(organ music) - Praise and peace to you on this seventh Sunday after Pentecost. We welcome each of you to this service of worship here at Duke University Chapel. And pray that you will receive a blessing during this hour. We extend special greetings to our many visitors who come to us from across the country at this time of year. And if we may offer you any special assistance here at the chapel, please do not hesitate to let us know. We also extend greetings to those of you in our radio and television audiences. Our guest preacher for this morning is the Reverend Doctor Chester Williams, associate professor at the Boston University School of Theology. Dr. Williams has a wide range of experience, both as professor and preacher. And he is also well known as a community activist, having received numerous awards for his involvements in a variety of cities. We welcome Dr. Williams to our pulpit this morning. We also welcome our summer choir back to the chapel services after a brief holiday. And we remind all interested singers that you are invited to join the choir, no audition is required. Please note the remaining announcements as they are printed in your bulletins. And now let us continue our worship. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ (singing hymns) (organ music) ("Come, ye that love the Lord") - Let us pray. Almighty God unto whom our hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy holy spirit that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy name through Christ our Lord. Amen. - Let us pray. Open our hearts and minds oh God by the power of your holy spirit so that as the word is read and proclaimed we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen. The first lesson is taken from the book of Ecclesiastes. But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. Everything before them is vanity since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner. And he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil and all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. And after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with the living has hope for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and they have no more forever in any share in all that is done under the sun. Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white, let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun. Because it is your portion in life, and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. For there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all. This ends the reading of the first lesson. - Let us rise and read responsibly Psalm 138 number 599 in the hymnal. I give thee thanks oh Lord with my whole heart. Crowd: Before the gods I sing thy praise. - I bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to thy name for your steadfast love and thy faithfulness. Crowd: For God has exalted above everything. - On the day I called, thou didst answer me. Crowd: My strength of soul thou has increased. - All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, oh Lord. Crowd: For they have heard the words of God. - And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord. Crowd: For great is the glory of the Lord. - For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, Crowd: But the haughty he knows from afar. - Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou didst preserve my life. Crowd: Thou hast stretched out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand delivers me. - The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Crowd: Thy steadfast love, oh Lord, endures forever. (organ music) ♪ Glory be to the father ♪ ♪ Praise to glory ♪ ♪ Glory be to the father ♪ ♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ ♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪ - The second lesson is taken from Paul's letter to the Hebrews. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely. And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as son? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. This ends the reading of the second lesson. (singing hymn) - The gospel is taken from the book of Matthew. Jesus left the temple and was going away. When his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them. You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign of your coming? And of the close of the age? And Jesus answered them, take heed that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place. But the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. This ends the reading of the gospel. - Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely. And run this race with perseverance that was set before us looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. It is a real honor for me to be here at this historic center of righteousness today. Not only because of those great preachers and scholars and have stood in this pulpit, but because this chapel may be the sacred place in which new prophetic and apostolic voices will be born. Voices that will proclaim the good news of our savior here in Durham, and in the nation, and throughout the world. That is my prayer. To William Wilomen and Nancy Ferry Clark, and to William Joseph II and his lovely wife Rebecca who invited me here and have made my stay comfortable the last 24 hours, and to those of you who are gathered today in the name of the Lord. Two weeks today in Dakar, Senegal I'd taken 18 North Americans to share the gospel in Banjul and Basse, Gambia. We stood outside of our hotel, there in Dakar, and I said to that gathering that we will now go to that place, Banjul and Basse, to magnify the Lord and to worship him. It is so clear to me today, hearing the powerful singing of this great choir and to feel God's presence here that we have come into this place to magnify the Lord and to worship him. Because I'm on the road about 80% of the time, I have a good chance to do some cross regional and cross cultural, indeed cross racial comparisons with respect to our particular theology on evangelism and missions. And of course I can also index how I'm personally received when on the circuit, let that not sound egocentric. I taught at BU for the last three and a half years and moving throughout southern New England, Maine and New Hampshire, I've oftentimes felt when going into these mostly United Methodist churches that Sidney Poitier must've felt when Katherine Hepburn told Spencer Tracy guess who came to eat. I have sometimes felt like when there in New England, those saying guess who came to preach. But my experiences have not only been somewhat cryptic in New England, I've had some in the South as well. About a year ago I was riding down in the Romney district there in West Virginia, I'd been invited to come and share Evangelism dialogue with some United Methodist churches in the Romney district. And I'm from that part of the world originally, I was born in the mountains down around Bluefield, West Virginia. And I saw this sign on the road which said welcome to the friendliest city in America. So being from West Virginia and seeing that sign, I really felt at home. So I'm driving my little rented car down the road, and in back of me there was a man in a pickup truck. This was a very large man, about 300 pounds. Had a big hat on his head, and he had no shirt on, and he had a six pack in one hand, I'm sure every can was open. And he said to me in this friendly city in America, "Move on." And of course, you might imagine he used one of those epithets, so I was sitting thinking, should I now get out of my car and in the name of Christ go back and challenge him saying to me, "Move on." So I looked in my rear view mirror and saw that this was one big man, you all. So I did not wanna be a Joshua or Moses that day, so you all know what I did? I just moved on. So I've had some experiences throughout North America, but glad to be here in Durham here at this great chapel here today. There are many metaphors in God's word that used to describe our pilgrimage, our Christian journey. One of those is concept race. It's used an awful lot in the New Testament. Paul said in Acts 20:24, that I consider my life nothing if only I may finish the race. To those deceived Christians there in Galitia, Paul said to them who had been lured back into some old habits, and to a maladaptive theology that you did at one time run well. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul says again that I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. What I wanna suggest to you today is that we are in a race. It's a shared race in struggle. For those persons that want to be sweet talked all the way to glory land, this is really not the race for you. I'm reminded when I'm in Basse, Gambia, or when I'm in Boston, even when in Brooklyn, New York, that we Christians are called to a special kind of race. We sing a song in my own church tradition which goes like this, that when the battle is over, we shall wear a crown. But in Basse and Brooklyn, it is clear to me that the battle is not over yet, and the race has not been completed. The race for New Testament justice among all believers is not over yet, in international missions there in Senegal where I've had a chance to do some observation, it is clear to me that the race there isn't over. For I'm sad to report to you that there are those missionaries for whom I pray everyday there. Missionaries whose children ride bicycles and skateboards. And the children of those Senegalese converts walk around with no shoes on their feet, and no food in their bellies. I come back to North America and say then that the race really isn't over. It's a race of continued struggle. In some respects, I'm clear on this fact as well, that the African Christian is in some ways under cultural and theological siege there in Gambia. Just four weeks ago, I went there to do some bilateral conversation with the Gambian church around what for them was the first African-American gospel preaching event in that part of the world. Not only was I snubbed by the Southern Baptists there, snubbed religiously and I also think racially, I was bothered by some other things, saints of God. For there on that small church wall, I saw a very large picture. A picture of the Lord Jesus. And I share with you as God's people my trouble about the picture. About five feet high, it was indeed a picture which depicted Christ with longer hair than I've ever seen depicted before. His eyes were bluer than I've ever seen him painted here in North America, and his features were more Nordic than I've ever observed. And then I was told that a young African boy painted that picture. I suggest to you friends of Christ that we church women and church men are still in a race of struggle, both here and abroad. The race isn't over yet. We are still engaging the enemy on every front. When power brokers and multinational corporations continue to commit transgressions by polluting our air and our water, when their accounts are fattened and those of the poor and the disenfranchised are not fattened, then I'm convinced the race is not over. We are in a race, but it's not just any kind of race God has called us to, it's a special race. It's one that's not given to the swift, nor to the strong. This race is given to those that will endure to the end. When I hear modern theologies oversimplify our faith journey by telling us to just be internally holy with unholiness externalized all around us, I cringe. The name it and claim it religion may work in North America, indeed for North America success oriented theology. But it doesn't work when I'm going through muddy waters in Gambia, it doesn't work when I'm moving across desert plains there in Senegal. For there, thousands of the poor are planting their seeds in the ground, and waiting and praying that when harvest time comes, they'll get just a little bit to feed their families for the year. These theologies don't work there in Africa. They may work for us here in some small psychological battles, but the war against global poverty will not just go away because we name it and claim it. The race to save the planet from poverty and disease in Jesus name is one of shared struggle. It's a swift theology that promises the overnight analgesic to make things right just for the cultural asking. It's a naive theology that seeks to name it and claim it in troubled lands in the Middle East, in South Africa, in Latin America, and in Central America. But it's an endurance theology that will make la difference, that will make the difference. We are in a special race. It's a race for those who know the joys and sorrows of sanctified struggle, of pain and heartache, and of rejection and sometimes dismissal. That's the race we are in Duke family. It's a race that those persons who want to be petted and pampered, sashed and stroked all the way to Canaan land are really in the wrong race. That's not our race. It's not a race where Jesus must bear the cross alone, and all the world go free, that's not our race. It's a race where there is a cross for everyone. And there is a cross for me. Secondly, while this is a shared race in struggle, it is one that we must run our particular, our singular lapse for the Lord Jesus. So let us run this ran cannot take the place of my running my own particular race, and you running yours. So much of my own theology these last few years had been geared toward trying to organize families and communities to address the issues of poverty and disease. I know when I go to Washington that I cannot go alone and lobby on behalf of those increasing numbers of the malnourished in our inner cities, I cannot do that alone. When I try to address the issue in Gambia of massive unemployment, I know that I cannot address those issues alone. That I must come back and say to those who are nourished, those whom God has blessed, we must share God's justice and God's love throughout the world. But having said that, I also know that I've got to run my own particular race, one that's indeed based on struggle and often conflict. And so saints of God, whether you are a long distance runner or 100 dash woman or man, whether you are a walker or a disabled runner, I say to you today run your own race. Don't be lured by the enemy to run his or her race. Run your own race. When I do my jogging around a local track there in New York, I get so disturbed when I'm running one way around the track and there are those who are running the opposite way, trying to throw off my rhythm, especially when I see 95 year old men outrunning me backwards. But I cannot be lured into running their race. When there are those joggers that are running ahead of me and I know my body can't do it anymore, I cannot be deceived into trying to run their race. The text says lay aside everything that holds you back, especially so satan that claims so easily. And so then we say to you today to keep running steadily in the race that God has called you to. If our sin is the accumulation of false joys and of wealth, let us lay aside that saying individually, and run the race God has called us to. If there is the sin of family abuse and power abuse today, we as individuals must throw off that sin, and run the race of righteousness, of redemption, and of love, we must run our particular race. Men who have traditionally abused women must now lay aside that abuse, and run a new race. Not just to stop abusing our women, but to tell other men that there is a better way, there is a more redemptive way to live their lives. Men then must run to men, and tell men that this is indeed a sin before Yahweh, before God almighty. I tell my dear white brothers and sisters that they have a special race to run. And I tell them in love that those whites in the body of Christ that still may practice the sins of racism, we say that you must run the different race brothers and sisters, for those who believe that our history that is the African-American history began in 1619, that's the wrong race, that's not true. You must run the race to your community. And you must tell your brothers and sisters that we didn't start in 1619 on the coasts of Virginia. When I now go into suburbia, I am stopped often by the police, and I'm attacked by gangs in the New York area. And so I come back to the church, to those that I love, those that are part of my family, and I say you must go and run the race ahead of me. Tell your comrades and your friends that we don't just shoot basketballs and footballs and dance. But we produce architects, and doctors, and lawyers. You must go and tell them that story. You must run ahead and let them know that God don't like ugly, excuse my English. And then I must run my race. Let me run through the interior or Durham, and to Roxbury, and to Bedford, Stuyvesant. Let me go and run that race. Let me go and snatch those young boys and young girls that are drugged out on narcotics, young scholars, if you will. And pick them up and tell them that God can change their lives, let me go and run that race. Saints of God we must run our particular races. James Brown sang a song this way some years ago. I don't want nobody to give me nothing, again not good English. Just open the door and I'll get it myself. And so brothers and sisters we ask you those who may have the keys to some economic doors, run ahead of us and open those doors, and we'll get education ourselves, we'll get jobs ourselves. I must run my race and you must run your race. Then we can join our hands together. We can run the race in the name of the Lord together. We will not get weary in our well doing. We will form together new lines of righteousness around Jericho walls in America. Where drugs are coming in by the millions of tons every year we can run that race together. We can in this century declare a new ethic, a new righteousness, indeed solving poverty versus Star Wars can be our race to run together. We can kick the drug problem. Those of us who name the name of the Lord, if we will now just run our race together. I sometimes want to run my race after the race of Martin Luther King Jr. But I know that I cannot run Martin's race. I've got to run my own race. I think of Fannie Lou Hamer, that great woman from Mississippi, who because she walked there, others can now stand tall in righteousness. I cannot run Fannie Lou's race, I must run my own race. And though how I love to dig into the intellect of John Wesley, but I cannot run John Wesley's race nor can you. God has called us to run our particular race. Not only is this race one of shared struggle, and one in which we must run our singular laps. It is a race that has been run already by the saints of God and by Jesus, our savior. For the text says we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, even in this place, in that cloud surely there is Moses and there is Isaiah. Surely there, there is Sarah and there is Rebekah. That great cloud is standing there telling us we can finish our race, we can come across the finishing line. There are those in that cloud like Mahalia and Martin. They're telling us don't get weary, you can finish your race. So I exhort you today, my friends in Christ, around the theme that you can finish your race. Not only are the saints of God, they're telling us to move on, we can finish. But even Jesus our Lord has already run the race before us. For he himself stands are the finishing line. And he says to us that I have endured the sting of the cross you can finish your race. Pilate could not stop me. They put me in Joseph's tomb, but that could not hold me. I finished the race. And so those of you who may be beaten and battered, who may be weary and worn, our Lord and master stands there saying you can stay in the race. And that's the way the song goes in my tradition. It is to stay in the race. One lyric says that I've been running for Jesus for a long time, and I'm not tired yet. Sometimes persecuted and rejected, in my own family, in my own community, but I'm not tired yet. I'm gonna stay in the race. For those Christians who share who Jesus is, who are not ashamed of that. And others criticize you and say don't give me all that Jesus talk, you all stay in the race. For God stands in Jesus saying that on the third day I got up out of the grave and I conquered death, I have won the race. There's an urban preacher, I try to talk low but I just can't you all will forgive me. Stay in the race my dear brothers and sisters. Stay in the race. (organ music) ♪ God moves in a mysterious way ♪ ♪ His wonders to perform ♪ ♪ He plants his footsteps in the sea ♪ ♪ And rides upon the storm ♪ ♪ Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill ♪ ♪ He treasures up his bright designs ♪ ♪ And works his sovereign will ♪ ♪ Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ♪ ♪ The clouds ye so much dread ♪ ♪ Are big with mercy and shall break ♪ ♪ In blessings on your head ♪ ♪ Judge not the Lord by feeble sense ♪ ♪ But trust him for his grace ♪ ♪ Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face ♪ ♪ Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain ♪ ♪ God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain ♪ - With you. (crowd murmurs) Let us pray. Oh eternal God, maker of the universe, ruler of all things in heaven and earth. You have called us to follow you saying take nothing for the journey. Recognizing the power of your word in our lives, we forsake all that would inhibit us in our race of discipleship, in its place we offer our prayers and concern for our sisters and brothers around the world. Let us pray for all those in times of trouble or distress. For the sick and the dying, the hungry, the unemployed, the refugee, the victim of violence, the grief stricken, especially those families of the victims of the Air Iran A320 Airbus tragedy. Grant them the strength and consolation in their time of need. Let us pray for those who seek to lighten to burdens of others, for doctors, nurses, and other medical workers. For teachers, counselors, and social workers everywhere. For artists, dancers, and musicians, as they seek to create beauty out of chaos. May they not only heal the body and expand the mind, but enrich the spirit. Let us pray for all those who seek to bring peace and justice into the world, for all prisoners of conscience. For those who work within our justice system, for those communities dedicated to simple living in the name of peace, may they grant us a renewed vision of what it means to live in harmony with one another. Let us pray for those charged with the responsibilities of governing, especially the governor of this state, and the president of the United States. Grant to all those in authority the wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted. For those who seek to harm themselves or others. For those who indulge in material excess to fill an interior void. For those who live within institutions surrounded by people yet lonely beyond words. May they find strength and renewed conviction in thy word oh Lord. These prayers we offer with the knowledge of your saving power oh God which is ever present in our lives. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, amen. And now in thanksgiving for the mighty acts of God, let us offer our gifts and ourselves to the one who saves us. (organ music) ♪ The spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪ ♪ Because he has anointed me ♪ ♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪ ♪ He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted ♪ ♪ To preach deliverance to the captives ♪ ♪ And recovering of sight to the blind ♪ ♪ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord ♪ ♪ To give unto them that mourn a garland for ashes ♪ ♪ The oil of joy for mourning, ♪ ♪ The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ♪ ♪ That they might be called the trees of righteousness ♪ ♪ The planting of the Lord that he might be glorified ♪ ♪ For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, ♪ ♪ And as the garden causeth ♪ ♪ The things that are sown in it ♪ ♪ To spring it forth ♪ ♪ So the Lord God will cause righteousness ♪ ♪ And praise to spring forth before all the nations ♪ ♪ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪ ♪ Because he hath anointed me ♪ ♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪ (organ music) (singing hymn) ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Praise God ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ - Let us pray. Accept oh Lord our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us a task which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your son Jesus Christ, for the truth of his word, and the example of his life. For his steadfast obedience by which he overcame temptation, for his dying through which he overcame death, and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your spirit, that we may know him and make him known, and through him at all times and at all places, may give thanks to you in all things, amen. And now as our savior Christ has taught us, let us pray. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, amen. (organ music) - Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ (organ music)