(bell ringers ringing) 

- We have been led in worship on this first Sunday after Epiphany by Mr. Philip Young and the Bell Ringers of First Baptist Church, Henderson, North Carolina, making their annual appearance with us. It's always a most fitting way to end the days of Christmas and to begin Epiphany with their beautiful music. We're glad that you're here with us for this service of worship. Remind you that these services are now being broadcast at 2 p.m. on Durham Cablevision and as always, in the patient rooms live of the Duke Hospitals. And now let us continue our worship. (organ plays) (everyone sings, accompanied by organ and bell ringers) 

- O living God, as a spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan waters, so may your spirit descend on us gathered here this day. Keep us your people who even as your son had been born of water and the spirit always faithful to him who is Lord forever and ever. May we be empowered to do thy will on Earth even as it is in heaven, amen. Be seated. 

- Let us pray. Open our hearts and minds, O 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 Old Testament lesson is from the book of Isaiah. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion, to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called the oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 

- Will you join in reading responsively the 29th Psalm. Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy array. 

Congregation: (murmuring) 

- The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 

Congregation: (murmuring) 

- The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 

Congregation: (murmuring) 

- The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever. 

Congregation: (murmuring) 

- May the Lord bless his people with peace. (organ plays) (everyone sings) 

- The second lesson is from the Acts of the Apostles. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the multitudes with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in the city. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. (bell ringers ringing) The gospel lesson comes to us from the gospel according to Luke. Hear the word of the Lord. As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; "but he who is mightier than I is coming, "the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; "he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. "His winnowing fork is in his hand, "to clear his threshing floor, "and to gather the wheat into his granary, "but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." The word of the Lord, thanks be to God. (bell ringers ring) 

- Ned Arnett says I never hear about the Holy Spirit at Duke Chapel. Why is that? Though I'm loathe to explain anything to a James B. Duke professor of anything, let me try to explain. Around here, you're apt to hear about God the Father, God is the Creator, who set the universe in motion like a great clock. God is the creative but alas, aloof hermit artist who shapes and forms and sets the whole thing in motion and then leaves, the deistic Deus absconditus. Or you may hear about God the Son. God is the young and fearless prophet of ancient Galilee, the rabbinic teacher, the great ethical example. Jesus the man for others, who exist mainly to set high and unattainable ethical ideals for the rest of us. But God the Holy Spirit, Ned says he doesn't hear much about that aspect of Godness. We honor God the Creator because we can see nature, we can dissect its wonders and understand it. We pay homage to God the Son because even people who don't believe that Jesus was divine, at least do believe that he was a marvelous person and a great ethical example and after all, they say isn't that really the purpose of religion, to offer us ethical examples. But God the Spirit? That seems strange, exotic, optional equipment for us moderns who live in this thinking, whirring, clanking, clockwork world of a universe, where people are busy helping themselves and getting ahead and taking charge and looking out for number one and shaping their own destinies, self-determining their future. In this clanking, working, flattened out universe, predictable human-centered world, we have no need for a God who comes to us as power and spirit. Please God, we would rather do it ourselves. But how small is this flattened out notion of God when set next to the God depicted in today's Psalm. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks cedars. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, makes mighty oaks to whirl, strips forest bare, and all in his temple cry glory. How puny is our little modern image of God when compared to this cedar-breaking, flame-flashing, oak-whirling epiphany of a living God. When Jesus was baptized in the muddy Jordan river, the heavens cracked open and fire descended upon him like a dove and there was a voice. John the Baptist had predicted as much. I baptize you with water but there's one coming after me who's mightier. He shall burn you with fire. Thus began Jesus' work. And his earthly work culminates with the risen Christ come back to his disciples and he says to his people, you wait in Jerusalem and I'll come to you and I'll give you the same spirit which empowered me. Then on the day of Pentecost, the heavens cracked open again and there was fire again, a rush of cedar-breaking, oak-whirling wind and flames of fire descended on the church. And that baptismal fire has since Pentecost spread to every nation of the world so that there is no corner of the Earth where there is not somebody to rise up and say, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. The Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to set at liberty those who are imprisoned. Isaiah 61. Power. Fire. Voice. Leaping over every boundary that we erect. Racial or economic or political. So that it is pushed in every corner of the world. Wherever Jesus' people are, there is the spirit at work. Power. Fire. Spirit. He had been, as they say, born and bred in North Carolina. Therefore as a child, it was quite natural for him to live in a world where in the department stores there were two water fountains, one marked Colored, the other marked White. Natural for him also were people who never had last names, only called Mary or Tom or worse, Buck or Boy, Uncle, Girl. The others never entered through the front door. The others always drank out of mayonnaise jars when they came to work in your front yard. But of course, that was yesterday, mistakes made by his parents. He had the privilege to be living in the new South which meant that now things were done differently which often means that now things were done subtly, covertly. That day they sat in big, leather-bound, brass-studded chairs around a big oak table in the board room and he had worked hard to sit around that table. It's not that I dislike her, said the boss, it's just that, well, it's just that she doesn't quite fit in. She's not really part of the team if you know what I mean. And of course, everybody knew what the boss meant. But nobody said it and everybody reached down deep, past the veneer to the prejudices and the past and dredged up all of those unlearned, untaught, unstated but nevertheless fixed in concrete boundaries between us, between them and us, and those customs and folk ways who told you who you are. But for some reason that day, he reached even deeper, past the prejudices and past the folk ways. And he found a voice to say, Jack, you know and we all know that that's not right. She has done the job, she deserves the promotion. And I want our company to be a model for how we treat our people regardless of the color of their skin. Power, power not of his own creation. Something unnatural, beyond the natural. From whence did it come? One time Jesus told his disciples, when they drag you in the court and you have to testify before the princes, don't worry about what you're going to say, how you testify. The Holy Spirit will tell you how to testify. What lawyer would have taken their case? This group is so far out they've got nobody to take their case except the Spirit. She wanted, wanted more than anything, love. She was so lonely, going at the end of every day, back to the same drab cold lonely apartment. And out of her desperation, she started going to bars in the evenings, not to drink but just to be with somebody else and there she met other lonely people. But one evening, she met someone and they talked and it was right and she said to herself, this is the way it can be. Two people, adult, sharing, and it was wonderful. But then, toward the end of the evening, he said to her, well he didn't really say to her but he didn't have to say to her, she knew. That she should share more than conversation and opinions and she was frightened because she didn't want to lose him and she didn't want to blow it, her one chance for companionship and affection and love. But from somewhere, somewhere deep inside her, she found a voice to say, no, no we're not ready for that now. We need to spend more time together. You see, as it turned out, she wasn't really alone. There was Spirit, Spirit, empowering her to be more than she could've been if she had been left to her own. Spirit. Power. The days following the funeral were like a dream to Martha. Martha ate and then she slept and then she got up in the morning but she wasn't really living. She didn't want to live anymore now that he was gone. What have I to live for she would ask herself. What reason have I to go on? I have no purpose for my life, it's ended. But then, Martha was able to say later it was like a voice. Not suddenly but gradually over the next days a voice calling her name saying Martha, you can go on. This is a chapter in your life that's ended but a new chapter is beginning. Reach for life. Go on. Until there was that morning when she got up and she put on her best dress and her favorite hat and she strided forth to life. A voice, liberating a captive. A voice speaking words to her she could've never spoken to herself. Power. Spirit. Voice. Jesus had promised to his disciples. Just you wait, go wait in Jerusalem, I'm gonna give you the same spirit that empowered me. Spirit, but to be empowered by the Spirit is not only to be comforted or to encourage, it's also at times in life to be prodded. As individuals, as a church, to be pushed, nudged. Our first lesson today, our second lesson is from the book of Acts, the story of Phillip going down into Samaria. It's a story about the Spirit. It's a story not only about how the Samaritans got the Spirit but how the church got some of the Spirit. Now Phillip, we've asked you to come and to appear here before the board of inquiry of First Church Jerusalem. And we'd like you to explain Phillip if you can just what you were doing over in Samaria? I mean after all, we are reasonable people. We don't want to jump to conclusion on the basis of rumors. We'd like to hear in your own words just what were you doing over there with them? We hear that you were with them. I mean we hear worse. Now Phillip, you know you had no business doing that. Did not the Lord clearly tell us in scripture, go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? Can't you understand plain Hebrew? First, it means what it says, first, you know what first is, first, Israel, the lost sheep of the house of Israel. What were you doing over there in Samaria? They're not us; they're not Israel. And don't try quoting that stuff from Isaiah to us either, about good tidings to the afflicted and binding up the brokenhearted. Don't you know Isaiah was talking about Israel? Wasn't talking about the Samaritans, talking about Israel. Besides, with the Romans here, who's more brokenhearted and needs binding up more than us? Charity begins at home. Phillip who elected you Mr. Missionary of the year? Don't you know Peter's supposed to be in charge of these things. Didn't Jesus call him the Rock? Not you, you shoulda checked, you should've wired the home office for instructions. What were you doing out there? You should've checked with the bishop. Phillip replies, well we don't have bishops until after the 2nd century. Well you should've checked with somebody. And then Phillip responded, well if you recall, I mean we never intended to go out to Samaria, to preach or do any good. If you recall, after they killed Stephen, and they started going house to house and dragging people out and throwing them in jail, we cut out of town. And we went out to Samaria because the way we figured it, no good person would be caught dead out in Samaria. And we were just out there trying to keep our heads down, just trying to keep our name out of the papers, trying to keep the Romans away from us. But then they started coming to us. Who started coming to you? Well people who were sick and paralyzed. Samaritans? Well I tell ya, you start looking at a paralyzed man, you can't tell whether he's a Samaritan or a Jew. He just needs you and we started healing to him and then that's when they came and asked us for baptism. Baptism? Yeah, it was like the same voice, the same Spirit which enabled us to heal, enabled us to invite. It was the Spirit that did it, don't blame it on us. It wasn't our idea to be out there. It was the Spirit. I guess you'd say I'm just an ordinary guy that got inspired, get it? Toward the end of his ministry, in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his grieving disciples, don't worry. I'm not gonna leave you alone. I'm gonna send you the Spirit. The same Spirit which empowered me, I'm gonna give to you. I'm gonna send you the Holy Spirit, the comforter. The Spirit as comforter. Now that sounds very cozy and nice, doesn't it, the Holy Spirit is our comforter. Well the Latin means with strength, comfort, and you know that there's comfort but then there's also comfort. In the Bayeux tapestry, there is a scene in which a column of Norman soldiers is riding into battle and at the end of the column is the Bishop of Bayeux, riding behind them and he's prodding the soldiers with this great, big, stout stick and underneath the Bishop are the words, Bishop Odo comforts his soldiers. Power. Spirit. Voice. You've got it. Amen. (organ plays) (everyone sings) 

Woman: The Lord be with you. 

Congregation: (murmuring) 

- Let us pray. Oh God, whose mystery is as deep as the sea, whose light is as bright as a thousand suns, whose spirit fills the sanctuary like the sweet air of a spring day, we bow before you believing that in Jesus Christ you have revealed yourself in a way we can understand. In his love for his disciples and in his teaching, we can perceive what it is that we must do. In Christ's death, we can begin to see the limits to which we must go. In his resurrection, we can glimpse the life that is promised us, that the power these understandings give effectiveness to our living, let the gifts that are in us become gifts for the world around us. As we raise our voices in prayer for others, we ask for the touch of your Spirit upon us and upon all in need. Continue to touch the grieving family and friends of all those who died in and as a result of the tragic air explosion over Scotland; touch the thousands who continue to try to put their lives back together after the recent devastating earthquake in Armenia; touch the terrorist in the world who seek violence and destruction in order to have their way, may their angry and warring hearts be softened with compassion; touch the twisted minds of the murderers and drug abusers so that evil might give way to good; touch the leaders of all nations especially those of our new administration so that peace and good will might be their goal; touch those who have lost spouses, children and friends by death, violence and mean circumstance, may they find comfort and rest; touch the homeless and the victims of famine, wars, poverty and injustice who know only a fearful and hateful world; touch the sick and the dying, that they might experience healing and freedom from pain; touch the spirit in us that is hungry for your presence and make it joyful; touch all of us with a new awareness of life and of each other, take sin away and make us new persons people of love and mercy. For yours is the kingdom, now and forever, amen. In return for God's eternal gifts of love and sacrifice for us, now may we bring in joyous thanksgiving, our gifts to God, Father, and Son. (bell ringers ring) (organ plays) (everyone sings) We give you thanks most gracious and eternal God, that you have refreshed us by your Holy Spirit, that you have given us your loving presence as we have praised your everlasting name and listened to your holy word proclaimed. Because of your gifts to us, too numerous and limitless to measure, we offer these gifts in thanksgiving and profound gratitude to you as we dedicate ourselves anew to the continuing work of your kingdom. And now as our Savior has taught us, let us pray saying, 

Everyone: 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, amen. (organ plays) (everyone sings) 

- And now may the Spirit of the Living God be with you and abide with you, now and always, amen. (organ plays)