WEBVTT

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(soft organ music)

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(choir singing in foreign language)

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<v ->The scripture lesson for today is taken</v>

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from Matthew 23rd Chapter Verses 15 through 23.

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Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites

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for you traverse sea and land

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to make a single proselyte,

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and when he becomes a proselyte,

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you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

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Woe to you, blind guides, who say,

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"If anyone who swears by the temple, it is nothing,

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"but if anyone swears by the gold

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"of the temple, he is bound by his oath.

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"You blind fools for which is greater?

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"The gold or the temple

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"that has made the gold sacred?

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And you say, "If anyone who swears by the altar

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"it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift

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"that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.

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"You blind men.

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"For which is greater the gift

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"or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

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"So he who swears by the altar swears

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"by it and by everything on it.

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"And he who swears by the temple swears by it

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"and by him who dwells in it.

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"And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne

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"of God and by him who sits upon it.

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"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites

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"for you tithe, mint and dill

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"and cummin and have neglected

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"the weightier matters of the law.

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"Justice and mercy and faith.

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"These you ought to have done

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"without neglecting the others."

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(organ music)

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(choir singing in foreign language)

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<v ->The Lord be with you.</v>

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(audience chants indistinctly)

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Let us pray.

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All mighty God we come before you now

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to offer our prayers of gratitude.

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We thank you for our roofs, which do not leak in a rain.

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We thank you for airplanes, which don't crash.

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For ships, which never sink.

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For air to breathe,

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which really is not polluted.

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For parents who actually are not hypocrites.

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For young people who are not irresponsible or unfaithful.

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For politicians who are not crooks.

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Although oh Lord, you have taught us

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to be concerned about corruption on many sides.

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We rejoice and give you thanks for that great number who

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have sincerely responded in faith and obedience

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to the call of Jesus and who daily seek

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to realize the meaning of His gospel for their lives.

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We give you thanks for those newsmen who are more interested

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in printing the truth than they are

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in being either popular or sensational.

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We are grateful for laymen who see themselves as ministers

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and as a part of the mission of the church

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in a secular world.

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We thank you for all who witnessed to the truth,

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to brotherhood, and to justice in their daily vocations.

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Oh God, for all surprising blessings,

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for the blessings which come in unexpected guises.

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For the blessings we thought at first we didn't want.

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Even for blessings which made us choose

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a higher way of life.

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We give you thanks.

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And now God, we pray for our fellow men

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because Christ loves them

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and has asked that we pray for them.

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We ask grace and strength

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for all who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

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We ask love for those who think they are being persecuted,

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but who are not.

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We intercede for those who have lost the awareness

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of your personal existence and daily love.

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May they be shown the steps

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which will lead them to discover you as father

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and to acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

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We pray for those who understand themselves

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as being only high-grade animals.

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That they may come to see their relationship to you

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and to know that they have an eternal destiny,

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which gives a new meaning to this earthly existence.

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We pray for those whose lifestyle is derived entirely from

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the animal side of their natures,

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that they may begin to respond also to the side

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of their selves which makes them members

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of your divine family.

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And now oh Lord, as we pray for ourselves,

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we do so for the same reason we intercede

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for our fellow men.

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Jesus loves us and encouraged us

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to bring our needs to you in prayer.

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Our needs are numerous.

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We need your help to keep us from thinking

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that we can mysteriously harvest the fruits

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of education without planting the seeds

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of study and self-discipline.

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Help us to understand how to sow

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the seeds which will produce a proper harvest.

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We need your help in maintaining

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a proper balance in everything.

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Give us grace to be childlike without being childish.

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Give us to be simple without being naive.

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Enable us to be wise as serpents while remaining

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as harmless as doves.

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Give us continually a sense of our dignity and importance

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as children of God,

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but keep us from acting like arrogant prima donnas.

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Keep us from becoming damned fools

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by mistaking lust for love.

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Help us to be discerning enough not to be misled

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into accepting obscurity of thought

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as a substitute for a profundity of meaning.

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In everything may we have the spirit of Christ

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and may we truly make our own the prayer,

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which he has taught us all to pray saying,

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"Our father who art in heaven,

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"hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come.

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"Thy will be done 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

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"and the power and the glory forever."

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Amen.

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It is indeed an awesome experience for me.

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The newly appointed Dean of the Duke Law School.

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A law school and a university whose motto is

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(speaking in foreign language).

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To appear in the pulpit of a chapel

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of this university to deliver the sermon on layman's Sunday.

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Mixed with this all

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is a pressing sense

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of unworthiness because not only

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am I not what most would call a religious person,

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but also because as a teacher of tax law,

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I'm only one step removed from that of a publican.

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A publican whose inability to love his enemies

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was used by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount

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to chide his listeners with a rather invidious comparison.

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I should add that my sense of unworthiness and awe

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is not relieved in my case

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by a willingness on my part

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to follow the example of that other publican, Zacchaeus,

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who to gain Christ's favor gave half

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of his goods to the poor.

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I'm not about to give half of my goods to the poor

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and indeed I'm doing well even to measure up to a 10th.

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I stand before you merely as one who

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in the discharge of his duties from time to time finds

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that there is much in the Bible

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that is very helpful.

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My purpose then in this sermon

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is to give some illustrations of this assistance.

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And the text, as you know,

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is in the 23rd Chapter of St. Matthew Verse 23,

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which according to the version I prefer,

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not the version which was read to you a moment ago,

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reads woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,

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hypocrites for ye pay tithe of mint,

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and anise, and cummin

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and have omitted the weightier matters

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of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.

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These ought ye have done and not to leave the other undone.

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Now this indictment of the scribes and Pharisees

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is but one of the seven charges

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that Christ made against these representatives

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of the then religious establishment.

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In making these charges, Christ was lamenting both

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the harmful influence of these men on others,

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as well as their attentiveness to religious details

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while failing to heed what he describes

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as the weightier matters.

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In the preceding chapter of St. Matthew,

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the Pharisees and the Sadducees

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that sought my clever questions

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one of which you may recall was put by a lawyer

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to entangle Christ in his talk.

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What they sought were doctrinal contradictions

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and uncertainties.

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Things that are near and dear to the heart of all lawyers.

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But Christ avoided their traps

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by I might say some rather astute and clever answers.

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And in this 23rd chapter, he mounts his counter attack.

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An attack delivered more in sorrow than in anger.

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The 23rd verse, my text, expresses

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the substance of his indictments.

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Christ says the scribes

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and the Pharisees tithed meticulously

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offering a 10th of even sprigs of herbs,

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but neglect the important aspects

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of law, judgment, mercy, and faith.

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They are superficial.

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Form has become more important than substance

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and they have in short forgotten

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what they were supposed to do.

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There is no excuse for this kind of forgetting,

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although it is a daily failing with most of us.

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But what of these weightier matters?

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What is the meaning of law, judgment, mercy, and faith?

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Is the verse only referring to the truths

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of the faith served by these scribes and Pharisees

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or only to the Christian faith?

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I think not.

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Moreover at the risk of condemnation

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by biblical scholars who I'm sure will not

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be particularly concerned about what I say in any event.

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I believe these weightier matters provide assistance

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in understanding many of our daily problems.

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Not only in life generally but in our academic life.

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I shall make my points by reference

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to a single statement appearing

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in the bulletin of the law school.

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Now this is pretty dry business.

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Bulletins of law schools.

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The statement is as follows.

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Second and third year students may also take courses

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offered in other divisions of the university

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upon the condition that the student

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is engaged simultaneously in at least 10 semester hours

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of courses in the law school.

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Credit limited to a total of six hours toward

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the JD degree will be granted for those courses

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where in the judgment of the Dean

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the courses contributed to the student's education

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in the law or professional interests.

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Now what in the world have law, judgment, mercy,

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and faith to do with this?

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Well let me commence with law.

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To me, law refers to the objectives,

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the purposes revealed and what follows

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the thou shalt in a command.

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My bulletin example reflects a desire to permit,

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not require, enrichment of a student's law school education

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by taking courses outside the law school.

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It also reflects something else.

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Namely the belief that this enrichment should be just

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that and not a substitute or surrogate for legal education.

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Hence the limitations on the number of hours

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that may be taken and the requirement

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of the consent of the Dean.

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The weightier matter of law therefore requires all

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of us to understand the purposes

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of the rules by which we're governed without regard

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to whether the rules are imposed by ourselves or others.

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Of course, some rules are plain nonsense,

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and some are directed toward very foolish ends.

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But Pharisaical adherence to all rules

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or nihilistic refusal to obey

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any are equally stupid.

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What is required in all cases

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is an intelligent analysis to determine

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the purposes intended to be served

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by whatever rule is in question.

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Such analysis is I believe giving proper regard

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to the weightier matter, the law.

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Now understanding the purposes

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of the law often seems easy

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00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:24.640
in the absence of a concrete situation to which

267
00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:25.923
it is to be applied.

268
00:23:27.300 --> 00:23:32.300
For example, to return to my bulletin illustration,

269
00:23:32.390 --> 00:23:35.460
should a law student who wishes

270
00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:38.650
to take a course in Greek history

271
00:23:38.650 --> 00:23:42.243
be permitted to do so under the rule we're discussing?

272
00:23:44.502 --> 00:23:46.800
Does it make any difference whether he has ever taken

273
00:23:46.800 --> 00:23:48.900
the course in the law school

274
00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:50.830
in jurisprudence or legal history

275
00:23:52.690 --> 00:23:55.673
or whether his undergraduate degree was in the classics?

276
00:23:57.130 --> 00:24:00.020
Can the entire matter be disposed of

277
00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:06.180
by asserting either that Greek history has no application

278
00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:11.333
to the rendering of legal services in a modern society,

279
00:24:12.210 --> 00:24:13.500
or on the other hand,

280
00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:18.500
the assertion that since much of our cultural heritage

281
00:24:19.260 --> 00:24:23.030
was derived from the Greeks, a course in Greek history

282
00:24:23.030 --> 00:24:25.393
obviously enriches legal education?

283
00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:28.820
I don't think either one of those kind

284
00:24:28.820 --> 00:24:33.520
of blanket assertions really solves the problem

285
00:24:33.520 --> 00:24:36.743
of how to respond to the request to take Greek history.

286
00:24:38.120 --> 00:24:41.540
Thus it seems to me what appeared to be

287
00:24:41.540 --> 00:24:44.380
a fairly simple, straightforward rule

288
00:24:44.380 --> 00:24:47.603
in the bulletin no longer seems so.

289
00:24:48.770 --> 00:24:52.433
And as we multiply the hypothetical or real issues,

290
00:24:53.320 --> 00:24:54.810
our sense of direction,

291
00:24:54.810 --> 00:24:58.710
our sense of attachment to the purpose of the rule,

292
00:24:58.710 --> 00:25:00.263
becomes less dependable.

293
00:25:01.340 --> 00:25:04.053
And as it becomes less dependable,

294
00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:08.170
there is a temptation to cling to absolutes

295
00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:10.860
in a formal manner.

296
00:25:10.860 --> 00:25:14.740
So to speak to, as the Pharisees did, tied

297
00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:18.480
with respect to herbs rather than

298
00:25:19.687 --> 00:25:22.543
to work our way through the problem.

299
00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.370
And in the context of the rule we are discussing,

300
00:25:26.370 --> 00:25:30.940
the bulletin rule, the absolutes would be either

301
00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:34.260
to ignore the content of the course altogether

302
00:25:34.260 --> 00:25:38.893
and accept basket weaving one were it offered and requested,

303
00:25:39.830 --> 00:25:41.860
or to insist that the link between

304
00:25:41.860 --> 00:25:45.570
the course being substituted for a law course

305
00:25:45.570 --> 00:25:49.300
and an ordinary law course be extremely close.

306
00:25:49.300 --> 00:25:53.320
As for example, the connection between labor economics

307
00:25:53.320 --> 00:25:55.793
on the one hand and labor law on the other.

308
00:25:57.770 --> 00:26:00.820
I don't think either one of those absolutes can

309
00:26:00.820 --> 00:26:03.770
be relied upon in the administration

310
00:26:03.770 --> 00:26:06.260
of this little rule in the bulletin

311
00:26:06.260 --> 00:26:10.470
and it is here that we come to the second

312
00:26:10.470 --> 00:26:13.603
of the weightier matters, namely judgment.

313
00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:18.330
Judgment, as I am using it,

314
00:26:18.330 --> 00:26:23.223
refers to the capacity to avoid absolutes

315
00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:29.670
and yet remain faithful to the law and its purposes.

316
00:26:30.770 --> 00:26:35.770
To know how to fit a specific situation

317
00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:38.193
to the purposes of the rule in question.

318
00:26:39.530 --> 00:26:44.283
Now let me say that in my view, judgment is a gift.

319
00:26:45.470 --> 00:26:47.640
It is not a process necessarily.

320
00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:51.523
It is a gift which some possess and some do not.

321
00:26:52.630 --> 00:26:57.210
It may be thought of as the ability to perceive justice

322
00:26:57.210 --> 00:26:58.980
and indeed in one of the translations

323
00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:00.230
of the verse you will notice that

324
00:27:00.230 --> 00:27:02.143
the term justice is employed.

325
00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:07.300
Now with respect to the Greek history requests,

326
00:27:07.300 --> 00:27:08.803
to which I was referring,

327
00:27:09.969 --> 00:27:14.710
it seems to me on the basis of what I have told you

328
00:27:14.710 --> 00:27:18.143
that we cannot really arrive at a satisfactory answer.

329
00:27:19.110 --> 00:27:20.723
We need to know more.

330
00:27:22.360 --> 00:27:26.480
We would need to ask additional questions regarding

331
00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:29.940
the use to which the student sought

332
00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:31.963
to put his knowledge of Greek history.

333
00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:36.260
We would have to probe his motives

334
00:27:36.260 --> 00:27:39.850
and inquire about the quality of the course

335
00:27:39.850 --> 00:27:41.893
that he is planning on taking.

336
00:27:43.630 --> 00:27:45.423
And only after all of that,

337
00:27:46.580 --> 00:27:51.200
would judgements' pointer become loosened

338
00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:54.610
from its absolute lock sufficiently

339
00:27:54.610 --> 00:27:58.780
to commence its search or what I would call

340
00:27:58.780 --> 00:28:00.193
the pull of justice.

341
00:28:02.290 --> 00:28:06.670
Now quite obviously this little simple example makes plain

342
00:28:07.610 --> 00:28:12.610
that the matter of judgment imposes large economic costs

343
00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:16.543
on a system of law.

344
00:28:18.390 --> 00:28:21.640
To act justly in applying the law

345
00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:26.640
to a specific case requires a large expenditure

346
00:28:28.170 --> 00:28:32.653
of human energy, which could be spent on other matters.

347
00:28:34.610 --> 00:28:37.870
Each of us at one time or another

348
00:28:37.870 --> 00:28:42.870
has concluded that the act of judgment within

349
00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:47.840
a particular context the search for justice, if you will,

350
00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:51.603
within that context while simply too costly.

351
00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:56.250
Put differently, we have concluded

352
00:28:56.250 --> 00:29:00.933
that justice in that situation was simply too expensive.

353
00:29:02.870 --> 00:29:05.970
Individual situations we say to ourselves must

354
00:29:05.970 --> 00:29:08.710
be governed by general rules.

355
00:29:08.710 --> 00:29:11.580
Even when the result frequently

356
00:29:11.580 --> 00:29:14.780
is neither in keeping with a spirit of the law

357
00:29:14.780 --> 00:29:17.023
nor the wishes of the individual's concern.

358
00:29:18.390 --> 00:29:20.800
Only in this way, we say,

359
00:29:20.800 --> 00:29:22.610
can other tasks considered

360
00:29:22.610 --> 00:29:25.363
more important to be accomplished.

361
00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:29.350
Now I don't think Christ's teaching

362
00:29:29.350 --> 00:29:32.403
invariably condemns this kind of choice.

363
00:29:33.830 --> 00:29:38.830
Indeed not to consider the claims of competing needs.

364
00:29:39.300 --> 00:29:44.170
Needs competing with reaching justice in an individual case.

365
00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:47.140
Would I suggest be to fail.

366
00:29:47.140 --> 00:29:50.330
To heed the weightier matter of judgment

367
00:29:50.330 --> 00:29:53.023
in this somewhat expanded setting.

368
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:57.693
What is condemned in all events however,

369
00:29:58.670 --> 00:30:02.643
is a refusal to engage in judgment.

370
00:30:04.360 --> 00:30:06.270
When this is done,

371
00:30:06.270 --> 00:30:11.270
we are guilty and must accept the characterization

372
00:30:13.390 --> 00:30:16.253
as that of scribes and Pharisees.

373
00:30:17.540 --> 00:30:22.540
We have in that situation omitted a weightier matter.

374
00:30:26.020 --> 00:30:30.110
But even if we understand that law

375
00:30:32.590 --> 00:30:37.570
and its purposes, and even if we possess

376
00:30:37.570 --> 00:30:38.963
the gift of judgment,

377
00:30:40.350 --> 00:30:41.893
this is not enough.

378
00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:45.903
Christ speaks of mercy.

379
00:30:47.910 --> 00:30:49.500
And in doing so

380
00:30:50.730 --> 00:30:55.520
once more He demands more

381
00:30:55.520 --> 00:30:57.683
than most of us can give.

382
00:30:59.450 --> 00:31:03.430
Almost angrily we cry out law

383
00:31:03.430 --> 00:31:08.030
and judgment yes, but mercy no.

384
00:31:08.030 --> 00:31:09.313
That is too much.

385
00:31:11.560 --> 00:31:14.350
So one might feel when a student, for example,

386
00:31:14.350 --> 00:31:19.000
toward the close of his third year in law school turned up

387
00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:20.840
with six hours in Sanskrit

388
00:31:22.250 --> 00:31:25.893
for which he had failed to obtain any consent to take.

389
00:31:26.810 --> 00:31:28.810
And which at this late hour

390
00:31:28.810 --> 00:31:31.523
he sought to have applied to his degree in law.

391
00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:36.330
Now neither law nor judgment dictates

392
00:31:36.330 --> 00:31:38.163
an ascent to this request.

393
00:31:39.610 --> 00:31:42.793
The student neither chose his course wisely,

394
00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:46.373
nor did he read his bulletin at all.

395
00:31:47.260 --> 00:31:49.850
And after all, we say,

396
00:31:49.850 --> 00:31:52.500
lawyers should be able to read

397
00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:55.313
and understand fairly straightforward rules.

398
00:31:56.760 --> 00:32:00.140
And moreover, a refusal of this request

399
00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:03.780
would probably not contribute to any

400
00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:09.280
development of outrage on the part

401
00:32:09.280 --> 00:32:11.920
of a portion of the student body.

402
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.490
And it would help probably in the strengthening

403
00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:16.363
of the administration of the rule.

404
00:32:17.810 --> 00:32:19.793
So what makes mercy necessary?

405
00:32:22.150 --> 00:32:23.023
I'm not sure.

406
00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:28.003
A Christian answers because Christ our Lord asks him

407
00:32:29.850 --> 00:32:32.823
and for others, the answer is not so clear.

408
00:32:34.780 --> 00:32:36.920
But I believe all of us recognize

409
00:32:38.490 --> 00:32:41.540
that those upon whom even just burdens fall

410
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:45.110
have a right to expect

411
00:32:46.250 --> 00:32:50.870
that their call for mercy often will lead

412
00:32:50.870 --> 00:32:54.513
to the easing of that even just load.

413
00:32:55.670 --> 00:32:57.633
It is not that they deserve it.

414
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.220
It is that a merciful response

415
00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:07.380
is necessary to preserve and strengthen our own belief

416
00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:14.700
in our capacity to transcend ourselves.

417
00:33:16.490 --> 00:33:20.960
In this way, truly do the merciful receive mercy.

418
00:33:24.470 --> 00:33:28.973
Nonetheless mercy is an excruciatingly difficult demand.

419
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:33.113
Must every plea for mercy be granted?

420
00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:37.893
Are only those which are argued well?

421
00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:43.103
Are only those from the most inept and downtrodden?

422
00:33:45.530 --> 00:33:47.490
I cannot say.

423
00:33:47.490 --> 00:33:52.490
Save only that the latter probably have the best claim.

424
00:33:55.370 --> 00:33:59.020
Nor can the merciful accept gratitude

425
00:33:59.870 --> 00:34:01.303
or expect gratitude.

426
00:34:03.100 --> 00:34:05.730
Very perplexing to the merciful always

427
00:34:05.730 --> 00:34:08.010
is the tendency of the recipient of mercy

428
00:34:08.890 --> 00:34:11.343
to regard his good fortune as a matter of right.

429
00:34:12.670 --> 00:34:16.030
To regard one might say his treatment

430
00:34:16.030 --> 00:34:19.833
as the result of judgment rather than mercy.

431
00:34:21.290 --> 00:34:24.363
But the heart cannot harden.

432
00:34:25.590 --> 00:34:28.973
Mercy is indeed a weighty matter.

433
00:34:30.680 --> 00:34:34.590
In fact, it is only by the strength of faith,

434
00:34:34.590 --> 00:34:37.240
the last of the weightier matters,

435
00:34:37.240 --> 00:34:40.133
that the springs of mercy can be kept flowing.

436
00:34:41.770 --> 00:34:45.450
By this I mean that only with a belief in the necessity

437
00:34:45.450 --> 00:34:48.350
of mercy can one tolerate

438
00:34:49.260 --> 00:34:53.270
the recipient of mercy who insists he receive not one

439
00:34:53.270 --> 00:34:56.733
bit more than he was entitled to as a matter of right.

440
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:01.713
But faith, of course, plays an even larger role.

441
00:35:03.030 --> 00:35:05.063
To return to my bulletin example.

442
00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:10.030
Only a belief in the soundness and good sense

443
00:35:11.530 --> 00:35:13.590
of the rule can sustain the effort

444
00:35:14.870 --> 00:35:18.243
that judgment and mercy demand in its application.

445
00:35:19.810 --> 00:35:22.420
Without faith of this sort,

446
00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:24.913
the hearing of petitions makes no sense.

447
00:35:26.350 --> 00:35:28.990
And if an institution insists upon the maintenance

448
00:35:28.990 --> 00:35:33.610
of a senseless rule, adherence to it neither can

449
00:35:33.610 --> 00:35:36.163
be nor should be expected.

450
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:40.880
In essence, it must be said that faith

451
00:35:42.140 --> 00:35:46.310
in the meaningfulness of the human endeavor

452
00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:50.170
is necessary for there

453
00:35:50.170 --> 00:35:55.170
to be law, judgment, and mercy.

454
00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:00.783
At this point, I can lead you no further.

455
00:36:01.910 --> 00:36:04.193
What makes the human endeavor meaningful?

456
00:36:05.670 --> 00:36:07.210
Is there a larger order

457
00:36:07.210 --> 00:36:10.623
into which my little bulletin rule neatly fits?

458
00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:16.083
Is there a larger order in which our total life fits?

459
00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:21.330
I think so but there are doubts

460
00:36:22.520 --> 00:36:24.910
and perhaps more importantly

461
00:36:24.910 --> 00:36:28.073
there are doubts about our doubts.

462
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:32.283
In the end, it seems to me,

463
00:36:34.190 --> 00:36:37.370
we must both believe in a larger order

464
00:36:38.550 --> 00:36:41.753
and accept our human condition.

465
00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:45.483
There is no other choice.

466
00:36:47.310 --> 00:36:52.310
If there is a larger order, our faith is justified.

467
00:36:54.350 --> 00:36:55.783
And if there is not,

468
00:36:56.810 --> 00:37:01.810
our faith makes our hapless plight more tolerable.

469
00:37:05.310 --> 00:37:08.200
It seems to me we're in the position

470
00:37:10.620 --> 00:37:12.110
of the colonial legislator

471
00:37:14.160 --> 00:37:16.810
in the pre-revolutionary period

472
00:37:18.080 --> 00:37:23.080
in a story that is attributed to Alistair Cooke,

473
00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:25.230
but I'm sure he got it from somewhere

474
00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:29.600
and one with which you're probably familiar,

475
00:37:29.600 --> 00:37:31.793
but it is nonetheless a beautiful story.

476
00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:39.380
The story is that the legislators of this particular colony

477
00:37:40.840 --> 00:37:43.810
were meeting in the afternoon

478
00:37:43.810 --> 00:37:47.470
in their assembly hall and unknown

479
00:37:47.470 --> 00:37:52.033
to them an eclipse was scheduled for the afternoon.

480
00:37:53.730 --> 00:37:57.203
And as the day became darker and darker,

481
00:37:59.140 --> 00:38:02.710
some knelt and wailed that the end

482
00:38:02.710 --> 00:38:04.110
of the world was coming

483
00:38:05.100 --> 00:38:09.683
and pleaded with God for salvation and forgiveness.

484
00:38:11.250 --> 00:38:13.520
And there was in biblical terms weeping,

485
00:38:13.520 --> 00:38:15.403
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

486
00:38:17.160 --> 00:38:21.010
And finally from one corner of the room came

487
00:38:21.010 --> 00:38:23.787
a clear voice and said,

488
00:38:23.787 --> 00:38:25.883
"Gentlemen, let's consider our plight.

489
00:38:29.357 --> 00:38:31.793
"If the end of the world is not coming,

490
00:38:33.237 --> 00:38:35.193
"we should go about our duties.

491
00:38:37.167 --> 00:38:39.423
"And if the end of the world is coming,

492
00:38:40.457 --> 00:38:43.657
"then let the Lord find us doing

493
00:38:43.657 --> 00:38:47.253
"the duty that he had assigned to us.

494
00:38:49.017 --> 00:38:53.857
"Let there be light and let us do our duty."

495
00:38:55.350 --> 00:38:59.203
And so let our faith be our light.

496
00:39:01.010 --> 00:39:05.860
Only with it can we see our way

497
00:39:07.140 --> 00:39:10.970
to treat properly the weightier matters

498
00:39:12.550 --> 00:39:16.754
of law, and judgment, and mercy.

499
00:39:16.754 --> 00:39:17.587
Amen.

500
00:39:35.826 --> 00:39:38.326
(organ music)

501
00:40:06.377 --> 00:40:10.544
(choir sings in foreign language)

502
00:42:05.979 --> 00:42:09.062
(gentle organ music)

503
00:44:33.962 --> 00:44:38.129
(choir sings in foreign language)

504
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:43.320
<v ->Oh Lord, here we present our money</v>

505
00:48:43.320 --> 00:48:47.550
and ourselves dedicating each through

506
00:48:47.550 --> 00:48:49.880
the extension of judgment, mercy,

507
00:48:49.880 --> 00:48:52.353
and faith throughout the earth.

508
00:48:54.610 --> 00:48:58.777
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

509
00:49:05.729 --> 00:49:10.062
(choir singing in foreign language)

510
00:51:06.023 --> 00:51:08.523
(bell chimes)

511
00:51:27.325 --> 00:51:30.658
(uplifting organ music)