John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service 11:00 am (May 6, 1979)

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	(lively organ music and indistinct chatter)	0:03
	(indistinct chatter)	8:37
	(peaceful organ music)	14:25
	(dramatic organ music)	16:39
	(choir singing Beautiful Savior)	30:46
	♪ Beautiful Savior ♪	30:47
	♪ Lord of the nations ♪	30:55
	♪ Son of God and Son of Man ♪	31:02
	♪ Glory and honor ♪	31:16
	♪ Praise ♪	31:23
	♪ Adoration ♪	31:25
	♪ Now and forevermore be Thine ♪	31:29
	♪ Now and forevermore-- ♪	31:40
	♪ Now and forevermore ♪	31:44
	♪ Be thine ♪	31:53
	(dramatic organ music)	32:01
	(congregation singing indistinctly)	32:43
-	As you are getting situated	37:33
	let me ask those of you	37:37
	other than the candidates for degrees	37:39
	if you will move as closely as you can to one another	37:44
	toward the center isle,	37:48
	wherever you are.	37:50
	There are a number of people still standing.	37:52
	We would like to make as much room as possible	37:54
	for everyone to be seated if we can.	37:56
	I greet you in the name of the Lord our God	38:26
	who creates us,	38:32
	redeems us,	38:34
	and makes us whole.	38:36
	They who wait for the Lord,	38:41
	shall renew their strength,	38:44
	they shall mount up with wings as eagles,	38:47
	they shall run and not be weary,	38:50
	they shall walk and not faint.	38:52
	As we wait for the Lord	38:56
	and as the Lord renews our strength,	38:59
	it is both needful and helpful	39:03
	that we confess our sin to Almighty God.	39:06
	Let us join together as we offer to God	39:11
	our prayer of confession for this moment.	39:13
	Let us pray.	39:17
	Oh God in whose mystery we abide	39:20
	and by whose mercy we are redeemed	39:24
	we confess our sin against one another	39:27
	and against You.	39:30
	All our transgressions hidden and open,	39:32
	the evil done and the goodness left undone,	39:36
	we have deceived ourselves about ourselves	39:40
	and worn masks and not trusted in love,	39:44
	we confess that we have been careful with things	39:48
	careless with persons,	39:52
	adept in taking,	39:54
	awkward in giving,	39:56
	in love without fears and in fear of our loves,	39:58
	we confess before you	40:03
	that we are more prone to sin than to obedience,	40:05
	prompt to gratify our bodies,	40:10
	slow to nourish our souls,	40:13
	attached to the pleasure of sense,	40:16
	negligent of things spiritual,	40:19
	quick in the service of self,	40:22
	slack in the service of others,	40:25
	eager to get,	40:28
	reluctant to give,	40:30
	full of good intentions,	40:32
	hesitant to fulfill them,	40:35
	severe with our neighbors,	40:37
	indulgent with ourselves,	40:39
	helpless apart from You,	40:42
	yet unwilling to be bound to You.	40:45
	Forgive us,	40:48
	lift us up and heal us this day.	40:50
	We pray in Your Holy Name,	40:54
	Amen.	40:57
	Let us continue with our own personal prayers of confession	40:59
	to the Lord our God.	41:03
	The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.	41:32
	To all who call upon Him in truth.	41:36
	He fulfills the desires of all who fear Him.	41:40
	He also hears their cry and makes them whole.	41:44
	Grace to you and peace,	41:50
	from the God of love and forgiveness	41:53
	and reconciliation.	41:57
	Amen.	41:59
	This is one of those glad and joyous moments	42:05
	of celebration for us in the Duke University community.	42:08
	We who have been here for a while,	42:14
	welcome those who view,	42:17
	who join with us for this festive and significant weekend	42:19
	and for this particular service of worship this morning.	42:23
	Those of you from places like Buffalo and Boston and Chicago	42:28
	will be pleased to know that we have weather like this	42:34
	all the time en durum.	42:36
	(laughing)	42:38
	I trust that all of you have already had	42:41
	a most enjoyable and satisfying weekend,	42:44
	that this service today will be a blessing to you	42:48
	in Spirit and in Truth	42:50
	and indeed that there is much more	42:53
	of real,	42:55
	good and lasting satisfaction yet to come this day.	42:56
	It is good for us to be together.	43:00
	It is good to worship God.	43:03
	The guest preacher for the baccalaureate service today	43:06
	is the Reverend Doctor John Vannorsdall	43:10
	who is currently the chaplain to Yale University.	43:13
	Prior to going to Yale he served for a number of years	43:19
	as a chaplain at Gettysburg College,	43:22
	in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.	43:24
	Chaplain Vannorsdall is an ordained minister	43:27
	in the Lutheran Church in America.	43:30
	He is one whose writings,	43:33
	his sermons and prayers have been published	43:35
	and read widely and appreciated greatly.	43:37
	He has for three years served as the preacher	43:41
	on the Lutheran series of the Protestant Hour.	43:45
	He has been to Duke before	43:49
	and comes back,	43:51
	you will be pleased to know,	43:53
	largely at the suggestion of a number of students	43:55
	who heard him preach when he was here a year and a half ago.	43:58
	John we are pleased to have you back at Duke	44:02
	and look forward again to hearing the Word	44:05
	which you bring to us for this day.	44:07
-	Let us pray.	44:17
	Prepare our hearts oh Lord	44:20
	to accept your Word.	44:23
	Silence in us any voice but Your own that hearing,	44:25
	we may also obey Your will.	44:29
	Amen.	44:32
	The epistle lesson is from the first chapter of Romans.	44:34
	"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.	44:38
	It is the power of God for salvation	44:42
	to everyone who has faith,	44:44
	to the Jew first and also to the Greek.	44:46
	For in it the righteousness of God is revealed	44:50
	through faith for faith.	44:53
	As it is written,	44:55
	he who through faith is righteous shall live.	44:56
	For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven	45:01
	against all ungodliness and wickedness of men,	45:04
	who by their wickedness suppress the Truth.	45:07
	For what can be known about God is plain to them,	45:11
	because God has shown it to them.	45:15
	Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature	45:18
	namely His eternal power and deity,	45:22
	has been clearly perceived	45:25
	in the things that have been made.	45:27
	So they are without excuse,	45:30
	for although they knew God,	45:32
	they did not honor Him as God,	45:33
	or give thanks to Him,	45:36
	but they became futile in their thinking	45:38
	and their senseless minds were darkened.	45:41
	Claiming to be wise,	45:45
	they became fools and exchanged the Glory	45:46
	of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man	45:49
	or birds or animals or reptiles.	45:52
	Therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts	45:56
	to impurity.	46:00
	To the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,	46:01
	because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie	46:05
	and worshiped and served the creature	46:09
	rather than the Creator who is blessed forever."	46:11
	Herein is the reading from the epistle.	46:16
	Amen.	46:19
	(peaceful organ music)	46:22
	(choir singing "Os Justi" by Anton Bruckner)	46:42
	Will the congregation please stand	52:01
	for the reading of the Gospel lesson.	52:03
	The Gospel lesson is from the first chapter of Luke.	52:14
	"And Mary said,	52:18
	my soul magnifies the Lord	52:21
	and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,	52:23
	for He has regarded the lower state of His handmaiden.	52:26
	For behold henceforth all generations will call me blessed	52:31
	for He who is mighty has done great things for me	52:35
	and holy is His name	52:39
	and His mercy is on those who fear Him	52:42
	from generation to generation.	52:45
	He has shown strength with His arm.	52:48
	He has scattered the proud	52:51
	and the imagination of their hearts.	52:53
	He has put down the mighty from their thrones	52:56
	and exalted those of low degree.	52:59
	He has filled the hungry with good things	53:02
	and the rich He has sent away empty.	53:05
	He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy	53:08
	as He spoke to our fathers,	53:13
	to Abraham and his posterity forever."	53:15
	Herein is the reading from the Gospel.	53:19
	All praise and glory be to God.	53:21
	Amen.	53:24
	(peaceful organ music)	53:26
	(congregation singing indistinctly)	53:41
	Let us affirm what we believe.	54:26
	We believe in God Who has created and is creating,	54:30
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus,	54:35
	to reconcile and make new.	54:38
	We trust God Who calls us to be the church,	54:41
	to celebrate life in its fullness,	54:46
	to love and serve others,	54:49
	to seek justice and resist evil,	54:52
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen.	54:55
	Our Judge and our Hope.	54:59
	In life,	55:02
	in death,	55:03
	in life beyond death,	55:04
	God is with us.	55:07
	We are not alone.	55:09
	Thanks be to God.	55:11
	Be seated.	55:14
	The Lord be with you.	55:23
	(congregation mumbles)	55:25
	Let us pray.	55:27
	Oh Lord,	55:28
	gracious and merciful God,	55:30
	hear us as we offer prayers of thanksgiving	55:34
	and intercession to You.	55:37
	How good it is oh Lord,	55:40
	to be alive,	55:42
	really alive,	55:43
	and to know that we have a source of life,	55:46
	a source that is always receptive,	55:49
	giving and loving.	55:52
	How good it has been oh Lord,	55:55
	for us to have been and to be a part of a caring community.	55:58
	How good to feel and know the rhythm of life	56:03
	that flows in the warmth of human relationships.	56:06
	How good it is to feel in the company of others,	56:11
	the sense of excitement over new ideas,	56:15
	new joys,	56:18
	new achievements,	56:19
	new visions.	56:20
	How good it is in the presence of others,	56:22
	to experience a deep sense of Your nearness to us	56:25
	and with us.	56:29
	Make us all aware this day oh God,	56:32
	of the deep satisfaction each of these graduates must feel	56:37
	and indeed has a right to feel,	56:41
	that it is okay for us to feel good when we have studied	56:45
	and pondered and learned,	56:48
	truly learned and grown in it all.	56:50
	Help us to know that it is okay to feel good Lord,	56:54
	for this good and memorable graduation day	56:59
	and all that it means to each of us here,	57:02
	each graduate,	57:05
	mother,	57:06
	father,	57:07
	family member,	57:08
	professor or friend,	57:09
	we do celebrate as we remember,	57:11
	as we rejoice and as we anticipate the future.	57:15
	Continue to instruct us,	57:20
	that we have yet much to learn,	57:23
	have yet other ways to serve,	57:27
	have yet other ways to give,	57:30
	have yet other ways to receive and to share Your love.	57:34
	Oh God Almighty and ever-present,	57:40
	help each of us to know that You care.	57:45
	That You care who we are,	57:49
	how we live,	57:50
	what we do,	57:51
	and who we become.	57:53
	That You really care.	57:54
	We are grateful oh God,	57:58
	for the insights you have given us.	58:01
	Grateful that You forgive us our wanderings.	58:04
	Grateful that You are patient with us in our arrogant ways.	58:07
	Grateful for the sense of direction you give to us.	58:12
	Grateful for Your presence	58:16
	and so in this moment now,	58:20
	teach us to rejoice and to give thanks to You	58:21
	as is our joy and our privilege.	58:25
	We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,	58:28
	who taught us to pray,	58:31
	saying:	58:32
	"Our Father Who art in Heaven.	58:34
	Hallowed be Thy name.	58:37
	Thy kingdom come,	58:39
	thy will be done,	58:41
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	58:43
	Give us this day our daily bread,	58:46
	and forgive us our trespasses,	58:49
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	58:51
	and lead us not into temptation,	58:55
	but deliver us from evil.	58:58
	For Thine is the kingdom,	59:00
	Power and the Glory.	59:02
	Forever.	59:05
	Amen."	59:06
-	May the words of my mouth	59:20
	and the meditation of our hearts	59:22
	be acceptable in Thy sight,	59:25
	oh Lord our strength and our redeemer.	59:27
	Amen.	59:31
	My hope for the members of the graduating class	59:37
	is simply that you won't bore us all to death	59:41
	and as I begin a sermon,	59:46
	I should imagine that the hope would be reciprocal.	59:48
	(laughing)	59:51
	There is a difference of course,	59:54
	because if you are boring people,	59:57
	then we have to suffer with that for a lifetime,	59:59
	while a sermon lasts only 18 minutes.	1:00:01
	(laughing)	1:00:04
	There was a large semi-trailer	1:00:08
	that was stuck under an overpass.	1:00:11
	The clearance was something like	1:00:17
	13 feet two inches	1:00:20
	and the trailer was 13 feet three inches.	1:00:21
	So it was jammed in,	1:00:26
	wedged.	1:00:28
	The driver was pacing up and down,	1:00:29
	the police were detouring other cars around	1:00:31
	and a small boy came up to the driver and said,	1:00:36
	"Hey mister"	1:00:41
	"Please don't bother me now kid."	1:00:44
	"Mister,	1:00:46
	why don't you let out the air out of the tires?"	1:00:47
	The driver looked at the boy in disbelief,	1:00:52
	then at the truck,	1:00:56
	let out a shout and started letting the air out of the tires	1:00:57
	so that he was able,	1:01:00
	by doing that,	1:01:01
	to reduce the height of the trailer an inch and a half,	1:01:02
	enough to clear,	1:01:05
	jumped in the cab,	1:01:06
	drove the rig over to the side of the road	1:01:09
	and heaved a sigh of relief.	1:01:11
	The whole happy event	1:01:13
	resulted from the figment	1:01:17
	of a boy's imagination.	1:01:21
	I know that we use this term,	1:01:26
	figment of the imagination,	1:01:28
	pejoratively,	1:01:30
	but that's because most of us are afraid of imagination.	1:01:32
	Figment simply means shaping.	1:01:37
	The boy reshaped the scene in his imagination.	1:01:41
	He saw exactly what the truck driver saw.	1:01:45
	He saw what the police saw,	1:01:49
	but he saw it differently	1:01:51
	and because he did,	1:01:53
	an immovable object,	1:01:55
	they'd sent for a crane,	1:01:57
	was driven away.	1:02:00
	Why don't you let the air out of the tires?	1:02:02
	If we are going to avoid boring one another	1:02:06
	as preachers,	1:02:10
	doctors,	1:02:12
	lawyers,	1:02:13
	merchants,	1:02:14
	painters and politicians,	1:02:14
	mothers and lovers,	1:02:16
	activists,	1:02:18
	it's going to require more	1:02:20
	figments of our imagination.	1:02:23
	More of that new way of taking old and familiar things	1:02:27
	and giving them a new shape	1:02:31
	which allows us to move beyond the place where we now are.	1:02:32
	A week or so ago	1:02:37
	I was visiting in the University infirmary	1:02:39
	and talked to the man there,	1:02:43
	a member of the maintenance staff.	1:02:45
	Now when a chaplain goes to the infirmary,	1:02:49
	the initial response is always one of two things.	1:02:52
	Oh wow,	1:02:56
	I'm not religious	1:02:57
	or I belong to such and such church.	1:02:59
	This man went to such and such church,	1:03:04
	paused and added,	1:03:07
	"I'm one of those people	1:03:11
	"who pick up paper on the sidewalk."	1:03:14
	At first I thought he picked up paper for the University,	1:03:18
	and then I remembered that at Yale	1:03:23
	we don't have any such people.	1:03:26
	(laughing)	1:03:28
	What he meant was,	1:03:33
	that there are people who throw things on the sidewalk	1:03:36
	and there are people who pick up paper from the sidewalk.	1:03:39
	This was his way of imagining the world in which he lived	1:03:44
	and I can see him now,	1:03:50
	on Elm Street,	1:03:51
	middle-aged,	1:03:52
	short,	1:03:53
	slightly bent,	1:03:55
	picking up a plastic top from a take out container	1:03:56
	and pushing it into his pocket	1:03:58
	until he comes to the next corner	1:04:00
	where the city provides a trash container	1:04:02
	with a swinging top.	1:04:04
	Who am I?	1:04:07
	I pick up paper on the sidewalk.	1:04:10
	Was it just a figment of his imagination	1:04:14
	to see a world of good and evil?	1:04:17
	Thereby have a way of seeing who he was	1:04:21
	or wanted to be	1:04:26
	and what such being in such a world came down to	1:04:28
	when he walked along the street.	1:04:33
	A matter of imagination.	1:04:39
	Wasn't there a song in the 60s with lyrics,	1:04:41
	something like "someday they'll declare a war	1:04:45
	"and nobody's gonna come."	1:04:50
	Now there's an image.	1:04:54
	A party sure,	1:04:56
	everyone dreads the possibility of throwing a party	1:04:58
	and having no one come,	1:05:00
	but a war?	1:05:02
	And nobody come.	1:05:04
	I hope that's a figment of the imagination of some of you.	1:05:09
	So they let the air out of the tires	1:05:14
	and then they drove the rig away.	1:05:16
	What I want to say this morning,	1:05:20
	is that one of the things we mean by salvation,	1:05:22
	both Jews and Christians	1:05:25
	is that Almighty God,	1:05:29
	if we will allow it,	1:05:30
	will so stir and shape our imaginations	1:05:32
	that we be saved from death by boredom.	1:05:36
	For those of you who are Jews,	1:05:42
	the metaphor is Passover.	1:05:45
	A people 300 years in captivity making bricks,	1:05:49
	and God sends Moses to stir their imaginations.	1:05:53
	Rise up and get out of here.	1:05:57
	This is no way to live.	1:05:59
	Not the way I intended for you to live.	1:06:02
	Most of them of course,	1:06:07
	preferred making bricks.	1:06:09
	What was familiar.	1:06:11
	They said so when the got to the Red sea	1:06:13
	and wondered how they were going to get across.	1:06:15
	Why did we ever leave?	1:06:17
	They said the same thing	1:06:20
	when they had no food in the wilderness	1:06:21
	and they said they preferred Egypt	1:06:24
	when they got tired of eating so much Manna.	1:06:26
	Where were the onions they enjoyed in Egypt?	1:06:30
	Back to making bricks.	1:06:33
	But for some there was this vision you see.	1:06:39
	Call it hope or image,	1:06:45
	they had this image	1:06:46
	of a promised land	1:06:49
	and it drew some of them out of past slavery	1:06:51
	toward a future which was different.	1:06:54
	Their life was hard,	1:06:57
	but they were neither bored nor boring people.	1:07:00
	A rabble,	1:07:03
	but they were going somewhere	1:07:05
	and most of us are not.	1:07:08
	The Lord God Almighty had stirred their imaginations.	1:07:11
	For Christians,	1:07:17
	the metaphor is Easter.	1:07:19
	Just a figment of the imagination.	1:07:22
	The friends of Jesus	1:07:27
	saw some heavyweights blow out the candle on the altar.	1:07:30
	They went away afraid and very sad	1:07:35
	and after the Sabbath,	1:07:36
	they came back to put away the candle stick	1:07:38
	and saw that the candle was burning.	1:07:41
	There are two things that we know for sure.	1:07:47
	We know that they said that,	1:07:49
	that Christ was alive	1:07:53
	and we know that they drove a lot of trucks out	1:07:56
	from under bridges,	1:07:59
	because they believed that.	1:08:00
	By the illumination of the burning candle,	1:08:03
	the risen Christ,	1:08:06
	they remembered everything that Jesus had said and did,	1:08:08
	but they remembered and saw it in a new light.	1:08:11
	The information was what was there before.	1:08:15
	Just as it was for the truck driver and the police,	1:08:18
	but the information became exceedingly alive and exciting	1:08:22
	because the candle was alive,	1:08:25
	the Christ was alive	1:08:27
	and therefore they now knew	1:08:29
	that the Dayspring from on high had visited them.	1:08:33
	Therefore they knew that the last would be first.	1:08:38
	The master would be the servant.	1:08:43
	That there would be wars declared and no one come.	1:08:45
	There would be Zacchaeus coming down out of his tree	1:08:49
	and giving away his money	1:08:52
	and allowed to save some for celebrations.	1:08:54
	There would be speechless people speaking,	1:08:57
	deaf people hearing,	1:09:01
	adulterers restored to righteousness,	1:09:03
	wine for weddings and middle-aged men	1:09:06
	picking up paper on Elm Street	1:09:08
	and putting it in the container with the swinging top.	1:09:10
	The metaphor for Christians is Easter.	1:09:16
	If you don't like figments of the imagination,	1:09:22
	say creative imagination.	1:09:27
	What we find in the post-Easter church	1:09:31
	is a burst of creative imagination,	1:09:34
	call it gift of God.	1:09:36
	Jerome Bruner calls it the knowledge of the left hand.	1:09:38
	The recognition of a new pattern of truth	1:09:43
	born of facts which were already there	1:09:45
	and so the healing of blind Bartimaeus,	1:09:50
	the healing of the paralytic,	1:09:53
	the exorcisms of demons and decapillus.	1:09:55
	These events became for the disciples,	1:09:58
	in the creative imagination of Easter,	1:10:01
	not just happy events in the lives of those people,	1:10:03
	a humane thing which occurred at that time,	1:10:08
	but in the light of Easter	1:10:11
	they became harbingers of an eternal Spring.	1:10:13
	A new creation by the power of the ultimate Creator.	1:10:17
	They became the dying of an old order.	1:10:21
	Crucified with Christ.	1:10:24
	They became the birth of a new order,	1:10:27
	raised with Christ.	1:10:31
	They were astonished.	1:10:33
	They were surprised,	1:10:35
	shocked by the recognition	1:10:36
	that they now saw so many old and familiar things	1:10:39
	in such a new way.	1:10:43
	Like the truck driver	1:10:46
	who had been shaking his head,	1:10:49
	knowing that the tires could be deflated,	1:10:52
	but not knowing it until a small boy	1:10:55
	shared his different way of seeing.	1:10:58
	We look to the Easter event and to the Passover	1:11:02
	as specific points of beginning,	1:11:07
	the unrepeatable event,	1:11:09
	but we also have a sense of the ongoingness	1:11:14
	of such creative imagination in each generation.	1:11:17
	Take children working 10 hours a day in factories.	1:11:22
	That was the familiar.	1:11:25
	They had to be that way.	1:11:28
	It was a given.	1:11:30
	The factories needed the labor,	1:11:31
	the families needed the money.	1:11:32
	The truck driver was stuck under the overpass,	1:11:34
	but eventually	1:11:37
	the creative imagination of Easter,	1:11:40
	which was smoldering in the soot-covered churches	1:11:42
	of the factory door erupted	1:11:45
	and it became joyfully clear that if Christ is risen	1:11:48
	then factories do not need to abuse children.	1:11:51
	I'm not saying that Christians did it.	1:11:56
	I'm saying that Easter is a way of viewing the world.	1:12:00
	An image filled with power	1:12:03
	to break present patterns of things familiar	1:12:06
	and that Christians are the people	1:12:10
	who praise God for Easter's burning candle,	1:12:12
	held against the shadow on the factory floor.	1:12:15
	I'm saying that within the last 10 years	1:12:21
	creative imagination has erupted	1:12:26
	and we now find it wrong to ignore and hide	1:12:29
	our brain damaged children	1:12:32
	and find it right and good to invest our resources	1:12:34
	to help them meet their potential.	1:12:36
	Within the last 10 years,	1:12:39
	the familiar and accepted patterns of relationships	1:12:42
	between men and women,	1:12:45
	patterns of domination and abuse	1:12:47
	covered with sweet language,	1:12:49
	Chesterton's lies of tongue and pen	1:12:51
	is now being seen in the light of creative imagination,	1:12:55
	which puts what is familiar in new perspective,	1:13:00
	calls it by name.	1:13:05
	Abuse.	1:13:07
	Injustice,	1:13:10
	and makes unacceptable	1:13:13
	what was once called natural and good.	1:13:15
	The rod of Moses smites the sea and women and children	1:13:18
	begin a wilderness journey	1:13:22
	which will be exceedingly hard,	1:13:24
	but certainly not boring.	1:13:27
	The shock,	1:13:31
	the surprise of recognition	1:13:32
	is what is so central to Passover and Easter	1:13:35
	and it continues to break forth in each generation	1:13:39
	and must break forth in yours.	1:13:43
	That's the point.	1:13:47
	Blacks of course,	1:13:50
	ride in the back of the bus	1:13:51
	and don't eat in this restaurants	1:13:53
	or live on this block,	1:13:54
	study in these schools,	1:13:55
	sing in constitutional hall	1:13:56
	and it goes on that way for years and years	1:13:58
	while Easter smolders in Ivy covered churches	1:14:02
	and sings quietly in black souls.	1:14:05
	Until Easter comes to flame	1:14:08
	and the Christ who was dead is raised in Montgomery.	1:14:11
	The martyrs who saw it long before and died are raised	1:14:15
	and white men embraced black men with tears in their eyes	1:14:19
	and white women called black women sisters	1:14:23
	and we say,	1:14:26
	of course.	1:14:29
	There was a time when educational endowments	1:14:33
	were seen to be ruled by only one concern.	1:14:39
	To earn the highest dollar	1:14:43
	for the school to which they were given.	1:14:46
	But now there is at least one modifying way of seeing it.	1:14:51
	The highest dollar,	1:14:54
	but not if that extra dime is carried on the backs	1:14:57
	of indentured South African blacks.	1:15:00
	There was a time called examinations	1:15:04
	when in some pockets of our culture	1:15:08
	a man or a woman's whole worth is said to hinge	1:15:11
	on letters A to F,	1:15:13
	but for some	1:15:18
	examination becomes only one part of Easter's world	1:15:21
	where death by grade is banished	1:15:26
	and worth is Love's gift	1:15:31
	and Love is worth's measure.	1:15:34
	Just as we once said that some children should be hidden	1:15:40
	some work in factories,	1:15:44
	that life leads only to death	1:15:47
	so we still say	1:15:50
	that competition is the only style of learning,	1:15:52
	that unions make people lazy,	1:15:57
	that Ohio companies will not tolerate a windfall tax	1:16:00
	that the Americans will not tolerate rationing,	1:16:03
	that nuclear warfare is inevitable,	1:16:06
	that faithfulness in monogamous marriage is too high a goal,	1:16:09
	that the only motivation is what's good for me,	1:16:14
	and we sit here in the pews this morning	1:16:20
	and know deep in our hearts,	1:16:23
	that the element of truth in all of these things	1:16:26
	which can't happen,	1:16:29
	is a part of the very self that's sitting here.	1:16:33
	We need not be liars to ourselves.	1:16:36
	Creative imagination does not mean to hide the truth,	1:16:40
	but it surely means to see things differently.	1:16:45
	To live by a metaphor	1:16:50
	which encompasses the whole of human experience,	1:16:52
	constantly surprising us	1:16:55
	by invoking recognition of familiar things	1:16:57
	and patterns which are now new,	1:17:00
	which let us move ahead,	1:17:04
	let us change.	1:17:05
	Assume that change is possible,	1:17:06
	to pick up papers on Elm Street.	1:17:09
	Let the air out of tires	1:17:11
	so that stuck trucks can be driven away,	1:17:12
	take examinations without fear of our life.	1:17:14
	To vest without fear of destroying a University,	1:17:17
	marry without fear of divorce	1:17:21
	and divorce,	1:17:23
	if that be less evil than a given marriage	1:17:26
	without fear of rotting in Hell forever.	1:17:28
	Two things are a part of	1:17:34
	Christian and Jewish witness	1:17:38
	that Passover and Easter are forever	1:17:42
	once historical events	1:17:46
	which gives shape to the metaphor by which we live.	1:17:48
	A candle blown out,	1:17:53
	but still burning.	1:17:56
	A people freed.	1:17:57
	These are the figments of our imagination	1:18:01
	which we acknowledge are not of our making,	1:18:06
	but gift of God to His people.	1:18:09
	A way of seeing which evokes new meaning and promise	1:18:12
	for is old and familiar.	1:18:17
	The second part of the witness	1:18:21
	is that resurrection and Passover	1:18:24
	are forever new events in the lives of some people	1:18:26
	and each generation of God's people,	1:18:30
	by which the stone	1:18:32
	of what's has been,	1:18:34
	is rolled away and there comes forth	1:18:38
	a new way of seeing	1:18:41
	which is full of promise	1:18:44
	and life.	1:18:47
	It is the beauty of the possibilities,	1:18:49
	the shocked recognition of a bestirred imagination	1:18:53
	which I think sings through	1:18:56
	the words of the Gospel read today.	1:18:58
	The song of Mary.	1:19:01
	"He hath showed strength with His arm,	1:19:04
	he has scattered the proud	1:19:06
	and the imagination of their hearts.	1:19:07
	He hath put down the mighty from their seats	1:19:11
	and exalted them of low degree.	1:19:13
	He hath filled the hungry with good things.	1:19:15
	The rich He hath sent empty away."	1:19:19
	It is this new way of seeing things	1:19:23
	which allows some of us to say with Paul,	1:19:27
	"I am not ashamed of the Gospel."	1:19:29
	It is the power of God	1:19:31
	for salvation from boredom,	1:19:34
	to Jew first,	1:19:38
	also to the Greek.	1:19:40
	Where others of us to simply say,	1:19:42
	we know we live East of Eden,	1:19:47
	no way of going back to the garden,	1:19:51
	but by the Grace of God we do not have to sit here forever	1:19:53
	making bricks without straw.	1:19:56
	There is a promised land.	1:20:00
	Our Lord is the lord of that promised land,	1:20:04
	luring us out of death by boredom	1:20:09
	into trouble and joy.	1:20:11
	To such a journey I commend you	1:20:16
	and may the Lord bless and keep you.	1:20:20
	Amen.	1:20:24
	(lively organ music)	1:20:42
	(choir singing All People That On Earth Do Dwell)	1:20:50
	♪ All people that on Earth do dwell ♪	1:21:00
	♪ Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice ♪	1:21:09
	♪ Him serve with mirth ♪	1:21:18
	♪ His praise forth tell ♪	1:21:22
	♪ Come ye before Him and rejoice ♪	1:21:27
	♪ Know that the Lord is God indeed ♪	1:21:40
	♪ Without our aid He did us make ♪	1:21:49
	♪ We are His folk ♪	1:21:58
	♪ He doth us feed ♪	1:22:01
	♪ And for His sheep He doth us take ♪	1:22:06
	♪ Oh enter then His gates with praise ♪	1:22:19
	♪ Approach with joy His courts unto ♪	1:22:28
	♪ Praise, laud and bless His name always ♪	1:22:37
	♪ For it is seemly so to do ♪	1:22:46
	♪ For why the Lord our God is good ♪	1:23:01
	♪ His mercy is forever sure ♪	1:23:10
	♪ His truth at all times firmly stood ♪	1:23:20
	♪ And shall from age to age endure ♪	1:23:29
	♪ To Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪	1:23:53
	♪ The God whom Heaven and Earth adore ♪	1:24:02
	♪ From men and from the angel host ♪	1:24:12
	♪ Be praise and glory evermore ♪	1:24:21
-	As an act of thanksgiving and commitment	1:25:06
	let us join together for a prayer,	1:25:10
	a unison prayer of gratitude and hope.	1:25:13
	Let us pray.	1:25:19
	Almighty God who has granted us place and part	1:25:21
	in this university,	1:25:25
	hallow to us now this day	1:25:28
	when we dedicate ourselves to the life and work	1:25:31
	to which You have here called us	1:25:34
	that we may remember with gratitude	1:25:38
	the families and friends who have cared for us.	1:25:41
	We ask Your presence oh God	1:25:45
	that in the life ahead of us,	1:25:48
	we may keep faith with those who have loved us	1:25:51
	and trusted us and whose hopes follow us.	1:25:54
	We ask Your presence oh God,	1:25:58
	that we may enter with good courage and constant purpose	1:26:02
	upon the tasks which await us.	1:26:06
	We ask Your presence oh God	1:26:10
	from all sense of strangeness and loneliness	1:26:13
	and from the fear that we may fail	1:26:17
	and may find no friends,	1:26:19
	good Lord deliver us	1:26:22
	from neglect of the opportunities which are all about us,	1:26:25
	and from distrust of our ability	1:26:29
	to meet the duties of each dawning day.	1:26:32
	Good Lord deliver us,	1:26:35
	that the example of wise and generous people	1:26:38
	who have gone before us here at this university,	1:26:42
	may save us from folly and self-indulgence.	1:26:46
	We ask your presence oh God,	1:26:49
	more especially that you would show to us	1:26:53
	and to all people	1:26:56
	the way of Love in a time desperately in need	1:26:59
	of those who care.	1:27:02
	We ask Your presence oh God,	1:27:04
	these things and whatever else You see needful	1:27:08
	and right for us.	1:27:11
	We ask in Your holy name.	1:27:13
	Amen.	1:27:17
	(lively organ music)	1:27:19
	(congregation singing indistinctly)	1:27:52
-	Go now	1:31:03
	in love and peace my friend	1:31:06
	and as you go	1:31:12
	may you find fulfillment in your serving	1:31:15
	joy in your loving	1:31:21
	satisfaction in your working	1:31:24
	and peace in your believing	1:31:29
	and may the love and peace of God	1:31:33
	be with you and with those whom you love	1:31:37
	this day and forever.	1:31:42
	(choir singing)	1:31:48
	♪ Amen ♪	1:31:49
	♪ Amen ♪	1:31:54
	♪ Amen ♪	1:32:01
	♪ Amen ♪	1:32:09
	♪ Amen ♪	1:32:15
	♪ Amen ♪	1:32:24
	♪ Amen ♪	1:32:36
	(dramatic organ music)	1:32:54

Item Info

Title:

John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service 11:00 am (May 6, 1979)

Description:

Sermon start time: 59:20. Sermon end time: 01:20:29.
Being creative through the ongoing presence of the resurrection allows us to see new perspectives and change the world. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: The Lord God almighty had stirred their imaginations ... For Christians, the metaphor is Easter, just a figment of the imagination.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4dj58x0m

Date:

May 6, 1979

Speaker:

Vannorsdall, John W.

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Duke University. Chapel

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UA.17.01.0003 RR-1025
ref7259_nx1
uachapelsermaud
duke:320711
dcrau001905
ark:/87924/r4dj58x0m
639c24b0-e456-4f62-b1f4-504695920a3b

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John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service 11:00 am (May 6, 1979)

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1. John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service 9:00 am (May 6, 1979)

2. John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service" (May 6, 1979)

Duke University Archives

John W. Vannorsdall - "Figments of Our Imagination" Baccalaureate Service 11:00 am (May 6, 1979)

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