William H. Willimon - "Easter Power" (April 23, 1989)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
(trumpet music) | 2:24 | |
- | We welcome you to this service of worship | 3:59 |
on the fifth Sunday of Easter. | 4:02 | |
Today we bid farewell to the Duke Chapel Choir | 4:05 | |
for this year. | 4:09 | |
They will be entering exams in a couple of weeks | 4:11 | |
and they have delighted us with | 4:15 | |
a wonderful year here in the chapel. | 4:17 | |
The summer choir will be formed by Donna Sparks | 4:19 | |
and will be starting up in a few weeks after commencement. | 4:22 | |
But we thank all of these talented musicians | 4:26 | |
who've served so well in the Duke Chapel Choir this year. | 4:29 | |
They had two concerts in the last two weeks | 4:32 | |
and it was a great year. | 4:35 | |
The person who's helped make this a great year | 4:38 | |
is Greg Fountain. | 4:40 | |
We found Greg Fountain... | 4:42 | |
He had a distinguished career at Millard Chapel | 4:45 | |
at Northwestern University. | 4:49 | |
When we needed an interim director of chapel music | 4:51 | |
we found him in a chaise lounge in Albuquerque, New Mexico. | 4:54 | |
He had experienced two years of retirement | 4:59 | |
and we brought him out of retirement and he has served | 5:01 | |
as the interim director of the chapel choir. | 5:04 | |
I have frequently said to Greg, | 5:07 | |
I'm glad we did not know you when you were young, | 5:09 | |
because at 70 he's worn us out this year. | 5:12 | |
(chuckles) | 5:14 | |
He's an unbelievable fount of energy and enthusiasm | 5:16 | |
and innovation and we have enjoyed your time with us | 5:19 | |
and as he goes back to Albuquerque, | 5:22 | |
we wish him godspeed and thank him | 5:25 | |
for the great year that we have had. | 5:27 | |
We're glad that you're here, let us continue our worship. | 5:30 | |
Let's go this way, go this way. | 5:35 | |
Let's go this way. | 5:38 | |
(applause) | 5:39 | |
Thanks. | 5:39 | |
(applause) | 5:40 | |
(choir sings in foreign language) | 5:56 | |
(organ music) | 7:38 | |
(congregation sings) | 8:23 | |
(intense organ music) | 10:52 | |
(congregation sings) | 11:37 | |
Female Reader | Almighty God, | 12:32 |
whom truly to know is everlasting life? | 12:34 | |
Grant us so perfectly to know your son, Jesus Christ, | 12:38 | |
to be the way, the truth and the life | 12:41 | |
that we may steadfastly follow his steps | 12:45 | |
in the way that leads to eternal life. | 12:48 | |
Through Jesus Christ your son, | 12:51 | |
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you | 12:53 | |
in the unity of the Holy Spirit. | 12:55 | |
One God forever and ever. | 12:57 | |
Amen. | 13:00 | |
Please be seated. | 13:02 | |
(pews squeak) | 13:03 | |
- | Let us pray. | 13:13 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 13:16 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit | 13:19 | |
so that, as the word is read and proclaimed, | 13:22 | |
we might hear, with joy, what you say to us this day. | 13:26 | |
Amen. | 13:30 | |
The first lesson is taken from Acts. | 13:33 | |
Now at Lystra there was a man sitting | 13:38 | |
who could not use his feet. | 13:40 | |
He was a cripple from birth who had never walked. | 13:43 | |
He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul, | 13:47 | |
looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith | 13:50 | |
to be made well, said in a loud voice, | 13:54 | |
stand upright on your feet, and he sprang up and walked. | 13:57 | |
And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, | 14:03 | |
they lifted up their voices, saying in Laconian, | 14:06 | |
the gods have come down to us in the likeness | 14:10 | |
of human beings. | 14:12 | |
Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, | 14:15 | |
because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes. | 14:18 | |
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front | 14:22 | |
of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates | 14:25 | |
and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people. | 14:29 | |
But when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, | 14:33 | |
they tore their garments and rushed out | 14:36 | |
among the multitude crying, people, why are you doing this? | 14:39 | |
We also are human, of like nature with you | 14:44 | |
and bring you good news that you should turn | 14:48 | |
from these vain things to a living God | 14:51 | |
who made the heaven and the earth | 14:54 | |
and the sea and all that is in them. | 14:56 | |
Who, in past generations, allowed all the nations | 15:00 | |
to walk in their own ways. | 15:02 | |
Yet God was not left without witness, for God did good | 15:06 | |
and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, | 15:10 | |
satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. | 15:14 | |
With these words, they scarcely restrained the people | 15:18 | |
from offering sacrifice to them. | 15:21 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 15:24 | |
(organ plays softly) | 15:28 | |
(pews squeaking) | 15:32 | |
(people walking) | ||
(clarinet plays) | 16:03 | |
♪ The Lord is my light and my salvation ♪ | 16:39 | |
♪ Whom then shall I fear ♪ | 16:46 | |
♪ Whom then shall I fear ♪ | 16:51 | |
♪ The Lord is the strength of my life ♪ | 16:55 | |
♪ Of whom then shall I be afraid ♪ | 17:03 | |
♪ Of whom then shall I be afraid ♪ | 17:08 | |
♪ Of whom then shall I be afraid ♪ | 17:13 | |
♪ Although some men will hate against me ♪ | 17:22 | |
♪ Yet to thine my heart be afraid ♪ | 17:26 | |
♪ And though there rose up war against me ♪ | 17:30 | |
♪ Yet will I put my trust in him ♪ | 17:35 | |
(clarinet solo) | 17:42 | |
♪ One thing have I desired of the Lord ♪ | 17:53 | |
♪ Which I will reply ♪ | 18:00 | |
♪ That I may dwell in the house of the Lord ♪ | 18:04 | |
♪ All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord ♪ | 18:09 | |
♪ And to inquire in his temple ♪ | 18:20 | |
(clarinet solo) | 18:25 | |
♪ For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me ♪ | 18:43 | |
♪ In his pavilion, in the secret place of his tabernacle ♪ | 18:51 | |
♪ Shall he hide me and set me up upon a rock of stone ♪ | 19:00 | |
♪ And set me up upon a rock of stone ♪ | 19:04 | |
♪ And set me up upon a rock of stone ♪ | 19:12 | |
(clarinet solo) | 19:23 | |
♪ Therefore will I offer in his burning exaltation ♪ | 19:35 | |
♪ Therefore will I offer in his burning exaltation ♪ | 19:41 | |
♪ We breathe madness, we breathe madness ♪ | 19:46 | |
♪ We breathe madness ♪ | 19:51 | |
♪ Sing him sweet praises unto the Lord ♪ | 19:55 | |
♪ I will sing, I will sing praises unto the Lord ♪ | 19:59 | |
♪ I will sing, I will sing praises ♪ | 20:04 | |
♪ I will sing, sing praises ♪ | 20:07 | |
♪ Unto the Lord ♪ | 20:10 | |
(clarinet solo) | 20:15 | |
♪ And then unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry answer me. ♪ | 20:31 | |
♪ Have mercy upon me and heal me ♪ | 20:41 | |
♪ My heart said to you seek my face ♪ | 20:49 | |
♪ My face, Lord, will I seek ♪ | 20:56 | |
♪ Hide not thy face from me, hide not thou thy face from me ♪ | 21:02 | |
♪ Nor not thy servant away in anger ♪ | 21:13 | |
♪ Thou hast been in my sorrow ♪ | 21:28 | |
♪ Leave me not, neither forsake me ♪ | 21:36 | |
♪ O God of my salvation ♪ | 21:44 | |
(clarinet solo) | 21:51 | |
♪ When my father and my mother forsake me ♪ | 22:08 | |
♪ The Lord will taketh me up, taketh me up ♪ | 22:16 | |
♪ O Lord, taketh me up ♪ | 22:26 | |
♪ Be strong, be strong ♪ | 22:34 | |
♪ And he shall comfort thine heart ♪ | 22:42 | |
♪ He shall comfort thine heart ♪ | 22:47 | |
♪ Be strong, be strong ♪ | 22:52 | |
♪ And he shall comfort thine heart ♪ | 22:59 | |
♪ He shall comfort thine heart ♪ | 23:04 | |
♪ And put out thy trust in the Lord ♪ | 23:09 | |
(clarinet solo) | 23:18 | |
♪ Put out trust in the Lord ♪ | 23:27 | |
♪ In the Lord ♪ | 23:36 | |
(choir shuffling) | 23:55 | |
- | Please stand for the reading of the gospel. | 24:10 |
(congregation shuffles) | 24:12 | |
(clears throat) | ||
The gospel according to Saint John. | 24:19 | |
When he had gone out, Jesus said, | 24:23 | |
now is the son of man glorified, | 24:26 | |
and in him, God is glorified. | 24:29 | |
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him | 24:33 | |
in God's self, and glorify God at once. | 24:38 | |
Little children, yet a little while, I am with you. | 24:43 | |
You will seek me and as I said to the Jews, | 24:47 | |
so now I say to you: where I am going you cannot come. | 24:51 | |
A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another. | 24:57 | |
Even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. | 25:02 | |
By this, all will know that you are my disciples | 25:07 | |
if you have love for one another. | 25:11 | |
This ends the reading of the gospel. | 25:14 | |
(pews creek) | 25:19 | |
♪ If you love me, keep my commandments ♪ | 25:32 | |
♪ And I will pray the Father, and I will pray the Father ♪ | 25:41 | |
♪ And he shall give you another Comforter ♪ | 25:50 | |
♪ That he may abide with you for ever ♪ | 25:59 | |
♪ That he may abide with you for ever ♪ | 26:07 | |
♪ In the Spirit of truth, I speak ♪ | 26:11 | |
♪ In the spirit of truth, I speak ♪ | 26:16 | |
♪ In the spirit of truth, I speak in the spirit of truth ♪ | 26:19 | |
(footsteps) | 26:31 | |
- | We are now about four weeks away from Easter. | 26:44 |
Crowd is a bit smaller. | 26:49 | |
We put away the trumpets and the timpani, | 26:51 | |
but if you put your ear to the ground, | 26:56 | |
you can still hear it throb with the Easter tempo. | 26:57 | |
You can still feel the earth heave | 27:03 | |
as it did on that first Easter morn, | 27:08 | |
when the power of God brought back to life the dead Jesus, | 27:12 | |
and the risen Christ sprung up | 27:18 | |
and threw off the grave clothes and sallied forth. | 27:19 | |
Easter power. | 27:24 | |
That power of God is yet with us. | 27:28 | |
At least that is what Luke, the writer | 27:34 | |
of the book of Acts wants to argue | 27:36 | |
in this story of Paul's healing | 27:40 | |
of the crippled man at Lystra. | 27:43 | |
Paul, the one who was knocked off his feet | 27:49 | |
on the Damascus road by the powerful risen Christ. | 27:53 | |
Knocks a crippled man to his feet in Lystra. | 27:58 | |
Do you get Luke's point? | 28:03 | |
The same power which infused Jesus, | 28:06 | |
which enabled him to do good also infuses | 28:09 | |
the disciples of Jesus like Paul. | 28:13 | |
The powerful Jesus... | 28:16 | |
Who restored sight to blind Bartimaeus, | 28:19 | |
who made the lame to jump and to shout, | 28:24 | |
whose voice called forth dead Lazarus. | 28:27 | |
That same power is present with Jesus' people, | 28:30 | |
like Barnabas and Paul. | 28:35 | |
Easter power. | 28:38 | |
And what power. | 28:42 | |
Luke tells us that this poor man | 28:44 | |
had been crippled since birth. | 28:47 | |
He does that to drive home the miraculous power | 28:51 | |
that is here. | 28:54 | |
This man did not suffer from some accident, | 28:56 | |
this was not a new or a temporary infirmity. | 28:58 | |
He had never known, even one day of his life, | 29:02 | |
what it was like to stand on his own two feet | 29:04 | |
and walk about. | 29:06 | |
Therefore this crippled man is for us the very image | 29:09 | |
of helplessness, wretchedness, and impotency. | 29:14 | |
Here is desperate, helpless pain, | 29:20 | |
and Luke says that Paul looked at this man intently. | 29:25 | |
And I think that Luke wants us to do the same. | 29:31 | |
Look at this man. | 29:34 | |
It's not easy to look at such a person. | 29:37 | |
The natural human thing is to turn away | 29:40 | |
and look in the other direction. | 29:42 | |
This man is a symbol of all those who have never known | 29:46 | |
in their lives what it is to stand on their own two feet, | 29:50 | |
those who don't have the eyes to see a sunrise, | 29:53 | |
or the ears to hear the sound of the robin in the spring, | 29:57 | |
those who do not have the resources | 30:00 | |
to go to bed with a full stomach at night. | 30:03 | |
Look at them intently if you can. | 30:07 | |
It isn't easy, we turn away, we look in the other direction | 30:10 | |
and we hope that when we turn around they may be gone. | 30:15 | |
It's tough to look at people like this man | 30:19 | |
because his presence, there in front of us, | 30:21 | |
mocks our pious platitudes that God is good, | 30:24 | |
or that the world is beautiful or that life is worth living. | 30:29 | |
And so we look away. | 30:33 | |
And we look away not because we don't care | 30:36 | |
but we know that there is not one blessed thing we can do | 30:38 | |
to change their situation. | 30:42 | |
We would change their situation if we had the power, | 30:45 | |
but we don't, and so we look away | 30:48 | |
and hope that they will disappear, | 30:50 | |
we institutionalize them, we put them away at the fringe. | 30:52 | |
We're powerless. | 30:59 | |
And in a way, therefore we do have something in common | 31:01 | |
with that crippled man because he is powerless, | 31:04 | |
and we are powerless. | 31:08 | |
We cannot change his plight. | 31:10 | |
And we hate him for reminding us of how powerless we are | 31:15 | |
against the most desperate situations in life. | 31:20 | |
Paul looks at this man who has had no power | 31:25 | |
to walk since birth, and with a loud voice, | 31:28 | |
maybe the same volume of voice | 31:32 | |
with which Jesus called forth the dead Lazarus | 31:34 | |
from the tomb, he commands him to rise, | 31:36 | |
to stand up right on your feet, | 31:40 | |
and the man not only stands, | 31:44 | |
but Luke says he sprang up, he walked. | 31:46 | |
With such a show of miraculous healing power, | 31:50 | |
is it any wonder... | 31:54 | |
With this once helpless man now jugging about, | 31:58 | |
is it any wonder that the amazed Laconians scream: | 32:02 | |
the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men, | 32:06 | |
and their pagan priests are prepared to offer a sacrifice, | 32:09 | |
an ox in honor of these two gods. | 32:13 | |
They call Barnabas Zeus, and they call Paul Hermes. | 32:17 | |
Now what would you have done if you had been there that day? | 32:24 | |
I doubt that we would have called Paul and Barnabas | 32:27 | |
gods, who worships Zeus or Hermes anymore? | 32:31 | |
But we would have at least recognized their godlike power. | 32:39 | |
Power, because that is something that we will bow before. | 32:43 | |
Power. | 32:50 | |
These first century Jews and Greeks told so many stories | 32:52 | |
of miraculous healings because, | 32:54 | |
if you were desperately ill then, | 32:58 | |
what hope had you for recovery except | 33:02 | |
for some miraculous, divine healing? | 33:04 | |
Unlike us, they did not have the AMA. | 33:10 | |
Which reminds us that unlike them, | 33:16 | |
we probably possess more power | 33:18 | |
to change the human condition than any generation | 33:21 | |
that's ever lived on the face of the earth. | 33:24 | |
I'm not all that old, but I can remember when I was a child, | 33:28 | |
when your parents in the summertime, | 33:32 | |
kept you inside, made you take long naps, | 33:34 | |
in a rather pitiful attempt to avert | 33:38 | |
the dreaded scourge of childhood. | 33:41 | |
Polio. | 33:45 | |
Polio, there was a day when just the mention of that word | 33:47 | |
would send a chill down the spine | 33:52 | |
of every parent in the audience. | 33:54 | |
Polio now, what does it mean? | 33:56 | |
It's just one more thing that we have been able | 33:58 | |
to conquer and overcome. | 34:01 | |
At the same time, why is it, if we're so powerful, | 34:08 | |
that so many modern people report that they feel powerless? | 34:14 | |
Why is it? | 34:24 | |
Today's wonder drug produces tomorrow's | 34:26 | |
disfiguring genetic defects. | 34:29 | |
The computer which was to be our powerful friend | 34:33 | |
now makes you feel like a fool as you correspond with it, | 34:36 | |
trying to straighten out your credit card bill. | 34:40 | |
The power of democracy. | 34:43 | |
Did you vote in last November's election? | 34:46 | |
Could you feel the power surging | 34:50 | |
through your veins as you pulled the lever? | 34:51 | |
I doubt it. | 34:56 | |
Perhaps our modern feelings of powerlessness | 35:00 | |
account for our almost worshipful veneration | 35:05 | |
of anything, anybody, any system which promises us power. | 35:08 | |
We adore that which promises us power and control. | 35:16 | |
There's a woman on TV, who says | 35:23 | |
that she used to put on a bikini and barbecue steaks | 35:25 | |
in the backyard, but not anymore, | 35:28 | |
now she's eating oat bran and she's pumping iron. | 35:30 | |
Don't you wanna be like her when you're 50? | 35:33 | |
Power. | 35:36 | |
We go to universities and we get advanced degrees | 35:38 | |
and we long for that day, that blessed day of graduation, | 35:41 | |
when we will no longer be compliant, | 35:45 | |
dependent students sitting at somebody's feet, | 35:48 | |
but rather at last, we will be doctors and lawyers | 35:52 | |
and corporate executives and professors, | 35:56 | |
and have other people sitting at our feet. | 35:59 | |
That glorious commencement day when the president | 36:02 | |
of the university shall say to us: rise, stand on your feet, | 36:05 | |
and will bestow upon us the BD the JD, the MD, the PhD. | 36:09 | |
Power. | 36:15 | |
Why is it that the biggest and most expensive, | 36:19 | |
most overly built building in our community | 36:22 | |
are no longer churches, but are hospitals? | 36:25 | |
Now we thank God that we have progressed | 36:31 | |
to the point where modern medicine and technology | 36:33 | |
can at last do something for that crippled man. | 36:38 | |
Perhaps we expend so much on modern medical technology | 36:45 | |
because it promises us at last power. | 36:49 | |
What Paul did that day for that poor crippled man | 36:54 | |
is done almost everyday in the Duke Hospitals, | 36:57 | |
it's a commonplace occurrence. | 37:00 | |
Now we don't call the physicians who do it Zeus or Hermes, | 37:03 | |
but we do offer them government grants, | 37:09 | |
which is a kind of worship. | 37:12 | |
Now ponder this: why is it that physicians are featured | 37:17 | |
so prominently on TV soap operas? | 37:23 | |
Why do you think that is? | 37:27 | |
Break up into buzz groups and discuss this and report back. | 37:28 | |
Why is it that doctors appear so often on TV soap operas? | 37:32 | |
It seems that the world considers physicians | 37:36 | |
incredibly interesting, romantically speaking. | 37:40 | |
Everybody wants to get close to a doctor, it seems. | 37:44 | |
This is odd since most of the physicians I know, | 37:48 | |
after a typical 15 hour day, I doubt have enough energy left | 37:50 | |
to be that romantically interesting. | 37:54 | |
But if you watch a soap opera, | 37:56 | |
everybody wants to get close to a doctor. | 37:58 | |
I think the reason is, | 38:00 | |
that this is the closest thing we have in our day | 38:04 | |
to godlike power. | 38:06 | |
We believe doctors are powerful, | 38:10 | |
not that physicians believe this themselves. | 38:12 | |
A friend of mine who is a physician says, | 38:16 | |
you know we really don't heal that many people, | 38:19 | |
but the American public believes that we heal people. | 38:22 | |
And so someone comes in to my office, | 38:27 | |
I have him take off his clothes, I touch him | 38:28 | |
in a few places, I ask him what he thinks | 38:30 | |
is wrong with him, I say it's probably that, | 38:32 | |
I give him a pill, he goes home, | 38:35 | |
and he usually does get better. | 38:36 | |
And that's a kind of power. | 38:40 | |
But there is a downside to this. | 38:46 | |
Perhaps this is also a source of our | 38:49 | |
national disillusionment with the medical profession. | 38:52 | |
We put so much money and an incredible amount of faith | 38:57 | |
in this human venture, but it doesn't deliver. | 39:02 | |
We still have AIDS, | 39:09 | |
we still suffer, we still die. | 39:12 | |
And so we sue our physicians | 39:16 | |
for not fulfilling our fantasies of omnipotence. | 39:19 | |
And we hate them for not being, if not gods, | 39:26 | |
at least close relatives of Hermes and Zeus. | 39:29 | |
Beware those of you who are headed | 39:35 | |
toward the practice of law or medicine, | 39:39 | |
you may benefit professionally or financially | 39:44 | |
from our popular belief that science or medicine, | 39:48 | |
or law or politics, is power, | 39:51 | |
but I'll tell you this, we will hate you | 39:56 | |
when you do not deliver. | 40:00 | |
And so maybe that's why, in today's scripture, | 40:05 | |
there is a critique of power going on | 40:07 | |
in this story of power. | 40:11 | |
Paul and Barnabas having worked a powerful miracle | 40:16 | |
for a poor crippled man are not flattered | 40:19 | |
when they are called gods by these Laconians. | 40:23 | |
They say: we are not gods come down to earth, | 40:29 | |
we are human beings bearing good news. | 40:31 | |
And I think Luke's opinion is that gentiles, | 40:38 | |
gentiles, that's us, | 40:41 | |
gentiles are just incurable idolaters. | 40:43 | |
If you read the book of Acts, whenever a gentile shows up, | 40:49 | |
a gentile will bow down to almost anything | 40:51 | |
if given half a chance to worship something. | 40:54 | |
Earlier, when Peter healed another lame man, | 41:00 | |
the grateful fellow gets down on his knees | 41:03 | |
and clings to Peter and calls him an angel. | 41:05 | |
When Peter meets the Roman Centurion Cornelius, | 41:08 | |
and converts him, Cornelius gets down on his knees | 41:12 | |
and prepares to offer a sacrifice to him. | 41:16 | |
After all, he spent his whole life bowing down | 41:18 | |
before Caesar, he just assumes he's got another god | 41:21 | |
in the form of a man. | 41:24 | |
And now these Laconians, they see some power | 41:28 | |
and they call one Zeus and the other Hermes. | 41:32 | |
A gentile is somebody who is an incredible idolater, | 41:38 | |
a polytheist. | 41:41 | |
Who's always out trying to plug into the power | 41:45 | |
to use God to harness this great divine energy | 41:48 | |
for our purposes. | 41:51 | |
For what is the purpose of religion | 41:54 | |
if it is not something that works for us? | 41:56 | |
But Paul and Barnabas are good monotheistic Jews, | 42:01 | |
and they set these idolatrous Laconians straight. | 42:06 | |
We bring you not even something so wonderful | 42:11 | |
as the power to heal, | 42:14 | |
we bring you good news. | 42:17 | |
Turn from these vain things, these vain things, | 42:22 | |
that's not a very high assessment of classical education | 42:25 | |
in art, is it, these vain things? | 42:28 | |
And turn from your paganism to the living God. | 42:31 | |
Those who heal must also be those who teach. | 42:39 | |
And here is lesson number one, get out your notebooks. | 42:44 | |
The Christian faith | 42:49 | |
is not chiefly about power. | 42:52 | |
The hour of power. | 42:57 | |
It is not about the power, even the power to do good. | 43:00 | |
Rather, it is about turning from ourselves | 43:06 | |
and our idols toward the living God, | 43:09 | |
who, wherever disciples find themselves | 43:13 | |
and preach the good news, their stiffest opposition | 43:17 | |
is not from atheism but from polytheism, from idolatry. | 43:21 | |
And we're all born polytheists. | 43:27 | |
Idolatry is a hard habit to break. | 43:31 | |
The notion that God is just some kind of tool | 43:36 | |
that we can use to get what our hearts desire. | 43:40 | |
Elsewhere in Acts, in chapter eight, | 43:46 | |
another gentile shows up. | 43:48 | |
A gentile miracle worker who is | 43:51 | |
in the business of healing people. | 43:53 | |
His name is Simon. | 43:55 | |
And Simon witnesses the healing power of the Holy Spirit. | 43:57 | |
Wow! That's really good, he says. | 44:02 | |
How can I get in on some of this Holy Spirit power, he asks. | 44:05 | |
How can I put some of this power at my disposal? | 44:09 | |
To work good, of course. | 44:12 | |
And Simon offers the most powerful thing he's got | 44:15 | |
in his pocket, money, to get the Holy Spirit in his pocket. | 44:17 | |
And Peter turns to Simon, and in a loving way, | 44:25 | |
says: to hell with you and your money. | 44:27 | |
This isn't for sale. | 44:32 | |
Here is power that is not up for sale | 44:35 | |
to the highest bidder, not to be used to our beck and call, | 44:37 | |
not to be controlled or corralled, | 44:41 | |
or captured for even the best of human purposes. | 44:44 | |
This power blows where it wills. | 44:49 | |
It's a gift. | 44:52 | |
It is the power of the living God, | 44:54 | |
not the ersatz power of our idols. | 44:56 | |
And wherever the good news of Easter is present, | 45:00 | |
disciples not only work miracles, | 45:04 | |
but they are teachers. | 45:09 | |
Teaching the world the difference between the ways of God | 45:12 | |
and the ways of Hermes and Zeus. | 45:16 | |
Some of the angriest disbelief | 45:22 | |
that I have witnessed as a pastor, | 45:26 | |
is that disbelief which arises from the disillusionment | 45:29 | |
that comes when God fails to deliver. | 45:33 | |
This disillusionment is not disillusionment with God, | 45:40 | |
but disillusionment with our idols, | 45:45 | |
our projections, our ego projections of God. | 45:46 | |
A God who refuses to be controlled. | 45:52 | |
Well I don't really agree with a lot | 45:59 | |
that those people believe, but you know, | 46:00 | |
they do a lot of good. | 46:03 | |
And isn't that the purpose of religion? | 46:06 | |
To do a lot of good? | 46:08 | |
Who cares if they lift up some new counter God | 46:12 | |
or make demi-gods of themselves. | 46:15 | |
They do a lot of good, and what is religion about | 46:18 | |
if it's not that? | 46:22 | |
Their stuff really works. | 46:23 | |
Friends, Easter power is loose in our trouble world. | 46:29 | |
Watch and wonder as as the down-trodden stand upright | 46:34 | |
and the oppressed are delivered, | 46:37 | |
and the impotent begin to move, | 46:39 | |
but let us take care. | 46:44 | |
This isn't just any old power that we celebrate today. | 46:47 | |
It's a power of the risen Jesus. | 46:52 | |
The Holy Spirit. | 46:55 | |
And therefore of these good Jews, | 46:59 | |
who have been taught to say from the very first, | 47:03 | |
hear o Israel, the Lord your God is one, | 47:06 | |
and you shall have no other gods before me. | 47:12 | |
Amen. | 47:19 | |
(organ music) | 47:21 | |
(pews creak) | 47:37 | |
♪ At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow ♪ | 47:59 | |
♪ Every tongue confess him King of glory now ♪ | 48:07 | |
♪ 'Tis the Father's pleasure we should call him Lord ♪ | 48:16 | |
♪ Who from the beginning was the mighty word ♪ | 48:25 | |
♪ At his voice creation sprang at once to sight ♪ | 48:37 | |
♪ All the angel faces, all the hosts of light ♪ | 48:46 | |
♪ Thrones and dominations, stars upon their way ♪ | 48:55 | |
♪ All the heavenly orders in their great array ♪ | 49:04 | |
♪ Humbled for a season, to receive a name ♪ | 49:16 | |
♪ From the lips of sinners, unto whom he came ♪ | 49:25 | |
♪ Faithfully he bore it spotless to the last ♪ | 49:34 | |
♪ Brought it back victorious when from death he passed ♪ | 49:43 | |
♪ In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue ♪ | 49:55 | |
♪ All that is not holy, all that is not true ♪ | 50:05 | |
♪ Look to him, your Savior, in temptations' hour ♪ | 50:14 | |
♪ Let his will enfold you in its light and power ♪ | 50:23 | |
- | Let us unite in this historic confession | 50:39 |
of the Christian faith. | 50:41 | |
Congregation | I believe in God the father almighty, | 50:43 |
maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, | 50:47 | |
his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, | 50:50 | |
born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, | 50:55 | |
was crucified, dead, and buried. | 50:59 | |
The third day he rose form the dead. | 51:02 | |
He ascended into heaven and siteth | 51:04 | |
at the right hand of God the father almighty. | 51:07 | |
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. | 51:10 | |
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, | 51:14 | |
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, | 51:18 | |
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. | 51:22 | |
Amen. | 51:26 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 51:28 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 51:30 |
- | Let us pray. | 51:31 |
(pews creak) | 51:34 | |
Please join in this prayer of intersession | 51:41 | |
by responding with the words: Lord hear our prayer. | 51:43 | |
O Lord our God, you hear our prayers before we speak | 51:49 | |
and answer before we know our need. | 51:53 | |
You alone are our source of power. | 51:57 | |
That we cannot pray may your spirit pray in us, | 51:59 | |
drawing us to you and toward our neighbors on earth. | 52:04 | |
We pray for the whole creation. | 52:08 | |
May all things work together for good until, by your design, | 52:10 | |
your children inherit the earth and order it wisely. | 52:14 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 52:19 | |
We pray for the church of Jesus Christ, | 52:22 | |
that begun, maintained and promoted by your spirit, | 52:25 | |
it may be true, engaging, glad, and active doing your will. | 52:29 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 52:36 |
- | We pray for people who do not believe, | 52:40 |
who are shaken by doubt or have turned against you. | 52:43 | |
Open their eyes to see beyond our broken fellowship, | 52:47 | |
the wonders of your love displayed in Jesus of Nazareth | 52:51 | |
and to follow when he calls them. | 52:55 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 52:58 |
- | We pray for enemies as Christ commanded. | 53:01 |
For those who oppose us or scheme against us, | 53:05 | |
who are also children of your love. | 53:08 | |
May we be kept away from infectious hate | 53:12 | |
or sick desire for vengeance. | 53:15 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 53:18 |
- | We pray for those involved in world government, | 53:22 |
in agencies of control or compassion | 53:25 | |
who work for the reconciling of nations. | 53:28 | |
Keep them hopeful and work with them for peace. | 53:31 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 53:35 |
- | We pray for poor people who are hungry | 53:39 |
or are housed in unclean places. | 53:41 | |
Increase in us and all who prosper concern | 53:45 | |
for the disinherited. | 53:48 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 53:50 |
- | We pray for sick people who suffer pain | 53:54 |
or struggle with demons of the mind, | 53:57 | |
who silently cry out for healing. | 53:59 | |
May they be patient, brave, and trusting. | 54:02 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 54:06 |
- | We pray for the dying, who face the final mystery. | 54:09 |
May the enjoy light and life intensely, | 54:14 | |
keep dignity and greet death unafraid, | 54:18 | |
believing in your love. | 54:21 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 54:24 |
- | We pray for people who are alone and lonely, | 54:28 |
who have no-one to call in trusted friendship. | 54:30 | |
May they be remembered, befriended, | 54:34 | |
and know your care for them. | 54:37 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 54:40 |
- | We pray for families, for parents and children. | 54:43 |
May they enjoy each other, honor freedoms, | 54:47 | |
and forgive as happily as we are all forgiven | 54:50 | |
in your great mercy. | 54:53 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 54:55 |
- | We pray for young and old. | 54:59 |
Give the impatient youth true vision, | 55:01 | |
and experienced age openness to new things. | 55:04 | |
Let both praise your name. | 55:08 | |
Congregation | Lord, hear our prayer. | 55:11 |
- | We pray for people everywhere. | 55:14 |
May they come into their own as children of God | 55:16 | |
and inherit the kingdom prepared in Jesus Christ, | 55:18 | |
the Lord of all and savior of the world. | 55:22 | |
This we pray in his name, who prays with us | 55:25 | |
and for us, to whom be praised forever. | 55:28 | |
Amen. | 55:32 | |
And now, in thanksgiving for the mighty acts of God, | 55:35 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 55:38 | |
(organ music) | 55:42 | |
(pews creak) | 55:47 | |
(choir shuffles) | ||
(choir sings in foreign language) | 56:25 | |
(intense organ music) | 58:54 | |
(choir sings in foreign language) | 58:57 | |
(soft organ music) | 1:03:41 | |
(choir sings in foreign language) | 1:03:46 | |
(organ plays "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow") | 1:04:49 | |
♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:05:23 | |
♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 1:05:29 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:05:35 | |
♪ Praise God above, ye heav'nly host ♪ | 1:05:43 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:05:49 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:05:55 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:05 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:06:08 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:06:17 | |
- | O everliving God, we offer you thanks and praise | 1:06:30 |
for the many wonders of your creation. | 1:06:34 | |
For the mystery of the changing seasons, | 1:06:37 | |
and the ever new miracle of life awakening each springtime. | 1:06:39 | |
For the fellowship of family and friends. | 1:06:43 | |
For the privilege of sharing | 1:06:46 | |
with you in the act of creating. | 1:06:47 | |
Most of all, we thank you for the gift | 1:06:50 | |
of your son Jesus Christ, who commanded us | 1:06:52 | |
to love one another and then revealed the true power | 1:06:55 | |
of love through his resurrection. | 1:06:58 | |
Our father, | 1:07:02 | |
Congregation | Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 1:07:03 |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:07:06 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:07:09 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:07:11 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:07:14 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 1:07:16 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 1:07:19 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:07:21 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power, | 1:07:23 | |
and the glory forever. | 1:07:26 | |
Amen. | 1:07:27 | |
(organ music) | 1:07:30 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:07:53 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:08:02 | |
♪ Come, Christians, follow where the Master trod ♪ | 1:08:13 | |
♪ Our King victorious, Christ the Son of God ♪ | 1:08:23 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:08:33 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:08:43 | |
♪ Led on their way by this triumphant sign ♪ | 1:08:54 | |
♪ The hosts of God in conquering ranks combine ♪ | 1:09:03 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:09:14 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:09:24 | |
♪ All newborn servants of the crucified ♪ | 1:09:35 | |
♪ Bear on their brows the seal of him who died ♪ | 1:09:44 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:09:56 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:10:05 | |
♪ O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree ♪ | 1:10:16 | |
♪ Has brought us from his heart within ♪ | 1:10:25 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:10:37 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:10:46 | |
♪ So shall our song of triumph ever be ♪ | 1:10:57 | |
♪ Praise to the crucified for victory ♪ | 1:11:06 | |
♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 1:11:18 | |
♪ 'Til all the world adore his sacred name ♪ | 1:11:27 | |
- | And now go forth in peace and be of good courage. | 1:11:46 |
Holdfast that which is good, rejoicing | 1:11:50 | |
in the power of the Holy Spirit, | 1:11:52 | |
and may the blessings of God, father, son, | 1:11:55 | |
and Holy Spirit, be with you all now and forevermore. | 1:11:58 | |
Amen. | 1:12:01 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:03 | |
(choir harmonizes) | 1:12:13 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:15 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:18 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:24 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:29 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:41 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:47 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:55 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:59 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:13:03 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:13:07 | |
(trumpet music) | 1:13:14 | |
(congregation shuffles) | ||
(pews creek) | 1:14:24 | |
(congregation murmurs) | ||
(trumpet music) | 1:14:31 | |
(congregation shuffles) |
Item Info
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