WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.395 --> 00:00:06.645
(mellow music playing)

2
00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:53.480
<v ->Now unto the king eternal, immortal,</v>

3
00:03:53.480 --> 00:03:58.200
invisible, the only wise God be honored

4
00:03:58.200 --> 00:04:02.610
and gloried forever and ever, amen.

5
00:04:02.610 --> 00:04:03.473
Let us pray.

6
00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:10.293
Oh the high and lofty one who inhabited eternity,

7
00:04:12.040 --> 00:04:13.593
whose name is Holy,

8
00:04:14.470 --> 00:04:18.250
who dwellers in the high and holy place,

9
00:04:18.250 --> 00:04:21.673
with those also have contrite and humble spirit,

10
00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:26.700
speak now thy word to us in Jesus Christ,

11
00:04:26.700 --> 00:04:28.423
full of grace and truth.

12
00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.244
To renew us in humility and faith,

13
00:04:33.244 --> 00:04:37.173
and awaken us to new life of grateful devotion,

14
00:04:38.700 --> 00:04:43.433
let thy present spirit unite our spirits in true worship,

15
00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:48.263
obedient, love, and faithful discipleship.

16
00:04:49.270 --> 00:04:54.270
Oh Lord open our lips that our mouths may show forth

17
00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:58.893
thy praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

18
00:05:04.702 --> 00:05:07.535
(uplifting music)

19
00:08:40.660 --> 00:08:45.660
In the presence of God, in the realization of his goodness

20
00:08:46.270 --> 00:08:50.623
and his grace, in company with one another,

21
00:08:52.838 --> 00:08:55.460
we offer our unison prayer of confession.

22
00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:56.363
Let us pray.

23
00:09:00.653 --> 00:09:02.307
Forgive us oh Lord.

24
00:09:02.307 --> 00:09:06.660
We acknowledge ourselves as type of the common man,

25
00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:11.560
of the men and women who shut the door and sit by the fire,

26
00:09:11.560 --> 00:09:14.240
who fear the blessing of God,

27
00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.520
the loneliness of the night of God.

28
00:09:17.520 --> 00:09:21.993
The surrender required the deprivation inflicted,

29
00:09:22.950 --> 00:09:27.723
who fear the injustice of men less than the justice of God,

30
00:09:28.630 --> 00:09:33.630
who fear the hand at the window, the fire in the thatch,

31
00:09:33.830 --> 00:09:38.600
the fist in the tavern, the push into the canal,

32
00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:41.213
less than we fear the love of God.

33
00:09:42.570 --> 00:09:47.570
We acknowledge our trespass, our weakness, our fault.

34
00:09:49.750 --> 00:09:54.750
We acknowledge that the sin of the world is upon our heads,

35
00:09:54.760 --> 00:09:59.230
that the blood of martyrs and the agony of his saints

36
00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:01.203
is upon our heads.

37
00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:05.420
Lord have mercy upon us,

38
00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:08.163
Christ have mercy upon us,

39
00:10:10.228 --> 00:10:11.478
Lord have mercy up on us.

40
00:10:26.140 --> 00:10:29.460
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself,

41
00:10:29.460 --> 00:10:34.460
and God our father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort

42
00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.573
and good hope through grace.

43
00:10:38.660 --> 00:10:41.610
Comfort our hearts and establish them

44
00:10:41.610 --> 00:10:44.893
in every good work and word, amen.

45
00:10:53.672 --> 00:10:56.505
(uplifting music)

46
00:11:51.464 --> 00:11:56.464
♪ We sing to him whose wisdom ♪

47
00:11:59.551 --> 00:12:04.551
♪ Our songs let him who gave us voices hear ♪

48
00:12:09.655 --> 00:12:14.655
♪ We joy in God, who is the spring of mirth ♪

49
00:12:17.421 --> 00:12:22.421
♪ Who loves the harmony of heaven and earth ♪

50
00:12:27.447 --> 00:12:32.447
♪ Our humble sonnets shall that praise rehearse ♪

51
00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:40.950
♪ Who is the music of the universe ♪

52
00:12:47.212 --> 00:12:51.528
♪ And whilst we sing, and whilst we sing ♪

53
00:12:51.528 --> 00:12:55.528
♪ We consecrate our art ♪

54
00:12:55.528 --> 00:13:00.528
♪ And offer up with every tongue a heart ♪

55
00:13:00.944 --> 00:13:05.944
♪ And whilst we sing, and whilst we sing ♪

56
00:13:06.244 --> 00:13:10.069
♪ We consecrate our art ♪

57
00:13:10.069 --> 00:13:15.069
♪ And offer up and offer up, with every tongue a heart ♪

58
00:13:19.777 --> 00:13:24.777
♪ And whilst we sing, and whilst we sing ♪

59
00:13:24.943 --> 00:13:29.176
♪ We consecrate our art ♪

60
00:13:29.176 --> 00:13:34.176
♪ And offer up and offer up, with every tongue a heart ♪

61
00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:03.931
<v ->The old Testament lesson is found in the book of Isaiah,</v>

62
00:14:03.931 --> 00:14:05.963
the 53rd chapter.

63
00:14:08.390 --> 00:14:10.840
Who has believed what we have heard

64
00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:15.253
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed,

65
00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:19.780
For he grew up before him like a young plant

66
00:14:20.650 --> 00:14:23.520
and like a root out of dry ground.

67
00:14:23.520 --> 00:14:28.070
He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him

68
00:14:28.070 --> 00:14:30.803
and no beauty that we should desire him.

69
00:14:32.140 --> 00:14:35.373
He was despised and rejected by men,

70
00:14:36.590 --> 00:14:39.613
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

71
00:14:40.530 --> 00:14:43.520
And as one from whom men hide their faces,

72
00:14:43.520 --> 00:14:46.533
he was despised and we esteemed him not.

73
00:14:48.180 --> 00:14:53.180
Surely he has born our and carried our sorrows.

74
00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:59.830
Yet, we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted,

75
00:15:01.050 --> 00:15:04.100
but he was wounded for our transgressions,

76
00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:07.300
he was bruised for our iniquities.

77
00:15:07.300 --> 00:15:11.610
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,

78
00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:14.873
and with his stripes, we are healed.

79
00:15:16.390 --> 00:15:19.480
All we like sheep have gone astray,

80
00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:21.903
we've turned everyone to his own way.

81
00:15:22.756 --> 00:15:26.513
And the Lord has laid on him, the iniquity of us all,

82
00:15:27.640 --> 00:15:31.520
he was oppressed and he was afflicted.

83
00:15:31.520 --> 00:15:33.393
Yet, he opened not his mouth,

84
00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:36.740
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter

85
00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:40.400
and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb.

86
00:15:40.400 --> 00:15:42.703
So he opened not his mouth.

87
00:15:44.020 --> 00:15:48.560
By oppression and judgment, he was taken away.

88
00:15:48.560 --> 00:15:53.430
And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off

89
00:15:53.430 --> 00:15:57.740
out of the land of the living stricken for the transgression

90
00:15:57.740 --> 00:15:58.673
of my people.

91
00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:01.870
And they made his grave with the wicked

92
00:16:01.870 --> 00:16:04.330
and with a rich man in his death,

93
00:16:04.330 --> 00:16:09.330
although he had done no violence and there was no deceit

94
00:16:09.900 --> 00:16:14.900
in his mouth, yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him,

95
00:16:16.400 --> 00:16:19.200
he has put him to grief.

96
00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:22.970
When he makes himself an offering for sin,

97
00:16:22.970 --> 00:16:25.300
he shall see his offspring,

98
00:16:25.300 --> 00:16:27.940
he shall prolong his days.

99
00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:31.450
The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand,

100
00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:33.590
he shall see the fruit of the travel

101
00:16:33.590 --> 00:16:35.553
of his soul and be satisfied.

102
00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:39.730
By his knowledge shall the righteous one,

103
00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:43.810
my servant make many to be accounted righteous

104
00:16:43.810 --> 00:16:46.053
and he shall bear their iniquities.

105
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:51.700
Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great,

106
00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:55.360
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

107
00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.560
because he poured out his soul to death

108
00:16:58.560 --> 00:17:01.420
and was numbered with the transgressors.

109
00:17:01.420 --> 00:17:06.270
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession

110
00:17:06.270 --> 00:17:07.753
for the transgressors.

111
00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:13.913
That's a stand for the reading of the gospel.

112
00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:25.230
The gospel lesson is from the 16th chapter of the gospel

113
00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:30.230
according to Matthew, the 13th through the 25th verses.

114
00:17:32.070 --> 00:17:37.070
Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

115
00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:39.548
he asked his disciples,

116
00:17:39.548 --> 00:17:43.760
"Who do men say that the son of man is?"

117
00:17:43.760 --> 00:17:46.980
And they said, "Some say John, the Baptist,

118
00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:50.100
others say Elijah and others, Jeremiah,

119
00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:52.270
or one of the prophets."

120
00:17:52.270 --> 00:17:56.497
And he said to them, "And who do you say that I am?"

121
00:17:57.560 --> 00:18:01.440
Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ,

122
00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.017
the son of the living God."

123
00:18:04.340 --> 00:18:06.397
And Jesus answered him,

124
00:18:06.397 --> 00:18:11.397
"Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood

125
00:18:11.830 --> 00:18:14.520
has not revealed this to you,

126
00:18:14.520 --> 00:18:16.593
but my father who is in heaven,

127
00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:21.510
and I tell you, you are Peter.

128
00:18:21.510 --> 00:18:23.150
And on this rock,

129
00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:25.331
I will build my church and the powers of death

130
00:18:25.331 --> 00:18:28.440
shall not prevail against it.

131
00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:31.100
I will give you the keys of the kingdom

132
00:18:31.100 --> 00:18:34.460
and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.

133
00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:37.757
And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

134
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.270
Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one,

135
00:18:42.270 --> 00:18:43.633
but he was the Christ.

136
00:18:45.280 --> 00:18:48.930
From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples

137
00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:52.930
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things

138
00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:57.930
from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed.

139
00:18:58.060 --> 00:19:01.890
And on the third day he raised and Peter took him

140
00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:05.720
and began to rebuke him saying, "God forbid, Lord,

141
00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.627
this shall never happen to you."

142
00:19:08.540 --> 00:19:13.030
But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan,

143
00:19:13.030 --> 00:19:15.784
you are a hindrance to me for you are not on the side

144
00:19:15.784 --> 00:19:17.877
of God, but of men."

145
00:19:19.280 --> 00:19:21.877
Then Jesus told his disciples.

146
00:19:21.877 --> 00:19:24.920
"If any man would come after me,

147
00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:29.920
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,

148
00:19:32.170 --> 00:19:35.443
for whoever would save his life will lose it.

149
00:19:36.330 --> 00:19:41.217
And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

150
00:19:43.502 --> 00:19:45.112
Amen.

151
00:19:45.112 --> 00:19:47.945
(uplifting music)

152
00:20:29.820 --> 00:20:31.503
Let us affirm our faith.

153
00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:34.923
We are not alone.

154
00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:37.793
We live in God's world.

155
00:20:38.790 --> 00:20:43.790
We believe in God who has created and is creating,

156
00:20:44.810 --> 00:20:47.800
who has come in the true man Jesus

157
00:20:47.800 --> 00:20:49.943
to reconcile and make new,

158
00:20:50.870 --> 00:20:55.200
who works in us and others by his spirit.

159
00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:00.200
We trust him, he calls us to be his church,

160
00:21:00.280 --> 00:21:01.893
to celebrate his precedence,

161
00:21:02.820 --> 00:21:07.820
to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,

162
00:21:08.673 --> 00:21:13.040
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,

163
00:21:13.040 --> 00:21:18.040
our judge and our hope in life, in death,

164
00:21:18.580 --> 00:21:21.240
in life beyond death.

165
00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.673
God is with us we are not alone.

166
00:21:25.540 --> 00:21:26.703
Thanks be to God.

167
00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:30.073
The Lord be with you.

168
00:21:32.600 --> 00:21:33.433
Let us pray.

169
00:21:44.310 --> 00:21:47.630
Oh, eternal God our creator and our father

170
00:21:50.760 --> 00:21:52.800
who has given us life in this thy world,

171
00:21:52.800 --> 00:21:56.133
among thy many peoples and nations,

172
00:21:57.370 --> 00:22:00.750
we praise and bless thee for thy good earth

173
00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:03.750
on which we constantly depend

174
00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:06.420
for the sustaining of our life.

175
00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:08.043
and thus depend on thee.

176
00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:14.680
Keep us responsible and faithful in this thankfulness

177
00:22:17.412 --> 00:22:18.940
that we may not selfishly destroy

178
00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:21.053
and exploit this one earth.

179
00:22:22.780 --> 00:22:25.380
And move us all God to share its blessings

180
00:22:26.770 --> 00:22:29.543
with all thy needy children, now, and yet to come.

181
00:22:31.346 --> 00:22:36.346
Oh God creator, we thank thee for giving us life together

182
00:22:37.690 --> 00:22:42.143
in deep belongings to families and communities,

183
00:22:43.635 --> 00:22:46.850
through which our needs are met, our love we vote.

184
00:22:47.850 --> 00:22:52.473
The welfare of thy children served and justice sought,

185
00:22:54.867 --> 00:22:57.870
enable us to know our belonging to all peoples

186
00:22:57.870 --> 00:23:01.883
and to seek for ways to live in peace and joy together.

187
00:23:04.180 --> 00:23:08.618
Oh God creator we're grateful for the gift of minds

188
00:23:08.618 --> 00:23:11.200
to seek understanding of thy world,

189
00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:15.480
of thy truth of thy ways among us,

190
00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:20.140
for the heritage of human learning and the faithfulness

191
00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:24.133
to fact, and the search for further light.

192
00:23:25.550 --> 00:23:29.810
Let our knowledge and understanding become wisdom

193
00:23:29.810 --> 00:23:34.713
in thy way that we may know what is good for all

194
00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:37.683
and follow it for their sake.

195
00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:44.240
Oh eternal God manifests savingly in Jesus Christ, our Lord,

196
00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:49.113
that life which was the light of all mankind.

197
00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.683
We praise thee for the new life together,

198
00:23:55.100 --> 00:24:00.100
to which he brings us in which he incorporates us,

199
00:24:00.810 --> 00:24:05.380
in which he constantly calls us to deny ourselves

200
00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:09.053
and take up our cross and follow him.

201
00:24:10.570 --> 00:24:15.490
Save us then oh Lord from petty preoccupation,

202
00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:20.490
with our enjoyments our privileges our fulfillments,

203
00:24:22.938 --> 00:24:25.960
our needs, and disturb and change us

204
00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:28.510
to self giving devotion,

205
00:24:28.510 --> 00:24:31.824
to sharing in his ministry of reconciliation,

206
00:24:31.824 --> 00:24:36.824
of going about doing good, of seeking and helping the lost,

207
00:24:37.830 --> 00:24:40.173
and troubled, and suffering.

208
00:24:41.830 --> 00:24:45.980
Oh eternal God present spirit

209
00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:50.980
working here among us in the establishing guiding reforming

210
00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:57.740
of thy church, awaken us to thy presence

211
00:24:57.890 --> 00:25:01.423
and remake us for the tasks committed to us.

212
00:25:02.820 --> 00:25:06.633
Let thy spirit bring to light our sin,

213
00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:12.900
challenge our complacency rebuke and transform

214
00:25:13.450 --> 00:25:18.450
our prejudice, illuminates our blindness with new sight,

215
00:25:18.780 --> 00:25:21.323
to see our ways and thy way,

216
00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:26.473
move us to love and serve together.

217
00:25:29.026 --> 00:25:34.026
Let thy spirit give comfort and strength

218
00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:39.740
to those in suffering and despair in discouragement

219
00:25:39.990 --> 00:25:44.333
and failure, in temptation and sin.

220
00:25:46.717 --> 00:25:49.294
Let thy spirit strengthen all those who minister

221
00:25:49.294 --> 00:25:52.690
to such needs of body and spirit in hospital,

222
00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:54.890
home, or church,

223
00:25:54.890 --> 00:25:59.003
speaking or doing thy healing, helping work.

224
00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:04.330
give us that vulnerable openness

225
00:26:04.330 --> 00:26:07.300
to the struggles, the poverty, the famine,

226
00:26:07.300 --> 00:26:12.200
and starvation of thy troubled children in this world,

227
00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:16.403
that we may be continually awakened to profound concern,

228
00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:21.420
intelligent caring, sacrificial sharing

229
00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.583
of the goods of life, we so boundlessly enjoy.

230
00:26:26.620 --> 00:26:31.120
Give us the joy of new life in this ministering community

231
00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:36.640
that we may help one another to restrain our self seeking

232
00:26:38.430 --> 00:26:39.920
to sharpen our sensitivity,

233
00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:44.330
to envision vine mission and ministry for us,

234
00:26:44.330 --> 00:26:48.180
following him who came not to be ministered unto,

235
00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:51.530
but to minister and to give his life

236
00:26:51.530 --> 00:26:53.963
for the new life of others.

237
00:26:55.810 --> 00:26:59.530
And now as our savior Christ has taught us,

238
00:26:59.530 --> 00:27:00.793
we pray together.

239
00:27:01.650 --> 00:27:06.650
Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,

240
00:27:07.690 --> 00:27:09.800
thy kingdom come,

241
00:27:09.800 --> 00:27:14.320
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

242
00:27:14.320 --> 00:27:17.470
Give us this day our daily bread

243
00:27:17.470 --> 00:27:20.020
and forgive us our trespasses,

244
00:27:20.020 --> 00:27:23.900
as we forgive those who trespass against us

245
00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:26.490
and lead us not into temptation,

246
00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:29.662
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom

247
00:27:29.662 --> 00:27:34.662
and the power and the glory forever, amen.

248
00:27:51.690 --> 00:27:55.520
<v ->In the name of the father and of the son</v>

249
00:27:55.520 --> 00:27:58.803
and of the holy spirit, amen.

250
00:28:03.020 --> 00:28:06.480
Passenger train rolling across Northern Indiana

251
00:28:07.320 --> 00:28:10.920
struck a gasoline truck and tank trailers

252
00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:12.283
splitting them apart.

253
00:28:13.930 --> 00:28:16.973
The diesel was drenched with burning gasoline,

254
00:28:17.860 --> 00:28:20.893
there was a furious fire on either side of the track,

255
00:28:21.860 --> 00:28:25.420
but the train ran on until the last car

256
00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:27.823
had cleared the blazing crossing.

257
00:28:29.630 --> 00:28:34.630
The critically burned engineer could not be quieted

258
00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:38.653
until he was assured that all the passengers were safe.

259
00:28:40.530 --> 00:28:44.663
And then he said, "Well, thank God, thank God,

260
00:28:46.130 --> 00:28:49.423
for years, I have imagined this kind of an accident,

261
00:28:50.805 --> 00:28:55.805
and I had always known that if it did happen,

262
00:28:57.420 --> 00:29:02.110
I must never touched the brakes until the last coach

263
00:29:02.110 --> 00:29:04.137
had passed the fire."

264
00:29:07.360 --> 00:29:12.360
He had imagined he had projected himself into the situation,

265
00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:17.383
he had made up his mind.

266
00:29:19.630 --> 00:29:24.510
It was this rehearsal thinking which had saved lives

267
00:29:24.510 --> 00:29:26.333
in the moment of crisis.

268
00:29:29.040 --> 00:29:31.840
Well, of course we do rehearsal thinking every day,

269
00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:34.723
I suppose, in all kinds of situations,

270
00:29:36.250 --> 00:29:41.170
preparation for exams at its best is not panic, cramming,

271
00:29:41.170 --> 00:29:43.700
but thoughtful consideration of what is the essence

272
00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:44.830
of the course.

273
00:29:46.270 --> 00:29:48.683
Before the excitement of the ball game,

274
00:29:49.841 --> 00:29:52.541
the team members quietly think through their strategy,

275
00:29:55.320 --> 00:29:59.690
the surgeon scrubbing before the operation,

276
00:29:59.690 --> 00:30:04.690
reviews his procedures and lamp provides opportunity

277
00:30:05.810 --> 00:30:09.670
for our rehearsal thinking about the ultimate issues

278
00:30:09.670 --> 00:30:10.823
of our lives.

279
00:30:12.600 --> 00:30:16.643
As we watched Jesus press toward Jerusalem and the cross,

280
00:30:17.650 --> 00:30:20.703
we project ourselves into the scene.

281
00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:27.023
We are there with the disciples, listening to Jesus.

282
00:30:28.490 --> 00:30:32.070
Those 12 persons wanted to follow Jesus,

283
00:30:32.070 --> 00:30:35.680
but they were afraid of what people would say, so are we.

284
00:30:37.434 --> 00:30:42.420
They bought the idea that the Messiah would come

285
00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:45.843
as a conquering hero to make everything all right.

286
00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:51.973
Often our idea of God is a kind of a big daddy.

287
00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:57.742
We see what happened to Jesus and his disciples.

288
00:30:57.742 --> 00:31:02.742
And we ask ourselves, am I ready for that?

289
00:31:07.050 --> 00:31:09.590
For one thing, we need this rehearsal thinking

290
00:31:09.590 --> 00:31:12.403
because we've so much inner conflict.

291
00:31:14.270 --> 00:31:17.210
St. Paul call on Christians to be good soldiers

292
00:31:17.210 --> 00:31:18.443
of Jesus Christ.

293
00:31:19.470 --> 00:31:22.080
But they experienced that a good many of us have

294
00:31:22.080 --> 00:31:26.340
is that we're more like a battlefield than soldiers

295
00:31:26.340 --> 00:31:29.440
with our good and evil impulses fighting

296
00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:31.393
for the mastery of our soul.

297
00:31:33.520 --> 00:31:37.300
Our interior battle is personified in the dramatic

298
00:31:37.300 --> 00:31:41.320
confrontation between Jesus and Peter.

299
00:31:41.320 --> 00:31:44.920
Jesus was saying that he must suffer many things

300
00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:46.800
and be killed.

301
00:31:46.800 --> 00:31:50.750
When Peter blurted, "God forbid, Lord,

302
00:31:50.750 --> 00:31:52.493
this shall never happen to you.

303
00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:58.263
The masters reply is akin to violence.

304
00:31:59.477 --> 00:32:04.320
"Get thy behind me, you Satan, you're a hindrance to me,

305
00:32:04.320 --> 00:32:06.967
you're not on the side of God, but of men."

306
00:32:09.020 --> 00:32:12.420
The vehemence of Jesus is all the more startling

307
00:32:12.420 --> 00:32:16.730
because moments before he had praise Peter

308
00:32:16.730 --> 00:32:21.133
for his declaration of faith, that Jesus was the Messiah.

309
00:32:23.730 --> 00:32:28.270
But Peter had used the term Messiah in the context

310
00:32:28.270 --> 00:32:30.330
of his inherited belief.

311
00:32:30.330 --> 00:32:34.260
That Messiah would be an invincible military leader

312
00:32:34.260 --> 00:32:36.323
come to set the people free,

313
00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:40.753
suffering had no place in that picture.

314
00:32:43.394 --> 00:32:46.580
My rehearsal thinking reveals that this conflict

315
00:32:46.580 --> 00:32:49.433
is a battle front that runs right through my life.

316
00:32:50.560 --> 00:32:55.040
On the one hand, I feel that Jesus was right,

317
00:32:55.040 --> 00:32:57.740
that he who takes a sword,

318
00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:59.563
will perish by the sword,

319
00:33:01.288 --> 00:33:03.430
that the meek do inherit the earth.

320
00:33:03.430 --> 00:33:06.890
That the people who really experience abiding joy

321
00:33:06.890 --> 00:33:11.890
and a sense of fulfillment, are the humble, the merciful,

322
00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:15.220
the pure in heart,

323
00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:18.353
the kind of people who show Goodwill even to their enemies,

324
00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:24.433
yet they're persecuted, jailed, killed,

325
00:33:26.750 --> 00:33:28.513
the cost frightens me.

326
00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:34.063
On the other hand, I want ease and pleasure,

327
00:33:34.990 --> 00:33:38.022
there are hungry people everywhere. I know,

328
00:33:38.022 --> 00:33:39.980
but I wanna eat my fill,

329
00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:42.360
I don't wanna make sacrifices for the people

330
00:33:42.360 --> 00:33:43.960
on the other side of the tracks.

331
00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:48.730
I want my children to go to the top,

332
00:33:48.730 --> 00:33:52.263
no matter who's head they bruise or hearts they break.

333
00:33:53.750 --> 00:33:57.680
If I got ahead by pushing other people around what happened?

334
00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.313
I have no bleeding heart.

335
00:34:02.830 --> 00:34:07.120
So the battle rages between my two selves,

336
00:34:07.120 --> 00:34:11.100
as I survey the passion of Jesus and consider

337
00:34:11.100 --> 00:34:13.023
my response to it.

338
00:34:16.290 --> 00:34:17.840
Watching the drama unfold,

339
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:21.673
I see that Jesus was tempted and tried as I am.

340
00:34:23.270 --> 00:34:26.830
Right down, to Gethsemane he prayed that the cross

341
00:34:26.830 --> 00:34:28.513
might not be necessary,

342
00:34:29.779 --> 00:34:33.631
you remember his temptation in the wilderness.

343
00:34:33.631 --> 00:34:36.740
He could have ease and power.

344
00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:39.383
If only he would bow to the methods of the world.

345
00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:45.170
Jesus had settled that long ago,

346
00:34:45.170 --> 00:34:49.110
but now comes Peter harping on the same tool

347
00:34:50.090 --> 00:34:54.107
as if to say, "Play it safe Jesus,"

348
00:34:55.261 --> 00:34:59.047
small wonder the master spoke sharply,

349
00:34:59.047 --> 00:35:01.717
"Out of my sight, you Satan."

350
00:35:04.630 --> 00:35:08.230
I am helped when I remember that Jesus experienced

351
00:35:08.230 --> 00:35:11.153
inner conflicts like mine.

352
00:35:12.740 --> 00:35:15.270
In the second place, we need this rehearsal thinking

353
00:35:15.270 --> 00:35:18.173
to help us count the cost of discipleship.

354
00:35:19.970 --> 00:35:23.123
When Jesus asks us to deny ourselves,

355
00:35:24.070 --> 00:35:27.570
he's doing more than asking us to do without

356
00:35:28.550 --> 00:35:31.563
meat during lamb, our social events.

357
00:35:32.640 --> 00:35:36.630
He's speaking to our pension for keeping ourself

358
00:35:36.630 --> 00:35:39.123
at the center of attention at all costs.

359
00:35:42.780 --> 00:35:44.200
Ever come to think of it?

360
00:35:44.200 --> 00:35:47.360
Even our social problems are variations of the human

361
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:51.150
tendency to grab all the advantages we can grab

362
00:35:51.150 --> 00:35:53.640
and deny them to others.

363
00:35:53.640 --> 00:35:57.470
What else is discrimination of race or class,

364
00:35:57.470 --> 00:35:59.800
but a form of closed society,

365
00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:02.430
which it shows advantages to some people,

366
00:36:02.430 --> 00:36:05.623
why enforcing disadvantages on other people?

367
00:36:08.230 --> 00:36:11.660
So in our rehearsal thinking,

368
00:36:11.660 --> 00:36:14.610
the fundamental charge we must make

369
00:36:14.610 --> 00:36:17.530
is whether from this point in time,

370
00:36:17.530 --> 00:36:22.530
we will live as beasts of prey or as children of God,

371
00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:26.453
obligated to humankind.

372
00:36:29.120 --> 00:36:33.113
Of course, sometimes we think we can have it both ways.

373
00:36:34.780 --> 00:36:35.870
Once upon a time,

374
00:36:35.870 --> 00:36:40.170
there was a contractor who built a church

375
00:36:40.170 --> 00:36:42.470
for a highly emotional congregation,

376
00:36:42.470 --> 00:36:44.670
and then he couldn't get them to pay for it.

377
00:36:46.260 --> 00:36:48.520
He decided to scare them into honesty

378
00:36:48.520 --> 00:36:53.040
and he rented an iridescent devil suit complete with fork,

379
00:36:53.040 --> 00:36:54.343
tail and spear.

380
00:36:56.017 --> 00:36:57.741
And one Sunday night,

381
00:36:57.741 --> 00:36:59.490
when the preacher had been threatening the congregation

382
00:37:00.453 --> 00:37:01.730
with hell and fire, the builder,

383
00:37:01.730 --> 00:37:05.440
all that doubt and his new outfit pulled the master switch

384
00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:10.263
and bounded down the aisle, pandemonium broke out,

385
00:37:11.640 --> 00:37:14.910
people streaked and ran for the doors.

386
00:37:14.910 --> 00:37:17.493
One little lady stumbled and fell at his feet.

387
00:37:18.730 --> 00:37:22.980
The disguise builder loomed threateningly over her

388
00:37:24.412 --> 00:37:28.300
with his trident spear in his hand, straggling to her knees.

389
00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:33.300
She said in a quavering voice, "Oh Mr devil, hear me please.

390
00:37:35.180 --> 00:37:38.490
I bake more cakes, washed more dishes,

391
00:37:38.490 --> 00:37:41.880
sold more rummage than any other woman in this church.

392
00:37:41.880 --> 00:37:44.447
But all the time I've been on your side."

393
00:37:45.361 --> 00:37:49.360
(congregation laughing)

394
00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:50.610
Like the little lady,

395
00:37:50.610 --> 00:37:53.793
we try to work both sides of the street.

396
00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:58.800
We gloss over the persistent teaching of Jesus

397
00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:01.500
that whoever would save his life will lose it,

398
00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:05.423
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

399
00:38:08.379 --> 00:38:11.200
Mark you, if you back away from sacrifice,

400
00:38:11.200 --> 00:38:13.683
you back away from God.

401
00:38:16.660 --> 00:38:21.660
Discipleship requires the denial of self.

402
00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:29.407
And Jesus said, "Take up your cross."

403
00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:34.130
The cross is a symbol of the punishment you take

404
00:38:34.130 --> 00:38:38.903
from people who have a stake in keeping things as they are,

405
00:38:40.350 --> 00:38:43.740
or you take it from neutral people who would condone

406
00:38:43.740 --> 00:38:47.890
any monstrous wrong rather than risk their safety

407
00:38:47.890 --> 00:38:50.660
to stop the wrong.

408
00:38:50.660 --> 00:38:53.170
As James Baldwin reminds us,

409
00:38:53.170 --> 00:38:56.933
civilization is not destroyed by wicked people.

410
00:38:57.950 --> 00:39:01.690
It's not necessary to be that people be wicked,

411
00:39:01.690 --> 00:39:04.000
but only that they be spineless

412
00:39:07.570 --> 00:39:09.073
or put it another way.

413
00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:13.640
The cross is a metalanguage of being abandoned

414
00:39:13.640 --> 00:39:17.330
by persons whom we had thought we could depend on

415
00:39:17.330 --> 00:39:20.293
to understand and support us.

416
00:39:22.040 --> 00:39:24.913
As Isaiah said of the suffering servant,

417
00:39:25.770 --> 00:39:29.270
he was despised and rejected by men,

418
00:39:29.270 --> 00:39:32.805
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

419
00:39:32.805 --> 00:39:36.690
And we hid, as it were our faces from him,

420
00:39:36.690 --> 00:39:40.453
he was despised and we esteemed him not.

421
00:39:41.577 --> 00:39:45.700
But whatever form it takes,

422
00:39:45.700 --> 00:39:49.373
the cross falls in the line of obedient discipleship.

423
00:39:50.620 --> 00:39:55.523
You take it up, it is service and care.

424
00:39:57.410 --> 00:40:01.320
The cross is not something that befalls you by accident

425
00:40:01.320 --> 00:40:02.973
or without your consent.

426
00:40:05.190 --> 00:40:10.190
You have your Gethsemane where you face the appalling

427
00:40:10.830 --> 00:40:15.830
fact that discipleship means not so much making a sacrifice

428
00:40:17.670 --> 00:40:20.633
as being the sacrifice.

429
00:40:22.110 --> 00:40:26.903
And then, and there you say yes or no,

430
00:40:29.840 --> 00:40:34.810
it's as simple, and as terrible as that.

431
00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:41.870
Martin Luther king Jr. described an experience

432
00:40:41.870 --> 00:40:44.173
during the Montgomery bus protest.

433
00:40:45.220 --> 00:40:47.530
He had received many telephone threats,

434
00:40:47.530 --> 00:40:50.363
which he had dismissed as the work of crank.

435
00:40:51.720 --> 00:40:53.990
But one night after his wife had gone to sleep,

436
00:40:53.990 --> 00:40:57.093
he received a particularly savage threat.

437
00:40:58.550 --> 00:41:00.531
Later he wrote about it.

438
00:41:00.531 --> 00:41:04.813
He said, "I hung up, but I could not sleep.

439
00:41:06.180 --> 00:41:09.663
It seemed that all my fears had come down on me at once.

440
00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:13.637
I had reached the saturation point.

441
00:41:13.637 --> 00:41:17.193
I got out of bed and began to walk the floor.

442
00:41:18.810 --> 00:41:20.480
Finally, I went down to the kitchen

443
00:41:20.480 --> 00:41:21.773
and made a pot of coffee.

444
00:41:23.700 --> 00:41:25.173
I was ready to give up.

445
00:41:26.950 --> 00:41:30.910
I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture

446
00:41:30.910 --> 00:41:32.933
without appearing to be a coward,

447
00:41:34.020 --> 00:41:35.613
in this state of exhaustion,

448
00:41:36.783 --> 00:41:38.133
my courage had almost gone.

449
00:41:40.160 --> 00:41:43.183
Then I decided to take my problem to God.

450
00:41:44.090 --> 00:41:45.840
My head in my hands,

451
00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:49.540
I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud

452
00:41:49.540 --> 00:41:52.590
the words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid

453
00:41:54.028 --> 00:41:55.195
in my memory."

454
00:41:56.433 --> 00:41:58.600
He writes, "Oh Lord, I'm here taking a stand

455
00:41:58.600 --> 00:42:00.423
for what I believe is right,

456
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:06.210
but now I'm afraid the people are looking

457
00:42:06.210 --> 00:42:08.330
to me for leadership.

458
00:42:08.330 --> 00:42:11.140
And if I stand before them without strength

459
00:42:11.140 --> 00:42:14.283
and courage, they'll folder.

460
00:42:16.120 --> 00:42:20.913
I am at the end of my power, I have nothing left.

461
00:42:22.410 --> 00:42:26.007
I've come to the point where I can't face it alone."

462
00:42:28.640 --> 00:42:32.025
He continues, "At that moment.

463
00:42:32.025 --> 00:42:35.423
I experienced the presence of the divine as never before.

464
00:42:37.040 --> 00:42:40.690
It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance

465
00:42:40.690 --> 00:42:45.690
of an inner voice saying, 'Stand up for righteousness,

466
00:42:45.810 --> 00:42:50.627
stand up for truth, God will be on your side forever.'

467
00:42:53.200 --> 00:42:56.763
Almost at once my fears began to pass from me.

468
00:42:58.760 --> 00:43:01.023
My uncertainty disappeared.

469
00:43:02.340 --> 00:43:04.243
I was ready to face anything.

470
00:43:06.200 --> 00:43:09.330
The outer situation remains the same,

471
00:43:09.330 --> 00:43:12.507
but God has given me an inner calm."

472
00:43:15.240 --> 00:43:18.493
That was Martin Luther King's Gethsemane.

473
00:43:21.040 --> 00:43:24.303
The fundamentals were saddled,

474
00:43:26.100 --> 00:43:29.293
the rest of his life was commentary,

475
00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:35.853
but above all, let us remember this,

476
00:43:36.780 --> 00:43:41.780
bearing, the cross is not unmitigated pain and sorrow.

477
00:43:43.240 --> 00:43:47.520
The letter to Hebrews says of Jesus who for the joy

478
00:43:47.520 --> 00:43:50.663
that was set before him endured the cross.

479
00:43:52.970 --> 00:43:57.970
cross bearing isn't aggressive thrusting of one self

480
00:43:58.240 --> 00:44:02.780
into a crucial situation whose outcome matters

481
00:44:03.680 --> 00:44:04.513
more than life.

482
00:44:06.350 --> 00:44:11.350
And it brings its own reward, a deep sense of fulfillment.

483
00:44:15.730 --> 00:44:20.730
I'm one of four sons, as youngsters we were disorganized

484
00:44:21.680 --> 00:44:25.713
hot tempered, ready to resort to our fists.

485
00:44:26.570 --> 00:44:29.643
Our parents almost gave up hope for us,

486
00:44:30.700 --> 00:44:34.633
almost, but they never did thank God.

487
00:44:35.999 --> 00:44:38.800
In later years, I tried to tell my father

488
00:44:38.800 --> 00:44:43.440
that I had begun to realize what a costly process

489
00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:44.653
it had been for him.

490
00:44:46.970 --> 00:44:50.807
With a Misty smile, he simply said,

491
00:44:50.807 --> 00:44:54.087
"Well, that's the joy of being a father."

492
00:44:57.980 --> 00:45:01.093
Rehearsal thinking is decision-making,

493
00:45:02.250 --> 00:45:04.513
whether it's the engineer and the cam,

494
00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:10.233
the surgeon as he scrubs, or you here now.

495
00:45:15.200 --> 00:45:19.153
You look ahead, make up your mind.

496
00:45:20.830 --> 00:45:25.830
Jesus said, "If anyone would be my disciple,

497
00:45:26.570 --> 00:45:31.570
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

498
00:45:34.510 --> 00:45:38.670
You are the only person qualified to say

499
00:45:38.670 --> 00:45:43.320
what that entails for you, and you say yes or no.

500
00:45:54.880 --> 00:45:55.833
Let us pray.

501
00:46:03.970 --> 00:46:08.970
Oh, our father God grant that there may be some person

502
00:46:10.170 --> 00:46:15.170
here this day who we'll have the grace to say to you.

503
00:46:19.457 --> 00:46:24.457
"Yes, I will take up my cross and follow you," amen.

504
00:46:35.595 --> 00:46:38.428
(uplifting music)

505
00:49:24.373 --> 00:49:29.373
♪ In the hour of my distress ♪

506
00:49:30.912 --> 00:49:35.912
♪ When my temptations me opress ♪

507
00:49:36.002 --> 00:49:41.002
♪ And when my sins confess ♪

508
00:49:42.881 --> 00:49:46.381
♪ Sweet spirit comfort me ♪

509
00:49:54.300 --> 00:49:59.300
♪ When I lie in my bed, sick in heart and sick in head ♪

510
00:50:06.237 --> 00:50:11.237
♪ And with doubt discomforted ♪

511
00:50:12.586 --> 00:50:16.086
♪ Sweet spirit comfort me ♪

512
00:50:23.279 --> 00:50:28.279
♪ And the house doth sigh and weep ♪

513
00:50:30.254 --> 00:50:35.254
♪ And the world is drowned in sleep ♪

514
00:50:36.371 --> 00:50:41.371
♪ Yet my eyes the watch do keep ♪

515
00:50:44.059 --> 00:50:47.559
♪ Sweet spirit comfort me ♪

516
00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:05.280
♪ When the passing bell doth toll ♪

517
00:51:05.994 --> 00:51:10.994
♪ And the Furies in a shoal ♪

518
00:51:12.081 --> 00:51:17.081
♪ Come to fright a parting soul ♪

519
00:51:18.307 --> 00:51:21.890
♪ Sweet Spirit, comfort me ♪

520
00:51:35.262 --> 00:51:40.262
♪ When the tapers now burn blue ♪

521
00:51:42.010 --> 00:51:47.010
♪ And the comforters are few ♪

522
00:51:49.229 --> 00:51:54.229
♪ And that number more than true ♪

523
00:51:55.228 --> 00:51:58.978
♪ Sweet Spirit, comfort me ♪

524
00:52:11.342 --> 00:52:15.342
♪ When the Judgment is revealed ♪

525
00:52:21.743 --> 00:52:26.743
♪ And that open's which was sealed ♪

526
00:52:31.382 --> 00:52:35.299
♪ When to Thee I have appealed ♪

527
00:52:43.078 --> 00:52:46.661
♪ Sweet Spirit, comfort me ♪

528
00:53:09.174 --> 00:53:12.091
(uplifting music)

529
00:54:39.660 --> 00:54:43.590
Thine oh Lord is the greatness and the power

530
00:54:44.606 --> 00:54:46.856
and the glory and the victory and the majesty

531
00:54:47.720 --> 00:54:49.510
for all that is in the heaven

532
00:54:49.510 --> 00:54:51.253
and then the earth is thine.

533
00:54:53.575 --> 00:54:56.520
Thine is the kingdom oh Lord, and thou art exalted

534
00:54:56.520 --> 00:54:58.887
as head above all, amen.

535
00:55:03.061 --> 00:55:05.894
(uplifting music)

536
00:58:51.210 --> 00:58:55.290
Now to him who by the power at work within us

537
00:58:55.290 --> 00:58:57.900
is able to do far more abundantly

538
00:58:57.900 --> 00:59:00.103
than all that we ask or think.

539
00:59:01.340 --> 00:59:05.240
To him, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

540
00:59:05.240 --> 00:59:10.053
to all generations, forever and ever.

541
00:59:11.530 --> 00:59:14.870
The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

542
00:59:14.870 --> 00:59:17.127
be with you all, amen.

543
00:59:24.142 --> 00:59:26.642
(bell chimes)

544
00:59:42.823 --> 00:59:45.656
(uplifting music)