Wilfred Bailey - "The Time and the Place" (September 30, 1973)
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| (choir singing indistinctly) | 0:03 | |
| - | Now that we have become | 6:14 |
| freshly aware of God's presence | 6:15 | |
| in our midst and experience | 6:18 | |
| the wonder of his love. | 6:20 | |
| Let us speak honestly to Him | 6:22 | |
| of our deepest longings, | 6:25 | |
| our fears and mistakes. | 6:27 | |
| Let us pray. | 6:29 | |
| Oh God, everywhere we turn | 6:32 | |
| someone is making demands on our time. | 6:35 | |
| We spend ourselves frantically | 6:39 | |
| without taking time | 6:41 | |
| to be in touch with you | 6:42 | |
| or with ourselves | 6:45 | |
| to evaluate what is important | 6:47 | |
| for us to be doing | 6:49 | |
| people who need us are often overlooked | 6:51 | |
| causes which need our energy | 6:55 | |
| are often neglected. | 6:57 | |
| Opportunities for real learning | 6:59 | |
| are not pursued | 7:01 | |
| words which wound are uttered in haste | 7:03 | |
| or momentary irritation. | 7:06 | |
| In the midst of our haste, | 7:09 | |
| we are thirsty for your presence | 7:11 | |
| and assure knowledge of your health. | 7:13 | |
| Help us spend our time | 7:16 | |
| wisely and lovingly | 7:18 | |
| as we live and serve | 7:20 | |
| in your world, amen. | 7:22 | |
| I remind you again | 7:40 | |
| of the good news of our faith. | 7:41 | |
| God really listens | 7:43 | |
| when we speak to him. | 7:45 | |
| He accepts us and loves us as we are. | 7:47 | |
| He has created us for life | 7:50 | |
| and shown us how to be fully human. | 7:53 | |
| And He gives us the strength | 7:56 | |
| and power to begin again. | 7:58 | |
| Accept his gift and live with joy. | 8:00 | |
| And now with careful awareness | 8:05 | |
| of what we ask, | 8:07 | |
| let us pray together the Lord's prayer, | 8:09 | |
| Our Father who art in Heaven, | 8:12 | |
| hallowed be thy name. | 8:16 | |
| Thy kingdom come, | 8:18 | |
| thy will be done on earth | 8:20 | |
| as it is in Heaven. | 8:22 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 8:24 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses | 8:27 | |
| as we forgive those | 8:29 | |
| who trespass against us. | 8:31 | |
| And lead us not into temptation | 8:33 | |
| but deliver us from evil. | 8:35 | |
| For thine is the kingdom, | 8:38 | |
| the power and the glory forever, amen. | 8:40 | |
| (soft music) | 8:47 | |
| (choir singing) | 9:26 | |
| Hear the word of God, | 12:25 | |
| as it is recorded in John 4:1-24. | 12:28 | |
| "Now the Lord knew | 12:37 | |
| that the Pharisees had heard | 12:39 | |
| that Jesus was making | 12:41 | |
| and baptizing more disciples than John. | 12:42 | |
| Although Jesus himself did not baptize, | 12:47 | |
| but only his disciples. | 12:50 | |
| He left Judea | 12:53 | |
| and departed again into Galilee. | 12:55 | |
| He had to pass through Samaria. | 12:59 | |
| So he came to a city of Samaria | 13:03 | |
| called Sychar, near the field | 13:06 | |
| that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. | 13:09 | |
| Jacob's well was there. | 13:13 | |
| And so Jesus wearied, | 13:15 | |
| as he walked with his journey, | 13:18 | |
| sat down beside the well. | 13:20 | |
| It was about the sixth hour. | 13:23 | |
| There came a woman of Samaria | 13:27 | |
| to draw water. | 13:29 | |
| Jesus said to her, give me a drink | 13:31 | |
| for his disciples had gone away | 13:35 | |
| into the city to buy food. | 13:37 | |
| The Samaritan woman said to him, | 13:40 | |
| how is it that you | 13:44 | |
| a Jew ask a drink of me, | 13:46 | |
| a woman of Samaria? | 13:49 | |
| But Jews have no dealings | 13:51 | |
| with Samaritans. | 13:52 | |
| Jesus answered her, | 13:55 | |
| if you knew the gift of God | 13:57 | |
| and who it is that is saying to you, | 14:00 | |
| give me a drink. | 14:04 | |
| You would have asked him | 14:06 | |
| and he would have given you | 14:08 | |
| living water. | 14:10 | |
| The woman said to him, | 14:11 | |
| Sir, you have nothing to draw with. | 14:13 | |
| And the well is deep. | 14:17 | |
| Where do you get that living water? | 14:19 | |
| Are you greater than our father Jacob | 14:23 | |
| who gave us the well | 14:25 | |
| and drank from it himself | 14:27 | |
| and his sons and his cattle? | 14:29 | |
| Jesus said to her, | 14:33 | |
| everyone who drinks of this water | 14:35 | |
| will thirst again. | 14:38 | |
| But whoever drinks of the water | 14:41 | |
| that I shall give him | 14:43 | |
| will never thirst. | 14:46 | |
| The water that I shall give him | 14:48 | |
| will become in him a spring of water | 14:50 | |
| welling up to eternal life. | 14:54 | |
| The woman said to him, | 14:58 | |
| Sir, give me this water | 15:00 | |
| that I may not thirst | 15:03 | |
| nor come here to draw. | 15:05 | |
| Jesus said to her, | 15:08 | |
| go call your husband and come here. | 15:10 | |
| The woman answered Him | 15:14 | |
| I have no husband. | 15:17 | |
| Jesus said to her, | 15:20 | |
| you are right in saying | 15:21 | |
| I have no husband | 15:23 | |
| for you have had five husbands | 15:25 | |
| and he whom you now have, | 15:28 | |
| is not your husband. | 15:30 | |
| This you said truly. | 15:32 | |
| The woman said to him, | 15:34 | |
| Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. | 15:36 | |
| Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. | 15:41 | |
| And you say that in Jerusalem | 15:44 | |
| is the place where men ought to worship. | 15:46 | |
| Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, | 15:50 | |
| the hour is coming. | 15:54 | |
| When neither on this mountain | 15:56 | |
| nor in Jerusalem, | 15:58 | |
| would you worship the Father. | 16:00 | |
| You worship what you do not know. | 16:02 | |
| We worship what we know | 16:06 | |
| for salvation is from the Jews, | 16:08 | |
| but the hour is coming | 16:12 | |
| and now is when the true worshipers | 16:15 | |
| will worship the Father | 16:19 | |
| in spirit. and in truth. | 16:21 | |
| For such the Father seeks | 16:24 | |
| to worship Him. | 16:26 | |
| God is spirit | 16:28 | |
| and those who worship Him | 16:31 | |
| must worship in spirit and in truth." | 16:33 | |
| Thus ended the reading for today, amen. | 16:37 | |
| (choir singing) | 16:42 | |
| And now in joyful thanksgiving | 17:23 | |
| let us say what we believe. | 17:25 | |
| We are not alone. | 17:28 | |
| We live in God's world. | 17:30 | |
| We believe in God. | 17:32 | |
| Who has created and is creating. | 17:34 | |
| Who has come in the true man, Jesus | 17:37 | |
| to reconcile and make new. | 17:40 | |
| Who works in us and others | 17:44 | |
| by his spirit, | 17:45 | |
| we trust. | 17:47 | |
| He calls us to be in his church, | 17:49 | |
| to celebrate his presence, | 17:52 | |
| to love and serve others, | 17:54 | |
| to seek justice and resist evil, | 17:57 | |
| to proclaim Jesus | 18:00 | |
| crucified and risen | 18:02 | |
| our church and our hope | 18:04 | |
| in life and death, | 18:06 | |
| in life beyond death. | 18:09 | |
| God is with us, we are not alone. | 18:11 | |
| We believe in God. | 18:15 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 18:17 | |
| The Lord be with you. | 18:19 | |
| (indistinct) | 18:21 | |
| Let us pray. | 18:22 | |
| Oh God, we give thanks | 18:31 | |
| for this rainy day | 18:32 | |
| for the gift of water | 18:34 | |
| and all of its rhythms and beauty. | 18:35 | |
| We are grateful for the many signs | 18:39 | |
| of goodness, concern and caring | 18:41 | |
| exhibited by your people | 18:43 | |
| all over the earth. | 18:45 | |
| We thank you for | 18:47 | |
| the personal relationships, | 18:48 | |
| which brings strength and warmth | 18:50 | |
| and joy to our lives. | 18:53 | |
| We thank you for this time | 18:56 | |
| and this place | 18:57 | |
| where we can gather to praise you | 18:59 | |
| in spite of the fact that | 19:01 | |
| some of us are sick and facing death. | 19:03 | |
| Some of us are afraid. | 19:06 | |
| Some so depressed | 19:08 | |
| we aren't sure we can go on living. | 19:09 | |
| And some of us are so happy | 19:12 | |
| we don't feel we need anything at all. | 19:14 | |
| Help us rejoice in your presence | 19:17 | |
| no matter what our condition is | 19:20 | |
| at this moment. | 19:22 | |
| Father hear our prayer | 19:25 | |
| for all who live on this earth | 19:26 | |
| for people torn apart by questions | 19:29 | |
| and what those who ask none. | 19:32 | |
| For people who are so weary | 19:35 | |
| of fighting with systems | 19:37 | |
| that squeeze out life and hope | 19:38 | |
| that they want to quit. | 19:41 | |
| For people who always give | 19:43 | |
| and those who always take. | 19:46 | |
| For the desperately lonely. | 19:49 | |
| For families who tear at one another. | 19:51 | |
| And for those who constantly love | 19:54 | |
| and support each other. | 19:56 | |
| For people who have ceased | 19:59 | |
| to trust our government | 20:00 | |
| and for those who | 20:02 | |
| accept the responsibility | 20:03 | |
| to led our nation. | 20:05 | |
| For children who must grow | 20:07 | |
| and learn in our world. | 20:09 | |
| For those in prison. | 20:12 | |
| For all who are involved in revolutions. | 20:13 | |
| For those who are starving | 20:17 | |
| and for the newly handicap. | 20:19 | |
| Help us experience | 20:23 | |
| the depth of your love | 20:24 | |
| and make us sensitive and responsive | 20:26 | |
| to all the needs of our world, | 20:28 | |
| for in Jesus name we pray, amen. | 20:31 | |
| (choir singing) | 20:38 | |
| (indistinct) | 22:51 | |
| And these entire congregation | 22:57 | |
| to explore what it means | 22:58 | |
| to be the people of God. | 23:00 | |
| Our guest this morning | 23:02 | |
| is the Reverend Wilfred Bailey from the | 23:03 | |
| Casa View United Methodist Church | 23:05 | |
| in Dallas, Texas. | 23:07 | |
| If any of you would like | 23:09 | |
| to have lunch with him | 23:10 | |
| after the service, | 23:11 | |
| we will be in 101 Union | 23:12 | |
| and you can just get a tray | 23:14 | |
| and come in and join us. | 23:15 | |
| We'll replanted. | 23:17 | |
| Rev. Wilfred | One of the proofs | 23:27 |
| of the greatness | 23:29 | |
| of passages of scripture | 23:31 | |
| such as the one | 23:33 | |
| that was read this morning | 23:34 | |
| is its indestructibility. | 23:38 | |
| Like the service of holy communion | 23:41 | |
| with which we do all kinds of weird | 23:45 | |
| and careless and absurd things. | 23:48 | |
| And which we do so routinely. | 23:52 | |
| So reading the scripture | 23:57 | |
| we do in such routine ways, | 24:00 | |
| in such strange ways, | 24:02 | |
| and look at it in such strange eyes | 24:05 | |
| with such strange eyes. | 24:07 | |
| That you would think | 24:10 | |
| it would be destroyed | 24:11 | |
| over a period of time, | 24:12 | |
| but the power, the greatness, | 24:13 | |
| and really the excitement | 24:16 | |
| of this scripture | 24:19 | |
| of Jesus with this moment at the well, | 24:22 | |
| is such a powerful thing | 24:25 | |
| and really such an exciting thing. | 24:28 | |
| Here is the story | 24:31 | |
| that is told to us by the gospel writer. | 24:35 | |
| And he tells us | 24:41 | |
| throughout the gospel, | 24:43 | |
| but when he comes near | 24:46 | |
| the end of the gospel, | 24:47 | |
| he tells us in a very definite way, | 24:49 | |
| why is written anything | 24:52 | |
| that's in this gospel? | 24:54 | |
| He says that, | 24:56 | |
| "what has been written | 24:58 | |
| has been done that you may believe | 25:00 | |
| that Jesus is the Christ, | 25:04 | |
| the son of God." | 25:08 | |
| And this is very significant. | 25:10 | |
| "And that believing | 25:12 | |
| you may have life in his name." | 25:15 | |
| Now that's the end. | 25:19 | |
| There is a very strong | 25:21 | |
| outward statement to us. | 25:23 | |
| That if we read | 25:26 | |
| this passage of scripture | 25:28 | |
| that we heard this morning, | 25:30 | |
| without remembering that | 25:33 | |
| this was written | 25:35 | |
| by the author for one purpose, | 25:37 | |
| not to tell you that | 25:41 | |
| Jesus had fatigue | 25:44 | |
| like other people had fatigue | 25:46 | |
| and had to sit down | 25:48 | |
| or that he got thirsty | 25:49 | |
| or something about the geography | 25:51 | |
| of a country in which he lived | 25:54 | |
| or anything like this, | 25:56 | |
| but that everything | 25:58 | |
| that was written here, | 25:59 | |
| was written in order that the reader | 26:01 | |
| might know that, Jesus is the Christ. | 26:04 | |
| And knowing this, | 26:08 | |
| that our lives would be transformed, | 26:11 | |
| turned upside down, made new. | 26:15 | |
| Now if you don't hear this | 26:21 | |
| in this story or the other stories | 26:23 | |
| that John tells us | 26:28 | |
| then you're not hearing the scripture. | 26:29 | |
| It's really, | 26:35 | |
| sort of revealing | 26:37 | |
| the way we read passages such as this. | 26:38 | |
| People will have | 26:42 | |
| guilt or sexual repression. | 26:45 | |
| Many times get all caught up | 26:51 | |
| in this woman's sex life | 26:53 | |
| that Jesus is talking with. | 26:56 | |
| Or they get somehow kind of | 26:59 | |
| sentimental about | 27:02 | |
| Jesus and his fatigue | 27:05 | |
| that here he's tired | 27:06 | |
| and began to sympathize | 27:08 | |
| with the fact that he had to sit down | 27:10 | |
| here in the heat of the day. | 27:12 | |
| And then he got thirsty. | 27:14 | |
| And isn't that wonderful | 27:15 | |
| that Jesus just like us | 27:16 | |
| got tired and got thirsty. | 27:19 | |
| Doesn't that just sort of identify you? | 27:21 | |
| John could care less. | 27:24 | |
| Remember he says, | 27:29 | |
| I have written this, | 27:30 | |
| so that you might believe | 27:33 | |
| and believing you might have life. | 27:36 | |
| Now this calls us to live. | 27:41 | |
| It calls us out of death. | 27:42 | |
| It's a radical kind of demand. | 27:44 | |
| It's not a place for sentimentality | 27:47 | |
| or some kind of a 20th century | 27:50 | |
| middle-class morality. | 27:53 | |
| It's a call to life. | 27:57 | |
| And the story obviously | 27:59 | |
| is about worship. | 28:02 | |
| It's a tremendous story. | 28:05 | |
| Look at the beginning of it. | 28:07 | |
| John, who assumes that his reader | 28:08 | |
| is kinda dumb | 28:13 | |
| and that you and I just | 28:16 | |
| don't pick up things too quickly, | 28:17 | |
| works hard to get his point across | 28:20 | |
| anytime he tells us anything. | 28:22 | |
| He's gonna tell us, first of all, | 28:26 | |
| he says, that this took place | 28:28 | |
| with a Samaritan. | 28:31 | |
| You don't have to go to links | 28:34 | |
| to be sure we get the point. | 28:35 | |
| You sized Jesus left Judea | 28:39 | |
| and departed again to Galilee | 28:42 | |
| and that he had to pass through Samaria. | 28:44 | |
| Then you say | 28:50 | |
| why he had to pass through Samaria? | 28:51 | |
| Geographically or what | 28:52 | |
| but we've got Samaria in here. | 28:53 | |
| And so he comes to a city of Samaria. | 28:56 | |
| And that a surprise? | 29:01 | |
| And he says that, | 29:03 | |
| there came a woman | 29:07 | |
| of guess where, Samaria | 29:09 | |
| to draw water. | 29:13 | |
| And then he says, the Samaritan woman | 29:16 | |
| in case you haven't heard so far, | 29:20 | |
| this is in Samaria. | 29:21 | |
| A Samaritan woman says to him, | 29:23 | |
| "how is it that you a Jew | 29:26 | |
| give a drink to me, | 29:28 | |
| a woman of Samaria?" | 29:29 | |
| Now you may not have heard | 29:34 | |
| where this story is taking place. | 29:36 | |
| So John says, | 29:37 | |
| " Jews have no dealings | 29:38 | |
| with Samaritans." | 29:40 | |
| And you began to get the point | 29:44 | |
| as you go along here. | 29:45 | |
| If you're careful at all | 29:47 | |
| that this took place in Samaria. | 29:49 | |
| And you missed that? | 29:52 | |
| Well, John wants to be sure you didn't | 29:54 | |
| because there's quite a bit | 29:56 | |
| to be said about Samaritans. | 29:57 | |
| You know, these are a bunch | 29:58 | |
| of half-breeds. | 29:59 | |
| They're not pure like those of us today | 30:02 | |
| or like the Hebrews in that time, | 30:05 | |
| but they had just kinda | 30:08 | |
| half-breeds in many ways | 30:09 | |
| and you got to remember this. | 30:11 | |
| They have a certain way | 30:14 | |
| of being regarded. | 30:15 | |
| And then also you need to remember | 30:17 | |
| the Samaritans because you know, | 30:19 | |
| this just very well | 30:21 | |
| might have a lot to do with | 30:24 | |
| where the point of the story comes. | 30:25 | |
| It might have a lot to do | 30:27 | |
| with the way Samaritans worship. | 30:29 | |
| Now it may be fun. | 30:35 | |
| It might be interesting. | 30:37 | |
| And it might be very satisfying | 30:39 | |
| to a monogamous society, | 30:41 | |
| especially those who have remained | 30:44 | |
| within the law and legally | 30:46 | |
| follow the customs, | 30:49 | |
| et cetera of our day. | 30:51 | |
| To talk about this woman | 30:53 | |
| and her husbands. | 30:54 | |
| But you know, | 30:57 | |
| if this is really about worship | 30:58 | |
| and if it's really about Samaria | 31:01 | |
| and this is the conversation, | 31:04 | |
| it just very well might be | 31:07 | |
| although we haven't any | 31:09 | |
| definite final way of wrapping it up, | 31:10 | |
| that those husbands might be | 31:13 | |
| about the Samaritan way of worshiping. | 31:16 | |
| If you ever get into the old Testament | 31:22 | |
| and read 2 Kings 17. | 31:24 | |
| You read about | 31:30 | |
| these five tribes in Samaria, | 31:31 | |
| each of which had its own god. | 31:37 | |
| But the truth of the matter was | 31:42 | |
| they really although they would not | 31:47 | |
| worship the God of Israel, | 31:49 | |
| they really never worshiped the gods | 31:53 | |
| they brought with them. | 31:54 | |
| Each tribe brought its own god, | 31:59 | |
| five gods | 32:03 | |
| and the god under whom | 32:07 | |
| they now proclaim | 32:09 | |
| the God of Israel. | 32:11 | |
| They really never tied in, | 32:13 | |
| never identified, | 32:18 | |
| never got with it. | 32:20 | |
| Now I'm not saying that's the way | 32:23 | |
| we got to read this story, | 32:25 | |
| but why not give John | 32:29 | |
| a little bit of credit? | 32:30 | |
| Why not give him a little credit | 32:32 | |
| of saying that the man has integrity. | 32:34 | |
| That when he says | 32:37 | |
| that he has written this | 32:38 | |
| that we might believe | 32:39 | |
| and he starts telling us | 32:40 | |
| a story about worship. | 32:41 | |
| Maybe he's really talking about worship. | 32:44 | |
| It may be when Jesus | 32:48 | |
| sits down by the well | 32:49 | |
| it's Jacob's well | 32:53 | |
| that there's going to be a reference | 32:55 | |
| come up after a while | 32:56 | |
| about how the people in Jacob's time, | 32:58 | |
| how Jacob and others worshiped. | 33:02 | |
| well, what better setting | 33:07 | |
| could you have? | 33:08 | |
| Than to sit down by this well. | 33:10 | |
| And what better time of day | 33:15 | |
| than at noon, when the sun | 33:18 | |
| is right over us. | 33:21 | |
| You ever notice how | 33:23 | |
| the word is proclaimed | 33:25 | |
| when the sun is at its high | 33:29 | |
| or when the proclamation is given, | 33:33 | |
| how often it's given from the mountain | 33:37 | |
| from up on high. | 33:41 | |
| The writers have a way of telling us | 33:44 | |
| you better be listening friend | 33:46 | |
| because I've got something | 33:48 | |
| that is going to turn you upside down. | 33:50 | |
| This is no less than a word | 33:55 | |
| the word from all mighty God. | 33:58 | |
| Oh, what is this word? | 34:04 | |
| Well, it's certainly not about water. | 34:07 | |
| They start talking about water, | 34:10 | |
| but after they've talked | 34:12 | |
| to few versus you find out, | 34:13 | |
| they forget about it. | 34:15 | |
| They have some conversations | 34:18 | |
| Jesus says, | 34:20 | |
| you talk about the water here, | 34:21 | |
| give me a drink. | 34:24 | |
| If you would have asked him, | 34:25 | |
| he would have given you living water. | 34:26 | |
| And the woman says to him, | 34:31 | |
| Sir, you have nothing to draw with. | 34:32 | |
| And the well is deep. | 34:35 | |
| John's saying, hey folks, | 34:37 | |
| this isn't about water. | 34:39 | |
| When you get that living water? | 34:42 | |
| Are you greater than our father, Jacob? | 34:45 | |
| Quite sure we know you. | 34:48 | |
| Who gave us this well | 34:50 | |
| and drank from it himself | 34:53 | |
| and his sons and his cattle. | 34:56 | |
| And Jesus lets her in | 35:01 | |
| on a little secret. | 35:03 | |
| Everyone who drinks of this water | 35:07 | |
| will thirst again. | 35:10 | |
| But whoever drinks of the water | 35:12 | |
| that I shall give him | 35:14 | |
| will never thirst. | 35:15 | |
| The water that I shall give | 35:17 | |
| will become in him a spring of water | 35:19 | |
| welling up to eternal life. | 35:21 | |
| Well, it's pretty obvious | 35:27 | |
| the story isn't about water. | 35:29 | |
| It's about life. | 35:30 | |
| Just like, John promises us | 35:33 | |
| story about life. | 35:35 | |
| And the story comes through | 35:39 | |
| and its power by saying to us, | 35:41 | |
| what worship is really finally about | 35:44 | |
| is not setting a time | 35:47 | |
| and setting a place. | 35:52 | |
| Whether it's on this mountain, | 35:54 | |
| that they talk about, | 35:56 | |
| or whether it's in Jerusalem, | 35:57 | |
| but that when you really worship God, | 36:01 | |
| it will not be identified | 36:04 | |
| as 11 o'clock | 36:07 | |
| on Sunday morning | 36:10 | |
| in a place that has a cross | 36:12 | |
| sticking up on top of it. | 36:15 | |
| To worship God, | 36:20 | |
| is to worship him | 36:23 | |
| when he encounters us | 36:25 | |
| and where he encounters us. | 36:29 | |
| It might very well happen | 36:35 | |
| at 11 o'clock | 36:38 | |
| on Sunday morning. | 36:40 | |
| It very well might happen | 36:43 | |
| in a building called the church. | 36:45 | |
| You can't rule that out. | 36:50 | |
| But unless you and I | 36:53 | |
| elevate ourselves | 36:57 | |
| to those who can manipulate | 37:00 | |
| God's presence | 37:03 | |
| in terms of time and place, | 37:05 | |
| then we as creatures must say, | 37:08 | |
| God will meet us | 37:11 | |
| where he chooses to meet us. | 37:13 | |
| And he will meet us | 37:17 | |
| when he chooses to meet us. | 37:19 | |
| What arrogance. | 37:24 | |
| What an absurd kind of | 37:28 | |
| understanding it is. | 37:32 | |
| For us to try to nail God down | 37:35 | |
| to particular forms and manifestations | 37:40 | |
| and certain kinds of interpretations. | 37:43 | |
| Including my interpretation | 37:50 | |
| and the friends who have enabled me | 37:54 | |
| to make this interpretation | 37:58 | |
| of the scripture. | 38:00 | |
| There isn't any final kind of knowledge | 38:06 | |
| with which you and I can approach God. | 38:13 | |
| And there is no final | 38:18 | |
| kind of circumstance and time | 38:20 | |
| in which it can happen. | 38:24 | |
| One of the most ridiculous statements | 38:28 | |
| I have ever heard about the scriptures | 38:30 | |
| comes from one of the most | 38:33 | |
| popular radio preachers | 38:35 | |
| who said in response to some woman | 38:39 | |
| who had written him saying, | 38:42 | |
| I like the way | 38:44 | |
| that you interpret the scriptures. | 38:46 | |
| He said, madam, | 38:49 | |
| I appreciate your compliment. | 38:51 | |
| At least intended as a compliment, | 38:55 | |
| but I don't interpret the scriptures. | 38:59 | |
| I give them to you as they are. | 39:03 | |
| Now that is really a statement. | 39:09 | |
| None of us have even seen | 39:15 | |
| a reproduction, | 39:21 | |
| even a scrap, | 39:26 | |
| a tiny bit | 39:29 | |
| of an original manuscript | 39:31 | |
| of the scriptures. | 39:34 | |
| The church and its faithfulness | 39:40 | |
| and in its unfaithfulness | 39:43 | |
| and its wisdom and its ignorance. | 39:45 | |
| And all of these things | 39:47 | |
| has been that community | 39:49 | |
| that has transmitted and translated | 39:52 | |
| these scriptures through the centuries, | 39:55 | |
| through which you and I aren't dead. | 39:57 | |
| And to talk about not interpreting | 40:04 | |
| only God can talk in this kind of way. | 40:07 | |
| Certainly we interpret. | 40:14 | |
| We have no choice. | 40:17 | |
| We're human beings. | 40:19 | |
| We're finite. | 40:21 | |
| we're limited. | 40:23 | |
| We are conditioned. | 40:25 | |
| Any way we approach these scriptures | 40:27 | |
| or any other segment of our life | 40:29 | |
| is an interpretation. | 40:32 | |
| Trying to nail God down | 40:34 | |
| to a time and a place | 40:37 | |
| is like trying to nail Him down | 40:40 | |
| to a evangelist formula | 40:42 | |
| a certain doctrine, | 40:48 | |
| a final absolute set of words | 40:51 | |
| that one must say. | 40:55 | |
| A way in which one must believe, | 40:58 | |
| one particular way. | 41:01 | |
| Now we aren't God | 41:05 | |
| and that's a blast from us. | 41:06 | |
| Destructive death feeling | 41:09 | |
| kinda way of approaching it. | 41:11 | |
| What does it mean | 41:14 | |
| to worship almighty God? | 41:15 | |
| It means to devote one's life to him, | 41:19 | |
| to receive him and respond faithfully | 41:23 | |
| in every moment where ever | 41:27 | |
| and whenever God meets us. | 41:31 | |
| Lord, when did we see you? | 41:35 | |
| And as much as you saw me | 41:40 | |
| and dealt with me, | 41:43 | |
| yes or no, to the person who was hungry | 41:45 | |
| to the person in prison. | 41:51 | |
| To anyone in need. | 41:54 | |
| You encountered me, | 41:59 | |
| but it wasn't the 11 o'clock. | 42:03 | |
| It wasn't the bishops speaking. | 42:05 | |
| It wasn't even a moral person. | 42:09 | |
| How did I know? | 42:13 | |
| Those that worship God | 42:16 | |
| worship in spirit and in truth, | 42:19 | |
| is to know that God | 42:24 | |
| is constantly meeting us. | 42:25 | |
| We're creatures, | 42:29 | |
| we have to construct places. | 42:31 | |
| We have to name times. | 42:34 | |
| There's no other way to live. | 42:38 | |
| There's nothing | 42:42 | |
| that violates the scripture | 42:44 | |
| by our setting 11 o'clock | 42:46 | |
| on Sunday morning to worship. | 42:48 | |
| There's nothing that violates | 42:51 | |
| this scripture in our coming together | 42:53 | |
| in a building set aside for worship | 42:55 | |
| to do this particular act, | 43:00 | |
| except when you and I | 43:03 | |
| begin to identify this as the only, | 43:06 | |
| or the primary place | 43:12 | |
| in which God will encounter us | 43:14 | |
| and in which he can be worshiped. | 43:16 | |
| You see, when we recognize | 43:22 | |
| that we are creatures, | 43:24 | |
| that we do need to have times, | 43:26 | |
| we do need to have handles. | 43:28 | |
| We do need to have language. | 43:31 | |
| We do need to have creeds. | 43:33 | |
| We do need to have orders | 43:35 | |
| and hymns and all kinds of things. | 43:37 | |
| Because that's who we are. | 43:42 | |
| But when we recognize | 43:45 | |
| that these are our needs | 43:47 | |
| and we then enter into them | 43:50 | |
| in the knowledge that God, | 43:53 | |
| yes, he may encounter us | 43:55 | |
| here in this church at 11 o'clock. | 43:57 | |
| But don't limit Him to this. | 44:02 | |
| Or don't put down the rest | 44:07 | |
| of his world as a second rate, | 44:09 | |
| alternate way and time | 44:13 | |
| in which he may speak his word to us. | 44:17 | |
| The word is that we can have life. | 44:21 | |
| That as creatures we're free | 44:25 | |
| to be people who talk | 44:28 | |
| about times and places. | 44:30 | |
| But to remember that | 44:34 | |
| God is reaching out | 44:35 | |
| to change our lives. | 44:36 | |
| To free us from the kind of narratives | 44:39 | |
| of branding him and branding his word | 44:41 | |
| and separating it and parceling it out | 44:45 | |
| and saying if you dress this way | 44:49 | |
| or you talk this way | 44:51 | |
| or you have this kind of habit | 44:52 | |
| or that kind of habit, | 44:54 | |
| then we know, in this century, | 44:56 | |
| who the Christians are. | 44:59 | |
| But to say, thank God | 45:02 | |
| that the whole world is His. | 45:04 | |
| And that's why we're here in this place. | 45:07 | |
| Paul Tilly, reminded us so well | 45:11 | |
| that the importance of Christianity, | 45:15 | |
| the religion is that it knows | 45:19 | |
| its own unimportance. | 45:22 | |
| The gospel of John, reminds us | 45:27 | |
| that the knowledge | 45:32 | |
| of the scripture can be one's undoing. | 45:34 | |
| If you search the scriptures | 45:39 | |
| in order to gain eternal life | 45:42 | |
| from your knowledge of those scriptures, | 45:45 | |
| then you're lost. | 45:50 | |
| The scriptures he says are vehicles. | 45:52 | |
| They're not to be worshiped. | 45:57 | |
| they're to point one | 46:00 | |
| to the one who does merit our worship. | 46:01 | |
| They are the channels | 46:08 | |
| through which we look out beyond. | 46:11 | |
| No we can't name | 46:16 | |
| the time and the place | 46:18 | |
| in which God encounters us | 46:20 | |
| that's for God to do. | 46:23 | |
| God will act as he chooses, | 46:25 | |
| where he chooses, when he choose. | 46:28 | |
| But his action | 46:31 | |
| is the act of transforming us, | 46:33 | |
| lifting us out of these | 46:37 | |
| narrowing destructive efforts | 46:39 | |
| to pin him down and to trust him | 46:42 | |
| except our creatureliness and trust him | 46:46 | |
| as the one who is in for them. | 46:50 | |
| As the one who is immortal. | 46:52 | |
| As the one who gives life. | 46:55 | |
| And to worship him, | 46:59 | |
| not only on such occasions as this | 47:00 | |
| but to worship him with our total lives. | 47:05 | |
| To worship him in spirit | 47:08 | |
| and in truth. | 47:12 | |
| Let us pray. | 47:15 | |
| As thou has granted unto us, oh God, | 47:19 | |
| a total world | 47:24 | |
| in which your revelation takes place. | 47:28 | |
| Enable us to turn loose | 47:34 | |
| of our idolatry. | 47:38 | |
| Through which we attempt | 47:41 | |
| to save our own lives | 47:43 | |
| and to receive | 47:47 | |
| your gift of life | 47:50 | |
| and transformation | 47:53 | |
| through your total creation | 47:56 | |
| in Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 48:01 | |
| (choir singing) | 48:07 | |
| - | Oh God we give thanks for our lives. | 58:16 |
| And we ask that you help us | 58:20 | |
| give those lives back as freely | 58:22 | |
| as we give you these gifts. | 58:24 | |
| Help us serve at you | 58:26 | |
| and use us in your world, amen. | 58:28 | |
| (choir singing) | 58:33 | |
| And now go eagerly and joyfully | 1:02:27 | |
| into the world, God love. | 1:02:30 | |
| With the confidence that | 1:02:32 | |
| there is nowhere you can go | 1:02:33 | |
| and nothing you can do | 1:02:35 | |
| where he will not be present. | 1:02:37 | |
| Go in peace. | 1:02:39 | |
| (choir singing) | 1:02:48 | |
| (bell ringing) | 1:03:51 | |
| (soft music) | 1:04:10 |