(instrumental music) - Oh God, who has given us minds to know thee, hearts to love thee and voices to show forth our praise. Give us grace we beseech thee, to dedicate ourselves freely to thy service that we may reverently fulfill the worship of thy sanctuary and beautify the praises of thy house through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. (orchestral music) (indistinct) (bright music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) As we come into the presence of God, let us acknowledge our unworthiness and offer our unison prayer of confession. Let us pray. Oh, holy and merciful God, we confess that we have not always taken upon ourselves with joy, the yoke of obedience, nor been willing to seek and to do your perfect will. We have not loved you with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, neither have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. You have called us to respond to the need of our brothers and sisters, and we have passed on heating on our way. In the pride of our hearts and our unwillingness to repent, we have turned away from the cross of Christ and have grieved your Holy Spirit. Forgive us, we pray. Amen. May God in his mercy, now here are our private confessions. Father, we thank you for your loving compassion in forgiving our sins. Now help us to live in your light and to walk in your ways through Jesus Christ our Lord. (instrumental music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) - The chosen Lecter is confined at home with the illness of a child. We wish all that is good for the child. And I shall read the lesson. First from the Old Testament, the book of the Psalms, the 15th song. "O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent? Who shall dwell on thy holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart, who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his friend, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own heart and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved." From the New Testament, Saint Matthew's gospel 25 verses 31 to 46, let us rise for the reading of the gospel. Jesus is talking. "When the son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, oh blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then He will say to those at His left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. And may God bless onto us the reading of His word. (bright instrumental music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) - Let us now affirm our faith. We are not alone, we live in God's world, we believe in God who has created and is creating, who has come in the true man, Jesus, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by His spirit. We trust Him. He calls us to be His church, to celebrate his presence, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, our judge and our hope in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. The Lord be with you. - And also with you. - Let us pray. All mighty God, we thank you for the life of Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord, that He lived His divine life amongst us, ministering to our needs, showing us the way of life. Even now open our eyes that we may see Him, enlighten our understanding that we may know Him and strengthen our wills that we may follow Him for the glory of your kingdom and for our souls, true God. Oh God of comfort, we commend to your mercy all those upon whom any cross or tribulation is layered. The nations who are afflicted with famine, pestilence, or wall, all those who seek for work and cannot find it. And those oppressed with poverty, sickness or any infirmity of soul or mind. In the name of Jesus we pray, especially for the children of the world, who are without parents or homes and who are helpless, starving, and unclothed. And for children whose lives are blinded by neglect and cruelty and whose minds are darkened by ignorance and coward by fear, may your holy spirit endower and bless those who devote themselves to the care of children and teach us all young and old, to be more responsive to their needs. This day we give you praise and thanksgiving for our faithful preacher of the word, Jim Cleland together with his wife, Alice and for the continued richness of their loving ministry among us, bless, preserve, and keep them, we humbly pray in Jesus name. And now as our savior, Christ has taught us, we pray together saying, 'Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever, amen.' The sermon this morning is delivered by our beloved Dean of the chapel, James T. Cleland. - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. There is a story told about Dr. Charles R. Brown, the distinguished Professor and Dean of the Yale Divinity School, who was recognized as one of the preachers in new England. After his retirement, when he was 82 years old, he was asked by a student, "How often can you preach the same sermon?" He answered, "I don't know yet." Now accepting the validity of his statement, although I am only 72, I plan this morning to preach a sermon, which I first in this chapel 10 years ago. At the center of it is Albert Schweitzer, who was known as the great man's great man. What great men subscribe to that view. Young smart soldier, philosopher, prime minister of South Africa. Tomas Masaryk, scholar, founder, and first president of the late Czechoslovakia. Albert Einstein, the physicist who said, "There in this sorry world of ours, is a great man." Now, if any of you remember the sermon and don't want to hear it again, just tip toe out silently so that you may not awaken those who are asleep. (congregation laughs) September, 1965, was the month in which Albert Schweitzer died at the age of 90. 100 years ago, this past January, he was born. In memory of him and in honor of him, let me share with you some facts and thoughts about him in a whimsical sort of way. If it be neither blasphemous nor sacrilegious. And I do not think it is. I want you to come with me to the judgment hall of heaven some 10 years ago, where the Lord Jesus sits on His glorious throne, and as we heard in the scripture lesson, separates the sheep from the goats. The person who is being appraised as we watch the scene is Albert Schweitzer, white of hair, bushy of eyebrows, walrus mustache. His eyes are full of compassion and humor. His hands are supple. Someone has described them as lovely. He's a grand old man, grand and old, 90 years old. Jesus turns to Saint Peter and says, "You have the record. Let us hear it in 20 minutes." Peter in bewilderment and frustration answers, "Sir!" with question marks and exclamation point. Jesus quietly repeats, "20 minutes, maybe 25." So Peter tries to cram 90 years into the allotted time. Will he make it? Well, let's listen as Peter reads the testimony of a life. He begins first a cut curriculum vitae. Albert Schweitzer was born in Alsace. It was generally said of him that such a puny specimen could not live. He was a son of the men's, grew up in an atmosphere impregnated with Paya Cape and music. He enjoyed his surroundings, home, church, school, countryside, though the sadness, which so constantly haunts life kept him from being a too naive optimist. He became a student at the University of Strasbourg in philosophy and theology with music, the Oregon, as an avocation. He listened, he read, he taught. He played the organ with the great Widor of Paris as his amazed tutor and later as his amazed pupil. This point, Peter pauses in his biographical sketch and addresses himself directly to Jesus on the judgment throne. You spoke to him, Sir, when he was 21 years old. You said to him, your must pay. You must pay for your happiness by unremitting self-giving to those who cannot repay. Sir, you remember his response, since God did not call you to public service until you were 30, Schweitzer claim the next nine years until he was 30 for himself. In these nine years, he earned three doctors degrees, a PhD in philosophy for a thesis on Kant, a ThD in New Testament for a study of the life of Jesus, and the must doc, doctor of music for an interpretation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. At the age of 28, he was appointed principal of the Theological College of Saint Thomas attached to the University in Strasbourg. Then, three months before he was 30, he read a report of the Paris Missionary Society, which pointed out how starved for workers, the French Congo was. He knew at once where the rest of his life would be spent. He also knew that his three earned doctorates were of no use, no direct use to the native Africans. So he returned to college for pre-medical courses, then he went to medical school. And after six more years of study, he secured his doctorate of medicine in 1912, his four earned doctorate. He was then 37. The next year, he sailed for the Congo and literally built the hospital at Lambarene, which he financed by writing and lecturing on philosophy, ethics and theology. And by giving organ recitals primarily on Bach all over Europe. He still found time to write two of three planned volumes on the decline of the ethical situation in Western life. He published a volume on Jesus and one on Paul, which staggered, angered and revolutionized continental New Testament study. With Widor, he edited the definitive edition of the Oregon works of Bach. He began a pamphlet interpreting Bach, which ended up as the definitive biography in two volumes. In between, he maintain, enlarged and ran the hospital. Thousands of patients were treated there in 50 years. He built no chapel, but every day he presided over family worship. He was in harness until the day before he died. Honors poured in on him. He received an excess of academic degrees, honorous cause. Edinburgh University in an attempt to be unique, gave him two honorary degrees at the same ceremony. Queen Elizabeth made him an honorary member of the order of merit. There are only 24 members of that order and only one other honorary member, he an American. In 1952, Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He died at the age of 90 on September 4th, 1965. He left no last words. A colleague, a medical doctor, presided at the simple burial service. Sir, Saint Peter so much for the curriculum vitae. Second, what motivated him? Obviously, he loved to work. All kinds of work were second nature to him. Academic, medical, manual, writing, doctoring, building. He was once asked what gave him the most pleasure in life and he replied whatever I'm working at. He told a visitor to be a success in Lambarene, you must be a carpenter, a mechanic, a farmer, a trader, as well as the physician and surgeon. He once asked a native who was resplendent in a white suit to help him haul a beam of wood. The native replied, "I'm an intellectual and don't drag wood about." Schweitzer replied, "You're lucky. I too wanted to become an intellectual, but I didn't succeed." Yet there was more than his motivation than the capacity to work. He could have stayed in an academic position and developed his interest in philosophy, theology and music. But from childhood, he was sensitive, hyper sensitive to suffering, even of animals, which he included in his evening prayers. It was the pathos and patience, the suffering and sorrow in the face of a chained black figure on a monument in the public square of Komar, which turned his thoughts even as a boy to Africa. Someone must repay the Africans for what the white man has done to him. Someone? Why not Schweitzer? He must not just talk about love. He must practice it. That's why years later, he finally chose medicine. I wanted to be a doctor that I might be able to work without having to talk. He dreamed of a fellowship of those who bear the mark of pain, those who have learned by experience what physical pain and bodily anguish mean, they're united by a secret bond. For him, happiness was a twin of shared pain. A happiness, which is a consequence of a deep sympathy with the pain which prevails around us. From this community of suffering, he never sought to withdraw himself. For many years, Schweitzer tried to find a phrase which would sum up, but ultimately, and consistently and continually motivated him. And one day the words came to him. (foreign language) Which being translated is, respect highest esteem for life. Any life, all life, anywhere, everywhere, wherever there is need. He himself has defined reverence for life as at its lowest, the ethic of good manners. Wouldn't it be nice if we practice in the indoor stadium? The ethic for good manners. And at his highest, the absolute ethic of love. He under took his African mission not as a sociological study, not as a political reformation, not even as a medical enterprise. He undertook it with sober enthusiasm as an act of atonement. And that's something to remember in length. The motivation was religious and ethical, the implementation was practical. He once said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." So he went to Africa to the despair of his academic friends who thought he was a fool and to the indignation of the Paris Missionary Society who thought he was a heritage. And they were both partly right. He was a heretical fool in the spirit of his Lord and master. This quadrupole doctor who looked like Joseph Staline and burn like Francis of Assisi had said, Saint Peter, "What influence did he have at his contemporaries?" It's almost unbelievable. We've mentioned it already in the realm of ethics, New Testament studies and Oregon regarding the latter. He even wrote a 73 page pamphlet on the building of pipe organs. But let's concentrate on the impact of his reverence for life and his unofficial fellowship of those who bear the mark of pain. At least half a dozen hospitals in impoverished, remote areas have been established because of him. A manufacturer in the American Midwest read about Schweitzer, sold his farm implement manufacturing company and used the money to build a string of medical clinics in the Cameroon. A Japanese professor raised money in Schweitzer's name and started an orphanage. A young German medical school graduate with a fund of inspiration as his only means of support started a hospital in South America. A Dutch girl selected medicine as her career because of Schweitzer. She became the Chief Surgeon at Lambarene. She left to found a hospital of her own in Southern France. A Duke M.D did the first year of his residency at Lambarene. Larry Melon of Pittsburgh at the age of 37 was making a career out of being a rich man's son. His introduction to Schweitzer by reading was explosive. Like Schweitzer, Melon went back to college then to medical school and graduated MD the age of 44. He settled in Haiti with these wife, Gwen with a view to building the Albert Schweitzer Hospital of Haiti. Now, Schweitzer did not expect this kind of dramatic medical response from all who came in any kind of contact with him, but he did want them to open their eyes and seek another human being in need of a little time, a little friendliness, a little company, a little work. That's what he wrote in the Reader's Digest, just two months before he died. There's a lovely story told of him in a railroad station in Chicago, where he was met. And somebody read an address, welcoming him to the Windy city. And when they looked around, they couldn't see him. He had noticed a little old lady with two heavier suitcase and he had gone to help her get onto the train. And I think Peter would have said to our Lord, Schweitzer made your followers my Lord hold their heads a little higher. If he weren't a Christian, even a heretical Christian, there must be something to Christianity. He made the good life attractive. But forth my Lord, there has been criticism of this man. Some of it mellow and understanding, some bitter and debunking. He's accused of being cranky, dictatorial, irascible, vein or being obstinately old fashioned, of being a crusty old Bismarck. A magnificent tyrant. More seriously, he's accused of being an outdated colonial wearing the sun helmet as a badge of his cast whose attitude to the natives was paternal and benevolent, but who neither believed in nor had sympathy with the swelling tide of self-expression in the individual, in the race, in the possible nation throughout Africa. He did things for the Africans, not with them. He's been a deliberate bystander in the African convulsion. From another angle he's accused of being away behind the times in hospital techniques, surgical, medical, administrative, hygienic. The kindest critic has said that he should have died at 70 instead of at 90. Well maybe, at least he lived long enough to hear all the possible praise and censure that could be said of him. And so Peter bows to the throne, my Lord, that is an abbreviated synopsis of the record in my books regarding Albert Schweitzer. I would have preferred 20 hours to 20 minutes, but you know all things, I desist. And then the Lord Jesus says to the one who stands in front of him, "Doctor, or should it be doctors Schweitzer? You've heard the record. What shall I do with you? Do you go to my right hand or my left? And Dr. Schweitzer answers, "The air is clearer here than in Lambarene. I begin to understand my critics evaluation of me. I'm not ready for heaven. I'm not enthusiastic about going to the place prepared for the devil and his angels. Is it possible that our Roman Catholic brethren are right with their doctrine of purgatory? Maybe I could be prepared for heaven there." And Jesus answers and says unto him, "Would you make me out to be a liar in the days of my flesh? I said then those who feed the hungry and thirsty, who clothed the naked and visit the sick and prisoners, who accepts strangers as kittens for are the ones to inherit the kingdom. What do you think you've done all your life? I know the criticism. I agree with it, but some of it. But your critics fail to distinguish between what is good and what is right. You're a good man, a radically ethical man. Your implementation of the ethic did leave some things to be desired, but God judges by motive, by intent. Your motive was not primarily medical, not even consciously social and never political. It was moral, rooted in a religious affirmation. If I am true to what I said in the parable of the sheep and the goats, there's only one judgment I may pass on you. Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, come." And in the celestial background, some angelic organist is playing a corral prelude of Bach, according to the Widor, Schweitzer definitive edition. And now as we go forward in this Lantern season, preparing ourselves for the transitory triumph of Palm Sunday, for the remembrance of the institution of the Lord's Supper on Monday, Thursday, for the awful experience of the crucifixion on Good Friday, which is also bad Friday and for the good news of the defeat of death at Easter, let us just remember what Schweitzer says about Jesus in the closing paragraph of his masterly volume, "The Quest of the Historic Jesus." Here are his word. "He comes to us as one unknown without a name. As of old, by the lakeside, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word, follow thou me and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands and to those who will be Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings, which they shall pass through in His fellowship. And as an inextricable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience who He is." So let it be for us. Amen. (orchestral music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) (gentle instrumental music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) - Oh, Lord, bless this offering of your people. In your mercy, remember those who have brought it and those for whom it is intended through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (orchestral music) (orchestral music) (indistinct) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (orchestral music) (indistinct) (bell ringing) (instrumental music)