Robert T. Young - "Is Christ Divided?" (October 14, 1979)

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	(hymnal singing)	0:04
-	Sunday worship service,	0:05
	Duke chapel, October 14, 1979.	0:07
	(organ music)	0:14
	(organ music)	5:17
	(organ music)	7:38
	(hymnal singing)	11:51
	(organ music)	13:06
	(hymnal singing)	13:40
-	For nearly 4,000 years,	17:33
	from Abraham through 40 centuries to the present,	17:36
	our spiritual ancestors and we have expressed	17:41
	a primal need.	17:44
	To confess collectively our unworthiness	17:48
	and need for grace.	17:53
	Let us therefore confess as a congregation	17:57
	our personal prayer	18:03
	of confession.	18:07
	Oh God,	18:10
	we who have been called to be your people	18:12
	confess that we have been given new life	18:17
	but we have not lived.	18:21
	We have been called to freedom	18:23
	but we have found the burden heavy,	18:26
	the anxiety painful	18:30
	and have returned to our illusions about life	18:33
	and our deceits about ourselves.	18:37
	We have talked about getting involved,	18:40
	serving our neighbor,	18:44
	opening our eyes and ears and senses to our world	18:46
	but we keep finding reasons why it isn't possible right now.	18:51
	We who should be full of faith and hope	18:57
	are empty and lost.	19:01
	We long for the freedom and joy you promise	19:04
	if we follow you	19:07
	but we are afraid of the demands,	19:10
	the pain, the involvement,	19:13
	the time and perhaps the cross,	19:16
	that are a part of that freedom and joy.	19:20
	Increase our hunger for you, oh lord.	19:24
	Forgive our fears and weaknesses.	19:28
	Drive us, intrigue us,	19:31
	love us until we can give you our lives.	19:34
	Bless the lord our God	20:17
	who forgiveth all our iniquities,	20:20
	who redeemeth our lives from destruction,	20:25
	who crowneth us with loving kindness	20:29
	and tender mercies.	20:32
	Let us give thanks, for God is good	20:39
	and God's love is everlasting.	20:43
	Thanks be to God.	20:46
	Love creates us.	20:49
	Thanks be to God,	20:51
	whose mercy redeems us.	20:53
	Thanks be to God,	20:56
	who sustains us.	20:58
	As the presiding minister this morning,	21:04
	I have the opportunity to welcome each of you.	21:06
	Many of you close friends and colleagues	21:10
	for at least a decade.	21:11
	And to welcome those who are worshiping with us	21:16
	for the first time.	21:18
	Each of us participating in this service	21:22
	hopes that your heart will be stirred by the love	21:25
	and voice of God as we together worship him.	21:28
	It is also my privilege to draw your attention	21:34
	to the organ recital this afternoon	21:37
	by Virginia L. Vance.	21:41
	The particulars will be found	21:45
	on the back of your bulletin.	21:47
	The service, as a organ recital,	21:50
	begins at seven this evening.	21:53
-	Let us pray.	22:06
	Prepare our hearts, oh lord, to accept your word.	22:09
	Silence in us any voice but your own	22:13
	that hearing we may also obey your will	22:16
	through Jesus Christ our lord.	22:20
	The epistle lesson is from the first chapter of	22:24
	first Corinthians, verses 10 through 18.	22:26
	I appeal to you brethren by the name of our lord,	22:32
	Jesus Christ, that all of you agree	22:35
	and that there be no dissensions among you.	22:38
	But that you be united in the same mind	22:41
	and the same judgment.	22:44
	For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people	22:46
	that there is quarreling among you, my brethren.	22:50
	What I mean is that each one of you says,	22:53
	I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos.	22:56
	Or I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ.	23:00
	Is Christ divided?	23:05
	Was Paul crucified for you?	23:07
	Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?	23:10
	I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus	23:14
	and Gaius, lest anyone should say that you were baptized	23:17
	in my name.	23:20
	I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.	23:22
	Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.	23:25
	For Christ did not send me to baptize,	23:30
	but to preach the gospel and not with eloquent wisdom	23:32
	lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.	23:37
	For the word of the cross is folly	23:41
	to those who are perishing	23:42
	but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.	23:45
	Here ends the reading from the epistle, amen.	23:50
	(organ music)	23:55
	(hymnal singing)	24:16
	Will the congregation please stand for the reading	28:44
	of the gospel lesson?	28:46
	The gospel lesson is from the 17th chapter of John,	28:53
	verses one through three and 20 through 26.	28:56
	When Jesus had spoken these words he lifted up	29:01
	his eyes to heaven and said,	29:04
	Father, the hour has come.	29:06
	Glorify thy son, that the son may glorify thee.	29:09
	Since thou hast given him power over all flesh	29:13
	to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him.	29:16
	And this is eternal life.	29:20
	That they know thee, the only true God,	29:23
	and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.	29:26
	I do not pray for these only but also for those who	29:30
	believe in me through their word.	29:33
	That they may all be one.	29:35
	Even as thou, father, art in me and I in thee,	29:38
	that they may also be in us	29:41
	so that the world may believe that thou have sent me.	29:44
	The glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them.	29:48
	That they may be one even as we are one,	29:52
	I in them and thou in me	29:55
	That they may be become perfectly one.	29:57
	So that the world may know that thou hast sent me	30:00
	and has loved them even as thou hast loved me.	30:03
	Father, I desire that they also,	30:07
	whom thou hast given me,	30:10
	may be with me where I am.	30:12
	To behold my glory which thou hast given me	30:15
	and thy love for me before the foundation of the world.	30:18
	Oh righteous father,	30:23
	the world has not known thee but I have known thee	30:24
	and these know that thou hast sent me.	30:28
	I made known to them thy name	30:32
	and I will make it known	30:34
	that the love with which thou hast loved me	30:36
	may be in them and I in them.	30:38
	Here ends the reading from the gospel.	30:42
	All praise and glory be to God.	30:45
	(organ music)	30:48
	(hymnal singing)	30:56
-	Grace to you and peace	32:00
	from the lord our God who creates us,	32:02
	redeems us and sustains us,	32:05
	Amen.	32:08
	Pope John Paul II has just this past Monday,	32:14
	completed an historic visit to the United States.	32:20
	Untold millions, literally, heard him,	32:26
	saw him in person,	32:30
	watched him on television and read about him.	32:32
	His presence, his speeches and sermons,	32:37
	his warmth and graciousness,	32:42
	his wit and wisdom,	32:45
	his love and compassion	32:47
	moved and stirred all of us.	32:50
	Roman Catholic and non-Catholic,	32:53
	Christian and non-Christian.	32:56
	His presence among us with all the attendant news and	33:00
	publicity and acclaim,	33:04
	raised many very serious questions for the Catholic church,	33:07
	for all of us who are Christian,	33:13
	and for us as a nation.	33:15
	Many issues were addressed by him that will be debated	33:19
	and argued for a long time.	33:22
	It is yet to be seen and known whether his visit	33:25
	in the long run	33:29
	will prove to have been a unifying	33:31
	or a divisive influence.	33:34
	But one question which Pope John Paul II's visit	33:39
	raised for me	33:42
	is a question raised by Paul in his letter to the	33:45
	Corinthian Christians.	33:48
	Is Christ divided?	33:50
	Paul wrote in the passage we have heard as our	33:55
	epistle lesson.	33:57
	I appeal to you brethren by the name of	33:59
	our Lord, Jesus Christ,	34:01
	that all of you agree	34:04
	and that there be no dissension among you	34:07
	but that you be united in the same	34:11
	mind and the same judgment	34:14
	for it has been reported to me by Chloe's people	34:19
	that there is quarreling among you, my brethren.	34:22
	What I mean is that each one of you says, I belong	34:26
	to Paul or I belong to Apollos	34:28
	or I belong to Cephas or I belong to Christ.	34:30
	Is Christ divided?	34:33
	And then in the gospel lesson for today, the high priestly	34:39
	prayer of our Lord.	34:42
	These words are included.	34:46
	I do not pray for these only.	34:50
	Presumably those gathered about him.	34:53
	But also for those who believe in me through their word	34:57
	that they may all be one.	35:00
	Even as thou father art in me and I in thee,	35:04
	that they also may be in us	35:07
	so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.	35:11
	The glory which thou hast given me,	35:16
	I have given to them.	35:18
	That they may be one even as we are one,	35:20
	I in them and thou in me and listen,	35:24
	that they may become perfectly one.	35:28
	There is no doubt that the earnest desire and prayer	35:37
	and plea of our Lord is that all who believed in him	35:43
	and were with him and all who were yet to believe in him	35:47
	and yet to be with him, might be one,	35:51
	might even be perfectly one.	35:54
	I find it somewhat intriguing,	35:59
	even compelling	36:02
	and yes,	36:04
	perhaps most importantly, reassuring.	36:05
	To see how constant and consistent	36:09
	is the concern that the church be one.	36:12
	It was for Jesus.	36:16
	It was for Paul.	36:17
	Thus, Paul's question,	36:20
	is Christ divided?	36:23
	I believe that Pope John Paul II's visit	36:28
	reaffirmed for all the church	36:33
	our humanness, our differences,	36:37
	our dividedness.	36:42
	The question is Christ divided?	36:47
	The answer,	36:52
	made plain and clear and obvious in many ways by the visit	36:55
	by Pope John Paul II, the answer is,	36:59
	surely the visible body of	37:02
	Christ as we know it and see it	37:05
	and experience it is divided.	37:08
	Not only is it divided,	37:13
	it is absolutely rent asunder.	37:15
	That this is so, none could deny.	37:20
	That this is so, flies directly and categorically	37:25
	in the face of cries from the word of God,	37:29
	of the pleas of the early church writers	37:34
	and the longings and prayers of our Lord.	37:37
	What do we have?	37:41
	The church, that is the body of Christ	37:43
	as organization,	37:47
	as institution,	37:49
	as physical and organic entity,	37:51
	split, fractured,	37:55
	divided, dividing, and divisive.	37:58
	The church as present as Christ present,	38:03
	alive and visible among us today is divided.	38:07
	Roman, Eastern, Protestant, liberal, conservative.	38:10
	Evangelical, fundamentalist, mainline, activist,	38:15
	traditionalist, modernist,	38:20
	parochial, regional, national, ethnic, racial,	38:22
	Orthodox, Neo-Orthodox.	38:26
	It is estimated that there are probably more than	38:30
	3500 different Christian bodies	38:33
	on this Earth today.	38:38
	Sometimes, when I look at the broken church	38:43
	and when I look at our broken world,	38:49
	I do so with the same feeling and with the same fear.	38:54
	There seems to be absolutely	39:00
	no hope whatsoever.	39:04
	No hope whatsoever, short of some cataclysmic disaster	39:08
	or short of some apocalyptic nightmare	39:12
	and momentarily for me, periodically, I feel very despairing	39:16
	both about the world and about the church and very, very	39:21
	hopeless, but then after those moments and after those	39:25
	periodic times have come and gone, I realize what I often	39:30
	forget, namely that God is in control.	39:34
	That God's purpose and design are being worked out to their	39:39
	appointed end.	39:42
	That God really does know what is going on in the church	39:44
	and in this world.	39:47
	That God's will will be fulfilled.	39:48
	That Jesus' prayer in John that we all may be perfectly one	39:51
	will be answered someday.	39:56
	But you say now, in what way or what ways did the pope's	40:01
	visit reaffirm or make clear again our differences	40:05
	and our dividedness?	40:08
	His positions, lovingly and warmly, graciously,	40:11
	and caringly given	40:16
	on sexuality issues,	40:19
	the sexual orientation and lifestyles of heterosexuals,	40:22
	of homosexuals, of single persons	40:26
	and married persons,	40:28
	as he said.	40:30
	We see so many disturbing tendencies and so much laxity	40:32
	regarding the Christian view on sexuality	40:36
	that all have one thing in common,	40:39
	recourse to the concept of freedom	40:43
	to justify any behavior that is no longer consonant	40:46
	with the moral order and the teaching of the church.	40:50
	His position restated on divorce,	40:55
	the covenant, he said, between a man and a woman	40:59
	joined in Christian marriage is as indissoluble	41:03
	and irrevocable as God's love for his people	41:06
	and Christ's love for his church.	41:10
	His position on the priesthood	41:15
	and on the ordination of men only.	41:17
	He said, priesthood is forever.	41:21
	We do not return the gift once given.	41:26
	The church's traditional decision to call men	41:30
	to the priesthood and not to call women	41:32
	is not a statement about human rights	41:35
	nor an exclusion of women from holiness	41:38
	and mission in the church.	41:41
	His position on contraception and abortion,	41:44
	he said,	41:47
	in exalting the beauty of marriage,	41:50
	you, the bishops in the United States,	41:52
	rightly spoke against both the ideology of contraception	41:56
	and of contraceptive acts.	42:00
	You also gave witness to the truth,	42:02
	serving all humanity when you reaffirmed the right to life	42:05
	and the inviable ability of every human life	42:11
	including the life of unborn children.	42:14
	His position on church unity.	42:19
	While stating that quote,	42:23
	"The will of Christ impels us to work earnestly	42:26
	and persuasively and perseveringly	42:30
	for unity with all our Christian brethren."	42:33
	He went on to state that, quote,	42:37
	"Full unity in faith	42:41
	is the condition for sharing in the Eucharist."	42:44
	Well, these issues and many more divide the church	42:50
	of Jesus Christ today in this country and around the world.	42:53
	No one, not even Pope John Paul II, I believe,	42:57
	can take an inflexible, unyielding, unilateral position	43:02
	on matters of sexuality, marriage and divorce,	43:06
	contraception, ordination of women,	43:10
	the irrevocability of priestly vows, and who has	43:13
	access to the Lord's table and not make visible	43:17
	the divisions within the body of Christ.	43:21
	On the other hand though,	43:28
	there are many beautiful, disturbing,	43:31
	reassuring, demanding,	43:35
	hopeful ways Pope John Paul II	43:37
	reaffirmed and reminded us often	43:41
	of our oneness, our union with Christ	43:44
	and Christ's spirit,	43:47
	our commonality in the church,	43:49
	our unity of concern and commitment.	43:51
	We are one in the Spirit.	43:55
	We are one in the Lord in many essential ways.	43:56
	And he recalled all of us	44:02
	to our oneness.	44:05
	Speaking to and for all of us, I believe,	44:08
	that is liberal, conservative,	44:11
	traditionalist, evangelical,	44:12
	he reminded us constantly of the centrality of Christ.	44:14
	Of the need for personal faith in Christ,	44:19
	of the way, the truth, and the life that we find in Christ	44:22
	and in Christ alone.	44:26
	He reminded us of the centrality of prayer	44:29
	and of the personal devotional life.	44:33
	Of life rooted in prayer to help us live in the midst	44:35
	of temptation and testing today	44:38
	and to triumph over them.	44:41
	He reminded us	44:44
	of the central and essential place in the life	44:46
	of the Christian.	44:48
	Of a life of love, truth, justice,	44:50
	brotherhood, mercy,	44:53
	compassion, and service.	44:55
	In New York, for example, you'll remember that he told	44:57
	how that city, indeed, maybe how all cities	44:59
	need a new soul and then went on to tell them how they	45:02
	could find their soul, quote,	45:06
	"By loving each other."	45:08
	He reminded us of the church's love and concern	45:12
	for young people today.	45:15
	He said, "Faced with problems and disappointments,	45:17
	many people will try to escape from their responsibility.	45:21
	Escape in selfishness.	45:27
	Escape in sexual pleasure.	45:30
	Escape in drugs.	45:32
	Escape in violence.	45:34
	Escape in indifference and cynical attitudes."	45:36
	and then he said,	45:40
	"Dear young people, do not be afraid of honest effort	45:41
	and honest work.	45:46
	With Christ's help and through prayer,	45:48
	you can answer his call.	45:50
	Resisting temptation and fads and resisting every form	45:52
	of mass manipulation."	45:57
	He reminded us of Christ's and of the church's concern	46:02
	for the needs of all persons.	46:06
	He said,	46:09
	"We must find a simple way of living.	46:10
	For it is not right that the standard of living	46:16
	of the rich countries should seek to maintain itself	46:18
	by draining off a great part of the reserves of energy	46:21
	and raw materials that are meant to serve the whole	46:25
	of humanity."	46:29
	Christ, he said, demands openness to our brothers	46:30
	and sisters in need.	46:34
	We cannot stand idly by enjoying our own riches	46:36
	and freedom if in any place the Lazarus of the 20th century	46:39
	stands at our doors.	46:44
	Riches and freedom create a special obligation.	46:47
	The poor of the United States and of the world	46:53
	are your brothers and sisters in Christ.	46:55
	You must never be content just to leave them the crumbs	46:58
	from your feast.	47:02
	You must take of your substance.	47:03
	And not just of your abundance	47:06
	in order to help them	47:08
	and you must treat them like guests at your family table.	47:10
	He called all of us to an awareness of the dangers	47:18
	of the arms race in the world today.	47:21
	He said, we are troubled,	47:24
	by reports of the development of weaponry exceeding	47:28
	in quality and size any means of war and destruction	47:31
	ever known before.	47:37
	We must ask ourselves whether there will continue to	47:40
	accumulate over the heads of children,	47:44
	the threat of common extermination	47:47
	for which the means are in the hands of the modern states,	47:50
	especially the major world powers.	47:55
	Are the children	47:59
	to receive the arms race from us	48:01
	as a necessary inheritance?	48:05
	These concerns and many more remind us of our oneness	48:10
	and point out for all of us in the church,	48:15
	the ongoing, essential and desperate need	48:17
	for the church to show its faith	48:20
	and its obedience to Christ through love and justice	48:24
	and mercy, compassion, brotherhood,	48:28
	and service.	48:30
	Surely the world and we in the church will or will not	48:31
	know that we are Christians by our love	48:35
	or our lack of it.	48:39
	Well, so what?	48:42
	You may be saying, just now,	48:47
	all this talk about large and general issues about	48:49
	national and global concerns,	48:53
	about personal and private needs	48:55
	sounds very generous and gracious and magnanimous	48:58
	but so what?	49:02
	The question raised is,	49:05
	is Christ divided?	49:07
	Yes, and so the question, I believe must	49:11
	come home	49:14
	to each one of us personally and realistically.	49:16
	Is Christ divided for me	49:22
	or for you?	49:27
	There is a prayer in the newly approved	49:30
	Episcopal book of common prayer.	49:33
	It goes like this,	49:37
	for all who fear God and believe in you,	49:41
	Lord Christ,	49:44
	that our divisions may cease and that all may be one	49:46
	as you and the father are one,	49:50
	we pray to you, Oh Lord.	49:53
	And so perhaps the real question, the only way to ask the	49:58
	question is to ask it in a very personal way.	50:01
	Is Christ divided for you or for me?	50:06
	In your heart and mind and spirit	50:11
	do you this morning feel a oneness with God,	50:15
	with Christ, with others in Christ?	50:20
	Is your attitude toward others who	50:24
	claim to belong to Christ,	50:27
	one of tolerance, acceptance	50:30
	and communion with them?	50:33
	Is there a place around the table of our Lord	50:36
	in your mind and in your Spirit and in the way that	50:39
	you would have the table shared	50:42
	for those who believe differently?	50:44
	For those who look different.	50:47
	Indeed for those who behave differently.	50:50
	After all, my friends, as I read and understand this	50:54
	prayer of Jesus	50:58
	in the gospel of John.	51:00
	It was a very, very personal prayer.	51:02
	It was prayed longingly for those who were with him and	51:06
	those who were yet to be with him	51:10
	that we all may be perfectly one.	51:12
	One with God and one with each other.	51:16
	The whole purpose of Jesus, life, and ministry	51:19
	and death and resurrection are summed up in his prayer here.	51:23
	He came that we might love God and love our neighbor	51:26
	as ourselves.	51:31
	He came that we might be one with God and one with	51:32
	each other.	51:36
	It is unquestionably clear	51:38
	that in the mind of Jesus and in the mind of Paul,	51:42
	they do not want us divided or separated.	51:47
	They do not want us divided or separated from God	51:50
	nor from one another.	51:53
	Maybe there are reasons that we're hesitant to make a	51:59
	commitment to oneness in Christ.	52:02
	Maybe it's a very simple reason like Michael Quoist says	52:05
	in his prayer, Help Me To Say Yes Lord.	52:09
	When he says, "I am afraid of saying, yes Lord.	52:13
	For where will you take me?	52:17
	I am afraid of the yes that entails other yeses.	52:20
	And so maybe we are afraid of saying yes to our	52:27
	oneness in Christ because it indeed may entail other yeses	52:30
	and we're afraid of the unknown yeses.	52:37
	I don't know about you	52:43
	but I have been deeply, deeply moved	52:46
	and inspired and challenged	52:50
	by the visit of Pope John Paul II.	52:53
	This morning and many times during his visit	52:57
	I thanked God for him,	53:00
	for his commitment to Christ,	53:04
	his warm and loving and gentle ways.	53:06
	His compassion and deep concern for humanity.	53:08
	And for the ringing call to authentic	53:13
	Christian commitment	53:15
	which he laid before us	53:17
	to live and live faithfully.	53:19
	He has moved me and moved me deeply to pray again	53:24
	with our Lord	53:28
	that we all	53:29
	may be one.	53:31
	I spent two days this week	53:34
	leading a spiritual life retreat for some 150 or so	53:36
	Episcopal women in Alabama	53:40
	from the Gulf Coast diocese of the Episcopal church.	53:43
	During the time we were together,	53:48
	and many times we were together,	53:51
	I was moved and moved deeply by the concerns	53:54
	and the commitments of these fellow Christians,	53:57
	their devotion to Christ,	53:59
	their desire to know and live out their ministry	54:01
	to Christ and to their neighbors today	54:03
	and I came away from that experience deeply convinced	54:07
	that in many ways, in ways that really count,	54:10
	perhaps we are one in the Spirit and I came away	54:12
	praying again as did our Lord	54:16
	that we all may be one.	54:18
	Every Sunday, when I come to worship in this place,	54:22
	I am reminded of the beauty of the body of Christ.	54:27
	For when we gather in this place perhaps as	54:33
	few other places in this country, indeed maybe anywhere,	54:36
	we are of many different backgrounds,	54:41
	we come from many different church traditions.	54:45
	we are of different races and colors.	54:48
	We come from many socio-economic levels,	54:51
	some wear blue jeans and tennis shoes,	54:54
	some wear furs and fancy shoes.	54:57
	Some even, on days warmer than this,	55:00
	come barefoot.	55:02
	But often as I sit in this congregation	55:05
	or as I walk	55:07
	up the aisle or down the aisle,	55:10
	I look around, my friends, and I am thrilled,	55:13
	absolutely thrilled at the differences	55:16
	we all bring to this place	55:19
	and to this service and to Christ.	55:22
	Every time I worship here on Sunday morning	55:26
	I get just a small sense of what the body of Christ	55:30
	really could be like,	55:35
	will be like if,	55:38
	no not if, but some small sense of what the body	55:40
	of Christ will be like	55:44
	when we are all one in Christ.	55:46
	It was the late archbishop, William Temple,	55:51
	archbishop of Canterbury who once said,	55:53
	"I believe in one holy Catholic church	55:56
	and I wish that it were a reality."	56:01
	And so do I.	56:07
	Let us pray.	56:12
	With the words of our Lord,	56:16
	will you join with me as I pray?	56:18
	Our Lord said, to thee, oh God,	56:21
	I do not pray for these only.	56:25
	But I pray also for those who believe through their word	56:29
	that they may all be one.	56:34
	That they may become perfectly one.	56:37
	Oh Lord, our God,	56:43
	take us who claim to belong to Jesus Christ	56:46
	and make us one, we pray	56:49
	in the name and in the Spirit of our lord,	56:54
	Amen.	57:00
	(organ music)	57:16
	(hymnal singing)	57:46
	Let us affirm what we believe.	1:00:35
	We believe in God who has created and is creating.	1:00:39
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus	1:00:46
	to reconcile and make new	1:00:49
	who works in us and others by the spirit.	1:00:53
	We trust God who calls us to be the church.	1:00:57
	To celebrate life and its fullness.	1:01:02
	To love and serve others.	1:01:06
	To seek justice and resist evil.	1:01:09
	To proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	1:01:13
	our judge and our hope,	1:01:17
	in life, in death,	1:01:20
	in life beyond death,	1:01:23
	God is with us, we are not alone.	1:01:25
	Thanks be to God.	1:01:30
	The lord be with you.	1:01:33
	(congregation in unison)	1:01:36
	Let us pray.	1:01:37
	Oh lord God,	1:01:54
	may you be blessed	1:01:57
	throughout the world.	1:01:59
	Oh creator,	1:02:02
	may your creatures turn to you in praise	1:02:04
	and adoration.	1:02:09
	Heavenly father,	1:02:12
	may your sons and daughters	1:02:16
	realize the graciousness of your creation	1:02:20
	and their creatureliness.	1:02:25
	Oh father,	1:02:29
	thank you for the gift of sonship and daughtership.	1:02:32
	Oh God,	1:02:39
	thank you for encouraging us	1:02:42
	to call upon you.	1:02:45
	Help us to pray as we should.	1:02:50
	Help us to learn to communicate	1:02:55
	with you.	1:02:58
	Help us to perceive how you listen to our needs	1:03:02
	even those inarticulated by us	1:03:11
	and those below our recognitions.	1:03:17
	Hear us today, oh father.	1:03:25
	Hear our prayers of praise,	1:03:30
	thanksgiving, petition and submission.	1:03:34
	You, oh God,	1:03:43
	know our needs.	1:03:46
	Help us.	1:03:51
	Forgive our weaknesses.	1:03:54
	Empower us to move more steadfastly	1:03:59
	from weakness and sin	1:04:05
	to strength and life with you.	1:04:09
	Oh lord and master of us all,	1:04:17
	take our lives and dreams, too.	1:04:22
	Let them be consecrated always in and for you.	1:04:27
	May we love you with all our heart,	1:04:36
	with all our mind	1:04:41
	and all our strength.	1:04:43
	In spirit us to love our neighbors	1:04:49
	so that the grace of charity and brotherly love	1:04:54
	may dwell in us	1:04:59
	and so that our envy, harshness	1:05:02
	and ill will may die.	1:05:08
	Pour into our hearts	1:05:16
	the milk of your tenderness,	1:05:19
	kindness and compassion.	1:05:23
	May we rejoice in the happiness	1:05:29
	and good success of others	1:05:33
	and sympathize with them in their sorrows.	1:05:38
	Help us to forgive and forget	1:05:46
	injustices to us	1:05:52
	and banish all harsh judgements and envious thoughts	1:05:55
	from us.	1:05:59
	Help us to move toward you,	1:06:05
	to follow you,	1:06:09
	for you are the true way,	1:06:13
	the perfect love,	1:06:16
	the first and final goal.	1:06:20
	We are bold to call to you in whispers from our hearts	1:06:26
	with bended knees.	1:06:32
	For Jesus taught us to call you, father	1:06:35
	and to say when we pray,	1:06:43
	Our father who art in heaven,	1:06:48
	hallowed be thy name.	1:06:52
	Thy kingdom come,	1:06:55
	thy will be done,	1:06:58
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:07:00
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:07:04
	and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.	1:07:08
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:07:16
	but deliver us from evil.	1:07:20
	For thine is the kingdom and the power	1:07:23
	and the glory forever.	1:07:27
	(organ music)	1:07:40
	(hymnal singing)	1:09:03
	Heavenly father,	1:14:47
	we offer our gifts and ties to the teaching of Jesus'	1:14:50
	way of life.	1:14:54
	To the leading of every little child to the knowledge	1:14:57
	and love of thee.	1:14:59
	To the healing of broken bodies and lives	1:15:01
	and the soothing of fevered brows.	1:15:03
	From thee we have received much, please accept	1:15:07
	these little tokens	1:15:11
	as symbols of our lives in thee.	1:15:14
	Amen.	1:15:18
	(organ music)	1:15:24
	(hymnal singing)	1:16:12
	The peace of God which passeth all understanding,	1:20:18
	keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God.	1:20:23
	The blessing of God almighty, the father, the son,	1:20:29
	and the holy spirit	1:20:32
	be among you and remain with you always.	1:20:34
	(hymnal singing)	1:20:43
	(organ music)	1:21:56

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Is Christ Divided?" (October 14, 1979)

Description:

Sermon start time: 32:14. Sermon end time: 57:01.
We must commit to being one in Christ. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: Is there a place around the table of our Lord in your mind and in your Spirit and in the way that you would have the table shared for those who believe differently?

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4p844945

Date:

October 14, 1979

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1048
ref7308_rup
uachapelsermaud
duke:320928
dcrau001927
ark:/87924/r4p844945
4c373313-b947-4a83-a18b-c4a92322b88c

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

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This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Robert T. Young - "Is Christ Divided?" (October 14, 1979)

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1. Robert T. Young - "Is Christ Divided?" (October 14, 1979)

Duke University Archives

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Duke University Archives

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