Nancy Ferree-Clark - "On Possessing: The Way of Idolatry or Faith?" (August 3, 1986)

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	(dramatic church organ music)	0:03
	(uplifting church organ music)	4:09
-	Good morning.	14:04
	Welcome to the service of worship in Duke University Chapel.	14:05
	This is our last Sunday for our summer choir	14:10
	under the direction of Miss Donna Sparks	14:14
	and we thank the members of the summer choir	14:17
	for their faithfulness this summer,	14:20
	they've added a great deal to our worship.	14:23
	And we thank them for the use of their gifts.	14:25
	We welcome the members of the	14:29
	National Campus Ministry Association	14:31
	who are here for a week long campus at Duke.	14:33
	We are helping to host the gathering	14:39
	of these persons who work around the campuses	14:42
	of our nation and Christian ministry.	14:47
	Our preacher for the day	14:51
	is the Reverend Ms. Nancy Ferree.	14:53
	Assistant Minister to the university and the person	14:56
	who coordinates the campus ministry here at Duke.	14:59
	And now let us prepare to lift	15:05
	our voices in the praise of God.	15:07
	♪ Praise Him, the Lord of hosts ♪	15:17
	♪ Sing His salvation ♪	15:21
	♪ Bless His name ♪	15:26
	♪ Show forth His praise ♪	15:28
	♪ In His holy house ♪	15:31
	♪ Praise Him, the Lord of hosts ♪	15:35
	♪ Sing His salvation ♪	15:40
	♪ Bless His name ♪	15:45
	♪ Show forth His praise ♪	15:47
	♪ In His holy house ♪	15:49
	♪ And shall He bless ♪	15:54
	♪ Oh ye heavens now be joyful ♪	15:57
	♪ Christ bringing peace to the Earth ♪	16:03
	♪ All mankind shall all sing ♪	16:06
	♪ Alleluia ♪	16:10
	(drum roll)	16:20
	(uplifting trumpet music)	16:23
	(church organ music)	16:34
	(singing in foreign language)	17:17
-	Each time we gather to praise God,	20:43
	we remember that we are God's people,	20:46
	who have preferred our wills to God's will.	20:49
	Therefore let us humbly confess	20:53
	our sin before God and one another.	20:55
	Seated.	20:59
	Let us pray.	21:10
	Oh most gracious God, we confess that we spend	21:11
	much of our lives on that which does not satisfy.	21:15
	We do not always count our time and resources	21:20
	as precious gifts, but squander them	21:24
	in meaningless activities and material excesses.	21:27
	Look kindly upon us, for the temptation	21:32
	to waste is overwhelming in our world.	21:36
	Enable us to discern the true source of meaning	21:39
	and to use the gifts of life responsibly.	21:43
	For we want to be your people in word and in deed.	21:47
	Amen.	21:52
	Hear the good news.	21:56
	Christ died for us.	21:58
	While we were yet sinners.	22:01
	This is God's own proof of His love toward us.	22:03
	In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	22:08
-	In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.	22:13
	(dramatic church organ music)	22:24
	♪ God is in me ♪	22:29
	♪ And God is with you ♪	22:35
	♪ Lord almighty save us ♪	22:41
	♪ God save on thee ♪	22:49
	♪ The darkness ♪	22:56
	♪ There's no darkness in me ♪	23:02
	♪ God almighty ♪	23:09
	♪ Is light as the day ♪	23:15
	(harmonized melody)	23:20
	♪ God is light ♪	23:58
	♪ And in Him there's no darkness ♪	24:01
	♪ In him there's no darkness at all ♪	24:11
	♪ The darkness and the light ♪	24:23
	♪ Let my soul live ♪	24:29
	♪ Let my soul live ♪	24:34
	♪ For thine is the kingdom ♪	24:42
	♪ The power and the glory ♪	24:48
	(harmonized melody)	24:54
	♪ God is in me ♪	25:22
	♪ And God is with you ♪	25:29
	♪ Lord almighty save us ♪	25:34
	♪ God save on thee ♪	25:42
	♪ God save ♪	25:49
	♪ On thee ♪	25:57
-	Let us pray.	26:18
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	26:22
	by the power of your Holy Spirit.	26:25
	So that, read and proclaimed, we might	26:29
	hear with joy what you say to us this day.	26:32
	Amen.	26:37
	The first lesson is taken from the Second Book of Kings.	26:42
	Now when Elisha had fallen sick	26:48
	with the illness of which he was to die,	26:51
	Joash, King of Israel, went down to him	26:54
	and wept before him crying.	26:58
	"My father, my father.	27:01
	"The chariots of Israel and its horsemen."	27:04
	And Elisha said to him "Take a bow and arrows."	27:08
	So he took a bow and arrows.	27:14
	Then he said to the king of Israel "Draw the bow."	27:17
	And he drew it.	27:22
	And Elisha laid his hands upon the king's hands.	27:25
	And he said "Open the window eastward."	27:29
	And he opened it.	27:34
	And Elisha said "Shoot."	27:36
	And he shot.	27:39
	And he said "The Lord's arrow of victory.	27:42
	"The arrow of victory over Syria.	27:46
	"For you shall fight the Syrians in effect	27:50
	"until you have made an end of them."	27:53
	And he said "Take the arrows."	27:57
	And he took them.	28:00
	And he said to the king of Israel	28:02
	"Strike the ground with them."	28:05
	And he struck three times and stopped.	28:08
	Then the man of God was angry with him	28:12
	and said "You should have struck five or six times."	28:15
	"Then you would've struck down Syria	28:20
	"until you have made an end of it.	28:22
	"But now you will strike down Syria only three times."	28:25
	So Elisha died and they buried him.	28:30
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	28:35
	(church organ music)	28:56
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	29:07
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	29:11
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	29:13
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	29:15
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	29:20
	♪ For God has done wondrous things ♪	29:24
	♪ He cast us down the Holy Ghost ♪	29:28
	♪ Salvation in Christ ♪	29:32
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	29:36
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	29:40
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	29:42
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	29:44
	♪ In His presence they join on victory ♪	29:49
	♪ Now justice is known unto all ♪	29:52
	♪ Oh Israel shout out your praise ♪	29:57
	♪ Remember God's loving heart ♪	30:01
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	30:05
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	30:09
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	30:11
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	30:13
	♪ So sing to the Lord, rejoice ♪	30:17
	♪ Bring God to songs of praise ♪	30:21
	♪ With joy (mumbles) ♪	30:25
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	30:30
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	30:34
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	30:38
	♪ Sing a new song ♪	30:40
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	30:42
	(dramatic church organ music)	30:49
	(singing in foreign language)	31:01
-	The second lesson is taken from	32:17
	Paul's letter to the Colossians.	32:19
	If then you have been raised with Christ,	32:24
	seek the things that are above where Christ did.	32:28
	Seated at the right hand of God.	32:32
	Set your mind on things that are above.	32:36
	Not on things that are on Earth.	32:39
	For you have died and your life	32:43
	is hid with Christ in God.	32:46
	When Christ, who is our life, appears,	32:50
	then you also will appear with Him in glory.	32:54
	Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.	33:00
	Fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire,	33:04
	and covetousness which is idolatry.	33:10
	On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.	33:14
	In these you once walked.	33:19
	Within you lived in them.	33:22
	But now put them all away.	33:25
	Anger, wrath, malice, slander,	33:27
	and foul talk from your mouth.	33:32
	Do not lie to one another.	33:35
	Seeing that you have put off the old nature	33:38
	with its practices, and have put on	33:40
	the new nature which is being renewed	33:43
	in knowledge after the image of its creator.	33:46
	Here there cannot be Greek and Jew,	33:52
	circumcised and uncircumcised,	33:55
	barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man.	33:58
	But Christ is all and in all.	34:05
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	34:10
-	A reading from the gospel according to Saint Luke.	34:23
	One of the multitude said to Jesus	34:28
	"Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me."	34:32
	But He said to him "Man, who made me	34:37
	"a judge or divider over you?"	34:41
	And He said to them "Take heed	34:45
	"and beware of all covetousness.	34:48
	"For a man's life does not consist	34:51
	"in the abundance of his possessions."	34:54
	And He told them a parable saying	34:57
	"The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully	35:00
	"and he thought to himself what shall I do?	35:03
	"For I have nowhere to store my crops.	35:07
	"And he said I will do this.	35:10
	"I will pull down my barns and build larger ones.	35:13
	"And there I will store all my grains and all my goods.	35:17
	"And I will say to my soul, soul, you have	35:21
	"ample goods laid up for many years.	35:24
	"Take your ease.	35:27
	"Eat, drink, be merry.	35:29
	"But God said to him fool, this night	35:33
	"your soul is required of you.	35:36
	"And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?	35:40
	"So is he who lays up treasure for himself.	35:46
	"And is not rich toward God."	35:50
	Here ends the reading of the lesson.	35:55
	The problem of human possessing.	36:04
	What are we to do with the things that we have,	36:08
	and how would the Christian faith direct us?	36:12
	I suppose most of us, myself included,	36:17
	in anticipating a sermon on a Sunday morning,	36:20
	hope to hear a concise, straightforward description	36:24
	of actions and attitudes which we can take home	36:28
	with us and get something practical out of.	36:31
	By adhering to such a code of behavior, we like to think	36:36
	we will assure ourselves of our Christian identity.	36:39
	Surely this is not asking too much	36:44
	of the preacher to deliver.	36:46
	After all, isn't the bible upon which	36:48
	she is expounding the Christian rule book?	36:51
	In listening to its words read aloud each week,	36:56
	will we not discover a consistency	36:59
	in this code of behavior that will	37:01
	tell us how to order our lives?	37:04
	The answer, at least in regards to a perfectly	37:08
	consistent understanding of possessions, is no.	37:11
	Rather than being a rule book, the scriptures	37:16
	stand as a body of witnesses to what it means	37:19
	to live a human life before God.	37:22
	As for what it says about possessions,	37:25
	the examples are many and varied.	37:29
	The disciples, for instance, are told	37:32
	by Jesus to renounce everything	37:34
	and to follow the master, and they did.	37:36
	So was the rich young ruler, and he did not.	37:39
	But not all who were called to follow	37:43
	Jesus were instructed in this manner.	37:45
	A group of women known to be followers	37:48
	of Jesus all the way to the cross provided	37:51
	for Him and the disciples out of their own means.	37:54
	Zacchaeus, a tax collector who happened	37:59
	to be very rich, promised Jesus he would give	38:02
	half of his possessions to the poor	38:05
	and repay fourfold any he had defrauded.	38:07
	This is a generous response to be sure,	38:12
	but not absolute renunciation.	38:14
	Even half a bundle may still be a bundle.	38:17
	Consider Martha and Mary who, after extending	38:21
	hospitality to Jesus in their home,	38:24
	so far as we know, were not asked	38:27
	to sell their home and follow Jesus.	38:29
	We read of the practice of almsgiving	38:33
	and of holding possessions in common in the early church.	38:35
	And Saint Paul himself was known to have	38:39
	worked for a living, able to earn enough	38:41
	to meet his own needs, and those	38:44
	of others who were more needy.	38:47
	It appears then that there is at least	38:49
	a logical tension between the ideals	38:52
	listed in scripture of wandering destitution,	38:55
	almsgiving, hospitality, and a community of goods.	38:59
	And so we ask ourselves to be a real Christian,	39:05
	must I give away all that I possess?	39:09
	Should I join a commune?	39:12
	Or should I make enough money to give generous alms?	39:15
	Clearly the biblical writers agreed	39:20
	on the importance of the use of possessions	39:22
	as evidenced by the frequent mention of the topic,	39:25
	but without giving us a consistent standard.	39:28
	How can the bible, if it fails as a rule book,	39:32
	still inform our thinking about possessions?	39:37
	Text such as today's gospel are helpful	39:42
	in the way they enlighten us not so much	39:45
	about how many possessions we should have	39:47
	as about what they represent in our lives	39:50
	and the dangers inherent within them.	39:53
	Jesus is instructing the disciples	39:56
	when He's interrupted by a man	39:58
	inquiring about his inheritance.	40:00
	"Take heed," Jesus replied,	40:03
	"and beware of all covetousness.	40:05
	"For a man's life does not consist	40:08
	"in the abundance of his possessions."	40:11
	He tells the parable of the rich fool	40:14
	to demonstrate the folly of covetousness.	40:16
	The failure to see the distinction	40:20
	between what one has and what one is.	40:22
	The farmer in this story is a familiar	40:28
	personality type to most of us,	40:31
	and a rather admirable one at that.	40:33
	At least up to a certain point.	40:36
	We might think of any number of adjectives to describe him.	40:39
	Prudent, hardworking, honest, frugal.	40:43
	The blessings of soil, rain, and sun, not to be	40:48
	taken by many farmers this summer for granted,	40:52
	had combined to make this man a rich farmer.	40:56
	But his response to the bountiful	41:00
	supply was shortsighted indeed.	41:01
	Did he offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God's blessing?	41:04
	Did he inquire as to the needs of his neighbors?	41:08
	No.	41:11
	He became anxious and obsessed with his situation.	41:12
	Typical responses of a covetous person.	41:16
	"What shall I do," was his immediate response,	41:20
	"for I have nowhere to store my crops."	41:22
	Momentarily, his indecision gave way to compulsion.	41:25
	As he decided to tear down the old barns	41:29
	and build bigger ones in which to store his crops.	41:32
	This farmer was not a criminal.	41:36
	Neither was he wasteful, careless, or irresponsible.	41:39
	If none of these, then what was he?	41:43
	According to the parable, he was a fool.	41:47
	Thinking that he had laid up his security for years	41:51
	to come, he lived completely in and for himself.	41:55
	He talked to himself, he congratulated himself,	42:00
	he planned for himself taking	42:03
	no consideration for others or for God.	42:06
	This parable reaches a dramatic climax	42:09
	when the farmer dies that very night and God's	42:11
	parting question is left only to haunt the listener.	42:15
	"The things you have prepared, whose will they be?"	42:20
	This farmer has made the fatal mistake	42:26
	of submitting to the urge to horde his possessions	42:29
	as a guarantee against insecurity.	42:32
	Not only was this an act of disregard for those	42:36
	in need, but it put material goods in the place of God.	42:39
	Even if God had smiled on this year's crop,	42:45
	the farmer certainly didn't trust him	42:48
	to do it again next year.	42:50
	And so we understand Paul's reason	42:52
	for referring to covetousness as idolatry.	42:54
	The farmer, in equating life with his possessions,	42:59
	turned a blessing straight from Heaven into an idol.	43:02
	Rather than looking to God as the center	43:06
	of his life and a source of security,	43:08
	he sought his center in his possessions.	43:10
	It is idolatry which is the sin of this farmer.	43:14
	Not the abundance of his possessions in themselves.	43:17
	Now idolatry may sound to some of you	43:22
	like a droll but harmless quirk of ancient peoples.	43:25
	A matter of political and tribal rivalries	43:29
	writ large in cosmic powers.	43:32
	Does idolatry really involve genuine	43:35
	and enduring issues of human freedom?	43:38
	I believe that it does.	43:42
	Let us attempt to define how.	43:44
	Idolatry.	43:47
	According to Dr. Luke Johnson, a former	43:48
	New Testament professor of mine,	43:51
	"Idolatry is the choice of treating	43:53
	"as ultimate and absolute anything	43:55
	"which is neither absolute nor ultimate.	43:58
	"We do so by the worship, we pay it.	44:02
	"Not the worship of praise or of incense, but of service.	44:05
	"In reality, my God is that which I serve by my freedom.	44:10
	"It is anything which rivets my attention,	44:16
	"centers my activity, preoccupies my mind,	44:18
	"motivates my action.	44:23
	"That, in virtue of which I act, is God.	44:26
	"That for which I will give up anything else is my God."	44:30
	None of us may ever face the threat of idolatry	44:35
	in the form of grains stored in barns	44:37
	like this farmer, but we can reflect upon	44:40
	the question of what our own idols look like	44:44
	by asking a few simple questions.	44:48
	What is it, really, that motivates us	44:51
	to get up and face each day's activity?	44:54
	What is it that we will make room for during	44:59
	the day, no matter of frenetic our schedules?	45:01
	By what measure do I look back over the day,	45:06
	or week, or year, and consider it a success or failure?	45:10
	When I lie awake in bed at night with a feeling	45:16
	of discontent, is it because I did not	45:19
	complete all the work I intended for that day,	45:22
	fell flat on my face in front of someone	45:26
	I wanted to impress, or failed to perform	45:29
	as well as I could have on an examination?	45:32
	Do I think of myself as a success or failure	45:36
	in relation to others, and on what basis?	45:39
	My health.	45:44
	My friends, my family.	45:45
	My looks.	45:48
	My work.	45:49
	My fame, my fortune.	45:51
	These are not complicated questions,	45:53
	but they are challenging for they have	45:56
	a way of locating the center of our lives	45:58
	and pointing toward our idols.	46:01
	And what, or where, do I seek	46:04
	my sense of worth and identity?	46:06
	We may discover it's not only in the things	46:10
	we possess, but also in careers,	46:13
	relationships, and personal qualities	46:15
	which we attempt to possess.	46:18
	And which so surreptitiously become our idols.	46:21
	Cloaked in the veils of ambition,	46:25
	upward mobility, or self-improvement,	46:27
	we may not always recognize them as such.	46:30
	Yet in a contemporary way, they can be	46:33
	just as much of a diversion to faith	46:36
	as the golden calf was to the Israelites.	46:39
	How seductive these temptations of idolatry can be.	46:43
	And what often feels like a tenuous existence	46:48
	at the very best, we are lured into thinking	46:51
	we can manipulate ultimate power.	46:54
	The idolater says this which I can see,	46:59
	and feel, and handle, and use, can be	47:03
	the ultimate source of my worth,	47:06
	the heart of my identity,	47:08
	the basis of my security.	47:10
	The power I have can be the measurement of my value.	47:13
	Any effective television advertisement	47:17
	can convince us of that.	47:19
	Thus claiming to possess what we identify	47:22
	as ultimate power we make claim to possessing	47:24
	ourselves until we begin to believe.	47:27

	The more I have, the more I am.	0:03
	Witness Amel DeMarcos and her thousands of shoes.	0:08
	This subtle connection between having and being	0:14
	is not an easy one to sort through.	0:18
	For even the way we talk about possessions	0:21
	clouds the issues.	0:23
	For example, on the one hand we speak of an individual	0:26
	having a good mind, a strong body, a generous spirit,	0:29
	and we imply that to possess such qualities	0:34
	means simply to be oneself.	0:37
	Yet we also say: the clothes make the man, or woman.	0:41
	We are what we eat.	0:46
	This house, or this car, looks just like you.	0:49
	It's no wonder our personal identities become so entangled	0:54
	with our possessions.	0:58
	Most of us feel our possessions extend our bodies	1:00
	and ourselves into the world, and indeed, they do.	1:03
	What we wear, eat, drive, dwell in, and use,	1:08
	all express who we are and what we are at some level.	1:13
	Favorite possessions can tell	1:18
	quite a lot about a total stranger.	1:20
	Inordinate numbers of hours can be spent in selecting	1:23
	just the right dress for a special occasion.	1:26
	Every claim of ownership therefore involves an ambiguity.	1:30
	We say: "This is mine."	1:34
	But we imply: "This is me."	1:37
	This awareness came to me in quite a memorable way.	1:42
	One windy night in March of 1981,	1:46
	I had driven my beloved	1:50
	1970 Volkswagen bug to Asheville, North Carolina,	1:52
	where I was to be interviewed	1:57
	for my first parish appointment.	1:58
	I parked in front of the church and dutifully locked	2:01
	my car, which contained a suitcase,	2:04
	and nearly my entire library of organ music in the backseat.	2:07
	I have since learned not to use the backseat	2:12
	of my car as an office.	2:14
	Inside the church, we proceeded with a two-hour interview.	2:17
	It proved to be a challenging evening,	2:22
	but since I was offered the position,	2:25
	the result was a happy one.	2:26
	At least until I walked outside, as I was ready to leave.	2:29
	The woman I was talking with noticed a rather strange look	2:34
	coming over my face as we approached the sidewalk,	2:37
	and so she asked: is everything okay?	2:41
	I pointed toward the empty space in front of the church,	2:45
	where I last remembered parking my car,	2:48
	and I said to her: I was sure I parked my car right there.	2:51
	Well, she smiled, maybe the excitement of this evening	2:57
	has disoriented you a little.	3:00
	Let's walk around the block	3:03
	and see if it was one street over.	3:05
	We walked around the block, twice in fact.	3:08
	And there was no Volkswagen bug, nor any sign	3:12
	of anything that had been in it.	3:14
	I was speechless.	3:17
	And at the same time, couldn't help thinking to myself:	3:19
	a fine welcome this is into the ministry,	3:22
	with God leading me directly into a den of thieves,	3:25
	before I even received my first paycheck.	3:28
	Somebody loaned me their Buick	3:34
	to drive home the next morning.	3:35
	Not a bad trade for a Volkswagen.	3:38
	I made it through the next day of work,	3:42
	but that evening, while attempting to explain	3:44
	to my choir of the mishap, and of all those anthems	3:46
	we would have to replace, I became deathly ill.	3:50
	They promptly delivered me to my apartment,	3:54
	where I crawled into bed and stayed for 24 hours.	3:57
	I felt as if I had been personally violated,	4:01
	so connected did I feel to that little car,	4:04
	which I had trusted my life with over thousands of miles,	4:07
	and to those precious volumes of music,	4:10
	with which I had also spent countless hours.	4:13
	The car was never recovered, nor any of its contents.	4:16
	But the experience was instructive.	4:21
	As the survivor of any loss, great or small, can tell you:	4:25
	existence is not something to be possessed,	4:30
	nor any aspect of it.	4:33
	To acknowledge that my every breath comes from God	4:36
	is to assert my radical dependence upon God.	4:40
	Life comes to me without my having any say about it,	4:44
	as a gift.	4:48
	I have no sufficient reason in and of myself	4:50
	for being here or for continuing here,	4:53
	other than by the grace of God.	4:56
	And if every part of creation stands before God	4:59
	in a similar position of dependence,	5:02
	which I believe that it does,	5:04
	there is not a sense in which we truly possess anything.	5:06
	The world is not ours to possess.	5:12
	Certainly, people are not ours to possess,	5:15
	for the entire creation belongs to God.	5:18
	What a pitiful state of confusion we are in,	5:22
	when we think that we not only own things,	5:25
	but can find in what we own our life.	5:29
	And our security.	5:32
	As the parable of the rich fool shows us,	5:34
	if this is so, even of our bodies, frail vessels,	5:38
	ready to crack open and spill our lives	5:42
	at the slightest nudge, how much more so	5:45
	for the grain we pile into our barns?	5:48
	At this most basic level of existence,	5:52
	we are all equally poor and equally rich.	5:55
	Our shared existence is equally precarious.	6:00
	And equally secure, for it comes from God, and God alone.	6:03
	Once we acknowledge that our life comes at every moment	6:10
	from God, that we would have neither food to eat,	6:14
	nor bodies to inhabit, much less clothes to wear	6:18
	and jobs to keep without God's gracious care.	6:22
	We are freed from the tyranny	6:25
	of accumulating and possessing.	6:27
	We no longer search for meaning in a department store,	6:30
	a stock portfolio, or a grain bin.	6:35
	We are free to forego the attempt to seize an identity	6:39
	by controlling life.	6:42
	Instead, we can use the things we own in a response to	6:45
	faith without being owned by them, in service to idolatry.	6:49
	I cannot tell you this morning, even if you wanted me to,	6:56
	if it is a sin to own a Mercedes Benz,	6:59
	a compact disk player, a closet full of clothes	7:03
	or any of the other things we like to possess.	7:07
	The Bible does not tell us that.	7:11
	What it does tell us to do is to be rich toward God.	7:14
	To live as if God is the ultimate source of our being,	7:19
	and none other, and only you know if you really live	7:23
	your life that way.	7:27
	If you're looking for examples of people who do,	7:30
	consider Jesus.	7:32
	His was a life of perfect obedience unto God.	7:34
	He refused to identify his life in what he had,	7:38
	but sought it in God's will.	7:42
	He did not cling to his identity as God's son.	7:45
	But emptied himself in obedience, day by day,	7:49
	minute by minute, in response to the circumstances	7:52
	which surrounded him.	7:56
	Free from the need to create an identity with possessions,	7:59
	he was able to use them to answer the genuine needs	8:02
	of people, and on at least one occasion we know of,	8:06
	he even supplied a party with wine,	8:10
	when they were running a little low.	8:13
	God's material world is not the problem, in and of itself.	8:16
	God approves of what he makes, and finds it good.	8:21
	The question is: how do we use our possessions	8:25
	in response to faith, as a sign of our obedience unto God?	8:30
	Give it careful consideration.	8:36
	This very night, your soul may be required of you,	8:39
	and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?	8:43
	Thanks be to God.	8:49
	(organ music)	8:54
	(echoing choral music)	9:29
	The Lord be with you.	11:21
Congregation	And also with you.	11:23
	Let us pray.	11:25
	Eternal and sovereign God,	11:39
	in whose kingdom the last shall be first,	11:43
	and the least shall be honored,	11:45
	hear us, as we intercede for others.	11:50
	In the name of the one who had no place,	11:57
	even to lay his head, and no home to call his own,	12:01
	we pray for the migrant workers,	12:07
	people who follow seasons and go where there is work,	12:10
	who harvest crops or do part time jobs,	12:15
	follow them with your love, so that they might be	12:19
	your pilgrim people, trusting in you.	12:22
	In memory of the one who healed the sick and the afflicted,	12:28
	we pray that you would give strength to doctors,	12:33
	nurses, and technicians, particularly those who staff	12:35
	Duke hospitals, as well as all hospitals	12:40
	and homes for the sick.	12:44
	Make them brave to battle our last enemy,	12:47
	trusting your power to overcome death and pain.	12:52
	May they be thankful for every sign of health which you give	12:57
	and humble before the mystery of your mending grace.	13:02
	Holy God, you have led us in each generation	13:09
	to discoveries of the truth.	13:12
	We give thanks for men and women who teach,	13:15
	administer and work in our schools and colleges,	13:17
	including chaplains and campus ministers.	13:21
	Make them eager to explore your world,	13:25
	never let them neglect students who are slow to learn,	13:29
	keep teachers young in mind, resilient in spirit,	13:35
	and devoted to human welfare.	13:39
	Loving Lord, we pray for poor people who are hungry,	13:43
	or who are housed in cramped places.	13:50
	Increase in us and all those who prosper	13:54
	concern for the disinherited.	13:57
	Gracious savior, who had compassion upon the rich,	14:01
	young ruler and who called rich Zacchaeus	14:05
	and prosperous Lydia, continue to look with compassion	14:09
	on those who have too much for their own good.	14:14
	Pity us when we foolishly attempt to secure our own lives,	14:20
	through our possessions and things,	14:25
	correct us and chide us when we fail to keep	14:29
	our possessions in their proper place.	14:33
	Minister, we pray, to the peril of affluence,	14:38
	even as you minister to the afflictions of poverty.	14:44
	Righteous God, you have taught us that the poor	14:50
	shall have your kingdom, and that the gentle-minded	14:53
	shall inherit the Earth.	14:56
	Keep the church poor enough to know how to preach	14:59
	to poor people, and humble enough to walk with the despised.	15:02
	Weighed down with too much.	15:09
	We know that we shall be tempted as those who take ease	15:12
	in material things, rather than rest in your love.	15:15
	Throughout all ages, you have given us prophets,	15:22
	who cry out for justice and mercy.	15:28
	Now, we pray that you would give us open ears	15:32
	to hear them, and to follow the truth they dare to speak.	15:34
	Lest we support injustice,	15:40
	simply to secure our own wellbeing.	15:43
	It is in your name that we pray, and by your will,	15:49
	that we dare speak to you.	15:55
	Amen.	15:59
	And now as a people who have been truly blessed,	16:03
	let us draw from our store of God's blessings	16:07
	as we offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	16:11
	(tranquil organ music)	16:17
	(reverent, echoing choral music)	19:18
	(organ music)	23:20
	Let us thank God for the good world,	24:40
	for human life, for honest work to do,	24:45
	and strength to do it, for humor and encouragement,	24:47
	and all the other gifts which make life so beautiful.	24:51
	And let us give God thanks for this time of worship.	24:56
	Where we have heard God's word and felt God's presence.	25:00
	Knowing that God is the giver of all good gifts,	25:05
	the one to whom we pray.	25:11
	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	25:14
	They kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth,	25:19
	as it is in heaven.	25:23
	Give us this day our daily bread,	25:25
	and forgive us our trespasses,	25:28
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	25:31
	And lead us not into temptation.	25:35
	But deliver us from evil.	25:38
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	25:40
	and the glory forever.	25:44
	Amen.	25:47
	(organ music)	25:50
	(overlapping choral music)	27:18
	(organ music)	29:15
	(unintelligible congregational singing)	29:56
	(muttering)	33:25
	The Holy Spirit go forth with you, now and always.	33:29
	(organ music)	33:38
	(unintelligible muttering)	33:40
	(intricate organ music)	33:54
	(applauding)	41:28
	(murmuring)	41:36

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "On Possessing: The Way of Idolatry or Faith?" (August 3, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 36:04. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 08:52.
While the Scriptures do not serve as a play-by-play rule book for how to handle our possessions, they do strongly warn against the temptation toward idolatry. In the parable of the rich fool who stored up his grain for himself, Jesus warns of confusing what we have with who we are. We are, rather, to see ourselves in radical dependence upon God, acknowledging our life and everything else as a gift. Once we do this, we will be free from the tyranny of accumulating and possessing. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “As the survivor of any loss, great or small, can tell you: existence is not something to be possessed, nor any aspect of it. To acknowledge that my every breath comes from God is to assert my radical dependence upon God. Life comes to me, without my having any say about it, as a gift.”

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r48g8fx97

Date:

August 3, 1986

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Biblical Book:

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0345
ref8210_swg
uachapelsermaud
duke:320655
dcrau001327
ark:/87924/r48g8fx97
db59f10d-e563-4dc0-989c-cbe5c7be0372

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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

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