WEBVTT
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(elegant organ music)
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(gentle organ music)
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Good morning and welcome to this orientation,
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Sunday service, here in Duke Chapel.
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Particularly welcome our first year students,
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to the Duke Campus and also the Duke football team
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and their coaches, it's traditional for them
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to be with us here on this first Sunday.
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Duke Chapel Choir is back
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and for the next couple of weeks
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we'll be holding choir auditions,
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still possible to try out for the choir
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if you have not yet done so.
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We're glad to have the choir back.
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By the way, they will participate
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in a sing along of the Mozart Vespers
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this Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. here in the chapel.
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You're invited to come sing along or listen.
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Will be under the direction
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of our Choir Director, Rodney Wynkoop,
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who this summer became the toast of Brazil in music,
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after his summer there among them.
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And we are glad that he's back also.
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There are many opportunities for service
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and study here at Duke Chapel.
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Please look at the tear out sheet,
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it's at the back of the bulletin,
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drop that in the plate today
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and we'll be back in touch with you
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about those opportunities.
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We welcome today, beginning the new year,
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a new assistant dean of the chapel,
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Reverend Deborah Brazell.
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Her first sermon here in the chapel was last Sunday,
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and she immediately had a nationally syndicated article
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written in response to her sermon by Mr. McManus.
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Which was a great beginning and we welcome her also to Duke.
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Now let's stand for the greeting.
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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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And also with you.
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The risen Christ is with us.
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Praise the Lord.
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("All Creatures of Our God and King")
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♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪
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♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪
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♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪
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♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou rushing wind that art so strong ♪
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♪ Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice ♪
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♪ Ye lights of evening, find a voice ♪
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♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou flowing water, pure and clear ♪
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♪ Make music for thy Lord to hear ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou fire so masterful and bright ♪
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♪ That givest man both warmth and light ♪
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♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪
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♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪
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♪ Let us praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪
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♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪
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♪ O praise Him ♪
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♪ O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ And all ye men of tender heart ♪
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♪ Forgiving others, take your part ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Ye who long pain and sorrow bear ♪
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♪ Praise God and on Him cast your care ♪
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♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪
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♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪
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♪ Let us praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪
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♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪
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♪ O praise Him ♪
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♪ O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Let all things their Creator bless ♪
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♪ And worship Him in humbleness ♪
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♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪
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♪ Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son ♪
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♪ And praise the Spirit, Three in One ♪
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♪ O praise Him, O praise Him ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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♪ Alleluia ♪
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Let us pray.
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Open our hearts and minds, oh God.
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By the power of your Holy Spirit,
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so that as the word is read and proclaimed,
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we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.
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Amen.
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The first reading is taken from the book of Genesis.
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"Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife,
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"because she was barren;
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"and the Lord granted his prayer,
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"and his wife Rebekah conceived.
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"The children struggled together within her;
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"and she said, 'If it is to be this way, why do I live?'
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"So she went to inquire of the Lord.
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"And the Lord said to her,
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"'Two nations are in your womb,
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"and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
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"the one shall be stronger than the other,
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"the elder shall serve the younger.'
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"When her time to give birth, there were twins in her womb.
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"The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle;
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"so they named him Esau.
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"Afterward his brother came out,
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"with his hand gripping Esau's heel;
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"so he was named Jacob.
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"Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them.
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"When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter,
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"a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man,
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"living in tents.
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"Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game;
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"but Rebekah loved Jacob.
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"Once when Jacob was cooking a stew,
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"Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.
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"Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red stuff,
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"for I am famished!'
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"Therefore he was called Edom.
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"Jacob said, 'First sell me your birthright.'
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"Esau said, 'I am about to die;
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"of what use is a birthright to me?'
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"Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.'
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"So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
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"Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew,
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"and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way.
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"Thus Esau despised his birthright."
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This is the word of the Lord.
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Thanks be to God.
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The Psalm is found on page 844,
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let us stand and join in singing the Psalm together.
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(slow organ music)
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♪ I lift up my eyes to the hills ♪
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♪ From whence does my help come ♪
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♪ My help comes from the Lord ♪
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♪ Who made heaven and earth ♪
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♪ The Lord will not let your foot be moved ♪
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♪ The Lord who keeps you will not slumber ♪
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♪ He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep ♪
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♪ The Lord is your keeper ♪
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♪ The Lord is your shade at your right hand ♪
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♪ The sun shall not smite you by day ♪
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♪ Nor the moon by night ♪
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♪ The Lord will keep you from all evil ♪
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♪ And will keep your life ♪
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♪ The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in ♪
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♪ From this time forth and forevermore ♪
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♪ All glory be to you, O God ♪
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♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪
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♪ The Lord is your shade on your right hand ♪
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♪ As it was since time began ♪
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♪ From this time forth and forevermore ♪
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This reading is from Paul's first letter
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to the Corinthians.
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"But God chose what is foolish in the world
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"to shame the wise;
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"God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
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"God chose what is low and despised in the world,
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"things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,
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"So that no one might boast in the presence of God."
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This is the word of the Lord.
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Thanks be to God.
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This reading is taken from
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the Gospel according to St. Mark.
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"Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come
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"from Jerusalem gathered around him,
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"they noticed that some of his disciples were eating
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"with defiled hands, that is without washing them.
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"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews,
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"do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,
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"thus observing the tradition of the elders;
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"and they do not eat anything from the market
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"unless they wash it;
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"and there are also many other traditions that they observe,
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"the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.
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"So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him,
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"'Why do your disciples not live according
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"to the tradition of the elders,
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"but eat with defiled hands?'
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"He said to them, 'Isaiah prophesied rightly
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"about you hypocrites, as it is written,
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"this people honors me with their lips,
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"but their hearts are far from me;
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"in vain do they worship me,
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"teaching human precepts as doctrines.
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"You abandon the commandment of God
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"and hold to human tradition.'
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"Then he called the crowd again
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"and said to them, 'Listen to me, all of you,
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"and understand, there is nothing outside a person
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"that by going in can defile,
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"but the things that come out are what defile.'
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"For it is from within, from the human heart,
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"that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder,
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"adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness,
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"envy, slander, folly, pride.
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"All these evil things come from within,
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"and they defile a person."
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This is the word of the Lord.
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Thanks be to God.
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("He, Watching Over Israel" by Mendelssohn)
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♪ He watching o'er Israel ♪
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♪ Slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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♪ He watching o'er Israel ♪
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♪ He slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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♪ He watching slumbers not nor sleep ♪
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♪ He slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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♪ He watching o'er Israel ♪
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♪ Slumbers not nor sleep ♪
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♪ Slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ He will ♪
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♪ Shouldst thou walking in grief ♪
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♪ Languish ♪
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♪ He slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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♪ He slumbers not nor sleeps ♪
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(overlapping singing)
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♪ He watches o'er Israel ♪
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♪ Slumbers not nor sleep ♪
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♪ He watches o'er Israel ♪
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♪ Slumbers not nor sleep ♪
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♪ He slumbers not ♪
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(overlapping singing)
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♪ He slumbers not ♪
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♪ He slumbers not ♪
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♪ Sleeps, not ♪
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♪ He watching o're Israel slumbers not ♪
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♪ Nor sleep ♪
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Here we are at the beginning of a new school year,
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and here at the beginning, I plan to preach
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a series of sermons from the book of Genesis.
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A book of the Bible whose name means in the beginning.
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Sermon series are risky, but one thing,
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if you don't like the first sermon,
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would you be back for more?
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I remember when I was a child,
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our pastor announced a sermon series on the Lord's prayer.
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The first sermon was an exposition on the word our,
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then the next week it was father.
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By the tenth sermon,
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a memorable exposition of "us not,"
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the congregation had dwindled.
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Such a series is risky for another reason,
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and that is I planned to preach this to introduce you
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to the Genesis stories of Jacob.
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Jacob, the Father of Israel.
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Here is a set of stories from Israel's distant past,
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a set of stories that biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann,
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who's preached frequently from this pulpit has said,
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"Present Israel at it's earthiest, and most scandalous."
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And that's risky.
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'Cause I know that one reason
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that many of you are here this morning,
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is that you are seeking
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to be edified in some moral way.
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Perhaps you're here, gotten out of bed,
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come down hoping that your experience
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at the Chapel will make you a better person.
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Well, you can forget it.
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Far as I can tell there is absolutely nothing
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of any uplifting moral intent in these stories about Jacob.
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There is nothing here that will help Dean Wasiolek keep
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a lid on the dorms better this year than last.
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There is nothing that will energize you
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to study harder than you studied last year.
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No.
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And yet I challenge you to find a Bible story
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more robust in its depiction of a real God,
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working amidst real people.
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With puckish good humor, without moralizing intent,
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the stories of Jacob.
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A tale of a family that's in a mess.
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A family made messier by the very promises
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of God to bless this family.
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Here we have such real morally dubious people.
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I am betting that a lot of us will recognize ourselves
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and our families in these stories
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before we are done in the telling.
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Well the story of Jacob begins before today's text
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from Genesis. It begins in the dim,
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dark days of history, that starlit night
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when God took Abraham out and had him look up
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into the sky and says, "Look at those stars.
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"I promise you I will make out of you a nation so great,
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"that it will be more numerous
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"even than those stars in the heavens."
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When Abraham's wife hears the promise,
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Sara laughs because Abraham is already over 100
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and she's in her 90's.
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Nine months later, she gives birth to her first child.
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And they call him Issac.
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Which means laughter.
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So laughable was this promise of God.
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And Issac grows up and Issac marries Rebekah.
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But they are married for many years
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and they have no children.
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And so this raises the question about,
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what about the promise of God?
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Is God faithful or not?
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Can God make good on God's promises?
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To make out of these people,
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these old barren people,
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a family?
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Will God keep God's promises?
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So Issac prays to God for a child,
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and with that prayer,
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people be careful how you pray,
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with that prayer the trouble begins.
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The texts says,
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"Rebekah conceived and even in her womb there is trouble."
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There in the mysterious uterine darkness,
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there is conflict in her womb,
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because there is not just one fetus,
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but two fetuses in Rebekah's womb.
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And they are already locked in dark struggle.
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Rebekah feels the conflict
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even before the children are born.
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Feeling these rumblings within her,
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Rebekah exclaims, and this is where our text begins,
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"If motherhood is going to be like this,
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"why do I even live?"
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She demands a refund from her lamaze classes.
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I thought you said this was going to be painless birth.
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Rebekah inquires of the Lord,
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"What are you doing here?"
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And the Lords explains,
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"At first I thought I would bless you with a child,
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"but then I decided while I was at it,
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"to bless you with twins."
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Just to keep it interesting.
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"There are not just two boys in your womb Rebekah,
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"there are two whole nations there, locked in struggle.
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"You thought this birth
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"was gonna be something a little sweet,
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"to comfort you in your old age, no.
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"I am doing something big, cosmic, international in you,
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"I am moving peoples around
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"and changing the course of history in you."
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And Rebekah says,
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"This is your idea of blessing?"
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You see that there seems there's no such thing
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as painless birth,
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particularly if that birth be from the promises of God.
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And so sermon point one,
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please write this down:
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The promises of God often, paradoxically,
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involve great pain.
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I know a woman about Rebekah's age,
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she spent her whole marriage without a child.
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She prayed to God.
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Later in life she gave birth to a child,
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and she named the child Grace, which means gift,
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'cause that's what it felt like.
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This unexpected gift of God,
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but the child whom she called Grace,
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the world called down-syndrome.
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She has now given the rest of her life
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to working with children like her Grace.
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Now how can there be such pain in such blessing?
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Or on the other hand, how can such blessing come out
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of such great pain?
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It's a mystery we're about here.
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Deep, dark, mysterious, in utero, conflict,
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and this conflict is going to be a prelude to the rest
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of Jacob's story.
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In time Rebekah gives birth to the first born,
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the twin is delivered.
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The Bible says he's red, his whole body covered in hair.
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So they name him red, or Esau.
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And pulling little red out of the womb,
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they were surprised to find that the other twin,
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in his little hand was clutching his brother's heel.
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"Look at that!", said the attending obstetrician,
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so desperate was he to be first out of the womb,
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to be first born, he's trying to pull his older brother back
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into the womb.
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Got him by the heel,
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and so they call the second child heel,
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or grabber, Jacob.
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Which, as it turns out,
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was an apt name if ever there were one.
426
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Is there anything worse than a heel?
427
00:35:23.310 --> 00:35:27.890
So now in the story we've got red the older brother,
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and then we've got his little brother Jacob,
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or the heel.
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Esau and Jacob.
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00:35:34.600 --> 00:35:35.670
And though they were twins,
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they were not identical twins.
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They had absolutely nothing in common,
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this is not The Cosby Show, we're talking The Simpsons here.
435
00:35:43.714 --> 00:35:44.547
(congregation laughing)
436
00:35:44.547 --> 00:35:48.574
Esau was the macho type.
437
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He loved to hunt, he loved to play football
438
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with other hairy types.
439
00:35:55.795 --> 00:35:56.810
(congregation laughing)
440
00:35:56.810 --> 00:35:59.060
He liked nothing better than to mix it up
441
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on a Saturday afternoon with the boys.
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Jacob, the Bible says,
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on the other hand was a quiet man, living in tents.
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Which is the Bible's way of saying he stayed home,
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he practiced piano, he cooked gourmet meals,
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he was philosophically opposed to football,
447
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thought in encouraged violence.
448
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(congregation laughing)
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Is it a shock to you that the Bible
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then says Issac loved Esau,
451
00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:33.863
Rebekah loved Jacob?
452
00:36:34.820 --> 00:36:36.370
What kind of family is this?
453
00:36:36.370 --> 00:36:40.170
Mom and Dad showing favoritism, partiality.
454
00:36:40.170 --> 00:36:42.240
Dad loved one of the twins, Esau.
455
00:36:42.240 --> 00:36:43.640
Mom loves the other, Jacob.
456
00:36:43.640 --> 00:36:47.465
What kind of family is this?
457
00:36:47.465 --> 00:36:50.370
These are real parents here,
458
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maybe your parents.
459
00:36:52.736 --> 00:36:54.610
Oh not that your parents love your little sister
460
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more than they love you,
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although they might.
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(congregation laughing)
463
00:37:00.770 --> 00:37:05.220
Dear, it is not that I don't love you,
464
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it's just that I find it difficult to be enthusiastic
465
00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:12.402
about your athletic exploits.
466
00:37:12.402 --> 00:37:16.926
Scoring touchdowns is fine,
467
00:37:16.926 --> 00:37:19.140
but we would be so grateful if every now
468
00:37:19.140 --> 00:37:21.920
and then you'd read a book.
469
00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.150
And perhaps I would be a bit more affectionate
470
00:37:24.150 --> 00:37:29.150
if you took a bath and your friends on their Harley's.
471
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.060
But of course this Bible story is told before the days
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of modern psychological rationalization.
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And so the story just says bluntly,
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Issac loved Esau;
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Rebekah had her money on Jacob.
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One day Jacob was cooking,
477
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or as he called it creating in the kitchen.
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He smelled a strange odor.
479
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It was his big brother Esau coming in from hunting.
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00:38:02.814 --> 00:38:05.483
(congregation laughing)
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00:38:05.483 --> 00:38:08.672
Esau says to his little brother,
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"Let me have some of that red stuff
483
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"what you got in the pot, I'm starved."
484
00:38:16.040 --> 00:38:20.318
"It's not red stuff," said Jacob, "It's beef bourguignon."
485
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(congregation laughing)
486
00:38:21.519 --> 00:38:25.100
"Whatever, let me have it."
487
00:38:25.100 --> 00:38:28.562
Little brother Jacob now sees his chance to jump.
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"Well how hungry are you?"
489
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"I'm dying," said Esau
490
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"Dying?
491
00:38:36.658 --> 00:38:38.066
"Oh good.
492
00:38:38.066 --> 00:38:39.397
(congregation laughing)
493
00:38:39.397 --> 00:38:41.177
"Let me have your birthright
494
00:38:41.177 --> 00:38:46.163
"and then I'll give you some of this stew to eat.
495
00:38:47.697 --> 00:38:50.520
"Give me your inheritance."
496
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In other words big brother, drop dead.
497
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Make me the inheritor of the family estate,
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the heir, the first born, head of the family.
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00:39:01.636 --> 00:39:05.941
Go ahead and subvert the entire near eastern pattern
500
00:39:05.941 --> 00:39:09.283
of social arrangement.
501
00:39:09.283 --> 00:39:12.160
Go ahead and knock down the foundation upon which
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00:39:12.160 --> 00:39:14.690
our whole culture is based.
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00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:19.690
To heck with primogenitor, give me your birthright.
504
00:39:19.820 --> 00:39:23.777
And Esau, always incapable of taking the long view said,
505
00:39:23.777 --> 00:39:25.760
"What good's a birthright when I'm starving?
506
00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:30.168
"Let me eat, you'll get my birthright."
507
00:39:30.168 --> 00:39:33.747
The Bible says that Esau ate, and he drank,
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00:39:33.747 --> 00:39:37.645
and he rose and he went his way.
509
00:39:37.645 --> 00:39:41.300
A way considerably downhill after
510
00:39:41.300 --> 00:39:46.300
that fateful meeting with little brother.
511
00:39:46.470 --> 00:39:50.671
This is the end of the Jacob saga, chapter one.
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00:39:50.671 --> 00:39:54.700
And if you must have a moral Dean Wasiolek,
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00:39:54.700 --> 00:39:58.287
I can think of none other, other than something like,
514
00:39:58.287 --> 00:40:01.393
never trust anybody who's a gourmet,
515
00:40:01.393 --> 00:40:06.393
especially if it happens to be your little brother.
516
00:40:06.660 --> 00:40:09.080
But as I warned you at the beginning,
517
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there really isn't a moral in this story.
518
00:40:13.981 --> 00:40:18.830
No, it's because here's a story not so much
519
00:40:18.830 --> 00:40:22.218
about people like our parents.
520
00:40:22.218 --> 00:40:24.083
Issac and Rebekah.
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00:40:24.083 --> 00:40:26.000
Or not even a story about people like us,
522
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:29.085
Jacob and Esau.
523
00:40:29.085 --> 00:40:31.910
It's really a story about God.
524
00:40:31.910 --> 00:40:34.130
It's a story about the promises of God,
525
00:40:34.130 --> 00:40:39.130
and the weird things that these promises do to people.
526
00:40:39.290 --> 00:40:42.703
So Sermon point number two:
527
00:40:42.703 --> 00:40:47.700
The promises of God subvert the old order.
528
00:40:49.100 --> 00:40:50.180
Sermon point one:
529
00:40:50.180 --> 00:40:52.757
The promises of God often involve pain,
530
00:40:52.757 --> 00:40:56.390
and a major source of that pain of the promises of God,
531
00:40:56.390 --> 00:41:01.390
is that the promises of God are often inverting, subverting.
532
00:41:01.910 --> 00:41:06.910
They intrude into our patterns and arrangements.
533
00:41:10.040 --> 00:41:13.410
The promises of God are often shoved into our lives,
534
00:41:13.410 --> 00:41:17.270
busy creating out of nothing, things that are.
535
00:41:17.270 --> 00:41:19.900
Busy changing the way things are into
536
00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:24.693
the way by God things are going to be.
537
00:41:24.693 --> 00:41:27.500
No social convention was dearer to the people
538
00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:30.690
of the ancient near east than the right of primogenitor,
539
00:41:30.690 --> 00:41:33.590
the right of the first born.
540
00:41:33.590 --> 00:41:37.320
The rights of the first born insured social order
541
00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:40.260
and stability in the near eastern world.
542
00:41:40.260 --> 00:41:43.040
It was a wonderful arrangement 'cause you knew your place
543
00:41:43.040 --> 00:41:46.370
in life from the day you were born.
544
00:41:46.370 --> 00:41:50.000
The first born son gets everything,
545
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:53.660
the second born son gets leftovers,
546
00:41:53.660 --> 00:41:57.073
and the daughters get nothing.
547
00:41:57.073 --> 00:42:00.730
And it was just so neat and it was clean
548
00:42:00.730 --> 00:42:03.548
and it was orderly.
549
00:42:03.548 --> 00:42:07.359
It was a secure 1950's Ozzy and Harriet sort of world,
550
00:42:07.359 --> 00:42:11.360
where father always knows best and mom is a bit fuzzy-headed
551
00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:13.750
but she's locked safe in the kitchen.
552
00:42:13.750 --> 00:42:16.720
And older brother David is thoughtful and he's stable,
553
00:42:16.720 --> 00:42:19.500
and little brother Ricky is undependable,
554
00:42:19.500 --> 00:42:21.830
but that's okay because he's not going
555
00:42:21.830 --> 00:42:25.270
to get anything in the end anyway.
556
00:42:25.270 --> 00:42:27.470
You were just fixed at birth.
557
00:42:27.470 --> 00:42:28.830
Fixed.
558
00:42:28.830 --> 00:42:32.030
Fate determined while you were still in utero,
559
00:42:32.030 --> 00:42:35.380
by the color of your skin or by your gender
560
00:42:35.380 --> 00:42:39.380
or your parents' economic level or the order of your birth.
561
00:42:39.380 --> 00:42:44.380
You were just fixed from the day you were born.
562
00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:49.960
But you see, here's a story, Bible story,
563
00:42:50.010 --> 00:42:54.993
about us getting mixed up in our conventions.
564
00:42:54.993 --> 00:42:59.898
About God's destabilizing promise.
565
00:43:01.530 --> 00:43:05.330
Two nations are in your womb,
566
00:43:05.330 --> 00:43:10.120
two peoples, one shall be stronger than the other,
567
00:43:10.120 --> 00:43:15.120
surprise, the elder shall serve the younger.
568
00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:20.010
Even in Rebekah's womb,
569
00:43:20.010 --> 00:43:24.350
in the primal darkness, cosmic international purposes
570
00:43:24.350 --> 00:43:27.770
are being worked out through the promises of God.
571
00:43:27.770 --> 00:43:30.570
In the clash of these all too typical brothers,
572
00:43:30.570 --> 00:43:33.870
God is busy dismantling conventional systems
573
00:43:33.870 --> 00:43:37.188
of power distribution.
574
00:43:37.188 --> 00:43:42.173
And some of you are here this morning,
575
00:43:43.410 --> 00:43:44.750
because you have somehow gotten
576
00:43:44.750 --> 00:43:49.750
the crazy subverting Godly notion,
577
00:43:49.915 --> 00:43:52.500
that God is dismantling older systems
578
00:43:52.500 --> 00:43:57.198
and arrangements through you.
579
00:43:57.198 --> 00:44:00.216
You're not supposed to be here.
580
00:44:00.216 --> 00:44:04.120
If history is to be believed, you're the wrong gender,
581
00:44:04.120 --> 00:44:06.770
you're the wrong race, you grew up in the wrong family,
582
00:44:06.770 --> 00:44:09.470
but somehow you got it in your head the crazy notion
583
00:44:09.470 --> 00:44:11.980
God was making to you a promise,
584
00:44:11.980 --> 00:44:16.415
and you believed it.
585
00:44:16.415 --> 00:44:20.415
But I have a hunch the majority of us are here,
586
00:44:20.415 --> 00:44:24.009
at Duke, students, faculty, friends.
587
00:44:24.009 --> 00:44:29.009
We're here as older brothers, so to speak.
588
00:44:29.530 --> 00:44:34.425
That is, most of us have been fortunate since birth.
589
00:44:35.420 --> 00:44:38.560
The cards have been stacked in our favor,
590
00:44:38.560 --> 00:44:42.560
the stars were right, everything was just right for us.
591
00:44:42.560 --> 00:44:45.860
As Maya Angelou told the first year students last year,
592
00:44:45.860 --> 00:44:47.810
and will probably tell them again tonight,
593
00:44:47.810 --> 00:44:51.980
in this chapel, we've done the best on you
594
00:44:51.980 --> 00:44:53.660
we know how to do in this culture.
595
00:44:53.660 --> 00:44:56.080
We can't do any better than we've done with you.
596
00:44:56.080 --> 00:45:01.080
You've been paid for.
597
00:45:01.190 --> 00:45:06.190
How privileged, at Duke, this is primogenital.
598
00:45:09.410 --> 00:45:14.085
And so we may find ourselves in the story,
599
00:45:14.085 --> 00:45:18.975
surprised to look back and find little brother,
600
00:45:19.900 --> 00:45:24.541
little brother Jacob clutching at our heel.
601
00:45:26.440 --> 00:45:30.682
Is there anyone here this morning who can not identify
602
00:45:30.682 --> 00:45:34.355
with a once self assured-nation?
603
00:45:34.355 --> 00:45:36.990
Planning to use our power the same way
604
00:45:36.990 --> 00:45:40.713
that our forebears used their power.
605
00:45:40.713 --> 00:45:43.230
Shocked to wake up from our national stupor
606
00:45:43.230 --> 00:45:48.040
of material gratification to find little brother,
607
00:45:48.040 --> 00:45:53.040
these little nobody nations clutching at our heel.
608
00:45:53.160 --> 00:45:57.673
The repositories of oil,
609
00:45:57.673 --> 00:46:02.665
economic success.
610
00:46:04.350 --> 00:46:07.340
Do we see here a divine upsetting
611
00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:12.290
of conventional power arrangements?
612
00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:16.780
Do we see others claiming that economic birthright
613
00:46:16.780 --> 00:46:21.780
that was supposed to be ours?
614
00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:25.805
Can it be as one was to say much later,
615
00:46:25.805 --> 00:46:30.805
that God is busy making the last to be first
616
00:46:31.180 --> 00:46:35.995
and the first to be last.
617
00:46:35.995 --> 00:46:40.180
Is there some secret dark force behind the lives
618
00:46:40.180 --> 00:46:44.115
of ordinary people?
619
00:46:44.115 --> 00:46:47.498
One who has chosen
620
00:46:47.498 --> 00:46:52.003
what is low and despised in this world
621
00:46:52.003 --> 00:46:56.903
to bring to nothing the things that are?
622
00:46:59.140 --> 00:47:04.133
The story will be continued.
623
00:47:06.439 --> 00:47:10.189
( "Come Down O Love Divine")
624
00:47:52.072 --> 00:47:57.072
♪ Come down, O love divine ♪
625
00:47:58.877 --> 00:48:03.877
♪ Seek thou this soul of mine ♪
626
00:48:05.388 --> 00:48:10.388
♪ And visit it with thine own ardor glowing ♪
627
00:48:14.579 --> 00:48:19.579
♪ O Comforter, draw near ♪
628
00:48:21.382 --> 00:48:26.382
♪ Within my heart appear ♪
629
00:48:27.919 --> 00:48:30.009
♪ And kindle it ♪
630
00:48:30.009 --> 00:48:35.009
♪ Thy holy flame bestowing ♪
631
00:48:37.636 --> 00:48:42.636
♪ O let it freely burn ♪
632
00:48:44.848 --> 00:48:49.848
♪ Till earthly passions turn ♪
633
00:48:51.004 --> 00:48:56.004
♪ To dust and ashes in its heat consuming ♪
634
00:49:00.056 --> 00:49:05.056
♪ And let thy glorious light ♪
635
00:49:06.851 --> 00:49:11.851
♪ Shine ever on my sight ♪
636
00:49:13.362 --> 00:49:18.362
♪ And clothe me round, the while my path illuming ♪
637
00:49:23.311 --> 00:49:28.311
♪ And so the yearning strong ♪
638
00:49:30.254 --> 00:49:35.254
♪ With which the soul will long ♪
639
00:49:36.086 --> 00:49:41.086
♪ Shall far outpass the power of human telling ♪
640
00:49:45.496 --> 00:49:50.496
♪ For none can guess its grace ♪
641
00:49:52.592 --> 00:49:57.592
♪ Till they become the place ♪
642
00:49:58.713 --> 00:50:03.713
♪ Where-in the Holy Spirit finds a dwelling ♪
643
00:50:16.730 --> 00:50:19.840
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
644
00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:20.843
Let us pray.
645
00:50:29.875 --> 00:50:32.010
Oh God of beginnings,
646
00:50:32.010 --> 00:50:34.440
we pray for your guiding wisdom
647
00:50:34.440 --> 00:50:37.690
as we begin this academic year.
648
00:50:37.690 --> 00:50:41.630
We have many conflicting feelings about beginnings.
649
00:50:41.630 --> 00:50:46.630
Excitement, uncertainty, anxiety, and hopefulness.
650
00:50:49.010 --> 00:50:52.510
All things seem possible in the beginning,
651
00:50:52.510 --> 00:50:56.743
yet very quickly our limits begin to make themselves known.
652
00:50:57.740 --> 00:51:02.740
Help us prioritize our time and lives this semester.
653
00:51:02.870 --> 00:51:06.640
Help us focus on the things that really matter.
654
00:51:06.640 --> 00:51:09.930
Because when we're offered so many choices,
655
00:51:09.930 --> 00:51:13.623
it's easy to lose our direction and identity.
656
00:51:14.560 --> 00:51:19.340
Remind us of who we are and whom we belong,
657
00:51:19.340 --> 00:51:22.900
and keep us centered in Jesus Christ.
658
00:51:22.900 --> 00:51:25.010
Lord, in your mercy.
659
00:51:25.010 --> 00:51:27.310
Hear our prayer.
660
00:51:27.310 --> 00:51:29.200
Oh God of promises,
661
00:51:29.200 --> 00:51:33.000
we pray for the courage to trust your solutions
662
00:51:33.000 --> 00:51:36.950
to what often seem like impossible problems.
663
00:51:36.950 --> 00:51:40.890
We must confess that we often question your methods,
664
00:51:40.890 --> 00:51:43.880
and sometimes wonder if you're working at all
665
00:51:43.880 --> 00:51:46.440
to fulfill your promises.
666
00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:48.830
But one thing is certain,
667
00:51:48.830 --> 00:51:51.740
when you intrude upon our world
668
00:51:51.740 --> 00:51:54.200
to bring about your purposes,
669
00:51:54.200 --> 00:51:57.220
nothing remains the same.
670
00:51:57.220 --> 00:52:02.220
The old order is shaken up and life is transformed.
671
00:52:03.850 --> 00:52:07.680
It seems to be human nature to resist change,
672
00:52:07.680 --> 00:52:11.370
because change is always painful.
673
00:52:11.370 --> 00:52:15.250
But you know the ways we need to be shaken up.
674
00:52:15.250 --> 00:52:18.610
And you know what things need to give way
675
00:52:18.610 --> 00:52:21.113
for your new order to be created.
676
00:52:22.110 --> 00:52:25.130
Help us open ourselves to you,
677
00:52:25.130 --> 00:52:30.030
so that you might transform us into your faithful children,
678
00:52:30.030 --> 00:52:33.170
and our world into your kingdom.
679
00:52:33.170 --> 00:52:35.350
Lord, in your mercy.
680
00:52:35.350 --> 00:52:36.550
Hear our prayer.
681
00:52:37.470 --> 00:52:39.260
Oh God of hope,
682
00:52:39.260 --> 00:52:42.750
you are the God who brings order out of chaos,
683
00:52:42.750 --> 00:52:47.063
birth out of barrenness, life out of death.
684
00:52:48.370 --> 00:52:51.910
Many of those here today or listening on cable,
685
00:52:51.910 --> 00:52:54.840
are hurting and need the reassurance
686
00:52:54.840 --> 00:52:57.190
of your loving presence.
687
00:52:57.190 --> 00:53:00.180
We pray especially for the family and friends
688
00:53:00.180 --> 00:53:03.170
of Alexander Cohan, a Duke student
689
00:53:03.170 --> 00:53:06.930
who was killed while traveling back to Duke.
690
00:53:06.930 --> 00:53:09.200
And also for the student who was injured
691
00:53:09.200 --> 00:53:10.803
in the accident with him.
692
00:53:12.050 --> 00:53:15.210
We ask your blessing upon all those who are dealing
693
00:53:15.210 --> 00:53:19.960
with illness or grief at the loss of a loved one.
694
00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:23.660
We pray that you will bring healing out of sickness,
695
00:53:23.660 --> 00:53:28.033
comfort out of loss, and hope out of despair.
696
00:53:29.020 --> 00:53:31.160
Lord, in your mercy.
697
00:53:31.160 --> 00:53:32.803
Hear our prayer.
698
00:53:33.720 --> 00:53:35.770
Oh God of surprises,
699
00:53:35.770 --> 00:53:38.510
we couldn't be more startled at the events
700
00:53:38.510 --> 00:53:40.803
that have shaken the Soviet Union.
701
00:53:41.710 --> 00:53:44.790
Truly it seems the low and despised
702
00:53:44.790 --> 00:53:48.163
are bringing to naught the things that are.
703
00:53:49.240 --> 00:53:51.420
We pray for your wisdom and guiding
704
00:53:51.420 --> 00:53:55.883
the republics into the way of peace and prosperity.
705
00:53:56.780 --> 00:54:00.810
Lead us also to respond to their struggles
706
00:54:00.810 --> 00:54:03.603
in ways that are humane and just.
707
00:54:04.480 --> 00:54:06.970
We pray for all these things in the name
708
00:54:06.970 --> 00:54:09.330
of Jesus Christ our Lord,
709
00:54:09.330 --> 00:54:12.360
who turned the world upside down
710
00:54:12.360 --> 00:54:14.343
through self-sacrificing love.
711
00:54:15.300 --> 00:54:16.133
Amen.
712
00:54:18.780 --> 00:54:23.040
We have prospered, not because we are deserving,
713
00:54:23.040 --> 00:54:25.540
but by God's generosity.
714
00:54:25.540 --> 00:54:28.300
Our worship is in vain if we don't acknowledge
715
00:54:28.300 --> 00:54:31.830
the source of all we are and all we have.
716
00:54:31.830 --> 00:54:34.400
It is God who has granted life
717
00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:37.140
and equipped us to fight its battles.
718
00:54:37.140 --> 00:54:39.653
Let us give thanks with our offering.
719
00:54:40.924 --> 00:54:44.007
(lively organ music)
720
00:56:06.830 --> 00:56:11.413
("When in our Music God is Glorified")
721
00:56:31.199 --> 00:56:36.199
♪ When in our music God is glorified ♪
722
00:56:38.399 --> 00:56:43.399
♪ And adoration leaves no room for pride ♪
723
00:56:47.810 --> 00:56:52.810
♪ It is as though the whole creation cried ♪
724
00:56:55.563 --> 00:56:57.962
♪ Alleluia ♪
725
00:56:57.962 --> 00:57:00.574
♪ Alleluia ♪
726
00:57:00.574 --> 00:57:05.574
♪ Alleluia ♪
727
00:57:05.759 --> 00:57:10.759
♪ How often, making music, we have found ♪
728
00:57:13.951 --> 00:57:18.951
♪ A new dimension in the world of sound ♪
729
00:57:21.983 --> 00:57:26.983
♪ As worship moved us to a more profound ♪
730
00:57:31.013 --> 00:57:33.376
♪ Alleluia ♪
731
00:57:33.376 --> 00:57:36.054
♪ Alleluia ♪
732
00:57:36.054 --> 00:57:39.887
♪ Alleluia ♪
733
00:57:49.419 --> 00:57:54.419
♪ So has the church, in liturgy and song ♪
734
00:57:57.271 --> 00:58:02.271
♪ In faith and love, through centuries of wrong ♪
735
00:58:04.474 --> 00:58:09.474
♪ Borne witness to the truth in every tongue ♪
736
00:58:13.816 --> 00:58:16.472
♪ Alleluia ♪
737
00:58:16.472 --> 00:58:18.872
♪ Alleluia ♪
738
00:58:18.872 --> 00:58:23.872
♪ Alleluia ♪
739
00:58:24.398 --> 00:58:29.398
♪ And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night ♪
740
00:58:32.582 --> 00:58:37.582
♪ When utmost evil strove against the light ♪
741
00:58:39.812 --> 00:58:44.812
♪ Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight ♪
742
00:58:49.030 --> 00:58:51.078
♪ Alleluia ♪
743
00:58:51.078 --> 00:58:53.734
♪ Alleluia ♪
744
00:58:53.734 --> 00:58:57.567
♪ Alleluia ♪
745
00:59:18.444 --> 00:59:23.444
♪ Let every instrument be tuned for praise ♪
746
00:59:26.757 --> 00:59:31.757
♪ Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise ♪
747
00:59:35.114 --> 00:59:40.114
♪ And may God give us faith to sing always ♪
748
00:59:44.360 --> 00:59:46.790
♪ Alleluia ♪
749
00:59:46.790 --> 00:59:49.705
♪ Alleluia ♪
750
00:59:49.705 --> 00:59:54.705
♪ Alleluia ♪
751
00:59:56.021 --> 00:59:59.140
♪ Alleluia ♪
752
00:59:59.140 --> 01:00:02.571
♪ Alleluia ♪
753
01:00:02.571 --> 01:00:06.404
♪ Alleluia ♪
754
01:00:17.338 --> 01:00:19.755
("Doxology")
755
01:00:53.866 --> 01:00:58.866
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪
756
01:01:00.203 --> 01:01:05.203
♪ Praise him, all creatures here below ♪
757
01:01:06.219 --> 01:01:09.514
♪ Alleluia ♪
758
01:01:09.514 --> 01:01:13.994
♪ Alleluia ♪
759
01:01:13.994 --> 01:01:18.994
♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪
760
01:01:20.170 --> 01:01:25.170
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪
761
01:01:26.379 --> 01:01:29.386
♪ Alleluia ♪
762
01:01:29.386 --> 01:01:32.529
♪ Alleluia ♪
763
01:01:32.529 --> 01:01:35.834
♪ Alleluia ♪
764
01:01:35.834 --> 01:01:39.339
♪ Alleluia ♪
765
01:01:39.339 --> 01:01:43.172
♪ Alleluia ♪
766
01:01:49.770 --> 01:01:50.773
Let us pray.
767
01:01:52.160 --> 01:01:54.760
In faith and gratitude,
768
01:01:54.760 --> 01:01:58.110
we return these gifts that they may proclaim
769
01:01:58.110 --> 01:02:00.720
the mystery of your love,
770
01:02:00.720 --> 01:02:02.823
and glorify the gospel.
771
01:02:03.670 --> 01:02:07.380
May hearts and lives be drawn to you by the witness
772
01:02:07.380 --> 01:02:11.780
our offering will make in this community of faith
773
01:02:11.780 --> 01:02:14.713
and among all those you call us to serve.
774
01:02:15.770 --> 01:02:20.470
And now let us pray with confidence as the children of God.
775
01:02:20.470 --> 01:02:21.830
Our father.
776
01:02:21.830 --> 01:02:23.500
Who art in heaven,
777
01:02:23.500 --> 01:02:24.550
hallowed be the name,
778
01:02:25.410 --> 01:02:28.870
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
779
01:02:28.870 --> 01:02:31.300
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
780
01:02:31.300 --> 01:02:34.200
Give us this day, our daily bread,
781
01:02:34.200 --> 01:02:37.970
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
782
01:02:37.970 --> 01:02:40.200
who trespass against us.
783
01:02:40.200 --> 01:02:42.640
Lead us not into temptation,
784
01:02:42.640 --> 01:02:44.810
but deliver us from evil.
785
01:02:44.810 --> 01:02:47.590
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
786
01:02:47.590 --> 01:02:49.590
and the glory forever.
787
01:02:49.590 --> 01:02:50.423
Amen.
788
01:02:51.400 --> 01:02:56.350
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord in all that you do.
789
01:02:56.350 --> 01:02:59.170
May the God of hope fill you with all joy
790
01:02:59.170 --> 01:03:02.350
and peace in believing, that you may abound
791
01:03:02.350 --> 01:03:05.043
in hope by the power of the holy spirit.
792
01:03:05.899 --> 01:03:09.242
(soft organ music)
793
01:03:09.242 --> 01:03:13.723
♪ Amen ♪
794
01:03:13.723 --> 01:03:18.723
♪ Amen ♪
795
01:03:21.737 --> 01:03:26.737
♪ Amen ♪
796
01:03:30.729 --> 01:03:32.646
♪ Amen ♪
797
01:03:44.713 --> 01:03:48.713
("The Church's One Foundation")
798
01:04:30.122 --> 01:04:35.122
♪ The church's one foundation ♪
799
01:04:35.527 --> 01:04:40.527
♪ Is Jesus Christ her Lord ♪
800
01:04:40.713 --> 01:04:45.713
♪ She is his new creation ♪
801
01:04:46.004 --> 01:04:51.004
♪ By water and the Word ♪
802
01:04:51.337 --> 01:04:56.337
♪ From heaven he came and sought her ♪
803
01:04:56.745 --> 01:05:01.745
♪ To be his holy bride ♪
804
01:05:02.153 --> 01:05:07.153
♪ With his own blood he bought her ♪
805
01:05:07.639 --> 01:05:12.639
♪ And for her life he died ♪
806
01:05:14.820 --> 01:05:19.820
♪ Elect from every nation ♪
807
01:05:20.313 --> 01:05:25.313
♪ Yet one o'er all the earth ♪
808
01:05:25.689 --> 01:05:30.689
♪ Her charter of salvation ♪
809
01:05:31.130 --> 01:05:36.130
♪ One Lord, one faith, one birth ♪
810
01:05:36.598 --> 01:05:41.598
♪ One holy name she blesses ♪
811
01:05:41.946 --> 01:05:46.946
♪ Partakes one holy food ♪
812
01:05:47.513 --> 01:05:52.513
♪ And to one hope she presses ♪
813
01:05:53.241 --> 01:05:58.241
♪ With every grace endued ♪
814
01:06:00.888 --> 01:06:05.888
♪ Though with a scornful wonder ♪
815
01:06:06.217 --> 01:06:11.217
♪ We see her sore oppressed ♪
816
01:06:11.401 --> 01:06:16.401
♪ By schisms rent asunder ♪
817
01:06:16.969 --> 01:06:21.969
♪ By heresies distressed ♪
818
01:06:22.361 --> 01:06:27.361
♪ Yet saints their watch are keeping ♪
819
01:06:27.801 --> 01:06:32.801
♪ Their cry goes up, how long ♪
820
01:06:33.209 --> 01:06:38.209
♪ And soon the night of weeping ♪
821
01:06:38.569 --> 01:06:43.569
♪ Shall be the morn of song ♪
822
01:06:45.929 --> 01:06:50.929
♪ Mid toil and tribulation ♪
823
01:06:51.257 --> 01:06:56.257
♪ And tumult of her war ♪
824
01:06:56.569 --> 01:07:01.569
♪ She waits the consummation ♪
825
01:07:02.233 --> 01:07:07.233
♪ Of peace forevermore ♪
826
01:07:07.833 --> 01:07:12.833
♪ Till, with the vision glorious ♪
827
01:07:13.431 --> 01:07:18.431
♪ Her longing eyes are blessed ♪
828
01:07:19.033 --> 01:07:24.033
♪ And the great church victorious ♪
829
01:07:24.697 --> 01:07:29.697
♪ Shall be the church at rest ♪
830
01:07:32.153 --> 01:07:37.153
♪ Yet she on earth hath union ♪
831
01:07:37.289 --> 01:07:42.289
♪ With God the Three in One ♪
832
01:07:42.537 --> 01:07:47.537
♪ And mystic sweet communion ♪
833
01:07:47.913 --> 01:07:52.913
♪ With those whose rest is won ♪
834
01:07:53.193 --> 01:07:58.193
♪ O happy ones and holy ♪
835
01:07:58.409 --> 01:08:03.409
♪ Lord, give us grace that we ♪
836
01:08:04.105 --> 01:08:09.105
♪ Like them, the meek and lowly ♪
837
01:08:09.673 --> 01:08:14.673
♪ On high may dwell with thee ♪
838
01:08:17.993 --> 01:08:21.076
(lively organ music)