Robert T. Young - "Being Casual about Christmas" (December 18, 1977)

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	(bright organ music)	0:04
	(bright organ music)	2:17
	(dramatic organ music)	5:22
	(dramatic organ music)	13:45
	♪ O come, O come, Emmanuel ♪	14:29
	♪ And ransom captive Israel ♪	14:36
	♪ That mourns in lonely exile here ♪	14:43
	♪ Until the son of God appear ♪	14:50
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	14:58
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	15:08
	(organ drowning out singers)	15:15
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	15:45
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	15:55
	(organ drowning out lyrics)	16:03
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	16:32
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	16:42
	(organ drowning out lyrics)	16:51
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	17:21
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	17:31
	(organ drowning out lyrics)	17:39
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪	18:09
	♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪	18:19
-	Let us confess together our sins to God.	18:37
	Oh Lord, in this season of hope and expectancy,	18:44
	we look at our lives and confess that we are in need	18:49
	of the miracle of your love and peace.	18:54
	We who claim to have heard the good news	18:58
	live our lives defensively.	19:02
	We are afraid to be made vulnerable by caring too deeply.	19:05
	We hide from pain, loneliness and involvement.	19:11
	Our lives are full of disillusionment	19:16
	with people and politics.	19:20
	We have forgotten that joy and laughter	19:23
	are part of your gift to us.	19:26
	Come to us in our fear and despair, know us as we are,	19:29
	feel our longing and hunger to be your faithful people.	19:36
	Let your love grow.	19:42
	Amen.	19:44
	Amen.	20:14
	When Jesus walked on this earth, he spoke the words,	20:16
	"Your sins are forgiven" to many whom he healed	20:19
	in body and soul.	20:23
	Know that these words are spoken to you too.	20:25
	And may you experience the healing	20:29
	that comes with forgiveness.	20:31
	(instrumental "Silent Night")	20:51
-	May we stand for the reading of the scripture.	24:15
	Our gospel was found in the second chapter	24:22
	of the Gospel of Saint Luke,	24:26
	the first through the 20th verses, as follow.	24:28
	In those days,	24:33
	a decree went out from Sirius Augustus that all the world	24:34
	should be enrolled.	24:39
	This was the first enrollment	24:41
	When Quirinius was governor of Syria	24:43
	and all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.	24:47
	And Joseph also went up to Galilee from the city of Nazareth	24:52
	to Judea, to the city of David,	24:58
	which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house	25:01
	and lineage of David to be enrolled with Mary, his betroth	25:06
	who was with child.	25:13
	And while they were there,	25:15
	the time came for her to be delivered.	25:18
	And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him	25:21
	in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger	25:25
	because there was no place for them in the inn.	25:29
	And in the region, there were shepherds out in the fields,	25:34
	keeping watch over their flock by night	25:42
	and an angel of the Lord appeared to them	25:45
	and glory of the Lord shown around them.	25:48
	And they were filled with fear.	25:52
	And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid for behold,	25:55
	"I bring you good news of a great joy,	25:59
	"which has come to all the people.	26:03
	"For in you is born this day in the city of David	26:06
	"a savior who is Christ the Lord.	26:11
	"And this will be a sign for you.	26:15
	"You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes	26:19
	"and lying in a manger."	26:23
	And suddenly there was with the angels	26:26
	a multitude of heavenly hosts,	26:29
	praising God and saying glory to God in the highest	26:32
	and on earth, peace among men for whom he is pleased.	26:38
	When the angel went away from them into heaven,	26:44
	the shepherd said to one another,	26:49
	"Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing	26:51
	"that has happened,	26:55
	"and the Lord has made known to us."	26:59
	They went out with haste and found Mary and Joseph	27:02
	and the babe lying in a manger.	27:09
	And when they saw it,	27:12
	they made known the sayings which had been told concerning	27:14
	this child and all who heard it wondered	27:20
	at what the shepherds told them.	27:24
	When Mary kept all these things,	27:27
	pondering them in her heart and the shepherds returned,	27:31
	glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen,	27:37
	as it had been told to them.	27:44
	Let's be reading of our scripture.	27:48
	And we give praise to God.	27:50
	(dramatic organ music)	27:54
	(organ drowning out lyrics)	28:17
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	29:09
-	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	29:13
	who has come in the truly human Jesus to reconcile	29:19
	and make new.	29:23
	Who works in us and others by this spirit.	29:25
	We trust God who calls us to be the church,	29:29
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	29:34
	to love and serve others,	29:37
	to seek justice and resist evil,	29:40
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	29:44
	our judge and our hope.	29:49
	In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.	29:51
	We are not alone.	29:58
-	Thanks be to God.	30:00
	The Lord be with you.	30:03
-	And with your spirit.	30:05
-	Let us pray.	30:06
	Oh God, who came to live among your people long ago,	30:18
	as a person, truly human,	30:22
	may we experience even now your presence among us.	30:25
	Help us to be still, and like Mary,	30:30
	ponder the mysteries of your ways on this earth.	30:33
	May we particularly at this busy season of the year	30:37
	find moments of quiet to experience anew the meaning	30:41
	of your love as we celebrate Jesus's birthday.	30:46
	We are reminded again of the song of the angels who brought	30:51
	not only good news to the shepherds,	30:54
	but a prayer for our world which we still lift up to you.	30:57
	Peace on earth and Goodwill to all people.	31:01
	We pray for peace, oh, God.	31:06
	Help us first of all	31:09
	to wipe out the fear and distrust from our own lives,	31:11
	which prevents us from living in peace and harmony	31:15
	with our neighbors,	31:18
	and then make us disciples of your peace, oh God.	31:21
	Reaching out in love to help dispel the fear	31:24
	and distrust around us,	31:28
	which prevents our world from being at peace.	31:30
	We fear the radicals in our midst, oh God of peace.	31:35
	We think they demand too much for the groups	31:39
	they claim to represent.	31:41
	And yet we are aware that Jesus	31:44
	was considered a radical in his day.	31:46
	Knowing that does not make the answers come any easier	31:49
	as we look for solutions to building a society based on	31:52
	peace and goodwill,	31:56
	but it does help us to know that to live in peace.	31:58
	all women and men are our brothers and sisters,	32:01
	and must be treated with respect and caring.	32:05
	We are grateful for other peacemakers.	32:10
	We hear reports from the Middle East,	32:12
	talk about peace, actions which make Sadat and (indistinct)	32:14
	seem like brave and peace loving men.	32:19
	May it be so, oh God.	32:22
	May a solution for peace	32:25
	be found in that part of the world,	32:26
	which will mean an end to the killing and wounding,	32:29
	the devastation of property and the inhumanness	32:32
	of failing to provide homes	32:35
	for homeless and suffering people.	32:37
	We pray also God of healing that your peace	32:41
	can come to the hearts of those families,	32:45
	classmates and teachers of those killed this past week	32:48
	in the tragic plane crash in Evansville, Indiana.	32:51
	We can understand only a little of the grief	32:55
	of the at university community.	32:58
	We lift that community up to you, oh God,	33:00
	grateful for the knowledge that you are there among them.	33:03
	May the compassion extended to them through our prayers	33:09
	and through the caring of others,	33:12
	open the hearts of those who mourn to your healing.	33:14
	We pray for those among us who are suffering from loneliness	33:19
	and pain due to a break in close relationships.	33:23
	Let us find those who are in physical pain	33:27
	and let us look for those who are hungry and cold.	33:30
	The call of discipleship is to serve one another and others	33:33
	of your people who need to hear your word of comfort.	33:37
	Let us learn to give that word	33:41
	as we minister to the hungry, the cold,	33:43
	the lonely, the sick.	33:47
	And now we lift together to you, loving God,	33:50
	the prayer taught us by your son, Jesus.	33:53
	Our father who art in heaven,	33:56
	hallowed be thy name.	33:59
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth	34:01
	as it is in heaven.	34:06
	Give us this day our daily bread	34:08
	and forgive us our trespasses	34:11
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	34:14
	Lead us not in temptation	34:18
	but deliver us from evil for thine	34:20
	is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.	34:23
	Amen.	34:29
	I would like to call your attention to one announcement	34:37
	in particular, which is in the bulletin this morning.	34:39
	There will be a Christmas Eve service here in Duke Chapel	34:42
	on Saturday night, the 24th at 11:00 PM.	34:45
	Choirs from the community will be participating in this	34:50
	service under the direction of Mr. Benjamin Smith.	34:52
	A caroling recital will begin at 10:30 PM.	34:56
	Anyone who would like to sing for the Christmas Eve service	35:00
	is invited to the practice here on Christmas Eve at 9:30 PM.	35:05
-	I greet you in the name and in the spirit of our Lord	35:28
	and savior Jesus Christ.	35:31
	Amen.	35:35
	Frederick Buechner in a very moving little book of his	35:38
	entitled "The Hungering Dark" writes,	35:44
	"I think that is much of what the Christian faith is.	35:50
	"It is for a moment, just for a little while,	35:57
	"seeing the face and being still.	36:05
	"That is all."	36:10
	There is much about the whole religious enterprise	36:14
	that seems irrelevant in our age,	36:16
	but just for the moment itself, say of Christmas,	36:20
	there can be only silence as something comes to life.	36:28
	Some spirit, some hope, as something is born again	36:33
	into the world that is so and new and precious	36:38
	that not even a cynic can laugh,	36:44
	although he might be tempted to weep.	36:47
	The face in the sky,	36:52
	the child born in the night among beasts,	36:55
	the sweet breath and steaming dung of beasts	36:58
	and nothing, nothing is ever the same again.	37:03
	Those who believe in God can never in a way,	37:10
	be sure of him again.	37:13
	Once they have seen him in a stable,	37:16
	they can never be sure where he will appear or to what	37:19
	length he will go or to what ludicrous depth	37:23
	of self humiliation he will descend	37:28
	in his wild pursuit of us.	37:31
	If holiness and the awful power and majesty of God	37:35
	were present in this least auspicious of all events,	37:41
	this birth of a peasant's child,	37:45
	then there is no place or time so lowly and earthbound,	37:49
	but that holiness can't be present there too.	37:54
	Just for a moment, just for a little while.	38:01
	Let us think about a face.	38:09
	Suppose, just suppose you were a follower of	38:15
	and a believer in Jesus the Christ,	38:20
	and you wanted to tell others about his birth and life	38:25
	and death and resurrection.	38:29
	How would you go about writing of the birth of a baby	38:32
	Who was to be the son of God?	38:38
	Who was God in the flesh, who was God become one with us?	38:41
	How would you do it?	38:49
	This was the task of Luke.	38:52
	As he tells us in his introduction in the first few verses	38:55
	of chapter one,	38:58
	he knew that others had written narratives of things	38:59
	occurring among us.	39:03
	He wanted, he says in these opening lines,	39:05
	to write an orderly account	39:08
	to Theophilus so that he, Theophilus,	39:10
	and others would quote,	39:15
	"Know the truth."	39:18
	And then in 20 verses in chapter two,	39:21
	Luke tells us of the birth of Jesus,= the Christ.	39:25
	He begins calmly, quietly, easily.	39:30
	Matter of factly.	39:37
	Talking about the decree, about Caesar,	39:39
	about taxes, about Bethlehem of Judea, about a man, Joseph,	39:45
	about a woman to whom Joseph is betrothed,	39:53
	a woman named Mary, two very common names then and now.	39:57
	A woman with child, talking about birth,	40:02
	about the birth of a son,	40:07
	a first born son wrapped in swaddling cloths,	40:10
	laid in a manger.	40:16
	Common words, simple names,	40:19
	understandable day to day language and imagery,	40:24
	nothing strange or great or stupendous or exciting	40:28
	or unusual at all in these first few words.	40:32
	Then the scene shifts.	40:37
	Again, rather calm and factual.	40:41
	Talking about a scene quite common to folk then	40:44
	about shepherds in the field,	40:48
	caring for their sheep, and it was night.	40:49
	Now the tempo increases, the words and description	40:55
	become more vivid, for now Luke is talking about	40:59
	an angel of the Lord, about the glory of the Lord,	41:02
	about a message from the angel saying, "Fear not."	41:06
	Can you imagine seeing an angel in the sky?	41:09
	I can and you better believe that if I should see an angel	41:12
	in the sky, the first word that I would want to hear	41:18
	would be, "Be not afraid" for I'm sure I'd be scared	41:20
	literally to death.	41:25
	"I bring you good news," this angel said,	41:26
	"For to you is born a savior who is Christ the Lord.	41:29
	"You will find the babe in a manger"	41:34
	and then a multitude of the heavenly hosts join this angel,	41:38
	praising God and saying glory to God.	41:43
	Peace on earth.	41:46
	Talking Luke is about shepherds,	41:49
	shepherds going in haste to Bethlehem,	41:53
	finding this babe, making known	41:57
	what they had seen and heard.	42:00
	People wondered at what they told them.	42:03
	Mary pondered what she had experienced.	42:06
	And then the shepherds returned home	42:09
	glorifying and praising God.	42:12
	20 verses, and when Luke is finished,	42:15
	if you have really heard what he has said, you say, wow,	42:19
	what a story.	42:27
	Breathless, aghast, overcome, awe struck,	42:30
	and before these 20 lines are finished.	42:37
	we know that this little town of Bethlehem will be the focus	42:38
	of people for generations to come.	42:41
	We know that this little baby born is not just any little	42:44
	old baby born of woman.	42:47
	This birth, this life,	42:49
	this experience, this event is to change the lives,	42:51
	not only of the shepherds and of Luke who wrote about it,	42:54
	but it is to change the shape of lives and of people	42:58
	and of events for all time to come.	43:03
	This is the story of Jesus' birth.	43:06
	We look back now on it and we see as did Luke	43:09
	goodness become incarnate.	43:12
	Hopes fulfilled, promises kept,	43:14
	beauty and comparable in human form.	43:18
	Compassion in real life,	43:22
	holiness come down and as Paul Scherer	43:24
	the great preacher worded it,	43:27
	"God walked down the stairs of heaven	43:29
	"with a baby in his arms."	43:33
	Love epitomized.	43:36
	Surely, surely as the spirit of God said	43:38
	when Jesus was baptized,	43:42
	"Thou art, my beloved son, and with the I am well pleased,"	43:44
	surely as did Peter say at Caesarea Philippi,	43:48
	"You are the Christ, the son of the living God."	43:51
	Surely as did say the Centurian the Roman soldier when	43:55
	he saw Jesus dying on the cross,	43:59
	"Surely this man was the son of God,"	44:01
	surely this little baby born to Joseph and Mary	44:06
	in an out of the way place in an obscure little village	44:09
	is the good news, is the savior born to us,	44:12
	is Christ the Lord.	44:16
	And yet today	44:19
	we seem to be so very casual about it all.	44:23
	Very casual about the Christmas story,	44:33
	about the Christmas event,	44:38
	about the coming of the Christ.	44:42
	You've heard the story and I have too.	44:49
	Can we say read it again?	44:54
	Tell it again, write it again, preach it again,	44:55
	sing it again.	44:58
	It really seems not to matter too much.	45:00
	It will not change anything or make much difference.	45:05
	For we are indeed quite casual about Christmas.	45:09
	Indifferent, almost callous,	45:13
	maybe cynical or annoyed or irritated or angry at somebody,	45:16
	and we're not sure quite who, or frustrated or guilty	45:21
	or lonely or depressed or hurting or disappointed.	45:26
	My guess is that there are more suicides.	45:32
	There is more drinking of alcoholic beverages.	45:39
	There are more hostile fathers, more resentful mothers,	45:43
	more unhappy children,	45:47
	more tired clerks and waiters and salespeople,	45:49
	more sad and disappointed and angry families,	45:53
	more broken dreams and lonely nights and burst visions,	45:56
	there is more personal hurt and unhappiness and hopelessness	46:01
	in December and associated with Christmas than with any	46:04
	other time of the year.	46:08
	That is my own personal studied, measured, calculated guess,	46:12
	and that my friends is not good news.	46:19
	For we build up too many expectations.	46:28
	We let too many people bank too much	46:33
	on unrealizable anticipations.	46:36
	We put too much stock in things, in clothes, cars,	46:41
	appliances, TV sets,	46:48
	and hi-fi sets and stereo, radios, toys of all kinds,	46:50
	dolls and games and tinsel and balls and lights	46:55
	and ornaments and plastic trees and everlasting flowers	46:58
	and Santa Claus and elves.	47:02
	I mention all this simply because this is just the way	47:09
	I have observed and have experienced Christmas.	47:13
	I say all this	47:20
	because I think this is the way Christmas is for us today.	47:21
	We're all caught up in the distortions and the expectations	47:27
	of Christmas in such a way that I really think that our best	47:31
	way to prepare for the good news is to describe the reality	47:35
	which we live with.	47:40
	And this is the real, as I see it today.	47:42
	And it's vastly different from the real I see	47:45
	in Luke's gospel.	47:48
	We are casual about the real Christmas.	47:54
	And as I have thought about that this week,	48:00
	I have wondered if we are casual about Christmas this year	48:02
	because we don't feel any dire threat of doom	48:07
	or imminent danger.	48:12
	Are we casual because there are no riots taking place	48:15
	in our streets,	48:18
	or because there are no bombs falling in Vietnam	48:20
	or anywhere else in the world at this particular moment,	48:24
	or because there is no blatant scandal going on	48:26
	in Washington or because we do not see	48:32
	and actually live beside	48:34
	the starving mothers and children in Harlem?	48:36
	How are things, how is it today with our world?	48:41
	Not very different from Jesus' day.	48:49
	Hurting, hungry, hostile, hopeless, worried over the future,	48:54
	weary with mistrust, weak with our fears and failures,	49:03
	but it was into this kind of cool and calculating	49:07
	and callous and cruel and casual world that Jesus came.	49:11
	Into your world and my world, God came, God has come,	49:17
	God is come, and that my friends is good news.	49:23
	The word and all of Christian tradition tells us	49:32
	that Christ is the one.	49:37
	And as I say that I'm reminded of the television film,	49:41
	"The Autobiography of Jane Pittman."	49:45
	Many of you saw it, I'm sure.	49:48
	And in the movie Jane Pittman tells about how,	49:51
	when she was just a little girl,	49:56
	every time a baby boy was born in the community	49:58
	where she lived,	50:03
	all of her people who were looking and longing for someone	50:03
	to come and deliver them,	50:07
	all of her people would gather around each little baby boy's	50:09
	bed and ask, "Is he the one, is he the one?"	50:13
	And it's almost as if today we are still asking,	50:21
	is Jesus the one, is he, is he really?	50:25
	It's as if we aren't sure of the truth that really	50:30
	has happened, but the word is that God was in Christ,	50:34
	how fully and how totally God was in Christ and God is in	50:37
	the midst of our lives is demonstrated	50:41
	and I think is seen in a beautiful poem by...	50:44
	The Church of England chaplain in World War I,	50:49
	fellow by the name of Woodbine Willy.	50:52
	GA stuttered Kennedy in his poem,	50:54
	"Set Your Affection on Things Above."	50:56
	He talks about how far God in Christ is from us.	50:59
	He says, "As far as meaning is from speech,	51:03
	"as beauty from a rose,	51:07
	"as far as music is from sound, as poetry from prose,	51:09
	"as far as art is from cleverness.	51:15
	"As far as painting is from paints,	51:17
	"as far as signs from sacraments, as Pharisees from saints,	51:20
	"as far as love from friendship is, as reason is from truth.	51:25
	"As far as laughter is from joy and early years from youth.	51:29
	"As far as love from shining eyes,	51:34
	"as far as passion from a kiss,	51:37
	"so far is God from God's green earth.	51:39
	"So far that world from this."	51:45
	God is in the midst of us	51:48
	right here, where we are in the present, the now.	51:51
	As someone has paraphrased the Christmas hymn,	51:55
	"Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie,	51:59
	"the hopes and fears of all the years	52:04
	"are here with us tonight."	52:09
	Maybe we're casual about Christmas because of the unknown.	52:14
	Maybe we really do not know or fully understand.	52:19
	Neither did the folks at the inn.	52:25
	The majesty of God, the glory of God,	52:29
	the indwelling of God's fullness and goodness and beauty,	52:31
	all of this was right at their front door,	52:34
	and yet it was unknown to them.	52:37
	It's easy.	52:39
	It's understandable to be casual when we do not know.	52:41
	And perhaps this year,	52:46
	we just don't know that soon unto us is born a savior,	52:46
	who is Christ the Lord.	52:52
	Or perhaps we're casual about Christmas	52:55
	because we are preoccupied.	52:57
	We may be preoccupied with bills and presents	53:01
	and lists of names and addresses lost,	53:03
	and cooking to do and cards to write and calls to make,	53:06
	or may be preoccupied at this time of year	53:10
	with too much work, with the end of the year,	53:13
	with the end of the month,	53:16
	or just before we get a few days break from the university.	53:18
	Or we are pretty occupied with the routine of the day,	53:22
	just like the shepherds before the angels came,	53:25
	just keeping watch over their flock.	53:28
	That's all, just doing our thing.	53:31
	Just taking care of our own needs,	53:33
	just doing what I have to do or need to do or want to do	53:35
	or must do.	53:39
	So were the shepherds until God's messenger spoke.	53:40
	My fear is that we are casual about Christmas,	53:46
	not because of the unknown, for surely we do know,	53:50
	not because we are preoccupied for surely our	53:53
	lives are taken up by what we allow them to be.	53:57
	My fear is that we are casual about Christmas because we are	54:02
	unwilling to respond to this glorious manifestation of God.	54:06
	We know Christ is the one, we just aren't sure that we want	54:13
	him to be the one for us.	54:18
	We believe Christ is the savior,	54:22
	but we just aren't sure that we are ready for,	54:24
	or indeed that we even need a savior.	54:26
	And I guess this is the part of the sermon as is much	54:31
	elsewhere, where it becomes very autobiographical.	54:33
	My problem is not that I have not heard this story.	54:40
	It is not that I have not read this story.	54:45
	It is not even that I do not understand the story.	54:48
	It is not that I do not believe the story.	54:52
	It is just that I am unwilling to respond.	54:55
	And so I remain casual and aloof and uninvolved and distant	55:00
	from the Christmas story and from the Christ of the story.	55:07
	But regardless of my own feelings and the feelings	55:13
	that I sense in others around me, I cannot this morning,	55:16
	believe that God wants us to remain casual about Christmas.	55:19
	I simply cannot.	55:23
	God doesn't want us to remain casual about birth of Christ	55:26
	for this birth was a fulfillment of eons of longing	55:30
	of the Hebrew people.	55:33
	This birth was the fulfillment of ages old prophecy.	55:35
	Jesus was of the house and line of David.	55:40
	This was to be true of the new Messiah.	55:42
	This birth was to take place in Bethlehem.	55:45
	God cares about the birth of Mary's son.	55:49
	And so are we to care.	55:52
	God cares.	55:54
	That is why even in a stable, even in a manger,	55:56
	even with swaddling cloths,	55:59
	even with a very, very young mother,	56:02
	even with a poor home to live in,	56:04
	there also was an angel and a heavenly host	56:07
	and a message from on high.	56:10
	And so I believe that God wants the birth of Christ to come	56:12
	to us in such a way that it will be as real and as vivid	56:16
	to us today as it was to the shepherds.	56:19
	I believe that God doesn't want us to remain casual in our	56:26
	response to Christ.	56:29
	Luke tells us that as soon,	56:31
	just as soon as the angels went away, the shepherd said,	56:33
	"Let us go."	56:38
	And then he says, "And they went with haste."	56:40
	There was no delay or argument or discussion or haggling.	56:44
	They heard, they saw, and they responded.	56:48
	So I believe God longs for us to do today.	56:51
	I sometimes have the feeling that we have theologized	56:55
	and debated and discussed long enough.	56:58
	And perhaps the simple, clear, committed,	57:01
	willing response is what we are asked to give,	57:05
	for I am certain That God doesn't want	57:09
	a casual response from us.	57:13
	Also, God doesn't want us to be casual	57:19
	as we tell others the good news.	57:21
	And the shepherds, these lines just thrill my soul	57:24
	every time I read them or hear them, verse 20.	57:29
	"And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God	57:32
	"for all that they had heard and seen."	57:37
	There is a message to tell.	57:44
	There is a song to sing,	57:47
	a word to speak,	57:50
	a hope to spark, a care to show, a love to share.	57:51
	God invites us to spend some time with Jesus.	58:00
	Come, he says, let us pay him a visit.	58:05
	Let us sit by his side, let us bow in his presence.	58:09
	Let us acknowledge his beauty and goodness and love.	58:12
	Let us be in Jesus' company for a while.	58:15
	And then with rejoicing on our lips and a song	58:18
	in our hearts, let us go,	58:21
	let us return wherever we have to go glorifying and praising	58:24
	God for what we see and experience.	58:29
	And then my friends, I must confess,	58:36
	I remain casual about Christmas.	58:40
	I tend to be casual about the birth,	58:44
	about my response to it,	58:47
	and even about telling others the good news.	58:49
	But I believe there is hope for me.	58:54
	And if there is any part of you	58:58
	that is like this part of me,	59:00
	any part of you that tends to be casual about the most	59:02
	glorious word ever given to us, there is hope.	59:06
	There is hope for any of us who are willing to change.	59:11
	The hope I see for me and for any others like me,	59:16
	I see in the lines of Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol."	59:19
	You remember well what a tight money, mad indecent,	59:26
	terrible human being old Scrooge was, but he changed.	59:30
	Christmas tells us that we can be changed.	59:39
	We can be touched by Christmases	59:44
	past and present and future.	59:47
	By the true Christmas.	59:49
	It may seem that we are stuck and that we are semi miserable	59:52
	or that we are only half joyful	59:56
	and that we are unalterably set right where we are.	59:59
	But Scrooge's question comes to mind	1:00:03
	as he foresees his own death.	1:00:06
	Are these the shadows of the things that will be,	1:00:11
	or are they the shadows of things that may be only?	1:00:15
	If persevered in, they must lead,	1:00:21
	but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change,	1:00:25
	"The spirit was as immovable as ever," Dickens goes on,	1:00:33
	"Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went,	1:00:37
	"and following the finger read upon the stone	1:00:41
	"of the neglected grave his own name, Ebenezer Scrooge.	1:00:43
	"'Am I that man who lay up on the bed?'	1:00:51
	"he cried upon his knees and the finger pointed	1:00:53
	"from the grave to him and back again.	1:00:56
	"'No, spirit, no, no!'	1:01:04
	"The finger still was there.	1:01:09
	"'Spirit,' cried, clutching tight at its robe.	1:01:10
	"'Hear me, I am not the man I was,	1:01:15
	"'I will not be the man that I must have been,	1:01:20
	"'but for these visions.	1:01:22
	"'Why show me all of this if I am beyond all hope?	1:01:24
	"'Good spirit, your nature intercedes for me and pities me.	1:01:28
	"'Answer me that I may yet change these shadows	1:01:33
	"'you have shown me by an altered life.	1:01:37
	"'I will honor Christmas in my heart,' he says,	1:01:44
	"'and I will try to keep it all the year.	1:01:49
	"'I will live in the past and the present and the future.	1:01:53
	"'The spirits of all three shall strive within me.	1:01:57
	"'I will not shut out the lesson that they teach."	1:02:00
	Just for a moment.	1:02:09
	Just for a little while.	1:02:15
	For to you is born in the city of David a savior,	1:02:20
	Christ the Lord.	1:02:28
	To you, to me, I yet may change.	1:02:32
	I will honor Christmas.	1:02:43
	I will live.	1:02:49
	Let us pray.	1:02:56
	Oh spirit of the living Christ,	1:03:02
	keep us from being casual about your coming to us.	1:03:07
	Come be born in us.	1:03:15
	Come cause us to be reborn.	1:03:20
	Come, cause us to change.	1:03:27
	Come cause us to live the spirit of Christ	1:03:33
	now and all year through, amen.	1:03:42
	(bright organ music)	1:03:54
	(organ drowning out lyrics)	1:04:07
	(bright festive music)	1:07:42
	(soft metallic clattering)	1:10:47
	(bright festive music)	1:11:00
	(music drowning out singer)	1:11:31
	(bright organ music)	1:14:57
	(organ drowning out singers)	1:15:13
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:15:23
	(organ drowning out singers)	1:15:29
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:15:41
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:15:46
-	Accept these gifts, oh God.	1:16:12
	You who continually teach us how to give.	1:16:14
	And may they be used to spread your word	1:16:17
	of comfort and justice and hope	1:16:20
	and love throughout the world.	1:16:23
	Amen.	1:16:27
	(bright bold organ music)	1:16:30
	(organ drowning out singers)	1:17:01
	Go in peace and the blessing of God almighty and the son,	1:19:06
	Jesus Christ be upon you and with remain with you always.	1:19:10
	Amen.	1:19:16
	(bright festive music)	1:19:25
	(bells drowning out singers)	1:19:46
	(congregation rustling)	1:21:05
	(congregation murmuring)	1:21:19
	(soft festive music)	1:22:13
	(audience applauding)	1:24:17
	(congregation murmuring)	1:24:31
-	Looks like (indistinct) California (indistinct).	1:24:38
	(congregation murmuring)	1:24:45
	(soft festive music)	1:25:30
	(audience applauding)	1:27:51
	Let's play "Silver Bells."	1:28:10
	(congregation laughing)	1:28:12
	(congregation murmuring)	1:28:16
	(instrumental "Silver Bells")	1:29:32
	(audience applauding)	1:32:19
	(audience chuckling)	1:32:39

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Being Casual about Christmas" (December 18, 1977)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4qz26j71

Date:

December 18, 1977

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0929
ref7061_trd
uachapelsermaud
duke:628392
dcrau002870
ark:/87924/r4qz26j71
e90a7d89-50d5-438b-9221-9459300b7517

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

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Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

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

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Robert T. Young - "Being Casual about Christmas" (December 18, 1977)

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1. Robert T. Young - "Being Casual About Christmas" (December 18, 1977)

Duke University Archives

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Robert T. Young - "Being Casual about Christmas" (December 18, 1977)

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