Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

(slow organ music)

0:04

-

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here

3:51

in the name of God our Father and His son, Jesus Christ,

3:53

to make a new remembrance of His thanksgiving and blessings

3:59

which He has given us in this past year.

4:03

So let us, in these moments, affirm our gratitude

4:06

and receive a new blessing of His renewing word

4:11

for a new year.

4:14

In His name, amen.

4:16

(slow organ music)

4:21

♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

5:13

♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

5:18

♪ Peace on earth, and mercy mild ♪

5:23

♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪

5:28

♪ Joyful, all ye nations, rise ♪

5:33

♪ Join the triumph of the skies ♪

5:38

♪ With angelic host proclaim ♪

5:43

♪ Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪

5:48

♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

5:53

♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

5:58

♪ Christ, by highest heaven adored ♪

6:05

♪ Christ the everlasting Lord ♪

6:10

♪ Late in time behold Him come ♪

6:15

♪ Offspring of the virgin's womb ♪

6:21

♪ Veiled in flesh the Godhead see ♪

6:26

♪ Hail the incarnate Deity ♪

6:31

♪ Pleased as man with us to dwell ♪

6:36

♪ Jesus, our Emmanuel ♪

6:42

♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

6:47

♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

6:52

♪ Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace ♪

7:00

♪ Hail, the Son of Righteousness ♪

7:05

♪ Light and life to all He brings ♪

7:10

♪ Risen with healing in His wings ♪

7:15

♪ Mild He lays His glory by ♪

7:21

♪ Born that man no more may die ♪

7:26

♪ Born to raise us from the earth ♪

7:32

♪ Born to give us second birth ♪

7:37

♪ Hark, the herald angels sing ♪

7:42

♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪

7:48

You may be seated.

8:06

My dear friends, God cares for us

8:18

as He has so graphically portrayed

8:21

in the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ,

8:23

in the nativity we have just celebrated,

8:26

which gives us a new faith

8:29

and enables us to cast our cares upon Him.

8:31

It is in this spirit then that we gather to pray together

8:35

this our prayer of confession.

8:39

Let us all pray.

8:42

O Lord our God, we have craved admiration and security,

8:47

for we would rather be successful than useful.

8:54

We have sought to be master rather than servant.

8:58

We have considered numbers more important than persons.

9:02

Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

9:06

We have been immobilized by the magnitude of problems

9:13

and the infinite possibilities for choice.

9:16

We have been too proud to admit our mistakes in judgment.

9:21

We have been creative in our excuses

9:25

and imaginative in our rationalizations.

9:28

Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

9:32

We have been capable witnesses for the wrong things.

9:38

We have been so eager for results

9:43

that we have been careless about our methods.

9:46

We have turned away from necessary conflict

9:50

because we were frightened.

9:53

In the midst of crisis we have encouraged business as usual.

9:55

Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

10:01

And we have neglected to worship You with our whole lives.

10:08

We have avoided the voice of conscience.

10:12

We have wasted our gifts

10:15

and we have refused to be known as servants.

10:18

We have not been faithful to our calling.

10:22

Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy upon us.

10:26

Amen.

10:31

And now let us hear these comfortable words

10:40

of our Savior Jesus Christ.

10:42

"Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden

10:46

"and I will give you rest.

10:50

"Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find,

10:54

"knock and it will be opened to you.

10:59

"For everyone who asks receives.

11:02

"And he who seeks finds.

11:06

"And to him who knocks, it will be open."

11:09

Thus may the almighty and merciful Lord

11:14

grant us remission of all our sins, true repentance,

11:17

amendment of life, and the grace and consolation

11:22

a renewed spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord

11:26

Who taught us when we are gathered in His name

11:32

to say Our Father Who art in heaven,

11:34

hallowed be Thy name.

11:39

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

11:41

on earth as it is in heaven.

11:45

Give us this day our daily bread,

11:47

and forgive us our trespasses

11:50

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

11:52

And lead us not into temptation,

11:56

but deliver us from evil.

11:58

For Thine is the kingdom and the power

12:00

and the glory forever.

12:03

Amen.

12:06

(slow organ music)

12:10

(singing in foreign language)

12:46

-

My dear friends, the Word of God for us today

16:36

is contained in the writings of Isaiah chapter 42

16:39

and in the gospel St. John chapter one.

16:45

Let us hear this renewing and strengthening word of God.

16:50

"Behold, My servant, whom I uphold,

16:57

"My chosen, in whom My soul delights.

17:02

"I have put My Spirit upon him

17:06

"for he will bring forth justice to the nations.

17:09

"He will not cry or lift up his voice

17:13

"or make it heard in the street.

17:16

"A bruised reed he will not break,

17:19

"and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

17:22

"He will faithfully bring forth justice.

17:26

"And he will not fail or be discouraged

17:30

"until he has established justice in the earth

17:32

"and in the coastlands where they wait for his law.

17:35

"Thus says God the Lord Who created the heavens

17:41

"and scratched them out,

17:44

"Who spread forth the earth from what comes of it,

17:46

"and Who gives breath to the people upon it

17:50

"and spirit to those who walk in it,

17:52

"I am the Lord.

17:55

"I have called you in righteousness.

17:57

"I have taken you by the hand and kept you.

18:00

"I have given you as a covenant to the people,

18:04

"a light to the nations to open the eyes that are blind,

18:07

"to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

18:12

"from the prison those who sit in darkness.

18:15

"I am the Lord.

18:20

"That is My name.

18:22

"My glory give to no other, nor My praise to graven images.

18:24

"Behold, the former things have come to pass,

18:30

"and new things I now declare, for they spring forth

18:35

"and I tell you of them."

18:39

And from John's gospel, we hear these words.

18:53

"In the beginning was the Word.

19:00

"And the Word was with God.

19:03

"And the Word was God.

19:06

"He was in the beginning with God.

19:08

"All things were made through Him.

19:12

"And without Him was not anything made that was made.

19:14

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

19:19

"The light shines in the darkness

19:25

"and the darkness has not overcome it.

19:27

"There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

19:31

"He came for a testimony,

19:36

"to bear witness to the light

19:39

"that all might believe through him.

19:41

"He was not the light,

19:45

"but came to bear witness to the light.

19:47

"The true light that enlivens every man

19:51

"was coming into the world.

19:54

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.

19:56

"Yet, the world knew Him not.

20:00

"He came to His own home

20:04

"and His own people received Him not.

20:06

"But to all who received Him, who believed in His name,

20:10

"He gave power to become children of God

20:14

"who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh

20:18

"nor of the will of man, but of God.

20:23

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

20:29

"full of grace and truth.

20:33

"We have beheld His glory,

20:36

"glory as of the only Son from the Father."

20:38

Hear in this, our lessons for today.

20:44

And let us now share in the reading of God's Word

20:53

by reading together responsively the Salter number 555.

20:57

Let us stand as we read.

21:01

O Lord, our Lord,

21:19

how majestic is Thy name in all the earth?

21:21

Thou has founded a bulwark because of Thy foes.

21:32

When I look at Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,

21:40

what is man that thou art mindful of him?

21:48

Yet, Thou hast made him a little less than God.

21:55

Thou hast given him dominion over the works of Thy hands.

22:02

All sheep and oxen,

22:09

the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.

22:13

O Lord, our Lord.

22:20

Congregation

How majestic is Thy name in all the earth.

22:24

(slow organ music)

22:27

(congregation singing)

22:36

-

Now let us affirm our faith together by saying this creed.

23:10

We believe in God Who has created and is creating,

23:16

Who has come in the true man, Jesus,

23:21

to reconcile and make new,

23:24

Who works in us and others by His Spirit.

23:27

We trust Him.

23:31

He calls us to be in His church, to celebrate His presence,

23:33

to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,

23:38

to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,

23:44

our judge and our hope.

23:48

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.

23:51

We are not alone.

23:58

Thanks be to God.

24:00

Amen.

24:02

May the Lord be with you.

24:04

Let us all pray.

24:08

Almighty and merciful God,

24:21

without Whom all things hasten to their own destruction

24:25

and fall away into nothingness,

24:29

we gather on this day at a year's end

24:33

to affirm that all the blessings and graciousness

24:38

that have been ours in these months past

24:42

have been the gift of Thy hand.

24:47

We acknowledge that those achievements we have made

24:53

have come from Thee.

24:57

And with shame, we confess that those times we have failed

25:00

we have not stood in Thy presence,

25:05

nor have we always followed Thy bidding and Thy will

25:09

to secure Thine own ends.

25:12

But whether we have won or whether we have lost,

25:17

we have lived out our life

25:22

under the tent of Thy graciousness.

25:25

And when we have acknowledged this,

25:28

even in our failures, we have been strengthened.

25:31

So our Lord, this morning,

25:36

we give grace

25:39

and the fullness of our expression of gratitude

25:42

for what Thou hast given us.

25:47

In these moments, some of us come to the end

25:53

of a time of labor.

25:56

Here in our university staff

26:00

some will be retiring from many years of effective service.

26:02

We give thanks for these men and women

26:09

and for the contribution they have made to our common life.

26:12

Others on this day come to make new beginnings

26:18

and to begin a new year.

26:23

We thank Thee, our Father, for the renewing freshness

26:26

that comes from Thy daily portion of grace

26:30

that enables us to make a new beginning.

26:33

For as we stand on the threshold of a new year,

26:38

we would pray for a new beginning for our nation

26:42

and all nations.

26:44

That to each may be given the blessings

26:47

of Christian light and truth,

26:49

a right mind and just councils.

26:52

Grant peace on Earth and goodwill among all men

26:56

that all may employ Thy good gifts of order and liberty

27:00

to the welfare of mankind and finally to Thy glory.

27:04

Guide and strengthen the President of this country

27:08

and his advisors and all others in authority.

27:13

And continue to favor this, our beloved land,

27:16

with thy grace.

27:19

And let Thy blessing rest, O Lord,

27:23

upon our common life here together

27:25

that our spirit may be disciplined and our minds sharpened

27:28

and our wheels honed to do Thy bidding

27:33

and achieve Thy purposes.

27:36

Grant that our homes may be holy,

27:40

that our work may be honorable,

27:42

and our pleasures and enjoyments pure.

27:45

Guard and save us from every selfish use

27:49

of the liberty in which we stand,

27:51

and bless all our just and lawful undertakings.

27:54

And grant that in time of prosperity

27:57

we may not forget Thee,

28:00

nor in time of adversity we may not think of ourselves

28:02

as being forgotten of Thee.

28:06

Now, O Father into Thy hands we commit those who are sick,

28:12

the sorrowful, the lonely, the tempted,

28:18

even those that are dear to our hearts

28:22

and dear to the heart of this chapel.

28:25

We remember them and pray that they may know

28:28

Thy healing and sanctifying power

28:31

and may obtain the victory of faith.

28:34

Bless us, our Lord, as we leave this place today

28:40

and go forth to a new life,

28:43

that we may go forth in the peace and the love

28:46

and the hope and faith

28:52

that comes from knowledge of Jesus Christ

28:54

in Whom we pray.

28:56

Amen.

28:58

(slow organ music)

29:04

♪ O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant ♪

30:04

♪ O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ♪

30:15

♪ O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels ♪

30:27

♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

30:37

♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

30:43

♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪

30:48

♪ Christ the Lord ♪

30:55

♪ Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation ♪

31:02

♪ Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above ♪

31:13

♪ Glory to God, all glory in the highest ♪

31:25

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

31:36

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

31:42

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

31:47

♪ Christ, the Lord ♪

31:54

♪ Yea, Lord, we greet Thee ♪

32:02

♪ Born this happy morning ♪

32:07

♪ Jesus, to Thee be all glory given ♪

32:13

♪ Word of the Father ♪

32:25

♪ Now in flesh appearing ♪

32:31

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

32:36

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

32:42

♪ O come let us adore Him ♪

32:48

♪ Christ, the Lord ♪

32:56

-

In the name of God our Creator,

33:23

our Redeemer, and our Sustainer, amen.

33:27

Well, so that is that.

33:33

Now we must dismantle the tree,

33:35

putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes,

33:38

some have gotten broken,

33:42

and then carry them up into the attic.

33:43

The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,

33:47

and the children got ready for school.

33:50

There are enough leftovers to do, warmed up,

33:52

for the rest of the week, not that we have much appetite

33:55

having drunk such a lot, stayed up so late,

33:58

and attempted, quite unsuccessfully,

34:01

to have loved all our relatives,

34:04

and in general, grossly overestimated our powers.

34:06

Once again, as in the previous years,

34:11

we have seen the actual vision

34:13

and have failed to do more than entertain it

34:17

as an agreeable possibility.

34:21

Once again, we have sent him away

34:24

begging though to remain his disobedient servant,

34:27

the promising child who cannot keep his word for long.

34:30

The Christmas feast is already a fading memory,

34:34

and already the mind begins to be vaguely aware

34:37

of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension

34:40

at the thought of Lent and Good Friday,

34:44

which cannot, after all now, be very far off.

34:48

But for the time being, here we all are

34:51

back in the moderate Aristotelian city

34:54

of darning and the Eight-Fifteen

35:00

where Euclid's geometry and Newton's mechanics

35:03

would account for our experience.

35:06

The narrator in the conclusion

35:10

of Auden's "For the Time Being" reflects, in some part,

35:12

our response to Christmas.

35:15

We breathe a sigh.

35:18

We made it.

35:19

And yet hopefully, we did see the actual vision.

35:21

And so once again,

35:27

we can wonder at the good news of the incarnation.

35:28

We who know the bleakness of the midwinter in our lives,

35:34

in our country,

35:40

cry out to hear again the good news of the incarnation

35:42

and what this means for this world at this time.

35:46

For this time when some North Carolina construction workers

35:51

in their Christmas celebration

35:55

decided to see how much alcohol a black man can hold.

35:58

The black man, after having held much alcohol,

36:05

went home and died within one hour.

36:10

The fellow construction workers shrugged and said,

36:15

"Oh well, he's just a nigger."

36:19

That was in North Carolina, Christmas, 1973.

36:22

For this time when some people are starving to death

36:29

because of a famine in West Africa

36:32

and other people are spending $18 for one meal for one dog

36:35

in a gourmet dog restaurant.

36:42

For this time when two old people may have died

36:46

because of the cold

36:49

and other people grumble

36:51

because they have to wear a sweater indoors.

36:53

For this time when our President feels he must convince us

36:57

he is not a crook.

37:01

For this, our time of crisis in government,

37:03

crisis in fuel, crisis in energy, crisis in economy,

37:04

crisis in unemployment, crisis in peace, crisis in food.

37:08

But there's no need to make an exhaustive list,

37:12

for we know too well what is in the news.

37:16

We know our terrible and tragic news,

37:19

and we say with Eliot,

37:22

the cycles of heaven in 20 centuries

37:25

bring us farther from God and nearer to dust.

37:29

Where is the life we have lost in the living?

37:35

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

37:39

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

37:45

Endless invention, endless experiment

37:50

bring us knowledge of motion, but not of stillness,

37:54

knowledge of speech, but not of silence,

37:59

knowledge of the words, but ignorance of the Word.

38:03

All our knowledge brings us nearer to death,

38:10

but nearness to death, no nearer to God.

38:15

We know, but we don't know what to do.

38:20

We feel hopeless.

38:23

There's nothing we can do.

38:25

We are not responsible for this mess.

38:26

Jurgen Moltmann proposes that the greatest sin we face today

38:30

is not the sin of pride, of wanting to be as God,

38:34

but the reverse side of pride

38:37

or the logical outcome of pride, despair, hopelessness,

38:39

resignation, inertia.

38:44

Our temptation is not in wanting to be as God,

38:49

but in our weakness, our timidity, our weariness,

38:51

in our not wanting to be what God requires of us.

38:56

Now, if this is a true analysis,

39:01

and it certainly seems to be, if despair, discouragement,

39:03

resignation, inertia, are our sin,

39:07

then those of us who have had a difficult time

39:10

seeing ourselves as sinners

39:13

can surely now say in a loud voice,

39:14

"We are the greatest of sinners."

39:18

For we are certain there is nothing we can do.

39:22

We aren't responsible.

39:24

Yet we believe, a little bit, but we really don't believe,

39:25

those persons who say that our culture, our society

39:30

has given permission for all that has happened

39:34

in our country.

39:37

None of the killings of innocent people in Southeast Asia,

39:40

none of the racial oppression,

39:43

none of the political corruption,

39:45

none of our political or social disasters

39:46

would have happened without us giving permission,

39:49

without our allowing it, yea, without our encouraging it.

39:53

In this bleakest of our midwinters in our lives,

40:00

in our world, we feel helpless, hopeless, discouraged.

40:05

We need to know that there is still good news to be heard.

40:11

We need to hear again the good news

40:16

that was read from John's gospel

40:18

as our New Testament lesson,

40:21

the good news that there is a light

40:23

which shines in the darkness

40:25

which the darkness cannot overcome.

40:26

The good news that the Word became flesh and lived among us.

40:30

The good news that we have power to become children of God.

40:36

This is the good news of the incarnation,

40:43

which means that God, our Creator, is revealed,

40:46

is disclosed in a human life.

40:51

This is good news for it means it's okay to be human,

40:55

to live with our unknowns, our ambiguities, our mistakes.

41:01

It has been difficult for us to accept our own humanity,

41:08

the fact that we were created,

41:11

that we are limited, that we will die.

41:13

But it has been even more difficult

41:17

for us to accept Jesus's humanity,

41:19

for God certainly would not have chosen to use

41:22

a human vessel to communicate to us.

41:25

Possibly something written on stone,

41:29

even a burning bush,

41:32

certainly something that is clear, static, unambiguous.

41:34

Something more than, better than a human.

41:38

Perhaps a super person, maybe an angel.

41:43

But our affirmation that the Word became flesh

41:47

is an affirmation of our humanity as it is given to us.

41:51

And this is worth celebrating.

41:56

This is good news.

41:58

And when the Word became flesh,

42:02

we were given some strong clues of what is expected of us,

42:04

of what is possible, and what it means to be fully human.

42:09

Now, one of the clues is that life will instill,

42:14

include suffering, disappointments, pain, and agony.

42:17

This dimension of the incarnation needs to be lifted up,

42:25

especially at the time when we celebrate the joy,

42:28

the beauty, the innocence of the birth of the baby Jesus.

42:30

For as Auden said,

42:33

"We are already aware of Lent and Good Friday."

42:35

When the Word becomes flesh,

42:40

it also becomes pain and suffering and death.

42:42

And it is a resurrection faith

42:46

which sustains and redeems this sorrow,

42:49

but it does not eliminate pain, suffering, death.

42:52

We need to claim this side of our humanity

42:58

and not expect our life in Christ to be more than human.

43:01

This frees us from false hopes, from false expectations.

43:06

It frees us to be fully human.

43:10

But we cannot allow our life to be less than human,

43:15

for that is a real possibility

43:20

for humanization and dehumanizations are real alternatives.

43:21

Our humanity is thwarted by false hopes, injustice,

43:29

exploitation, oppression.

43:34

And our humanity is affirmed in our freedom

43:37

by justice, by our loving and caring,

43:42

and in our struggle to develop our potential.

43:46

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

43:51

And we give thanks that we have an understanding

43:54

and a grasp of our potential.

43:57

The Word became flesh.

44:02

Freire, an Latin American educator, defines the Word

44:05

by dividing it into two component parts,

44:09

the two dimensions of reflection and action.

44:12

These two dimensions are in such close relationship

44:17

with each other that if one part is sacrificed,

44:20

the other immediately suffers.

44:24

Reflection.

44:26

Action.

44:28

A true word can transform the world.

44:30

An inauthentic word,

44:35

which is a word in which only one dimension,

44:37

either reflection or action is spoken,

44:39

does not have the power to change anything.

44:43

If the word is deprived of action,

44:47

then reflection becomes mere idle chatter, mere verbalism,

44:50

and there can be no denunciation of injustice,

44:55

for denunciation is impossible

44:58

without the commitment to transform,

45:01

and there is no transformation without action.

45:03

However, if the word is deprived of reflection

45:07

and action is emphasized exclusively,

45:11

then we have activism which gives up, quits,

45:14

as soon as the going gets tough.

45:18

It cannot be sustained.

45:20

Now, these two dimensions of our word

45:23

are also dimensions of us as persons,

45:25

our personal selves and our community selves,

45:28

our reflective selves and our active selves.

45:32

This pattern of meditation, worship, and of action

45:35

we see in the life of Jesus.

45:39

And it is the same pattern which is crucial to the church.

45:42

The members gathering to worship, to study, to heal,

45:46

to be healed, to correct, to be corrected, and to plan,

45:48

and the members scattering

45:52

to continue the work of Jesus the Christ to eliminate,

45:54

to overcome the dehumanizing forces in the world

45:56

and in the church.

46:00

When the Episcopal Bishop Freire spoke

46:02

at the Charismatic Conference in the Divinity School,

46:04

he commented on the poverty of much of our worship

46:06

saying that even in the Episcopal church,

46:08

which has always been a church known

46:11

for its excellence in worship,

46:13

too often the time of worship is not a time of community,

46:16

rather a collection of isolated, separated individuals

46:20

with no expression of community

46:24

and no expression of care for the other.

46:26

Now, if this may be true of some Episcopal churches,

46:29

how much more could it be true of those of us who worship

46:32

in this chapel congregation?

46:36

Unless we are more than spectators,

46:40

separated individuals in our worship,

46:43

unless our time together in this chapel

46:48

sends us back into our homes, our work, the world

46:50

more able to care,

46:56

and unless our life becomes more human for ourselves

46:59

and for others because of us,

47:03

this has not been a time of worship.

47:06

No matter how beautiful the music

47:10

or how moved we are by the majesty of the architecture

47:12

or the beauty of the stained glass

47:16

or the eloquence of some of the preachers,

47:18

this will not have been a time of worship,

47:20

but more likely a time of blasphemy or mere verbalism.

47:23

Now, these two dimensions of our lives

47:30

and of the church must be kept intention.

47:32

Otherwise we will continue in our sin of despair,

47:36

of discouragement for our condition

47:39

and the condition of the world.

47:40

And so we hear the good news

47:42

that we are forgiven of our sin,

47:44

that we have the power to become children of God,

47:47

that we can develop into full human beings,

47:50

that we can continue the ministry of Christ

47:54

to care for all of God's creation.

47:57

Those who hear this good news

48:01

can no longer put up with the injustice in the world.

48:03

As we heard in the Old Testament lesson,

48:09

we will work to bring forth justice

48:11

and we will not fail or be discouraged

48:13

till all justice is established on this earth.

48:16

Moltmann says that peace with God

48:21

means conflict with the world as it is.

48:25

So if we confess our sin of resignation, of timidity,

48:30

our weariness, our despair, our hopelessness,

48:33

we are forgiven.

48:36

And the good news of the incarnation

48:38

is that we do not have to be spectators,

48:40

that we are free to work for a humane world,

48:43

and that we can take risk.

48:46

Now, how does this good news

48:50

that we have power to become truly human,

48:51

how does this happen?

48:55

And what does this mean?

48:56

This is still one of our great mysteries.

48:59

We can't explain it.

49:02

It's hard for our logical, ordered, rational minds

49:05

to comprehend, for we yearn for this power,

49:09

but we want it given to us

49:11

as a pill to swallow before breakfast,

49:13

or as a doubt or ritual or a set of exercises,

49:16

something we can manage, we can control.

49:18

So if we find out this being fully human

49:22

is more than we bargained for,

49:24

if it is more painful or disquieting

49:27

or if it takes more of our time and money

49:29

than we want to give,

49:31

then we could simply stop taking the pills.

49:32

But this isn't the way it is.

49:34

As it is, there is a chance we will get caught up

49:37

and our lives will be changed.

49:39

We have biblical, historical, and contemporary witnesses

49:43

of what it means to be fully human, to receive this power,

49:48

to care, to fight injustice,

49:53

to attack dehumanization wherever it is found.

49:55

And we know it has something to do

49:59

with the two dimensions of the word, reflection and action,

50:01

something to do with community

50:07

and something to do with our openness, our acceptance,

50:09

and of our willingness to be a risk taker.

50:13

You know persons who are just very ordinary sorts of people

50:18

who would make no special claims for themselves,

50:22

but who are very quietly working to evidence in this power.

50:25

Some of these persons have decided

50:32

that something needs to be done with the housing situation.

50:33

And so they are offering the oppressed some real options

50:37

and are making the landlords uncomfortable,

50:41

landlords who live in comfort at the expense of the poor.

50:44

Others see education as the place they must work.

50:50

And so they tutor students,

50:52

or even though they can afford the best of private schools,

50:54

they keep their children in the public schools

50:58

and work and work and work to help make possible

51:01

a good education for all persons.

51:05

A student graduated from Duke several years ago

51:09

determined to learn all he needed to know

51:11

to be able to make a difference

51:14

in solving the problem of hunger in the world.

51:16

And we give thanks for people who have not given up

51:19

in the government,

51:22

but see a good government and just laws

51:23

as being crucial to a humane world.

51:26

Most of you here are probably already working

51:30

in very specific areas.

51:33

And you need from this time of worship nourishment,

51:36

perhaps to be corrected in some area, to be healed,

51:40

to be encouraged.

51:44

Others of us need to be challenged

51:46

to be forgiven of our sin of hopelessness,

51:48

of being spectators to life,

51:50

in order that we may go back renewed.

51:53

We can go forward in the future forgiven people,

51:57

ready to act, free to take risk, to suffer.

52:01

And we will do this not by writing general letters

52:07

or passing general resolutions or in any other general way,

52:10

but by choosing a very specific dehumanizing situation

52:13

to give ourselves to.

52:18

It may be that you are a person

52:21

who will help other people recognize

52:25

the dehumanizing forces and situations in the home,

52:27

at work, in education, or wherever.

52:29

It may be that you are the person who will heal those

52:34

who get bloody and discouraged in the work.

52:36

It may be that you are a person who will share your love,

52:41

your material goods, and your time.

52:46

Or it may be that you are a person who will decide

52:50

you need more training,

52:53

more specific skills to effectively overcome an injustice

52:55

or a dehumanizing force.

52:59

And this can happen anytime in your life, in your teens,

53:02

your 20s, your 30s, 40s, or any time.

53:05

What do you see as the situation

53:10

which limits people's humanity?

53:14

This may be your task.

53:19

And this is the good news

53:22

that there is a light which shines in the darkness

53:25

that the darkness cannot overcome.

53:27

The Word became flesh and lived with us.

53:30

And we have power to become fully human.

53:34

Let us pray.

53:41

O God, we give ourselves to You

53:46

to be instruments of Thy work in this world.

53:49

Bless our work and use us.

53:53

Amen.

53:56

(slow organ music)

54:15

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

54:43

♪ That Jesus my Savior did come for to die ♪

54:55

♪ For poor on'ry people like you and like I ♪

55:07

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

55:18

♪ When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall ♪

55:36

♪ With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all ♪

55:44

♪ But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall ♪

55:54

♪ And the promise of ages it then did recall ♪

56:02

♪ If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing ♪

56:20

♪ A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing ♪

56:27

♪ Or all of God's angels in heav'n for to sing ♪

56:36

♪ He surely could have it, 'cause He was the King ♪

56:44

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

56:59

♪ How Jesus the Savior did come for to die ♪

57:11

♪ For poor on'ry people like you and like I ♪

57:21

♪ I wonder as I wander out under the sky ♪

57:32

(slow organ music)

57:56

♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪

58:27

♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪

58:34

♪ O praise Him! Alleluia ♪

58:41

♪ Thou, burning sun with golden beam ♪

58:48

♪ Thou, silver moon with softer gleam ♪

58:55

♪ O praise Him! O praise Him ♪

59:02

♪ Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia ♪

59:09

-

Almighty God from Whose bounty we have received much good,

59:37

accept this our sacrifice and bound and duty

59:43

to offer unto Thee this portion of what Thou hast given.

59:48

May it be used for all good causes to heal mankind

59:53

and to benefit Thy children

59:58

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

1:00:00

Amen.

1:00:04

(triumphant organ music)

1:00:12

♪ Joy to the world, the Lord is come ♪

1:00:45

♪ Let earth receive her King ♪

1:00:51

♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪

1:00:57

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:02

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:06

♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪

1:01:09

♪ Joy to the world, the Savior reigns ♪

1:01:17

♪ Let men their songs employ ♪

1:01:23

♪ While fields and floods ♪

1:01:29

♪ Rocks, hills, and plains ♪

1:01:32

♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:35

♪ Repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:38

♪ Repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪

1:01:41

♪ He rules the world with truth and grace ♪

1:01:50

♪ And makes the nations prove ♪

1:01:56

♪ The glories of His righteousness ♪

1:02:02

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

1:02:08

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

1:02:11

♪ And wonders, wonders of His love ♪

1:02:14

♪ Joy to the world, the Lord is come ♪

1:02:23

♪ Let earth receive her King ♪

1:02:29

♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪

1:02:35

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:41

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:44

♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪

1:02:47

And now may the peace and grace of God the Father

1:03:09

and the love of His Son

1:03:14

and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit

1:03:15

rest and abide and keep you this day

1:03:19

and in the days to come and, yea, everlastingly

1:03:23

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1:03:26

Amen.

1:03:29

(bells chiming three times)

1:03:33

(triumphant organ music)

1:03:47

Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

Transcript

Item Info

1. Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

Duke University Archives

Helen G. Crotwell - "Power to Become" (December 30, 1973)

Transcript

Item Info

Related Item

Duke University Archives