Helen G. Crotwell - "Not Too Hard for You" (July 17, 1977)
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- | Duke University Chapel, service of worship, | 0:04 |
July 17th, 1977. | 0:07 | |
(melodious organ music) | 0:13 | |
- | Almighty God to whom belong adoration and praise, | 8:48 |
illumine our hearts by the light of thy grace, | 8:52 | |
that our lips may praise thee, | 8:56 | |
that our lives may bless thee, | 8:58 | |
that our worship may glorify thee, | 9:01 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 9:04 | |
Amen. | 9:06 | |
(organ plays hymn) | 9:08 | |
(congregation sings) | ||
When we gather to praise God, | 12:25 | |
we remember that we are the people of God | 12:28 | |
who have preferred our wills to the divine will. | 12:31 | |
Accepting the power of God | 12:35 | |
offers to us to become new persons in Christ. | 12:36 | |
Let us confess our sin before God and one another. | 12:40 | |
Most merciful God, | 12:45 | |
we confess that we have sinned against you, | 12:47 | |
in thought, word and deed. | 12:51 | |
We have not loved you with our whole heart. | 12:54 | |
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. | 12:58 | |
We pray you, of your mercy, | 13:03 | |
forgive what we have been, amend what we are, | 13:06 | |
direct what we shall be, | 13:10 | |
that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways. | 13:13 | |
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 13:19 | |
Amen. | 13:21 | |
Hear the good news. | 13:23 | |
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. | 13:26 | |
That is God's own proof of His love toward us. | 13:29 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. | 13:33 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. | 13:37 | |
Glory to God. Amen. | 13:42 | |
(organ plays hymn) | 13:45 | |
(congregation sings) | ||
Let us pray. | 15:16 | |
Lord, open our hearts and minds | 15:19 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 15:21 | |
that as the scriptures are read and the word proclaimed, | 15:24 | |
we may hear with joy what You say to us today. | 15:28 | |
Amen. | 15:32 | |
Please stand for the reading of the scripture lesson. | 15:34 | |
First reading will be from Deuteronomy 30, 11-14. | 15:43 | |
"For this commandment which I command you this day, | 15:49 | |
it is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. | 15:51 | |
It is not in heaven, that you should say, | 15:56 | |
'Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, | 15:58 | |
that we may hear and do it?' | 16:02 | |
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, | 16:04 | |
'Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, | 16:07 | |
that we may hear it and do it?' | 16:11 | |
But the word is very near you, | 16:13 | |
it is in your mouth, and in your heart, | 16:15 | |
so that you can do it." | 16:18 | |
Gospel reading will be from Luke 10. | 16:21 | |
"And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, | 16:33 | |
saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' | 16:37 | |
He said to him, | 16:42 | |
'What is written in the Law? How do you read?' | 16:45 | |
And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God | 16:48 | |
with all your heart and with all your soul | 16:51 | |
and with all your strength and with all your mind, | 16:54 | |
and your neighbor as yourself.' | 16:58 | |
And he said to him, | 17:01 | |
'You have answered right; do this, and you will live.' | 17:03 | |
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, | 17:07 | |
'And who is my neighbor?' | 17:12 | |
And Jesus replied, | 17:14 | |
'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, | 17:16 | |
and he fell among robbers, | 17:19 | |
who stripped him and beat him and departed, | 17:20 | |
leaving him half dead. | 17:23 | |
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, | 17:25 | |
and when he saw him he passed by the other side. | 17:27 | |
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, | 17:31 | |
passed by on the other side. | 17:35 | |
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, | 17:38 | |
and when he saw him, he had compassion | 17:42 | |
and went to him and bound up his wounds, | 17:46 | |
pouring on oil and wine. | 17:50 | |
Then he set on him his own beast | 17:52 | |
and brought him to an inn and took care of him. | 17:55 | |
And the next day he took out two denarii | 17:58 | |
and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, | 18:00 | |
'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, | 18:03 | |
I will repay you when I come back.' | 18:06 | |
Which of these three, do you think, | 18:09 | |
proved a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? | 18:12 | |
He said, 'The one who showed mercy on him.' | 18:15 | |
And Jesus said to him, 'Go, and do likewise.'" | 18:20 | |
May God add His blessing to the reading of His holy word. | 18:24 | |
- | What memories came to your mind as you heard the reading | 18:41 |
of the parable of the Good Samaritan? | 18:45 | |
When I was growing up, | 18:48 | |
I'm sure I heard more sermons preached | 18:50 | |
on the parable of the Good Samaritan | 18:53 | |
than and on any other one text. | 18:56 | |
The people who passed by were always identified | 18:59 | |
with those we expected to be helpful. | 19:04 | |
The people who had the power, or the skills, | 19:08 | |
or the sensitivity to respond to the need. | 19:12 | |
The Good Samaritan was always a person | 19:17 | |
who was not accepted by the society, | 19:19 | |
and always I identified with those people who passed by, | 19:23 | |
as it was intended that I do. | 19:29 | |
Rereading the parable brought back some of the guilt I felt. | 19:33 | |
This New Testament lesson is a clarification | 19:38 | |
of the last half of what Jesus called | 19:41 | |
the most important commandment, | 19:44 | |
to love our neighbors as ourselves. | 19:47 | |
But the identification of the characters in the parable | 19:52 | |
did not enable me to become more responsible. | 19:58 | |
Then I read the Old Testament lectionary for this Sunday. | 20:03 | |
"The commandment that I lay on you this day | 20:07 | |
is not too difficult for you, it is not remote." | 20:11 | |
What I wanted to hear was an assurance | 20:17 | |
that this was a tough commandment, | 20:20 | |
so not to feel guilty | 20:23 | |
that I was one of the ones who passed by. | 20:25 | |
You have many responsibilities, important things to do. | 20:28 | |
You can't respond to every need. | 20:32 | |
But that wasn't the word. | 20:35 | |
While I was living with my discomfort, | 20:38 | |
we were watching a television program | 20:40 | |
depicting the evolutionary process. | 20:43 | |
It is fascinating to observe how paleontologists | 20:47 | |
can take bits and pieces of fossils | 20:50 | |
and reconstruct replicas of animals, | 20:54 | |
which have been extinct for many, many centuries. | 20:56 | |
We wondered if centuries from now | 21:02 | |
a paleontologist would find our fossils | 21:04 | |
and try to reconstruct what life looked like | 21:08 | |
in the 20th century. | 21:10 | |
A friend commented that some people believe | 21:14 | |
that we have finished our physical evolution | 21:17 | |
and the most radical change will be in the growth | 21:21 | |
of the quality and depth and capacity of human life. | 21:24 | |
How comfortable it would be to live in a time | 21:31 | |
when it would be easy to love your neighbor as yourself | 21:33 | |
because the development of the quality of human life | 21:37 | |
had increased our ability to care and respond. | 21:40 | |
But this line of reasoning was short-lived. | 21:46 | |
While reading about the church's concern | 21:49 | |
for social justice and human rights, | 21:51 | |
there was this sentence. | 21:54 | |
"We demand less from ourselves than from others, | 21:57 | |
both as a church community, and as individual Christians." | 22:03 | |
This one sentence called me back. | 22:09 | |
I went back to the biblical text with the knowledge that | 22:12 | |
I was at the same place as the person | 22:15 | |
who asked Jesus the question, "Who is my neighbor?" | 22:17 | |
He too was wanting a way out of a hard word. | 22:22 | |
I went back to the biblical text, | 22:26 | |
realizing that for a long, long time | 22:28 | |
in this evolutionary process, | 22:31 | |
we have had the capacity to respond, | 22:33 | |
to be compassionate, to be caring. | 22:36 | |
The text from Deuteronomy, | 22:41 | |
that this commandment is not too difficult, | 22:43 | |
is found in the context of God's calling the people | 22:45 | |
to a renewal of that covenant. | 22:51 | |
"The Lord will circumcise your heart. | 22:54 | |
The covenant will then be internalized, | 22:58 | |
will be written on your hearts." | 23:01 | |
Jeremiah uses the same images with an additional image | 23:04 | |
that says that people cannot listen | 23:08 | |
because their ears have not been circumcised. | 23:10 | |
Not only have people, for many centuries, | 23:14 | |
had the ability to be compassionate and caring, | 23:17 | |
but they, as we, | 23:20 | |
sought to be responsible to God and their neighbor | 23:22 | |
in ways in which they could still remain | 23:26 | |
detached and un-involved. | 23:28 | |
The Israelites wanted to externalize the covenant | 23:32 | |
into laws and rules to follow, | 23:36 | |
but God was calling them through Moses | 23:39 | |
to a renewal of the true covenant, | 23:44 | |
which would be written on their hearts. | 23:46 | |
Now to move quickly to some affirmations | 23:51 | |
which come to us from these texts. | 23:53 | |
We can affirm that to love our neighbor as ourselves | 23:57 | |
we are to respond to those who are caught in situations | 24:02 | |
that they cannot get out of. | 24:07 | |
Certainly today we think of the people in New York | 24:10 | |
who were robbed and beaten during the blackout, | 24:13 | |
but our problem has never been | 24:17 | |
that we could not identify those who needed our help. | 24:20 | |
We know too many. | 24:25 | |
And we remember Jesus pushing our law | 24:27 | |
to include those who are our enemies, | 24:31 | |
those who persecute us. | 24:34 | |
If you love only those who love you, | 24:36 | |
if you love only those who can benefit you, | 24:40 | |
what's so great about that? | 24:44 | |
Anyone can do that. | 24:47 | |
Yet to love the neighbor as ourselves | 24:50 | |
is not an impossible burden | 24:52 | |
which has been placed about our own neck, | 24:54 | |
but in fact is an important dimension | 24:57 | |
of what it means for us to be made in the image of God. | 25:01 | |
We can also affirm that what is important | 25:08 | |
is an internalization of this commandment. | 25:11 | |
That our ears be circumcised | 25:15 | |
so we can hear the word, can hear the cry. | 25:17 | |
That our eyes be circumcised so we can see the need, | 25:21 | |
and that our hearts be circumcised | 25:25 | |
so that we can feel the pain and so be able to cut through | 25:27 | |
all that has been immobilizing us. | 25:31 | |
We know that our Christian community's worship, | 25:35 | |
including the word and the sacrament, | 25:40 | |
is central to our loving and caring for our neighbor. | 25:42 | |
The important qualities of being made in God's image | 25:48 | |
are compassion, justice and mercy, | 25:53 | |
and these, nurtured in our Christian worship, | 25:58 | |
help us to identify with those who are our neighbors. | 26:02 | |
I am convinced such identification | 26:08 | |
with the people's condition | 26:11 | |
is one of the critical dimensions of our Christian community | 26:13 | |
and is the basis of all of our social action. | 26:17 | |
When someone says, | 26:23 | |
"There's no way you can know the hurt of another," | 26:25 | |
I know this is not true, | 26:29 | |
for I have felt painfully another's need | 26:31 | |
and other people have identified with me in my hurt. | 26:34 | |
I don't know how this happens. | 26:41 | |
God's grace, the work of the Spirit, | 26:43 | |
but it is possible for us in some degree | 26:48 | |
to identify with our oppressed, the one in need. | 26:51 | |
Even though this will not be complete identification, | 26:56 | |
it is sufficient to enable us to respond in ways | 27:00 | |
that are loving and not degrading. | 27:04 | |
To respond as we would to one we love, | 27:08 | |
to a brother or sister, a mother, a father, | 27:11 | |
a husband or wife, or child who is in need, who is hurting. | 27:14 | |
Now such immediate response does not make simple | 27:20 | |
a complex social structure in which it is not easy | 27:24 | |
to discover what is the most loving and helpful action. | 27:28 | |
Nor does such immediate response | 27:32 | |
remove our responsibility | 27:35 | |
to work to change dehumanizing structures | 27:37 | |
which place people in these situations of need. | 27:40 | |
But identification with the people in need | 27:46 | |
is the place we begin. | 27:50 | |
So, we come today to a celebration of Holy Communion | 27:53 | |
which unites us with God and binds us to our neighbor. | 27:57 | |
It is a time for binding our wounds, | 28:02 | |
for healing our broken humanity, | 28:05 | |
for allowing our eyes and our ears to be opened. | 28:08 | |
It is a time to internalize the most important commandment, | 28:12 | |
to love God with all of our being | 28:17 | |
and our neighbor as ourself. | 28:20 | |
Your participation in this sacrament | 28:24 | |
is a signal of your desire to take on hope. | 28:26 | |
You are invited to come expecting, anticipating, | 28:32 | |
with your hearts open to God and to your neighbor. | 28:37 | |
Amen. | 28:42 | |
And amen. | 28:44 | |
- | Let us identify with others as we join responsively | 28:54 |
in the prayer for others. | 28:58 | |
Let us pray. | 29:01 | |
That the world may live in peace | 29:03 | |
and that the church may achieve unity, | 29:05 | |
fulfilling its service here and everywhere. | 29:08 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 29:12 | |
That the leaders of this nation and the world | 29:16 | |
may govern with justice and mercy. | 29:19 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 29:23 | |
That those who suffer disease or poverty, | 29:27 | |
or loneliness or grief may be healed and comforted. | 29:30 | |
That those who are oppressed or persecuted | 29:35 | |
maybe strengthened and delivered. | 29:38 | |
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 29:41 | |
Amen. | 29:45 | |
Before we come to Christ's table, | 29:47 | |
let us remember this morning one who is not with us. | 29:50 | |
Dean Clellan is in the hospital this morning | 29:54 | |
and I would ask that as a community, | 29:57 | |
we bow for a few moments of silent prayer for him. | 29:59 | |
In Christ's name, Amen. | 30:18 | |
Christ our Lord invites us to his table | 30:22 | |
as those who love Him | 30:25 | |
and who desire to live in peace with one another. | 30:27 | |
May the peace of the Lord be with you always. | 30:30 | |
And also with you. | 30:34 | |
- | And also with you. | |
- | As forgiven and reconciled people, | 30:37 |
let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God. | 30:39 | |
(gentle organ music plays) | 30:47 | |
(vigorous organ music plays) | 36:44 | |
(congregation sings) | ||
- | The Lord be with you. | 38:39 |
- | And also with you. | 38:41 |
- | Lift up your hearts. | 38:43 |
- | We raise them up to the Lord. | 38:46 |
- | Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. | 38:48 |
- | It is right to give him thanks and praise. | 38:52 |
- | Oh God, | 38:57 |
it is right that we should always and everywhere | 38:59 | |
give You thanks and praise. | 39:02 | |
Only You are God. | 39:06 | |
You created all things and called them good. | 39:08 | |
You made us in your own image. | 39:13 | |
Even when we rebelled against your love, | 39:16 | |
You did not desert us. | 39:19 | |
You delivered us from captivity, | 39:22 | |
made covenant to be our God and king, | 39:25 | |
and spoke to us through your prophets. | 39:29 | |
We thank You, Holy God, | 39:33 | |
that You loved the world so much | 39:36 | |
You sent your only son to be our Savior. | 39:38 | |
The Lord of all life came to live among us. | 39:42 | |
He healed and taught people, ate with sinners, | 39:46 | |
and won for You new people by water and the Spirit. | 39:51 | |
We remember that on the night | 39:57 | |
in which He gave himself up for us, | 39:59 | |
the Lord Jesus took bread. | 40:02 | |
After giving You thanks He broke the bread, | 40:05 | |
gave it to his disciples and said, | 40:09 | |
"Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you." | 40:12 | |
When the supper was over, he took the cup. | 40:19 | |
Again, He returned thanks to you, | 40:23 | |
gave the cup to his disciples and said, | 40:26 | |
"Drink from this all of you. | 40:30 | |
This is the cup of the new covenant and my blood, | 40:33 | |
poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sins." | 40:38 | |
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, | 40:44 | |
we experience anew the presence of the Lord, Jesus Christ, | 40:47 | |
and look forward to his coming and final victory. | 40:52 | |
Accept our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving | 40:56 | |
in union with Christ offering for us | 41:00 | |
as a reasonable and holy surrender of ourselves. | 41:04 | |
Center the power of your Holy Spirit on us, | 41:09 | |
gathered here out of love for You, and on these gifts. | 41:13 | |
Help us know in the breaking of this bread, | 41:20 | |
the presence of Christ | 41:23 | |
who gave His body and blood for all people. | 41:26 | |
Make us one with Christ, one with each other, | 41:30 | |
and one in service to all people, | 41:34 | |
together through your son, Jesus Christ, | 41:38 | |
with the Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, | 41:42 | |
all glory and honor is yours, God almighty. | 41:46 | |
In unity with Christ and each other | 41:51 | |
we pray the Lord's Prayer. | 41:55 | |
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; | 41:58 | |
thy kingdom come; | 42:04 | |
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 42:06 | |
Give us this day our daily bread; | 42:10 | |
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 42:14 | |
who trespass against us; | 42:18 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 42:21 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 42:23 | |
For thine is the kingdom, | 42:26 | |
the power and the glory, forever and ever. | 42:28 | |
Amen. | 42:32 | |
Please be seated. | 42:33 | |
Because there is one loaf, | 42:56 | |
We many, as we are, are one body. | 43:00 | |
For it is one loaf of which we all partake. | 43:04 | |
When we break the bread, | 43:10 | |
is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? | 43:15 | |
When we give thanks over the cup, | 43:21 | |
is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ? | 43:29 | |
In recent years it has been customary in the chapel | 43:38 | |
for the members of the congregation | 43:44 | |
to partake of these holy elements by coming forward, | 43:45 | |
guided by the ushers, | 43:50 | |
and forming a series of large circles around the altar. | 43:53 | |
For those of you who prefer to be served at your seat, | 43:59 | |
there will be a time in the service for you to be served. | 44:04 | |
But whether around the altar or at your seats, | 44:09 | |
you may receive the elements separately | 44:13 | |
by first taking the bread | 44:17 | |
and then drinking from the common cup. | 44:18 | |
Or you may receive the elements by intinction, | 44:23 | |
that is, you may dip the bread into the wine. | 44:27 | |
For those of you who wish to come around the altar, | 44:32 | |
will you now come? | 44:35 | |
Yeah. | 44:42 | |
Just one minute. | 44:44 | |
(softly played organ music) | 45:01 | |
(softly played organ music) | 47:37 | |
(indistinct speech) | 48:55 | |
(softly played organ music) | 49:43 | |
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, | 53:28 | |
That saved a wretch like me, | 53:31 | |
I once was lost, but now I'm found, | 53:34 | |
Was blind, but now I see. | 53:38 | |
Go in peace. | 53:41 | |
(softly played organ music) | 53:44 | |
- | It was Judas who betrayed him. | 58:21 |
It was Peter who denied him in a moment of weakness, | 58:24 | |
thrice before the dawn. | 58:27 | |
Shall we as sinners be like the prisoner | 58:30 | |
who turned to him and said, | 58:32 | |
"Lord, when thou comest into thy kingdom, | 58:34 | |
please remember me." | 58:38 | |
Go in peace. | 58:41 | |
(softly played organ music) | 58:48 | |
For those of you who desired to commune at your seats, | 59:26 | |
would you please give some indication | 59:29 | |
to the ushers at this time? | 59:31 | |
And they will direct us to you. | 59:33 | |
Have all been served on my right? | 59:43 | |
Are there any others on my left? | 59:53 | |
(footsteps) | 1:00:02 | |
(softly played organ music) | 1:00:44 | |
Our prayer of commitment. | 1:03:16 | |
You have given yourself to us, oh Lord, | 1:03:19 | |
and now we give ourselves for others. | 1:03:23 | |
Your love has made us a new people. | 1:03:26 | |
As a people of love we will serve You with joy. | 1:03:30 | |
Your glory has filled our hearts. | 1:03:34 | |
Help us to glorify You in all things. | 1:03:38 | |
Amen. | 1:03:42 | |
Now, as we, the celebrants greet each other, | 1:03:45 | |
you, the members of the congregation, | 1:03:49 | |
may express wishes of peace and love toward one another | 1:03:52 | |
in words and expressions of your choosing. | 1:03:58 | |
Would you please stand? | 1:04:04 | |
(indistinct greetings) | 1:04:08 | |
("Now Thank We All Our God" by Martin Rinkart, 1636) | 1:04:26 | |
♪ Now thank we all our God ♪ | 1:05:09 | |
♪ With heart and hands and voices ♪ | 1:05:14 | |
♪ Who wondrous things has done ♪ | 1:05:21 | |
♪ In whom his world rejoices ♪ | 1:05:26 | |
♪ Who from our mothers' arms ♪ | 1:05:33 | |
♪ Has blessed us on our way ♪ | 1:05:38 | |
♪ With countless gifts of love ♪ | 1:05:44 | |
♪ And still is ours today ♪ | 1:05:49 | |
♪ O may this bounteous God ♪ | 1:05:57 | |
♪ Through all our life be near us ♪ | 1:06:02 | |
♪ With ever joyful hearts ♪ | 1:06:09 | |
♪ And blessed peace to cheer us ♪ | 1:06:14 | |
♪ To keep us in his grace ♪ | 1:06:21 | |
♪ And guide us when perplexed ♪ | 1:06:26 | |
♪ And free us from all ills ♪ | 1:06:32 | |
♪ In this world in the next ♪ | 1:06:37 | |
♪ All praise and thanks to God ♪ | 1:06:44 | |
♪ The Father now be given ♪ | 1:06:50 | |
♪ The Son and Spirit blest ♪ | 1:06:57 | |
♪ Who reign in highest heaven ♪ | 1:07:02 | |
♪ The one eternal God ♪ | 1:07:09 | |
♪ Whom heaven and earth adore ♪ | 1:07:14 | |
♪ For thus it was, is now ♪ | 1:07:19 | |
♪ And shall be evermore. ♪ | 1:07:25 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:07:33 | |
Go out in peace to serve God and your neighbor | 1:07:40 | |
in all that you do. | 1:07:44 | |
We are sent in Christ name. | 1:07:47 | |
The blessing of almighty God, | 1:07:50 | |
creator, redeemer, sustainer is with you always. | 1:07:53 | |
Amen. | 1:08:02 | |
(bright organ music) | 1:08:03 | |
(indistinct chatter) | 1:12:52 |