Arthur James Armstrong - "King of Kings? Ha!..." (March 30, 1980)

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-	Sunday worship service, March 30th, 1980, Duke Chapel.	0:03
	(upbeat organ music)	0:10
-	Hosanna, blessed is he who comes	10:40
	in the name of the Lord.	10:43
	Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.	10:45
	Peace in heaven and glory in the highest	10:49
	on this blessed holy Palm Sunday.	10:53
	I greet you in the name and spirit	10:57
	of our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ.	11:00
	May grace and peace from the Lord be with you	11:03
	and be very present with us all,	11:07
	as we gather in this moment to praise	11:10
	and to worship the Lord our God.	11:12
	Come now, let us worship together.	11:15
	Let us hear the word of God as it is recorded	11:20
	in the gospel according to Saint Matthew chapter 21:1-11.	11:25
	And when they drew near to Jerusalem,	11:33
	and came to Bethpage, to the Mount of Olives,	11:35
	then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,	11:38
	go into the village opposite you and immediately	11:43
	you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her.	11:46
	Untie them and bring them to me.	11:50
	If anyone says anything to you,	11:53
	you shall say, the Lord has need of them	11:56
	and he will send them immediately.	11:59
	This took place to fulfill what was spoken	12:02
	by the prophet saying tell the daughter of Zion,	12:05
	behold your king is coming to you,	12:09
	humble and mounted on an ass and on a colt,	12:12
	the foal of an ass.	12:16
	The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.	12:18
	They brought the ass and the colt	12:22
	and put their garments on them	12:25
	and he sat thereon.	12:26
	Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road.	12:29
	And others cut branches from the trees	12:33
	and spread them on the road.	12:35
	And the crowds that went before him	12:37
	and that followed him, shouted hosanna to the son of David.	12:40
	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,	12:45
	Hosanna in the highest.	12:49
	And when he entered Jerusalem,	12:51
	all the city was stirred, saying who is this?	12:53
	And the crowds said this is the prophet Jesus,	12:58
	from Nazareth of Galilee.	13:02
	The word of the Lord.	13:05
	♪ Highest that ancient song we sing ♪	13:08
	♪ For Christ is our Redeemer ♪	13:15
	♪ The Lord of heaven our King ♪	13:19
	♪ Oh, may we ever praise Him ♪	13:24
	♪ With heart and life and voice ♪	13:29
	♪ And in His blissful presence ♪	13:33
	♪ Eternally rejoice ♪	13:38
	(organ music)	13:46
	(choir singing, voices drown out by organ)	14:28
-	Well, we're caught up in the frenzy and the madness	19:30
	of another presidential campaign.	19:34
	Thoughtful analysts tell us that one	19:38
	of the primary issues before us is that of leadership.	19:40
	If we could only have some sort of composite candidate.	19:46
	A combination of the greats of the past.	19:52
	Someone with the philosophical consistency	19:55
	and certitude of a Jefferson or a Madison,	19:58
	the charisma of a Jack Kennedy,	20:03
	the humanitarian	20:07
	totalitarian instincts of an Abraham Lincoln,	20:09
	the decisiveness of a Teddy Roosevelt,	20:13
	the economic pragmatism and moxie of FDR,	20:15
	the war making prowess of a Washington or a Jackson	20:19
	or an Eisenhower.	20:23
	If we could have all of these qualities wrapped into one,	20:25
	and then toss in a hefty chunk of John Wayne,	20:29
	my friends we'd have a president.	20:32
	(audience laughing)	20:35
	We would have a real president.	20:36
	We've been conditioned for that sort of thinking.	20:39
	Go back to our earlier history books.	20:42
	The history book heroes we had defined for us	20:46
	began with the Alexander the Greats	20:49
	and the Julius Caesars and moved on through	20:52
	the Napoleons and Bismarcks until at last we read	20:55
	about the Rommels and the Montgomerys and the MacArthurs	20:58
	and the Pattons of World War II.	21:01
	Warriors all, they represented the stuff	21:05
	that heroes, that leaders, are made of.	21:10
	The American people appear in this moment of time,	21:16
	to long for a strong man.	21:21
	With emphasis on each of those two words.	21:27
	Someone commanding. Someone majestic in bearing.	21:31
	Someone who would require a response of respect.	21:37
	Someone who would cause us to somehow offer	21:41
	the best that we have to that kind of leadership.	21:46
	The kind of person who would go bounding	21:50
	onto a platform and strut across the platform	21:52
	with all of that allon of a Ted Kennedy in the wake	21:55
	of a New York Primary victory.	21:58
	Someone like John Connolly, except something happened	22:02
	on the way to that forum.	22:06
	With his jaw jutting out just saying now here I am,	22:08
	respect this presence.	22:12
	The Pulitzer Prize winning author, biographer,	22:16
	political scientist James MacGregor Burns	22:22
	has written a magnificent book on leadership.	22:26
	He has in it a chapter on heroic leadership.	22:32
	He talks about Moses, about Joan of Arc,	22:36
	about Napoleon, about Stalin and Mao Tse-tung,	22:38
	about an obscure Burmese politician,	22:42
	about Nkrumah, the late savior of Ghana.	22:45
	Nkrumah, smooth, handsome,	22:51
	responsive to the needs of people,	22:56
	manipulative, with a voice that could	23:00
	cause an entire populous to be wrapped	23:03
	around his little finger.	23:05
	Nkrumah, described by the press of Ghana	23:08
	as a Moses, no, as one greater than a Moses	23:12
	who would part the Red Sea	23:17
	of imperialist massacre and slaughter.	23:18
	That was how Nkrumah regarded himself	23:24
	and for one fleeting moment on the stage of history,	23:27
	that is how his people regarded him.	23:30
	A week or two ago in Saturday review,	23:35
	the lives of four relatively obscure Chinese persons	23:39
	were spelled out, one of them	23:44
	Yu Cheng Win, a journalist.	23:48
	Some years ago he heard a general speaking	23:52
	at a banquet.	23:54
	The general in passing made reference to Mao Tse-tung	23:56
	saying that he was the authority in the world on Marx,	23:59
	but then in kind of pickish fashion added,	24:03
	that he probably couldn't beat	24:07
	the ping pong champion of China.	24:09
	Well, there were implications in that aside.	24:12
	A general could say those words,	24:16
	but a reporter should not report them.	24:18
	And so when he did he was banished to Mongolia	24:21
	for more than five years.	24:25
	Some leaders take themselves very seriously.	24:28
	They consider their role in history a role unique.	24:33
	They cultivate the cult of personality	24:38
	and there is a dark side to the American psyche	24:43
	that longs for that kind of leader.	24:48
	Not an Nkrumah, not a Mao, but someone	24:51
	who appears to be a knight in shining armor,	24:55
	someone who appears bigger than life,	24:58
	in whom we can take pride.	25:00
	We want someone in the light of present world reality	25:05
	who can wield a big stick effectively.	25:09
	The world calls for it, doesn't it?	25:13
	What with the collapse of Detente, a resumption	25:17
	of the Cold War, with humiliation at the hands	25:21
	of the Ayatollah Khomeini.	25:25
	And so, we want a leader	25:30
	who can lead through these stormy days.	25:33
	After all we have a relatively big stick out there already.	25:37
	We have troops and air bases flung around the world.	25:41
	We have fleets and submarines churning up the waters	25:45
	in seven seas, we have 30,000	25:48
	strategic and tactical	25:53
	nuclear weapons, the equivalent of a billion tons	25:55
	of TNT and are making three new ones every day.	25:59
	There are these exotic new weapon systems.	26:04
	The Trident submarine, the cruise missile,	26:08
	the MX missile system, and if projections are fulfilled,	26:11
	by the year 1985, we will have a	26:16
	military budget of $285 billion	26:20
	in this country alone.	26:25
	And there is a dark side to our national psyche here.	26:28
	Public opinion polls suggest that we're mad.	26:34
	We're frustrated, we are fed up.	26:38
	Let's draft the kids and up the arms budget.	26:42
	Let's plant the flag and hate the foe	26:45
	and if need be, drop the bomb.	26:47
	As if a Vietnam had never occurred.	26:50
	And we want a winner.	26:56
	Whatever else the hour calls for, it calls a winner.	27:00
	Remember 1976?	27:06
	No more McGoverns.	27:09
	Maybe he was right, maybe he reflected	27:11
	an authentic idealism, maybe he was a purist.	27:13
	But no more losers.	27:17
	And so there was Jimmy Carter of the toothy grin,	27:19
	and the born again goodness who stood square in the middle	27:23
	of almost every road. He was a winner, and he won.	27:26
	Gerry Ford now warns that Ronald Reagan may be a loser.	27:33
	And the former governor of California	27:37
	has between now and November to prove otherwise.	27:38
	We like winners.	27:44
	Whether it's Bruce Jenner wolfing down his Wheaties,	27:45
	or Mean Joe Greene gurgling down his Cokes,	27:50
	we love winners. I do.	27:55
	The Olympic Winter Games have come and gone.	27:59
	One of the officials of those games said	28:03
	that in the light of current xenophobia,	28:05
	in the light of the politicization of the games,	28:09
	we should have done with the playing of national anthems	28:12
	there, we should have done with the hoisting	28:15
	of national flags there.	28:18
	There should be no more national teams pitted	28:20
	against other national teams.	28:22
	Let's erase those distinctions and let the games	28:24
	be games in which individuals compete,	28:28
	each against the other and against all.	28:30
	And I applauded that.	28:34
	That's great, that's what the games ought to be.	28:36
	And yet, I had chilly bumps raising up and down	28:41
	my spine when our hockey team whipped the Soviet Union.	28:45
	And the gold medal was an anticlimax.	28:51
	We want, we demand winners,	28:56
	in the White House and everyplace else.	29:01
	Now, enough of that.	29:04
	This is hallelujah day.	29:08
	This is the day when we wave these palm fronds about.	29:11
	This is the day of the so-called triumphal entry.	29:16
	Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.	29:21
	And he government shall rest upon his shoulders.	29:25
	And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,	29:29
	Mighty God, ever lasting father,	29:34
	Prince of Peace.	29:38
	The child was born.	29:42
	He grew to manhood.	29:45
	There came Palm Sunday, in a sense, a test	29:48
	of who he was.	29:54
	It was a test.	29:58
	King of Kings, Lord or lords.	30:01
	Not in the light of those leadership qualities	30:06
	we've been talking about,	30:09
	and we as a people appear to respond to,	30:10
	you heard the narrative a moment ago.	30:16
	That was no block long limousine	30:20
	that drove him to the hill.	30:23
	There was no marshal music playing Hail to the Chief.	30:26
	There was no pomp and ceremony,	30:32
	not unless you consider little children running back	30:34
	and forth in front of a borrowed jackass throwing flowers	30:37
	and palm leaves down in front of that animal	30:41
	and that man pomp and ceremony.	30:44
	Not at all.	30:49
	It was a narrow, dirty, smelly street.	30:53
	A cluster of enthusiasts,	30:59
	a borrowed animal	31:03
	on which sat an unemployed carpenter.	31:05
	An itinerant teacher,	31:11
	clad in the garb of a peasant.	31:14
	And that is the point of it all.	31:19
	The kingdom of our Lord is not	31:26
	a kingdom of spit and polish.	31:29
	Not a kingdom of braids and brass.	31:33
	Not	31:38
	Not a kingdom of strutting	31:40
	and preening and diseased egos.	31:42
	It is a kingdom for the meek and the lowly.	31:48
	A kingdom initiated by and presided over	31:53
	one who because of his sensitivity	31:56
	and because of his knowledge ability peered	31:59
	into the soul of Zion and wept.	32:02
	Shades of Ed Muskie.	32:06
	One who in his teaching taught about that kingdom,	32:10
	upturning all of our traditional values.	32:15
	One who preaching about that kingdom defined	32:19
	certain guidelines we call beatitudes.	32:22
	Hear them again, they make no sense.	32:26
	Blessed are the poor in spirit,	32:30
	blessed are they that mourn,	32:36
	blessed are the meek,	32:41
	blessed are those who long for righteousness,	32:46
	blessed are the pure in heart,	32:52
	blessed are you if people revile you and persecute you	32:56
	and say all kinds of evil against you falsely.	33:00
	Then again in Luke,	33:04
	blessed are the poor, period.	33:06
	Blessed are the hungry, period.	33:09
	No macho image there.	33:13
	And again,	33:18
	blessed are the peace makers.	33:20
	Blessed are the peace makers.	33:26
	Unto you a child is born.	33:31
	And hovering above that stable place	33:34
	there was an angel chorus and it sang	33:36
	peace on earth,	33:41
	among persons of good will.	33:44
	The Prince of Peace came in unconventional form,	33:49
	responded to human need in unconventional ways,	33:54
	reached out to identify with and embrace the unwashed,	33:58
	the diseased, the criminal,	34:05
	the unwanted, the sinner,	34:10
	people who ate too much and drank too much	34:15
	and played too hard and married too often.	34:18
	He reached into the riches of his own tradition,	34:23
	the magnificence of his heritage,	34:27
	he took all of that, capsulated it in one law	34:29
	and said, you shall love the Lord your God	34:33
	with all of your energies and your neighbor as yourself.	34:39
	He didn't stop there.	34:43
	He said, love your enemies.	34:46
	Do good to people who misuse you.	34:51
	Turn the other cheek, walk a second mile,	34:55
	ridiculous, absurd teaching.	34:57
	King of Kings? Hah!	34:59
	And in the final hours of his life,	35:05
	and he sensed that, one of his faithful drew a sword	35:10
	to defend him and he said put that thing down.	35:14
	People who live by the sword will perish by the sword.	35:17
	Billy Graham is coming to remarkable new insight	35:24
	over recent months.	35:31
	His voice is now heard to be crying out	35:34
	against the insanity of a nuclear arms race.	35:37
	In a recent interview he said, "I have gone back	35:42
	"to restudy the bible and what it says	35:45
	"about the responsibilities for Christians as peace makers."	35:48
	He said, "We are called upon to serve the human race,	35:54
	"not any particular race or any particular nation."	35:58
	And then he added as a form of confession,	36:01
	"I have, I supposed," he said,	36:06
	"confused the kingdom of God with the American way of life."	36:10
	Now that may be kindergarten stuff	36:16
	for most of us here, but when the world's most	36:18
	influential evangelist, a man who has been used	36:23
	by a succession of American presidents to defend	36:28
	indefensible military policies says that,	36:32
	there is cause for hallelujah and rejoicing.	36:38
	Blessed are the peace makers,	36:45
	for they shall be called	36:49
	the children of God.	36:54
	His name shall be called	36:59
	Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,	37:02
	Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.	37:07
	But the winner image? Hah, he did not have it.	37:14
	He was a loser.	37:19
	Oh, that crown of thorns,	37:23
	placed upon his brow,	37:30
	now surrounding,	37:34
	humiliating,	37:39
	with thorns composing the crown,	37:43
	a king,	37:47
	a king with a crown of thorns?	37:49
	The last supper was not your traditional	37:55
	political victory banquet.	37:57
	Gethsemane was not a smoke filled room	38:00
	featuring power politics.	38:03
	And the cross,	38:06
	the cross which is the central symbol	38:09
	of our faith, is the symbol of a loser,	38:12
	yet in the cross of Christ,	38:18
	we glory.	38:24
	On January 20th of 1979,	38:30
	uniformed government police	38:37
	burst into a Roman Catholic retreat center	38:39
	in one of the suburbs of San Salvador	38:42
	and sprayed the interior of the center	38:44
	with machine gun bullets.	38:47
	Father Ortiz Luna and four teenagers	38:50
	were cut down, were slain.	38:54
	30 other young people, most of them in their teens,	38:58
	were arrested allegedly for treason.	39:00
	There were no arms there, no seditious literature there.	39:05
	The young people had gathered for a retreat	39:08
	to be led by the priest and by two nuns.	39:10
	Though violence had become and continues to be a constant	39:15
	diet in that tragic land, the people were outraged.	39:19
	A day or two later at the National Cathedral	39:24
	the funeral mass was celebrated.	39:26
	100 priests were there to concelebrate.	39:30
	Led by Archbishop Oscar Romero.	39:35
	20,000 people filled the cathedral, spilled out	39:39
	onto the steps into the public square.	39:44
	And there, Archbishop Romero	39:48
	called the government's	39:52
	official account of the deaths of these five people	39:54
	lies from one end to the other.	39:59
	He said that Father Ortiz was murdered	40:04
	but that out of his murder would come resurrection.	40:08
	Those words were said as national police	40:13
	with helmets stood in the doorways of the cathedral.	40:16
	Archbishop Romero has cried out against	40:21
	the insane violence of both the extreme left	40:24
	and the right in El Salvador.	40:29
	He has plead for human justice.	40:32
	He wrote a letter to President Carter,	40:35
	warning him not to send further military aid	40:37
	to the junta in El Salvador, saying that it would not	40:41
	be used to secure the nation,	40:44
	but rather would be used to further the repression.	40:46
	Last Monday, Archbishop Oscar Romero	40:51
	was celebrating mass	40:57
	in a hospital chapel in El Salvador.	41:00
	He was shot and killed.	41:05
	The gunman, said to be a Cuban exile was standing	41:08
	90 feet away, fired a single shot,	41:12
	and he was killed.	41:16
	Go back to that funeral sermon of Father Ortiz,	41:21
	when the Archbishop said,	41:26
	"We live in a world in which sin is enshrined	41:30
	"and the kingdom of God is a struggle.	41:36
	"Our struggle," he said,	41:41
	"will not feature arms and guns.	41:43
	"We will struggle with hymns and guitars.	41:48
	"We will plant a seed in the human heart,	41:52
	"and the world will be transformed."	41:56
	And now that voice has been silenced.	42:02
	Another apostle of non-violence	42:06
	has been stilled.	42:11
	But the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,	42:14
	and Archbishop Romero has planted his seed in the earth	42:17
	of his cruel but beloved native land.	42:21
	And out of that will come the promise of a new day.	42:26
	Black Friday is just down the road from now.	42:30
	But beyond that there is the dawn of Easter morn.	42:33
	Jesus Christ is the King of Kings.	42:37
	He is the Lord of Lords.	42:39
	His humble strength, his mighty tenderness,	42:41
	his willingness to identify with each and all,	42:47
	whatever their state, irrespective of blood or race	42:50
	or nation, his willingness to die upon a cross,	42:53
	suggests that the history of the world	43:01
	shows the madness of the world.	43:05
	And his kingdom is forever.	43:08
	Love will outlast hatred.	43:15
	Tenderness will overwhelm brute force.	43:19
	Life will swallow up the mystery of death.	43:24
	And God will speak the final word.	43:29
	Amen.	43:32
-	As we have followed the King of Kings	43:50
	on his entry into Jerusalem, and have sung our songs to him,	43:52
	we now follow him on the road to the cross	43:58
	and speak the words of the crowd as he walked.	44:01
	Will the congregation please stand and follow	44:06
	in the reading of the passion.	44:08
	We ask the congregation to read those parts	44:12
	that are marked for them.	44:15
	When morning came, all the chief priests	44:22
	and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus,	44:25
	to put him to death.	44:29
	And they bound him and led him away	44:31
	and delivered him to Pilate the governor.	44:34
	When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned,	44:37
	he repented and brought back the 30 pieces of silver	44:42
	to the chief priests and the elders saying,	44:45
-	I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.	44:48
-	What is that to us?	44:54
	(words obscured by echo)	44:56
-	And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple,	44:58
	he departed and he went and hanged himself.	45:01
	But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver said,	45:06
	(words obscured by echo)	45:11
	So they took counsel and bought	45:16
	with them the potter's field, to bury stranger's in.	45:19
	Therefore that field has been called	45:23
	the field of blood to this day.	45:25
	Then was fulfilled what had been spoken	45:28
	by the prophet Jeremiah saying,	45:30
-	And they took the 30 pieces of silver,	45:33
	the price of him on whom a price had been set,	45:36
	by some of the sons of Israel.	45:40
	And they gave them for the potter's field	45:42
	as the Lord directed me.	45:45
-	Now, Jesus stood before the governor,	45:49
	and the governor asked him,	45:52
-	Are you the king of the Jews?	45:54
-	You have said so.	45:58
-	But when he was accused by the chief priests	46:00
	and elders he made no answer.	46:03
	Then Pilate said to him,	46:06
-	Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?	46:09
-	But he gave no answer, not even to a single charge,	46:14
	so that the governor wondered greatly.	46:19
	Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed	46:23
	to release for the crowd, any one prisoner whom they wanted.	46:26
	And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.	46:30
	So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them,	46:35
-	Whom do you want me to release for you?	46:39
	Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?	46:41
-	For he knew that it was out of envy	46:45
	that they had delivered him up.	46:47
	Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat,	46:49
	his wife sent word to him.	46:53
-	Have nothing to do with that righteous man,	46:55
	for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.	46:58
-	Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people	47:02
	to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.	47:05
	The governor again said to them,	47:09
-	Which of the two do you want me to release for you?	47:11
-	Barabbas.	47:14
-	Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?	47:16
-	Let him be crucified.	47:20
-	Why? What evil has he done?	47:22
-	Let him be crucified.	47:25
-	So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing,	47:28
	but rather that a riot was beginning,	47:32
	he took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying,	47:34
-	I am innocent of this man's blood.	47:39
	See to it yourselves.	47:42
-	His blood be on us and on our children.	47:44
-	That he released for them Barabbas,	47:49
	and having scourged Jesus, delivered him	47:51
	to be crucified.	47:54
	Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus	47:57
	into the praetorium and they gathered the whole battalion	47:59
	before him and they stripped him,	48:02
	and put a scarlet robe upon him.	48:06
	And plating a crown of thorns, they put it on his head	48:09
	And put a reed in his right hand.	48:13
	And kneeling before him they mocked him saying,	48:16
-	Hail king of the Jews.	48:20
-	And they spat upon him and took the reed	48:23
	and struck him on the head.	48:25
	And when they had mocked him, they stripped him	48:28
	of the robe and put his own clothes on him,	48:30
	and led him away to crucify him.	48:34
	As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene,	48:38
	Simon by name.	48:42
	This man they compelled to carry his cross.	48:44
	And when they came to a place called Golgotha,	48:49
	which means the place of a skull,	48:52
	they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall,	48:55
	but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.	49:00
	And when they had crucified him,	49:06
	they divided his garments among them by casting lots.	49:08
	Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.	49:12
	And over his head hey put the charge against him,	49:16
	which read, this is Jesus, the king of Jews.	49:19
	The two robbers were crucified with him,	49:26
	one on the right and one on the left.	49:29
	And those who passed by derided him,	49:33
	wagging their heads and saying,	49:35
-	You who would destroy the temple	49:38
	and rebuild it in three days, save yourself.	49:41
	If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.	49:45
-	So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders	49:49
	mocked him saying,	49:53
-	He saved others, but cannot save himself.	49:55
	If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now	49:59
	from the cross and we will believe in him.	50:03
	He trusts in God.	50:07
	Let God deliver him now if he wants him, for he said,	50:09
	I am the son of God.	50:15
-	And the robbers who were crucified with him	50:18
	also reviled him in the same way.	50:20
	Now for the sixth hour, there was darkness	50:24
	over all the land until the ninth hour.	50:27
	And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice,	50:31
	(man speaking in foreign language)	50:35
-	My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?	50:40
-	And some of the bystanders, hearing it said,	50:46
-	This man is calling Elijah.	50:50
-	And one of them at once ran and took a sponge	50:53
	and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed	50:56
	and gave it to him to drink.	50:59
	But the others said,	51:01
-	Wait, let us see whether Elijah comes to save him.	51:03
-	And Jesus cried again with a loud voice	51:09
	and yielded up his spirit.	51:13
	And behold the curtain of the temple was torn in two	51:22
	from top to bottom, and the earth shook	51:27
	and the rocks were split, the tombs also were opened	51:30
	and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep	51:35
	were raised and coming out of the tombs	51:37
	after his resurrection they went into the Holy City	51:41
	and appeared to many.	51:44
	When the centurion and those who were with him,	51:48
	keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake	51:50
	and what took place, they were filled with awe and said,	51:54
-	Truly this was the son of God.	51:59
	(organ music)	52:04
	(choir singing, voices drown out by organ)	52:48
-	The mercy of the Lord is ever lasting.	56:20
	In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.	56:24
	These statements being interpreted for our lives	56:29
	mean that now and in every moment,	56:33
	our every past is accepted, our every future is open,	56:36
	our every present is open to us afresh.	56:43
	Let us therefore accept our forgiveness	56:48
	and forgive one another and forgive ourselves.	56:52
	The Lord be with you.	57:01
	(audience response garbled by echo)	57:03
	Let us pray.	57:05
	Great God of power, you sent the Lord Jesus	57:10
	to enter our world and save us from our sins.	57:15
	We thank you for his presence with us,	57:21
	and we thank you for glad disciples who greeted	57:24
	him with praise and spread branches in his pathway.	57:27
	We thank you that he comes again to enter our lives	57:32
	by faith and that as his new disciples	57:35
	we too may shout hosanna and welcome him.	57:40
	The King of Love, the King of Service, the King of Kings.	57:44
	Jesus Christ our savior.	57:51
	Yet even as we lift our voices in happy shouts this day,	57:56
	we know that we too will deny him, oh God,	58:01
	and betray him, probably before this day is out,	58:05
	and certainly before the week is out.	58:10
	And that our denials will probably	58:14
	be more times than thrice.	58:16
	So today as we face the coming week with all its meaning,	58:21
	we pray for ourselves.	58:26
	Today, Mighty God, Jesus figuratively rides	58:30
	into the cities, towns and hamlets of this world	58:33
	and we pause to shout, not really knowing ourselves	58:37
	who he is.	58:41
	Help us, oh God, to find you in this our Lord	58:44
	who rides a donkey.	58:49
	Today we wave palm branches and shout loud hosannas	58:53
	without really knowing the significance of our doing so.	58:56
	Help us oh God, to find your love in this our Lord,	59:01
	who rides before us on a donkey.	59:06
	Today Mighty God, we have come to church in faith,	59:11
	but more probably from habit.	59:16
	Help us oh God to love the church of this our Lord,	59:20
	who rides a donkey.	59:23
	We know, Mighty God, that Jesus went out of his way	59:28
	to teach and heal and care for people	59:30
	while we rarely follow his example.	59:33
	Help us oh God to serve others in the name of this our Lord	59:37
	who rides a donkey.	59:42
	We know that Jesus faced both popularity	59:46
	and rejection with the surety of your purpose	59:49
	while popularity goes to our heads	59:53
	and rejection casts us into the pits of despair,	59:56
	and we fail to remember the hope that is ours.	1:00:00
	Help us oh God to root our lives in this our Lord,	1:00:05
	who rides a donkey.	1:00:09
	We know that the concern of our Lord was for those	1:00:14
	who were oppressed and poor in this world,	1:00:16
	but we are frustrated that the price of egg dye	1:00:19
	and chocolate rabbits increases and Easter joy	1:00:22
	becomes lost in our frustration.	1:00:25
	Help us oh God to find the true meaning	1:00:29
	of the approaching Easter in this our Lord	1:00:32
	who rides a donkey.	1:00:36
	Take us oh God, and prepare us for holy week,	1:00:39
	for learning, for worship, for fellowship around your table,	1:00:44
	for pain, for exaltation, for love.	1:00:49
	And in our preparation may we not forget those	1:00:55
	who are sick and need our caring.	1:00:57
	Those who grieve and need our comfort,	1:01:01
	those who know oppression and bondage and need our freeing,	1:01:04
	those who are alone and need our presence.	1:01:10
	These and all prayers we offer in the name of this,	1:01:15
	our Lord who dared to ride a donkey,	1:01:18
	our Lord who teaches us to pray together,	1:01:22
	Our Father, who art in heaven,	1:01:25
	hallowed be thy name,	1:01:28
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:01:31
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:01:34
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	1:01:37
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	1:01:39
	who trespass against us.	1:01:43
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:01:46
	but deliver us from evil.	1:01:48
	For thine is the kingdom and the power	1:01:51
	and the glory forever.	1:01:54
	Amen.	1:01:56
-	Jim Armstrong, Bishop of the church,	1:02:06
	and fellow pilgrim in the faith with us	1:02:14
	and all who seek to serve and love	1:02:16
	in the name of Christ, you have honored us in the past	1:02:19
	by being here to preach at Duke.	1:02:24
	We're grateful to God for the message you have brought	1:02:28
	to us this day.	1:02:32
	This afternoon at one o'clock the crop walk	1:02:38
	will begin in Wallace Wade Stadium.	1:02:42
	You are urged to share in this very special program	1:02:47
	to help raise funds to feed some of those	1:02:51
	who starve and are malnourished around the world.	1:02:54
	Registering for the walk will take place	1:02:58
	from one until two and the walk itself	1:03:01
	will begin at two o'clock.	1:03:03
	Let me remind you of a very very special occasion	1:03:08
	for all of us this afternoon.	1:03:11
	Beginning at four o'clock the chapel choir,	1:03:15
	the orchestra, the Durham Boys Choir,	1:03:19
	and six very special guest soloists all under the direction	1:03:23
	of Ben Smith will present the Passion of our Lord	1:03:29
	according to Saint Matthew by Bach.	1:03:33
	There are tickets still available.	1:03:36
	I urge you to come and share in this very very moving	1:03:40
	music experience with us as we continue	1:03:44
	the significant events of holy week.	1:03:49
	The page box office will be open immediately following	1:03:54
	the service so that you may purchase tickets as you leave.	1:03:58
	Holy week is indeed a time when in many ways,	1:04:04
	we have the privilege of worshiping together	1:04:12
	and giving thanks to Almighty God for the life	1:04:16
	and love of our Lord.	1:04:19
	Thursday night of this week, we celebrate the last supper.	1:04:22
	You are invited to that, the service is at 7:30.	1:04:28
	Good Friday at 12 noon there will be a service here	1:04:34
	from 12 until one and then from one until three,	1:04:42
	special music will be played.	1:04:46
	We invite you to share in those services.	1:04:49
	And then Easter Sunday morning, a morning like none other	1:04:52
	on the Duke University campus,	1:04:58
	as I have experienced, will begin with the Easter sunrise	1:05:00
	service in Duke gardens and then we'll continue	1:05:04
	with two services here at nine and at 10:55.	1:05:07
	We invite you and all others to come	1:05:12
	and share in these services with us this week.	1:05:14
	Friday evening we have a very special privilege.	1:05:18
	Some of you may remember that two years ago,	1:05:22
	Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. preached one	1:05:24
	of the most moving powerful sermons I think the walls	1:05:27
	of this chapel have ever heard.	1:05:30
	He will be here this Friday evening	1:05:32
	to share with us the word of God as we come together	1:05:37
	on the anniversary of the assassination	1:05:41
	of Martin Luther King Jr.	1:05:43
	That service is scheduled to begin at 7:30.	1:05:46
	Again, I invite you to come and share in that service	1:05:49
	as we come together to remember the life	1:05:54
	and ministry of Dr. King and as we hear his father	1:05:57
	share the word with us.	1:06:01
	It promises indeed to continue to be a holy week.	1:06:04
	Let us continue to worship the Lord our God.	1:06:10
	(organ music)	1:06:35
	(choir singing, voices drown out by echo and organ)	1:07:44
-	Grant we pray you, Almighty God, that our gifts,	1:17:47
	now being given and dedicated to you and to your service	1:17:51
	may be used for the good of your holy church	1:17:56
	and for the caring and healing of your people	1:17:59
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	1:18:03
	(organ music)	1:18:10
-	Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself,	1:22:23
	and God our creator who loves us and gives us	1:22:27
	eternal comfort and good hope through grace,	1:22:31
	comfort your hearts and establish them	1:22:34
	in every good work and word.	1:22:37
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:44
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:50
	♪ Amen ♪	1:22:57
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:04
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:11
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:25
	♪ Amen ♪	1:23:41
	(upbeat organ music)	1:24:02

Item Info

Title:

Arthur James Armstrong - "King of Kings? Ha!..." (March 30, 1980)

Description:

In the US, we have been conditioned to want a leader who exhibits strength and power. This propensity is confirmed by our obsessive stockpiling of military resources. But Jesus' kingship and the Kingdom of God are antithetical to this idea of leadership. Rather, Jesus is the crucified king who made his life with the social outcast and the oppressed. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 19:30. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 43:35.
Key quotation: “The kingdom of our Lord is not a kingdom of spit and polish. Not a kingdom of braids and brass. Not a kingdom of strutting and preening and diseased egos. It is a kingdom for the meek and the lowly.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4nc5ss8b

Date:

March 30, 1980

Speaker:

Armstrong, James, 1924-

Liturgical Calendar:

Palm Sunday

Biblical Book:

Matthew

Chapter and Verse:

Matthew 21:1-11

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1083
ref7378_euf
uachapelsermaud
duke:320860
dcrau001962
ark:/87924/r4nc5ss8b
bc4cef3e-bff3-4164-b5f6-aa992170301a

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Unknown Rights-Holder

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For 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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Arthur James Armstrong - "King of Kings? Ha!..." (March 30, 1980)

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Item Info

1. Arthur James Armstrong - "The King of Kings? Ha!..." (March 30, 1980)

Duke University Archives

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Arthur James Armstrong - "King of Kings? Ha!..." (March 30, 1980)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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