William H. Willimon - "Journey of the Magi" (January 5, 1986)

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	(energetic organ music)	0:03
	♪ Once in royal Davids city ♪	8:17
	♪ stood a lowly cattle shed ♪	8:25
	♪ Where a mother laid her baby, ♪	8:34
	♪ In a manger for his bed. ♪	8:42
	♪ Mary was that mother mild ♪	8:50
	♪ Jesus Christ her little child ♪	8:58
	♪ And through all ♪	9:18
	♪ His wondrous childhood ♪	9:21
	♪ He would honor and obey ♪	9:26
	♪ Love and watch the lowly mother ♪	9:34
	♪ In whose gentle arms he lay ♪	9:43
	♪ Christian children always be ♪	9:50
	♪ Mild, obedient, good as he ♪	9:58
	♪ And our eyes at last shall see him ♪	10:09
	♪ Through his own redeeming love ♪	10:17
	♪ For that child so dear and gentle ♪	10:26
	♪ Is our Lord in heaven above ♪	10:34
	♪ And he leads his children on ♪	10:42
	♪ To the place where he is gone ♪	10:50
	(organ music)	11:15
	(choir sings angelically)	11:22
	(organ music)	15:05
	(choir sings energetically)	15:22
	(calm organ music)	17:21
	(choir sings sweetly)	17:40
	(gentle organ music)	22:08
-	Welcome to the chapel, it's always a very special Sunday	23:13
	when we are the host of the Raleigh Boy Choir,	23:17
	and we welcome them again to the chapel	23:20
	under the direction of Thomas Sibley,	23:24
	and the accompaniment of Terry Pope,	23:27
	and we're happy to have them with us.	23:29
	If you're a new student at Duke this semester,	23:32
	we invite you to be our guest at a brunch	23:34
	downstairs in the chapel basement,	23:37
	immediately after service today.	23:40
	Let us continue our worship on this Sunday before Epiphany.	23:43
	(organ music)	23:51
	(congregation sings)	24:19
-	Oh Eternal God, who by the leading of a star	26:34
	didst manifest thine only begotten son,	26:39
	to the peoples of the earth,	26:42
	as with joy the wise men hailed it's light,	26:44
	so may we be led by faith to thy presence.	26:48
	Where we may behold thy glory face to face,	26:52
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.	26:56
	Let us pray.	27:12
All	Open our hearts and minds, Oh God,	27:17
	by the power of your Holy Spirit so that	27:21
	this word is read and proclaimed,	27:24
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, Amen.	27:27
-	The first lesson is taken from the book of Isaiah.	27:36
	"Arise, shine, for your light has come,	27:42
	and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.	27:47
	For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,	27:52
	and thick darkness the peoples.	27:56
	But the Lord shall rise upon you	27:59
	and His glory will be seen upon you.	28:03
	And the nations shall come to your light,	28:07
	and the kings to the brightness of your rising.	28:10
	Lift up your eyes round about and see,	28:16
	they all gather together.	28:21
	They come to you, your sons shall come from far,	28:24
	and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.	28:29
	Then you shall see, and be radiant.	28:34
	Your heart shall thrill and rejoice,	28:38
	because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,	28:42
	the wealth of the nations shall come to you.	28:47
	A multitude of camels shall cover you.	28:52
	The young camels of Midian and Ephah,	28:55
	all those from Sheba shall come.	29:00
	They shall bring gold and frankincense,	29:03
	and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord."	29:07
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	29:12
	Oh sing to the Lord a new song,	29:30
	(congregation responds)	29:33
	Sing to the Lord, bless His name.	29:36
	(congregation responds)	29:38
	Declare His glory among the nations.	29:42
	(congregation responds)	29:45
	For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.	29:48
	(congregation responds)	29:53
	For all the gods of the peoples are idols.	29:56
	(congregation responds)	30:00
	Honor and majesty are before Him.	30:02
	(congregation responds)	30:05
	Ascribe to the Lord, oh families of the peoples.	30:09
	(congregation responds)	30:13
	Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.	30:16
	(congregation responds)	30:19
	Worship the Lord in holy array.	30:23
	(congregation responds)	30:27
	Say among the nations, "the Lord reigns."	30:29
	(congregation responds)	30:34
	He will judge the peoples with equity.	30:38
	(congregation responds)	30:41
	Let the sea roar and all that fills it.	30:45
	(congregation responds)	30:49
	Then shall all the trees of the woods sing for joy	30:53
	before the Lord.	30:56
	(congregation responds)	30:58
	He will judge the world with righteousness.	31:02
	(congregation responds)	31:05
	(organ music)	31:08
	(congregation sings)	31:16
	The second lesson is taken	32:16
	from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.	32:19
	"For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus	32:23
	on behalf of you Gentiles,	32:29
	assuming that you have heard of the stewardship	32:32
	of God's grace, that was given to me for you.	32:34
	How the mystery was made known to you by revelation.	32:39
	As I have written briefly, when you read this,	32:44
	you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,	32:48
	which was not made known to the sons of men	32:53
	in other generations,	32:56
	as it is now been revealed to his holy Apostles	32:59
	and prophets by the Spirit, that is,	33:03
	how the Gentiles are fellow heirs,	33:07
	members of the same body,	33:10
	and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus	33:13
	through the Gospel.	33:17
	Of this Gospel, I was made a minister	33:20
	according to the gift of God's grace	33:23
	which was given to me by the working of His power.	33:27
	To me, though I am the very least of all the Saints,	33:31
	this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles	33:36
	the unsearchable riches of Christ,	33:40
	and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery	33:43
	hidden for ages in God who created all things,	33:47
	that through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God	33:53
	might now be made known to the principalities	33:57
	and powers in the heavenly places.	34:01
	This was according to the eternal purpose	34:06
	which He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,	34:09
	in whom we have boldness,	34:14
	and confidence of access through our faith in Him.	34:16
	Here ends the reading of the second lesson.	34:21
	(organ plays)	34:34
	(choir sings)	34:48
	♪ Here lies the sweet child ♪	36:30
	♪ In a cradle of straw ♪	36:35
	♪ With Mary and Joseph now gazing in awe ♪	36:41
	♪ The worshiping shepherds ♪	36:53
	♪ they gather around ♪	36:59
	♪ They sing with the angels ♪	37:04
	♪ A heavenly sound ♪	37:10
-	The Gospel for this Sunday before Epiphany.	37:40
	"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,	37:44
	in the days of Herod the king,	37:48
	behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying,	37:51
	where is he who has been born King of the Jews?	37:56
	For we have seen his star in the east	38:00
	and have come to worship him.	38:03
	When Herod the king heard this,	38:06
	he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.	38:08
	And assembling all the chief priests	38:11
	and scribes of the people,	38:13
	he inquired to them where the Christ was to be born.	38:16
	They told him, in Bethlehem of Judea,	38:20
	for so it is written by the prophet,	38:25
	and you, oh Bethlehem in the land of Judah	38:27
	are by no means least of the rulers of Judah.	38:30
	For from you shall come a ruler	38:35
	who shall govern my people Israel.	38:37
	then Herod summoned the wise men secretly,	38:41
	and ascertained from them what time the star appeared,	38:44
	and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,	38:48
	go, and search diligently for the child,	38:51
	and when you have found him, bring him word	38:55
	that I too may come and worship him.	38:58
	When they had heard the king, they went their way	39:03
	and lo, the star which they had seen in the east,	39:07
	went before them, till it came to rest	39:10
	over the place where the child was.	39:13
	When they saw the star, they rejoiced	39:17
	exceedingly, with great joy.	39:20
	And going into the house,	39:22
	they saw the child with Mary, his mother,	39:24
	and they fell down and worshiped him.	39:29
	And opening their treasures they offered him gifts,	39:32
	gold, frankincense, myrrh.	39:36
	And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,	39:40
	they departed to their own country another way.	39:45
	The word of the Lord.	39:51
	Ours is an age of	39:58
	vast unbelief.	40:02
	Of doubt, and cynicism,	40:05
	and yet, at the same time,	40:09
	it's an age almost pathetically willing	40:11
	to believe in anything, if given half a chance	40:14
	to believe in something.	40:17
	I know when I got out of seminary,	40:19
	they convinced me that we were entering	40:21
	a religionless era.	40:24
	I was prepared to go out into something called	40:26
	the secular city, where humanity, come of age,	40:29
	would have no longer need of former consolations	40:34
	like God and religion and the Church.	40:37
	We were told that as people became more modern,	40:41
	they would get more secular, less religious.	40:44
	Well, like much of what I learned in seminary,	40:49
	this became dated six months into my first parish.	40:51
	For there I was set upon by Jesus freaks,	40:56
	faith healers, charismatics, the twice born,	40:59
	and I was forced to reassess	41:06
	this alleged rise of secularity.	41:08
	Indeed, I came to the conclusion that	41:14
	perhaps the modern problem was not too little religion,	41:17
	but too much religion of every shape, form, and fashion.	41:21
	From the sublime to the ridiculous.	41:24
	As we moved to the latter half of the '80s	41:28
	this religiosity continues unabated.	41:33
	In Evelyn Wall's novel Brideshead Revisited,	41:38
	a novel which talks about the dilemma	41:42
	of the modern non-believer and the modern believer,	41:45
	Charles, the sophisticated modern agnostic,	41:50
	and Sebastian the romantic believing Catholic,	41:56
	discuss religion.	42:01
	Charles, "I suppose they try to make you believe	42:03
	an awful lot of nonsense, don't they?"	42:07
	Sebastian, "is it nonsense?	42:10
	I wish it were, sometimes it sounds	42:14
	terribly sensible to me."	42:16
	"My dear Sebastian, you can't seriously believe it all."	42:19
	"Can't I?"	42:24
	"Well, I mean about Christmas and the star,	42:25
	and the three kings and the ox and the ass."	42:28
	"Oh yes, I believe that, it's just a lovely idea."	42:32
	"But you can't believe things simply because	42:36
	they're lovely ideas."	42:38
	"Oh, but I do, that's the way I believe."	42:40
	You look around bulletin boards at our university,	42:45
	and you will find many Eastern gurus	42:50
	still roving about, and there're lots of pop therapies	42:52
	that offer to rearrange your life for $50 a weekend.	42:57
	And for a pair of rubber soled shoes and a t-shirt,	43:02
	you can jog your way into immortality,	43:05
	provided you eat wheat germ and yogurt.	43:08
	Astrologers, health food faddists, meditators,	43:13
	nude bathers, primal screamers,	43:18
	well, they don't call it religion,	43:21
	but if you get trapped by one of them	43:23
	in a coffee hour conversation,	43:24
	it sure feels you're being evangelized	43:26
	for some kind of religion.	43:28
	It wasn't long ago, I stood with a communicant,	43:33
	of one of the stuffiest of stuffy Presbyterian churches,	43:38
	and she talked to me, while peering out	43:42
	from under a gold cardboard pyramid.	43:44
	"What is that you have on your head?" I ask.	43:48
	She said, "It's a pyramid."	43:52
	"I know very well it's a pyramid,	43:54
	but why are you wearing it on top of your head?"	43:56
	"Well, because I'm a bit depressed today, it lifts me up."	44:00
	"What if you're not depressed?"	44:05
	I asked, she said, "Then I wear a silver one."	44:07
	A small pyramid, when placed over a bowl of fruit,	44:11
	I was told, keeps her bananas from rotting.	44:15
	(congregation chuckles)	44:18
	This woman is a Presbyterian for heaven's sake!	44:21
	(congregation laughs)	44:24
	Now, I'll tell you, for someone like me,	44:26
	for someone like you, sophisticated, educated,	44:29
	mainline, middle of the road denomination,	44:34
	it's amusing, even shocking.	44:39
	Well of course this is nothing new.	44:45
	These hyper-religious have been bedeviling	44:48
	the most sophisticated of us for at least	44:52
	since the first century.	44:55
	They show up in the very first act of the story of Jesus.	44:58
	When Jesus was born, Matthew says,	45:04
	strange visitors from the east	45:09
	show up.	45:14
	Now, many of our English versions	45:16
	call these visitors wise men, which,	45:18
	I hate to tell you was a bit too charitable	45:23
	a designation, if not downright misleading.	45:26
	They are called, in the original Greek, magi,	45:29
	we get our word magic from the root magi,	45:34
	and a little note at the bottom of my RSV Bible,	45:39
	says that the magi were a learned class in ancient Persia.	45:42
	But that doesn't tell the whole story about the magi.	45:49
	Magi covered a conglomeration of astrologers	45:53
	and fortune tellers, augurs,	45:57
	magicians of varying degrees of plausibility, and quackery.	46:00
	Matthew is probably thinking of astrologers,	46:07
	star gazers,	46:11
	which is a ridiculous,	46:14
	specifically condemned pastime	46:17
	among the Hebrews.	46:21
	In other world these magi, that show up at the manger,	46:25
	would represent to the early Jewish reader,	46:28
	schooled in scripture,	46:32
	the epitome of gentile idolatry	46:35
	and religious quackery.	46:39
	Dabblers in stars, or chicken gizzards,	46:41
	forever trotting off here or there in search of	46:45
	some mysterious key to the future	46:47
	they thought they had seen in the constellations.	46:50
	You may remember that Paul has some choice words	46:54
	for one such magi, in Acts 13, calling him	46:57
	a son of the devil.	47:02
	Gold, frankincense and myrrh	47:05
	that we read about in the story,	47:08
	were more than likely the tricks of their trade,	47:10
	elements used in their alchemy, and various experiments.	47:14
	In other words, these magi may not be so much wise men,	47:21
	or "We three Kings of Orient are", as we sing,	47:25
	but your average, credulous, naive, Gentile	47:31
	horoscope devotee, sincere perhaps,	47:35
	learned it, earnest,	47:40
	but utterly ignorant about religious matters.	47:43
	So with a new star out, and first-century	47:49
	religious infatuations being what they were,	47:52
	it isn't surprising to find these star gazers	47:55
	out on a wild goose chase in Judea.	47:58
	They come to Herod, Herod gets his scholars,	48:01
	and resident theologians together,	48:06
	to check things out.	48:09
	And they inform him that the scriptures say,	48:11
	that Messiah will be born in Bethlehem.	48:14
	And then Herod, knowing a group of suckers	48:19
	when he sees them, tells the magi,	48:22
	"Go find the child" and so	48:25

-	To them too.	0:03
	The Magi go.	0:06
	They find the child.	0:09
	They fall down.	0:11
	They worship.	0:13
	Opening their treasures:	0:16
	the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh,	0:18
	the tricks of their trade.	0:20
	They offer everything they have to the child.	0:23
	Had the Magi not been warned in a dream,	0:28
	they might have gone back to Herod and told the whole thing.	0:32
	But being great believers in dreams,	0:37
	they go home another way.	0:41
	Now, I ask you, would you begin a story	0:45
	about the birth of Christ	0:48
	by pointing the spotlight on these magicians?	0:52
	What do they know?	0:56
	They're the wrong race,	0:59
	the wrong denomination, the wrong religion.	1:01
	All-in-all, it's a very kind of shocking way	1:06
	to begin a gospel.	1:08
	But do you see?	1:13
	The chosen people	1:16
	read church.	1:19
	We pour over our scriptures on Sunday morning,	1:23
	debate fine points of theology	1:28
	and we do it so decently and in order;	1:30
	checking one another out on correct doctrine;	1:34
	making sure that we all understand,	1:36
	that our heads are straight;	1:38
	keeping our religion middle-of-the-road,	1:41
	balanced, respectable.	1:43
	And in our wait,	1:48
	we miss the whole thing.	1:52
	Balanced, articulate, sophisticated.	1:56
	We know all the answers.	2:02
	We've heard the story a dozen times.	2:05
	The appearance of these stargazers from the East	2:08
	is deeply troubling to our urbane religious establishment.	2:12
	Is it time?	2:17
	Are we going to be forced to do	2:20
	what all academic people hate to do,	2:22
	namely, stop talking and start committing?	2:25
	Must we leave home, too?	2:31
	What have these magicians,	2:34
	these religious fanatics to teach us?	2:35
	Matthew knows that these Gentiles,	2:42
	deprived of the scriptures, lack explicit revelation.	2:45
	Any revelation they can get, they have to get	2:51
	through the inadequate vehicle of nature.	2:53
	For the Magi, this natural revelation	2:58
	comes through a star.	3:01
	The star is imperfect revelation	3:04
	because while it tells these outsiders	3:06
	that something is happening,	3:09
	it doesn't tell them where they shall find the child.	3:12
	That secret is locked in the scriptures,	3:16
	which only the chosen can open.	3:21
	And therein lies	3:25
	the tragic paradox	3:28
	of Matthew's tale.	3:30
	These Gentiles,	3:35
	simple-minded, naive, credulous,	3:39
	stargazers, fortune tellers,	3:43
	they come to worship.	3:48
	Forfeiting their gold and their myrrh.	3:51
	And those of us who have the scriptures	3:55
	and who can see so plainly what the prophets have said,	3:59
	we're unwilling to bend the knee and worship.	4:04
	We're off at the temple,	4:15
	pleasing the establishment,	4:18
	preaching suitably balanced academic sermons,	4:21
	cooperating with Caesar,	4:26
	yawning in church.	4:28
	To us, this divine epiphany	4:31
	is simply an annoying intrusion.	4:34
	Let us work with Herod to put an end to this commotion.	4:39
	Those who have the scriptures cannot see	4:46
	what the scriptures show.	4:48
	And Matthew says the shocking thing	4:52
	is that it's these outsiders,	4:55
	knowing no more than what they can see in the stars,	5:00
	these outsiders are the ones that relinquish their gifts,	5:06
	turn over everything they have and fall down at the manger,	5:10
	wonderstruck by this undeserved epiphany.	5:15
	Naive,	5:24
	untutored,	5:26
	unbalanced,	5:28
	tuned into the PTL club clutching	5:30
	an autographed photo of Pat Robertson,	5:32
	searching infatuated with foolish speculation	5:35
	and all sorts of kinky religious notions.	5:39
	"You have to hand it to them," says Matthew,	5:42
	"At least they are searching.	5:46
	And at least they're willing to risk once they see."	5:51
	But those of us among the chosen, the insiders,	5:59
	those of us who majored in religion and wrote term papers	6:04
	on correct biblical interpretation,	6:07
	the enlightened, the main-liners, the establishment.	6:10
	We plod on in our gray-flattened	6:15
	January sophisticated ruts.	6:18
	But as for those crazy old Magi,	6:23
	they get to go home	6:27
	another way.	6:31
	Amen.	6:34
	(congregation moving)	6:37
	("We Three Kings")	6:45
	♪ We three kings of orient are ♪	7:13
	♪ Bearing gifts we traverse afar ♪	7:18
	♪ Field and fountain ♪	7:24
	♪ Moor and mountain ♪	7:27
	♪ Following yonder star ♪	7:30
	♪ Oh ♪	7:36
	♪ Star of wonder, ♪	7:39
	♪ Star of night ♪	7:42
	♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪	7:45
	♪ Westward leading, ♪	7:51
	♪ Still proceeding ♪	7:54
	♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪	7:57
	♪ Born a babe on Bethlehem's plain ♪	8:06
	♪ Gold I bring to crown him again ♪	8:12
	♪ King forever, ♪	8:18
	♪ Ceasing never ♪	8:21
	♪ Over us all to reign ♪	8:24
	♪ Oh ♪	8:30
	♪ Star of wonder ♪	8:33
	♪ Star of night ♪	8:36
	♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪	8:39
	♪ Westward leading ♪	8:45
	♪ Still proceeding ♪	8:48
	♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪	8:51
	♪ Frankincense to offer have I ♪	9:01
	♪ Incense owns a deity nigh ♪	9:07
	♪ Prayer and praising, ♪	9:13
	♪ All men raising ♪	9:17
	♪ Worshiping God on high ♪	9:20
	♪ Oh ♪	9:25
	♪ Star of wonder ♪	9:28
	♪ Star of night ♪	9:31
	♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪	9:34
	♪ Westward leading ♪	9:41
	♪ Still proceeding ♪	9:44
	♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪	9:47
	♪ Myrrh is mine ♪	9:55
	♪ Its bitter perfume ♪	9:59
	♪ Breathes a life of gathering gloom ♪	10:01
	♪ Sorrowing, sighing ♪	10:08
	♪ Bleeding, dying ♪	10:11
	♪ Sealed in the stone-cold tomb ♪	10:14
	♪ Oh ♪	10:20
	♪ Star of wonder ♪	10:22
	♪ Star of night ♪	10:26
	♪ Star of royal beauty bright ♪	10:29
	♪ Westward leading ♪	10:35
	♪ Still proceeding ♪	10:39
	♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪	10:42
	♪ Glorious now behold him arise ♪	10:51
	♪ King and God and sacrifice ♪	10:57
	♪ Alleluia ♪	11:03
	♪ Alleluia ♪	11:07
	♪ Sounds through the earth and skies ♪	11:10
	♪ Oh ♪	11:16
	♪ Star of wonder ♪	11:18
	♪ Star of night ♪	11:22
	♪ Star of royal beauty bright ♪	11:25
	♪ Westward leading ♪	11:31
	♪ Still proceeding ♪	11:34
	♪ Guide us to ♪	11:37
	♪ thy perfect light ♪	11:41
-	Let us unite in the historic affirmation of our faith,	11:50
	the Apostle's Creed.	11:53
	I believe in God the father almighty,	11:56
	maker of heaven and earth	11:59
	and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.	12:01
	Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,	12:04
	born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilot,	12:07
	was crucified, dead and buried.	12:11
	The third day, he rose from the dead.	12:14
	He ascended into heaven, and sitteth	12:17
	at the right hand of God the father almighty.	12:20
	From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.	12:23
	I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic church,	12:27
	the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,	12:31
	the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.	12:35
	Amen.	12:40
	The Lord be with you.	12:41
-	And also with you.	12:43
-	Let us pray.	12:45
	(congregation shuffles)	12:48
	Almighty God, whose son our savior Jesus Christ	12:59
	is the light of the world.	13:04
	We have seen thy light and followed it	13:06
	as it breaks into the darkness,	13:10
	thus we turn to thee in prayer,	13:13
	illumined by thy holy word, asking that we, thy people,	13:15
	may shine with that same radiance.	13:20
	We bring before thee, oh God, our varied conditions	13:24
	and concerns in this new year.	13:27
	Not so much to remind thee of our needs,	13:30
	as to acknowledge the depths of thy healing power.	13:33
	We bring before thee, Creating God, the needs of our bodies.	13:39
	We pray for all of those weakened by the merciless plague	13:45
	of hunger and malnutrition.	13:48
	For all of those who fall prey to the assault	13:51
	of terminal illness or other disease,	13:54
	and for their families.	13:57
	For all those who discover in the process of aging,	14:00
	that their bodies are failing them.	14:04
	We bring before thee, Redeeming God, the needs of our minds.	14:07
	We pray for all those involved in educational pursuits.	14:13
	Students, faculty, administrators and support staff,	14:18
	and especially for all new students arriving here at Duke.	14:22
	For all those ravaged by the tyrannies of mental illness,	14:28
	and for all those who seek to expand our minds,	14:34
	visionaries, inventors, creative artists.	14:38
	We bring before thee, Sustaining God,	14:44
	the needs of our relationships.	14:47
	We pray for all those embroiled in conflict	14:51
	between parent and child, between husband and wife,	14:55
	between friends, and between nations.	15:00
	For all those who suffer from a lack of relationships	15:05
	and are burdened by a sense of loneliness,	15:09
	of worthlessness, and despair.	15:13
	For all those who have resisted the opportunity to relate	15:17
	even to thee, Gracious God, and who do not accept	15:21
	the acceptance that thou hast offered us.	15:25
	We lift these prayers before thee, oh God,	15:30
	reassured that thou hast searched us and known us	15:35
	and lovest us still.	15:39
	In the name of Jesus Christ,	15:42
	the light of the world, we pray.	15:44
	Amen.	15:47
	And now in the spirit of thanksgiving	15:52
	for God's mighty acts, let us offer our gifts	15:55
	and ourselves unto God.	15:58
	(paper shuffles)	16:03
	(congregation moves)	16:10
	(paper shuffles)	16:19
	(organ begins)	16:23
	♪ Unto his holy name ♪	16:30
	♪ Sing praise ♪	16:34
	♪ Sing praise, ♪	16:35
	♪ Praises ♪	16:37
	♪ Unto his holy name ♪	16:42
	♪ Sing praise ♪	16:46
	♪ Praises ♪	16:48
	♪ Unto his name ♪	16:59
	♪ Sing praise ♪	17:01
	♪ Praise him with songs of great joy ♪	17:04
	♪ Unto his name ♪	17:12
	♪ Sing praises ♪	17:14
	♪ Praise him with songs of great joy ♪	17:16
	(organ plays on)	17:23
	♪ For his is the glory ♪	17:26
	(organ plays on)	17:29
	♪ And his is the honor ♪	17:32
	♪ For his is the glory, the honor and thanks ♪	17:35
	♪ For his is the glory, the honor and thanks ♪	17:42
	♪ For his is the glory, the honor and thanks ♪	17:53
	♪ The glory, the honor and thanks ♪	17:59
	(organ music dies down)	18:05
	(up-beat organ music)	18:25
	♪ Alleluia ♪	18:41
	♪ Alleluia ♪	18:48
	♪ May God now be praised ♪	18:58
	♪ With thankful hearts ♪	19:05
	♪ and minds ♪	19:10
	♪ Behold his ♪	19:12
	♪ Presence ♪	19:16
	♪ For God today ♪	19:24
	♪ As there's such joy ♪	19:33
	♪ May we with ♪	19:41
	♪ Grateful hearts ♪	19:44
	♪ Forget him ♪	19:48
	♪ Never ♪	19:51
	(soothing organ music)	20:14
	("Doxology")	22:23
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	22:42
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	22:48
	♪ Alleluia ♪	22:53
	♪ Alleluia ♪	22:56
	♪ Praise Him above the Heavenly host ♪	23:01
	♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪	23:07
	♪ Alleluia ♪	23:13
	♪ Alleluia ♪	23:16
	♪ Alleluia ♪	23:19
	♪ Alleluia ♪	23:21
	♪ Alleluia ♪	23:25
	♪ Amen ♪	23:34
-	Oh, Morning Star, how fair and bright	23:45
	who beamest forth in truth and light.	23:48
	We thank thee for the many blessings of this life.	23:51
	For the joys of this season, for the hope of a new year,	23:55
	for the light of thy word,	24:00
	which guides us into the way of peace.	24:02
	Most especially, we thank thee that thou doest	24:05
	create and restore the dignity	24:08
	of all men and women through the one	24:11
	who humbled himself to partake of our humanity.	24:14
	Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray.	24:18
	Our father who art in heaven,	24:22
	hallowed be thy name.	24:25
	Thy kingdom come,	24:27
	thy will be done,	24:29
	on earth as it is in heaven.	24:30
	Give us this day our daily bread	24:33
	and forgive us our trespasses	24:36
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	24:38
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	24:42
	For thine is the kingdom,	24:46
	the power and the glory, forever.	24:47
	Amen.	24:51
	(lively organ music)	24:53
	(muffled singing)	25:27
-	And now may the light of Christ shine in your life	28:38
	and go forth with you now and always.	28:42
	Amen.	28:47
	(triumphant organ music)	28:55
	(various background conversations)	36:44

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Journey of the Magi" (January 5, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 39:58. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 36:37.
The preacher speaks to the beliefs and doubts of religion. He argues that unbelievers usually fall into two categories of perspectives on religion: they either fantasize that they can fashion their own religion, or they have religious expectations regarding the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4hd7p68b

Date:

January 5, 1986

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Epiphany

Biblical Book:

Matthew

Chapter and Verse:

Matthew 2:1-12

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0304
ref8128_x9f
uachapelsermaud
duke:320652
dcrau001290
ark:/87924/r4hd7p68b
210effaf-c0f5-4d0a-acdd-77613345145d

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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