Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

(slow organ music)

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Dearly beloved, we are gathered here

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in the name of God our Father and His son, Jesus Christ,

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to make a new remembrance of His thanksgiving and blessings

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which He has given us in this past year.

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So let us, in these moments, affirm our gratitude

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and receive a new blessing of His renewing word

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for a new year.

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In His name, amen.

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(slow organ music)

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♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

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♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

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♪ Peace on earth, and mercy mild ♪

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♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪

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♪ Joyful, all ye nations, rise ♪

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♪ Join the triumph of the skies ♪

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♪ With angelic host proclaim ♪

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♪ Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪

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♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

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♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

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♪ Christ, by highest heaven adored ♪

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♪ Christ the everlasting Lord ♪

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♪ Late in time behold Him come ♪

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♪ Offspring of the virgin's womb ♪

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♪ Veiled in flesh the Godhead see ♪

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♪ Hail the incarnate Deity ♪

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♪ Pleased as man with us to dwell ♪

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♪ Jesus, our Emmanuel ♪

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♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

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♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

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♪ Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace ♪

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♪ Hail, the Son of Righteousness ♪

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♪ Light and life to all He brings ♪

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♪ Risen with healing in His wings ♪

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♪ Mild He lays His glory by ♪

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♪ Born that man no more may die ♪

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♪ Born to raise us from the earth ♪

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♪ Born to give us second birth ♪

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♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

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♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

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You may be seated.

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My dear friends, God cares for us

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as He has so graphically portrayed

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in the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ,

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in the nativity we have just celebrated,

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which gives us a new faith

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and enables us to cast our cares upon Him.

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It is in this spirit then that we gather to pray together

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this our prayer of confession.

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Let us all pray.

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O Lord our God, we have craved admiration and security,

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for we would rather be successful than useful.

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We have sought to be master rather than servant.

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We have considered numbers more important than persons.

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Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

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We have been immobilized by the magnitude of problems

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and the infinite possibilities for choice.

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We have been too proud to admit our mistakes in judgment.

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We have been creative in our excuses

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and imaginative in our rationalizations.

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Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

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We have been capable witnesses for the wrong things.

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We have been so eager for results

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that we have been careless about our methods.

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We have turned away from necessary conflict

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because we were frightened.

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In the midst of crisis we have encouraged business as usual.

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Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

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And we have neglected to worship You with our whole lives.

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We have avoided the voice of conscience.

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We have wasted our gifts

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and we have refused to be known as servants.

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We have not been faithful to our calling.

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Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

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Amen.

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And now let us hear these comfortable words

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of our Savior Jesus Christ.

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"Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden

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"and I will give you rest.

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"Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find,

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"knock and it will be opened to you.

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"For everyone who asks receives.

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"And he who seeks finds.

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"And to him who knocks, it will be open."

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Thus may the almighty and merciful Lord

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grant us remission of all our sins, true repentance,

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amendment of life, and the grace and consolation

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a renewed spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord

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Who taught us when we are gathered in His name

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to say Our Father Who art in heaven,

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hallowed be Thy name.

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Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

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on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us this day our daily bread,

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and forgive us our trespasses

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as we forgive those who trespass against us.

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And lead us not into temptation,

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but deliver us from evil.

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For Thine is the kingdom and the power

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and the glory forever.

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Amen.

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(slow organ music)

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(singing in foreign language)

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My dear friends, the Word of God for us today

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is contained in the writings of Isaiah chapter 42

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and in the gospel St. John chapter one.

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Let us hear this renewing and strengthening word of God.

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"Behold, My servant, whom I uphold,

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"My chosen, in whom My soul delights.

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"I have put My Spirit upon him

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"for he will bring forth justice to the nations.

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"He will not cry or lift up his voice

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"or make it heard in the street.

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"A bruised reed he will not break,

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"and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

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"He will faithfully bring forth justice.

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"And he will not fail or be discouraged

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"until he has established justice in the earth

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"and in the coastlands where they wait for his law.

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"Thus says God the Lord Who created the heavens

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"and scratched them out,

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"Who spread forth the earth from what comes of it,

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"and Who gives breath to the people upon it

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"and spirit to those who walk in it,

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"I am the Lord.

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"I have called you in righteousness.

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"I have taken you by the hand and kept you.

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"I have given you as a covenant to the people,

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"a light to the nations to open the eyes that are blind,

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"to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

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"from the prison those who sit in darkness.

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"I am the Lord.

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"That is My name.

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"My glory give to no other, nor My praise to graven images.

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"Behold, the former things have come to pass,

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"and new things I now declare, for they spring forth

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"and I tell you of them."

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And from John's gospel, we hear these words.

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"In the beginning was the Word.

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"And the Word was with God.

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"And the Word was God.

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"He was in the beginning with God.

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"All things were made through Him.

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"And without Him was not anything made that was made.

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"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

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"The light shines in the darkness

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"and the darkness has not overcome it.

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"There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

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"He came for a testimony,

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"to bear witness to the light

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"that all might believe through him.

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"He was not the light,

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"but came to bear witness to the light.

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"The true light that enlivens every man

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"was coming into the world.

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"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.

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"Yet, the world knew Him not.

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"He came to His own home

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"and His own people received Him not.

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"But to all who received Him, who believed in His name,

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"He gave power to become children of God

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"who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh

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"nor of the will of man, but of God.

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"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

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"full of grace and truth.

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"We have beheld His glory,

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"glory as of the only Son from the Father."

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Hear in this, our lessons for today.

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And let us now share in the reading of God's Word

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by reading together responsively the Salter number 555.

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Let us stand as we read.

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O Lord, our Lord,

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how majestic is Thy name in all the earth?

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Thou has founded a bulwark because of Thy foes.

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When I look at Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,

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what is man that thou art mindful of him?

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Yet, Thou hast made him a little less than God.

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Thou hast given him dominion over the works of Thy hands.

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All sheep and oxen,

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the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.

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O Lord, our Lord.

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Congregation

How majestic is Thy name in all the earth.

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(slow organ music)

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(congregation singing)

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Now let us affirm our faith together by saying this creed.

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We believe in God Who has created and is creating,

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Who has come in the true man, Jesus,

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to reconcile and make new,

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Who works in us and others by His Spirit.

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We trust Him.

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He calls us to be in His church, to celebrate His presence,

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to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,

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to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,

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our judge and our hope.

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In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.

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We are not alone.

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Thanks be to God.

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Amen.

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May the Lord be with you.

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Let us all pray.

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Almighty and merciful God,

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without Whom all things hasten to their own destruction

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and fall away into nothingness,

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we gather on this day at a year's end

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to affirm that all the blessings and graciousness

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that have been ours in these months past

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have been the gift of Thy hand.

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We acknowledge that those achievements we have made

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have come from Thee.

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And with shame, we confess that those times we have failed

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we have not stood in Thy presence,

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nor have we always followed Thy bidding and Thy will

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to secure Thine own ends.

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But whether we have won or whether we have lost,

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we have lived out our life

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under the tent of Thy graciousness.

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And when we have acknowledged this,

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even in our failures, we have been strengthened.

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So our Lord, this morning,

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we give grace

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and the fullness of our expression of gratitude

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for what Thou hast given us.

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In these moments, some of us come to the end

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of a time of labor.

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Here in our university staff

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some will be retiring from many years of effective service.

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We give thanks for these men and women

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and for the contribution they have made to our common life.

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Others on this day come to make new beginnings

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and to begin a new year.

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We thank Thee, our Father, for the renewing freshness

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that comes from Thy daily portion of grace

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that enables us to make a new beginning.

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For as we stand on the threshold of a new year,

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we would pray for a new beginning for our nation

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and all nations.

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That to each may be given the blessings

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of Christian light and truth,

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a right mind and just councils.

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Grant peace on Earth and goodwill among all men

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that all may employ Thy good gifts of order and liberty

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to the welfare of mankind and finally to Thy glory.

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Guide and strengthen the President of this country

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and his advisors and all others in authority.

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And continue to favor this, our beloved land,

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with thy grace.

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And let Thy blessing rest, O Lord,

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upon our common life here together

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that our spirit may be disciplined and our minds sharpened

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and our wheels honed to do Thy bidding

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and achieve Thy purposes.

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Grant that our homes may be holy,

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that our work may be honorable,

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and our pleasures and enjoyments pure.

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Guard and save us from every selfish use

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of the liberty in which we stand,

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and bless all our just and lawful undertakings.

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And grant that in time of prosperity

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we may not forget Thee,

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nor in time of adversity we may not think of ourselves

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as being forgotten of Thee.

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Now, O Father into Thy hands we commit those who are sick,

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the sorrowful, the lonely, the tempted,

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even those that are dear to our hearts

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and dear to the heart of this chapel.

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We remember them and pray that they may know

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Thy healing and sanctifying power

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and may obtain the victory of faith.

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Bless us, our Lord, as we leave this place today

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and go forth to a new life,

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that we may go forth in the peace and the love

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and the hope and faith

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that comes from knowledge of Jesus Christ

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in Whom we pray.

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Amen.

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(slow organ music)

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♪ O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant ♪

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♪ O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ♪

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♪ O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels ♪

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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

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♪ Christ the Lord ♪

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♪ Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation ♪

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♪ Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above ♪

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♪ Glory to God, all glory in the highest ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ Christ, the Lord ♪

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♪ Yea, Lord, we greet Thee ♪

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♪ Born this happy morning ♪

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♪ Jesus, to Thee be all glory given ♪

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♪ Word of the Father ♪

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♪ Now in flesh appearing ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

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♪ Christ, the Lord ♪

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In the name of God our Creator,

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our Redeemer, and our Sustainer, amen.

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Well, so that is that.

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Now we must dismantle the tree,

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putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes,

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some have gotten broken,

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and then carry them up into the attic.

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The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,

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and the children got ready for school.

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There are enough leftovers to do, warmed up,

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for the rest of the week, not that we have much appetite

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having drunk such a lot, stayed up so late,

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and attempted, quite unsuccessfully,

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to have loved all our relatives,

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and in general, grossly overestimated our powers.

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Once again, as in the previous years,

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we have seen the actual vision

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and have failed to do more than entertain it

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as an agreeable possibility.

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Once again, we have sent him away

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begging though to remain his disobedient servant,

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the promising child who cannot keep his word for long.

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The Christmas feast is already a fading memory,

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and already the mind begins to be vaguely aware

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of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension

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at the thought of Lent and Good Friday,

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which cannot, after all now, be very far off.

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But for the time being, here we all are

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back in the moderate Aristotelian city

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of darning and the Eight-Fifteen

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where Euclid's geometry and Newton's mechanics

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would account for our experience.

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The narrator in the conclusion

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of Auden's "For the Time Being" reflects, in some part,

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our response to Christmas.

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We breathe a sigh.

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We made it.

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And yet hopefully, we did see the actual vision.

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And so once again,

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we can wonder at the good news of the incarnation.

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We who know the bleakness of the midwinter in our lives,

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in our country,

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cry out to hear again the good news of the incarnation

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and what this means for this world at this time.

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For this time when some North Carolina construction workers

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in their Christmas celebration

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decided to see how much alcohol a black man can hold.

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The black man, after having held much alcohol,

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went home and died within one hour.

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The fellow construction workers shrugged and said,

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"Oh well, he's just a nigger."

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That was in North Carolina, Christmas, 1973.

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For this time when some people are starving to death

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because of a famine in West Africa

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and other people are spending $18 for one meal for one dog

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in a gourmet dog restaurant.

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For this time when two old people may have died

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because of the cold

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and other people grumble

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because they have to wear a sweater indoors.

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For this time when our President feels he must convince us

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he is not a crook.

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For this, our time of crisis in government,

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crisis in fuel, crisis in energy, crisis in economy,

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crisis in unemployment, crisis in peace, crisis in food.

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But there's no need to make an exhaustive list,

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for we know too well what is in the news.

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We know our terrible and tragic news,

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and we say with Eliot,

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the cycles of heaven in 20 centuries

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bring us farther from God and nearer to dust.

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Where is the life we have lost in the living?

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Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

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Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

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Endless invention, endless experiment

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bring us knowledge of motion, but not of stillness,

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knowledge of speech, but not of silence,

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knowledge of the words, but ignorance of the Word.

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All our knowledge brings us nearer to death,

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but nearness to death, no nearer to God.

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We know, but we don't know what to do.

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We feel hopeless.

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There's nothing we can do.

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We are not responsible for this mess.

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Jurgen Moltmann proposes that the greatest sin we face today

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is not the sin of pride, of wanting to be as God,

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but the reverse side of pride

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or the logical outcome of pride, despair, hopelessness,

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resignation, inertia.

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Our temptation is not in wanting to be as God,

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but in our weakness, our timidity, our weariness,

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in our not wanting to be what God requires of us.

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Now, if this is a true analysis,

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and it certainly seems to be, if despair, discouragement,

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resignation, inertia, are our sin,

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then those of us who have had a difficult time

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seeing ourselves as sinners

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can surely now say in a loud voice,

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"We are the greatest of sinners."

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For we are certain there is nothing we can do.

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We aren't responsible.

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Yet we believe, a little bit, but we really don't believe,

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those persons who say that our culture, our society

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has given permission for all that has happened

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in our country.

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None of the killings of innocent people in Southeast Asia,

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none of the racial oppression,

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none of the political corruption,

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none of our political or social disasters

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would have happened without us giving permission,

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without our allowing it, yea, without our encouraging it.

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In this bleakest of our midwinters in our lives,

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in our world, we feel helpless, hopeless, discouraged.

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We need to know that there is still good news to be heard.

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We need to hear again the good news

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that was read from John's gospel

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as our New Testament lesson,

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the good news that there is a light

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which shines in the darkness

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which the darkness cannot overcome.

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The good news that the Word became flesh and lived among us.

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The good news that we have power to become children of God.

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This is the good news of the incarnation,

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which means that God, our Creator, is revealed,

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is disclosed in a human life.

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This is good news for it means it's okay to be human,

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to live with our unknowns, our ambiguities, our mistakes.

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It has been difficult for us to accept our own humanity,

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the fact that we were created,

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that we are limited, that we will die.

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But it has been even more difficult

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for us to accept Jesus's humanity,

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for God certainly would not have chosen to use

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a human vessel to communicate to us.

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Possibly something written on stone,

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even a burning bush,

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certainly something that is clear, static, unambiguous.

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Something more than, better than a human.

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Perhaps a super person, maybe an angel.

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But our affirmation that the Word became flesh

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is an affirmation of our humanity as it is given to us.

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And this is worth celebrating.

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This is good news.

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And when the Word became flesh,

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we were given some strong clues of what is expected of us,

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of what is possible, and what it means to be fully human.

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Now, one of the clues is that life will instill,

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include suffering, disappointments, pain, and agony.

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This dimension of the incarnation needs to be lifted up,

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especially at the time when we celebrate the joy,

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the beauty, the innocence of the birth of the baby Jesus.

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For as Auden said,

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"We are already aware of Lent and Good Friday."

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When the Word becomes flesh,

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it also becomes pain and suffering and death.

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And it is a resurrection faith

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which sustains and redeems this sorrow,

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but it does not eliminate pain, suffering, death.

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We need to claim this side of our humanity

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and not expect our life in Christ to be more than human.

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This frees us from false hopes, from false expectations.

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It frees us to be fully human.

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But we cannot allow our life to be less than human,

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for that is a real possibility

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for humanization and dehumanizations are real alternatives.

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Our humanity is thwarted by false hopes, injustice,

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exploitation, oppression.

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And our humanity is affirmed in our freedom

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by justice, by our loving and caring,

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and in our struggle to develop our potential.

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The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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And we give thanks that we have an understanding

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and a grasp of our potential.

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The Word became flesh.

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Freire, an Latin American educator, defines the Word

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by dividing it into two component parts,

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the two dimensions of reflection and action.

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These two dimensions are in such close relationship

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with each other that if one part is sacrificed,

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the other immediately suffers.

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Reflection.

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Action.

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A true word can transform the world.

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An inauthentic word,

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which is a word in which only one dimension,

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either reflection or action is spoken,

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does not have the power to change anything.

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If the word is deprived of action,

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then reflection becomes mere idle chatter, mere verbalism,

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and there can be no denunciation of injustice,

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for denunciation is impossible

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without the commitment to transform,

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and there is no transformation without action.

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However, if the word is deprived of reflection

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and action is emphasized exclusively,

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then we have activism which gives up, quits,

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as soon as the going gets tough.

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It cannot be sustained.

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Now, these two dimensions of our word

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are also dimensions of us as persons,

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our personal selves and our community selves,

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our reflective selves and our active selves.

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This pattern of meditation, worship, and of action

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we see in the life of Jesus.

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And it is the same pattern which is crucial to the church.

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The members gathering to worship, to study, to heal,

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to be healed, to correct, to be corrected, and to plan,

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and the members scattering

45:52

to continue the work of Jesus the Christ to eliminate,

45:54

to overcome the dehumanizing forces in the world

45:56

and in the church.

46:00

When the Episcopal Bishop Freire spoke

46:02

at the Charismatic Conference in the Divinity School,

46:04

he commented on the poverty of much of our worship

46:06

saying that even in the Episcopal church,

46:08

which has always been a church known

46:11

for its excellence in worship,

46:13

too often the time of worship is not a time of community,

46:16

rather a collection of isolated, separated individuals

46:20

with no expression of community

46:24

and no expression of care for the other.

46:26

Now, if this may be true of some Episcopal churches,

46:29

how much more could it be true of those of us who worship

46:32

in this chapel congregation?

46:36

Unless we are more than spectators,

46:40

separated individuals in our worship,

46:43

unless our time together in this chapel

46:48

sends us back into our homes, our work, the world

46:50

more able to care,

46:56

and unless our life becomes more human for ourselves

46:59

and for others because of us,

47:03

this has not been a time of worship.

47:06

No matter how beautiful the music

47:10

or how moved we are by the majesty of the architecture

47:12

or the beauty of the stained glass

47:16

or the eloquence of some of the preachers,

47:18

this will not have been a time of worship,

47:20

but more likely a time of blasphemy or mere verbalism.

47:23

Now, these two dimensions of our lives

47:30

and of the church must be kept intention.

47:32

Otherwise we will continue in our sin of despair,

47:36

of discouragement for our condition

47:39

and the condition of the world.

47:40

And so we hear the good news

47:42

that we are forgiven of our sin,

47:44

that we have the power to become children of God,

47:47

that we can develop into full human beings,

47:50

that we can continue the ministry of Christ

47:54

to care for all of God's creation.

47:57

Those who hear this good news

48:01

can no longer put up with the injustice in the world.

48:03

As we heard in the Old Testament lesson,

48:09

we will work to bring forth justice

48:11

and we will not fail or be discouraged

48:13

till all justice is established on this earth.

48:16

Moltmann says that peace with God

48:21

means conflict with the world as it is.

48:25

So if we confess our sin of resignation, of timidity,

48:30

our weariness, our despair, our hopelessness,

48:33

we are forgiven.

48:36

And the good news of the incarnation

48:38

is that we do not have to be spectators,

48:40

that we are free to work for a humane world,

48:43

and that we can take risk.

48:46

Now, how does this good news

48:50

that we have power to become truly human,

48:51

how does this happen?

48:55

And what does this mean?

48:56

This is still one of our great mysteries.

48:59

We can't explain it.

49:02

It's hard for our logical, ordered, rational minds

49:05

to comprehend, for we yearn for this power,

49:09

but we want it given to us

49:11

as a pill to swallow before breakfast,

49:13

or as a doubt or ritual or a set of exercises,

49:16

something we can manage, we can control.

49:18

So if we find out this being fully human

49:22

is more than we bargained for,

49:24

if it is more painful or disquieting

49:27

or if it takes more of our time and money

49:29

than we want to give,

49:31

then we could simply stop taking the pills.

49:32

But this isn't the way it is.

49:34

As it is, there is a chance we will get caught up

49:37

and our lives will be changed.

49:39

We have biblical, historical, and contemporary witnesses

49:43

of what it means to be fully human, to receive this power,

49:48

to care, to fight injustice,

49:53

to attack dehumanization wherever it is found.

49:55

And we know it has something to do

49:59

with the two dimensions of the word, reflection and action,

50:01

something to do with community

50:07

and something to do with our openness, our acceptance,

50:09

and of our willingness to be a risk taker.

50:13

You know persons who are just very ordinary sorts of people

50:18

who would make no special claims for themselves,

50:22

but who are very quietly working to evidence in this power.

50:25

Some of these persons have decided

50:32

that something needs to be done with the housing situation.

50:33

And so they are offering the oppressed some real options

50:37

and are making the landlords uncomfortable,

50:41

landlords who live in comfort at the expense of the poor.

50:44

Others see education as the place they must work.

50:50

And so they tutor students,

50:52

or even though they can afford the best of private schools,

50:54

they keep their children in the public schools

50:58

and work and work and work to help make possible

51:01

a good education for all persons.

51:05

A student graduated from Duke several years ago

51:09

determined to learn all he needed to know

51:11

to be able to make a difference

51:14

in solving the problem of hunger in the world.

51:16

And we give thanks for people who have not given up

51:19

in the government,

51:22

but see a good government and just laws

51:23

as being crucial to a humane world.

51:26

Most of you here are probably already working

51:30

in very specific areas.

51:33

And you need from this time of worship nourishment,

51:36

perhaps to be corrected in some area, to be healed,

51:40

to be encouraged.

51:44

Others of us need to be challenged

51:46

to be forgiven of our sin of hopelessness,

51:48

of being spectators to life,

51:50

in order that we may go back renewed.

51:53

We can go forward in the future forgiven people,

51:57

ready to act, free to take risk, to suffer.

52:01

And we will do this not by writing general letters

52:07

or passing general resolutions or in any other general way,

52:10

but by choosing a very specific dehumanizing situation

52:13

to give ourselves to.

52:18

It may be that you are a person

52:21

who will help other people recognize

52:25

the dehumanizing forces and situations in the home,

52:27

at work, in education, or wherever.

52:29

It may be that you are the person who will heal those

52:34

who get bloody and discouraged in the work.

52:36

It may be that you are a person who will share your love,

52:41

your material goods, and your time.

52:46

Or it may be that you are a person who will decide

52:50

you need more training,

52:53

more specific skills to effectively overcome an injustice

52:55

or a dehumanizing force.

52:59

And this can happen anytime in your life, in your teens,

53:02

your 20s, your 30s, 40s, or any time.

53:05

What do you see as the situation

53:10

which limits people's humanity?

53:14

This may be your task.

53:19

And this is the good news

53:22

that there is a light which shines in the darkness

53:25

that the darkness cannot overcome.

53:27

The Word became flesh and lived with us.

53:30

And we have power to become fully human.

53:34

Let us pray.

53:41

O God, we give ourselves to You

53:46

to be instruments of Thy work in this world.

53:49

Bless our work and use us.

53:53

Amen.

53:56

(slow organ music)

54:15

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

54:43

♪ That Jesus my Savior did come for to die ♪

54:55

♪ For poor on'ry people like you and like I ♪

55:07

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

55:18

♪ When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall ♪

55:36

♪ With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all ♪

55:44

♪ But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall ♪

55:54

♪ And the promise of ages it then did recall ♪

56:02

♪ If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing ♪

56:20

♪ A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing ♪

56:27

♪ Or all of God's angels in heav'n for to sing ♪

56:36

♪ He surely could have it, 'cause He was the King ♪

56:44

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

56:59

♪ How Jesus the Savior did come for to die ♪

57:11

♪ For poor on'ry people like you and like I ♪

57:21

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

57:32

(slow organ music)

57:56

♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪

58:27

♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪

58:34

♪ O praise Him! Alleluia ♪

58:41

♪ Thou, burning sun with golden beam ♪

58:48

♪ Thou, silver moon with softer gleam ♪

58:55

♪ O praise Him! O praise Him ♪

59:02

♪ Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia ♪

59:09

-

Almighty God from Whose bounty we have received much good,

59:37

accept this our sacrifice and bound and duty

59:43

to offer unto Thee this portion of what Thou hast given.

59:48

May it be used for all good causes to heal mankind

59:53

and to benefit Thy children

59:58

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

1:00:00

Amen.

1:00:04

(triumphant organ music)

1:00:12

♪ Joy to the world, the Lord is come ♪

1:00:45

♪ Let earth receive her King ♪

1:00:51

♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪

1:00:57

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:02

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:06

♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:09

♪ Joy to the world, the Savior reigns ♪

1:01:17

♪ Let men their songs employ ♪

1:01:23

♪ While fields and floods ♪

1:01:29

♪ Rocks, hills, and plains ♪

1:01:32

♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:35

♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:38

♪ Repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:41

♪ He rules the world with truth and grace ♪

1:01:50

♪ And makes the nations prove ♪

1:01:56

♪ The glories of His righteousness ♪

1:02:02

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

1:02:08

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

1:02:11

♪ And wonders, wonders of His love ♪

1:02:14

♪ Joy to the world, the Lord is come ♪

1:02:23

♪ Let earth receive her King ♪

1:02:29

♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪

1:02:35

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:41

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:44

♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:47

And now may the peace and grace of God the Father

1:03:09

and the love of His Son

1:03:14

and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit

1:03:15

rest and abide and keep you this day

1:03:19

and in the days to come and, yea, everlastingly

1:03:23

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1:03:26

Amen.

1:03:29

(bells chiming three times)

1:03:33

(triumphant organ music)

1:03:47

Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

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1. Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

Duke University Archives

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Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

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