William H. Willimon - "Choices" (September 20, 1987)

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	(organ music)	0:00
-	Good morning and welcome to Duke University Chapel.	1:50
	The flowers today, are given by the office of student life	1:53
	in honor of our parents, who are visiting here this weekend	1:57
	and we welcome you.	2:01
	We also welcome those Duke alumni who are here	2:02
	for your reunion weekends.	2:05
	And now, let us join together in the praise of God.	2:08
	♪ Beautiful Savior, lord of our nations ♪	2:22
	♪ Son of God and son of man ♪	2:36
	♪ Glory and honor, praise, adoration ♪	2:50
	♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪	3:04
	♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪	3:16
	(organ music)	3:38
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	4:17
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	4:25
	♪ Come, brethren follow where our Savior trod ♪	4:36
	♪ Our king victorious, Christ, the Son of God ♪	4:44
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	4:55
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	5:05
	♪ Led on their way by this triumphant sign ♪	5:15
	♪ The hosts of God in conquering ranks combine ♪	5:24
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	5:35
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	5:44
	♪ Each newborn servant of the crucified ♪	5:55
	♪ Bears on the brow the seal of him who died ♪	6:03
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	6:14
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	6:23
	♪ O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree ♪	6:33
	♪ As thou hast promised, draw the world to thee ♪	6:42
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	6:54
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	7:03
	♪ So shall our song of triumph ever be ♪	7:13
	♪ Praise to the crucified for victory ♪	7:22
	♪ Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim ♪	7:33
	♪ Till all the world adore his sacred name ♪	7:42
-	Grant us lord, not to me anxious about earthly things	8:01
	but to love things heavenly.	8:06
	And even now, while we are placed among things	8:08
	that are passing away,	8:12
	to hold fast to those that shall endure.	8:14
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord,	8:18
	who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,	8:20
	one God forever and ever.	8:24
	Amen.	8:27
	As a favor to many of you in our congregation	8:29
	who are standing in the aisles,	8:31
	we would ask those of you in the pews	8:32
	to please move towards the center as you take your seats.	8:34
	Thank you.	8:37
	(murmuring)	8:45
-	Let us pray.	9:08
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	9:10
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	9:14
	so that as the world is read and proclaimed,	9:17
	we might hear with joy, what you say to us this day.	9:20
	Amen.	9:25
	The first lesson, is taken from the book of Isia.	9:28
	Seek the lord why he may be found,	9:33
	call upon him while he is near.	9:36
	Let the wicked forsake his way	9:41
	and the unrighteous one, his thoughts.	9:43
	Let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him.	9:47
	And to our God, for God will abundantly pardon.	9:52
	For my thoughts are not your thoughts,	9:57
	neither are you ways, my ways, says the Lord.	10:01
	For as the heavens are higher than the Earth,	10:05
	so are my ways higher than your ways,	10:08
	and my thought than your thoughts.	10:12
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	10:15
	(organ music)	10:24
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	10:35
	♪ Sing a new song, sing a new song ♪	10:39
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	10:43
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	10:47
	♪ For God has done marvelous things ♪	10:51
	♪ Through God's right hand and Holy arm ♪	10:56
	♪ Salvation comes ♪	11:00
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	11:04
	♪ Sing a new song, sing a new song ♪	11:08
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	11:12
	♪ For Lord that they know the victory ♪	11:18
	♪ God's justice has come to all ♪	11:21
	♪ For this be your child, your grace ♪	11:26
	♪ Remember God's love at heart ♪	11:30
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	11:35
	♪ Sing a new song, sing a new song ♪	11:39
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	11:43
	(soprano voices sing)	11:48
	♪ Sing a new song to the lord ♪	12:05
	♪ Sing a new song, sing a new song ♪	12:09
	♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪	12:13
	(organ music)	12:22
	♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪	12:30
	♪ Praise to our Redeemer ♪	12:38
	♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪	12:47
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	12:55
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	13:03
	♪ Now and ever shall be ♪	13:12
-	The gospel lesson is taken from Matthew.	13:36
	While the kingdom of heaven is like a house holder	13:40
	who went out early in the morning to hire laborers	13:44
	for his vineyard.	13:47
	After agreeing with laborers for denarius a day,	13:49
	he sent them into his vineyard,	13:54
	and going out about the third hour,	13:56
	he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.	13:59
	And to them he said, "You go into the vineyard too,	14:03
	and whatever is right I will give you."	14:08
	So he went.	14:11
	Going out again about the sixth hour,	14:13
	and the ninth hour he did the same.	14:16
	And about the 11th hour,	14:19
	he went out and found others standing.	14:21
	And he said to them, "Why do you stand here idle all day?"	14:25
	They said to him, "Because no one has hired us."	14:30
	He said to them, "You go into the vineyard too."	14:34
	And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard	14:38
	said to his steward, "Call the laborers and pay them	14:42
	their wages, beginning with the last up to the first."	14:46
	And when those hired about the 11th hour came,	14:52
	each of them received a denarius.	14:56
	Now when the first came,	14:59
	they thought they would receive more.	15:01
	But each of them also received a denarius.	15:03
	And on receiving it, they grumbled at the house holder,	15:07
	saying, "These last only worked one hour	15:12
	and you have made them equal to us, who have born	15:17
	the burden of the day and the scorching heat."	15:20
	But he replied to one of them,	15:24
	"Friend, I am doing you no wrong.	15:27
	Did you not agree with me for a denarius?	15:31
	Take what belongs to you and go.	15:34
	I choose to give to this last, as I give to you.	15:38
	Am I not allowed to do what I choose,	15:43
	with what belongs to me?	15:46
	Or do you begrudge my generosity?"	15:48
	So the last will be the first, and the first, last.	15:51
	This ends the reading of the gospel lesson.	15:57
	♪ I will lift up mine eyes to the hills ♪	16:19
	♪ From whence cometh my help ♪	16:26
	♪ My help cometh from the Lord ♪	16:35
	♪ Which made Heaven and Earth ♪	16:45
	♪ He would not suffer thy foot ♪	16:54
	♪ Thy foot which keepeth thee ♪	17:00
	♪ He will not slumber ♪	17:08
	♪ The Lord is thy keeper ♪	17:19
	(choir sings hymn)	17:26
	(muffled singing)	17:30
-	The epistle lesson.	20:52
	I thank God in all my remembrance of you,	20:57
	always in every prayer of mine for all of you	21:00
	making my prayer with joy.	21:03
	Thanking you for your partnership in the gospel.	21:06
	And I am sure that he who began a good work in you	21:12
	will bring it to completion.	21:15
	It is right for me to feel thus about you all,	21:17
	because I hold you in my heart.	21:19
	You're all partakers of me, of grace,	21:23
	both in my imprisonment and in my defense	21:26
	for the confirmation of the gospel.	21:30
	For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all	21:33
	with the affection of Christ, Jesus.	21:37
	Yes and I shall rejoice.	21:41
	For I know that through your prayers	21:43
	and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ,	21:45
	this will turn out for my deliverance.	21:48
	As it is my eager expectation and hope	21:50
	that I shall not be at all ashamed,	21:53
	but that with full courage now as always,	21:56
	Christ will be honored in my body.	21:58
	Whether by life or by death,	22:02
	for me to live as Christ, and to die is gain.	22:05
	If it is to be life in the flesh,	22:10
	that means faithful labor for me.	22:12
	Yet which is shall choose, I cannot tell.	22:15
	I'm hard pressed between the two.	22:18
	My desire is to depart and to be with Christ,	22:21
	for that is better, but to remain in the flesh	22:24
	is more necessary on your account.	22:27
	Convinced of this, I know that I shall remain	22:30
	and continue with you all,	22:32
	for your progress and joy in the faith,	22:34
	so that in me you may have ample cause to glory	22:37
	in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.	22:39
	"Why do you enjoy preaching in Duke Chapel?"	22:49
	The interviewer asked.	22:52
	And I heard myself replying	22:55
	because it is a great privilege to be with young people	22:57
	who are making so many important decisions in their lives.	23:02
	The way I figure it,	23:09
	of the four or five most important decisions	23:10
	a person will make in life,	23:14
	decisions about career and education and marriage,	23:18
	the chances are, most of these decisions	23:23
	will be made right here at Duke.	23:25
	And it is good to be with people	23:28
	who are at that stage in life.	23:31
	At the age of decision.	23:33
	And it's a particular privilege to be here at Duke,	23:37
	where we have so many gifted and talented young people.	23:39
	Who because of their gifts and talents,	23:43
	have so many more interesting choices to make.	23:45
	Should I go into clinical work or pure research?	23:49
	Should I go to graduate school in French	23:53
	or should I go to the Law School?	23:54
	How wonderful it is to have such interesting alternatives	23:58
	from which to choose.	24:02
	And I know that the students would want me to tell	24:04
	you visiting parents how grateful they are,	24:06
	for all the opportunities you have given them,	24:09
	because with more opportunities, they have more choices.	24:12
	The person whose parents did not enable her	24:16
	to take piano lessons, does not have to choose	24:18
	between a career in music or a career in ballet.	24:21
	The person who spent his 17th year screaming up and down	24:27
	Sunset Blvd at all hours of the night,	24:31
	whose verbal skills were limited to,	24:34
	"What's happening baby?"	24:35
	This person does not have to agonize	24:37
	over which college to attend.	24:39
	Our age revels in choice,	24:44
	and have we Americans ever had so many different,	24:48
	interesting alternatives?	24:52
	Think of your grandparents, your great grandparents,	24:55
	think of your great grandmother.	24:59
	Chances are when she was the age of a Duke freshman,	25:02
	life was less complicated because there were fewer choices.	25:06
	Less complicated and less free.	25:13
	Most people followed a well-worn path,	25:16
	trod by their parents before them.	25:20
	There wasn't this agonizing over what to do with my life.	25:24
	There were few options.	25:28
	And we think less satisfaction	25:30
	because there were few options.	25:32
	My wife remembers talking to her grandmother	25:35
	and asking her, "Grandmother, how did you and Grandfather	25:37
	decide to get married?"	25:40
	And her grandmother looked at her, sort of confused	25:43
	and said, "Well his family owned the farm here,	25:46
	and my family owned the farm here,	25:49
	and we new that if we got married,	25:51
	one day we could combine them and have a larger farm."	25:53
	There wasn't much room for romance in that sort of world	25:58
	was there,	26:01
	agonizing over what ought I to do?	26:03
	And we are glad that that isn't our world.	26:07
	For you and I are apt to judge the happiness of a person	26:11
	on the basis of how many interesting alternatives	26:17
	and choices that person has to make in life.	26:20
	Today a woman is no longer limited to a narrow range	26:25
	of socially acceptable occupations.	26:29
	She can choose, and because she can choose,	26:32
	she seems more fully human, more fully alive.	26:35
	We have constitutional guarantees for freedom of choice.	26:41
	It's difficult to think of someone as a full human being	26:47
	who has no choice.	26:51
	How did you choose your husband?	26:55
	"Well, only one man ever asked me out and, so..."	26:58
	How did you decide to go into preaching?	27:05
	"Well I always thought about a career in science	27:07
	but then I flunked 8th grade algebra	27:09
	and so I thought maybe law school.	27:11
	But then I didn't do well in history either,	27:13
	and so, seminary."	27:15
	No, what kind of reasoning is that?	27:20
	What kind of life is that,	27:22
	with no real choice?	27:24
	For in my choice is my exercise	27:29
	of my highest human potential.	27:31
	I'm not just some vine clinging to whatever	27:35
	I happen to be planted next to.	27:37
	I'm not just some piece of flotsam bobbing along	27:39
	the stream of life, tossed this where and that.	27:42
	I can choose, I can decide, I can shape my destiny.	27:45
	I took this road and I didn't take that one.	27:50
	Oh a generation ago people were not so fortunate.	27:55
	But now we have freedom of choice.	27:59
	More to say yes and to say no.	28:02
	Abortion?	28:05
	It's a choice now.	28:06
	Sexual orientation, lifestyle, marriage, career?	28:08
	Don't you worry about what Mama and Daddy told you to do,	28:12
	or what other people say is right for you.	28:15
	You can choose, decide.	28:17
	Sometimes you parents criticize us here at the university.	28:20
	You say you send them to us right,	28:23
	but then they get their head filled with all sorts	28:26
	of strange ideas and notions,	28:28
	and they want to do things	28:30
	they didn't do back in River City.	28:32
	But this is education.	28:35
	I mean what is eduction except learning	28:38
	about all the interesting choices one has in life,	28:40
	all the different alternatives.	28:45
	Isn't this what growing up means,	28:47
	becoming someone who chooses?	28:49
	And thus it may seem strange to you	28:55
	to take as our text this Sunday	29:00
	a rather confusing testimony of a prisoner,	29:04
	a prisoner named Paul.	29:10
	For who could be any less free,	29:17
	any more devoid of choice	29:20
	than somebody who's in jail.	29:23
	His letter to the Philippians was written while Paul	29:27
	was sitting in a Roman jail awaiting execution.	29:32
	Paul writes, "I want you to know brothers and sisters,	29:37
	that what's happened to me has really served	29:41
	to advance the gospel.	29:43
	So that is has become known throughout	29:45
	the whole Praetorian Guard."	29:47
	What?	29:51
	The leader of the church is in jail.	29:53
	Caesar has Paul.	29:56
	He's been trying to get his hands on him,	29:58
	he's at last got him.	30:00
	And if Caesar has Paul,	30:01
	then Caesar must have the church as well.	30:02
	Oh he's just trying to make us feel better,	30:07
	they said back in Phillipi when they got the letter.	30:09
	Yeah, stiff upper lip and all that.	30:13
	This has served to advance the gospel?	30:19
	A man lies in a hospital bed,	30:25
	both legs broken,	30:30
	body in mummy-like bandages,	30:32
	a mass of bruise and broken bones.	30:35
	You come in to visit him, you say,	30:37
	"Oh I'm so sorry that this terrible thing happened to you."	30:39
	And he says to you,	30:42
	"Oh well, it's not all that bad,	30:44
	I've gotten to catch up on my soap operas."	30:45
	No.	30:49
	I mean there are limits,	30:51
	even to the power of positive thinking, there are limits.	30:52
	Trapped.	30:56
	Paul is in jail, he has no power over his destiny,	30:58
	no way to move forward or to pull back.	31:02
	Paul says that he's gotten to preach the gospel	31:07
	to a couple of Roman GI's, big deal.	31:11
	That really doesn't change his situation.	31:15
	Now if Paul still had some choices,	31:18
	if he really had some meaningful decisions to make,	31:20
	some way to get over or around and out of this predicament,	31:25
	then he might speak of the advance of the gospel,	31:28
	but how here in jail?	31:31
	For have we not agreed that life is only life	31:35
	when there is possibility, and choice,	31:39
	and decision, and alternative.	31:42
	And yet, Paul's letter is a somber reminder	31:48
	that much of our lives is lived	31:53
	where there are no choices,	31:59
	no alternatives.	32:02
	I mean think about how much of your life,	32:06
	even if you're young, how many of the things	32:10
	that make you you, are matters over which	32:14
	you had absolutely no choice, no control, no decision.	32:17
	My name, my gender, my physical appearance, my accent.	32:23
	I know that many of you think that I'm affecting this accent	32:28
	in order to impress you, but no,	32:31
	I just happen to be born in South Carolina, lucky, I guess.	32:33
	Nobody asked me.	32:38
	Harvard's Erik Erikson believes that an infant learns trust	32:41
	in the first months of life,	32:46
	and that if for some reason the infant finds that this world	32:49
	is an untrustworthy place, in those first weeks,	32:53
	that person's ability to trust is damaged forever.	32:58
	Child developmentalists say that we learn half	33:03
	of everything we'll ever know in life by age three.	33:06
	So much that makes us the way we are, emotionally,	33:12
	socially, physically, mentally, is fixed.	33:17
	Matters over which we have no choice.	33:21
	Well how did you decide to become a Methodist?	33:27
	Well I, at age 12, made a study of all the worlds	33:29
	great religions and I narrowed it down	33:32
	to Islam and Christianity.	33:34
	And then I was neck and neck	33:35
	between Presbyterian and Methodism, and then--	33:36
	No, I got put here.	33:41
	Nobody asked me whether I liked it or not.	33:43
	Let's speak frankly.	33:49
	For most of our lives, we are not dealing with a host	33:53
	of interesting alternatives.	33:58
	Rather we are deciding what to do	34:00
	when there are no alternatives.	34:03
	And what to do then?	34:09
	Oh, you got to choose between Duke	34:13
	and five other nationally ranked prestigious schools, but	34:17
	your parents can tell you that there will be times in life	34:20
	when you won't have such choice.	34:24
	Times in life when the only choice is to somehow live	34:29
	when there is no choice.	34:32
	And what then?	34:37
	What then?	34:38
	Oh you can shake your fist in rage at God.	34:40
	You can offer cynical comments about life.	34:45
	You can distort the face into a howl	34:48
	and climb under a rock somewhere.	34:51
	You can distort the voice into a perpetual whine.	34:52
	Oh I wanted to, but my father never let me...	34:57
	Oh I could have, but you see my wife, she didn't...	35:01
	The professor was down on me from the first day of class,	35:04
	what could I do?	35:07
	Or another way is to que sera, sera.	35:10
	That's the way it is, some are born well,	35:14
	some are born not so well, what can anybody do?	35:15
	My life is just one little spec	35:17
	in this huge pattern of things.	35:19
	Best to adjust and fit in and go with the flow,	35:21
	what can you you do?	35:23
	Paul writes from prison,	35:28
	"I shall rejoice, because I know that through your prayers	35:33
	and the help of the spirit of Christ Jesus,	35:39
	this will turn out for my deliverance.	35:41
	Christ will be honored,	35:44
	whether by life or by death,	35:47
	because for me to life is Christ, to die is gain.	35:50
	Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell,	35:56
	I'm hard pressed between the two."	35:58
	Wait a minute, what is this, which I shall choose?	36:04
	Paul is in prison, he's neither judge nor jury.	36:08
	What possible meaning can there be in his choice.	36:13
	Perhaps prison has disorientated his mental capacities.	36:18
	Or perhaps, just perhaps, Paul is saying	36:24
	there is a way even when there is no way.	36:31
	Listen to this prisoner, this ambassador in chains.	36:37
	Because there's going to be a lot of your life	36:43
	that will be lived in chains as well.	36:45
	Oh some of you are young, gifted,	36:50
	full of possibilities and potential.	36:51
	But it will not always be so. Even for you	36:56
	there will be some closed doors, some brick wall,	37:00
	some way not to go forward or pulled back.	37:03
	For Paul and for us I suppose,	37:10
	the most insurmountable obstacle of all,	37:13
	the greatest closed door is death.	37:18
	Paul speaks of it, he's awaiting execution by Caeser.	37:25
	Death.	37:31
	And when you think about it,	37:33
	all of our little setbacks,	37:33
	and drawbacks, and pullbacks	37:35
	and all the closed doors,	37:37
	and the brick walls,	37:38
	all have behind them this grinning empty face of death.	37:40
	Elsewhere Paul calls him the final enemy.	37:45
	Death,	37:50
	the ultimate no choice situation.	37:53
	And in facing the final enemy,	37:59
	Paul tells his friends at Phillipi,	38:03
	"There is a way, even when there is no way.	38:08
	There is a choice, even when there's no choice.	38:14
	Friends, whether I live or I die,	38:19
	Christ shall be glorified in my body."	38:23
	Whether I live or I die.	38:28
	On the first Sunday of Lent,	38:35
	my friend Grady Hardin stood in this pulpit and preached.	38:36
	And on Monday morning he called to say	38:40
	that the tests he'd had the week before were positive.	38:42
	Even now, his life was in the grip of the enemy.	38:47
	"Thanks for asking me to preach,"	38:52
	he said.	38:53
	"That'll be the last sermon he'll let me preach."	38:54
	Oh but there're ways we said,	38:59
	you're lucky to be here at Duke, there are therapies,	39:00
	there's chemicals, there's radiation, things to be done.	39:02
	For the next weeks, he did valiant battle with the enemy.	39:07
	It left him half of what he once was,	39:11
	but each time we would go into his hospital room	39:16
	with tears in eyes, Grady would find something funny	39:19
	and we would laugh, there would be raucous laughter.	39:23
	But every time the laughter died down you could hear him	39:27
	outside pacing the floor, pacing the floor,	39:30
	waiting, waiting for his opportunity to pounce.	39:32
	Impatient with all these former students	39:35
	and these preachers and family and friends, waiting.	39:37
	His day came on a Friday in June.	39:42
	Pentecost.	39:49
	The day in which the spirit of God descended,	39:52
	found Grady's spirit ebbing from him.	39:55
	This journey down this long corridor which had began	39:59
	in Lent, was going to end by Pentecost.	40:03
	You could hear the enemy waiting for us to be done,	40:12
	waiting for the people to be gone.	40:16
	But in his last breath, Grady roused up and led in prayer.	40:21
	Lord support us all the day long,	40:28
	until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,	40:31
	when this busy world is hushed	40:34
	and the fever of life is over,	40:36
	then of thy great mercy grant us safe lodging,	40:39
	holy rest,	40:44
	peace at last.	40:46
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	40:49
	And the door swung open, and there was the enemy	40:54
	with the most forlorn look on his face you ever saw.	41:00
	Cause he had reached in his quiver to finally do the deed	41:05
	and all he had was holy rest	41:08
	and peace at last.	41:13
	Death's great victory party just ruined.	41:17
	And Grady roused briefly,	41:24
	and he stared him in the face and said,	41:25
	"Free at last, thank God, free."	41:28
	And five days later, they gathered in this chapel,	41:32
	and they sang Easter songs.	41:35
	So don't you ever forget one word, some words of a prisoner	41:41
	to other prisoners.	41:44
	Wherever life may take you, whether by life	41:48
	or whether by death, you can choose.	41:52
	Even when there is no way, there is a way.	41:59
	Amen.	42:06
	(organ music)	42:13
	(church hymn being sung)	42:37
	(singing muffled by organ)	42:41
Female Preacher	The lord be with you.	44:15
Congregation	And also with you.	44:17
Female Preacher	Let us pray.	44:19
	Most merciful god,	44:32
	in choosing us to be your people,	44:36
	you have called us into relationship	44:39
	with our sisters and brothers throughout the world.	44:41
	We offer unto you these prayers for others,	44:46
	beseeching you to grant them fullness of life.	44:49
	We pray for people everywhere who seek to know the truth,	44:54
	and who dare to weave it into the fabric	45:00
	of their daily lives.	45:02
	For all who earnestly seek peace	45:05
	and who live lives that embody it.	45:09
	For all who suffer with those who are stricken,	45:13
	whatever there station in life,	45:17
	and to who help to bring the world into new awareness	45:20
	of our own frailties.	45:23
	For all who perceive beauty and order	45:26
	in the midst of chaos and despair.	45:29
	For all who stand up in any way	45:34
	to expose injustice, prejudice and inhumanity,	45:36
	even at the price of their own security.	45:42
	We commend you Savior God,	45:46
	those who stand in special need of prayer this day.	45:49
	For all who bear the burdens of homelessness or unemployment	45:53
	and who suffer the pangs of hunger.	45:59
	For all who endure the trials of sickness and disease.	46:03
	For all who are paralyzed in the face of choices	46:08
	or responsibilities that consume them.	46:11
	For all who are burdened, not by too little,	46:15
	but by too much.	46:18
	Wielding power that renders them indifferent to the needs	46:20
	and rights of others.	46:23
	For all who are overwhelmed by loneliness, despair,	46:26
	or grief, and who question their reasons for living.	46:30
	And we dare to pray, eternal God, even for ourselves.	46:36
	Give us keener self-understanding,	46:42
	lest we think of ourselves more highly,	46:46
	or more lowly than we ought.	46:49
	Give us the sense of what is most vital and most valuable	46:52
	in our lives, lest we squander our years	46:56
	and waste precious energy.	47:00
	Give us a clear and compelling vision of the call	47:04
	to be disciples of Christ, lest we presume our own	47:06
	limited understanding of faith,	47:11
	to be all that you would ask of us,	47:13
	when you have created us to be so much more.	47:16
	We beseech the eternal God for the deep	47:20
	and unspoken needs within each of us.	47:23
	Bless this gathering, whatever our reason may be	47:27
	for coming here and may the light of thy love	47:30
	shine through us eternally.	47:35
	This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ,	47:39
	our Lord and Savior, amen.	47:41
	And now in the spirit of Thanksgiving,	47:46
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	47:48
	(audience murmurs)	47:54
	(orchestral music)	48:35
	(organ music)	48:56
	(hymn being sung in foreign language)	52:20
	(organ music)	57:43
	(congregation sings church hymn)	58:00
	(organ drowns out singing)	58:04
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:13
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:16
	(congregation singing church hymn)	58:21
	(organ drowns out singing)	58:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:33
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:39
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:42
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:46
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:54
-	Oh Lord our God, the author and giver of all good things.	59:06
	We thank thee for all thy mercy's,	59:10
	and for thy loving care over all thy creatures.	59:13
	We bless thee for the gift of life,	59:16
	for thy protection round about us.	59:19
	For thy guiding hand upon us,	59:21
	and for the tokens of thy love within us.	59:24
	We thank thee for friendship and family,	59:27
	for good hopes and precious memories.	59:30
	For the joys that cheer us and the trials that teach us	59:33
	to trust in thee.	59:36
	Most of all, we thank thee for the saving knowledge	59:38
	of thy son, our Savior Jesus Christ,	59:40
	who taught us boldly to pray.	59:43
	Our Father who art in heaven,	59:46
	hallowed be thy name.	59:49
	Thy kingdom come.	59:51
	Thy will be done	59:52
	on earth as it is in heaven.	59:54
	Give us this day our daily bread,	59:56
	and forgive us our trespasses,	59:59
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	1:00:01
	and lead us not into temptation,	1:00:04
	but deliver us from evil.	1:00:07
	For thine is the kingdom,	1:00:09
	and the power, and the glory, forever.	1:00:10
	Amen.	1:00:14
	(organ music)	1:00:17
	♪ God of grace and God of glory ♪	1:00:55
	♪ On thy people pour thy power ♪	1:01:01
	♪ Crown your ancient church's story ♪	1:01:07
	♪ Bring its bud to glorious flower ♪	1:01:12
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:01:18
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:01:24
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:01:29
	♪ Lo! the hosts of evil 'round us ♪	1:01:37
	♪ Scorn Thy Christ, assail his ways ♪	1:01:42
	♪ From the fears that long have bound us ♪	1:01:48
	♪ Free our hearts to faith and praise ♪	1:01:54
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:02:00
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:02:06
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:02:12
	♪ Cure thy children's warring madness ♪	1:02:20
	♪ Bend our pride to thy control ♪	1:02:25
	♪ Shame our wanton selfish gladness ♪	1:02:31
	♪ Rich in things and poor in soul ♪	1:02:37
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:02:42
	♪ Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:02:48
	♪ Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:02:54
	♪ Set our feet on lofty places ♪	1:03:02
	♪ Gird our lives that they may be ♪	1:03:07
	♪ Armored with all Christ-like graces ♪	1:03:13
	♪ In the fight to set men free ♪	1:03:19
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:03:25
	♪ That we fail not man nor thee ♪	1:03:31
	♪ That we fail not man nor thee ♪	1:03:37
	♪ Save us from weak resignation ♪	1:03:45
	♪ To the evils we deplore ♪	1:03:50
	♪ Let the search for thy salvation ♪	1:03:56
	♪ Be our glory evermore ♪	1:04:02
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:04:07
	♪ Serving thee whom we adore ♪	1:04:13
	♪ Serving thee whom we adore ♪	1:04:19
-	And now go forth in peace and be of good courage.	1:04:30
	Hold fast to that which is good,	1:04:34
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.	1:04:36
	And may the blessing of God, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit	1:04:39
	be with you all, now and forevermore.	1:04:44
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:49
	♪ Amen ♪	1:04:59
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:09
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:17
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:23
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:34
	♪ Amen ♪	1:05:48
	(organ music)	1:06:10

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Choices" (September 20, 1987)

Description:

Sermon start time: 22:49. Sermon end time: 42:07.
The preacher uses the Apostle Paul’s situation in the jail to argue that God makes a way when there is no way. The cross of Christ turns even death into a way to be with God. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Perhaps, just perhaps, Paul is saying there is a way, even when there is no way.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r49p2wm86

Date:

September 20, 1987

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Philippians

Chapter and Verse:

Philippians 1:12-14,19-24

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0049
ref8397_oiw
uachapelsermaud
duke:321449
dcrmv001049
ark:/87924/r49p2wm86
f5cacf4a-6dbe-4a6b-8368-846b392c2bae

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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

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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William H. Willimon - "Choices" (September 20, 1987)

Transcript

Item Info

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Duke University Archives