or in Wall Street, or wherever you hope	20:07
	you will be taken.	20:10
	I suggest not,	20:13
	with all due respect to you	20:15
	and to the heroic,	20:18
	we don't need one more heroic figure.	20:19
	Our prayer is that a Browning's Paracelsus	20:26
	who asks, "Make no more giants Lord,	20:29
	"but elevate the race."	20:34
	There is now open to each of you	20:38
	a wide and great door for effectual work,	20:41
	working in the world.	20:47
	And there are many adversaries	20:51
	as well, known and unknown to you.	20:54
	You cannot stay here.	20:59
	You cannot stay in this chapel.	21:02
	You must go and in the words	21:04
	of the spiritual, "I will go.	21:07
	"I shall go,	21:10
	"to see what the end will be."	21:12
	And as you go, may God go before you,	21:16
	behind you, within you,	21:21
	and forever with you.	21:25
	Amen.	21:28
	(organ plays)	21:37
	(choir sings)	22:33
-	Let us unite in this historic confession	25:20
	of the Christian faith,	25:23
	I believe in God the Father Almighty,	25:26
	maker of Heaven and Earth,	25:29
	and in Jesus Christ his only Son	25:32
	our Lord who is conceived by the Holy Ghost,	25:34
	born of the Virgin Mary,	25:38
	suffered unto Pontius Pilate,	25:40
	was crucified,	25:43
	dead, and buried.	25:44
	He descended into Hell,	25:46
	the third day he rose again from the dead.	25:48
	He ascended into Heaven	25:51
	and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty	25:53
	from thence he shall come to judge the	25:57
	quick and the dead.	25:59
	I believe in the Holy Ghost,	26:01
	the Holy Catholic Church,	26:03
	the communion of Saints,	26:06
	the forgiveness of sins,	26:08
	the Resurrection of the body	26:10
	and the life everlasting, Amen.	26:12
	The Lord be with you.	26:16
	(congregation responds)	26:19
	Let us pray.	26:20
	Be seated.	26:21
	Gracious God,	26:31
	source of all truth and wisdom	26:34
	all knowledge and love	26:37
	without your guidance and inspiration	26:40
	this day would not be possible.	26:43
	For these, our graduating students	26:47
	we pray that they might be blessed	26:51
	with self confidence and determination	26:52
	to use their lives	26:55
	and what they've learned here in the service	26:57
	of causes which benefit humanity.	27:00
	We are conscious oh, God,	27:05
	of the many needs present within our world.	27:08
	Humanity has made progress	27:12
	but there is still hunger,	27:14
	ignorance, prejudice and fear.	27:17
	We pray that these young people may go forth	27:22
	into a new, into our world,	27:24
	with a burning desire	27:27
	to rectify these wrongs.	27:30
	We pray for fellow students	27:34
	and teachers in places where freedom	27:36
	and truth are being tested.	27:39
	Particularly those in universities	27:42
	and colleges of South Africa.	27:45
	We pray for fellow students and teachers	27:50
	in countries where there is war	27:52
	or civil strife.	27:53
	Particularly those who work and study	27:56
	in Lebanon, Northern Ireland,	27:58
	Afghanistan, Nicaragua,	28:02
	may they persevere in spite of the terrors around them	28:06
	and be strengthened in their search	28:10
	for the knowledge that brings peace.	28:12
	We pray for those who are engaged	28:17
	in the work of research	28:18
	and discovery,	28:20
	that their minds may be continually enlightened	28:22
	to see more of your glory.	28:25
	We pray for those who teach,	28:29
	that their love of learning	28:32
	may never grow cold	28:33
	and their respect for the wonder	28:36
	of developing young minds	28:38
	never be dulled.	28:40
	We pray for all those who by economic adversity	28:44
	or lack of natural ability	28:48
	are denied educational opportunity.	28:50
	We pray for those in the class	28:55
	of 1986 who have died since this journey began.	28:58
	Louise, Molly, Allison, Ted,	29:04
	and remember them with thanks.	29:08
	For all seekers after truth	29:13
	that their minds maybe opened to new revelation	29:16
	and their will, strength	29:19
	and to follow the truth disclosed.	29:21
	This we pray expectant of your grace	29:25
	and care, Amen.	29:29
	(organ plays)	29:46
	(choir sings)	30:29
	Please stand for the responsive prayer.	35:06
	(rustling)	35:11
	Let us pray.	35:13
	Almighty God, as you have granted us a place	35:16
	in this University,	35:19
	hallow to us this day	35:21
	when we dedicate ourselves to the life and work	35:24
	to which you have called us,	35:27
	that we may remember with gratitude	35:30
	the families and friends who have cared for us.	35:32
	(congregation responds)	35:36
	That in the life ahead,	35:39
	that we may keep faith	35:40
	with those who loved us	35:42
	and trusted us and whose hopes follow us.	35:43
	(congregation responds)	35:48
	That we may enter with good encourage	35:50
	and constant purpose upon a task which await us.	35:52
	(congregation responds)	35:57
	From all vanity and pride	35:59
	as if our accomplishments were of our soul creation.	36:02
	(congregation responds)	36:06
	From neglect to the opportunities which are all about us	36:08
	and from distrust of our ability	36:12
	to meet the duties of each dawning day.	36:14
	(congregation responds)	36:18
	That the example of lies and generous people	36:20
	who have gone before us	36:24
	and our families and here in this University	36:25
	may save us from folly and self indulgence.	36:29
	(congregation responds)	36:33
	More especially that you would show us	36:35
	to your way of love	36:39
	in all that we do or say	36:41
	that we should come to love the Lord our God	36:44
	with our soul and mind and strength	36:46
	and our neighbor as ourselves.	36:49
	(congregation responds)	36:53
	These things and whatever else	36:55
	you see needful and right for us,	36:56
	we ask in your Holy name, Amen.	36:59
	(organ plays)	37:06
	(choir sings)	37:53
	And now class of 1986,	41:39
	may the grace, power and love of God	41:42
	go with you now,	41:45
	and always.	41:47
	(choir sings)	41:51
	♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪	41:52
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	42:30
	(organ plays)	43:00

Item Info

Title:

Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 3:00 pm (May 4, 1986)

Description:

Adversity is a natural consequence of all opportunities. A true education will prepare you to face these adversities and move beyond them by the grace of God. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 41:30. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 21:31.
Key quotation: “There are obstacles that come with every opportunity. They are one and the same process. With every opportunity there comes adversity, and, if this is so, so too is the opposite. With adversity there comes of necessity opportunity.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4qr4p493

Date:

May 4, 1986

Speaker:

Gomes, Peter J.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0329
ref8180_qq4
uachapelsermaud
duke:320484
dcrau001313
ark:/87924/r4qr4p493
9639e18a-5daf-453f-9989-df5aa8d702f1

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.)

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Provenance:

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

Rights:

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In Copyright

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 3:00 pm (May 4, 1986)

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1. Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 10:30 am (May 4, 1986)

2. Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 8:30 am (May 4, 1986)

Duke University Archives

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Peter J. Gomes - "Opportunity and Obstacles" Baccalaureate Service 3:00 pm (May 4, 1986)

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Duke University Archives

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