Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)

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	(organ music)	0:03
	(organ music)	4:17
	(organ music)	8:17
	All ears.	12:59
	It was in 1923 that the concept of this chapel	13:01
	was made when Duke University was started.	13:06
	Seven years later, the chapel began construction,	13:10
	and in 1932, the first service was held here.	13:14
	So basically, we have been planning	13:17
	for this particular service today,	13:19
	for those of us who are here, for 59 years.	13:20
	I welcome you on behalf of Jesus Christ,	13:24
	on behalf of Duke University, and the staff of this church.	13:27
	All of you today are guests, as all of us, guests of Christ.	13:32
	We do have a special group worshiping with us today.	13:38
	It's a band from the Northeastern High School	13:41
	in Elizabeth City, and from this distance,	13:43
	I cannot spot the members of that band,	13:46
	and maybe you can't either.	13:49
	Would they stand so that we can see where you're seated?	13:50
	Oh, they're all over the place.	13:55
	We welcome you to, especially today,	13:57
	from Elizabeth City down on the coast.	13:59
	The preacher for today's service is Nancy Ferree,	14:03
	who is the Assistant Minister to the University Chapel.	14:06
	Elector is Susan Booth, and now we will engage	14:09
	in the most important thing any of us will do this week.	14:13
	That is the worship of almighty God.	14:17
	(organ music)	14:26
	(organ drowning out voices of choir singing)	15:00
	It is never easy to ask forgiveness.	18:08
	The more we need it, the harder it is to ask,	18:14
	but God provides opportunities like this	18:20
	to meet our most basic spiritual need.	18:23
	Let us offer our prayer of thanksgiving,	18:27
	our prayer of confession, let us all pray together.	18:30
	Oh God, the source of our being, our very destiny,	18:35
	the God of our pilgrim days, by your power is Jesus raised	18:41
	to be savior of all people, ruler of all nations,	18:46
	but now we confess other allegiances.	18:52
	Too often, we give substance to capture the mirage,	18:55
	our affections to things that perish.	18:59
	We are careless in our relationships with others,	19:03
	so now we cry pardon for our idolatries,	19:06
	mercy upon our failures.	19:10
	Make us a people whose lives praise you.	19:13
	Women and men who heed Christ's call	19:17
	to a lively discipleship, in the name of Him	19:20
	who is the Lord of the creation	19:24
	and head of the church that is His body, amen.	19:26
	Hear the word of God as it came to Solomon	19:36
	and as it now comes to us.	19:41
	If my people who are called by my name humble themselves,	19:44
	and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,	19:49
	then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin	19:57
	and heal their land, amen.	20:01
	Let us give thanks, for God is good,	20:08
	and God's love is everlasting.	20:11
	(congregation mumbling)	20:15
	Will you join in the prayer for Illumination?	20:37
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	20:41
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	20:45
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	20:48
	we might hear with you what you would have us	20:52
	to say to us this day, amen.	20:55
	The Old Testament reading is from 1 Kings 19:9-18.	21:00
	"And there he came to a cave, and lodged there;	21:08
	"and behold, the word of the LORD came to him,	21:13
	"and he said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'	21:17
	"He said, 'I have been very jealous for the LORD,	21:22
	"'for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,	21:28
	"'thrown down thy altars,	21:32
	slain thy prophets with the sword;	21:36
	"'and I, even I only, am left;	21:39
	"'and they seek my life, to take it away.'	21:43
	"And he said, 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount	21:47
	"'before the LORD," and behold, the LORD passed by,	21:52
	"and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,	21:58
	"and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD,	22:02
	"but the LORD was not in the wind;	22:07
	"and after the wind an earthquake,	22:10
	"but the LORD was not in the earthquake;	22:14
	"and after the earthquake a fire,	22:18
	"but the LORD was not in the fire;	22:22
	"and after the fire a small still voice.	22:25
	"And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle	22:30
	"and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.	22:35
	"And behold, there came a voice to him, and said,	22:40
	"'What are you doing here, Elijah?"	22:44
	"He said, 'I have been very jealous for the LORD,	22:47
	"'the God of hosts, for the people of Israel	22:51
	"'have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars,	22:55
	"'and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I	23:00
	"'only am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.'	23:05
	"And the LORD said to him, 'Go, return on your way	23:11
	"'to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive,	23:15
	"'you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;	23:20
	"'and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint	23:24
	"'to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat	23:27
	"'you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.	23:33
	"'And him who escapes from the sword of Hazael	23:37
	"'shall Jehu slay; and him who escapes	23:41
	"'the sword of Jehu shall Eli'sha slay.	23:44
	"'Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel,	23:48
	"'all the knees that have not bowed to Baal,	23:52
	"'and every mouth that has not kissed him.'"	23:55
	This ends the Old Testament lesson.	23:59
	Will the congregation please stand	24:04
	for the Reading of the Psalter?	24:06
	Lord, open our lips.	24:16
	Thou mouth shall proclaim your praise.	24:19
	Show us your mercy, oh Lord.	24:23
	And grant us His salvation.	24:25
	I will listen to what the Lord God is saying,	24:29
	for He is speaking peace to His faithful people	24:32
	and to those who turn their hearts to Him.	24:36
	Truly, salvation is near to those who fear Him	24:39
	that his glory may dwell in our land.	24:44
	Mercy and truth have met together.	24:48
	Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.	24:51
	Truth shall spring up from the earth,	24:55
	and righteousness shall look down from Heaven.	24:58
	The Lord will indeed grant prosperity,	25:01
	and our land will yield its increase.	25:05
	Righteousness shall go before him,	25:08
	and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.	25:11
	(organ music)	25:14
	(organ drowning out voices of choir singing)	25:22
	The Epistle lesson is from Romans 9:1-5.	26:22
	"I'm speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying.	26:31
	"My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit	26:36
	"that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart,	26:40
	"for I could wish that I myself were cursed	26:46
	"and cut off from Christ for the sake	26:49
	"of my brethren, my kinsmen by race.	26:51
	"They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship,	26:56
	"the glory, the convenants, the giving of the law,	27:01
	"the worship, and the promises.	27:06
	"To them belong the patriarchs, and of their race,	27:09
	"according to their flesh, is the Christ.	27:14
	"God, who is over all, be blessed forever, amen."	27:18
	(organ music)	27:32
	(organ drowning out voices of choir singing)	28:19
	A gospel reading from the gospel according to St. Matthew	32:00
	and the 14th chapter. Here we encounter the disciples	32:05
	and Christ immediately after the feeding of the 5,000.	32:10
	"Then he made the disciples get into the boat	32:17
	"and go before him to the other side	32:22
	"while he dismissed the crowds,	32:25
	"and after he had dismissed the crowds,	32:28
	"he went up into the hills by himself to pray.	32:31
	"When evening came, he was there alone,	32:36
	"but the boat, by this time, was many furlongs	32:40
	"distant from the land, beaten by the waves,	32:44
	"for the wind was against them,	32:48
	"and in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them,	32:52
	"walking on the sea, but when the disciples	32:56
	"saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying,	33:01
	"'It is a ghost," and they cried out for fear.	33:06
	"But immediately, he spoke to them, saying,	33:11
	"'Take heart, it is I, have no fear,'	33:15
	"and Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you,	33:19
	"'bid me come to you on the water.'	33:23
	"He said, 'Come,' so Peter got out of the boat	33:26
	"and walked on the water and came to Jesus,	33:31
	"but when he saw the wind, he was afraid,	33:35
	"and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!'	33:38
	"Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him,	33:44
	"saying to him, 'Oh man of little faith, why did you doubt?'	33:48
	"And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased,	33:54
	"and those in the boat worshiped him, saying,	33:58
	"'Truly, you are the son of God.'"	34:02
	Here ends the gospel lesson, let us pray.	34:07
	May the words of my mouth and the meditations	34:16
	of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight.	34:20
	Oh God, our strength and our redeemer, amen.	34:25
	Nobody that I know likes to leave	34:37
	a good party too early, myself included.	34:40
	So why should the disciples of Christ be any exception?	34:44
	It's not everyday that a person gets in	34:49
	on the feeding of 5,000 people	34:52
	when the only source of food was five loaves and two fishes.	34:55
	Not only was it a miracle, it was a celebration.	35:00
	The scripture reads, in today's gospel lesson,	35:05
	"Then he," meaning Jesus, "made the disciples	35:08
	"get into the boat and go before him to the other side	35:13
	"while Jesus took a little time out to pray."	35:17
	Who can blame the disciples	35:21
	for their apparent reluctance to leave?	35:22
	Their spirits must've been soaring	35:24
	as they discussed among themselves	35:26
	the mystery of what Jesus had done.	35:28
	Perhaps he would soon wipe out all dreaded disease.	35:33
	Perhaps he was about to find a way	35:37
	to feed all the hungry people.	35:39
	Perhaps his following could even grow	35:42
	to become a political force with some real clout.	35:45
	What could it all mean?	35:49
	And so the conversation goes, we might imagine,	35:52
	while the boat which they had boarded	35:56
	drifts further and further out to sea,	35:58
	and as the wind begins to rise, the party was over indeed,	36:02
	for now the disciples were truly vulnerable to the elements.	36:06
	Experienced sailors they were,	36:11
	no neophytes at the helm of a ship, but the level of anxiety	36:14
	rose rapidly as the wind howled	36:19
	and the waves crashed across the deck.	36:22
	When else could the disciples have been less prepared,	36:25
	yet more ready to see Jesus?	36:29
	They were frightened already, soon to become terrified,	36:33
	when they saw a figure emerging in the darkness.	36:37
	"It is a ghost," someone cried.	36:41
	It was finally the familiar sound of Jesus's voice	36:45
	that broke through the horror of the night.	36:49
	"Take heart, it is I, have no fear."	36:52
	Like so many things Jesus said,	36:58
	these words must've had a hint of the preposterous	37:01
	in them to his hearers, relax, take a deep breath.	37:03
	Even though you're in the midst	37:08
	of a life and death situation, take heart.	37:09
	Jesus certainly had a flair for the dramatic,	37:13
	not to mention the unlikely.	37:16
	What were the disciples supposed	37:18
	to make of all this excitement?	37:20
	Not surprisingly, it was Peter	37:23
	in his usual impetuous manner, who first responded.	37:26
	He wanted to walk on water, too,	37:30
	like you and I dream of performing the miraculous,	37:34
	and walk on the water he did,	37:38
	until he saw the wind and was afraid.	37:40
	Never doubting the source of his strength, however,	37:44
	he called on Jesus and was saved.	37:46
	While suffering a terrible embarrassment,	37:50
	he climbed back into the boat,	37:52
	all the wiser for having tried.	37:54
	The rest of the disciples, meanwhile,	37:58
	their eyes big as saucers, cried out in amazement.	38:00
	"Truly you are the son of God!	38:04
	"Not only does he heal the sick and feed the hungry,	38:07
	"but he comes to us in our distress in mysterious ways."	38:11
	This passage, for all its mystery and enigma,	38:19
	still brings a relevant word to us modern day disciples,	38:23
	for truly, we find ourselves sailing on stormy seas.	38:28
	Whether or not we've ever attempted to walk on water,	38:33
	we all have known that sinking feeling	38:36
	that goes with the experience of fear	38:39
	at one time or another, in one form or another in our lives.	38:43
	Fear that the results of the biopsy will be positive.	38:49
	Fear that crime will strike in our home next.	38:53
	Fear that our deepest and most precious relationships	38:58
	are vulnerable to strife and even to irreparable division.	39:01
	Fear that the world will literally go up in smoke.	39:06
	Fear of change, fear of our own death.	39:11
	It's a chronic human condition,	39:14
	this business of being afraid,	39:16
	which oftentimes controls us more than we know.	39:19
	Consider the lengths to which we go	39:23
	to avoid facing our own fears.	39:25
	Popping a few pills to get through a flight,	39:28
	having a few drinks to face a lonely night,	39:32
	avoiding a certain topic to get through a conversation,	39:36
	living even with nuclear weapons	39:40
	in hopes of getting through another generation.	39:42
	Fear and faith, what is their connection?	39:46
	I'd like to share with you two examples of Christians	39:51
	whose lives exemplify something	39:55
	about fearlessness and faithfulness.	39:57
	The first is a man named Joel Filártiga.	40:01
	Dr. Filártiga, with the help of his wife, Nidia,	40:06
	and his children, operates a free medical clinic	40:09
	in a remote region of Paraguay for the poorest of the poor.	40:12
	There, people come from great distances,	40:17
	walking or riding in little horse drawn carts	40:20
	to ask help for their many diseases.	40:24
	Dr. Filártiga has an unusual capacity	40:27
	for understanding his people, not only the illnesses	40:30
	of their bodies, but also the afflictions of their spirits.	40:34
	While he listens to their souls cry out,	40:39
	he picks up his pencil and he draws.	40:42
	Drawings, which are sometimes staggering in the way	40:46
	of the agony of his people, as expressed.	40:48
	Dr. Filártiga's outspoken defense	40:53
	of the poor made him very unpopular	40:55
	with the Stroessner regime in Paraguay.	40:58
	On March 30, 1976, the police kidnapped his 17 year old son,	41:02
	Joelito, and within a few hours, tortured him to death.	41:07
	Joel's and Nidia's grief did not drive them	41:15
	into silence and seclusion, however.	41:17
	Instead, they cried out in fearless protest,	41:19
	doing so at the risk of their own lives.	41:22
	Instead of dressing their son's electroshocked body	41:26
	in fine clothes to cover over the horror of his death,	41:30
	they laid it naked on the bloody mattress	41:34
	on which it had been found.	41:38
	I first met Dr. Filártiga three years	41:41
	after this tragic event.	41:45
	He had brought several of his drawings to display	41:47
	in exhibits around the US	41:50
	as a means of protesting such oppression.	41:52
	Each time he left the country,	41:56
	he took the risk of not being allowed to return.	41:57
	His life was constantly endangered,	42:01
	yet he embodied a depth of compassion and fearlessness	42:04
	which could not be snuffed out.	42:09
	Had there been a body of water before him,	42:12
	I feel sure he somehow could've walked across it,	42:15
	had he needed to, such was his faith in God,	42:18
	even in the face of life threatening elements,	42:22
	even in the presence of excruciating pain.	42:26
	Under very different circumstances,	42:32
	I met Sylvia, a woman afflicted with down syndrome,	42:34
	who, in her own way, also walks on water by faith.	42:39
	Sylvia is a member of L'Arche, a Christian community	42:44
	which seeks to create opportunities	42:47
	for persons with mental handicaps	42:50
	to live in community with other Christians.	42:52
	In the context of life together at L'Arche,	42:55
	the everyday activities of cooking, eating,	42:58
	cleaning, working, praying, celebrating,	43:01
	worshiping, loving, and laughing are shared.	43:05
	Sylvia, though happy to be at L'Arche, struggles	43:10
	with the feeling of being excluded, worthless, and unloved.	43:13
	Such feelings seem to be especially common	43:20
	for people in our society who have been pushed	43:22
	to the margins and are not valued for who they are.	43:25
	Sylvia, having spent most of her life in institutions,	43:29
	suffers from this burden in a special way.	43:32
	Often, her behavior is uncontrollable	43:36
	as she strikes out violently at the world around her,	43:39
	including her own community.	43:43
	It was a great joy for me, as a guest in their community	43:46
	for a few days, to experience the ways	43:49
	in which total acceptance is the backbone of L'Arche.	43:52
	The kind of acceptance which assures us	43:56
	we are loved by others, even as our limitations	43:59
	are acknowledged, making us better able to love ourselves.	44:03
	In a rather amazing way, the fear of simply being oneself	44:08
	is therefore overcome at L'Arche.	44:12
	It is displaced by a celebration of life,	44:16
	a song of thanksgiving to God, which nourishes	44:19
	and renews the community to face the suffering	44:23
	which is a part of everyday life together.	44:26
	Thus, Sylvia took on a special glow	44:30
	when she shared with the community	44:32
	that she had an occasion for everyone to celebrate,	44:34
	for you see, for the first time in over 20 years,	44:39
	she would be visited by members of her own family,	44:43
	and what a celebration it was.	44:48
	For days, both before and after the visit,	44:50
	everyone affirmed Sylvia and her long awaited	44:53
	family reunion, rejoicing with her for this time of healing,	44:56
	even on the days when it might've been easier	45:01
	not to relate to Sylvia at all.	45:03
	Such a way of relating is not uncommon at L'Arche.	45:07
	Symbolic of their commitment to bear one another's burdens	45:11
	and share one another's joys, the community of L'Arche	45:15
	has its own ritual of remembering,	45:19
	helping a person like Sylvia to recall	45:23
	not only the names and faces of her own family,	45:26
	but helping her to recall what it is to be human,	45:30
	to be a child of God, to be valued for who she is,	45:34
	and to do so in the face of nearly overwhelming hardships.	45:39
	This is fearlessness, exemplified not just	45:44
	by exceptionally gifted individuals,	45:47
	but by an entire community of faith.	45:50
	One which finds its strength in weakness.	45:54
	As the founder of L'Arche, Jean Vanier has written,	45:58
	"In community life, we discover our own deepest wound,	46:01
	"and learn to accept it so our rebirth can begin.	46:06
	"It's from this very wound that we are born."	46:11
	Is this not a remembering of Christ's	46:16
	own example of fearlessness?	46:18
	One which the church is called to remember in his name?	46:21
	These two very different examples of discipleship	46:27
	provide their own commentaries about the fearlessness	46:31
	which is part and parcel of faith.	46:34
	The willingness of these individuals to take risks	46:38
	enables them to step forward into unknown territory	46:42
	to become disciples of Christ.	46:45
	Their ability to trust in God provides sufficient strength	46:49
	for persevering in the face of very trying circumstances.	46:53
	Their lack of self-consciousness allows them	46:58
	to focus on Christ's call to obedience,	47:01
	and not on their own anxieties.	47:05
	Their ability to remember how to live	47:08
	as sisters and brothers in community	47:10
	provides a vision worthy of the risk which they take.	47:13
	Are these not the essential elements of walking on water,	47:18
	which Christ himself represented?	47:21
	Aspects of faith which require us	47:24
	as his body on earth to give up on our fears	47:27
	as we embrace his call to discipleship.	47:31
	Giving up on fear, no matter how badly we want to do it,	47:36
	is guaranteed not to come easily,	47:40
	for it serves too many useful functions,	47:44
	which we are naturally reluctant to give up.	47:46
	After all, without fear, what excuse could we find	47:49
	for distrusting those who are different than we are?	47:54
	What good reasons would we have left for dreading the un--	47:58

-	It seems that we're prone to treat our fears	0:04
	like good friends taking them with us	0:07
	wherever we go and it would feel unnatural	0:09
	to leave them behind.	0:12
	Even if this is your reaction	0:15
	to the notion of giving up on fear,	0:17
	let us think for a moment about Peter.	0:20
	Peter who had the desire	0:23
	but imperfect faith.	0:26
	Peter the rock who seemed to struggle	0:28
	by his very nature to stay afloat.	0:31
	I feel the urge to come to Peter's defense today	0:36
	for it seems he always gets the short end of the stick	0:39
	in sermons about this passage.	0:43
	Too little faith we're quick to criticize	0:45
	while we shake our fingers at him.	0:49
	Yet is it possible	0:51
	that sinking may not be so great a sin	0:53
	as failing to step out at all?	0:57
	Peter's brash behavior and his fearfulness	1:01
	are well known to us.	1:04
	His attack on the high priest's slave in the garden,	1:06
	his denial of Christ,	1:10
	his fear on the water.	1:12
	Yet at the same time, his fervent desire	1:14
	to follow Jesus made Peter the one	1:17
	to recognize Jesus as the Christ.	1:19
	Made Peter the one to establish the church.	1:23
	Made Peter the one to die a martyr's death	1:26
	for Christ's sake.	1:30
	Lest we feel inadequate in our faith,	1:33
	while comparing ourselves to such fearless saints,	1:36
	let us remember that the faith	1:40
	which grew in Peter was not born	1:42
	in the total absence of fear,	1:44
	rather he had to start somewhere	1:47
	in his pilgrimage	1:50
	and that was by giving himself	1:51
	in all of his zealousness and his fearfulness	1:53
	with total abandonment to God.	1:58
	Imperfect as Peter's faith was,	2:01
	Christ accepted him for who he was	2:04
	and still chose to give Peter the keys	2:07
	to the kingdom of Heaven anyway.	2:09
	Meanwhile, it took Peter a lifetime	2:12
	to grow into the perfection	2:16
	which he had so eagerly sought	2:17
	since the day he first met Jesus.	2:19
	Giving up on our fear runs counter for us like Peter	2:24
	to our usual predispositions.	2:29
	By nature, we cling to our fears	2:33
	rather than giving them away	2:35
	yet faith by its very nature requires us	2:37
	to come to Christ with empty hands,	2:41
	clinging to nothing,	2:45
	leaving all our possessions,	2:47
	even our fears behind us.	2:49
	The question is are we willing to give a lifetime	2:53
	like Peter in order to learn how?	2:57
	Let us begin, each of us,	3:03
	by reflecting on our own experience.	3:06
	Recall for a moment the last stormy night	3:10
	that you endured.	3:12
	What were the circumstances?	3:15
	Were you alone?	3:18
	Were you with someone you love?	3:20
	Did God's presence seem near or far from you?	3:24
	Of what, if anything, were you afraid?	3:29
	"Take heart, it is I," Jesus said.	3:37
	"Have no fear.	3:40
	"Wouldn't you like to take a walk on the water?"	3:43
	(lively organ music)	4:01
	(congregation singing)	4:33
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	6:45
-	We believe in God	6:49
	who has created and is creating,	6:50
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	6:54
	to reconcile and make new,	6:57
	who works in us	6:59
	and others by the Spirit.	7:01
	We trust God	7:03
	who calls us to be the church,	7:05
	to celebrate life in its fullness,	7:08
	to love and serve others,	7:10
	to seek justice and resist evil,	7:13
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	7:16
	our judge and our hope.	7:19
	In life, in death and life beyond death,	7:22
	God is with us.	7:26
	We are not alone.	7:28
	Thanks be to God.	7:30
-	The Lord be with you.	7:32
-	And also with you.	7:34
-	Let us pray.	7:36
	Eternal God,	7:49
	we come to this place of worship	7:53
	and to this time of prayer	7:56
	with a lot of things on our minds.	8:00
	Down inside, many of us carry burdens	8:05
	of brokenness too deep for words.	8:08
	By your Spirit,	8:12
	heal the fragmented pieces of our lives	8:14
	and make us whole.	8:17
	Some of us are in love with a past	8:21
	that can never be again	8:23
	or with an imagined future	8:26
	that can never become.	8:28
	Help us to hear your call in this present moment	8:32
	and to serve you faithfully in the here and now.	8:36
	Many of us are tired of seeking to maintain an image	8:43
	of self that no longer exists, if it ever did.	8:45
	Shape us after the image and likeness of Christ	8:51
	who sets us free to be real people.	8:56
	Some of us have become learned and sophisticated	9:04
	at the expense of neglected prayer and neglected worship.	9:06
	Yet we yearn to feel again	9:11
	that oneness with you	9:13
	that will fill the emptiness within.	9:15
	Teach us once more to pray	9:20
	and to seek	9:24
	and to find.	9:27
	God, there are so many voices shouting at us,	9:31
	so many competing voices	9:33
	that we feel lost at times.	9:35
	Help us in our choices	9:39
	and in our actions to be guided by Christ	9:41
	and many of us feel lonely and cut off	9:47
	from genuine love.	9:49
	Help us as your people	9:52
	to transform the proximity of our lives	9:54
	into giving, sharing, caring communities of faith.	9:58
	We pray today for persons who have suffered loss.	10:05
	Those whose lives have been shattered	10:10
	by the death of a loved one,	10:12
	those who have lost jobs,	10:16
	those who have lost homes and now as refugees	10:21
	have nowhere to lay their heads.	10:25
	Those who have lost human dignity	10:30
	in the face of crushing poverty.	10:32
	Those who lead nations and people	10:38
	but who have lost touch with the cries	10:40
	and the needs of their people,	10:42
	who have sacrificed compassion and sensitivity	10:45
	in the game of power and politics.	10:48
	In such a world as this,	10:54
	restore us and all your people	10:58
	to a vision of a kingdom where your purposes	11:01
	of love are served	11:04
	for we pray in the name of him	11:08
	who came not to be served but to serve	11:10
	and to give his life to set us free	11:14
	and to teach us to live in the midst of our fears by faith.	11:18
	Jesus, our Lord, Jesus our Christ.	11:25
	Jesus our redeemer.	11:30
	Amen.	11:37
	We now have the opportunity	11:41
	in an act of commitment	11:42
	to do something tangible	11:44
	to indicate that commitment	11:46
	as we worship God with the giving of the offering.	11:48
	(tranquil music)	11:57
	(lively organ music)	18:17
	(congregation singing)	18:35
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	18:47
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	18:49
	(congregation singing)	18:54
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	19:05
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	19:08
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	19:11
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	19:14
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	19:17
-	We give not to seek your blessings, oh God,	19:35
	but to respond to them.	19:40
	May this always be the motive of our giving.	19:44
	Not to gain anything	19:48
	but simply to express our thanks	19:50
	through Christ our Lord	19:54
	who taught us all to pray.	19:56
-	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	19:58
	hallowed be thy name,	20:02
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	20:04
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	20:08
	Give us this day our daily bread	20:11
	and forgive us our trespasses	20:14
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	20:16
	and lead us not into temptation	20:20
	but deliver us from evil	20:23
	for thine is the kingdom,	20:26
	and the power and the glory forever.	20:28
	Amen.	20:32
	(lively organ music)	20:40
	(congregation singing)	21:13
-	And now may the Lord bless you and keep you.	23:34
	May the Lord make his face to shine upon you	23:37
	and be gracious unto you.	23:40
	May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you	23:43
	and give you peace.	23:46
	Amen.	23:48
	(lively organ music)	23:53

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 34:16. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 03:48.
Fear is a chronic condition of humanity. Yet, as he did with the disciples, Jesus comes to us in mysterious ways, and asks us to let go of our fear and come to him empty handed, ready to follow in faith. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “By nature, we cling to our fears rather than giving them away. Yet faith, by its very nature, requires us to come to Christ with empty hands, clinging to nothing, leaving all our possessions, even our fears behind us. The question is, are we willing to give a lifetime, like Peter, in order to learn how?”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4sb3xc78

Date:

August 12, 1984

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0223
ref7967_q2h
uachapelsermaud
duke:320620
dcrau001211
ark:/87924/r4sb3xc78
f04d7a8c-11d0-4af8-91a0-be052b2587aa

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

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This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)

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1. Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving Up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)

Duke University Archives

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Giving up on Fear" (August 12, 1984)

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Duke University Archives

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