J. Barrie Shepherd - "Out of the Depths" (January 18, 1987)

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	(organ music)	0:04
	(organ music)	1:19
	(organ music)	2:47
-	[Rev. Dr. William Willimon] Good morning and welcome to	4:30
	the chapel on this second Sunday after the Epiphany.	4:31
	We're delighted to have you here.	4:35
	It's appropriate that our James Clulen guest preacher	4:37
	today is like Dr. Clulen, a Scotsman,	4:40
	he is J. Barrie Shepherd, pastor of	4:45
	the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church.	4:47
	Doctor Shepherd is a distinguished	4:51
	poet of religious verse.	4:53
	He has published a	4:56
	number of volumes of verse and biblical interpretation.	4:58
	His daughter is a student here at Duke,	5:04
	and we welcome Dr. Shepherd as our James T. Clulen	5:07
	visiting preacher today.	5:12
	Tonight at 8 pm we will have our observance,	5:15
	a memorial service for the birthday of	5:20
	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.	5:22
	Ralph Makizick will be the speaker.	5:24
	This is a student led service.	5:27
	We invite you all to come and remember the life	5:29
	of this great American.	5:33
	Our first choral vespers was held Thursday evening	5:36
	at 5:15, that continues	5:41
	on Thursdays and we	5:45
	invite you to come to that beautiful service on	5:47
	Thursday afternoon.	5:50
	And now let us continue our worship.	5:51
	♪ Blessed be our God ♪	6:04
	♪ and Father ♪	6:11
	♪ of our Lord ♪	6:15
	♪ Jesus Christ. ♪	6:19
	♪ Which, ♪	6:27
	♪ according to his abundant ♪	6:29
	♪ mercy ♪	6:37
	♪ hath begotten us again unto a ♪	6:44
	♪ (mumble) reward ♪	6:54
	♪ by the resurrection ♪	6:59
	♪ of Jesus Christ, ♪	7:05
	♪ amen. ♪	7:12
	(organ music)	7:25
	(assembly singing)	8:17
Rev. Willimon	The candles on the altar remind us	13:40
	of the Epiphany, the coming of the light of the world.	13:43
	Therefore in his name, let us pray.	13:47
	O thou who art the true Son of the world,	13:50
	ever-rising and never going down,	13:53
	who by thy most wholesome appearing and light	13:56
	dost nourish and make joy for all things	13:59
	in heaven and in earth,	14:02
	we beseech thee mercifully to shine in our hearts,	14:05
	that the night and darkness of sin,	14:09
	and the mist of error on every side	14:12
	may be driven away	14:14
	and that all our live long we may	14:17
	walk without stumbling	14:18
	as children of the light and of the day,	14:21
	amen.	14:25
	Be seated.	14:26
-	[Dr.Pelham Wilder] Let us pray.	14:37
	Open our hearts and minds, O God	14:39
	by the power of your Holy Spirit.	14:43
	So that as the word	14:45
	is read and proclaimed,	14:46
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day,	14:48
	amen.	14:53
	The first lesson is taken from Isaiah.	14:56
	Listen to me, oh coastlands and harken, ye peoples	14:59
	from afar.	15:03
	The Lord called me from the womb from the	15:04
	body of my mother, God named my name.	15:06
	In the shadow of his hand I was hidden.	15:12
	God made me a polished arrow, in his quiver	15:15
	he hid me away.	15:17
	And God said to me, you are my servant, Israel,	15:19
	in whom I will be glorified.	15:24
	But I said, I have labored in vain,	15:26
	I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity,	15:29
	yet surely might right is with the Lord,	15:32
	and my recompense with my God.	15:34
	And now the Lord says he formed me from the womb	15:37
	to be God's servant to bring Jacob back to him	15:40
	and that Israel might be gathered to him,	15:43
	for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,	15:46
	and my God has become my strength.	15:49
	God says it is too light a thing that you should	15:51
	by my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob	15:54
	and to restore the preserve of Israel.	15:58
	I will give you as a light to the nations	16:01
	that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.	16:03
	Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,	16:08
	that his holy one and to one deeply despised,	16:11
	abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers,	16:15
	kings shall see and arise, princes they shall	16:19
	prostrate themselves, because of the Lord	16:23
	who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel,	16:25
	who has chosen you.	16:29
	Here ends the reading of the first lesson.	16:31
Rev. Willimon	Today's psalm is 130.	16:37
	Let us stand as we read as directed in the bulletin,	16:39
	alternating men's and women's voices.	16:44
	Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord.	16:49
	Lord, hear my voice.	16:53
	Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of	16:55
	(women's voices)	17:00
Rev. Willimon	I wait for the Lord.	17:10
	My soul waits and in his word I hope.	17:12
	(women's voices)	17:18
Rev. Willimon	O Israel, hope in the Lord,	17:24
	for with the Lord there is steadfast love,	17:28
	and with him is plenteous redemption.	17:31
	The Lord will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.	17:34
	(assembly singing)	17:46
Dr. Wilder	Be seated.	18:35
	The Epistle for the morning has been changed	18:44
	to the eighth chapter of St. Paul's letter to the	18:47
	Church in Rome, beginning with the 18th verse.	18:50
	I consider that the sufferings of this present time	18:54
	are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be	18:57
	revealed to us.	19:00
	For the creation waits with eager longing for the	19:02
	revelation of the sons of God.	19:05
	For the creation was subjected to futility,	19:08
	not of its own will, but by the will of him who	19:11
	subjected it to hope, because the creation itself	19:15
	will be set free from the bondage to decay, and	19:19
	obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.	19:22
	We know that the whole creation has been groaning	19:25
	in travail together until now, and not only the creation,	19:28
	but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,	19:32
	groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons,	19:37
	the redemption of our bodies.	19:40
	For in this hope, we are saved.	19:43
	Now hope that is seen is not hope,	19:47
	for who hopes for what he sees?	19:50
	But if we hope for what is not seen,	19:53
	we wait for it with patience.	19:56
	Here ends the reading of the Epistle.	20:00
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	20:10
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	20:16
	♪ We have seen his star in the East, ♪	20:23
	♪ alleluia, alleluia, ♪	20:28
	♪ and are come to worship him. ♪	20:31
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	20:37
	♪ We have seen his star in the East, ♪	20:41
	♪ alleluia, alleluia, ♪	20:46
	♪ and are come to worship him. ♪	20:49
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	20:55
	♪ The bright star ♪	21:22
	♪ (inaudible) ♪	21:26
	♪ and the glory of the Lord is (mumble) upon him. ♪	21:31
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	21:43
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia. ♪	21:49
	♪ We have seen his star in the East, ♪	21:56
	♪ and have come to worship him. ♪	22:07
-	[Rev. Dr. J. Barrie Shepherd] Let us hear again	22:51
	the Word of God.	22:52
	Reading from the Gospel according to Saint John,	22:55
	the first chapter,	22:58
	and the 29th verse.	23:01
	John chapter 1, and verse 29.	23:04
	The next day he, that is John the Baptist,	23:12
	saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold	23:16
	the Lamb of God,	23:19
	who takes away the sin of the world.	23:21
	This is he of whom I said after me comes a man who	23:24
	ranks before me, for he was before me.	23:28
	I myself did not know him, but for this I came baptizing	23:32
	with water that he might be revealed to Israel.	23:38
	And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend	23:43
	as a dove from heaven and it remained on him.	23:46
	I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to	23:50
	baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see	23:54
	the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes	23:57
	with the Holy Spirit, and I have seen,	24:01
	and have born witness that this is the Son of God.	24:04
	The next day, again, John was standing with two of his	24:11
	disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said,	24:14
	behold the Lamb of God.	24:18
	The two disciples heard him say this and they	24:23
	followed Jesus.	24:25
	Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,	24:28
	what do you seek?	24:31
	And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher,	24:34
	where are you staying?	24:40
	He said to them, come and see.	24:43
	They came and saw where he was staying and they	24:45
	stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.	24:47
	One of the two who heard John speak and followed him	24:53
	was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.	24:56
	He first found his brother Simon and said to him,	25:01
	we have found the Messiah, which means Christ.	25:05
	Amen, and may the Lord bless to us	25:13
	these reading from his holy word.	25:15
	To his name be the glory	25:18
	and the praise.	25:20
	When the early church fathers made Epiphany	25:26
	the season of light, I'm not sure they had	25:30
	television in mind.	25:32
	If I look up and seem to be blinded,	25:36
	it's not a miracle in reverse, it's modern technology.	25:38
	But preaching as I do today, preaching so soon	25:43
	after the return from Christmas vacation,	25:47
	the resumption of classes, the renewal of all	25:49
	that dreadful business of assignments, papers,	25:52
	lab reports, quizzes and the like,	25:56
	I wondered if perhaps my sermon title needed a	26:00
	slight correction.	26:02
	Perhaps, in other words, it should read	26:05
	not out of, but rather, into.	26:07
	Into the depths, the depths of the dreaded	26:11
	January blahs.	26:15
	However, out of the depths it is,	26:17
	and now let us pray.	26:22
	Enter our darkness with the light of your Word,	26:29
	Lord God, that in its radiance we might	26:33
	discover anew ourselves,	26:37
	each other,	26:41
	and you,	26:44
	and finding you,	26:46
	find life eternal.	26:48
	Amen.	26:52
	In the book of the Psalms, then, the 130th psalm and the	26:58
	first verse.	27:01
	Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord.	27:03
	De profundis, out of the depths.	27:11
	A title surely to conjure with,	27:17
	a psalm indeed, that has touched and moved	27:22
	and spoken through so many of the great heroes	27:26
	of our faith,	27:28
	Augustine, Luther, Baxter, Wesley, John Bunion	27:30
	among them, out of the depths.	27:34
	It is described, classified in the superscription as	27:39
	quote, "a song of ascents",	27:44
	a song of ascents,	27:48
	and that is truly what it is, for it begins,	27:49
	don't you see, in the abyss, and it ends upon the	27:53
	heights of faith in God.	27:56
	And even in these opening words, that ascent, that climb,	27:59
	that upward pilgrimage is foreshadowed, for it does not	28:04
	cry forth in the depths,	28:08
	but out of the depths.	28:11
	Out of the depths, I cry to thee, O Lord.	28:14
	What then, are these depths	28:23
	that call forth such an aching, longing cry?	28:26
	Was the writer of this ancient psalm depressed or	28:32
	was he oppressed?	28:36
	Did his cry, in other words, emerge from the	28:38
	dark abyss of sickness or of poverty?	28:41
	Of bereavement or of imprisonment?	28:44
	We are not told.	28:46
	The psalm does not inform us and therefore I am convinced	28:48
	it is not all that important.	28:52
	The cry comes from the depths, and we all know	28:55
	where that is.	29:01
	It emerges from the depths of your life and mine,	29:04
	from the depths of a broken home	29:08
	with love long gone, dreams and plans all shattered,	29:12
	bewildered, frightened children and anger, hurt,	29:17
	resentment, jealousy dominating everything and everyone.	29:20
	It arises out of the abyss of broken health.	29:28
	That chill, grasping hand in the gut that	29:33
	will not let go,	29:37
	as you wait for the results of your biopsy,	29:39
	as you wish and do not wish for the telephone to ring	29:44
	for the hospital to call.	29:47
	This cry comes from the dark pit of addiction	29:53
	to alcohol, drugs, or other enslavements.	29:56
	From the deeps of mental illness and confusion.	30:01
	It arises from that knifing, often necessary hurt	30:07
	of teenage rebellion, independence, self-assertion.	30:12
	From the desperate fear of not making the grade	30:18
	in a community where the grade seems all that matters.	30:21
	From the loss of work, the loss of self-respect,	30:28
	the loss of friendship, the loss of love.	30:32
	Out of the depths.	30:37
	It arises also, this cry, not only from the realm	30:44
	of personal disaster, but from the very heart of	30:49
	a society and a world that seems all tangled up	30:52
	into a net of its own making.	30:56
	This is a net of deception, of lies which in their turn	31:00
	demand more lies, until the truth becomes a myth	31:04
	like Santa Claus that no one any longer can believe in.	31:08
	It is a net of apathy, neglect, and willful ignorance	31:15
	where a privileged elite blind their own eyes	31:19
	against the pain and the injustice that surrounds their	31:23
	comfortable world even today as we celebrate the life	31:26
	of Martin Luther King.	31:30
	It is a net of violence that begets violence.	31:34
	Terror that brings on more terror.	31:40
	Cold-blooded killing on every side, who's victims	31:43
	always seem to be the children, the innocent,	31:47
	the vulnerable ones who cannot protect themselves,	31:51
	yes, out of the depths I cry	31:54
	is a prayer that we all can utter this morning.	31:58
	De profundis, out of the depths.	32:00
	But as I said, the psalmist does not leave us here,	32:10
	does not abandon us in the abyss.	32:13
	And the solution, when it comes, the solution begins	32:17
	not with us.	32:21
	Look again at verse four,	32:25
	but there is forgiveness with thee, Lord,	32:27
	that thou mayest be feared.	32:31
	Forgiveness with thee.	32:34
	Here, says the writer of this psalm,	32:39
	say the writers of these Scriptures says even	32:43
	Our Lord himself, here is the way out of the depths.	32:45
	Not by any action of our own,	32:50
	any form of self-help, self-assertion, self-elevation,	32:52
	but only through the forgiveness that comes from God,	32:57
	there is forgiveness with thee.	33:01
	With thee, that thou mayest be feared.	33:05
	Forgiveness, cried George Bernard Shaw,	33:11
	forgiveness, that is a beggars' refuge.	33:15
	We must pay our debts.	33:19
	And yet, it does not work that way.	33:22
	Listen to Hannah Arendt.	33:27
	A Jew, who having fled from Nazi Germany, had a host of	33:30
	reasons never to forgive,	33:34
	forgiveness, Hannah Arendt said,	33:36
	forgiveness is the only way to	33:40
	reverse the irreversible flow of history.	33:43
	The only way to reverse the irreversible flow of history.	33:49
	The way out of the abyss then, the only way to escape	33:56
	eternal darkness, both for our own selves and for our world	34:01
	begins, the psalm suggests, begins with forgiveness.	34:05
	Unrealistic.	34:13
	Do I hear you say, echoing George Bernard Shaw?	34:16
	Nice, pious thoughts, fine for the Sunday morning pulpit	34:20
	but completely out of place in that Monday through Saturday	34:24
	world out there of business, economics, foreign policy.	34:28
	Then show me please, what the other methods	34:35
	have achieved.	34:38
	Point out to me through history or personal experience,	34:41
	if you can, some of the triumphs of revenge,	34:44
	retaliation, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.	34:47
	That is the method, after all, that we've been using	34:52
	for the past ten thousand years,	34:56
	and where has it ultimately led us?	34:59
	To a world of death camps and terror bombs,	35:03
	doomsday devices and star wars,	35:07
	a world, in other words, on the brink	35:09
	of annihilation.	35:12
	Perhaps it is time,	35:13
	time to take another longer,	35:16
	harder look at forgiveness.	35:19
	You see, forgiveness demands, forgiveness demands	35:29
	that we recognize not only the evil in the other person,	35:33
	our spouse, our roommate,	35:39
	our rival, our adversary,	35:43
	we can all do that,	35:46
	but also the evil in ourselves, and on that basis,	35:48
	start to talk.	35:52
	Start to talk, that's all.	35:54
	No immediate reconciliation, that would be far too cheap,	35:56
	no instant canceling out of all past mistakes,	36:00
	just a basic recognition that both sides are wrong in part.	36:04
	Both sides are sinful, selfish, broken children of one God	36:09
	and then let the conversation begin.	36:14
	What I really mean, what the psalmist is suggesting	36:20
	is that we recognize our common human need of	36:24
	God's forgiveness.	36:28
	Our universal failure to live up to what God	36:30
	created us to be, and thus, forgiven by our God,	36:33
	we might, at last, be able to turn around and	36:38
	forgive one another.	36:41
	Poet laureate Robert Penn Warren,	36:46
	and we should listen more to poets.	36:50
	They see things that politicians cannot see,	36:53
	maybe that's why their books don't sell.	36:56
	Robert Penn Warren wrote these words.	37:02
	In the sense of complicity	37:06
	is the beginning of innocence.	37:09
	Hear it again.	37:14
	In the sense of complicity is the beginning of innocence.	37:15
	Might it be that it is only when we realize that we are	37:23
	all to blame, each and every blessed one of us,	37:27
	that we will ever begin to be able to work together	37:31
	to create a peaceful life, a peaceful home,	37:34
	a safe and livable world.	37:38
	But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou	37:42
	mayest be feared.	37:45
	Finally, the psalmist says to wait.	37:51
	I wait for the Lord.	37:55
	My soul does wait, and in his word I hope.	37:58
	My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen	38:00
	for the morning, I say more than watchman for the morning.	38:03
	Waiting, waiting is the hardest thing for us,	38:09
	children of the 20th century.	38:15
	Instant is the watchword of our age.	38:19
	Instant action, instant results, instant gratification,	38:24
	even as a radio commentator friend recently observed,	38:28
	even instant love, which he calls instimacy.	38:33
	Don't just do something.	38:42
	Don't just do something, stand there, said the Zen master.	38:46
	And we all laughed.	38:51
	How absurd.	38:53
	Did you notice one of the most popular justifications	38:56
	by the man and the woman on the street	39:02
	for those military actions against Libya last April	39:05
	was this.	39:08
	Well, we had to do something.	39:10
	We had to do something.	39:13
	No sophisticated weighing of the odds,	39:17
	no thoughtful balancing of the human lives at stake	39:20
	on both sides, simply the overwhelming need	39:24
	to do something rather than nothing.	39:28
	And that is true of so much of life today.	39:32
	Thinking seems to be going out of style.	39:36
	Act first, think later, if at all, seems to be	39:39
	our modus operandi.	39:42
	Now, certainly thinking was never all that easy.	39:45
	But you know it is the one thing that separates us,	39:49
	or is supposed to, from the animals.	39:52
	Yet the psalmist has even more than thinking in mind.	39:58
	Wait, he says.	40:03
	Wait on the Lord.	40:05
	That's not a passive waiting.	40:09
	He is not, for example, summoning us to put on	40:12
	our clean white robes and climb the nearest mountaintop	40:15
	to attend the second coming.	40:19
	What I believe he has in mind,	40:22
	what this Bible always has in mind when it summons us	40:25
	to wait, is more an active waiting.	40:28
	More a vital, vibrant kind of trust.	40:33
	More a focusing of our whole being upon God	40:37
	that will in it's turn reach back into our lives	40:41
	and redirect whatever else we do or do not do.	40:44
	It was Jesus said it best	40:50
	when he told us seek ye first the kingdom of God,	40:52
	and all these things will be added unto you.	40:57
	That is what it really means	41:03
	to live in waiting on the Lord.	41:05
	It means a life that is clearly oriented toward hope.	41:10
	Not empty optimism that things will somehow get better	41:15
	but hope, dynamic hope in the Lord.	41:19
	It means a life of radical trust.	41:23
	Trust that in God's hands the future is worth living for,	41:25
	and working for, building for, even dying for,	41:30
	but never killing for.	41:34
	Trust that even now, as Saint Paul put it	41:38
	in those visionary words in our Epistle lesson,	41:42
	even now this whole creation is leaning forward	41:46
	in eager expectation, longing for the day that is to come,	41:51
	when the children of God will come into their own,	41:55
	when the kingdom of God's peace will be established.	41:58
	What a crazy dream.	42:05
	What a bunch of idealistic, unrealistic, claptrap.	42:10
	And yet, what is realistic?	42:17
	Is this creation,	42:24
	this world about us that we see and smell and walk through	42:26
	every day unrealistic?	42:30
	Then take a look at that creation, as Saint Paul did,	42:35
	for a fully realistic sign of what our God can do,	42:39
	of what our God has in store.	42:44
	Look about you, in this seeming depth of winter.	42:49
	Have you not noticed	42:55
	how the days are already growing longer?	42:57
	How each evening shades toward the dark a little later	43:00
	than the last?	43:04
	Walk out into these splendid woods about this campus	43:08
	and see the buds already fully forming on the trees.	43:12
	Think, use that incredible	43:18
	mind that God has set	43:22
	within you for more than conning computer print-outs,	43:24
	reading lists and shopping lists.	43:27
	Think of what the rhythm, the direction, the momentum	43:31
	of all being might be trying to tell us about	43:36
	light out of darkness, about life out of death,	43:39
	about the promise of renewal,	43:45
	about the prospects of eternity,	43:47
	and then wonder, wonder how it is that we can risk	43:52
	throwing all of this away	43:57
	for a mess of nuclear pottage	43:59
	or a tacky heap of transient consumer goods.	44:02
	Only recently, at my morning prayers,	44:14
	I read from Psalm 98.	44:17
	It is a hymn of joy about something the psalmist calls	44:22
	God's victory.	44:25
	O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done	44:27
	marvelous things, his right hand, his holy arm	44:30
	have gotten him victory.	44:33
	And I thought for a moment about victories.	44:36
	I thought about Libya, Basra, Beirut,	44:41
	about the Rome airport and Vienna,	44:47
	about Grenada, Nicaragua, Jerusalem and Belfast.	44:50
	And then back, way back, the Tet offensive,	44:56
	the Battle of the Bulge, Gettysburg, Waterloo,	45:00
	Hastings, Thermopylae, all the so-called victories	45:04
	that we, whoever we are, God's children on this	45:08
	earth together, that we call victories to one another	45:11
	over one another.	45:15
	And then I thought about God's victory.	45:19
	The victory of light	45:23
	over the dark.	45:25
	Springtime over winter.	45:27
	Hope over fear.	45:31
	That is the kind of victory we need.	45:36
	A victory in which nobody looses	45:40
	and everybody wins.	45:42
	A universal victory in which no drab and dusty	45:45
	corpses lie strewn across the no-man's land of	45:49
	the evening news.	45:53
	No little children weep in blood	45:55
	in an airport lounge or a city street.	45:59
	And that, my friends, is just the kind of	46:03
	victory we have	46:07
	if we would only reach out and claim it.	46:09
	For all these signs about us, the birds, the shoots of	46:13
	living green, the growing sunlight, are only signals,	46:17
	symptoms, foretastes of a far greater triumph,	46:22
	one for as long ago in a garden tomb and waiting for us now	46:28
	with eager, eager longing.	46:32
	It is as if on some great cosmic battlefield	46:39
	the day was won.	46:44
	The field was ours,	46:47
	yet we insist on turning our backs on struggling on in	46:49
	some far distant corner, striking out at one another,	46:53
	stubbornly refusing to look up and see the banners flying,	46:57
	hear the trumpet sounding,	47:02
	join the great procession, the victory parade	47:04
	of one who has torn down the battlements of hell	47:08
	on our behalf.	47:11
	All our behalves.	47:13
	And won for us life that is forever, that is free.	47:16
	This is what it means to wait upon the Lord.	47:23
	It means to trust in him for life,	47:27
	and in that trust, to live victoriously	47:32
	and fearlessly here and now	47:35
	and even so begin to move,	47:40
	not just ourselves,	47:43
	but this whole world, this vast and eagerly awaiting	47:45
	creation, out of the depths,	47:50
	yes out of the depths and into the kingdom of our God	47:53
	and of his Christ.	47:59
	So let us pray.	48:02
	Lord, lift us from the depths	48:09
	through the life which your dear Son, Our Lord,	48:14
	laid down for us and then raised up.	48:17
	Let us live henceforth for him	48:22
	and thus for one another.	48:25
	So may we claim our place	48:29
	and play our part, become a part of your eternal kingdom	48:32
	of blessing, of justice, and of peace.	48:37
	Amen.	48:43
	(organ music)	48:51
	(Assembly singing)	49:24
-	[Rev. Nancy Ferree] The Lord be with you.	51:17
Assembly	And also with you.	51:19
Rev. Ferree	Let us pray.	51:21
	Most kind and gracious God,	51:33
	who art above us and in us and through us.	51:37
	We bow in humble reverence before thee,	51:42
	seeking a fresh awareness of thy life-giving presence.	51:46
	In so doing, we offer these prayers for others,	51:51
	remembering that in our common neediness,	51:54
	we each stand in utter dependency upon thee.	51:58
	Let us pray for those who suffer,	52:03
	for the masses of starving people throughout the world,	52:07
	that whatever language they may speak, their cries of	52:11
	anguish will be heard.	52:14
	For homeless people everywhere.	52:17
	For those who dwell in the streets of our nations cities,	52:20
	for thousands of refugees who roam the earth,	52:25
	searching for a home.	52:28
	For runaway children who find no security in	52:31
	being at home, that each may find a place of	52:34
	rest and understanding.	52:37
	Let us pray for those who are bereaved	52:41
	over the loss of a loved one,	52:45
	over news of a debilitating illness,	52:47
	over memories of happier days gone by.	52:50
	Let us pray for those who live with death,	52:55
	disease and oppression as their constant companions,	52:59
	that justice and healing may be restored.	53:04
	Let us pray for those caught in the struggles	53:08
	of discernment.	53:11
	For those who seek to know thee, yet struggle to believe.	53:13
	Grant them the courage necessary for the leap of faith.	53:17
	For the leaders of all the nations, that they may be	53:22
	moved to compassion and true wisdom,	53:26
	and lead us in the pathway of peace.	53:29
	Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted,	53:35
	for those who seek to harm themselves or others,	53:40
	for those who indulge in material excess,	53:44
	attempting to fill an interior void.	53:47
	That those who live within institutions,	53:52
	surrounded by people, yet lonely beyond words.	53:54
	Heal these, thy children, O God, that they may know	54:00
	the unique worth thou has bestowed upon them.	54:04
	These, and the many unspoken concerns of this congregation,	54:08
	we lift unto thee, Redeeming God, trusting in thy goodness	54:12
	confident in thy power to heal,	54:18
	grateful that thou art love for all eternity.	54:21
	In the name of Jesus Christ we pray,	54:27
	amen.	54:30
	In the spirit of thanksgiving for the light of the world	54:35
	that shines into the darkness, let us offer our gifts	54:38
	and ourselves unto God.	54:42
	(organ music)	54:51
	(choir singing)	57:13
	(assembly singing)	1:00:58
Rev. Ferree	Almighty and most merciful God,	1:02:00
	from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift,	1:02:03
	we give thee thanks and praise for all thy mercies.	1:02:07
	Thy goodness hath created us,	1:02:11
	thy bounty hath sustained us, thy patience has	1:02:13
	borne with us, thy love hath redeemed us.	1:02:17
	Give us a heart to love and serve thee	1:02:21
	and enable us to show our thankfulness for	1:02:24
	all thy goodness and mercy	1:02:27
	by giving of ourselves to thy service and	1:02:29
	cheerfully submitting in all things to thy	1:02:32
	blessed will.	1:02:34
	This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ,	1:02:36
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	1:02:39
	Our Father, who art in heaven.	1:02:41
	Hallowed be thy name.	1:02:44
	Thy kingdom come,	1:02:46
	thy will be done	1:02:48
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:02:49
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:02:51
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:02:54
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:02:56
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:02:59
	but deliver us from evil.	1:03:01
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,	1:03:04
	for ever.	1:03:07
	Amen.	1:03:08
	(organ music)	1:03:13
	♪ Praise my soul, the King of heaven, ♪	1:03:44
	♪ to his feet thy tribute bring. ♪	1:03:49
	♪ Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, ♪	1:03:54
	♪ ever more his praises sing. ♪	1:04:00
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, ♪	1:04:06
	♪ praise the everlasting King. ♪	1:04:11
	♪ Praise him for his grace and favor ♪	1:04:19
	♪ to our fathers in distress ♪	1:04:24
	♪ Praise him still the same as ever ♪	1:04:30
	♪ slow to chide and swift to bless. ♪	1:04:36
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, ♪	1:04:41
	♪ wondrous in his faithfulness. ♪	1:04:47
	♪ Father-like, he tends and spares us, ♪	1:04:55
	♪ well our feeble frame he knows. ♪	1:05:01
	♪ In his hands he gently bears us, ♪	1:05:07
	♪ rescues us from all our foes. ♪	1:05:12
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, ♪	1:05:18
	♪ widely yet his mercy flows. ♪	1:05:24
	♪ Angels help us to adore him ♪	1:05:32
	♪ You behold him face to face. ♪	1:05:38
	♪ Sun and moon bow down before him ♪	1:05:43
	♪ in his holy dwelling place. ♪	1:05:49
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, ♪	1:05:55
	♪ praise with us the God of grace. ♪	1:06:01
	(organ music)	1:06:15
Rev. Willimon	The grace of our Lord and Savior,	1:06:56
	Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the	1:06:58
	Holy Spirit be with you now and always.	1:07:01
	♪ Amen, ♪	1:07:16
	♪ amen, ♪	1:07:22
	♪ amen. ♪	1:07:28
	(organ music)	1:07:51

Item Info

Title:

J. Barrie Shepherd - "Out of the Depths" (January 18, 1987)

Description:

In Psalm 130 we have an example of one whose cry comes out of the depths, the depths of both personal and collective suffering, and who is rescued through the forgiveness of God and drawn into God's Kingdom of life. We must posture ourselves in hope, in radical trust that God will rescue all of creation from the depths in final victory. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 25:00. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 48:46.
Key quotation: “‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you.’ That is what it really means to live waiting on the Lord. It means a life that is clearly oriented toward hope. Not empty optimism that things will somehow get better but hope, dynamic hope in the Lord. It means a life of radical trust. Trust that in God’s hands the future is worth living for, and working for, building for, even dying for, but never killing for.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4251g120

Date:

January 18, 1987

Speaker:

Shepherd, J. Barrie

Liturgical Calendar:

Epiphany

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0017
ref8281_zy5
uachapelsermaud
duke:321545
dcrmv001017
ark:/87924/r4251g120
537da11a-8037-4604-9599-09a84489ec80

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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J. Barrie Shepherd - "Out of the Depths" (January 18, 1987)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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