Robert T. Young - "Does It Really Matter?" (February 15, 1976)

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	♪ Six-winged seraph ♪	0:03
	♪ Cherubim with sleepless eye ♪	0:08
	♪ Veil their faces to the presence ♪	0:15
	♪ As with ceaseless voice they cry ♪	0:22
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	0:30
	♪ Alleluia, Lord most high ♪	0:40
	("As with Gladness Men of Old")	0:56
	♪ As with gladness men of old ♪	1:26
	♪ Did the guiding star behold ♪	1:31
	♪ As with joy they hailed its light ♪	1:36
	♪ Leading onward, beaming bright ♪	1:40
	♪ So, most gracious Lord, may we ♪	1:45
	♪ Evermore be led to Thee ♪	1:50
	♪ As with joyful step they sped ♪	1:58
	♪ To that lowly manger bed ♪	2:03
	♪ There to bend the knee before ♪	2:08
	♪ Him whom Heaven and Earth adore ♪	2:13
	♪ So may we with willing feet ♪	2:18
	♪ Ever seek Thy mercy seat ♪	2:23
	♪ As they offered gifts most rare ♪	2:30
	♪ At that manger rude and bare ♪	2:36
	♪ So may we with holy joy ♪	2:40
	♪ Pure and free from sin's alloy ♪	2:45
	♪ All our costliest treasures bring ♪	2:50
	♪ Christ, to Thee, the heavenly King ♪	2:55
	♪ Holy Jesus, everyday ♪	3:56
	♪ Keep us in the narrow way ♪	4:01
	♪ And when earthly things are past ♪	4:06
	♪ Bring our ransomed souls at last ♪	4:11
	♪ Where they need no star to guide ♪	4:16
	♪ Where no clouds thy glory hide ♪	4:21
	♪ Amen ♪	4:28
-	Seek ye the Lord while He may be found;	4:47
	call ye upon Him while He is near.	4:51
	Let the wicked forsake his way	4:57
	and the unrighteous man his thoughts;	5:00
	and let him return unto the Lord,	5:04
	and He will have mercy upon him,	5:09
	and to our God,	5:14
	for He will abundantly pardon."	5:17
	Therefore, let us offer unto God	5:22
	our unison prayer of confession.	5:25
	Let us pray.	5:29
-	Have mercy upon us, O God,	5:32
	according to Thy loving kindness.	5:35
	According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies,	5:38
	blot out our transgressions,	5:42
	wash us thoroughly from our iniquities,	5:45
	and cleanse us from our sins.	5:49
	for we acknowledge our transgressions	5:52
	and our sins are ever before us.	5:55
	Create in us a clean heart, O God,	5:59
	and renew a right spirit within us.	6:03
	Cast us not away from Thy presence	6:06
	and take not Thy Holy Spirit from us.	6:10
	Restore unto us the joy of Thy salvation	6:14
	and uphold us our free spirit.	6:18
	Amen.	6:22
-	And let us offer unto God in quietness	6:23
	our own personal confessions.	6:27
	And hear these words of assurance of pardon.	6:45
	"Thus saith the high and lofty One	6:50
	that inhabiteth eternity,	6:53
	whose name is holy.	6:56
	I dwell in the high and holy place,	7:00
	with him,	7:04
	with her also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.	7:06
	To revive the spirit of the humble	7:12
	and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."	7:15
	Therefore, be of good courage.	7:21
	Amen.	7:26
	(gentle piano music)	7:32
	(choir starts singing)	8:30
	(music and singing continues)	10:18
-	Our scripture this morning comes from the letter of James	13:31
	and the letter to the Philippians	13:37
	in James 3:2-18.	13:40
	"For we all make many mistakes.	13:47
	And if anyone makes no mistakes in what he says,	13:50
	he is a perfect man able to bridle the whole body also.	13:54
	If we put bits into the mouths of horses	14:00
	that they may obey us,	14:03
	we guide their whole bodies.	14:05
	Look at the ships also,	14:08
	though they are so great and are driven by strong winds,	14:10
	they are guided by a very small rudder,	14:15
	wherever the will of the pilot directs.	14:18
	So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things.	14:21
	How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire.	14:27
	And the tongue is a fire.	14:33
	The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members	14:36
	staining the whole body,	14:40
	setting on fire the cycle of nature,	14:43
	and set on fire by Hell.	14:46
	For every kind of beast and bird,	14:49
	of reptile and sea creature,	14:52
	can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind.	14:55
	But no human being can tame the tongue,	14:59
	a restless evil full of deadly poison.	15:03
	With it, we bless the Lord and Father.	15:07
	With it, we curse men who are made in the likeness of God.	15:11
	From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.	15:16
	My brethren, this ought not to be so.	15:20
	Does a spring pour forth from the same opening	15:24
	freshwater and brackish?	15:28
	Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives	15:31
	or a grapevine, figs?	15:35
	No more can saltwater yield fresh.	15:38
	Who is wise and understanding among you?	15:42
	By his good life let him show his works	15:48
	in the meekness of wisdom.	15:51
	But if you have bitter jealousy	15:53
	and selfish ambition in your hearts,	15:55
	do not boast and be false to the truth.	15:59
	This wisdom is not such as comes down from above,	16:02
	but it is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.	16:07
	For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,	16:12
	there will be disorder and every vile practice.	16:16
	But the wisdom from above is first pure,	16:21
	then peaceable, gentle,	16:26
	open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits,	16:29
	without uncertainty or insincerity."	16:34
	And from Philippians 4:4-9,	16:41
	"Rejoice in the Lord always.	16:48
	Again, I say: rejoice!	16:51
	Let all men know your forbearance.	16:54
	The Lord is at hand.	16:57
	Have no anxiety about anything,	16:59
	but in everything by prayer and supplication,	17:03
	with Thanksgiving,	17:07
	let your requests be made known to God.	17:08
	And the peace of God which passes all understanding	17:12
	will keep your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.	17:16
	Finally, brethren,	17:22
	whatever is true,	17:24
	whatever is honorable,	17:26
	whatever is just, whatever is pure,	17:28
	whatever is lovely,	17:32
	whatever is gracious,	17:34
	if there is any excellence,	17:36
	if there is anything worthy of praise,	17:39
	think about these things.	17:42
	What you have learned and received and heard,	17:46
	and seen me, this do.	17:49
	And the peace of God will be with you."	17:53
	(glorious piano music)	18:00
	♪ Glory be to the Father ♪	18:09
	♪ And to the Son and to the Holy Ghost ♪	18:14
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	18:21
	♪ Is now and ever shall be ♪	18:25
	♪ World without end ♪	18:30
	♪ Amen ♪	18:33
	♪ Amen ♪	18:36
-	Let us remain standing and affirm our faith together.	18:43
-	We are not alone.	18:50
	We live in God's world.	18:53
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	18:55
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	19:01
	to reconcile and make new,	19:05
	who works in us and others through the Spirit.	19:08
	We trust God who calls us to be the church,	19:12
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	19:17
	to love and serve others,	19:20
	to seek justice and resist evil,	19:23
	to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,	19:26
	our judge and our hope.	19:31
	In life, in death,	19:34
	in life beyond death,	19:36
	God is with us.	19:38
	We are not alone.	19:41
	Thanks be to God.	19:43
-	The Lord be with you.	19:46
-	And with your spirit.	19:48
-	Let us pray.	19:50
	Let our first prayer be one of thanksgiving.	20:06
	We thank Thee, gracious God, for things we take for granted,	20:12
	for another day of life,	20:18
	for bread upon the table,	20:21
	for friends who love us in spite of what we are,	20:25
	for mercy given us beyond our deserving,	20:31
	for the immeasurable joy of joy,	20:36
	for the holy saints and for the holy heretics,	20:41
	for the opportunity of worship in this good place,	20:47
	for Jesus Christ, our risen Lord,	20:52
	unto whom with Thee and the Holy Spirit,	20:56
	be all glory and majesty,	20:58
	world without end.	21:02
	Amen.	21:05
	Let us offer a prayer of intercession	21:08
	for all who need us.	21:11
	O God who hast formed us for fellowship with one another,	21:14
	we pray for all who need us,	21:20
	for all who are underfed	21:24
	and starving,	21:26
	for all refugees,	21:29
	for the victims of oppression,	21:31
	injustice,	21:34
	cruelty,	21:36
	and racial prejudice,	21:38
	for all who are frustrated,	21:41
	for the sorely tempted,	21:44
	and for those who fall,	21:47
	for little children and youth who are neglected	21:51
	and have never known what it is	21:55
	to be cared for and loved.	21:58
	Especially on this morning,	22:04
	we pray for those in our community,	22:07
	our Durham community,	22:11
	who are cold,	22:13
	to whom our morning offering will be devoted	22:17
	so that they may buy fuel and be warm.	22:22
	Lord, hear our prayer.	22:29
	And let us offer a prayer of supplication for ourselves.	22:35
	O Lord God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,	22:40
	give us a measure of His spirit	22:45
	that we may be enabled to obey His teaching,	22:49
	to pacify anger,	22:54
	to take part in pity,	22:57
	to moderate desire,	23:01
	to increase love,	23:04
	to put away sorrow,	23:07
	to cast away vainglory,	23:10
	not to be vindictive,	23:15
	not to fear death,	23:17
	ever entrusting our spirit to Thee,	23:21
	the immortal God,	23:24
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	23:27
	And now as our Savior, Christ, hath taught us,	23:31
	we pray together saying,	23:35
-	Our Father, Who art in Heaven,	23:38
	hallowed be Thy name;	23:42
	Thy kingdom come;	23:44
	Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.	23:47
	Give us this day our daily bread;	23:51
	and forgive us our trespasses	23:55
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	23:57
	and lead us not into temptation,	24:01
	but deliver us from evil.	24:04
	For Thine is the kingdom,	24:06
	and the power, and the glory forever.	24:08
	Amen.	24:13
-	I have been asked to make one announcement.	24:16
	"Sanctuary,"	24:21
	an original play designed for Duke Chapel,	24:23
	will have its premiere on February 26, 27, and 28	24:28
	at 8:15 right here.	24:35
	The title "Sanctuary" is taken from the idea of the church	24:40
	as a place of refuge for criminals	24:46
	in both biblical and medieval periods of history.	24:48
	Play was written by the Reverend Heather Murray Elkins,	24:54
	a divinity school student,	24:58
	and Dr. John Clum, head of the Drama Department at Duke.	25:01
	Dr. Clum will be directing the group of actors	25:06
	who helped evolve the character	25:09
	in a series of laboratory workshops last semester.	25:11
	And keep in mind, February 26, 27, 28.	25:17
	The pulpiteer this morning is our own Robert T. Young,	25:24
	the minister to the university.	25:29
-	In the name of God who creates, redeems, and sustains.	25:41
	Amen.	25:47
	It was Saint Augustine who wrote some lines	25:52
	with which I'd like to begin the sermon for this morning,	25:54
	because I think	25:57
	they encapsulate my feeling	26:01
	and my hope for the next few minutes.	26:05
	"Let us," he said,	26:10
	"you and I,	26:12
	lay aside all arrogance.	26:15
	Let neither of us pretend to have found the truth.	26:21
	Let us seek it as something unknown to both of us.	26:28
	Then we may seek it with love and sincerity	26:34
	when neither of us has the rashness or presumption	26:40
	to believe that he already possesses it."	26:47
	Isaiah in the temple cried long ago,	26:54
	"Woe is me.	26:57
	For I am lost.	27:00
	For I am a man of unclean lips,	27:03
	and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips	27:05
	for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."	27:08
	"I am lost.	27:13
	I am a man of unclean lips,	27:16
	I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."	27:18
	If this were true of Isaiah's time,	27:22
	of Isaiah himself and of Isaiah's people,	27:25
	then I dare to say this morning,	27:31
	it surely is true of our time,	27:33
	of me,	27:37
	and of my people.	27:39
	James writes,	27:43
	as Marge Jones so movingly read for us,	27:44
	"And the tongue is fire.	27:49
	The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members	27:52
	staining the whole body,	27:55
	setting on fire the cycle of nature.	27:57
	No human being can tame the tongue,	28:00
	a restless evil, full of poison.	28:03
	With it, we bless the Lord	28:07
	and with it we curse others made in the likeness of God.	28:09
	From the same mouth come blessing and cursing."	28:13
	My friends, he pleads this ought not to be.	28:17
	Paul writes to his Christian friends at Philippi,	28:24
	"Finally, whatever is true,	28:27
	whatever is honorable,	28:30
	whatever is just, whatever is pure,	28:31
	whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,	28:34
	if there is any excellence,	28:36
	if there is anything worthy of praise,	28:38
	then think on these things	28:41
	and what you have learned and received and heard,	28:44
	and seen in me, do.	28:48
	And the peace of God will be with you."	28:52
	Word of introduction from Augustine,	28:59
	a word of truth from the scripture.	29:01
	The 1975 Chanticleer contains the line,	29:06
	"Words and pictures don't mean anything to anyone anyway."	29:10
	Well, I'm here to contend this morning	29:16
	that words and pictures do mean something.	29:18
	They do make a difference.	29:22
	They really do matter.	29:24
	What we say, how we say it,	29:26
	when we say it, to whom we say it,	29:28
	the pictures we honor, look at, focus on,	29:31
	the pictures and words we use	29:34
	to express our feelings, and thoughts,	29:37
	and ideals, and aspirations,	29:39
	our hopes, and dreams, and frustrations do matter.	29:41
	They tell who we are,	29:45
	what we think of others and what we think of ourselves,	29:48
	what we believe about God, about humanity,	29:51
	and about persons.	29:54
	Words and pictures do matter.	29:55
	They reveal who we are and where we are in our thinking,	29:59
	our believing, and our doing.	30:03
	The question, "Does it really matter what we say	30:06
	and how we express ourselves?"	30:09
	And I say, yes, indeed, in the name of God, it does matter.	30:11
	And so I have some concerns	30:17
	I want to share with you this morning	30:19
	about how words and our pictures on campus.	30:22
	And I want God's Word then to speak to us	30:27
	in the midst of these words and pictures.	30:30
	I am concerned at three basic levels.	30:33
	One, with regard to specific instances	30:37
	and experiences which have occurred.	30:39
	Two, with regard to what these may say about our community,	30:42
	about our attitudes toward others,	30:46
	and about our attitudes toward ourselves.	30:48
	Three, with regard to a word of hope,	30:51
	or freedom,	30:55
	or newness.	30:57
	My first level of concern has to do	31:00
	with specific experiences	31:02
	that I am afraid to say that we are a people of unclean lips	31:06
	and we do dwell in the midst of others with unclean lips.	31:11
	The Richard Pryor concert	31:17
	was the first experience I heard of this year,	31:19
	where apparently he used a continuous flood	31:24
	of vituperative expletives	31:27
	and crass and uncouth words to get across his humor.	31:32
	The showing of the movie "The Devil and Miss Jones"	31:39
	was apparently	31:41
	a gross, exaggerated portrayal	31:44
	of the genitals of some suprahuman beings.	31:49
	And a distorted and perverted demonstration	31:54
	of the place of sexuality and sexual intercourse	31:57
	in human life.	32:00
	The crowd behavior at some of our most	32:03
	recent home basketball games,	32:05
	where inhuman aspersions are yelled at the officials	32:09
	and the sexuality of individual players	32:13
	is publicly taunted and questioned,	32:16
	indicates that our fans sometimes	32:19
	get obsessed with the urge to ridicule	32:21
	and become overcome with uncontrolled emotions.	32:25
	The writing in the recently published yearbook,	32:30
	The 1975 Chanticleer,	32:33
	reflects a somber, dismal, morbid, cynical,	32:36
	sex-possessed, feeling level-only kind of writing	32:40
	that is both revealing and disturbing.	32:46
	Whatsoever things are true, lovely,	32:52
	pure,	32:56
	virtuous, of good report, excellent,	32:58
	think on these things.	33:02
	And at times I get the feeling	33:07
	that we are thinking on everything	33:08
	but those things which are virtuous and are excellent.	33:10
	And as I read and understand God's Word,	33:16
	any word or picture or action that demeans	33:20
	or belittles another human being is evil,	33:24
	is wrong,	33:28
	is contrary to God's will for us	33:30
	and for all of God's children.	33:33
	I'm reminded now of the story	33:38
	that Woodrow Wilson supposedly tells	33:39
	about his boyhood	33:44
	when one Sunday morning,	33:45
	he went to church and came back home,	33:46
	and his mother was asking him about the service.	33:48
	And he said, "Oh, it went okay."	33:53
	And she said, "Well,	33:54
	what did the preacher preach about?"	33:57
	And he said, "Well, he preached about sin."	33:58
	And his mother said, "Well, what did he say about it?"	34:02
	And little Woodrow Wilson said, "Well, he's against it."	34:04
	Well, I presume that you know by now	34:09
	that I want to preach this morning about sin.	34:12
	And you know that I believe that God's Word is against sin,	34:17
	yours, mine,	34:20
	ours.	34:23
	I'm concerned about these matters.	34:26
	And perhaps I'm just overly proud	34:30
	and I don't want to let the University of Maryland crowds	34:33
	be setting the standards of conduct	34:38
	for us here at Duke University.	34:40
	Or, perhaps it's because I do have	34:45
	some aesthetic and artistic sensitivities	34:47
	and I don't want the Midway Drive-in Theatre	34:54
	and its longest standing runs of movies	34:56
	to be setting the standards of movie entertainment	35:01
	for us here at Duke.	35:03
	Perhaps it's because I think	35:07
	that the life of a given people, Black or White,	35:09
	can be portrayed humorously and powerfully	35:12
	without resorting to constant degradations of women,	35:16
	or men, or Blacks, or Whites.	35:20
	But there is a deeper level of concern I have	35:25
	for perhaps these incidents and others similar to them	35:29
	are really symptoms and not causes.	35:32
	Perhaps these are simply reflections of an immoral,	35:37
	or an amoral, or godless, or human-centered culture.	35:40
	Perhaps these incidents reveal a neo-narcissism	35:45
	or a neolism rampant among us.	35:49
	Perhaps as one friend of mine very movingly said to me,	35:54
	""The Devil and Miss Jones" is only one tiny representation	35:58
	of what is going on in the entire universe	36:04
	and in this university."	36:07
	And perhaps there is cause for more serious concern,	36:12
	my Christian friends.	36:17
	Language at basketball games	36:20
	and throwing objects onto the court	36:22
	is not questionable or immoral	36:24
	because four or five-letter words are used.	36:26
	Such conduct is wrong because it says,	36:30
	"We do not think of these other persons as human beings."	36:33
	It says we have a self-image	36:37
	that is animal-like and mob-like.	36:39
	And so we become dehumanizing and destructive	36:42
	toward the other person.	36:46
	Showing the movie "The Devil and Miss Jones"	36:50
	may not be questionable or immoral	36:52
	because it shows the naked body	36:54
	and shows closeups of genitals	36:55
	and explicit and repeated acts of intercourse.	36:57
	It is wrong because the movie treats women as objects	37:01
	and men as machines.	37:04
	It depersonalizes human beings and human relationships.	37:07
	One may raise some questions	37:14
	about some of the writings in the Chanticleer,	37:15
	not because it is wrong to write about life	37:18
	with the so-called dirty, or cheap, or vulgar words.	37:21
	The writings tend to compartmentalize life,	37:25
	to see us and persons in general	37:29
	as feeling creatures only	37:32
	and capable of only one stimulating act.	37:34
	And so when I see, and hear, and read,	37:39
	and I'm told about such incidents as these,	37:41
	I become concerned and much of this frightens me.	37:43
	Maybe I should be frightened.	37:51
	Because of the hopeless, futile, despairing,	37:53
	joyless, empty theme that runs throughout much of this.	37:57
	And I want to cry out then,	38:02
	"Is this what Duke University is?	38:03
	Is this what it does to people,	38:07
	for people, with people?	38:10
	Is this all?	38:13
	Is this what life here is really like	38:14
	for many people or for any people at all?	38:17
	Is the chapel no more than an inspiration	38:21
	for a lyrical stroll in and out of this aisle with Xaviera?	38:25
	Is there not more?"	38:31
	Our words and our pictures do matter.	38:36
	How we treat others,	38:39
	how we treat other human beings does make a difference.	38:40
	What we believe really matters.	38:46
	How we behave really counts.	38:49
	What we think and what we say are important.	38:52
	But, my friends,	38:58
	I can stand here in this pulpit this morning	39:01
	and I can stand here from this moment	39:03
	until this moment next Sunday morning at the same time	39:05
	saying precisely these things,	39:09
	talking about how important all of these things are,	39:11
	but it matters little at all if in fact	39:14
	these things really do not count for us.	39:20
	I can say it from now until the end of time,	39:25
	but if it is just words, it means nothing at all.	39:28
	And I'm convinced in my heart that for many,	39:33
	life here does matter little at all.	39:37
	How then, my friends in Christ,	39:42
	do we speak to this feeling,	39:46
	to those persons,	39:50
	to those needs which may be yours or a friend's?	39:52
	Words and pictures may be helpful only to tell us	39:58
	that there are some very, very lonely people here.	40:01
	There are many people here who have been used,	40:06
	and manipulated, and ignored, and dehumanized.	40:08
	There are folks here who have not been heard,	40:12
	whose feelings have not been responded to,	40:14
	who have little sense of their own self-worth.	40:17
	There are some people here	40:22
	who have both a great deal of pressure on them,	40:23
	and yet they feel that they have been left all alone	40:26
	and are all by themselves.	40:30
	There are some 2,000 students	40:32
	getting ready to graduate at the end of this semester,	40:34
	and many of these persons do not know	40:37
	where they can get a job, or if they can get a job,	40:38
	or what they're going to do with their lives.	40:41
	Someone said to me just this week, "Bob,	40:45
	this is a morbid, desperate campus	40:49
	filled with cynicism and futility."	40:52
	He said to me, "All you have to do	40:55
	is be in a dormitory three or four days."	40:57
	There are some very sad, very hurt, very empty people here.	41:07
	There are some here who live for me only and for now only.	41:14
	For many, there seems to be no future.	41:20
	As one woman student wrote her dad,	41:22
	"Dad, I don't know of any friends of mine	41:24
	who expect to live beyond the age of 40."	41:27
	No future,	41:34
	no hope,	41:35
	only now,	41:36
	only me.	41:38
	If these are the moods and the feedings	41:41
	of many persons on campus,	41:44
	pray God if these are the moods and the feelings	41:46
	of even one person on this campus,	41:49
	and I'm convinced that they are,	41:56
	then some pieces do begin to fit together.	42:00
	For you see if you're lonely and you're hurting,	42:02
	it's easy to be insensitive to others.	42:04
	If you're scared and frightened,	42:07
	it's easy to lash out and to be angry.	42:09
	If you have no future,	42:12
	why not hedonistically exploit and use other persons,	42:13
	male or female?	42:17
	If you have no sense of self-worth, then it's easy to hate,	42:19
	or to be resentful, or to be suspicious.	42:23
	If you are turned in on yourself,	42:26
	it's easy not to respect other persons.	42:27
	Somewhere,	42:31
	somewhere, as Bernard Lefkowitz said	42:32
	when he was on this campus and as the Chanticleer quotes him	42:35
	in this year's issue,	42:38
	"Somewhere at the center of our society,"	42:39
	he says, "something is broken."	42:42
	Is something at Duke broken?	42:47
	Are there broken relationships,	42:52
	broken persons,	42:54
	broken dreams, hopes, aspirations?	42:56
	Is our faith broken?	43:00
	Is hope gone?	43:01
	Are standards and values shattered for us altogether?	43:03
	My friends,	43:07
	I'm here in this pulpit this morning to tell you	43:09
	that God, in Christ, is in the business	43:12
	of healing broken persons.	43:15
	God, in Christ, is in the business of healing	43:23
	broken relationships.	43:26
	God, in Christ, is in the business of healing	43:30
	broken communities.	43:33
	Healing is only healing for those	43:40
	who are aware of and admit their need.	43:43
	Somewhere, somehow,	43:45
	sometime in our history,	43:48
	we learned or were taught or got the idea	43:51
	that we could not do wrong as individuals,	43:54
	as a Christian Church,	43:56
	as communities, as institutions, as a nation.	43:58
	It has become un-American even unchristian	44:02
	to admit that we are wrong.	44:04
	It is seen as a sign of weakness,	44:06
	or failure, or inferiority, or I don't know what exactly.	44:08
	In other words, just don't admit it.	44:13
	But we have been wrong.	44:16
	Indirectly or directly,	44:19
	by sins of omission, our sense of commission,	44:21
	as Paul says, "By doing those things which I ought not to do	44:24
	and by not doing those things which I ought to do,	44:27
	we have been party to evil in our midst,"	44:30
	right here in River City.	44:36
	And it won't hurt us to admit it.	44:39
	In fact, that may be the very first step	44:42
	necessary to finding new life,	44:44
	and help, and wholeness, and respect,	44:46
	and restoring dignity to other persons,	44:48
	and restoring dignity for ourselves.	44:50
	"Woe is me," Isaiah cried	44:53
	"for I am a man who is lost.	44:55
	I am a man of unclean lips	44:58
	and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."	44:59
	Is there anybody here this morning	45:02
	who thinks that scripture is not as contemporary	45:04
	as this very moment,	45:06
	read that again, if you will.	45:07
	The word then continues though, my friends,	45:09
	"And God touched my mouth and said,	45:12
	'Your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.'"	45:15
	Paul cries out, "Wretched man that I am,"	45:20
	admitting who he is,	45:23
	"who will save me from this body of sin and death?	45:25
	Thanks be to God, Christ Jesus, my Lord."	45:29
	Brown Bar writing in his little book	45:34
	"East Bay and Eden" says that one of the reasons	45:36
	for optimism about humanity,	45:39
	about humanity, is that men and women have a sense of shame.	45:42
	As long as we have a sense of shame over wrongs done,	45:46
	there is hope.	45:50
	But when our sense of shame is gone, there is no hope.	45:51
	Our community	45:56
	needs to receive anew	45:59
	the presence	46:02
	and the power of God.	46:05
	We need this as individuals.	46:08
	We need it throughout the Christian community here at Duke.	46:11
	If we are broken and self-centered,	46:16
	hurting and lonely,	46:18
	or if there are others who are,	46:20
	perhaps God's Spirit alone can deliver us.	46:23
	Perhaps we've tried it too long on our own.	46:29
	I think we need God's power	46:36
	to be let loose within us and among us.	46:41
	As I conclude, let me share with you	46:48
	some lines from Michel Quoist	46:50
	in his book "I've met Jesus Christ."	46:56
	"Human remedies	47:03
	very often cure symptoms	47:08
	rather than diseases.	47:12
	They do not go to the heart of the problem.	47:16
	The cause of our modern crisis is that we do not know God	47:21
	and we want to do without God.	47:25
	We are to be saved by love.	47:32
	We must ask Jesus to save us,	47:40
	but we must also offer ourselves to Him.	47:45
	It takes only a few seconds,	47:50
	anywhere at any time,	47:53
	to give all.	47:56
	For it is our life,	48:00
	whole and entire,	48:03
	that we must place in God's hands.	48:07
	H. H. Farmer wrote sometime ago,	48:14
	"In God's dealing with us as a people,	48:16
	there must be a word of judgment.	48:18
	Sin has frightful consequences,	48:23
	and it is thoughtless of us to protect our loved ones	48:27
	from these consequences.	48:30
	"You cannot," he says,	48:35
	"You cannot go against the grain of God's nature	48:41
	without getting splinters	48:48
	in your soul."	48:51
	May I tell you this morning,	48:56
	I'm tired of getting splinters in my soul.	49:01
	As a matter of fact, I'd like very much	49:09
	to have them removed	49:15
	by a loving God	49:19
	and by loving friends.	49:23
	Perhaps we can begin today	49:31
	and let God remove some splinters	49:38
	from our soul.	49:44
	And perhaps gently,	49:49
	very gently,	49:55
	lovingly,	49:57
	very lovingly,	50:00
	we can reach out	50:03
	and help to take some splinters	50:07
	out of the souls	50:11
	of our sisters	50:14
	and our brothers.	50:16
	And then the words of Paul	50:21
	will come true.	50:25
	The God of peace	50:28
	will	50:33
	be with you.	50:35
	Amen.	50:43
	(solemn music)	50:51
	(choir starts singing)	51:33
	(glorious music)	54:37
	(choir starts singing)	56:49
	(music and singing continues)	59:45
	(majestic music)	1:01:20
	(choir starts singing)	1:01:32
-	Here, we offer and present unto Thee, O God,	1:02:34
	our silver and our gold,	1:02:38
	the symbol of ourselves.	1:02:40
	So that those who are cold in this community	1:02:44
	may be warmed both in body and in spirit.	1:02:49
	Accept our gift,	1:02:55
	we gladly give it to them and to Thee.	1:02:58
	Amen.	1:03:03
	(elegant music)	1:03:09
	(choir starts singing)	1:03:39
	Unto God's gracious mercy and protection	1:06:06
	do I commit you.	1:06:10
	May the blessing of God come upon you abundantly,	1:06:13
	may it keep you strong and tranquil	1:06:17
	in the truth of His promises	1:06:22
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	1:06:24
	♪ Amen ♪	1:06:29
	♪ Amen ♪	1:06:37
	♪ Amen ♪	1:06:46
	♪ Amen ♪	1:06:51
	♪ Amen ♪	1:07:01
	♪ Amen ♪	1:07:11
	♪ Amen ♪	1:07:26
	(bell tolling)	1:07:46
	(soaring piano music)	1:07:57
	(congregation applauds)	1:16:13

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Does It Really Matter?" (February 15, 1976)

Description:

Bergland speaks on how we are always afraid of our own mortality, and we are born into death. However, though we are bound by the flesh, Jesus cleansed our bodies of sin and we can thus find comfort despite our mortality. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "In these grand days of Lent, there is that confronting of Death that we call the crucifixion of our Lord. But if there is a cross, it is a battering ram that breaks out the end of every tomb to let in the light of eternal day."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r45x29d94

Date:

February 15, 1976

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

Liturgical Calendar:

Lent

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0819
ref6838_0ul
uachapelsermaud
duke:628217
dcrau002779
ark:/87924/r45x29d94
4e1d9fd5-8ae0-4789-9c76-9585317fe761

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

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

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Robert T. Young - "Does It Really Matter?" (February 15, 1976)

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1. Robert T. Young - "Does It Really Matter?" (February 15, 1976)

Duke University Archives

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Duke University Archives

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