Howard C. Wilkinson - "Strange Bedfellows" (August 20, 1967)

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	(orchestral music)	0:03
-	This is none other than the House of God.	3:19
	And this is the Gate of Heaven.	3:22
	Enter therefore into His gates with Thanksgiving	3:25
	and into His courts with praise	3:28
	for the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers	3:32
	shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth	3:36
	for the Father, seek it such to worship Him.	3:40
	(orchestral music)	3:48
	(choir singing)	4:17
	(gentle orchestral music)	6:39
	Let us offer unto God, our unison prayers of confession,	6:53
	and for pardon, let us pray.	6:58
	Oh Lord thou has searched us	7:04
	and known us thou understand this,	7:06
	our thoughts so far Lord	7:09
	and thou acquainted with all our ways.	7:12
	There is not a word in our tongues,	7:15
	but oh Lord thou knows it all together.	7:18
	Take from us all hardness and impotence that we admitting	7:23
	our sins and earnestly facing our faults before thee	7:29
	may obtain pardon for all our guilt,	7:34
	absorb us oh God from every kind of sin.	7:38
	Forgive us for trying to be clever	7:43
	when we should have sought wisdom,	7:46
	heal us from the disease of trying to make names	7:49
	for ourselves when we should have been seeking to glorify	7:52
	thy name.	7:57
	Enable us oh Lord, to find pardon now,	7:59
	and to attain everlasting redemption in the world to come	8:04
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.	8:09
	Take to your comfort	8:17
	these assurances from the scriptures.	8:19
	The conviction of the wise man, Job,	8:23
	I know that my Redeemer live it.	8:27
	The proclamation of the evangelist, John	8:32
	behold, the Lamb of God that take us away,	8:36
	the sins of the world	8:39
	And the persistent pursuing love of our savior.	8:43
	Those whom I love I reproved and chasing.	8:49
	So be zealous and repent,	8:54
	behold I stand at the door	8:57
	and knock if anyone hears my voice	9:01
	and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him	9:05
	and he with me.	9:12
	And now as Christ, our Savior taught His disciples to pray.	9:17
	We say together,	9:20
	our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name	9:23
	thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth	9:28
	as it is in heaven, give us this day	9:33
	our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,	9:37
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	9:42
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	9:47
	For thine is the kingdom	9:54
	and the power and the glory forever.	9:56
	Amen.	10:01
	(orchestral music)	10:04
	(singing in foreign language)	10:39
	♪ Lord God of Abraham ♪	11:16
	(indistinct)	11:21
	♪ God and Lord God of Abraham ♪	11:33
	♪ That I've gone things according to thy Word ♪	11:51
	♪ Oh heal me Lord and answers me ♪	12:02
	♪ Oh heal me Lord and answer me ♪	12:10
	♪ Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel ♪	12:22
	(indistinct)	12:34
-	The Lord be with you.	14:03
	Let us pray.	14:06
	Almighty God, Creator of the universe,	14:12
	Sustainer of this earth, Redeemer of mankind,	14:18
	Thy creation is infinite battling the finite mind that seeks	14:26
	to grasp it yet our art closer than breathing.	14:32
	The earth constantly yields its mysteries.	14:40
	Yet it is wonderfully made to sustain us.	14:45
	The wickedness of man is great in the earth	14:52
	yet thou us daily redeem us	14:57
	Except now our cry of adoration and praise	15:03
	blessing and honor, and glory and power.	15:08
	Be unto thee,	15:13
	that sit on the throne And unto the lamb forever and ever	15:14
	amen.	15:23
	That is offer unto God, our prayers of Thanksgiving,	15:27
	our father from whom cometh the gift of life in all	15:35
	by which it is sustained enriched and redeemed.	15:40
	We thy people, thank thee	15:46
	for thy daily Providence undergirding and supplying our	15:52
	creaturely needs.	15:56
	All the joy and gladness of life.	16:01
	Our home, the love of husband and wife of parent and child	16:06
	of a young man and woman seeking these joys,	16:17
	for friends and the pleasures of human relationships	16:24
	for the understanding sympathy and good will of others.	16:30
	We thank thee,	16:34
	for the heritage of all that is good in the church,	16:39
	the home, the school, the state	16:43
	for the sacrifice of Martyrs	16:50
	and the courage of Patriots who guided	16:52
	and passed home this heritage.	16:55
	For thy strong call to men and women in this changing	17:00
	generation to protect and leave this heritage	17:04
	We thank thee, we praise thee,	17:09
	These are, but a few of our blessings from thee	17:16
	give eyes to see them minds to appreciate them,	17:22
	hearts to cherish them and whelms to share them.	17:28
	And we shall praise thy name evermore, amen.	17:36
	Let us all pray unto God	17:46
	our prayers of intercession for our nation and its people	17:47
	who God established this nation in righteousness	17:57
	and in personal character and public integrity maker,	18:02
	foundation show and lasting	18:06
	from the ravages of crime,	18:13
	the disgrace of political corruption,	18:17
	the dishonor of lawless men,	18:21
	the destruction and poison of those who hate.	18:25
	Deliver us good Lord	18:30
	from prejudice of color and race	18:36
	from all unjust inequity,	18:40
	from the denial of human dignity of liberty	18:45
	and the pursuit of happiness, deliver us.	18:49
	From the failure of moral courage,	18:56
	the corrosion of public responsibility,	19:00
	the temptations to withdraw from the concerns	19:05
	and struggle of life	19:08
	And to live for our own interests alone.	19:11
	Good Lord deliver us right now unto each of us,	19:14
	the honesty to see the fault in ourselves when it is there	19:21
	and pray for its deliverance more urgently,	19:27
	than when we see the fault in others.	19:30
	Let redemption begin within.	19:35
	Then we shall become agents of thy redemption without hope	19:39
	so that our national house is set in order	19:45
	and our common life become a blessing to all.	19:49
	This we pray for the sake of him	19:55
	who came that we might have lied	19:57
	and that we might have it more abundantly, amen.	20:00
	Let us ask God's blessing upon the final days	20:09
	of this school term,	20:12
	although by whose will all learning is advanced.	20:16
	We pray for all teachers	20:22
	and student in these closing days of the summertime.	20:24
	Guide the teachers in their testing	20:30
	And support the students in their time of testing.	20:34
	Where there has been hard study and earnest inquiry	20:40
	give competence and high achievement.	20:44
	And at the end, recreation and renewal.	20:49
	Sustain the ongoing work and purposes of this university	20:55
	to the end that young men and women	20:59
	will grow in knowledge and wisdom.	21:02
	Equipped to meet the tests	21:05
	and demands of this generation.	21:09
	This we ask for the sake of him.	21:12
	Who met his own tests,	21:15
	and became the servant of all.	21:17
	Amen.	21:22
	Now, here we pray thee	21:25
	the unspoken prayers at rise in silence	21:26
	from the deeps of our hearts,	21:29
	and to those needs that find no voice	21:32
	save for thine ear Lord.	21:35
	minister, we pray thee according to the riches	21:39
	of thy grace in Christ Jesus, our Lord.	21:43
	Amen.	21:49
-	Let us hear the reading of the gospel.	22:13
	According to mark chapter 15 beginning at verse 22,	22:15
	and they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha,	22:22
	which means the place of a skull.	22:25
	And they offered him wine mingled with Myrrh,	22:29
	but he did not take it.	22:32
	And they crucified him	22:35
	and divided his garments among them	22:38
	casting lots for them to decide what each should take.	22:41
	And it was the third hour when they crucified him.	22:46
	The inscription of the charge against him read,	22:51
	the king of the Jews.	22:55
	And with him, they crucified two robbers.	22:58
	one on his right and one on his left.	23:01
	and the scripture was fulfilled	23:06
	which says "he was reckoned with the transgressors".	23:08
	The king James translation of that is	23:15
	"he was numbered with the transgressors".	23:17
	Moffatt translates it.	23:22
	That he was classed among criminals.	23:23
	Good speeds Version of it is he was rated and outlawed.	23:26
	whatever translation we use, the meaning is the same.	23:31
	Jesus was the best person who ever lived.	23:36
	He helped people and he did not harm them.	23:39
	He showed love to his enemies.	23:44
	He fed the hungry, he clothed the naked.	23:47
	He healed the sick.	23:49
	He preached good news and release to the captives.	23:52
	And yet the society of his day,	23:57
	Put him to death in a very cruel manner.	24:00
	It executed him not in spite of his goodness,	24:05
	but because of it.	24:08
	Strangely enough,	24:10
	this same society ended the lives	24:11
	of two other men along with him.	24:14
	And the three of them,	24:16
	shared the same fate in the same manner.	24:17
	These latter two men ,	24:21
	were crucified because they were criminals.	24:23
	Robbers, brigands,	24:26
	One of the two acknowledged as they were dying,	24:30
	that the two of them deserved what they were getting.	24:32
	What a jarring contrast This is.	24:36
	you see ,Christ was so far above the standards of society	24:39
	that it couldn't tolerate him.	24:45
	The robbers were so are below the standards of society that	24:47
	it couldn't tolerate them either.	24:51
	So society lumped all three of 'em together	24:54
	and killed them of all.	24:57
	Jesus and the criminals Therefore had two things in common.	25:00
	First, they broke with the accepted norms of society.	25:05
	And secondly, they died of common death.	25:08
	This is why mark reported	25:13
	that Christ was classed with criminals.	25:14
	I think it's likely that Shakespeare had this in mind	25:19
	when in the Tempest, he wrote misery acquaints	25:22
	a man with strange bedfellows.	25:25
	Well, it very often happens that	25:29
	oddly different people Find themselves	25:31
	sharing a common cross or at least a common cause	25:35
	Far from this being an exceptional occurrence.	25:40
	It happens regularly.	25:43
	Even in the natural world,	25:45
	we see dissimilar animals	25:47
	living together in a symbiotic relationship.	25:50
	Last month, my family and I	25:54
	drove through the semi desert regions	25:55
	of the great Southwest,	25:57
	Where one may see Prairie dogs and rattlesnakes inhabiting	26:00
	the same holes in the ground.	26:04
	Certain types of weeds	26:08
	not only grow in the same ground with flowers,	26:09
	but occasionally	26:12
	they even a superficial resemblance to them.	26:13
	But now I wish immediately	26:17
	to return to the area of human conduct	26:19
	Because there are some conclusions we need to form	26:22
	and some decisions we need to make	26:26
	regarding similar conduct	26:30
	and dissimilar people.	26:32
	Let's take a look at some of our strange bedfellows	26:37
	and see	26:39
	what we can learn.	26:40
	A nice, comfortable place to begin is in history,	26:42
	far away in history, we can't change it.	26:48
	We're not responsible for anything that happened back then.	26:51
	And so it's comfortable.	26:55
	It has been observed by some historians,	26:58
	that two kinds of people	27:01
	came from England to settle the American colonies.	27:02
	These two types came for opposite reasons.	27:07
	One made the voyage because of very high ideals	27:11
	and the other sailed because of a lack of idealism.	27:15
	The first group launched out	27:20
	because they wished to build a society	27:21
	in which they would be complete religious freedom.	27:24
	And England, at that time did not offer such at home.	27:28
	The second group came because they would rather	27:33
	flee from their honest debts than to pay them.	27:35
	England in the 17th century	27:40
	was very hard on people who didn't want to pay their debts,	27:42
	but it was also hard on people wanted freedom of conscience.	27:45
	And thus, we see that two groups did the same thing,	27:50
	but for very different reasons.	27:54
	Well, lets consider other example	27:59
	from the safe distance of history.	28:01
	John Gottlieb heckewelder's book	28:04
	on the history of early Manhattan	28:06
	Describes how the pioneer white men	28:08
	who inhabited that island	28:11
	were divided between those who wish to help the Indians	28:12
	and be friends with them on the one hand.	28:16
	And on the other hand,	28:19
	those who wanted to make the Indians drunk	28:20
	so they could relieve them of their possessions.	28:22
	There was so much of the latter activity	28:25
	that the Indians called the Island Manahahtaan	28:27
	which means the place of drunkenness.	28:31
	This apparently was sufficiently	28:34
	a characteristic of the island.	28:36
	That it provided the name	28:37
	which it bears even to this day,	28:38
	manha or Manhattan or further comment there.	28:41
	One more example should be sufficient	28:48
	to give us a sampling from history.	28:51
	in China and India,	28:54
	During the early years of Christian missions,	28:56
	it was noted by many Buddhist	28:59
	that the Christians and the atheists	29:02
	had one very significant feature in common.	29:05
	They did not worship idols.	29:11
	Now, what does all this say to us?	29:16
	What we conclude from these strange befell situations?	29:19
	How are we going to act?	29:24
	When suddenly we discover that our policies, our actions,	29:26
	our speech, the organization, to which we belong,	29:30
	our voting, bears a marked similarity to that of some	29:33
	individual or group whom we regard is unworthy.	29:39
	Now,	29:44
	before looking at	29:45
	the strange bedfellows in our contemporary scene,	29:46
	let's ask ourselves now the decisive questions,	29:48
	which we ultimately must answer as we form our own	29:52
	conclusions and make our own decisions.	29:56
	Here's a question	30:00
	When we find that one of our policies is outwardly identical	30:02
	to a policy being advocated by someone whom	30:07
	we regard as unworthy.	30:10
	Should we discontinue our policy?	30:12
	because of that similarity.	30:15
	Another question	30:18
	when two groups advocate the same policy	30:20
	and from opposite motives or reasons,	30:22
	should the group which advocates it	30:25
	for a pure and high motive,	30:28
	be content with the difference in motives?	30:31
	and continue the same policy?	30:35
	Or should we discontinue advocating a policy	30:39
	in which we profoundly believe Less?.	30:42
	Our fellows misunderstand our motives,	30:46
	to be the same as those who we regard is unworthy.	30:50
	Another question,	30:55
	should we judge people by their bedfellows?	30:57
	Should we dam by association?	31:01
	Now let's test our tentative answers.	31:07
	whatever they may be in your mind or mine	31:10
	By pondering three contemporary	31:14
	strange bedfellow situations.	31:17
	I'm now thinking of one,	31:22
	which I prefer to label a bit later,	31:23
	but for the moment I shall simply describe it.	31:26
	Here's the description.	31:30
	There are people in America who are race conscious	31:32
	to the extent that they seek to separate	31:36
	and segregate people	31:39
	on the basis of the color of their skin.	31:42
	This is the chief test of association.	31:46
	They seek to make their own group proud	31:51
	that their skin is not of the other color.	31:53
	Those who have the proper skin coloration	31:59
	are in and those who do not are out.	32:02
	Regardless of other qualities,	32:07
	abilities or characteristics.	32:09
	Those who have the correct skin color	32:12
	should get what they want.	32:14
	If necessary,	32:17
	Even at the expense of those	32:18
	whose skin is not the correct color,	32:19
	The objectives of this group are of overwhelming importance.	32:23
	And the obedience of the opposite group	32:28
	must be demanded and obtained.	32:32
	If necessary by threats, intimidation,	32:36
	force violence and bloodshed.	32:40
	Now, my friends,	32:45
	What group in America have I just described?	32:47
	Have I described a certain group of white people?,	32:52
	or have I described a certain group of Negros?	32:54
	Actually I have described one of each	32:59
	I have given careful thought to this description	33:04
	and I can document each phrase as applied to each group.	33:08
	Listen to it again,	33:14
	there are people in America who are race conscious	33:17
	to the extent that they seek to separate	33:20
	and segregate people on the basis	33:23
	of the color of their skin.	33:25
	This is the chief test for association.	33:29
	They seek to make their own group proud	33:33
	that their skin is not of the other color.	33:35
	Those who have the proper skin coloration are in,	33:39
	and those who do not are out	33:42
	regardless of other qualities	33:45
	or abilities or characteristics,	33:47
	those who have the correct skin color	33:50
	should get what they want if necessary,	33:52
	at the expense of those whose skin is not the correct color.	33:56
	The objectives of this group are of overwhelming importance.	34:02
	And the obedience of the opposite group must be demanded	34:05
	and obtained If necessary by threats, intimidation	34:09
	force violence and bloodshed.	34:15
	Okay, the irony of the situation	34:19
	is that the white racist	34:24
	and the black racist who hate each other,	34:28
	are actually not only the strangest of bedfellows,	34:33
	but are in the truest sense, Soul brothers.	34:38
	The color of a man's skin	34:43
	cannot make him a soul brother.	34:45
	It can merely make him a skin brother,	34:48
	which is the shallowest of all brotherhoods	34:51
	only the quality of a man's soul	34:55
	can make him a soul brother.	34:57
	Hence,	35:01
	the Negro racist is not a soul brother	35:01
	of the Negro integrationist.	35:04
	Rather the Negro racist is a soul brother	35:07
	of the white racist.	35:10
	In my opinion, the two most perfectly matched	35:13
	soul brothers on the American	35:17
	scene today are Stokley Carmichael and Robert Shelton,	35:18
	The person who calls another man nigga	35:26
	exclusively because his skin is black	35:30
	is a true soul brother	35:33
	to the person who calls	35:34
	another man honky	35:36
	only because his skin is white.	35:39
	These strange bedfellows not only have	35:43
	almost identical policies and programs,	35:46
	but the motivation behind their policies	35:49
	also is identical.	35:52
	For this reason.	35:54
	I bear my Testimony this morning	35:56
	that there is no place	35:58
	in an enlightened society	35:59
	for a policy of white or black racism.	36:02
	With its underlying motivation of hatred	36:07
	based on skin pigmentation.	36:10
	Well, let's turn now to a second contemporary phenomenon,	36:15
	which has created strange bedfellows	36:19
	and let's think it through	36:23
	in the light of the questions,	36:24
	which we must ultimately answer.	36:25
	Here i have in mind,	36:29
	the point of view expressed in Moscow	36:30
	concerning the involvement	36:32
	of the American government in Vietnam	36:34
	And the similarity between that at viewpoint	36:37
	and the proposals of such leading American citizens	36:41
	as Senator Fulbright, Dr. Spock,	36:45
	rabbi Heschel, Archbishop Hannan and numerous others.	36:48
	There are many handles	36:54
	by which we could take hold of a discussion	36:55
	of the Vietnam war.	36:58
	If we were particularly concerned	36:59
	to discussed that this morning.	37:01
	The only handle that I am grasping in this sermon	37:03
	is the similarity	37:06
	of the communist view	37:09
	and the view of the American citizens	37:12
	who wish to deescalate America's military	37:14
	action in Vietnam	37:16
	and to negotiate with the enemy.	37:18
	Assuming that communism is the enemy of freedom.	37:23
	As I do assume,	37:26
	the question arises regarding the wisdom	37:28
	of Fulbright and others,	37:31
	continuing to advocate	37:33
	a deescalation of the war.	37:35
	Since that is also what Russia is advocating,	37:38
	Although the proposals of Moscow	37:44
	and those of these leading Americans I have mentioned	37:47
	differ at many points.	37:51
	There are a number of parallels.	37:53
	Both advocated cessation of the bombing of north Vietnam.	37:56
	Both advocate that America propose a temporary truce	38:00
	while negotiations get underway.	38:04
	Both advocate	38:07
	that the people of Vietnam	38:08
	should have the right of self-determination	38:09
	Both contend that the existing government of south Vietnam	38:12
	has been propped up	38:16
	by American dollars and guns	38:17
	rather than by the vote	38:20
	and support of the citizens of south Vietnam.	38:21
	Now,	38:25
	since these leading Americans	38:26
	share many of the same proposals	38:28
	being made by Moscow and even P king,	38:30
	Does this make them not merely strange bedfellows?	38:33
	but fellow travelers as well?	38:39
	Some people contend that it does.	38:43
	The DAR for instance,	38:47
	has refused to allow American folk singer Joanne Baez	38:48
	to use their hall in Washington this past week	38:52
	for a concert.	38:55
	'cause miss Baez	38:57
	is one of those who are opposed	38:58
	to America's military action in Vietnam,	39:00
	consequently 30,000 people	39:03
	had to listen to her concert outdoors.	39:05
	It's odd that the DAR should take this posture	39:09
	for, it has been only a few years	39:14
	since the two most prominent organizations in America,	39:16
	which were objecting to the concept of a world government	39:21
	where the DAR and the communist party.	39:25
	if the DAR, is going to accuse anybody	39:32
	of communist leanings simply because,	39:35
	like the communist,	39:38
	they favor Deescalating the war,	39:39
	then the DAR must confess itself to be communist	39:43
	because its opposition to world government	39:46
	parallels that of the entire communist apparatus.	39:49
	Personally,	39:54
	I'll come to the defense of the DAR at this point,	39:54
	I do not believe	39:57
	that the members of the DAR	39:58
	whom I know are communists.	40:00
	And I think the organization itself	40:03
	should not be labeled communist	40:05
	simply because	40:06
	it shared an important party line with communism.	40:08
	And so far as I know,	40:13
	it still does today.	40:14
	unless the DAR is now supporting world government,	40:16
	because certainly the communist still oppose it.	40:19
	However, this being the case,	40:24
	the DAR should be in the best position of all	40:26
	to understand	40:29
	that one does not have to be a fellow traveler of communism	40:31
	merely because he proposes	40:34
	a parallel point of view.	40:37
	They therefore should be the last to question	40:41
	the loyalty of Americans	40:43
	who for quite different reasons	40:45
	than those which motivate the communists	40:47
	advocate,	40:50
	the deescalation of America's military action in Vietnam,	40:51
	it would appear	40:57
	that much of the accusation now being made	40:59
	against Senator Fulbright, Martin Luther king,	41:02
	Archbishop Hallam Dr. Spock, and others.	41:04
	represents nothing more than an attempt	41:07
	to deter them	41:11
	by a charge of strange bedfellow and fellow traveler	41:12
	and is based upon an unwillingness	41:16
	to discuss with them the real issues of the Vietnam war.	41:18
	You see,	41:23
	it should be possible	41:24
	to disagree with someone without	41:25
	labeling him, am an unworthy person.	41:27
	It should be possible to disagree with a movement	41:30
	without implying that it is disloyal,	41:32
	Because it doesn't agree with you.	41:36
	One final situation,	41:39
	that we want to look at	41:41
	in contemporary life	41:43
	before we draw some general conclusions,	41:44
	is the Perspective of the church.	41:49
	I'm talking about the Christian Church	41:58
	and the strange bedfellows or pew fellows	42:01
	who make up its members and its ministers.	42:03
	Perhaps bedfellows is not an altogether inappropriate term.	42:09
	Since occasionally a member	42:12
	sleeps through a church service here and there.	42:13
	Included in the fellowship of the church,	42:18
	are some people who have made	42:21
	an all out commitment to Jesus Christ.	42:23
	who are throwing the full weight of their lives	42:27
	into the struggle	42:30
	to make this world conform to the will of God,	42:31
	as revealed in Jesus,	42:34
	Who are courageously standing for justice in society	42:36
	For decency, in human relations ,for brotherhood	42:42
	within the nation,	42:46
	and among the nations	42:47
	Who are praying that God's will,	42:49
	may be done on earth as it is in heaven,	42:51
	who sacrificially give off their time	42:55
	off their money,	42:57
	their influence,	42:58
	and their very lives	42:59
	to realize the meaning of the gospel,	43:00
	Who look upon the church	43:04
	as a means whereby they can serve the world	43:05
	and the Lord And who care little about what they	43:08
	themselves will get in return for all their trouble.	43:12
	But also within the fellowship with the visible church,	43:17
	one may find another type of person.	43:22
	this kind thinks of the church	43:26
	as an influence in the community,	43:27
	tending toward the protection	43:30
	of his property and his job.	43:31
	Through the church,	43:34
	He can make contacts	43:35
	which will increase his customers,	43:36
	enhance his status in the community,	43:38
	solidify his relationships with the socially elite,	43:41
	improve his chances of elected.	43:44
	If he runs for office	43:46
	And help him in general,	43:48
	to realize his own selfish ambitions in life.	43:50
	He uses prayer as a means of getting what he wants.	43:55
	A means of keeping his family out of danger.	43:58
	of calling the Lord's attention	44:01
	to the deficiencies of his competitors.	44:03
	He looks upon his pastor	44:07
	as a man who can serve him,	44:09
	and he will praise him to the skies if he does,	44:12
	but he will criticize him unstintingly	44:15
	If he occupies himself in some other way.	44:18
	this type of member	44:21
	wants the church to avoid all appearance of controversy	44:22
	to take no bold stands	44:25
	to support things just as they are.	44:27
	Surely this second type of member is not a true Christian.	44:32
	What should the first type which I have described do	44:37
	when they find themselves	44:41
	in the same church with some of the second type/	44:43
	what should a prophet do	44:46
	when he finds himself in church with a Pharisee?	44:48
	What conclusion should we draw?	44:53
	And what decisions should we make	44:54
	When we find strange bedfellows in the church?	44:56
	what did our Lord do?	45:01
	When he found himself	45:03
	hanging between a couple of crooks.	45:04
	He might have reasoned,	45:07
	that the world would get the wrong	45:09
	impression from that spectacle	45:11
	and that whatever he was	45:13
	ultimately going to do about Pilate	45:15
	and the Jewish religious leaders.	45:16
	At least he didn't want the world	45:18
	to get his last glimpse of him	45:19
	out there on a hill with two bonafide (Indistinct),	45:22
	this didn't project the right image, Somehow.	45:27
	Madison avenue would certainly never	45:31
	have advised him	45:33
	to go along with that.	45:34
	And yet despising the shame.	45:37
	He accepted his lot.	45:41
	He died between two thieves,	45:44
	but he converted one of them	45:49
	while he was doing it .	45:51
	And said to him this day,	45:53
	Shall thou be with me in paradise.	45:54
	The true Christian	45:59
	can always look forward to that possibility	46:00
	as he ponders whether to stay in church	46:03
	with the strange bedfellows.	46:06
	A great many young idealists,	46:10
	properly impatient with the imperfection of the church	46:11
	are tempted to abandon it all together.	46:15
	And we hear their cries in this day.	46:17
	But if they do abandon it,	46:19
	where will they go	46:24
	to find a perfect organization?	46:25
	I wonder if Christ parable of the wheat	46:31
	and the weeds	46:33
	does not shed light upon the dilemma	46:34
	we have in the church,	46:36
	listen to it.	46:38
	Another parable he put before them,	46:40
	saying the kingdom of heaven may be compared	46:43
	to a man who sewed good seed in his field.	46:45
	But while a man were sleeping,	46:49
	his enemy came,	46:51
	came and sold weeds among the weed	46:52
	and went away.	46:54
	So when the plants came up and bore grain,	46:57
	then the weeds appeared also.	47:01
	And the servants of the householder	47:03
	came and said to him,	47:05
	sir, did you not so good seed in your field?	47:06
	How then has it weeds?	47:10
	He said to them, an enemy has done this.	47:13
	The servant said to him,	47:17
	then do you want us to go and gather them?	47:18
	But he said, no	47:22
	lest in gathering the weeds,	47:24
	you root up the wheat, along with them.	47:27
	let both grow together until the harvest.	47:32
	And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers,	47:36
	gather the weeds first	47:38
	and bind them in bundles to be burned.	47:40
	But gather the wheat into my barn.	47:43
	Well then in conclusion,	47:49
	let us attempt some general observations.	47:51
	We should not fail to sew wheat	47:56
	merely because of the likelihood	47:59
	that some weeds may grow among the wheat,	48:02
	we should concentrate on sewing more wheat.	48:06
	We shall have to leave to the harvester,	48:10
	the separation of the wheat from the weeds.	48:12
	Secondly, we may say that in general,	48:16
	it is as important to know why a person takes a stand,	48:20
	as it is to know what that stand is.	48:25
	One should not label	48:29
	and judge other people by their bedfellows.	48:31
	We should not damn by association.	48:35
	Even our Lord, ate with sinners from the beginning	48:39
	and at the end, he was numbered with the transgressors.	48:43
	We may also say in general	48:47
	that the average run of people	48:49
	are neither criminals nor saints.	48:51
	And so they are as shocked by real Christianity	48:53
	as they are by criminality.	48:57
	They therefore have a tendency to lump both together	48:59
	and kill them all.	49:02
	In general, we may say	49:05
	that good men and good movements	49:07
	like harmless Prairie dogs	49:11
	may find themselves in situations	49:14
	where they occupy the same position	49:17
	that is also claimed by deadly rattlesnakes.	49:20
	You and I not abandoned prayer	49:26
	simply because some people	49:29
	make a terribly selfish use of it.	49:31
	Let us bow our heads and pray now,	49:35
	Oh God, we humbly ask	49:40
	that we may always have the grace of honesty.	49:42
	As we evaluate the work of others,	49:45
	give a us the grace of wisdom.	49:49
	As we decide the course of our own lives	49:51
	and grant us the grace of courage	49:55
	as we put our decisions into effect	49:58
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.	50:01
	(orchestral music)	50:08
	(man singing)	56:04
	(indistinct)
	(orchestral music)	1:00:43
	Enable thy people oh Lord in this act of giving	1:02:11
	to give ourselves whole fully to thy service	1:02:14
	to meet the needs of others, with compassion,	1:02:18
	to pray and work for the extension of our Lordship	1:02:22
	over all phases of life in this world.	1:02:25
	And to make ourselves more worthy	1:02:28
	as of the life to come.	1:02:30
	So bless what we give,	1:02:33
	what we do and what we seek to become	1:02:36
	for the sake of Christ Our Lord, we pray, amen.	1:02:41
	(Indistinct)	1:02:48
	Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,	1:02:59
	and the love of God the Father	1:03:02
	and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us	1:03:05
	now and forever more.	1:03:09
	(gentle orchestral music)	1:03:11
	(bell ringing)	1:03:34
	(orchestral music)	1:03:44

Item Info

Title:

Howard C. Wilkinson - "Strange Bedfellows" (August 20, 1967)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4jh3j42q

Date:

August 20, 1967

Speaker:

Wilkinson, Howard C.

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0396
ref5995_g0w
uachapelsermaud
duke:628665
dcrau002390
ark:/87924/r4jh3j42q
f7fc0caf-5951-40f8-875f-6b6a0dd624c4

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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Howard C. Wilkinson - "Strange Bedfellows" (August 20, 1967)

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1. Howard C. Wilkinson - "Strange Bedfellows" (August 20, 1967)

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