Joan M. Salmon - "Dear Lord, Forgive" (December 29, 1985)

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	(soft music)	0:02
-	Good morning, welcome to Duke Chapel,	22:49
	for this first Sunday after Christmas.	22:51
	We're glad to have so many visitors with us today.	22:55
	We've been enjoying the music of Dr. Tom Clark	22:59
	who is a regular here in the chapel.	23:02
	Dr. Clark is not only a physician,	23:05
	but a musician, and he has written many	23:07
	of the instrumental parts for today's service,	23:09
	and his guest musicians with us today, we welcome.	23:14
	Our guest preacher today,	23:18
	is the Reverend Joan Solomon Campbell,	23:20
	an executive of the Philadelphia Presbytery.	23:23
	She is a talented musician and preacher,	23:26
	and it is our privilege to welcome her	23:30
	as our preacher today.	23:33
	Now let us continue our worship.	23:36
	(soft music)	23:42
	(choir singing)	24:35
-	The act of praise is number 618,	27:27
	men read regular type, women reading bold face type	27:31
	Glory to God on high.	27:38
-	And on Earth, peace, good will toward men.	27:42
-	We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee.	27:46
-	We glorify thee, we give thanks to thee	27:50
	for thy great glory.	27:53
-	Oh Lord God, Heavenly King,	27:55
-	God the Father Almighty,	27:58
-	Oh Lord, the only begotten son, Jesus Christ,	28:01
-	Oh Lord God, lamb of God, son of the Father.	28:05
-	That takest away the sins of the world,	28:10
-	Have mercy upon us.	28:12
-	Thou that takest away the sins of the world,	28:14
-	Receive our prayer.	28:18
-	Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father,	28:20
-	Have mercy upon us.	28:23
-	For thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord.	28:26
-	Thou only, oh Christ, with the Holy Ghost	28:30
	art most high in the glory of God the Father,	28:33
	amen.	28:38
-	Amen.
-	Let us pray.	28:51
	Open our heart and minds Oh God,	28:54
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	28:57
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	29:00
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	29:04
	A reading from the Second Book of Samuel.	29:13
	And the three sons of Zeruiah were there,	29:17
	Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.	29:21
	Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle,	29:26
	and Asahel pursued Abner,	29:31
	and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand,	29:34
	nor to the left from following Abner.	29:37
	Then Abner looked behind him and said,	29:41
	is it you Asahel?	29:43
	And he answered, it is I.	29:46
	Abner said to him, turn aside to your right hand,	29:49
	or to your left, and seize one of the young men,	29:53
	and take his spoil.	29:56
	But Asahel would not turn aside from following him,	29:58
	and Abner said again to Asahel,	30:02
	turn aside from following me,	30:06
	why should I smite you to the ground?	30:08
	How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?	30:11
	But he refused to turn aside, therefore Abner smote him	30:16
	in the belly with the butt of his spear,	30:21
	so that the spear came out at his back,	30:23
	and he fell there, and died where he was.	30:27
	And all who came to the place	30:31
	where Asahel had fallen and died stood still.	30:33
	But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner,	30:37
	and as the sun was going down,	30:41
	they came to the hill of Ammah,	30:43
	which lies before Giah on the way	30:45
	to the wilderness of Gibeon.	30:47
	And Benjaminites gathered themselves together	30:50
	behind Abner, and became one band,	30:52
	and took their stand on the top of a hill.	30:55
	Then Abner called to Joab, shall the sword devour forever?	30:59
	Do you not know that the end will be bitter?	31:04
	How long will it be before you bid	31:07
	your people turn from the pursuit of their brethren?	31:09
	And Joab said, as God lives, if you had not spoken,	31:13
	surely the men would've given up	31:19
	the pursuit of their brethren in the morning.	31:21
	So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped,	31:24
	and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.	31:27
	Here ends the reading of the first lesson.	31:34
-	Let us stand for the Psalm,	31:41
	which is number 590 in the hymnal.	31:44
	Praise the Lord, I will give thanks to the Lord	31:51
	with my whole heart.	31:53
	(audience speaking)	31:57
	Great are the works of the Lord.	32:00
	(audience speaking)	32:03
	Full of honor and majesty is his work.	32:07
	(audience speaking)	32:11
	He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered.	32:14
	(audience speaking)	32:18
	He provides food for those who fear him.	32:21
	(audience speaking)	32:25
	He has shown his people the power of his works.	32:27
	(audience speaking)	32:31
	the works of his hands are faithful and just.	32:34
	(audience speaking)	32:38
	They are established forever and ever.	32:40
	(audience speaking)	32:44
	He sent redemption to his people.	32:48
	(audience speaking)	32:52
	(soft music)	32:56
	(choir singing)	33:06
	A reading from the letter to the Colossians.	34:10
	Put on then as God's chosen ones,	34:15
	holy and beloved, compassion, kindness,	34:18
	lowliness, meekness, and patience.	34:24
	Forbearing one another,	34:29
	and if one has a complaint against another,	34:31
	forgiving each other.	34:34
	As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.	34:35
	And above all these, put on love,	34:41
	which binds everything together in perfect harmony,	34:44
	and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,	34:48
	to which indeed you were called in the one body,	34:51
	and be thankful.	34:53
	Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.	34:56
	Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,	35:00
	and sing Psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs,	35:03
	with thankfulness in your hearts to God.	35:07
	And whatever you do in word or deed,	35:10
	do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,	35:13
	giving thanks to God the Father through him.	35:17
	Here ends the second reading.	35:23
	A reading from the gospel according to Saint Luke.	35:29
	Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year	35:34
	at the feast of the Passover.	35:37
	And when he was 12 years old, they went up,	35:39
	according to the custom, and when the feast was ended,	35:42
	as they were returning,	35:45
	the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.	35:47
	His parents did not know it,	35:51
	but supposing him to be in the company,	35:53
	they went a day's journey,	35:55
	and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances,	35:57
	and when they did not find him,	36:02
	they returned to Jerusalem seeking him.	36:04
	After three days, they found him in the temple,	36:07
	sitting among the teachers, listening to them,	36:10
	and asking them questions.	36:13
	And all who heard him were amazed	36:15
	at his understanding and his answers.	36:18
	And when they saw him, they were astonished.	36:21
	And his mother said to him, son, why have you treated us so?	36:24
	Behold, your father and I	36:29
	have been looking for you anxiously.	36:30
	And he said to them, how is it that you sought me?	36:33
	Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?	36:37
	And they did not understand	36:42
	the saying which he spoke to them.	36:43
	And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth,	36:45
	and was obedient to them,	36:48
	and his mother kept all these things in her heart.	36:50
	And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature,	36:54
	and in favor with God and humankind.	36:58
	Here ends the reading of the gospel.	37:02
	(soft music)	37:08
	(choir singing)	38:08
-	Good morning, I'm gonna say it again,	39:31
	good morning!	39:35
Audience	Good morning.	39:36
-	Better.	39:38
	And season's greetings to all of you.	39:38
	It is a distinct privilege and pleasure	39:41
	to be here in Duke University Chapel this morning	39:45
	to share the word of God with you	39:49
	on this last Sunday in the year 1985.	39:51
	And I've come to offer to you a pause	39:56
	that refreshes.	40:02
	And I'm not talking about Pepsi Cola.	40:04
	Though it is billed as the real thing,	40:08
	I would like to offer to you,	40:11
	the Christian Family of God this morning,	40:14
	the pause that not only refreshes,	40:17
	but renews and restores.	40:20
	And that pause is none other than taking the time	40:24
	to seek forgiveness,	40:30
	and to offer forgiveness.	40:33
	Think for a moment in your minds eye,	40:37
	of the many times this year	40:42
	when you have not been all you could've been,	40:45
	when you were perhaps unkind or quick of tongue,	40:51
	when you were uncaring, and perhaps those times	40:57
	when you did not even realize	41:02
	that perhaps you had offended another.	41:03
	Think also, and perhaps this will be easier for you,	41:07
	of the many times someone offended you,	41:11
	or made you hurt, or uncomfortable,	41:15
	or you wished that you could be perhaps	41:19
	like Samantha on the television,	41:21
	and you could wiggle your nose,	41:23
	and make the irritating person disappear.	41:25
	How many times has that happened,	41:29
	and does that happen in a lifetime?	41:31
	It is appropriate that at the year's end,	41:35
	as we pause to really think how good God has been to us,	41:38
	that we should also place upon our lips these words,	41:42
	dear Lord, forgive.	41:47
	I would ask that you join me in a word of prayer,	41:50
	as we think together on this theme this morning.	41:53
	Let us pray.	41:56
	♪ If I have wounded ♪	42:02
	♪ any soul today, ♪	42:05
	♪ If I have caused ♪	42:09
	♪ one foot to go astray, ♪	42:13
	♪ If I have walked ♪	42:19
	♪ in my own willful way, ♪	42:23
	♪ Dear Lord, ♪	42:29
	♪ forgive ♪	42:34
	♪ If I have uttered ♪	42:39
	♪ idle words or vain, ♪	42:42
	♪ If I have turned aside ♪	42:47
	♪ from want or pain ♪	42:52
	♪ Lest I offend some other ♪	42:56
	♪ through the strain, ♪	43:02
	♪ Dear Lord, ♪	43:06
	♪ forgive ♪	43:10
	♪ Forgive the sins ♪	43:15
	♪ I have confessed to thee ♪	43:18
	♪ Forgive the secret ♪	43:23
	♪ sins I do not see, ♪	43:27
	♪ Oh guide me, love me, ♪	43:32
	♪ and my keeper be, ♪	43:37
	♪ Dear Lord, ♪	43:44
	♪ forgive ♪	43:50
	Let the people of God say amen.	43:58
	There is a beautiful book I want to suggest to you,	44:03
	and hope that you will place it	44:07
	at the top of your reading lists for 1986.	44:08
	It is written by Doris Donnelly,	44:12
	who is a professor at Princeton Seminary,	44:15
	and it is called, Learning To Forgive.	44:18
	In it Doris gives a definition of the word forgiveness.	44:22
	She says forgiveness is part of a process	44:29
	that begins with a hurt and ends	44:33
	as it's final long-range goal,	44:37
	with the event of reconciliation.	44:40
	To be reconciled means to bring together	44:44
	that which belongs together,	44:49
	that which is now apart.	44:52
	It works only however, when we pause,	44:55
	when we take the time to forgive and to be forgiven.	44:59
	Only when we become aware of the depth	45:05
	of the offense against us,	45:09
	or against others,	45:12
	so that we can forgive with all of our wits about us,	45:15
	and insure a kind of enduring peace,	45:19
	and a move towards true holiness.	45:24
	Most of the time,	45:28
	human beings bypass forgiveness.	45:30
	We rapidly move from our hurts and our emotions	45:34
	to reconciliation, without taking a passing glance even,	45:40
	at what must be forgiven before a lasting healing	45:45
	can really occur.	45:50
	How many times do you remember as a child	45:53
	when perhaps you had a scrap with one of your siblings,	45:55
	and your mother had to be the referee?	45:59
	It happens frequently in my own house,	46:01
	and I have to break the kids up,	46:04
	and I say, "Now it's time to stop fussing,	46:06
	"kiss and make up", or I will say to the boys,	46:08
	"shake hands and be men about this".	46:12
	Or perhaps when someone you love finds themselves at odds,	46:16
	and you know that they're going separate ways,	46:21
	and the best thing we can offer is,	46:25
	hurry and get back together again.	46:28
	But emphasis to often is placed on speed.	46:32
	The quicker we move away from our grief, the better.	46:36
	Better still, don't even notice that you hurt.	46:41
	It is better to pretend you're in control,	46:45
	and you've got it all together,	46:48
	and it really doesn't matter anyway.	46:49
	We think even of the many times,	46:52
	when something happens to us, even in our workaday life,	46:54
	and we find ourselves literally being fired,	46:59
	and when a friend confronts us about it,	47:03
	have you ever heard someone say,	47:05
	I wasn't fire, I quit?	47:08
	No one did anything to me.	47:11
	We don't really acknowledge where it hurts the deepest.	47:13
	To confront our hurts,	47:18
	to face our wounds head on	47:21
	has often been regarded in our society	47:25
	as an embarrassing act of self-serving pity.	47:28
	And grown up together, sophisticated,	47:33
	intelligent, educated people simply don't	47:36
	lick their wounds in public.	47:39
	To bypass forgiveness, spares us the need to do this.	47:42
	If we know something has happened, and we simply go on,	47:48
	and we remain ladies and gentleman about it,	47:51
	and we pretend we're reconciled,	47:54
	that's really all that matters.	47:56
	I might say that perhaps that's also one of the reasons	47:59
	why in many of our churches today across this country,	48:03
	we have put on the facade	48:07
	of being reconciled with one another,	48:10
	but we really have not worked at	48:13
	using the power of forgiveness	48:15

-	God has granted us all that we can pass on	0:02
	one to the other so that the slightest little thing	0:05
	can ignite the hurt and open the wound all over again.	0:09
	Thus, we have polite worshipers on a Sunday morning,	0:14
	not necessarily loving, committed worshipers	0:19
	on Sunday mornings.	0:23
	This behavior inspires not only us as individuals,	0:26
	but it also inspires and is used by nations.	0:31
	After barbaric and inhumane behavior between countries,	0:36
	we see nations sit down at the negotiating table	0:40
	to sign treaties in a noble tribute to be reconciled.	0:45
	It's going on right now in the Middle East	0:51
	as there is an attempt for Israel and Lebanon	0:54
	to work out their differences,	0:57
	but perhaps there's hope because at least they're	1:00
	saying there are some terms that are not comfortable,	1:03
	and we aren't sure we're making progress.	1:07
	It takes a little bit longer at the negotiating table.	1:10
	Those very same truces that are signed very quickly	1:15
	are violated frequently before the ink is even dry	1:20
	when countries have not forgiven	1:24
	before reconciliation is attempted.	1:27
	To hasten reconciliation without allowing the two sides	1:30
	to unveil and examine their wounds in the open,	1:36
	before one another, to confess their pain,	1:41
	to forgive the making of those wounds, is futile.	1:45
	It is like a patch-up gesture doomed	1:50
	to allow the original hurt to fester again,	1:54
	and in short order, and burst out	1:58
	with even greater violence.	2:01
	Such desperation has led to massacres,	2:04
	like the one of Nat Turner and John Brown.	2:08
	Such haste in reconciliation has led to the riots	2:11
	of the '60s, to guerrilla tactics in Central America,	2:15
	to terrorism and even war.	2:20
	Peace in families, friendships	2:24
	and nations is a costly	2:28
	business dear friends, but what is the price	2:31
	that you and I must pay?	2:35
	It is a pause that really is uncommon behavior,	2:37
	but which is necessary before trust	2:41
	and love can take root.	2:45
	And that price is the simple act of forgiveness.	2:47
	The need for forgiveness is pervasive and it is constant.	2:53
	Where it is present, there is a quality of life	2:58
	that is tensionless, it is graceful.	3:02
	Where forgiveness is absent, there is gnarled,	3:07
	there are gnarled and hardened lives	3:12
	which are undergirded by self righteous behavior	3:15
	or people who slush around in self pity.	3:19
	The need for forgiveness was pervasive that day,	3:23
	that day of blood revenge for ancient Israel,	3:28
	which you heard read about in Second Samuel.	3:32
	Abner recognized the need due to his own situation,	3:35
	his own pain and his hurt pride.	3:41
	He had clearly lost the battle.	3:44
	He had nowhere to hide.	3:47
	Abner was the commander of Saul's army.	3:50
	After King Saul had died, Abner brought his son,	3:54
	Ish-bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king	3:59
	over Israel, all of Israel.	4:04
	Accept that David had been	4:07
	secretly anointed by Samuel	4:10
	and had gained his kingdom Juda,	4:13
	by diplomacy and force.	4:16
	The people, God's chosen people, were divided	4:19
	and at each other's throats.	4:23
	The throne of David was established at Hebron	4:25
	with this House of Judah.	4:30
	Though Ish-bosheth is set up as the successor of Saul	4:32
	and is legally the king, everyone knows that Abner	4:37
	is the power behind the throne.	4:43
	For two years, Ishmosheff reigns	4:46
	and his reign is nothing compared to what David has done,	4:50
	for now a period of seven years, a sort of duel	4:55
	takes place between Abner and Joab	4:59
	and it happens at Gibeon, and it develops into a	5:05
	full-scale war.	5:08
	Three of the sons of Zaria are there,	5:11
	Joab, Abishai and Asael.	5:14
	Asael is the one who is the youngest and who could	5:18
	run the fastest, and he knew that as Abner was retreating,	5:20
	he could catch him and that he would, indeed, kill him.	5:25
	In his youthfulness, he had forgotten that he was not	5:30
	an expert soldier, so that he did not live very long.	5:33
	Two of this trio of brothers will be very important	5:38
	in the reign of David, but in this ensuing conflict,	5:42
	Asael is killed by an unwilling Abner,	5:47
	who knew the family and did not want to kill	5:51
	one of these brothers.	5:55
	He and Joab were good friends.	5:57
	He knew that he would have to deal with the blood vengeance	6:01
	of Asael's brother, and he begged him,	6:06
	go away, go kill some other soldier, leave me alone,	6:09
	for I will have to destroy you.	6:13
	An uncommon thing happened	6:16
	for two nations in conflict.	6:20
	There is a truce that happens	6:23
	between Joab and Abner	6:26
	which puts an end to the this first conflict	6:29
	in which David is the victim.	6:33
	How does this happen?	6:36
	What is the price that was paid	6:38
	for this moment of apparent reconciliation?	6:41
	With a great deal of courage, with tucked pride	6:45
	and apparent cowardice and obvious defeat,	6:50
	Abner gathers all of his army behind him on a hill	6:54
	and he stops the action by calling out to Joab.	6:59
	It was uncommon behavior, no one ever did that	7:04
	in the midst of battle.	7:06
	But he stops and he says,	7:08
	"Shall the sword devour forever?	7:11
	"Do you not know that the end will be bitter?	7:15
	"How long will it be before you bid your people	7:18
	to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?"	7:23
	And Joab could hear.	7:27
	He said, "As God lives,	7:30
	if you had not spoken,	7:33
	"surely these men would have fought till morning	7:36
	and obviously they would have won."	7:40
	So Joab blew the trumpet and all the men stopped	7:43
	and pursued Israel no more.	7:47
	For a brief moment in the history of ancient Israel,	7:50
	two men recognized the importance of the pause	7:54
	that refreshes, to examine the hurt, the pain,	7:59
	the consequences of resentment, jealousy, anger.	8:04
	Two men stopped to consider the power	8:09
	and the possibility that both could forgive.	8:13
	It is not an easy thing to do.	8:18
	The practice of forgiveness is a harder thing to do	8:21
	than the theory we talk about.	8:27
	I'm sure some of you know the evangelist, Corrie ten Boom.	8:30
	She has written a book called "The Hiding Place,"	8:34
	and she tells the story of the time after her release	8:38
	from a concentration camp where her sister Betsy had died.	8:42
	Corrie had preached all over Europe	8:47
	about the need to forgive one's enemies.	8:50
	And after she had finished a service one day,	8:55
	she was greeting worshipers at the back of the church	8:58
	and as she greeted one particular man,	9:02
	she recognized that it was the SS guard at the shower room	9:04
	in the processing room at Ravensbruck.	9:09
	She says,	9:14
	"How grateful I am to remember this time,"	9:16
	for the man said to her, "I thank you Corrie,	9:21
	"for your message.	9:24
	"To think that as you say,	9:27
	Jesus has washed my sins away."	9:29
	"Suddenly, it was all there," Corrie said.	9:33
	"The room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing,	9:36
	"the pain, the face of my sister Betsy.	9:41
	"His hand was stretched out to me to shake it	9:45
	"and I who had preached so often	9:48
	"to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive,	9:50
	"kept my hand at my side.	9:55
	"I could not raise it even as angry,	9:57
	"vengeful thoughts raced through my mind,"	10:02
	she says, "I saw the sin of my own actions.	10:06
	"Jesus had died for this man.	10:11
	"Was I going to require more?	10:14
	"I tried to smile, but nothing would come.	10:17
	"I struggled to raise my hand and I could not.	10:20
	"I felt nothing, not the slightest spark	10:23
	"of warmth or charity, and so again,	10:25
	"I breathed a silent prayer.	10:28
	"Jesus, I cannot forgive him.	10:30
	"Give me your forgiveness.	10:33
	"As I took his hand, a most incredible thing happened.	10:35
	"From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand,	10:39
	"a current seemed to pain or pour from me to him	10:42
	"while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger	10:48
	"that almost overwhelmed me, and I discovered that it is not	10:52
	"our forgiveness anymore than it is our goodness	10:57
	"that the world's healing hinges,	11:02
	"but rather it is Jesus' forgiveness."	11:05
	When Jesus tells us to love our enemies,	11:09
	He gives along with the command	11:12
	the love we need to accomplish the task.	11:15
	In the presence and the power of Christ,	11:20
	pains and hurts which loom so large within our being	11:24
	become smaller and more manageable.	11:29
	The truth is that many of us in this sanctuary this morning	11:33
	who call ourselves Christian,	11:37
	do not take the time to forgive.	11:40
	The pain of the hurt is so deep, the connecting anger,	11:43
	the hatred or resentment so profound,	11:48
	that forgiveness doesn't seem to be	11:51
	likely or even a possibility.	11:53
	Non-forgiveness is the only reasonable way.	11:57
	After all, not to forgive honors my emotions.	12:01
	I'm angry and I honor that.	12:05
	It affirms the pain and it's after effects.	12:08
	It looks after me, the damaged person.	12:11
	If I don't forgive, I'm going to protect myself.	12:15
	Forgiveness is on the other hand,	12:19
	unreasonable as is life	12:22
	and as God also seems to be	12:25
	sometimes, for you see, children die.	12:27
	Husbands leave their wives and wives leave their husbands.	12:31
	Old people die lonely, floods wipe out communities.	12:35
	Volcanoes erupt and destroy cities and towns,	12:40
	and God appears to somehow	12:45
	allow these tragedies to occur	12:49
	without interfering or intervening	12:52
	what is ultimately within God's control.	12:54
	It is unreasonable, yet it is only the persons	12:59
	who experience and survive	13:04
	the unreasonableness of life	13:08
	who can understand the	13:11
	unreasonableness of forgiveness.	13:13
	It is only as we endure and risk and live into and through	13:18
	our pain that we begin to understand	13:23
	the mystery that is forgiveness.	13:27
	Humans tend to avoid that which we do not understand	13:31
	or which remains a mystery.	13:35
	People don't forgive when the pain is new and deep.	13:37
	It is not easy to love our neighbors when we are hurting.	13:41
	It is a goal to work towards, but it requires practice	13:46
	and exercise to plain, strategies to reach	13:50
	and support from a community such as	13:54
	the body of Christ, the church, to sustain.	13:57
	We cannot do it by ourselves.	14:00
	Non-forgivers, however, deny this goal.	14:03
	I don't need anybody.	14:07
	I go to church and I worship and I'm clear, I worship God.	14:09
	Those people who worship with me really don't matter,	14:12
	says the non-forgiver.	14:16
	But forgivers move beyond the pain to forgiveness	14:18
	and healing of relationship, for as we share our pain,	14:23
	one with the other and we lift it up and help each other	14:28
	bear our burdens, we find that we are also strengthened.	14:32
	There are other reasons people don't forgive.	14:38
	Anger, jealousy, resentment, revenge,	14:41
	because it isn't the socially acceptable thing to do.	14:47
	We may ask ourselves, who isn't out of fashion to forgive?	14:52
	The list varies from century to century.	14:57
	In Jesus' Day, the list included the tax collectors	15:01
	and the prostitutes.	15:04
	Nowadays, the tax collector and the prostitutes	15:06
	almost appear to be angels for more than these	15:09
	are the welfare cheats, the dope pushers, the abortionists,	15:13
	the environmental polluters, the terrorists,	15:18
	child and spouse abusers, sexual deviants.	15:22
	These are the people whom we do not forgive.	15:27
	Just suppose God gave these folks a second chance.	15:31
	I wonder if you and I would be like Jonah	15:37
	and have a kind of Ninevehnitus, I call it,	15:40
	that resented the facts that God would dare to have mercy	15:43
	on all human beings, regardless of their plight in life.	15:47
	We also find ourselves unwilling to forgive.	15:53
	Persons who are not dealt with	15:57
	forgivingly are dealt with punitively.	15:59
	For you see, if we don't forgive,	16:04
	it means that I'm gonna punish you.	16:05
	You're gonna pay for what you did to me.	16:07
	Once we deal punitively with others,	16:11
	then we eliminate the possibility for forgiveness.	16:14
	Many of us do not forgive because there's an easier way.	16:19
	I'll just pretend you don't exist, I never knew you.	16:23
	I will just cut you right out of my life and I will go on.	16:27
	How can, we might ask a Winnie Mandela,	16:33
	forgive the South African government	16:38
	for barring her from her home and family,	16:42
	for imprisoning her husband.	16:45
	How can she forgive?	16:49
	How can mothers of the homelands forgive a people	16:51
	who forced them to watch their babies die	16:56
	and stripped them of the love and the meaning of family life	17:00
	as their menfolk are absent from them?	17:06
	How can the people in Nicaragua and El Salvador	17:11
	forgive those who forced them from their homes,	17:16
	who kidnapped family members, who killed their relatives,	17:20
	who torture their loved ones?	17:24
	How can the people of Palestine and Israel forgive those	17:28
	whom they despise and resent so intensely?	17:32
	How can the family forgive the terrorists	17:37
	that randomly killed their 12-year-old daughter	17:41
	in an airport in Rome?	17:45
	How can the women in America, especially women of color,	17:49
	forgive a government, a social system, a society	17:54
	which feminizes the dregs of poverty,	17:59
	that starves their children and makes families homeless,	18:02
	unhealthy and desperate?	18:06
	How can my black sons forgive a society	18:10
	which denies him a chance to work even on the brink	18:14
	of the 21st century because of the color of his skin?	18:19
	The church is the place where we must come	18:25
	to find a way to take that pause that refreshes,	18:30
	renews, restores and heals all of this wretched brokenness.	18:34
	The church must find ways to pry out, on their behalf,	18:39
	and our own, dear Lord, forgive.	18:44
	Forgive us that we may forgive.	18:49
	The church can aptly make such a cry.	18:53
	Christianity destroyed the barriers	18:57
	which came from birth and nationality,	19:01
	from ceremony and ritual, from the cultured	19:04
	and the un-cultured, between class,	19:07
	between those things which drive us apart.	19:11
	For we are told there is no slave or free, no Jew or Greek,	19:15
	for we all are children of God.	19:21
	In the presence of God,	19:24
	social distinctions of the world become irrelevant.	19:25
	In Colossians, Paul reaffirms that all	19:30
	are God's chosen people.	19:35
	There is no most favored nation in God's economy.	19:38
	If we dared to think that we are	19:43
	superior or better than another,	19:45
	we have fooled ourselves,	19:48
	for God treats each of us and loves each of us equally.	19:50
	There are no virtues listed in this passage read to you	19:55
	in Colossians 3 this morning,	19:59
	that deal with things such as efficiency, decency,	20:01
	order, cleverness, diligence and industry.	20:06
	Those aren't the things that Paul lists as essential graces	20:09
	that you and I as Christians must own,	20:14
	but each of the graces and virtues that he talks about	20:16
	has to do with personal relationships.	20:21
	I invite you to go home and read	20:24
	Colossians 3 for yourselves.	20:26
	The basic Christian virtues govern	20:29
	and set the tone of human relationships.	20:32
	Christianity is community.	20:36
	Christianity on the divine side provides for you and me	20:39
	the amazing gift of peace and oneness with God,	20:44
	a transcendent being.	20:48
	On the human side, we have the triumphant solution	20:51
	of the problem of living together as human beings,	20:56
	as different as we are.	21:00
	Among these five virtues which Paul mentions	21:03
	that Christians must have in relationships,	21:07
	is forbearance and a forgiving spirit.	21:10
	The Christian must forbear and forgive,	21:15
	never forgetting that we have also been forgiven.	21:18
	As God forgives us, so we must forgive others.	21:23
	The perfect example of such forgiveness,	21:29
	or bond of this forgiveness is based upon love,	21:34
	for love holds the whole Christian body together.	21:39
	We may not like another, but we must love another.	21:43
	We must let the peace of God	21:48
	be the decider in our hearts.	21:51
	The Greek word used here as decider, means umpire.	21:55
	We must let Jesus be the umpire, if you will, in our heart.	22:00
	The Greek word is a verb from the athletic arena,	22:05
	used of the umpire who settles things	22:09
	with his decisions in any matter of dispute.	22:12
	If the peace of Jesus Christ is the umpire	22:16
	in your heart and mind when feelings clash	22:21
	and when we are pulled in two directions at the same time,	22:25
	Christian kindness conflicts in our hearts	22:31
	with un-Christian irritation and annoyances.	22:36
	The decision of Christ will keep us	22:39
	in the way of love	22:43
	and the church will then be able to remain	22:45
	the one body it is meant to be.	22:48
	The way to right action is for you and me	22:52
	to appoint Jesus Christ as the arbiter	22:57
	between the conflicting emotions	23:01
	in our hearts and minds.	23:04
	Paul finally reminds the church at Colossae,	23:06
	"In all you do and say,	23:10
	do so in the name of Christ."	23:14
	There is no way we can hold our grudges,	23:18
	our anger, our resentment, our pain even,	23:21
	and say we do it in the name of Christ.	23:25
	Every time we will acknowledge	23:28
	that we have lied to ourselves.	23:30
	We are told that we must always remember	23:33
	not only who we are, but more importantly, whose we are.	23:36
	On this last Sunday in 1985, friends,	23:42
	as you leave this place pondering the needs	23:47
	for you to forgive others and the need to be forgiven,	23:50
	I would ask you to make this resolve.	23:55
	Wherever and whatever you do or say,	24:00
	do it in the name of Christ,	24:05
	and even find the time.	24:09
	Take the pause that refreshes, renews, restores.	24:12
	Take the time to receive your forgiveness	24:18
	and to extend forgiveness to others.	24:22
	Let us pray.	24:26
	Dear God, in the name of your son Jesus,	24:33
	we ask you to have mercy upon us as individuals,	24:38
	as families.	24:41
	And as this congregation gathers and as	24:43
	Christians gather all over the world	24:46
	worshiping in your Son's name this morning,	24:48
	show all of us dear God, the way we must take.	24:51
	Give us the courage we need that we may pause	24:56
	and examine the things that make our lives	25:00
	the way they are.	25:03
	Have us dear God, to take the time and acknowledge	25:06
	the places that need to be healed, and then dear God,	25:08
	give us the wisdom to in fact pause and forgive.	25:12
	Dear God, we thank you that you have already forgiven us	25:17
	as we claim it then, let us be the vessels for the	25:20
	flow through of your love to others that they too,	25:25
	may know the good news of your son Jesus	25:28
	for their lives as we know it for our very own.	25:31
	We pray these things because indeed you have loved us.	25:34
	Let the people of God say Amen.	25:38
	(organ playing)	25:47
	(people singing hymn)	26:35
-	Let us affirm our faith.	29:53
	I believe in God, the Father Almighty,	29:56
	maker of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ,	29:59
	His only son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	30:03
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,	30:08
	was crucified, dead and buried.	30:13
	The third day he rose from the dead.	30:16
	He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand	30:18
	of God, the Father Almighty.	30:22
	From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	30:24
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church,	30:28
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	30:33
	the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.	30:36
	Amen.	30:41
	The Lord be with you.	30:43
-	And also with you.	30:45
-	Let us pray.	30:46
	Oh God, who has come among us	30:54
	in the babe of Bethlehem, we thank thee for Christmas,	30:57
	for gifts given and gifts received,	31:03
	for family gatherings in which those separated gather again,	31:08
	for letters and cards from those	31:14
	whom we have not heard for long.	31:16
	We give thee thanks, oh gracious God,	31:19
	for the spirit of goodwill, which is all through the land.	31:24
	For this time when people remember,	31:28
	if only for a little while,	31:31
	that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive,	31:33
	for this time when people find happiness	31:38
	in bringing happiness to others, we give thee thanks.	31:41
	Oh God, bless those for whom there has been	31:48
	little joy at this Christmas time.	31:51
	We think of those who are aged and alone,	31:54
	those who have no one left to remember them,	31:57
	to send them gifts or cards.	32:02
	Bless those who have lost someone dear	32:06
	this past year, who at Christmas time are very conscious	32:09
	of the one who is not there.	32:13
	Bless those who are poor and who hurt,	32:16
	not just for themselves but for all the gifts	32:19
	they long to give but cannot.	32:23
	Bless those who are ill and who must spend this time of joy	32:27
	in sickness or pain, especially those nearby	32:31
	in Duke Hospital.	32:35
	Bless those who are far home and far from friends,	32:37
	who are lonely and homesick among strangers	32:42
	in a strange place, especially the	32:45
	international student community here at Duke.	32:48
	Bless those who feel their loneliness and their loss	32:54
	more keenly than ever in this time of fellowship and joy.	32:57
	Oh God, send thy spirit among thy people this Christmastide.	33:03
	Make this a season when those who have quarreled	33:07
	will be reconciled and may they learn to forgive.	33:11
	Make this a time when those who have drifted apart,	33:17
	will find each other again.	33:19
	Make this a time when sons and daughters	33:22
	who rebelliously left home, will come back home	33:25
	and will find a welcome waiting for them.	33:29
	And also we pray for grieving families of those	33:34
	so senselessly killed in Rome and in Vienna.	33:37
	For those who've died in South African violence,	33:41
	and all others, victims of injustice and cruelty.	33:47
	Remembrance of them in our prayers makes us mindful	33:52
	of the one who entered into a humble home and	33:56
	took our life upon Him that He might bring us peace.	34:00
	Grant, oh Lord, in this Christmastime	34:07
	that Christ may be born again in our hearts,	34:10
	for thy love's sake.	34:14
	Amen.	34:17
	And now as a people to whom many good gifts have been given,	34:21
	let us offer ourselves and our	34:25
	gifts to God for God's work.	34:27
	(orchestra playing)	34:34
	(organ playing)	40:15
	(choir singing hymn)	40:59
-	Gracious God, we thank you for all the gifts of this life,	41:58
	particularly for the gift of thy dear son, Jesus the Christ,	42:02
	born among us and for the gift of forgiveness	42:07
	which enables us to give and to forgive others.	42:10
	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	42:15
	Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth	42:19
	as it is in heaven.	42:23
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	42:25
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	42:27
	who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation,	42:31
	but deliver us from evil.	42:35
	For Thine is the kingdom and the power	42:37
	and the glory forever.	42:40
	Amen.	42:43
	(orchestra playing)	42:48
	(organ playing)	43:34
	(choir singing hymn)	43:35
-	Now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	47:44
	the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	47:48
	be with you and remain with you always.	47:50
	Amen.	47:53
	(organ playing)	47:57

Item Info

Title:

Joan M. Salmon - "Dear Lord, Forgive" (December 29, 1985)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 39:31. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 24:28.
A desire to speedily forgive makes us forgo forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus’ forgiveness, not our own, is the way in which forgiveness will change the world. We may not understand forgiveness because it is unreasonable to us, but we must lean into that along with our community for support. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “[on forgiveness] The emphasis too often is placed on speed. The quicker we move away from our grief, the better. Better still, don’t even notice that you hurt. It is better to pretend you’re in control and you’ve got it all together and it really doesn’t matter anyway.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4g737j5f

Date:

December 29, 1985

Speaker:

Salmon-Campbell, Joan M.

Liturgical Calendar:

Christmas

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0303
ref8126_ufs
uachapelsermaud
duke:320930
dcrau001289
ark:/87924/r4g737j5f
e66dc257-aedc-43f6-ad93-a78b3da3bbf7

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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