WEBVTT
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Duke University Chapel Service of Worship.
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July 23rd, 1978.
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(soft organ music)
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(cheerful organ music)
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(inspirational organ music)
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(soft organ music)
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♪ Now God be praised in heaven above ♪
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♪ Praised be he for his great love ♪
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♪ Wherein all creatures live and move ♪
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♪ Hallelujah ♪
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♪ Hallelujah ♪
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♪ Hallelujah ♪
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(soft organ music)
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♪ Joyful joyful we adore thee ♪
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♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
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♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪
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♪ Opening to the sun above ♪
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♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
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♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪
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♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪
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♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪
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♪ All thy works with joy surround me ♪
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♪ Earth and heaven reflect thy rays ♪
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♪ Stars and angels sing around thee ♪
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♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪
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♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪
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♪ Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪
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♪ Singing bird and flowing fountain ♪
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♪ Call us to rejoice in thee ♪
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♪ Thou art giving and forgiving ♪
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♪ Ever blessing, ever blest ♪
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♪ Wellspring of the joy of living ♪
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♪ Ocean depth of happy rest ♪
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♪ Thou our Father, Christ our Brother ♪
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♪ All who live in love are thine ♪
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♪ Teach us how to love each other ♪
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♪ Lift us to the joy divine ♪
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♪ Mortals join the happy chorus ♪
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♪ Which the morning stars began ♪
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♪ Father love is reigning o'er us ♪
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♪ Brother love binds man to man ♪
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♪ Ever singing, march we onward ♪
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♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪
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♪ Joyful music leads us sunward ♪
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♪ In the triumph song of life ♪
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♪ Amen ♪
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As the people of God gather to acknowledge
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and praise the glory of God,
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and the gift of Jesus Christ,
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and the presence of the Spirit,
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and the neighbors whom we are to love and serve,
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it is fitting that we acknowledge in confession
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our weaknesses, our sins, our need.
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Let us join in the prayer of confession.
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Oh God, forgive our pretense of self-sufficiency,
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our claim to be in control of our destinies,
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and our pride in thinking that we live
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decent and honorable lives.
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Help us to face and overcome our ignorance
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of the human need
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that our relative wealth and influence
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could help to meet,
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our evasion of responsibility for wrong
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because we know that righting it would change
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our way of life,
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and most of all,
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our indifference to the suffering of others.
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We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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Let us continue in our own personal individual confession.
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May Almighty God who caused the light
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to shine out of darkness,
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shine in our hearts,
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cleansing us from all our sins,
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and restoring us to the light of the knowledge
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of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Amen.
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Let us give thanks,
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for God is good,
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and God's love is everlasting.
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Thanks be to God who creates us.
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Thanks be to God by whose mercy we are redeemed.
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Thanks be to God whose Spirit leads us into the future.
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It is a very special privilege today
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to welcome back to this chapel and its leadership
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the long time and greatly appreciated
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Dean of the Chapel,
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also, James B. Duke Professor of Preaching
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in Duke Divinity School,
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Dr. James T. Cleland,
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whose health has kept him away for awhile,
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and whose return we rejoice in.
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It is our privilege also to have
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as our chapel preacher today
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a former student of his,
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a distinguished graduate of Duke University
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and of Duke Divinity School,
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a minister in nearby
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Long Memorial United Methodist Church in Roxboro,
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and a friend to all who come here
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to hear Handel's Messiah,
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the Reverend Charles Michael Smith,
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who will deliver the sermon today.
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Before we hear the reading of the Scripture,
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let us pray.
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Blessed Lord who has caused all holy scriptures
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to be written for our learning,
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grant that we may in such wise hear them,
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read, mark, learn, and inwardly adjust them.
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That by patience and comfort of thy holy Word,
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we may embrace and ever hold fast
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the blessed hope of everlasting life,
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which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.
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Amen.
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(whispering)
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It is good to be back with you.
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The Old Testament lesson, first book of Kings,
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the third chapter,
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verses five to 15.
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God is speaking to Solomon.
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"What shall I give you?
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"Tell me.
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"And Solomon answered,
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"'Thou didst show great and constant love
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"'to thy servant David, my father,
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"'because he walked before thee in loyalty,
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"'righteousness, and integrity of heart.
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"'And thou hast maintained this great
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"'and constant love toward him,
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"'and has now given him a son
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"'to succeed him on the throne.
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"'Now, oh Lord, my God,
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"'thou hast made thy servant king
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"'in place of my father, David,
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"'though I am a mere child,
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"'unskilled in leadership,
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"'and I am here in the midst of thy people,
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"'the people of thy choice,
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"'too many to be numbered or counted.
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"'Give thy servant, therefore, a heart
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"'with skill to listen,
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"'so that he may govern thy people justly
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"'and distinguish good from evil.
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"'For who is equal to the task of governing
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"'this great people of thine?'
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"The Lord was well pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
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"And said to him,
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"'Because you have asked for this,
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"'and not for long life for yourself,
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"'or for the wealth,
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"'or for the lives of your enemies,
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"'but have asked for discernment
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"'in administering justice,
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"'I grant your request.
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"'I give you a heart so wise and so understanding
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"'that there has been none like you before your time,
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"'nor will be after you.
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"'I give you, furthermore,
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"'those things for which you did not ask.
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"'Such wealth and honor
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"'as no king of your time can match.
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"'And if you conform to my ways
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"'and observe my ordinances and commandments
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"'as your father David did,
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"'I will give you long life.'
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"Then he awoke and knew it was a dream,
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"and Solomon came to Jerusalem
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"and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
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"And there, he sacrificed whole offerings
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"and brought shared offerings,
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"and gave a feast to all his household."
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Here endeth the Old Testament lesson.
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(soft organ music)
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(choir members singing)
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"The kingdom of heaven
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"is like treasure buried in a field.
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"The man who found it, buried it again.
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"And for sheer joy,
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"went and sold everything he had
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"and bought that field.
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"Here is another picture of the kingdom of heaven.
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"A merchant looking out for fine pearls
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"found one of very special value,
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"so he went and sold everything he had
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"and bought it.
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"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net
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"let down into the sea,
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"where fish of every kind were caught in it.
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"When it was full, it was dragged ashore.
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"Then the men sat down and collected
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"the good fish into pails
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"and threw the worthless away.
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"And that is how it will be
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"at the end of time.
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"The angels will go forth,
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"and they will separate the wicked from the good,
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"and throw them into the blazing furnace.
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"A place of wailing and grinding of teeth.
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"'Have you understood all this?' Jesus asked.
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"And they answered, 'Yes.'
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"He said to them,
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"'When therefore a teacher of the law
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"'has become a learner in the kingdom of heaven,
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"'he is like a householder
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"'who can produce from his store
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"'both new and old.'"
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Amen.
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Here endeth the New Testament lesson.
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(soft organ music)
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(congregation singing)
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In the name of the Father,
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and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
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Come September, it will be 20 years
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since I came here as a freshman.
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I was reminded of this movement of time recently
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when I received an invitation
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to my high school class' 20th reunion
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to be held next month.
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The invitation sent me off to the attic
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to retrieve my 1958 high school yearbook,
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and began the process of seeing
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how much my classmates had changed,
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and to get a headstart on remembering names and faces.
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And while chuckling over the hairstyles
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and the clothing styles that looked
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straight out of Happy Days and Grease,
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I noticed something I'd pretty much forgotten.
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There beside each senior's picture
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was a quotation chosen from some famous source
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that was intended to say something
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about the person it was placed by.
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Now all of them were complimentary,
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some more so than others.
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And for a few examples,
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"Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding".
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And a bit more mundane,
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"I never saw a waist so slender".
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The one chosen for me came from the Old Testament.
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"A wise man is strong.
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"Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength."
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Well, as my head swelled
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and I commended the editor for her clairvoyance,
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I read on until I came to an even better quotation.
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"He had the wisdom of many."
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And saw it placed next to a classmate
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who had gone on to have several scrapes with the law.
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Despite the quotations,
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most of us in the class of 1958
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were much more likely to be young and foolish
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than to be mature and wise.
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And that's the way it usually is with people
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going through the late adolescent,
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young adult passage.
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And that's the way it probably was
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for the 20-year-old son of Israel's King David, Solomon,
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when he succeeded his father as king
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nearly 3000 years ago.
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Solomon was about the age of a college junior
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when his half brother, handsome Adonijah,
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the crowned prince after Absalom's abortive coup,
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mounted his own campaign to be his father's successor.
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When Nathan the prophet heard of Adonijah's actions,
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he arranged a charade with Bathsheba,
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Solomon's mother,
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in which the two of them would convince old David
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that he had made a solemn promise
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long ago to Bathsheba that Solomon,
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and not Adonijah, would be king.
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David fell for it, and had Solomon
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anointed king right away.
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And with that, Adonijah's campaign ended,
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00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:08.373
and he made temporary peace with Solomon.
272
00:37:09.560 --> 00:37:11.320
The next scene in the Solomon story
273
00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.680
sounds like something out of
274
00:37:12.680 --> 00:37:15.300
Mario Puzo's The Godfather.
275
00:37:15.300 --> 00:37:17.590
David, despite the good efforts
276
00:37:17.590 --> 00:37:20.930
of his beautiful bed warmer, Abishag the Shunammite,
277
00:37:20.930 --> 00:37:23.560
grew weaker, and called in Solomon
278
00:37:23.560 --> 00:37:26.560
for a final father-son talk about kinging.
279
00:37:27.550 --> 00:37:30.610
Following a pious appeal for obeying the Lord,
280
00:37:30.610 --> 00:37:33.720
David gave Solomon an enemies list
281
00:37:33.720 --> 00:37:36.100
that the new king was to rub out,
282
00:37:36.100 --> 00:37:39.150
so that his father David would be avenged.
283
00:37:39.150 --> 00:37:42.298
All shades of Vito and Michael Corleone.
284
00:37:43.470 --> 00:37:45.460
Solomon did as his father requested
285
00:37:45.460 --> 00:37:47.083
shortly following David's death,
286
00:37:48.100 --> 00:37:51.470
and he even had Adonijah killed for good measure,
287
00:37:51.470 --> 00:37:53.612
after Adonijah had the effrontery
288
00:37:53.612 --> 00:37:57.033
to ask for Abishag as his wife.
289
00:37:58.340 --> 00:38:01.540
With the death of his enemies and his rival,
290
00:38:01.540 --> 00:38:05.000
Solomon was in complete control internally,
291
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:07.460
and began securing the kingdom's borders
292
00:38:07.460 --> 00:38:09.770
by marrying one of Pharaoh's daughters,
293
00:38:09.770 --> 00:38:12.493
and thereby entering into an alliance with Egypt.
294
00:38:13.560 --> 00:38:15.450
It's at this point
295
00:38:15.450 --> 00:38:20.290
that this morning's first or Old Testament lesson begins.
296
00:38:20.290 --> 00:38:22.250
Solomon had gone up to Gibeon,
297
00:38:22.250 --> 00:38:26.090
a famous holy place just a short ways from Jerusalem,
298
00:38:26.090 --> 00:38:28.090
to offer sacrifices.
299
00:38:28.090 --> 00:38:30.700
And that night, the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
300
00:38:30.700 --> 00:38:32.070
something that happened frequently
301
00:38:32.070 --> 00:38:34.570
to Israel's leaders in their dealings with Yahweh.
302
00:38:35.440 --> 00:38:39.783
But in this case, God came with only one question.
303
00:38:40.647 --> 00:38:43.687
"What would you like me to give you?"
304
00:38:45.900 --> 00:38:49.830
Solomon praised God for his help given to David,
305
00:38:49.830 --> 00:38:52.833
and for allowing him, Solomon, to become king.
306
00:38:53.690 --> 00:38:55.680
And he also, in his humility,
307
00:38:55.680 --> 00:38:57.557
acknowledged his inexperience
308
00:38:57.557 --> 00:39:01.453
and his need and his youth.
309
00:39:02.340 --> 00:39:07.320
He asked for wisdom or a listening heart,
310
00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:10.890
an understanding heart or an understanding mind,
311
00:39:10.890 --> 00:39:13.470
as the various translators have it,
312
00:39:13.470 --> 00:39:15.500
so that he could rule the great people
313
00:39:15.500 --> 00:39:18.030
God had given him with justice,
314
00:39:18.030 --> 00:39:20.563
discerning between good and evil.
315
00:39:22.130 --> 00:39:24.660
His request obviously delighted Yahweh,
316
00:39:24.660 --> 00:39:28.160
and he promised him not only more wisdom and understanding
317
00:39:28.160 --> 00:39:31.260
than anyone had ever had or would have,
318
00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:34.240
but what he had not asked for as well.
319
00:39:34.240 --> 00:39:38.060
Wealth and honor and long life,
320
00:39:38.060 --> 00:39:41.093
as long as he kept God's laws and commandments.
321
00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:45.470
When Solomon woke up and realized what had happened,
322
00:39:45.470 --> 00:39:47.310
he went back to Jerusalem,
323
00:39:47.310 --> 00:39:50.030
stood before the ark of the covenant,
324
00:39:50.030 --> 00:39:51.950
offered sacrifices,
325
00:39:51.950 --> 00:39:53.943
and gave a party for all his friends.
326
00:39:55.150 --> 00:39:56.650
That last part makes him sound
327
00:39:56.650 --> 00:39:58.540
like a college junior indeed.
328
00:39:58.540 --> 00:39:59.823
Perhaps a Duke one.
329
00:40:01.720 --> 00:40:04.410
Soon after receiving his divine gift,
330
00:40:04.410 --> 00:40:08.600
Solomon was given an opportunity to demonstrate it.
331
00:40:08.600 --> 00:40:10.990
Two prostitutes or harlots,
332
00:40:10.990 --> 00:40:13.460
as some of the more gentler Biblical translations
333
00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:14.880
refer to them,
334
00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:17.070
came to Solomon asking him to judge
335
00:40:17.070 --> 00:40:19.493
which one was the real mother
336
00:40:19.493 --> 00:40:21.463
of the baby boy before him.
337
00:40:22.660 --> 00:40:25.020
The first stated that both of them
338
00:40:25.020 --> 00:40:27.070
had given birth recently,
339
00:40:27.070 --> 00:40:28.810
but that the other woman had accidentally
340
00:40:28.810 --> 00:40:31.210
smothered her son,
341
00:40:31.210 --> 00:40:32.520
and that during the night,
342
00:40:32.520 --> 00:40:35.240
she had gotten out of her bed,
343
00:40:35.240 --> 00:40:39.290
moved over to her friend's bed,
344
00:40:39.290 --> 00:40:41.423
and stolen her friend's son.
345
00:40:42.710 --> 00:40:44.440
When the other woman had her say,
346
00:40:44.440 --> 00:40:47.123
she denied completely the first woman's story.
347
00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:51.283
So, Solomon was put to the test how to decide.
348
00:40:52.570 --> 00:40:55.595
You remember this probably from Sunday school days.
349
00:40:55.595 --> 00:40:57.580
He sent for a sword,
350
00:40:57.580 --> 00:41:00.830
and commanded that the child be cut in two,
351
00:41:00.830 --> 00:41:03.073
with a half given to each mother.
352
00:41:04.230 --> 00:41:08.283
Well, the second woman thought this was a capital idea.
353
00:41:09.520 --> 00:41:11.570
But the first one cried out
354
00:41:11.570 --> 00:41:14.693
that the child be spared and given to the other plaintiff.
355
00:41:15.552 --> 00:41:19.150
And Solomon judged correctly from this
356
00:41:19.150 --> 00:41:21.270
that the one who wanted the child kept alive,
357
00:41:21.270 --> 00:41:23.000
even at the cost of not being able
358
00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:24.930
to have the child herself,
359
00:41:24.930 --> 00:41:26.520
was the true mother,
360
00:41:26.520 --> 00:41:28.403
and he awarded the child to her.
361
00:41:29.580 --> 00:41:33.960
Word of Solomon's wise decision spread throughout Israel,
362
00:41:33.960 --> 00:41:36.173
and respect for the young king deepened.
363
00:41:37.750 --> 00:41:40.400
His wisdom as an administrator
364
00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:41.870
was demonstrated in the manner in which
365
00:41:41.870 --> 00:41:43.960
he organized the kingdom,
366
00:41:43.960 --> 00:41:45.963
built the long awaited temple,
367
00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:51.920
and constructed a lavish palace for himself.
368
00:41:52.060 --> 00:41:53.820
The writer of 1 Kings describes
369
00:41:53.820 --> 00:41:57.517
the greatness of Solomon as a king in these words.
370
00:41:57.517 --> 00:41:59.397
"And God gave Solomon wisdom
371
00:41:59.397 --> 00:42:02.417
"and understanding beyond measure,
372
00:42:02.417 --> 00:42:03.957
"in largeness of mind,
373
00:42:03.957 --> 00:42:06.467
"like the sand on the seashore,
374
00:42:06.467 --> 00:42:08.477
"so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed
375
00:42:08.477 --> 00:42:10.827
"the wisdom of all the people of the east
376
00:42:10.827 --> 00:42:13.227
"and all the wisdom of Egypt,
377
00:42:13.227 --> 00:42:16.407
"for he was wiser than all men,
378
00:42:16.407 --> 00:42:18.157
"and men came from all peoples
379
00:42:18.157 --> 00:42:20.147
"to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
380
00:42:20.147 --> 00:42:22.677
"And from all the kings of the earth
381
00:42:22.677 --> 00:42:24.527
"who had heard of his wisdom."
382
00:42:26.270 --> 00:42:30.390
Not only men, but women by the hundreds
383
00:42:30.390 --> 00:42:31.743
also came to Solomon.
384
00:42:32.930 --> 00:42:35.737
A recent bestseller, "The Book of Lists",
385
00:42:36.620 --> 00:42:41.620
lists Solomon not as the world's wisest or richest man,
386
00:42:42.608 --> 00:42:45.463
but for his prowess as a lover.
387
00:42:46.350 --> 00:42:50.874
Take that, Casanova, Don Giovanni, and Warren Beatty.
388
00:42:50.874 --> 00:42:52.210
(congregation members laughing)
389
00:42:52.210 --> 00:42:54.040
The reason for this honor lies
390
00:42:54.040 --> 00:42:57.670
with the number of his wives and concubines.
391
00:42:57.670 --> 00:43:01.003
A nice round figure of 1000.
392
00:43:02.760 --> 00:43:05.920
One special woman who called on Solomon
393
00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:08.190
was the fabled Queen of Sheba.
394
00:43:08.190 --> 00:43:10.530
She came to test him with riddles.
395
00:43:10.530 --> 00:43:13.030
But Solomon answered all her questions right away.
396
00:43:14.160 --> 00:43:16.430
She was so overwhelmed with his wisdom,
397
00:43:16.430 --> 00:43:19.332
wealth, piety, and elegance,
398
00:43:19.332 --> 00:43:21.260
that she criticized the earlier reports
399
00:43:21.260 --> 00:43:23.258
she had received on him,
400
00:43:23.258 --> 00:43:26.740
not for being too glorious,
401
00:43:26.740 --> 00:43:29.233
but for not having been extravagant enough.
402
00:43:30.427 --> 00:43:32.435
Following a massive exchange of gifts,
403
00:43:32.435 --> 00:43:33.903
she returned home.
404
00:43:35.110 --> 00:43:37.470
And Solomon's fame continued to grow.
405
00:43:37.470 --> 00:43:39.600
So much so that we are told
406
00:43:39.600 --> 00:43:43.280
the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon
407
00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:44.890
to hear his wisdom,
408
00:43:44.890 --> 00:43:46.743
which God had put into his mind.
409
00:43:47.660 --> 00:43:49.670
Every one of them brought his present.
410
00:43:49.670 --> 00:43:51.840
Articles of silver and gold,
411
00:43:51.840 --> 00:43:55.510
garments, myrrh, spices, horses and mules,
412
00:43:55.510 --> 00:43:56.993
so much year by year.
413
00:43:59.462 --> 00:44:03.110
Almost the entire story of Solomon
414
00:44:03.950 --> 00:44:07.550
is one long pan to this wisest and wealthiest
415
00:44:07.550 --> 00:44:09.713
of all kings for all time.
416
00:44:10.800 --> 00:44:13.030
His name is mentioned nearly 300 times
417
00:44:13.030 --> 00:44:16.210
in the Old Testament, and a dozen times in the New.
418
00:44:16.210 --> 00:44:19.660
He's credited with uttering 3000 proverbs
419
00:44:19.660 --> 00:44:22.040
and 1005 songs.
420
00:44:22.040 --> 00:44:24.360
That's even more than the Bee Gees,
421
00:44:24.360 --> 00:44:26.713
though about 5000 less than Charles Wesley.
422
00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:29.740
His wealth was said to exceed
423
00:44:29.740 --> 00:44:32.063
25 million dollars annually.
424
00:44:33.140 --> 00:44:36.080
And through a series of shrewd marriages,
425
00:44:36.080 --> 00:44:38.100
he fashioned political alliances
426
00:44:38.100 --> 00:44:39.740
that allowed him to maintain the kingdom
427
00:44:39.740 --> 00:44:41.340
established by his father David.
428
00:44:42.570 --> 00:44:46.340
Almost the entire story of Solomon
429
00:44:46.340 --> 00:44:49.253
is one unbroken success story.
430
00:44:50.120 --> 00:44:52.533
Almost, but not quite.
431
00:44:54.453 --> 00:44:57.560
For Solomon's final days
432
00:44:57.560 --> 00:44:59.170
were spent in the knowledge
433
00:44:59.170 --> 00:45:00.840
that the kingdom he had worked to maintain
434
00:45:00.840 --> 00:45:02.923
was going to be split.
435
00:45:04.120 --> 00:45:05.513
Not in his lifetime,
436
00:45:06.370 --> 00:45:08.463
but in the reign of his son, Rehoboam.
437
00:45:10.063 --> 00:45:11.260
And this punishment was decreed
438
00:45:11.260 --> 00:45:16.260
by the very same God who had given Solomon wisdom,
439
00:45:18.060 --> 00:45:19.880
but who charged Solomon
440
00:45:20.840 --> 00:45:24.210
with having been unfaithful to him,
441
00:45:24.210 --> 00:45:27.673
not being faithful to him as had his father David.
442
00:45:29.170 --> 00:45:32.240
The writer of 1 Kings blamed not Solomon,
443
00:45:32.240 --> 00:45:35.500
but Solomon's foreign wives,
444
00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:37.437
for his unfaithfulness.
445
00:45:37.437 --> 00:45:38.880
Because they not only brought
446
00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:41.740
themselves from their countries,
447
00:45:41.740 --> 00:45:45.160
but they brought their religions with them as well.
448
00:45:45.160 --> 00:45:49.160
And Solomon, out of political expediency,
449
00:45:49.160 --> 00:45:52.550
chose to set up temples for these foreign gods,
450
00:45:52.550 --> 00:45:54.993
and even offered sacrifices there.
451
00:45:56.560 --> 00:46:01.260
So thus, did the 40-year reign of King Solomon,
452
00:46:01.260 --> 00:46:03.460
born amidst palace intrigue
453
00:46:03.460 --> 00:46:07.090
but lived in widely acclaimed splendor,
454
00:46:07.090 --> 00:46:08.293
draw to a close.
455
00:46:11.390 --> 00:46:13.690
On the basis of the evidence,
456
00:46:13.690 --> 00:46:15.560
it looks as though Solomon's choice of wisdom
457
00:46:15.560 --> 00:46:17.870
is the thing most to be prized in all the world
458
00:46:17.870 --> 00:46:19.103
was right on target.
459
00:46:19.940 --> 00:46:22.563
It really worked well for him, at any rate.
460
00:46:24.180 --> 00:46:26.470
Although he did falter
461
00:46:26.470 --> 00:46:28.110
and play the fool
462
00:46:28.110 --> 00:46:29.950
where his foreign wives and their
463
00:46:29.950 --> 00:46:31.763
foreign religions were concerned.
464
00:46:33.410 --> 00:46:36.590
We still prize wisdom in our day,
465
00:46:36.590 --> 00:46:38.800
3000 years later.
466
00:46:38.800 --> 00:46:43.020
And certainly we do in the universities.
467
00:46:43.020 --> 00:46:46.090
These places where, as Winston Churchill said,
468
00:46:46.090 --> 00:46:49.453
their chief business is the teaching of wisdom.
469
00:46:50.490 --> 00:46:54.280
We come here and want our children to come here
470
00:46:55.430 --> 00:46:57.060
because we want them to learn
471
00:46:57.060 --> 00:46:59.300
the wisdom of the ages.
472
00:46:59.300 --> 00:47:01.350
And some of us who work here
473
00:47:01.350 --> 00:47:06.350
not only transmit past knowledge and wisdom,
474
00:47:06.660 --> 00:47:09.430
but have a part in the creation
475
00:47:09.430 --> 00:47:10.770
of new wisdom and knowledge
476
00:47:10.770 --> 00:47:12.943
through research and writing.
477
00:47:14.510 --> 00:47:18.410
Certainly we prize wisdom in our leaders.
478
00:47:18.410 --> 00:47:20.610
Be they political, academic,
479
00:47:20.610 --> 00:47:23.150
commercial, or ecclesiastical.
480
00:47:23.150 --> 00:47:25.920
We want them to have the understanding mind,
481
00:47:25.920 --> 00:47:28.140
the listening heart
482
00:47:28.140 --> 00:47:30.650
that Solomon asked for,
483
00:47:30.650 --> 00:47:32.910
and the ability to know the difference
484
00:47:32.910 --> 00:47:34.103
between good and evil.
485
00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:37.380
Harry Truman used Solomon's prayer
486
00:47:37.380 --> 00:47:38.540
at his inauguration
487
00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:40.950
when he was feeling inadequate to follow
488
00:47:40.950 --> 00:47:43.720
a highly successful predecessor.
489
00:47:43.720 --> 00:47:46.700
And whether his prayer was answered positively or not
490
00:47:46.700 --> 00:47:49.700
depends on what you think of Truman's decisions
491
00:47:49.700 --> 00:47:50.850
while he was in office.
492
00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:54.930
We want our leaders to exhibit wisdom,
493
00:47:54.930 --> 00:47:57.453
and we prize this gift for ourselves.
494
00:47:58.340 --> 00:48:01.200
In my case, wouldn't it be great
495
00:48:01.200 --> 00:48:04.210
if some of my high school classmates
496
00:48:04.210 --> 00:48:06.867
came up to me at next month's reunion and said,
497
00:48:06.867 --> 00:48:11.157
"Gee, that quote placed by you in the yearbook,
498
00:48:11.157 --> 00:48:15.240
"that quote about wisdom and you hit the nail on the head".
499
00:48:15.240 --> 00:48:18.193
However, I'm not planning on that happening.
500
00:48:19.970 --> 00:48:22.695
One of the things I'm not looking forward to
501
00:48:22.695 --> 00:48:25.030
at the reunion
502
00:48:25.030 --> 00:48:29.170
is the prospect of playing games with my classmates,
503
00:48:29.170 --> 00:48:31.610
as we try sometimes ever so subtly
504
00:48:32.510 --> 00:48:34.440
to impress each other with our
505
00:48:34.440 --> 00:48:37.773
attainments and acquisitions over the past two decades.
506
00:48:38.890 --> 00:48:41.530
I'd much rather have fun comparing hair color,
507
00:48:41.530 --> 00:48:43.363
hairlines and waistlines.
508
00:48:44.500 --> 00:48:48.230
But I fell into this let's impress each other game recently
509
00:48:49.100 --> 00:48:51.100
with an attractive woman that I had met
510
00:48:51.100 --> 00:48:53.410
here in the early '60s
511
00:48:53.410 --> 00:48:55.660
when she dated one of my fraternity brothers.
512
00:48:56.590 --> 00:48:59.130
She let me know that since then,
513
00:48:59.130 --> 00:49:01.980
she had dated another fraternity brother,
514
00:49:01.980 --> 00:49:04.680
who was much more famous than the one I had mentioned,
515
00:49:05.610 --> 00:49:08.083
that she is married to a doctor,
516
00:49:09.080 --> 00:49:12.517
and that they have a vacation home on Bald Head Island.
517
00:49:14.020 --> 00:49:16.880
I was impressed with how well she has done
518
00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:20.003
since I last saw her.
519
00:49:21.297 --> 00:49:23.040
And I was also amused at how anxious
520
00:49:23.040 --> 00:49:24.773
she seemed to be to impress me.
521
00:49:26.020 --> 00:49:26.920
And it struck me
522
00:49:27.970 --> 00:49:31.520
that she might be having similar thoughts
523
00:49:31.520 --> 00:49:34.120
concerning what I was telling her
524
00:49:34.120 --> 00:49:36.973
about what had happened to me in the interval.
525
00:49:39.410 --> 00:49:43.393
Fairytales such as Cinderella and Aladdin's lamp,
526
00:49:44.360 --> 00:49:47.270
and biblical stories such as Solomon's,
527
00:49:47.270 --> 00:49:50.300
have a continuing fascination for us,
528
00:49:50.300 --> 00:49:52.910
since most of us would love to be visited
529
00:49:52.910 --> 00:49:55.740
by a fairy godmother or a genie,
530
00:49:55.740 --> 00:49:58.803
or best of all, the Lord God Almighty,
531
00:49:59.800 --> 00:50:02.760
and given the opportunity to wish for anything in the world,
532
00:50:02.760 --> 00:50:05.240
and no matter how farfetched,
533
00:50:05.240 --> 00:50:06.303
have it come true.
534
00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:11.223
Prior to Thursday night of this week,
535
00:50:12.090 --> 00:50:14.150
many of us might have wished to live
536
00:50:14.150 --> 00:50:16.690
in marvelous Marin County,
537
00:50:16.690 --> 00:50:19.210
the golden ghetto by the Golden Gate Bridge
538
00:50:19.210 --> 00:50:20.540
across from San Francisco.
539
00:50:20.540 --> 00:50:21.463
And why not?
540
00:50:22.310 --> 00:50:24.330
It has great beauty,
541
00:50:24.330 --> 00:50:27.000
mediterranean-like climate,
542
00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:30.770
affluence, beautiful people, leisure,
543
00:50:30.770 --> 00:50:32.460
and a phenomenal amount of striving
544
00:50:32.460 --> 00:50:36.333
through trendy therapies for personal fulfillment.
545
00:50:37.390 --> 00:50:41.487
However, NBCTV's documentary on Marin County,
546
00:50:41.487 --> 00:50:43.337
"I Want It All Now",
547
00:50:44.210 --> 00:50:46.800
reveals some not so marvelous things
548
00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:49.060
about this paradise.
549
00:50:49.060 --> 00:50:51.850
Things that caused Edwin Newman and others at NBC
550
00:50:51.850 --> 00:50:53.940
to examine it for us,
551
00:50:53.940 --> 00:50:56.000
since it appears to represent
552
00:50:56.000 --> 00:51:00.040
where the American dream may be taking us
553
00:51:00.040 --> 00:51:01.813
as we approach a new decade.
554
00:51:02.900 --> 00:51:04.993
Along with all its glories,
555
00:51:05.840 --> 00:51:10.293
Marin County also has a 75% divorce rate,
556
00:51:11.140 --> 00:51:15.143
and very high alcoholism and suicide statistics.
557
00:51:16.220 --> 00:51:18.580
A song written about the county
558
00:51:18.580 --> 00:51:22.013
says that it is where the rainbow touches down.
559
00:51:23.630 --> 00:51:25.760
But not too many of the residents
560
00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:29.240
are finding any pot of gold
561
00:51:29.240 --> 00:51:30.713
at that rainbow's end.
562
00:51:31.800 --> 00:51:34.367
Instead, they are left asking,
563
00:51:34.367 --> 00:51:39.367
"If I'm not happy here, then where will I be?
564
00:51:41.067 --> 00:51:43.837
"Will I be ever?"
565
00:51:46.470 --> 00:51:48.600
The prevailing wisdom at the time
566
00:51:48.600 --> 00:51:50.520
when Solomon's story was written
567
00:51:51.460 --> 00:51:55.293
taught that if you were healthy, wealthy, and wise,
568
00:51:56.290 --> 00:51:58.780
it was because you were a good person
569
00:51:58.780 --> 00:52:00.523
and God was rewarding you.
570
00:52:01.460 --> 00:52:03.290
On the other hand,
571
00:52:03.290 --> 00:52:06.780
if you were sick, poor, and stupid,
572
00:52:06.780 --> 00:52:07.980
it meant that you had sinned
573
00:52:07.980 --> 00:52:10.160
and God was punishing you.
574
00:52:10.160 --> 00:52:12.060
That's overdrawing it, but roughly,
575
00:52:12.060 --> 00:52:13.360
that's what they believed.
576
00:52:14.500 --> 00:52:16.370
The author of 1 Kings viewed God
577
00:52:16.370 --> 00:52:18.660
as an evenhanded judge
578
00:52:18.660 --> 00:52:21.536
who blessed faithfulness with prosperity
579
00:52:21.536 --> 00:52:24.683
and punished apostasy with poverty.
580
00:52:26.362 --> 00:52:28.420
The greatest piece of the Bible's,
581
00:52:28.420 --> 00:52:30.610
perhaps the world's wisdom literature,
582
00:52:30.610 --> 00:52:32.260
the book of Job,
583
00:52:32.260 --> 00:52:34.603
was written to refute that point of view.
584
00:52:35.970 --> 00:52:37.370
Job's author meant to challenge
585
00:52:37.370 --> 00:52:39.530
the accepted wisdom of his day.
586
00:52:39.530 --> 00:52:42.183
That things are always what they seem.
587
00:52:43.680 --> 00:52:45.930
And even in Jesus' time,
588
00:52:45.930 --> 00:52:48.520
some of the most respected of the religious leaders,
589
00:52:48.520 --> 00:52:50.340
the Pharisees,
590
00:52:50.340 --> 00:52:53.030
insisted that God was primarily interested
591
00:52:53.030 --> 00:52:54.743
in who best kept the law.
592
00:52:56.100 --> 00:52:58.380
And Jesus' refusal to be bound
593
00:52:58.380 --> 00:53:00.580
by the wisdom of his day
594
00:53:00.580 --> 00:53:03.650
kept him in conflict with the authorities,
595
00:53:03.650 --> 00:53:06.143
and eventually led to his crucifixion.
596
00:53:07.460 --> 00:53:08.933
And even in our time,
597
00:53:09.770 --> 00:53:11.440
there are still those in high places
598
00:53:11.440 --> 00:53:13.060
who when faced with the tension between
599
00:53:13.060 --> 00:53:15.100
what is morally right
600
00:53:15.100 --> 00:53:18.403
and what seems in their best self-interest,
601
00:53:19.380 --> 00:53:24.143
inevitably choose expedience over obedience to God's will.
602
00:53:25.280 --> 00:53:29.040
All too often, they fail to have
603
00:53:29.040 --> 00:53:31.760
the understanding mind
604
00:53:31.760 --> 00:53:34.163
and the ability to rule justly,
605
00:53:35.800 --> 00:53:40.113
and the wisdom to discern between good and evil.
606
00:53:41.270 --> 00:53:42.253
For instance,
607
00:53:43.520 --> 00:53:45.093
while I was here in college,
608
00:53:46.060 --> 00:53:47.483
maybe in Divinity School,
609
00:53:48.400 --> 00:53:51.820
a group of southern bishops and other church leaders
610
00:53:51.820 --> 00:53:53.730
prompted Martin Luther King's
611
00:53:53.730 --> 00:53:55.660
classic civil rights manifesto
612
00:53:55.660 --> 00:53:58.170
Letter from Birmingham Jail,
613
00:53:58.170 --> 00:53:59.730
by their collective statement
614
00:53:59.730 --> 00:54:01.410
that the demonstrations he was leading
615
00:54:01.410 --> 00:54:04.313
in the early 1960s were unwise.
616
00:54:06.010 --> 00:54:09.840
Lyndon Johnson told peace advocates a few years later
617
00:54:09.840 --> 00:54:12.733
that their rallies were unwise.
618
00:54:13.700 --> 00:54:17.240
Richard Nixon told his advisors more recently
619
00:54:17.240 --> 00:54:20.070
that telling the whole truth was not only unwise,
620
00:54:20.070 --> 00:54:21.913
but a breach of executive privilege.
621
00:54:23.230 --> 00:54:25.350
The North Carolina Annual Conference
622
00:54:25.350 --> 00:54:27.020
of the United Methodist Church
623
00:54:27.910 --> 00:54:30.890
felt it unwise last year
624
00:54:30.890 --> 00:54:33.418
to pass a resolution calling
625
00:54:33.418 --> 00:54:36.900
for a gradual government-assisted conversion
626
00:54:36.900 --> 00:54:39.505
of farmland from growing harmful tobacco
627
00:54:40.470 --> 00:54:43.543
to growing helpful food and fiber products.
628
00:54:45.360 --> 00:54:49.280
A number of congressmen took cash from Koreans
629
00:54:49.280 --> 00:54:51.520
and decided reporting it was both
630
00:54:51.520 --> 00:54:53.713
unnecessary and unwise.
631
00:54:55.810 --> 00:54:58.450
Before we get too smug in academia
632
00:54:58.450 --> 00:55:01.520
about the foibles of politicians and preachers,
633
00:55:01.520 --> 00:55:03.980
read Frank Baldwin's article
634
00:55:03.980 --> 00:55:08.580
in the June 26th issue of "Christianity in Crisis Magazine",
635
00:55:08.580 --> 00:55:10.120
in which he points out that
636
00:55:10.120 --> 00:55:12.520
some bastions of academic freedom
637
00:55:13.420 --> 00:55:16.120
are risking compromising their integrity
638
00:55:17.050 --> 00:55:20.160
for contributions from repressive governments
639
00:55:20.160 --> 00:55:23.163
both in the far and the Middle East.
640
00:55:24.180 --> 00:55:28.240
Some gift horses must be looked in the mouth,
641
00:55:28.240 --> 00:55:30.140
even by colleges and universities
642
00:55:30.140 --> 00:55:31.863
hard-pressed for cash.
643
00:55:32.858 --> 00:55:36.680
Of course, those of us who love Duke University
644
00:55:36.680 --> 00:55:39.010
and are familiar with its origins
645
00:55:39.010 --> 00:55:40.680
have to be especially careful
646
00:55:41.670 --> 00:55:44.330
about how we call other universities to account
647
00:55:44.330 --> 00:55:46.513
regarding accepting large sums of money.
648
00:55:47.730 --> 00:55:48.900
Earlier in this century,
649
00:55:48.900 --> 00:55:51.160
Trinity College was berated
650
00:55:51.160 --> 00:55:53.450
for accepting what some probably
651
00:55:53.450 --> 00:55:56.040
University of North Carolina supporters
652
00:55:56.040 --> 00:55:59.973
labeled tainted tobacco money from the Duke family.
653
00:56:01.200 --> 00:56:03.170
The classic response of our predecessor
654
00:56:03.170 --> 00:56:05.607
institution's leaders was,
655
00:56:05.607 --> 00:56:09.557
"The only thing tainted about is it ain't yours".
656
00:56:10.560 --> 00:56:12.580
(congregation members laughing)
657
00:56:12.580 --> 00:56:14.770
Winston Churchill was right
658
00:56:14.770 --> 00:56:16.580
in saying that universities exist
659
00:56:16.580 --> 00:56:18.593
primarily for the teaching of wisdom.
660
00:56:19.630 --> 00:56:21.340
And we do well to remember
661
00:56:21.340 --> 00:56:24.900
that they should practice what they teach,
662
00:56:24.900 --> 00:56:27.170
from the admissions office,
663
00:56:27.170 --> 00:56:29.350
both undergraduate and medical
664
00:56:29.350 --> 00:56:31.653
and law and Divinity School and others,
665
00:56:32.520 --> 00:56:34.790
to the athletic office,
666
00:56:34.790 --> 00:56:37.503
and all the way to the accounting office.
667
00:56:39.530 --> 00:56:41.970
What do we wish for?
668
00:56:41.970 --> 00:56:44.463
What do we value most in our day?
669
00:56:45.530 --> 00:56:47.340
Politically strong nations,
670
00:56:47.340 --> 00:56:50.970
financially strong universities,
671
00:56:50.970 --> 00:56:54.570
numerically strong churches,
672
00:56:54.570 --> 00:56:58.520
economically and socially strong families,
673
00:56:58.520 --> 00:57:00.793
charming and sexy personalities.
674
00:57:02.850 --> 00:57:05.840
Not a one of these is inherently bad.
675
00:57:05.840 --> 00:57:07.930
But neither is any one of them worthy
676
00:57:07.930 --> 00:57:11.123
of being ranked at the top of our value scale,
677
00:57:12.010 --> 00:57:14.743
according to our Lord Jesus Christ.
678
00:57:16.640 --> 00:57:20.290
Right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount,
679
00:57:20.290 --> 00:57:21.920
Jesus addressed himself to some
680
00:57:21.920 --> 00:57:25.680
of the primary anxiety producers of life.
681
00:57:25.680 --> 00:57:27.850
Worry about money.
682
00:57:27.850 --> 00:57:29.470
Worry about adequate food.
683
00:57:29.470 --> 00:57:32.160
Worry about adequate clothing.
684
00:57:32.160 --> 00:57:35.400
Worry about length of life.
685
00:57:37.660 --> 00:57:39.700
He directed his hearers' attention
686
00:57:39.700 --> 00:57:41.630
to the lilies of the field.
687
00:57:41.630 --> 00:57:42.833
Common flowers.
688
00:57:43.740 --> 00:57:47.500
And said that not even the fabled King Solomon
689
00:57:47.500 --> 00:57:48.630
in all his glory
690
00:57:49.930 --> 00:57:53.023
was as beautiful as one of those simple flowers.
691
00:57:55.610 --> 00:57:58.200
Instead of worrying unnecessarily
692
00:57:58.200 --> 00:58:00.133
about acquiring life's necessities,
693
00:58:01.140 --> 00:58:05.343
Jesus called on them to seek first God's kingdom,
694
00:58:06.180 --> 00:58:08.743
and all they needed would be added.
695
00:58:11.260 --> 00:58:12.743
In asking for God's kingdom,
696
00:58:13.600 --> 00:58:17.120
they, like Solomon choosing wisdom,
697
00:58:17.120 --> 00:58:19.360
would receive what they requested
698
00:58:19.360 --> 00:58:21.363
and a whole lot more.
699
00:58:22.880 --> 00:58:27.880
What is the most important valuable thing
700
00:58:28.240 --> 00:58:30.514
in the world for you?
701
00:58:32.010 --> 00:58:33.363
Solomon chose wisdom.
702
00:58:34.630 --> 00:58:38.260
But one greater than Solomon or even David
703
00:58:39.410 --> 00:58:42.820
told his heroes of a kingdom so valuable,
704
00:58:42.820 --> 00:58:44.803
a pearl so precious,
705
00:58:45.760 --> 00:58:47.923
a treasure so worth having,
706
00:58:48.960 --> 00:58:50.880
that it was worth acting foolish
707
00:58:50.880 --> 00:58:53.223
over it to be a part of it.
708
00:58:55.460 --> 00:58:57.890
The price of admission to this kingdom
709
00:58:58.900 --> 00:59:01.730
remains willingness to do what seems at first
710
00:59:01.730 --> 00:59:04.270
to be extreme folly.
711
00:59:04.270 --> 00:59:07.663
2000 years ago, as well as today.
712
00:59:08.760 --> 00:59:12.576
And that is taking up one's cross,
713
00:59:12.576 --> 00:59:15.133
denying oneself,
714
00:59:16.650 --> 00:59:18.677
and following the one sent by God
715
00:59:18.677 --> 00:59:21.563
to bring us into his kingdom.
716
00:59:22.410 --> 00:59:26.290
The one who came not to condemn the world,
717
00:59:26.290 --> 00:59:28.713
but that the world might be saved.
718
00:59:30.650 --> 00:59:35.563
The kingdom of God is the most valuable thing in the world.
719
00:59:37.210 --> 00:59:41.653
And it's still open to you, to me.
720
00:59:42.760 --> 00:59:45.223
What is your choice?
721
00:59:46.780 --> 00:59:48.270
Amen.
722
00:59:48.270 --> 00:59:49.103
Let us pray.
723
00:59:53.880 --> 00:59:56.040
Grant us wisdom.
724
00:59:56.040 --> 00:59:58.013
Grant us courage, dear God.
725
00:59:59.090 --> 01:00:00.793
For the living of our days.
726
01:00:02.180 --> 01:00:04.363
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.
727
01:00:05.776 --> 01:00:06.609
Amen.
728
01:00:09.296 --> 01:00:12.213
(soft organ music)
729
01:00:46.395 --> 01:00:49.916
♪ Be thou my vision ♪
730
01:00:49.916 --> 01:00:54.916
♪ Oh Lord of my heart ♪
731
01:00:55.036 --> 01:00:59.498
♪ Naught be all else to me ♪
732
01:00:59.498 --> 01:01:04.341
♪ Save that thou art ♪
733
01:01:04.341 --> 01:01:08.079
♪ Thou my best thought ♪
734
01:01:08.079 --> 01:01:13.079
♪ By day or by night ♪
735
01:01:13.541 --> 01:01:17.578
♪ Waking or sleeping ♪
736
01:01:17.578 --> 01:01:22.578
♪ Thy presence my light ♪
737
01:01:24.959 --> 01:01:28.778
♪ Be thou my wisdom ♪
738
01:01:28.778 --> 01:01:33.778
♪ And thou my true word ♪
739
01:01:34.057 --> 01:01:37.761
♪ I ever with thee ♪
740
01:01:37.761 --> 01:01:42.761
♪ And thou with me Lord ♪
741
01:01:43.515 --> 01:01:47.258
♪ Thou my great Father ♪
742
01:01:47.258 --> 01:01:52.258
♪ I thy true son ♪
743
01:01:52.778 --> 01:01:56.778
♪ Thou in me dwelling ♪
744
01:01:56.778 --> 01:02:01.778
♪ And I with thee one ♪
745
01:02:04.454 --> 01:02:08.058
♪ Riches I heed not ♪
746
01:02:08.058 --> 01:02:13.058
♪ Nor man's empty praise ♪
747
01:02:13.141 --> 01:02:17.701
♪ Thou mine inheritance ♪
748
01:02:17.701 --> 01:02:22.298
♪ Now and always ♪
749
01:02:22.298 --> 01:02:26.762
♪ Thou and thou only ♪
750
01:02:26.762 --> 01:02:31.762
♪ First in my heart ♪
751
01:02:31.898 --> 01:02:35.919
♪ High King of heaven ♪
752
01:02:35.919 --> 01:02:40.919
♪ My treasure thou art ♪
753
01:02:43.757 --> 01:02:47.279
♪ High King of heaven ♪
754
01:02:47.279 --> 01:02:52.279
♪ My victory won ♪
755
01:02:52.762 --> 01:02:57.093
♪ May I reach heaven's joys ♪
756
01:02:57.093 --> 01:03:01.722
♪ Oh bright heaven's sun ♪
757
01:03:01.722 --> 01:03:05.738
♪ Heart of my own heart ♪
758
01:03:05.738 --> 01:03:10.738
♪ Whate'er befall ♪
759
01:03:11.461 --> 01:03:15.995
♪ Still be my vision ♪
760
01:03:15.995 --> 01:03:20.995
♪ O ruler of all ♪
761
01:03:24.421 --> 01:03:26.338
♪ Amen ♪
762
01:03:35.336 --> 01:03:38.373
Let us affirm what we believe.
763
01:03:39.930 --> 01:03:41.940
We believe in God,
764
01:03:41.940 --> 01:03:45.370
who has created and is creating.
765
01:03:45.370 --> 01:03:48.680
Who has come in the truly human Jesus
766
01:03:48.680 --> 01:03:50.553
to reconcile and make new.
767
01:03:51.600 --> 01:03:55.860
Who works in us and others by the Spirit.
768
01:03:55.860 --> 01:03:57.760
We trust God,
769
01:03:57.760 --> 01:04:00.610
who calls us to be the church,
770
01:04:00.610 --> 01:04:03.770
to celebrate life and its fullness,
771
01:04:03.770 --> 01:04:06.550
to love and serve others,
772
01:04:06.550 --> 01:04:09.840
to seek justice and resist evil,
773
01:04:09.840 --> 01:04:13.860
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,
774
01:04:13.860 --> 01:04:16.550
our judge and our whole.
775
01:04:16.550 --> 01:04:21.070
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
776
01:04:21.070 --> 01:04:22.950
God is with us.
777
01:04:22.950 --> 01:04:24.880
We are not alone.
778
01:04:24.880 --> 01:04:26.373
Thanks be to God.
779
01:04:27.950 --> 01:04:29.941
The Lord be with you.
780
01:04:29.941 --> 01:04:31.600
And with your spirit.
781
01:04:31.600 --> 01:04:32.573
Let us pray.
782
01:04:46.330 --> 01:04:50.720
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
783
01:04:50.720 --> 01:04:52.300
the only wise God,
784
01:04:52.300 --> 01:04:55.283
be honor and glory, forever and ever.
785
01:04:58.210 --> 01:05:00.700
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place
786
01:05:00.700 --> 01:05:02.473
in all generations.
787
01:05:03.790 --> 01:05:05.830
Before the mountains were brought forth,
788
01:05:05.830 --> 01:05:09.010
forever thou hadst formed the earth and the world.
789
01:05:09.010 --> 01:05:12.100
Even from everlasting to everlasting,
790
01:05:12.100 --> 01:05:13.583
thou art God.
791
01:05:15.790 --> 01:05:18.250
Before thy eternity,
792
01:05:18.250 --> 01:05:21.110
thy awful majesty,
793
01:05:21.110 --> 01:05:23.519
thy almighty power,
794
01:05:23.519 --> 01:05:25.563
thy gracious wisdom,
795
01:05:26.720 --> 01:05:31.010
who are we but creatures of passing days and eras?
796
01:05:31.010 --> 01:05:34.190
Dust and dream, our years few and filled
797
01:05:34.190 --> 01:05:35.773
with toil and trouble.
798
01:05:36.890 --> 01:05:39.620
Unless, oh God, thou dost teach us
799
01:05:39.620 --> 01:05:41.960
to number our days,
800
01:05:41.960 --> 01:05:43.913
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
801
01:05:45.430 --> 01:05:48.000
Unless thou dost teach us to find in thee
802
01:05:48.000 --> 01:05:50.220
the meaning of our lives,
803
01:05:50.220 --> 01:05:52.540
the desires of our hearts,
804
01:05:52.540 --> 01:05:54.493
the spirit of our life together.
805
01:05:55.730 --> 01:05:59.870
Unless thou dost establish the work of our hands
806
01:05:59.870 --> 01:06:03.453
as part of thy eternal working among all people.
807
01:06:04.520 --> 01:06:07.180
We bless and praise thee,
808
01:06:07.180 --> 01:06:11.583
for thy wisdom, thy power, thy love.
809
01:06:13.178 --> 01:06:16.680
We bless and thank thee for all thy provision
810
01:06:16.680 --> 01:06:18.483
for life full and free,
811
01:06:19.620 --> 01:06:22.380
for the gift of life,
812
01:06:22.380 --> 01:06:24.993
for families to nourish and enrich it,
813
01:06:26.080 --> 01:06:28.440
for the larger family of humankind
814
01:06:28.440 --> 01:06:30.243
in which we come to selfhood,
815
01:06:31.640 --> 01:06:33.400
for the sustenance of our bodies
816
01:06:33.400 --> 01:06:35.180
with the fruits of thy good earth
817
01:06:35.180 --> 01:06:36.693
and the labor of others,
818
01:06:37.860 --> 01:06:40.380
for the wisdom thou givest humanity,
819
01:06:40.380 --> 01:06:43.470
to work together in farm and factory,
820
01:06:43.470 --> 01:06:47.060
shop and bank, home and road,
821
01:06:47.060 --> 01:06:49.519
for the filling of human needs,
822
01:06:49.519 --> 01:06:53.279
for thy awakening others to the arts of teaching
823
01:06:53.279 --> 01:06:58.050
and governing and nursing and healing
824
01:06:58.050 --> 01:07:01.113
and other ministries to our bodies and spirits,
825
01:07:01.978 --> 01:07:03.870
and especially in this community
826
01:07:03.870 --> 01:07:06.210
of learning and devotion,
827
01:07:06.210 --> 01:07:08.470
for stirring the minds of the ages
828
01:07:08.470 --> 01:07:13.470
to seek truth about thy world and thy people and thyself,
829
01:07:13.870 --> 01:07:17.543
and for the heritage of learning now open to our minds.
830
01:07:18.530 --> 01:07:21.590
For these and all thy good creation,
831
01:07:21.590 --> 01:07:23.023
we give thanks.
832
01:07:23.900 --> 01:07:26.700
Oh, move us in gratitude
833
01:07:26.700 --> 01:07:28.840
to share thy blessings with people
834
01:07:28.840 --> 01:07:32.860
of every nation, race, and creed.
835
01:07:32.860 --> 01:07:35.760
Thou giver and provider of life
836
01:07:35.760 --> 01:07:37.563
for all thy creatures.
837
01:07:38.640 --> 01:07:41.020
Oh judge and humble and expose us
838
01:07:41.020 --> 01:07:43.970
by the light of thy searching Word,
839
01:07:43.970 --> 01:07:47.210
to show us how we misuse thy gifts
840
01:07:47.210 --> 01:07:49.703
and fail and hurt thy people.
841
01:07:51.322 --> 01:07:54.880
Above all, we thank thee for thy redeeming Spirit
842
01:07:54.880 --> 01:07:58.083
manifest to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
843
01:07:59.240 --> 01:08:03.020
For that life which was the light of humankind,
844
01:08:03.020 --> 01:08:06.063
that enlightens every person who cometh into the world.
845
01:08:07.470 --> 01:08:10.070
For thy Word made flesh to dwell among us
846
01:08:10.070 --> 01:08:12.500
full of grace and truth,
847
01:08:12.500 --> 01:08:14.913
from whose fullness we have all received.
848
01:08:16.030 --> 01:08:18.600
For reconciling us to thyself,
849
01:08:18.600 --> 01:08:21.680
not counting our trespasses against us,
850
01:08:21.680 --> 01:08:25.683
and entrusting to us thy Word and work of reconciliation.
851
01:08:26.830 --> 01:08:31.300
Oh, speak thy saving Word ever anew to thy people.
852
01:08:31.300 --> 01:08:35.630
To reform and strengthen and direct thy church,
853
01:08:35.630 --> 01:08:38.090
wherever it meets this day.
854
01:08:38.090 --> 01:08:42.940
In mission chapel, in city church of slum or suburb,
855
01:08:42.940 --> 01:08:45.410
in country meeting house,
856
01:08:45.410 --> 01:08:47.233
in far off lands.
857
01:08:48.660 --> 01:08:52.240
Purge us of pride and selfishness,
858
01:08:52.240 --> 01:08:55.220
of complacency and prejudice,
859
01:08:55.220 --> 01:08:59.053
and renew thy church to do thy will among all people.
860
01:09:00.010 --> 01:09:02.320
Bearing one another's burdens,
861
01:09:02.320 --> 01:09:05.970
speaking courageously thy word of justice,
862
01:09:05.970 --> 01:09:09.123
and tenderly thy word of mercy in thy world.
863
01:09:10.120 --> 01:09:13.133
Being doers of thy Word and not hearers only.
864
01:09:14.070 --> 01:09:16.316
Ministering to the sick,
865
01:09:16.316 --> 01:09:20.730
the needy, the bereaved, the poor,
866
01:09:20.730 --> 01:09:23.620
the oppressed, the troubled,
867
01:09:23.620 --> 01:09:26.890
the discouraged, the lonely,
868
01:09:26.890 --> 01:09:29.253
the tempted, the fallen.
869
01:09:30.910 --> 01:09:35.802
For all of these, we pray thy saving help this day,
870
01:09:35.802 --> 01:09:39.373
and offer ourselves as thy instruments of caring.
871
01:09:41.170 --> 01:09:44.200
Bind us together beyond all differences
872
01:09:44.200 --> 01:09:49.200
of class and race and nation and church.
873
01:09:49.620 --> 01:09:53.720
That together, we may be faithful to Jesus Christ
874
01:09:53.720 --> 01:09:56.070
who went about doing good,
875
01:09:56.070 --> 01:09:59.530
rebuking evil, speaking thy message,
876
01:09:59.530 --> 01:10:03.763
and bearing his cross for us to follow in his way.
877
01:10:04.710 --> 01:10:06.493
And in his words we pray.
878
01:10:07.470 --> 01:10:10.490
Our Father, who art in heaven,
879
01:10:10.490 --> 01:10:12.800
hallowed be thy name.
880
01:10:12.800 --> 01:10:14.740
Thy kingdom come,
881
01:10:14.740 --> 01:10:18.373
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
882
01:10:19.240 --> 01:10:22.230
Give us this day our daily bread,
883
01:10:22.230 --> 01:10:24.870
and forgive us our trespasses,
884
01:10:24.870 --> 01:10:28.640
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
885
01:10:28.640 --> 01:10:31.240
And lead us not into temptation,
886
01:10:31.240 --> 01:10:33.500
but deliver us from evil.
887
01:10:33.500 --> 01:10:36.790
For thine is the kingdom and the power
888
01:10:36.790 --> 01:10:39.759
and the glory forever.
889
01:10:39.759 --> 01:10:40.592
Amen.
890
01:11:00.741 --> 01:11:03.658
(soft organ music)
891
01:11:23.562 --> 01:11:26.895
(choir members singing)
892
01:17:23.138 --> 01:17:26.805
(inspirational organ music)
893
01:17:36.123 --> 01:17:41.123
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪
894
01:17:41.526 --> 01:17:46.526
♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪
895
01:17:46.582 --> 01:17:49.162
♪ Hallelujah ♪
896
01:17:49.162 --> 01:17:53.504
♪ Hallelujah ♪
897
01:17:53.504 --> 01:17:58.504
♪ Praise him above ye heavenly host ♪
898
01:17:59.024 --> 01:18:04.024
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪
899
01:18:04.244 --> 01:18:06.843
♪ Oh praise him ♪
900
01:18:06.843 --> 01:18:09.766
♪ Oh praise him ♪
901
01:18:09.766 --> 01:18:12.422
♪ Hallelujah ♪
902
01:18:12.422 --> 01:18:15.722
♪ Hallelujah ♪
903
01:18:15.722 --> 01:18:20.722
♪ Hallelujah ♪
904
01:18:24.086 --> 01:18:26.003
♪ Amen ♪
905
01:18:38.710 --> 01:18:42.210
Fine, oh Lord, is the greatness and the power
906
01:18:42.210 --> 01:18:46.063
and the glory and the victory and the majesty.
907
01:18:47.110 --> 01:18:48.980
For all that is in the heaven
908
01:18:48.980 --> 01:18:52.310
and in the earth is thine.
909
01:18:52.310 --> 01:18:54.870
Thine is the kingdom, oh Lord,
910
01:18:54.870 --> 01:18:57.933
and thou art exalted as head above all.
911
01:18:59.000 --> 01:18:59.833
Amen.
912
01:19:03.000 --> 01:19:05.917
(soft organ music)
913
01:19:47.023 --> 01:19:50.273
(congregation singing)
914
01:23:53.750 --> 01:23:56.032
It is a blessing indeed
915
01:23:56.032 --> 01:23:59.380
to have former Dean of the Chapel,
916
01:23:59.380 --> 01:24:01.230
James T. Cleland,
917
01:24:01.230 --> 01:24:05.088
with us today for the first time in a long time,
918
01:24:05.088 --> 01:24:10.088
to ask God's blessing upon us all.
919
01:24:10.120 --> 01:24:11.003
Dr. Cleland.
920
01:24:18.160 --> 01:24:20.091
May the blessing of God
921
01:24:20.091 --> 01:24:22.623
come upon you abundantly.
922
01:24:24.440 --> 01:24:29.190
May it keep you strong and tranquil
923
01:24:29.190 --> 01:24:31.380
in the truth of his promises
924
01:24:32.380 --> 01:24:35.960
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
925
01:24:41.792 --> 01:24:46.595
♪ Amen ♪
926
01:24:46.595 --> 01:24:51.595
♪ Amen ♪
927
01:24:52.491 --> 01:24:54.408
♪ Amen ♪
928
01:24:57.712 --> 01:25:00.712
(soft choral music)
929
01:25:49.323 --> 01:25:52.406
(upbeat organ music)