William Sloane Coffin, Jr. - "Three Questions" (September 9, 1979)

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-	Duke University Chapel, service of worship.	0:04
	September 9th, 1979.	0:06
	(majestic organ music)	0:10
	("Beautiful Savior")	14:50
	♪ Beautiful Savior ♪
	♪ Lord of the nations ♪	14:58
	♪ Son of God ♪	15:06
	♪ And Son of Man ♪	15:12
	♪ Glory and honor ♪	15:21
	♪ Praise, adoration ♪	15:28
	♪ Now and forevermore ♪	15:35
	♪ Be Thine ♪	15:41
	♪ Now and forevermore ♪	15:46
	♪ Now and forevermore ♪	15:51
	♪ Be ♪	15:59
	♪ Thine ♪	16:03
	(majestic orchestral music)	16:12
-	You may be seated.	20:52
	I greet you this morning in the name of our Lord and Savior	21:00
	Jesus Christ.	21:04
	Oh come let us worship and bow down.	21:06
	Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.	21:09
	For he is our God.	21:13
	And we are the people of his pasture	21:16
	and the sheep of his hand, amen.	21:19
	If we claim to be sinless we are self deceived and strangers	21:26
	to the truth.	21:31
	If we confess our sins, God is merciful and just	21:33
	and may be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from	21:38
	every kind of wrong.	21:43
	Therefore let us confess our sins to God.	21:46
	Forgive us God, for our confusion is often like a storm	21:53
	that blurs our vision and clouds our minds.	21:58
	We understand the need to struggle for material gain	22:03
	but fail in our struggle for spiritual gain.	22:08
	We understand the need to relax with a good book	22:12
	but fail to seek the peace of the presence of Christ.	22:17
	We understand the need for social harmony and justice.	22:22
	But fail to promote them through our own living.	22:26
	We understand the need for sensitivity in human encounters	22:31
	but fail to care for one another in our Lord.	22:36
	Oh Lord our God,	22:41
	our confusion often leads to sin and suffering.	22:44
	We ask now for the forgiveness of Christ.	22:49
	We pray from the depths of our hearts.	22:53
	Oh Lord we have wronged ourselves as well as others.	22:57
	Oh Lord we truly repent and confess our mistakes,	23:02
	our transgressions and our sins.	23:08
	Oh Christ forgive us.	23:12
	Let us now continue with our personal confession.	23:16
	Hear now the words of assurance, of forgiveness and pardon	23:45
	from the first chapter of First John.	23:50
	This is the message we have heard from Him	23:53
	and proclaim to you	23:57
	that God is light.	23:59
	And in Him is no darkness at all.	24:02
	If we walk in the light as He is in the light	24:05
	we have fellowship with one another and the blood	24:09
	of Jesus, His son, cleanses us from all sin.	24:13
	Amen.	24:19
	Let us now give thanks for God is good	24:21
	and God's love is ever lasting.	24:25
	Thanks be to God whose love creates us.	24:29
	Thanks be to God whose mercy redeems us.	24:34
	Thanks be to God whose grace leads us into the future.	24:38
-	May I say a word of welcome	24:51
	to you this morning?	24:55
	As we celebrate the opening of this academic year here	24:58
	and as we share in this time of opening, this time of	25:04
	a new beginning in the Duke and in the Durham community.	25:07
	We're pleased to have you worship here with us this day	25:12
	and pray that God's blessings will be with you not only	25:17
	this day but in every day of this particular year.	25:19
	My guess is now that after four days of classes you are	25:23
	at least one month behind but that's okay, I guess.	25:27
	We do wish for you a very blessed and fruitful year,	25:32
	academic year 1979 and '80.	25:37
	We need a number of volunteers to help us with various	25:41
	matters related to the chapel.	25:45
	We need a number of people to serve as ushers on Sunday	25:48
	morning, a number of people to help keep the chapel open	25:50
	from eight until 11 at night, it's kept open from eight	25:54
	until eight with paid staff but we like to keep it open	25:57
	later for those who want to make use of it for prayer	26:00
	and meditation and other uses.	26:03
	If you're interested and willing	26:05
	to serve as an usher or a volunteer	26:06
	please let us know by signing up at the hostess desk	26:10
	or on one of the tables outside.	26:13
	This day following the service of worship	26:16
	we will have what we call an opening celebration	26:19
	on the lawn in front of the chapel.	26:22
	The religious activities groups will be represented there by	26:24
	staff persons and by persons involved in their programs.	26:27
	This time is not just for students,	26:31
	but for students, faculty and other persons	26:34
	who are interested in knowing what is	26:36
	going on in religious life activities at Duke.	26:37
	I invite you to stay for a few minutes following the service	26:41
	to browse around and meet those leading and involved in	26:44
	religious life at Duke this year and to sign up and become	26:48
	a part of that particular program	26:51
	or group that interests you.	26:54
	Tonight at 7:30, Bill Coffin will lead a discussion,	26:56
	will share some words and thoughts with us and then will	27:00
	lead a discussion dealing with	27:03
	the disarmament issue and question.	27:05
	This will be at 7:30 in York chapel in the divinity school.	27:07
	You are invited to come and share in that time with us.	27:11
	Bill Coffin is our Preacher for this day.	27:17
	A man who believes that the Church is to be alive and active	27:21
	and in the middle of the world.	27:27
	A man of integrity and conviction and ability.	27:29
	One who believes not only in prayer but also	27:33
	in pickets and protests.	27:36
	One who believes in the Word surely	27:38
	but also in words and actions.	27:41
	Bill has been here before and has proclaimed an authentic	27:45
	word in our midst on at least one occasion previously.	27:48
	We're pleased to welcome you back again	27:52
	to Duke this fall Bill.	27:54
	Bill is the former chaplain at Yale University and is now	27:57
	the senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City.	28:00
	Bill we welcome you and will hear the Word which you bring	28:04
	to us on this very special day.	28:06
	Let us now continue with our worship of God.	28:09
-	Let us pray.	28:21
	Prepare our hearts, oh Lord, to accept your Word.	28:24
	Silence in us any voice but your own.	28:29
	That hearing we may also obey your will.	28:33
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	28:37
	The Old Testament lesson is from the 35th chapter of Isaiah.	28:43
	Verses four through seven-A.	28:49
	Say to those who are of a fearful heart,	28:54
	"Be strong fear not,	28:58
	"behold your God will come with vengeance	29:01
	"with the recompense of God.	29:04
	"He will come and save you.	29:06
	"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears	29:09
	"of the deaf unstopped.	29:13
	"Then shall the lame man leap like a heart	29:16
	"and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.	29:19
	"For water shall break forth in the wilderness	29:22
	"and streams in the desert.	29:26
	"The burning sand shall become a pool	29:28
	"and the thirsty ground springs of water.	29:32
	The epistle lesson is from the first chapter of James.	29:39
	Verses 17 through 27.	29:44
	Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above.	29:50
	Coming down from the Father of lights with whom there	29:56
	is no variation or shadow due to change.	29:59
	Of His own will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth.	30:04
	That we should be a kind of first fruits	30:09
	of his creatures.	30:12
	Know this my beloved brethren,	30:15
	let every man be quick to hear	30:18
	slow to speak.	30:21
	Slow to anger.	30:23
	For the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.	30:26
	Therefor put away all filthiness	30:31
	and rank growth of wickedness	30:34
	and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able	30:37
	to save our souls.	30:42
	But be doers of the Word and not hearers only,	30:45
	deceiving yourselves.	30:50
	For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer	30:52
	he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror.	30:57
	For he observes himself and goes away,	31:02
	and at once forgets what he was like.	31:05
	But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty	31:09
	and perseveres.	31:15
	Be no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts.	31:17
	He shall be blessed in his doing.	31:21
	If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his	31:26
	tongue but deceives his heart	31:30
	this man's religion is vain.	31:33
	Religion that is pure and undefiled	31:37
	before God and the Father is this.	31:40
	To visit orphans and widows in their affliction	31:43
	and to keep one's self unstained in this world.	31:47
	Here ends the reading from the epistle.	31:53
	Amen.	31:57
	("The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God")	31:59
	♪ The heavens are telling the glory of God ♪	32:28
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	32:42
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	32:52
	♪ In all the lands resounds the word ♪	32:58
	♪ The day that is coming speaks to the day ♪	33:07
	♪ The night that is gone to following night ♪	33:08
	♪ The night that is gone to following night ♪	33:22
	♪ The night that is gone to following night ♪	33:29
	♪ The heavens are telling the glory of God ♪	33:37
	♪ The wonder of his work ♪	33:44
	♪ The wonder of his work ♪	33:47
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	33:50
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	33:58
	♪ In all the lands resounds the word ♪	34:12
	♪ Never unperceived ♪	34:20
	♪ Ever understood ♪	34:24
	♪ Ever ♪	34:28
	♪ Ever ♪	34:30
	♪ Ever understood ♪	34:33
	♪ In all the lands resounds the word ♪	34:41
	♪ Never unperceived ♪	34:52
	♪ Ever understood ♪	34:55
	♪ Ever ♪	34:59
	♪ Ever ♪	35:01
	♪ Ever understood ♪	35:04
	♪ Ever ♪	35:07
	♪ Ever ♪	35:09
	♪ Ever ♪	35:14
	♪ Ever understood ♪	35:22
	♪ The heavens are telling the glory of God ♪	35:25
	♪ The wonder of His work ♪	35:34
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	35:37
	♪ The wonder of His work ♪	35:51
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	35:54
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:02
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:11
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:18
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:28
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:35
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:44
	♪ The wonder of His work displays the firmament ♪	36:54
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	37:01
	♪ The heavens are telling the glory of God ♪	37:08
	♪ The wonder of his work displays the firmament ♪	37:16
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	37:23
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	37:27
	♪ The wonder of his work ♪	37:32
	♪ The wonder of his work displays the firmament ♪	37:37
	♪ The heavens are telling the glory of God ♪	37:47
	♪ The wonder of His work ♪	37:57
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	38:03
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	38:09
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	38:12
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	38:16
	♪ Displays the firmament ♪	38:19
-	Will the congregation please stand for the reading	38:42
	of the Gospel lesson?	38:44
	The Gospel lesson is from the seventh chapter of Mark.	38:52
	Verses 31 through 37.	38:55
	Then he returned from the region of Tyre	39:00
	and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee.	39:03
	Through the region of Decapolis.	39:07
	And they brought to him a man who was deaf	39:10
	and had an impediment in his speech.	39:13
	And they besought him to lay his hand upon him.	39:16
	And taking him aside from the multitude privately	39:20
	he put his fingers into his ears and he spat	39:24
	and touched his tongue.	39:28
	And looking up to Heaven he sighed,	39:30
	and said to him, "Ephphatha."	39:32
	That is, be opened.	39:36
	And his ears were opened,	39:39
	his tongue released and he spoke plainly.	39:41
	And he charged them to tell no one.	39:45
	But the more he charged them the more zealously	39:47
	they proclaimed it.	39:50
	And they were astonished beyond measure, saying,	39:52
	"He has done all things well.	39:55
	"He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."	39:58
	Here ends the reading from the Gospel,	40:05
	all praise and glory be to God, amen.	40:08
	(majestic organ music)	40:12
-	Let me if I may, dear sisters and brothers, simply assume	41:25
	that you know that I know that it's a great honor	41:29
	as well as pleasure to be back at Duke where there is	41:33
	always such a joyful noise being made unto the Lord.	41:37
	In fact sitting where I was, I felt the angel had visited me	41:42
	and said "Blessed art thou among women."	41:45
	(congregation laughing)	41:49
	After the recent downpour,	41:53
	which battered almost everyone	41:58
	up and down the eastern coast.	42:01
	You could see, I imagine almost anywhere you looked	42:04
	small groups of small children	42:10
	going about the serious	42:15
	business of puddle gazing.	42:17
	That is, wondering how it can be,	42:20
	that so much of the earth and sky can be	42:24
	captured in such small bodies of water.	42:27
	Well in like fashion, we can wonder, how is it that	42:34
	so much of the story of earth and Heaven can be captured	42:39
	in small biblical tales such as the one we have	42:42
	just heard read by the chancellor.	42:46
	That's why normally the best sermons are those that take	42:51
	a small story like that and try to see through it all that	42:54
	is given mortal eyes to see,	42:59
	of the ways of God and humankind.	43:02
	Today, however, is a bit special I was told.	43:08
	So I wanted to depart a bit from normal sermon preaching.	43:13
	I'll preach a bit as southerners understand preaching.	43:18
	But not in the conventional way.	43:21
	Here we are at the beginning of an academic year.	43:24
	Here we are in a community that knows that often there is	43:28
	more faith in quiet uncertainty than in loud certainty.	43:31
	A community that knows that there's nothing as irrelevant	43:35
	as an answer to an unasked question.	43:40
	A community which hopefully, with St. Augustine,	43:44
	believes in thinking and wishes to think in believing.	43:48
	So let me start by quoting	43:54
	Leo Tolstoy. who once said,	43:58
	"Certain questions are put to human beings	44:03
	"not so much that they should answer them,	44:07
	"as that they should spend their lifetime	44:12
	"wrestling with them."	44:14
	And I want to offer you three questions	44:19
	which strike me as worthy of much attention.	44:21
	As we go on our way doggedly blundering, toward Heaven.	44:24
	The first question,	44:31
	who tells you who you are?	44:33
	And let me illustrate.	44:38
	Bob Young has just said that I used to be chaplain at Yale	44:42
	and it was natural in those days	44:46
	that seniors should ask that I write	44:50
	letters of recommendation	44:53
	when they went on, as so many did, to getting over educated	44:55
	as you know education kills by degrees.	44:59
	(congregation laughing)	45:02
	And if I may say so,	45:04
	these were brilliant letters that I wrote.	45:06
	For instance, to Dean's of such	45:09
	worthy institutions of higher learning as	45:12
	Columbia Law School, or the Harvard Medical School,	45:14
	I would often begin	45:18
	"This candidate will undoubtedly be	45:21
	"in the bottom quarter of your class.	45:24
	"But surely, you will agree with me that the bottom quarter	45:27
	"should be as carefully selected as the top quarter."	45:32
	(congregation laughing)	45:35
	"And for what should you be looking	45:38
	"in the bottom quarter,	45:41
	"if not all the sterling extra circular activities	45:43
	"so eminently embodied in this candidate."	45:47
	And then I would list them.	45:50
	Being of a pastoral bent I would always show the letter	45:54
	to the student	45:59
	and would you believe it,	46:01
	he or she was always hurt.	46:04
	"How do you know I'm gonna be in the bottom quarter?"	46:07
	Well the evidence is all in, isn't it?	46:12
	"Well, you didn't have to tell him did you?"	46:15
	(congregation laughing)	46:17
	You see what I'm getting at?	46:20
	I had written that this was a fantastic human being	46:22
	who happened to the belong in the what, the 99.7 percentile	46:27
	and the fact that they weren't in the 99.8 percentile meant	46:33
	that they were flops.	46:38
	Such is the power of institutions of higher education	46:40
	to tell you who you are.	46:43
	I was saying that this was a human being	46:46
	of marvelous proportions who happens to be a pretty good	46:50
	student but if you're not a top notch student	46:53
	it doesn't matter	46:56
	what kind of a human being you are.	46:58
	How inhuman	47:02
	can our definitions be in intuitions of higher education?	47:05
	It's a good question to ask on the opening Sunday, isn't it?	47:11
	Who tells you who you are?	47:15
	Some people need money to tell them who they are.	47:18
	Most people in politics need power.	47:22
	Many people need parents.	47:26
	The chaplain I used to be amazed how many students	47:29
	could squeeze out almost all of the world	47:31
	in order to please two people	47:34
	who for the most part hadn't spent that much time	47:37
	trying to please them either.	47:39
	Some people need enemies to tell them who they are.	47:42
	Those of you who've studied church history know	47:46
	what I'm talking about, the faithful always need	47:48
	the infidel to confirm them in their fidelity.	47:50
	But it's a phenomenon to be found everywhere.	47:54
	Insiders need outsiders to confirm them in their status	47:57
	as insiders and of course the outsiders	48:00
	need the insiders to do the same thing.	48:03
	It used to be, and tragically still is that Blacks need	48:06
	Whites to tell them who they are and Whites need Blacks.	48:09
	Communists need anti-communists	48:12
	and anti-communists need communists.	48:14
	Thank God for those Russians in Cuba.	48:16
	Now we know who we are.	48:18
	(congregation laughing)	48:20
	10 years ago Vice President Agnew needed	48:23
	the radic libs and they needed him.	48:25
	I'll never forget when President Johnson announced his	48:28
	decision not to run again for presidential election,	48:31
	half a million people in the peace movement	48:35
	lost their identity. Who are we without our enemy?	48:38
	Fortunately Richard Nixon came along and restored it.	48:43
	(congregation laughing)	48:46
	Who tells you who they are, who you are?	48:51
	Some people need their sins to tell them who they are.	48:54
	They tell you that their sins are their problems,	48:59
	I assure you their sins are their solutions.	49:02
	They hang onto their sins.	49:05
	Some people need grief to tell them who they are.	49:07
	So it's a good question, who tells you who you are?	49:11
	Of course if you're religious you have it made.	49:17
	You know, you're infinitely precious.	49:20
	You know that you are unprecedented.	49:24
	Irrepeatable and in the divine dispensation, indispensable.	49:27
	Why?	49:31
	Because God's love doesn't seek value, it creates it.	49:32
	We prayed that a little while ago.	49:36
	It's not because we have value that we are loved,	49:38
	it's because we're loved that we have value.	49:40
	Just think, our value is a gift not an achievement.	49:44
	Who believes that? I find it very hard.	49:47
	Who really believes that he or she never has to prove	49:53
	himself, that's all been taken care of.	49:57
	All we have to do is express ourselves.	50:02
	What a world of difference there is	50:07
	between proving ourselves and expressing ourselves.	50:09
	So who tells you who you are?	50:15
	A pretty good question to start wrestling with	50:20
	early on in the academic year.	50:23
	Well, on to the second question.	50:27
	Also worthy of much wrestling, particularly in these days.	50:31
	Who defines our beloved country?	50:37
	For most of us here today that would mean,	50:40
	who defines the United States.	50:42
	Now let's grant immediately that the Russian's have been	50:48
	behaving rather badly in Eastern Europe,	50:51
	questionably in Cuba,	50:54
	as the Cubans perhaps have been behaving	50:56
	questionably in Africa.	50:58
	But let us heed the biblical injunction not to seek the	51:01
	mote in our neighbors eyes until at least we are	51:04
	thoroughly aware of the beam in our own.	51:07
	We're worried about Soviet combat troops	51:13
	in Cuba this weekend,	51:15
	of course we've had combat troops in Cuba ever since	51:17
	we took over Guantanamo Bay.	51:20
	And of course for 18 years we've maintained a complete	51:24
	embargo on Cuba.	51:27
	Forcing the Cubans into the arms of the Russians as that	51:29
	great Calvinist John Knox said,	51:34
	he might have referred it to the state department,	51:37
	"It is very difficult to alienate people	51:39
	"and influence them at one, at the same time."	51:42
	I think it comes as a surprise to most Americans	51:49
	to realize that since the end of World War II,	51:54
	we American's have intervened in the internal affairs of	51:58
	another small country by a military effort or a major	52:02
	effort on the part of the CIA,	52:06
	on the average of once every 18 months.	52:09
	Perhaps it's useful to rehearse the list,	52:15
	1948, Greece.	52:19
	1953, Iran.	52:22
	1954, Guatemala.	52:26
	1956, Lebanon.	52:29
	1958, Indonesia.	52:32
	1960, Laos.	52:36
	1961, Cuba.	52:39
	1964, British Guiana.	52:42
	1964, The Congo, as it was then called.	52:46
	1965, The Dominican Republic.	52:50
	And thereafter Vietnam, once again Laos,	52:54
	Cambodia, because in order to withdraw from one country	52:58
	we had to invade two and bomb three.	53:02
	In other words, we have passed, I hope this doesn't matter	53:07
	because I'm not gonna be able to fix this.	53:10
	(congregation laughing)	53:14
	Leave it this way.	53:16
	In other words we have passed from isolationism into	53:19
	interventionism without passing through internationalism.	53:22
	Now in the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke,	53:30
	in the second of the three temptations, the devil	53:35
	takes Christ up to a high place.	53:42
	And let me say the devil is not necessarily literally true,	53:45
	just eternally true.	53:49
	And I should say she as well as he because if anyone's	53:52
	androgynous it's the devil.	53:56
	The devil takes Jesus up to a high place and shows him all	54:00
	the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.	54:03
	And makes the extraordinary assertion they all belong to me,	54:05
	a very interesting view of the world.	54:09
	And then says the devil, but I will give them to you	54:14
	provided you will serve me.	54:16
	And as many of you know Jesus answered no, it is written	54:18
	the Lord thy God, Him only will you serve.	54:21
	What is the essence of that temptation?	54:25
	It would have to be a very significant temptation	54:28
	to have taken such a deep hold on Jesus.	54:33
	And when you stop to think of it, it is power, isn't it?	54:37
	Or more accurately, seeking status through power.	54:40
	And wouldn't it be fair to say	54:46
	that perhaps the devil has taken 220 million	54:49
	of us American's up to a high place	54:51
	and shown us all the kingdoms of the world in a moment	54:54
	of time and has said, keep it up you're number one.	54:56
	You're number one.	55:01
	Mind you not in terms of human decency but in terms of	55:03
	economic and particularly military power.	55:06
	Keep it up American's, achieve military superiority	55:10
	even though it cost you your national security.	55:15
	Who's going to define our country	55:20
	in the coming days, weeks and years,	55:22
	this nation under God?	55:25
	The March 13th issue of Business Week was dedicated in its	55:30
	entirety to the decline of American power and on the front	55:33
	was the face of one of my most beloved ladies,	55:37
	the Statue of Liberty, and down her right cheek	55:39
	coursed a single great tear.	55:42
	Well when I was growing up as a kid	55:47
	and seeking to define my country I was told	55:49
	she was the Statue of Liberty!	55:52
	And not the statue of American power.	55:55
	Who's going to define this nation?	56:03
	Our lady is weeping.	56:08
	It may also be because of our irrational love	56:10
	of loveless power.	56:14
	Or is it because those teaming masses yearning	56:16
	to breathe free are behind her back in New York?	56:19
	Well, onto the third question.	56:25
	What kind of a world do you want to leave your children?	56:30
	And I say that advisedly to a majority who have no children	56:34
	as yet because I think we don't so much inherit the	56:39
	world from our ancestors as we borrow it from our children.	56:44
	So what kind of shape is our world gonna be in	56:51
	when we turn it back to our children?	56:53
	One of the great prophets of the nuclear age Albert Einstein	57:01
	said, "The release of power of the atom has changed	57:04
	"everything except our way of thinking and thus we drift	57:07
	"toward a catastrophe of unparalleled magnitude."	57:12
	You see what Einstein the prophet was saying?	57:16
	The nuclear age, my friends, is the antithesis of the	57:19
	pre-nuclear age and not merely the extension of it	57:21
	as so many Americans still think it is.	57:25
	President Truman and his cabinet thought that the bomb could	57:29
	serve the interest of the nation state.	57:31
	Einstein was prescient enough to know that the bomb had	57:33
	in effect rendered the nation state obsolete.	57:36
	The world is always changing.	57:44
	We believe in a God of history,	57:46
	those of us who are Christians	57:48
	which means that perhaps the worst sin in the world	57:50
	is to try to put the freeze on history.	57:52
	Whether it's our own personal history, the history	57:54
	of our nation, or the history of our planet.	57:56
	And the world keeps changing.	57:59
	Everything changes except our way of thinking and thus	58:01
	the blind do not see and the deaf do not hear.	58:05
	They still think that we have to worry that this part	58:08
	of the globe can't protect itself against that part	58:11
	of the globe when it's the whole that can	58:13
	no longer protect itself against the parts.	58:15
	We're living in a world not of idealism, but realism.	58:20
	How I hate people who say Christians are idealist,	58:25
	show me any time in the Bible where the word ideals	58:27
	or idealists appears. All we hear about is truth!	58:30
	And the truth of the matter is that the ethics of perfection	58:35
	so-called have become, not unsurprisingly,	58:39
	the ethics of survival.	58:42
	We have to be merciful when we live at each others mercy.	58:44
	We have to be meek or there won't be any world	58:48
	for our children to inherit.	58:50
	And the world is now too small for anything but love,	58:51
	and is too dangerous for anything but truth.	58:56
	But the world has not changed that much,	59:01
	not for religious people.	59:03
	According to the ancient religious visions,	59:05
	we have always known	59:06
	that we are all one, every one of us on this planet.	59:09
	That's the way God made us.	59:14
	Christ died to keep us that way, our sin is only that we're	59:16
	putting asunder what God himself has joined together.	59:19
	Am I my brother's keeper?	59:22
	No, I am my brother's brother.	59:24
	And sister, and sister's brother.	59:26
	Human unity is not something we're called on to achieve,	59:31
	only something we're called on to recognize.	59:34
	It's a good question, isn't it?	59:41
	How are we going to define not only ourself,	59:42
	not only our nation, but this planet.	59:46
	For as Thoreau said, "What's the use of a good house	59:51
	"if you haven't a tolerable planet to put it on?"	59:53
	It's a gorgeous day outside.	59:59
	Walking around here you feel like saying,	1:00:02
	"This is the day which the Lord hath made.	1:00:04
	"Let us rejoice and be glad in it." And indeed we should.	1:00:06
	As Kammy reminded us, there is in this world beauty	1:00:10
	and there are the humiliated and we must thrive,	1:00:13
	hard as it is, not to be unfaithful neither	1:00:16
	to the one nor to the other.	1:00:18
	But in the midst of all this beauty,	1:00:21
	there are the humiliated.	1:00:22
	And we live under the expectation of impending doom.	1:00:25
	And if I may speak frankly I'm glad to be out of the	1:00:29
	academic universities because in the cities they know it.	1:00:32
	There's no room to be precious and arrogant in New York City	1:00:37
	as there was at Yale, and still is.	1:00:41
	We live in a wonderful, terrible, beautiful world.	1:00:44
	We can not be optimistic but we can be persistent.	1:00:50
	And if we must avoid shallow optimism,	1:00:55
	so we must avoid shallow despair.	1:00:57
	We must avoid anything that's shallow.	1:01:02
	So, at the beginning of a new year,	1:01:07
	I wish you lots of luck.	1:01:12
	Some questions are put to us, not that we should answer them	1:01:17
	but that we should forever wrestle with them.	1:01:19
	Who tells you who you are?	1:01:22
	Who's going to define our beloved homeland?	1:01:25
	And what kind of a world	1:01:29
	do we want to leave our children?	1:01:32
	I don't like wishing you good luck, that's not enough.	1:01:36
	Let me wish for you what that great Spaniard Uno Mono	1:01:40
	wished for all of us.	1:01:45
	"May God deny you peace but give you glory."	1:01:46
	Amen.	1:01:51
	("Rejoice, the Lord Is King!")	1:02:19
	♪ Rejoice, the Lord is King ♪	1:02:35
	♪ Your Lord and King adore ♪	1:02:39
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	1:02:44
	♪ And triumph evermore ♪	1:02:48
	♪ Lift up your heart ♪	1:02:53
	♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪	1:02:58
	♪ Again I say, rejoice ♪	1:03:02
	♪ Jesus, the Savior, reigns ♪	1:03:10
	♪ The God of truth and love ♪	1:03:14
	♪ When He has purged our stains ♪	1:03:20
	♪ He took his seat above ♪	1:03:24
	♪ Lift up your heart ♪	1:03:30
	♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪	1:03:35
	♪ Again I say, rejoice ♪	1:03:40
	♪ His kingdom cannot fail ♪	1:03:48
	♪ He rules o'er earth and heav'n ♪	1:03:53
	♪ The keys of death and hell ♪	1:03:58
	♪ Are to our Jesus giv'n ♪	1:04:03
	♪ Lift up your heart ♪	1:04:08
	♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪	1:04:14
	♪ Again I say, rejoice ♪	1:04:18
	♪ Rejoice in glorious hope ♪	1:04:26
	♪ Our Lord and judge shall come ♪	1:04:31
	♪ And take His servants up ♪	1:04:37
	♪ To their eternal home ♪	1:04:43
	♪ Lift up your heart ♪	1:04:51
	♪ Lift up your voice, rejoice ♪	1:04:58
	♪ Again I say, rejoice ♪	1:05:02
-	With one voice let us affirm what we believe.	1:05:30
	We believe in God who has created and is	1:05:34
	creating, who has come in the truly human Jesus to reconcile	1:05:38
	and make new, who works in us and others by the spirit.	1:05:44
	We trust God who calls us to be the church.	1:05:51
	To celebrate life and its fullness.	1:05:56
	To love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil.	1:05:59
	To proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen.	1:06:05
	Our judge and our hope.	1:06:09
	In life, in death, in life beyond death.	1:06:12
	God is with us, we are not alone.	1:06:17
	Thanks be to God.	1:06:21
	Be seated please.	1:06:24
	The Lord be with you.	1:06:31
-	And also with you.	1:06:33
-	Let us pray.	1:06:35
	Oh Lord our God,	1:06:38
	God of us all.	1:06:40
	We come to this moment at the opening of this new year	1:06:43
	for all of us in this community	1:06:46
	to offer ourselves anew to you.	1:06:50
	Our hopes and anxieties, our fears and frustrations,	1:06:53
	our questions and struggles,	1:06:57
	our angers and our loves.	1:06:59
	We give thanks for life, this day.	1:07:04
	For this university,	1:07:08
	for those who have loved it and served it in the past	1:07:11
	and for all those who live here	1:07:13
	and love and serve it in the present.	1:07:15
	As we begin a new time together,	1:07:20
	help us, oh God to begin with a new yearning	1:07:24
	to seek wisdom and knowledge.	1:07:27
	A new resolve to probe and question,	1:07:31
	and a willingness to be confronted.	1:07:34
	A new sensitivity to be aware of who we are	1:07:38
	and how we are to live.	1:07:41
	A new commitment to know your word and will and to obey.	1:07:44
	Transform us as we need to be.	1:07:51
	Renew us as we long to be.	1:07:55
	Remake us as you would have us to be.	1:07:58
	Help us oh Lord, our God.	1:08:02
	Define life in the midst of our everyday.	1:08:05
	To know peace from the worry of yesterday	1:08:09
	and hope for the promise of tomorrow's day.	1:08:13
	May we, oh God, be mindful,	1:08:18
	not only of the struggles we have	1:08:20
	but ever sensitive and ever aware	1:08:23
	of the struggles of others.	1:08:25
	Keep us in touch with the hurt and heartache and heaviness	1:08:28
	and hopelessness of others.	1:08:32
	That we might love even as our Lord calls us to love.	1:08:35
	And wherever we go, oh Lord,	1:08:40
	may the word go around that indeed	1:08:44
	the sorrowing have been comforted.	1:08:47
	The weary lifted, the oppressed relieved.	1:08:49
	The lonely visited and the hungry fed.	1:08:54
	All in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.	1:08:58
	And now oh living and loving spirit, wake us up.	1:09:04
	Give us some new joy, new vitality.	1:09:08
	New promise for this day and the days to come.	1:09:12
	And hear us as we offer these words, this prayer,	1:09:16
	and these words in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ	1:09:19
	who taught us to pray, saying,	1:09:23
	Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.	1:09:26
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	1:09:32
	on earth as it is in Heaven.	1:09:36
	Give us this day, our daily bread	1:09:39
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:09:42
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:09:45
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:09:49
	For thine is the kingdom and the power	1:09:54
	and the glory forever.	1:09:57
	Amen.	1:10:00
	("All Creatures of our God and King")	1:10:41
	♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪	1:11:37
	♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪	1:11:42
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:11:47
	♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪	1:11:53
	♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪	1:11:58
	♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪	1:12:03
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:12:08
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:12:13
	♪ Thou rushing wind that art so strong ♪	1:12:19
	♪ Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along ♪	1:12:24
	♪ O praise Him, alleluia ♪	1:12:30
	♪ Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice ♪	1:12:35
	♪ Ye lights of ev'ning find a voice ♪	1:12:40
	♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪	1:12:46
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:12:51
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:12:57
	♪ Thou flowing water, pure and clear ♪	1:13:03
	♪ Make music for thy Lord to hear ♪	1:13:08
	♪ O praise Him, Alleluia ♪	1:13:14
	♪ Thou fire so masterful and bright ♪	1:13:20
	♪ That givest man both warmth and light ♪	1:13:25
	♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪	1:13:30
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:13:35
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:13:41
	♪ Dear Mother Earth, who day by day ♪	1:13:48
	♪ Unfoldest blessings on our way ♪	1:13:53
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:13:59
	♪ The flowers and fruits that in thee grow ♪	1:14:05
	♪ Let them God's glory also show ♪	1:14:11
	♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪	1:14:17
	♪ Alleluia, Alleluia ♪	1:14:23
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:14:29
-	Eternal God, giver of all good things,	1:17:21
	we dedicate these, our offerings,	1:17:25
	to the service and work of thy church,m	1:17:28
	humbly besieging thee that all our gifts and energies may	1:17:31
	be consecrated to the extension of thy kingdom on earth.	1:17:36
	Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	1:17:40
	Amen.	1:17:43
	(majestic organ music)	1:17:47
	Go forth into the world in peace.	1:21:42
	Be of good courage.	1:21:45
	Hold fast to that which is good.	1:21:47
	Render no one evil for evil.	1:21:49
	Strengthen the faint hearted, support the weak.	1:21:53
	Help the afflicted.	1:21:57
	Honor all persons.	1:22:00
	Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing always in the power	1:22:02
	of the Holy Spirit.	1:22:06
	And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,	1:22:12
	the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit	1:22:14
	be with you all both now and forever more.	1:22:18
	Amen.	1:22:23
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:25
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:30
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:37
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:45
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:53
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:01
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:20
	(majestic organ music)	1:23:37

Item Info

Title:

William Sloane Coffin, Jr. - "Three Questions" (September 9, 1979)

Description:

Some questions are not meant to be neatly answered but, rather, are intended for us to wrestle with for all our lives. These are three such questions: 1.) Who tells you who you are? 2.) Who's going to define our beloved homeland? 3.) What kind of a world do we want to leave to our children? We, in the United States, have done a poor job in living faithful, Christian responses to these questions. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 41:25. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 1:01:54.
Key quotation: “God’s love doesn’t seek value, it creates it…It’s not because we have value that we’re loved, it’s because we’re loved that we have value. Just think, our value is a gift, not an achievement.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4qv3cj1j

Date:

September 9, 1979

Speaker:

Coffin, William Sloane, Jr., 1924-2006

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1043
ref7296_iwh
uachapelsermaud
duke:320314
dcrau001922
ark:/87924/r4qv3cj1j
66f504cb-aa49-435f-9e1c-fc9152701903

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

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other 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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William Sloane Coffin, Jr. - "Three Questions" (September 9, 1979)

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1. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. - "Three Questions" (September 9, 1979)

Duke University Archives

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William Sloane Coffin, Jr. - "Three Questions" (September 9, 1979)

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Duke University Archives

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