Lewis A. Briner - "Forgiven Much, We Can Have Love Much" (June 15, 1986)

Download
- Rights
- No Re-Use
  In Copyright
  More Rights Info
- Files (2)
- MP3 Part 1
- MP3 Part 2
- Please be patient with media downloads. They are often large files.
Share

Embed Code
<iframe src='//idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4wm1476d?embed=true' height='125px' width='100%' frameborder='0' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0' scrolling='no' allowfullscreen></iframe>
Permalink

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4wm1476d
Skip to Item Info

Loading the media player...

Files for this Item

Transcript

Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.

	(calming organ music)	0:05
	(calming organ music)	5:52
	(upbeat organ music)	11:10
Woman	Grace and peace to you	15:27
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ	15:29
	and welcome to the service	15:31
	of worship at Duke University Chapel.	15:33
	Especially at this time of year it is our privilege	15:36
	to welcome many of you from around the country	15:38
	and even from around the world here to the Duke campus.	15:40
	We pray that you will receive a blessing	15:44
	during your visit here	15:46
	and if we at the chapel may be of any assistance to you,	15:47
	please do not hesitate to call.	15:50
	Our guest preacher today is the reverend Dr. Lewis A. Briner	15:53
	distinguished professor, pastor, seminary teacher,	15:57
	presbyterian, minister in local churches	16:01
	and former dean at the chapel	16:04
	at McCormick Theological Seminary.	16:06
	Dr. Briner has visited the chapel on many occasions	16:09
	but this is our first time to welcome him to our pulpit.	16:12
	We look forward with great anticipation	16:15
	to his messaged today.	16:17
	Please note the other announcements	16:20
	as they are printed in your bulletins	16:22
	and now let us lift our hearts	16:25
	and voices as one as we worship God.	16:27
	(chorus singing)	16:36
	As a forgiven and reconcile people	21:49
	we have gathered once again in this holy place	21:52
	to sing praise to God and to glorify his holy name!	21:55
	And now with humble hearts,	22:00
	let us join in a pray of confession	22:02
	that we may be at one with our creator.	22:04
	You may be seated.	22:08
	Have mercy upon us oh God.	22:19
	According to thy loving kindness,	22:22
	according to the multitude of thy tender mercies	22:25
	blot out our transgressions,	22:28
	wash our thoroughly from our inequities	22:31
	and cleans us from our sins.	22:34
	For we acknowledge our transgressions	22:37
	and our sin is ever before us.	22:39
	Create in us clean hearts, oh God	22:43
	and renew a right spirit within us,	22:46
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.	22:49
	Hear the good news,	22:55
	Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.	22:57
	That is Gods own proof of his love towards us	23:01
	and in name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	23:06
All	In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	23:11
Man	Let us pray.	23:22
	Open our hearts and minds oh God,	23:24
	by the power of your holy spirit	23:27
	so that his word is read and proclaimed,	23:29
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	23:32
	Amen.	23:36
	The epistle lesson is from Paul's letter to the Galatians.	23:38
	We ourselves, who are Jews by birth	23:43
	and not sinful Gentiles sinners,	23:45
	yet who known a man is not justified by works of the law	23:48
	but through faith in Jesus Christ.	23:52
	Even we have believed in Christ Jesus,	23:55
	in order to be justified in faith by Christ	23:58
	and not by works of the law	24:01
	because by works of the law,	24:04
	shall no one will be justified.	24:06
	But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,	24:09
	we ourselves were found to be sinners,	24:12
	is Christ then a servant of sin?	24:16
	Certainly not.	24:18
	But if I build up again those things for which I tore down,	24:21
	then I prove myself to be a transgressor.	24:24
	For through the law I died to the law,	24:28
	that I might live to God.	24:31
	I have been crucified with Christ.	24:33
	It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.	24:36
	And the life I now live in the flesh	24:40
	I live by faith of God.	24:43
	I do not nullify the grace of God,	24:49
	but if justification through the law	24:52
	that Christ died to no purpose.	24:55
	This ends the reading of the epistle lesson.	24:58
	Praised be to God.	25:00
	(calming organ music)	25:11
	(chorus singing)	25:26
	The scripture today continues the quite down to Earth	32:22
	and very human narrative of the ministry of our Lord Christ.	32:25
	We read from the seventh chapter of the gospel of Luke	32:31
	beginning at the 36th verse.	32:35
	One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him,	32:41
	and he went to the Pharisee's house	32:46
	and at the table.	32:48
	And behold woman, a woman of the city who was a sinner.	32:51
	When she learned that Jesus	32:58
	was eating at table in the Pharisee's house,	32:59
	brought an alabaster flask of ointment	33:03
	and standing behind him at his feet weeping.	33:07
	She began to wet his feet with her tears	33:11
	and wipe them with the hair of her head	33:15
	and kissed his feet.	33:20
	And anointed them with the ointment.	33:23
	Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it,	33:27
	he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet,	33:30
	"he would have known who	33:36
	"and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,	33:37
	"for she is a sinner."	33:43
	And Jesus answering said to him,	33:47
	"Simon, I have something to say to you."	33:51
	And he answered, "What is it, Teacher."	33:57
	"A certain creditor had two debtors.	34:01
	"One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.	34:06
	"And when they could not pay,	34:12
	"he forgave them both.	34:13
	"Which of them will love him more?"	34:17
	Simon answered, "The one, I suppose,	34:21
	"to whom he forgave more."	34:25
	And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."	34:29
	Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon,	34:34
	"Do you see this woman?	34:38
	"I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet,	34:42
	"but she has wet my feet with her tears	34:48
	"and wiped them with her hair.	34:52
	"You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in	34:55
	"she has not ceased to kiss my feet.	35:01
	"You did not anoint my head with oil,	35:06
	"but she has anointed my feet with ointment.	35:09
	"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many,	35:14
	"are forgiven, for she loved much.	35:18
	"But he who is forgiven little, loves little."	35:23
	And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."	35:30
	Then those who were at table with him	35:37
	began to say among themselves, "Who is this,	35:39
	"who even forgives sins?"	35:42
	And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you,	35:47
	"go in peace."	35:53
	And then immediately following that ending	35:56
	of the seventh chapter, there appears what seems	35:59
	to be a sort of foot note;	36:02
	or if you will something in small print.	36:06
	But is frequently the case with things in small print,	36:09
	they're very important to read.	36:14
	The lesson continues.	36:19
	Soon afterward Jesus went on through cities and villages,	36:21
	preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.	36:26
	And the twelve were with him,	36:30
	and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits	36:34
	and infirmities.	36:39
	Mary, called Magdalene, or as the British say, Modlin,	36:41
	from whom seven demons had gone out,	36:47
	and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's stuiord,	36:51
	and Susanna, and many others,	36:55
	who provided for them out of their means.	36:59
	The Lord blessed who are understanding	37:05
	this reading from his word.	37:06
	Luke has a number of rather special interests	37:12
	and we said his gospel down along side the other three.	37:17
	Some of these interests do appear frequently,	37:22
	others are more subtly pervasive through out the gospel.	37:25
	We know more about Jesus prayer life from the gospel of Luke	37:30
	than we do from the others.	37:33
	The holy spirit and forgiveness	37:36
	are much more frequently mentioned in Luke's account	37:39
	than they are in the other accounts.	37:43
	The poor and the rejected seem to be the base	37:46
	and starting point of the whole gospel.	37:51
	Instead of wealthy kings	37:56
	coming at his birth,	38:00
	the birth of the Christ in Luke	38:03
	is made known to shepherds	38:07
	and their evil-smelling sheep.	38:11
	And as is evident here,	38:15
	there is more frequent and loving mention	38:19
	of women in this gospel by far,	38:23
	than in the other three.	38:26
	Walking around this beautiful chapel	38:31
	and seeing the windows,	38:35
	reminded me of something that happened in	38:38
	our own church back in Kalamazoo.	38:40
	Prior to my coming there as pastor,	38:43
	a predecessor had conversations with	38:46
	a very well known artisan of art glass windows,	38:51
	Henry Willett, a very devote	38:56
	and highly skilled Presbyterian lay man.	38:58
	In his conversations with Mr. Willett about the windows	39:03
	for a new church in Kalamazoo,	39:06
	he inadvertently said something to this effect.	39:10
	"Look Henry, we don't want anything heavy or theological.	39:15
	"Let's just have some windows that are beautiful!"	39:21
	Some years later,	39:26
	Mr. Willett was in our city and said to us,	39:29
	"You know, I couldn't quite agree with your predecessor.	39:34
	"If you'll come with me to the rear gallery,	39:41
	"I have a set of field glasses	39:44
	"and I'd like you to look through them	39:46
	"toward the window in the chancel."	39:49
	and we did and guess what we saw?	39:50
	Beauty of course, loveliness as lovely	39:56
	as these windows in some measure.	39:59
	But on little white ribbons in the central three panels,	40:02
	we could notice through our field glasses,	40:07
	the complete text of the apostles creed.	40:11
	Which he had secretly placed in the windows,	40:15
	in the feeling that it was highly inappropriate	40:18
	to have any window in a Christian church	40:21
	that did not pay tribute to Jesus Christ.	40:24
	I shared that story with my	40:29
	Methodist neighbor across the park.	40:30
	Presbyterians and Methodists in Kalamazoo,	40:33
	gaze at each other from a safe distance	40:36
	across the greenery.	40:39
	When I told this story, my Methodist colleague	40:42
	made me feel again that there is something indelegate	40:47
	if not quite improbable for a Presbyterian	40:49
	to tell a Methodist anything.	40:53
	So what did he do?	40:56
	He told me his own window story.	40:57
	And I've checked it out and it really is true,	41:01
	not just a jest.	41:04
	He assured me that in lower Manhattan, New York,	41:06
	there is a very small Methodist church	41:09
	that has beautiful windows,	41:13
	one in particular of special interest	41:15
	because it was given in memory and tribute	41:19
	of a much loved woman in that congregation.	41:22
	The committee choose a scripture verse	41:26
	to be evident at the bottom of the panel,	41:29
	a verse from the 31st chapter of proverbs,	41:34
	the chapter that pays tribute to women.	41:37
	And you may remember there is a saying in that chapter	41:42
	of this woman	41:45
	and her price was better than rubies.	41:48
	The artist who executed the that lettering	41:53
	for the window in the church prominently located,	41:56
	unfortunately spelled rubies r-u-b-y apostrophe s,	42:00
	rather than r-u-b-i-e-s.	42:05
	Which of course gave the window	42:09
	a much different turn than was intended.	42:11
	The official board of the Methodist church,	42:16
	much like any board of trustees in a Presbyterian church	42:19
	thought that through a bit	42:23
	and decided to leave it as it was.	42:25
	It has been the chief source	42:29
	of interest in that church through the years.	42:33
	People still come through the door	42:36
	and ask if they came meet Ruby.	42:37
	(laughing)	42:40
	it is important to look then at footnotes	42:43
	or matters in small print.	42:47
	Here, after a most astonishing story	42:50
	in the gospel of Luke,	42:55
	we have just three little verses	42:57
	that give us some rather obscure names, with one exception	42:59
	for her name became quite well known.	43:04
	The names of woman who accompanied Jesus	43:07
	on his ministry through out the Holy Land.	43:10
	That's not so significant as such,	43:14
	we have known for years that that was the case.	43:17
	But what is said in the next and last verse,	43:21
	is not always read or understood so clearly.	43:25
	It says that these woman,	43:29
	some of whom had been healed by Jesus,	43:31
	one named Mary Magdalene	43:34
	healed of seven demons.	43:37
	That's like a seven alarm fire in the gospels.	43:40
	These were the woman it says who made provision	43:46
	for the finances of the ministry of Christ.	43:51
	The finances?	43:55
	Well yes, even Jesus and his disciples had to eat.	43:57
	They had to find places to sleep.	44:02
	They did had expenses,	44:05
	not airline tickets to be sure	44:07
	or fancy hotels to be sure.	44:10
	But it was not without it's necessity for financial support	44:13
	and it was the woman who constituted the first	44:18
	and rather peripatetic board of trustees	44:23
	of the Christian church.	44:26
	I'm not sure we should say that too widely, should we?	44:28
	It might upset the men.	44:32
	Well, that was true.	44:35
	It was put in the gospel by Luke.	44:38
	Immediately after this story,	44:41
	which in itself is quite astonishing,	44:43
	the story of this woman, who is unnamed, take note.	44:46
	Who anointed Jesus with such lavish feeling,	44:52
	a story that occurs just after	44:57
	Luke repeats the charge	45:01
	that was brought against Jesus of being a glutton	45:03
	and a drunkard.	45:08
	Unlike John the Baptist,	45:11
	who is ascetic and parsimonious in his behavior,	45:14
	Jesus came eating and drinking	45:19
	and was criticized for it.	45:21
	But look at the story,	45:25
	right after the criticism of Jesus eating and drinking,	45:29
	Luke reports that Jesus had an invitation	45:33
	to the home of a wealthy Pharisee.	45:36
	Where one could be well assured that both food and drink	45:39
	would be ample and delightful.	45:43
	It must have been a well to do	45:47
	Pharisee from the description.	45:49
	It speaks of the people at table as reclining at table,	45:52
	not as the translators frequently say, "sitting at table."	45:56
	As is the case with the last supper so here	46:02
	and with most dinners of any note in the New Testament,	46:05
	people did not sit at the table,	46:09
	people reclined at table.	46:13
	On cushions on the floor	46:15
	so that it could lean back	46:18
	as John the beloved disciple,	46:21
	could lean back and whisper something in Jesus ear.	46:24
	So also that another thing could happen,	46:28
	it was quite common practice in first century Palestine	46:31
	for dinners where there were important people	46:35
	from the village present,	46:39
	for people from the street to feel free	46:41
	to walk into the house and walk around the table	46:43
	for people were reclining at it	46:47
	and arranged like spokes from a center,	46:49
	with their feet going out severely from the center table	46:52
	and then the story, what a story	46:58
	If you were writing a gospel,	47:03
	do you suppose you would've really had the courage	47:08
	to include this particular incident?	47:11

-	I worked with the	0:03
	North American Committee on Calendar and Lectionary	0:05
	which produced the lectionary used in this chapel	0:09
	as well as many other churches	0:11
	throughout the United States, of all major denominations.	0:13
	We almost chickened,	0:19
	to use a biblical phrase,	0:21
	when we came to this particular story,	0:23
	feeling that it was so singularly different and so delicate	0:26
	that it might lend itself	0:31
	all too readily to misconstruction and misunderstanding.	0:33
	In other words I did not personally	0:39
	choose this gospel for this morning at Duke Chapel.	0:41
	It's the gospel reading for most major denominations	0:45
	throughout the United States this morning.	0:49
	At least for those that use the lectionary.	0:52
	But back to Luke,	0:57
	and what his possible intent might have been	0:59
	to include this story.	1:02
	It says that a	1:05
	sinful woman;	1:07
	a phrase that was written by a man;	1:09
	heard that Jesus	1:17
	was at Simon's house	1:19
	and she went there quietly,	1:22
	came in with others who were hanging around,	1:25
	probably caging the waiters for	1:28
	free samples of the food,	1:31
	eavesdropping on the conversation,	1:34
	getting as close as they could to the guest of honor	1:37
	and in that crowd was the	1:43
	central figure of this story,	1:46
	a prostitute,	1:50
	a woman of the streets,	1:53
	a streetwalker.	1:55
	Suppose you	1:58
	were with the village notables	1:59
	invited by the leading pharisee in town	2:01
	for a Lord's Day evening supper	2:04
	and you were in this rather posh setting,	2:10
	but people, as was the custom in the Near East	2:14
	in the first century,	2:17
	were in some numbers, coming in and out.	2:18
	What if among them	2:22
	a woman of this sort did appear,	2:26
	but not only appeared,	2:28
	but stood behind where Jesus was reclining	2:30
	and began to weep copiously.	2:35
	Her tears dropping down on Jesus' feet.	2:41
	She let her hair down from her head.	2:46
	In itself, an indelicate thing	2:51
	for a woman to do in a public place.	2:52
	She dried Jesus' feet	2:57
	with her hair	3:01
	and then anointed Jesus feet, it says,	3:04
	with ointment.	3:07
	That's the New Testament word for perfume.	3:10
	Perfume was not like Chanel 5, a liquid.	3:14
	It was more like Oil of Olay	3:18
	and I know I'm already over my depth with my own wife	3:20
	and all others who know something about perfumes.	3:23
	All I'm trying to say is that it was not just a liquid.	3:27
	It was more like an unguent	3:30
	that would ooze out of the alabaster container	3:34
	when the long narrow neck would be snapped.	3:37
	It was quite expensive,	3:42
	this kind of perfume,	3:45
	running somewhere between $60 and $100	3:48
	for a little alabaster flagon.	3:52
	This woman is weeping,	3:57
	drying her	4:00
	Lord's feet with her hair	4:02
	and	4:08
	using up to	4:10
	perhaps even $100 of her earnings	4:12
	to anoint his feet.	4:16
	If we do not admit that we're	4:20
	impressed by that,	4:25
	I think we're not being truthful to ourselves.	4:26
	Simon; that's the first we have the name of the host,	4:30
	he's not mentioned until now in this story;	4:33
	clucks with disapproval	4:37
	deeply annoyed at Jesus	4:41
	pretending to be a prophet and a man of God.	4:43
	If he really were authentic,	4:46
	he'd know what kind of woman this is	4:48
	and have nothing to do with her.	4:51
	He's thinking that,	4:55
	so the story tells us.	4:57
	He doesn't say it aloud,	5:00
	but the next verse says,	5:03
	"and Jesus answered him."	5:06
	Jesus answered him.	5:10
	Jesus intuited what Simon was thinking and saying.	5:12
	He said, "Simon, I've got something to say to you."	5:19
	"Well,	5:21
	"say on Lord."	5:22
	Then he tells that	5:25
	little parable	5:26
	about a man, two men,	5:28
	one of whom owes, let's say, $500	5:31
	and the other $50,	5:36
	just to get the contrast that's sought for here.	5:37
	When neither of them could come up with the money	5:42
	when the loans were due,	5:45
	he forgave them both	5:50
	and then asked a question of Simon,	5:53
	with a self-evident answer.	5:56
	"Simon, which of these two do you think would love Jesus?"	6:00
	I slipped.	6:05
	That's what the parable means.	6:06
	Who would love their banker more,	6:08
	which of these two?	6:13
	Well, obviously the one who had	6:15
	loaned the most money.	6:18
	To whom the most money had been loaned.	6:23
	And that's a very fascinating thing to say,	6:27
	because the parable is one on	6:32
	forgiveness and love.	6:34
	With a curious implication.	6:38
	Love, that much abused word	6:43
	overly mentioned,	6:46
	not so readily understood,	6:50
	just given some very special meaning	6:54
	in this particular instance.	6:58
	For it is clearly indicated in what Jesus is saying,	7:03
	that only the people who were aware	7:09
	that they are forgiven sinners,	7:12
	or put a slightly different way,	7:16
	only the people who are deeply aware of the extent	7:19
	of their forgiveness	7:23
	can love	7:27
	well enough to forgive others.	7:29
	Now that's quite and assertion,	7:35
	but I think, on reflection, you will agree too	7:39
	that it's profoundly true.	7:43
	Paul is right in the epistle	7:48
	that it is really impossible	7:51
	to earn forgiveness	7:53
	by good works.	7:55
	We are forgiven,	8:00
	as an act of God's grace in Jesus Christ.	8:02
	Forgiveness	8:09
	is the consequence of something.	8:11
	Not even repentance alone	8:16
	can secure forgiveness.	8:19
	When someone, including ourselves,	8:22
	is repentant for something that's done wrong,	8:25
	it is clear in Paul's writings	8:29
	that we can be assured then that grace and forgiveness	8:32
	have already started to flow,	8:36
	but as the shorter catechism says,	8:40
	although repentance be of such importance	8:43
	that forgiveness almost never appears without it,	8:46
	it shall never be deemed to be the cause	8:51
	of forgiveness, but rather	8:54
	its consequence.	8:58
	By the time we're repentant,	9:00
	we are already being forgiven.	9:03
	When Christians gather in some numbers,	9:11
	Our foibles	9:15
	are apparent	9:17
	and evident,	9:19
	even though we wish they were not.	9:21
	I've just come for Minneapolis, Minnesota	9:24
	attending the sessions of our General Assembly.	9:27
	It's like your General Conference in the Methodist Church	9:30
	and like the senior body in all major denominations.	9:33
	It was a glorious, wonderful, reassuring	9:40
	set of meetings full of the spirit,	9:44
	full of	9:47
	prophetic insight and courage in a troubled world like this,	9:48
	but it was apparent,	9:54
	if you sat quietly,	9:57
	and watched carefully	9:59
	that not all who name the name	10:04
	seemed to share his humility	10:08
	or gave any slight evidence	10:12
	of having been forgiven.	10:16
	It would be ill mannered of me and intemperate indeed,	10:20
	if I were to suggest what proportion	10:24
	such persons occupied in the total number of those present.	10:28
	That would be an unforgivable	10:34
	thing to attempt,	10:36
	but in the interest of honesty and candor	10:40
	it has to be remarked in our hearing	10:44
	and that evidently is what Luke had in mind,	10:46
	that our own capacity	10:52
	to love one another	10:54
	is inseparably connected	10:58
	with our self-perception	11:02
	as forgiven sinners.	11:05
	Without the awareness of our own	11:11
	history with God's grace,	11:14
	there is little likelihood indeed	11:17
	that we'll get beyond lust	11:21
	or self-gratification	11:24
	or ego trips	11:27
	in any feeble efforts we have	11:30
	in the direction of love.	11:32
	Love	11:37
	flows	11:39
	from forgiveness.	11:40
	As forgiven people,	11:44
	we have a wonderful chance	11:47
	to love.	11:50
	Go lovingly into the world.	11:53
	In Christ's name.	11:56
	Amen.	11:57
	(organ music)	12:07
	(choir singing)	12:42
-	The Lord be with you.	14:23
-	And also with you.	14:25
-	Let us pray.	14:26
	Most kind and gracious God	14:41
	who art above us and in us and through us,	14:44
	we bow in humble reverence before thee,	14:50
	seeking a fresh awareness of thy life giving presence.	14:53
	In so doing, we offer these prayers for others	14:59
	that in our remembering of their needs,	15:03
	we may become aware of our own neediness,	15:06
	as we stand in utter dependency upon thee.	15:09
	Let us pray	15:15
	for those who suffer in our world,	15:16
	for the masses of starving people	15:20
	that whatever language they may speak,	15:23
	their cries of anguish will be heard,	15:26
	for homeless people everywhere,	15:29
	for those who dwell in the streets of our nation's cities,	15:33
	for thousands of refugees who roam the earth	15:38
	searching for a home,	15:41
	for runaway children who find no security in being at home,	15:44
	that each may find a place of rest and understanding.	15:48
	Let us pray for those who are bereaved	15:54
	over the loss of a loved one,	15:58
	over news of a debilitating illness,	16:00
	over memories of happier days gone by	16:04
	that thy healing presence may restore them	16:08
	to fullness of life.	16:11
	Let us pray for those who live with oppression and unrest	16:15
	as their constant companions,	16:19
	especially for the people of South Africa,	16:21
	that justice may be restored.	16:25
	Let us pray for those	16:29
	caught in the struggles of discernment.	16:30
	For all those contemplating life changing decisions,	16:34
	grant them wisdom	16:39
	and a true sense of thy presence in their lives.	16:40
	For those who seek to know thee, yet struggle to believe,	16:45
	grant them the courage	16:50
	required to take the leap of faith.	16:52
	For the leaders of all the nations	16:56
	that they may be moved to compassion	16:59
	and to lead us in the pathway of peace.	17:02
	Let us pray for all those who feel unloved or unwanted,	17:08
	for those who seek to destroy themselves or others,	17:14
	for those who indulge in material excess,	17:18
	attempting to fill an interior void,	17:21
	for those who live within institutions	17:26
	surrounded by people, yet lonely beyond words.	17:29
	Heal these thy children, oh God,	17:34
	that they may feel forgiven and know the unique worth	17:38
	that thou has bestowed upon them.	17:41
	These and the many unspoken concerns	17:46
	of this congregation we lift unto thee,	17:49
	redeeming God,	17:52
	trusting in thy goodness,	17:54
	confident in thy power to heal,	17:57
	grateful that thou art love	18:00
	for all eternity.	18:03
	In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.	18:06
	Amen.	18:09
	And now in the spirit of thanksgiving for God's forgiveness,	18:13
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves to God.	18:17
	(organ music)	18:23
	(choir singing)	19:46
	(organ music)	24:23
	(choir singing)	24:43
	Oh God of love	25:47
	we give thee thanks for whatsoever	25:48
	though has given to us richly to enjoy,	25:51
	for health and vigor, for the joys of friendship	25:54
	and especially on the this Father's Day,	25:58
	for the love and care of home	26:00
	and for every good gift of happiness and strength.	26:03
	We praise thee for all thy servants	26:07
	who by their example and encouragement	26:09
	have helped us on our way	26:12
	and for every vision of thyself,	26:15
	which thou hast ever given us in sacrament or in prayer	26:17
	and we humbly beseech thee	26:22
	that all thy benefits we may use in they service	26:24
	and the glory of thy holy name.	26:28
	These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ	26:31
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	26:34
	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	26:37
	Thy kingdom come.	26:42
	Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	26:44
	Give us this day our daily bread;	26:48
	and forgive us our trespasses,	26:50
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	26:53
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	26:56
	For thine is the kingdom,	27:01
	the power and the glory forever.	27:03
	Amen.	27:06
	(organ music)	27:09
	And now go forth in peace and be of good courage.	30:36
	Hold fast to that which is good,	30:40
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit	30:42
	and may the blessing of God, creator, Christ and Holy Spirit	30:45
	be with you all	30:50
	now and forevermore.	30:51
	(choir singing)	30:58
	(organ music)	31:33
	(organ music)	33:08

Item Info

Title:

Lewis A. Briner - "Forgiven Much, We Can Have Love Much" (June 15, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 37:12. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 12:02.
In the story of the woman prostitute who washes Jesus feet with her hair, Jesus teaches us the power of forgiveness. We cannot love the world if we are not, first, aware of how deeply God has forgiven us. Only the people who are deeply aware of the extent of their forgiveness - the extent of God's grace in their own lives- can love well enough to forgive others. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "Our own capacity to love one another is inseparably connected with our self-perception as forgiven sinners. Without the awareness of our own history with God's grace, there is little likelihood indeed that we'll get beyond lust or self-gratification or ego trips in any feeble efforts we have in the direction of love.

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4wm1476d

Date:

June 15, 1986

Speaker:

Briner, Lewis A.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0338
ref8196_xea
uachapelsermaud
duke:320495
dcrau001320
ark:/87924/r4wm1476d
e7412833-f535-4930-883f-4fcfe98a3407

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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:

No Re-Use

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.

Sponsor:

Sponsor this Digital Collection

Lewis A. Briner - "Forgiven Much, We Can Have Love Much" (June 15, 1986)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

More Info & Options