♪ Lord is gracious ♪ ♪ His mercy is everlasting ♪ ♪ And his truth ♪ ♪ Endureth from generation to generation ♪ ♪ For the Lord is gracious ♪ ♪ His mercy is everlasting ♪ ♪ And his truth ♪ ♪ Endureth from generation to generation ♪ ♪ For the Lord is gracious ♪ ♪ His mercy is everlasting ♪ ♪ And his truth ♪ ♪ Endureth from generation to generation ♪ ♪ From generation to generation ♪ ♪ To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ The God whom Heaven and earth adore ♪ ♪ From men and from the angel host ♪ ♪ Be praise and glory evermore ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ 

- Good morning, and we are happy that you are here worshiping with us in Duke Chapel. We have been led in worship by the Alamance Chorale and their director Mr. Sam Doyle. We always appreciate their visits to Duke Chapel and their leadership in our worship, and we appreciate the friendship of Dr. Walter Westefer who was a member of the congregation in Duke Chapel both for his flowers and his help in bringing the Alamance Chorale to us today. And now let us continue our worship. (soft organ music) ♪ How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord ♪ ♪ Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word ♪ ♪ What more can He say than to you He hath said ♪ ♪ Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled ♪ ♪ Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed ♪ ♪ For I am thy God and will still give thee aid ♪ ♪ I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand ♪ ♪ Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand ♪ ♪ When through the deep waters I call thee to go ♪ ♪ The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow ♪ ♪ For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless ♪ ♪ And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress ♪ ♪ When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie ♪ ♪ My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply ♪ ♪ The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design ♪ ♪ Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine ♪ ♪ The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose ♪ ♪ I will not, I will not desert to his foes ♪ ♪ That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake ♪ ♪ I'll never, no never, no never forsake ♪ 

- Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory to all the nations, preserve the works of your mercy that your church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your name through your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Please be seated. 

- Let us pray together. The prayer for elimination. Open our hearts and minds, oh God, by the power of your Holy Spirit so that as the word is read and proclaimed we might hear with joy what you say to us this day. Amen. The first lesson is taken from Micah. "Hear, you peoples, all of you "hearken, O earth, and all that is in it "and let the Lord God be a witness against you, "the Lord from the holy temple. "Woe to those who devise wickedness "and work evil upon their beds. "When the morning dawns, they perform it, "because it is in the power of their hand. "They covet fields, and seize them; "and houses, and take them away; "they oppress people and their houses, "people and their inheritance. "Therefore thus says the Lord; "Behold, against this family I am devising evil, "from which you cannot remove your necks; "and you shall not walk haughtily, "for it will be an evil time. "In that day they shall take up a taunting song against you, "and wail with bitter lamentation, "and say, we are utterly ruined; "the portion of my people has changed; "it is removed from me; "our fields are divided among our captors. "Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot "in the assembly of the Lord. "Do not preach, thus they preach, "one should not preach of such things; "disgrace will not overtake us. "Should this be said, O house of Jacob? "Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? "Are these God's doings? "Do not my words do good to the one who walks uprightly? "But you rise against my people as an enemy; "you strip the robe from the peaceful, "from those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war. "The women of my people you drive out "from their pleasant houses; "from their young children you take away my glory for ever. "Arise and go, for this is no place to rest; "because of uncleanness that destroys "with a grievous destruction." Here ends the reading of the first lesson. 

- Please stand for the reading of the psalter. Vindicate me, oh God, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in God without wavering. Prove me, oh God, and try me. Test my heart and my mind. 

People: For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 

- I hate the company of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O God, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and telling all your wondrous deeds. 

People: O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. 

Karen: Sweep me not away with sinners, nor my life with those who are bloodthirsty and whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes. 

People: But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I bless the Lord. ♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪ ♪ Praise to our Redeemer Lord ♪ ♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪ ♪ Ever three and ever one ♪ ♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ ♪ Now and ever more shall be ♪ 

- The gospel lesson is taken Saint Luke. Hear the word of the Lord. "On the way to Jerusalem, "Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee "and entering a village he was met by 10 people with leprosy "who stood at a distance "and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, master, have mercy on us. "And seeing them Jesus said, "go and show yourselves to the priests. "And as they went they were cleansed. "Then one of them, seeing that he was healed, "turned back praising God with a loud voice "and he fell down at Jesus' feet giving thanks. "Now that one was a Samaritan. "Then Jesus said, were not 10 cleansed? "Where are the nine? "Was no one found to return and give praise to God "except for this foreigner? "And Jesus said to him, rise and go your way. "Your faith has made you well." The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. ♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪ ♪ And thou givest them their meat in due season ♪ ♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪ ♪ And thou givest them their meat in due season ♪ ♪ Thou openest thine hand ♪ ♪ And satisfiest the desire of every living thing ♪ ♪ Of every living thing ♪ ♪ Of every living thing ♪ ♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪ ♪ And thou givest them their meat in due season ♪ ♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪ ♪ And thou givest them their meat in due season ♪ ♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪ ♪ Wait upon thee ♪ 

- The epistle lesson is taken from Paul's second letter to Timothy. "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, "descended from David as preached in my gospel, "the gospel for which I am suffering "and wearing fetters like a criminal. "But the word of God is not fettered. "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, "that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus "with its eternal glory. "The saying is sure. "If we have died with Christ, "we shall also live with Christ; "if we endure, we shall also reign with Christ; "if we make denial, Christ will deny us; "if we are faithless, that one remains faithful, "for there can be no denying of self. "Remind them of this and charge them before the Lord "to avoid disputing about words, "which does no good but only ruins the heroes. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, "a worker who has no need to be ashamed, "rightly handling the word of truth." Here ends the reading of the epistle lesson. 

- He owned a hardware store, and was a member of my congregation. When I moved to that congregation somebody had warned me about him. "He's usually quiet," they said, "but be careful." Because people in the congregation still remember that Sunday back in 1968 when, right in the middle of the sermon, the preacher's usual weekly diatribe against Nixon and the Vietnam war, he had stood up from where he was sitting in the congregation, shook his head angrily, and said, "Enough is enough." And he had walked out the back door of the church. Now, he had not walked out on a sermon in 10 years, but, nevertheless, you can understand why when I preached for the first few sermons there I kept on eye on my sermon notes and on eye on him. And you can imagine my anxiety on that Sunday when, at the end of the service, when everyone had filed out of the church and shaken my hand he was standing alone there in the narthex and approached me gritting his teeth saying, "I just don't see it the way you do, preacher." I moved into my best mode of defensive non-defensiveness, assuring him that, well, after all, the sermon was just one way of looking at it, and that perhaps he'd misunderstood what I was trying to say and maybe even if he had not misunderstood what I was trying to say, maybe I was wrong. And then he said something I've always remembered. "Don't you take it back," he snapped. "I just said your sermon shook me up. "I didn't ask you to take it back. "You stick by it if you're a real preacher." And then be said to me, with an almost desperate tone in his voice, "Look, preacher, I run a hardware store. "And sometimes the only thing "keeping me from complete despair "is whatever word of God I happen to hear in a sermon. "Don't dare take it back." It is an awesome, well nigh, impossible task to preach this word of God. Sometimes the only thing saving me from complete despair as a preacher is your encouragement of me as a congregation to dare to speak. I think some congregations get the preachers they deserve. Today's epistle is taken from Paul's second letter to Timothy. Paul writes his younger colleague, Timothy, from a jail cell. The source, by the way, of some of the best Christian writing. Paul tells Timothy to, "Remember Jesus Christ, as preached in my gospel." Paul, in jail, cannot be with Timothy to guide him, to be present with him. All that Timothy has now in Paul's forced absence, is remembrance of Paul's words. And it's just words. But it is for these words that Paul says, "I am now suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. "But the word of God is not fettered." Paul is in chains. He is fettered in some Roman Alcatraz. But they can't chain Paul's gospel. You can chain a man, but you can't chain words. You can't fetter words, the Word. And so Paul encourages Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God, "a workman who need not be ashamed, "rightly handling the word of truth." He doesn't tell Timothy to be polite. He doesn't urge him to be popular. He tells him to handle the Word, the unfettered Word. It would appear from Paul's letter here that the only thing for which a Christian preacher has to be ashamed is in poorly handling "the word of truth." So tell me, after the sermon, "That didn't make me feel good," or "William Buckley would kill you for that," or "Teddy Kennedy would curse you for that." I won't take offense, that's not the point. But tell me that I haven't handed over the unfettered word, and I'm supposed to go home sick. Paul is in chains. He cannot be with Timothy. He cannot be with the church. All he can do is to smuggle out some unfettered word. Of course there are chains and then there are chains. As a preacher, I too am in chains. No, nobody's ever threatened me with jail for my preaching. But iron bars do not a prison make. I like to be liked. Oh, I talk a good game of confrontation but, all other things being equal, I like to get along with people, I adore their approval, I pander to their praise. Look, I didn't get elected president of my class from the seventh to the eleventh grade in school by being calloused to what I said to other people. And as a preacher, particularly in this setting, oh, academic freedom. Academic freedom can be fettering for a preacher. I want to be academically approved, and therefore one mustn't be too simple or too trite in speaking. Latest books should be cited. When told, by one of our choir, last spring after a sermon, "That was a typical Willimon sermon, "a rather profound idea disguised as triviality." Well, I went home and inserted footnotes in my next sermon. I want to preach, to speak the word, but not in any unbalanced way, not to overstate, not to oversimplify complex intellectual matters, to lean too far on one side and not the other. This is a university pulpit, after all. I am chained. But the word of God is not fettered. I've just gotten back from Germany. There, 50 years ago, the church went through a devastating time, a devastating test during the "Hitlerzeit," the "Hitler Time," a test which, for the most part, the church flunked. As Karl Barth wrote, "When it came time for the German church to say no, "it was about 200 years too late, "the church having said yes to so much." The greatest theological minds of the German church had been enlisted to convince the church that the greatest task facing contemporary Christians is to communicate with the modern world. The modern world. But in leaning over to speak to this modem world, the church had fallen in. We had succeeded in preaching not only in a way that was acceptable to Copernicus and Darwin but also to the Nazis. Karl Barth was horrified that the church now lacked the theological resources to stand against Hitler. But having spent decades telling itself that the Bible is just one book among others, that the Jewishness of Jesus really wasn't that important, that Christianity is just one moment in the long march of the progress of all the world's great religions, there was nothing left wherewith to take a stand. We had lost means to resist, we had lost the means even to know that there was something worth resisting. "Jesus was not really a Jew," they had said. The important thing about Jesus is he is the greatest example of the highest and best of all humanity, the teacher of noble ideals. And it was a short step from the liberal Christ the-highest-in-humanity to the Nazi Superman. But the good news was that there was still some within the German Church, who remembered. Even in those self-wrought chains they remembered. In 1934 Karl Barth wrote The Barmen Declaration which began, "Jesus Christ, as he is attested in Holy Scripture, "is the one Word of God to which we have to listen "and trust in life and death. "And we reject as false doctrine "that the church would have to acknowledge "as a source of proclamation "apart from and besides this one Word of God, "other events, and powers, and figures and truths, "as God's revelation." You see, when the church was bereft of leaders, and power, and government protection, only one thing was left, there was only thing. The Word of God. The one Word of God, thank God, was not fettered. It is a fearful thing to be left, abandoned to our own devices, orphaned, in a world where there is not one person left to speak the unfettered word. Powerful social forces conspire to tempt the church to adopt, to adapt, to conform. Reinhold Niebuhr, as a young pastor, said that when he became a young pastor, he thought that there were so many tame, innocuous, trivial, little preachers because pastors feared that, if they spoke in the wrong way, they would get fired. Later, Niebuhr said, after he became a preacher, he learned the real truth. It is love of a congregation, rather than fear of them, that tames a preacher. "It is hard to speak unpleasant things "to people whom one has learned to love," said Niebuhr. And yet today's text reminds me that if I, as preacher, am silent out of love, if I chain the Gospel it's a false love, because the Word of God is just not fettered. Paul is in chains, but not his gospel. As long as there was just one person let loose, just one person to remember the word, one young preacher named Timothy still loose. I was serving in a little southern town when the racially segregated schools were integrated. And one night there was a meeting, and the meeting was attended by everybody in town of a certain color, and it was at the town's high school to decide what to do to save our schools. What could be done to keep them out of our schools? And one by one, angry speakers rose to call for boycott, to call for resistance, to call for violence even if that were necessary to protect ours from theirs. At the meeting there was this old, half-broken down Baptist preacher, and I think he had baptized or married or buried just about everybody of a certain color in that town at one time or another. He was old. His once clear bass voice now reduced to a whine and a crack. Just an old preacher, ready to be put out to pasture. He came late to the meeting that night, and he stood silently at the back and he listened. And after the meeting had gone on for some time, he moved silently to the microphone, and people passed to let him through, this honored old preacher. He stood before the microphone for a long moment in silence, his eyes swept across the gathered throng. And then he spoke in measured, sure, certain cadence. "There is neither male nor female. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, "slave nor free, white nor black. "There is one Lord. "And one faith. "And one baptism. "Galatians three. "Go home, and read your Bibles!" And then he walked out. And the meeting was over. Oh, they tried to get things started up again, but one by one people quietly slipped out. And the schools integrated that fall without incident. You see, we have our chains. But the Word of God is unfettered. This past summer, we drove down to a place between Lake City and Coward, South Carolina. I bet that some of you don't know where that is. We drove down to hear my father-in-law preach his third farewell sermon as he prepared to retire from the Christian ministry for the third time. After his first retirement, 10 years ago, he was sent by the bishop to some tiny little rural churches nobody else wanted to go to. But this year he told them that now, at last, he really was going to retire. He was going to retire for good and move to the mountains at Hendersonville to live among the Floridians. A hot Sunday summer sun rose over green tobacco fields and the service began in this beautiful little white church nestled there in a little grove of pine trees. And for the occasion he had asked a quartet of sweet, soprano voices to sing his favorite song, the 90 and Nine. If you've ever heard it, it's an old Irish song I think. It's about the story that Jesus told about a shepherd that leaves the 90 and nine, and goes out and looks for the one lost sheep. And they sang so sweetly. "There were ninety-and-nine, safe in the fold "and the shepherd goes out, "and looks for the one lost sheep." And they sang beautifully. I don't think I'd heard it since I was a child. Don't think it's ever been sung in Duke Chapel. But after they sang, he preached. Before he set off for the mountains of Hendersonville, Carl Parker preached. His text? Some other words from Paul about the depth and the height, and the breadth and the width of the love of God. And it was Father's Day, so he managed to work into the sermon a little bit about fathers and how beautiful it is to see how much fathers love their families and how much they cherish their children. And he said, you know, God loves us even more than that, even the greatest love we can imagine of a father, God's love is greater. And then abruptly right in the middle of the sermon, he started talking about a man who was to die the next day in the electric chair in Columbia, South Carolina. And I'd heard about the man because on the nightly news on the Saturday before, I'd seen a picture of this man who was on death row and somebody somewhere in South Carolina had held a worship service in remembrance for the victims of this man's criminal activities and their families. He had killed a couple of people, maimed a couple of others for life, in his rampage of terror. And the preacher at that worship service had declared that this man deserved more than any to die. The preacher had gotten carried away and said he wish he could go to Columbia and he just wished that he could take hold of that switch on that electric chair and throw the switch and dispose of this piece of human refuse. Well, Mr. Parker went into lurid detail describing this man's crimes. And then he said, "And yet, today's scripture, "and the sweet song which we have just heard, "says that God loves that man on death row, "that God values that man's soul "as much or more than he values ours." And the congregation got real quiet. "Why, according to Jesus' story of the Lost Sheep," the preacher continued, "God will gladly leave the 90-and-nine "who are gathered here this morning safe in the fold." I think there were about 90-and-nine of us there. "And he will go all the way to Columbia "and sit beside that man on death row, "just to get hold of that one lost sheep. "And Jesus said that when God gets him, "there is more joy in heaven over that "than over the 90-and-nine gathered here today. "The safe ones here in church." I noted at the end of the service the congregation seemed a lot more willing for preacher Parker to go on and retire to Hendersonville. Oh, he's old, he's long past time for decent retirement. They've got him now safely stored among the Floridians in Hendersonville. They're safe. He won't be preaching much anymore. But the Word of God is unfettered. ♪ O Spirit of the living God ♪ ♪ Thou light and fire divine ♪ ♪ Descend upon thy church once more ♪ ♪ And make it truly thine ♪ ♪ Fill it with love and joy and power ♪ ♪ With righteousness and peace ♪ ♪ Till Christ shall dwell in human hearts ♪ ♪ And sin and sorrow cease ♪ ♪ Blow, wind of God, with wisdom blow ♪ ♪ Until our minds are free ♪ ♪ From mists of error, clouds of doubt ♪ ♪ Which blind our eyes to thee ♪ ♪ Burn, winged fire, inspire our lips ♪ ♪ With flaming love and zeal ♪ ♪ To preach to all thy great good news ♪ ♪ God's glorious commonweal ♪ ♪ Teach us to utter living words ♪ ♪ Of truth which all may hear ♪ ♪ The language all may understand ♪ ♪ When love speaks loud and clear ♪ ♪ Till every age and race and clime ♪ ♪ Shall blend their creeds in one ♪ ♪ And earth shall form one family ♪ ♪ By whom thy will is done ♪ ♪ So shall we know the power of Christ ♪ ♪ Who came this world to save ♪ ♪ So shall we rise with him to life ♪ ♪ Which soars beyond the grave ♪ ♪ And earth shall win true holiness ♪ ♪ Which makes thy children whole ♪ ♪ Till, perfected by thee, we reach ♪ ♪ Creation's glorious goal ♪ 

- The Lord be with you. 

All: And also with you. 

- Let us pray. Gracious and everliving God, by your apostle you taught us to pray not only for ourselves but for others. Guide us by your Holy Spirit that our prayers for others may serve your will and reveal your steadfast love through Christ our Lord. Silently let us pray for the church. Loving God, who have called us to be the faithful church of Jesus Christ inspire us with your spirit of unity that we may be one in faith, hope, baptism and service. Grant us the courage to tell forth your good news to an unreceptive world, that all may come to know your love and live to show forth your glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray silently for the world. Creator God, in your wisdom you made all things, the earth in its fullness reveal your glory. We pray for the whole of creation. Direct the leaders of the nations, disturb those who perpetuate injustice, satisfy those who thirst for justice and liberation and relieve those who are hungry or impoverished so that all your children may enjoy and share the good earth that you have made through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray for the unemployed and the homeless. Almighty God, we pray for those who are fearful and anxious because they have no work, or because they have no shelter. Guide the people of these land and this community to use their resources so that all may find meaningful employment and adequate housing through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray for the sick and infirm. Compassionate God, in Jesus Christ you healed and cared for those who were sick. By your grace, heal those who are ill in mind, body or circumstance, working in them wonders beyond their expectations through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal God, accept the prayers of your people and strengthen us to do your will through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. With glad and thankful hearts, let us present our offerings of life and labor to the Lord. (soft organ music) ♪ O come, let us sing unto the Lord ♪ ♪ Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation ♪ ♪ Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving ♪ ♪ And shew ourselves glad in him with psalms ♪ ♪ For the Lord is a great God ♪ ♪ And a great King above all gods ♪ ♪ In his hand are all the corners of the earth ♪ ♪ And the strength of the hills is his also ♪ ♪ The sea is his, and he made it ♪ ♪ And his hands prepared the dry land ♪ ♪ The sea is his, and he made it ♪ ♪ And his hands prepared the dry land ♪ ♪ O come, let us worship and fall down ♪ ♪ And kneel before the Lord our Maker ♪ ♪ For he is our God and we are his people ♪ ♪ He is our shepherd and we are his flock ♪ ♪ O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ♪ ♪ Let the whole earth stand in awe of him ♪ ♪ In awe of him ♪ ♪ For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth ♪ ♪ And with righteousness to judge the world ♪ ♪ And the peoples with his truth ♪ ♪ With his truth ♪ ♪ O come, let us sing unto the Lord ♪ ♪ Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation ♪ ♪ For he is the Lord ♪ ♪ For he is the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Our God ♪ ♪ Our God ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ 

- Let us pray. Almighty and compassionate God from whom comes every blessing and every good gift, we give you thanks for the goodness and mercy which you have bestowed upon us and upon all that you have made. We praise you for your immeasurable love revealed in the redemption of the world by Jesus Christs. Grant us such an awareness of your mercies that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips but also in our lives by giving ourselves up to your service and by walking in your paths all of our days. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who taught us to pray saying. 

All: 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. Amen. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. (imposing choral music) (soft organ music)