Nancy Ferree-Clark - "At the Name of Jesus" (January 1, 1989)

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	(brass quintet music)	0:00
-	We welcome you to this service	2:38
	on the first Sunday of a new year	2:40
	and first Sunday in Christmastide,	2:42
	glad that you're with us.	2:45
	We've been led in worship by the UNC Brass Quintet	2:47
	and we will also be joined by singers	2:51
	from the Solstice Assembly	2:54
	and we welcome these guest musicians to our service.	2:56
	Reminder that this service is rebroadcast now each Sunday	3:00
	on Durham Cable Vision channel eight at 2:00 p.m.	3:05
	and as usual,	3:09
	is broadcast live in the patient rooms of the Duke Hospitals	3:10
	and we welcome those who worship with us.	3:14
	Our preacher today is the Reverend Miss Nancy Ferree-Clark,	3:16
	associate minister to the university.	3:20
	And now let us continue our worship.	3:23
	("The First Noel")	3:28
	Let us join in the litany.	8:25
	O God, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy,	8:28
	with hushed spirits in the quiet of thy sanctuary,	8:33
	we welcome the dawning of another year.	8:37
	We lift up our hearts to thee, O Lord.	8:40
	From the failures of the past, from broken hopes,	8:44
	and disappointed ambitions,	8:47
	from our sins against ourselves and against others,	8:50
	and from the transiency and vicissitude of our lives.	8:54
Congregation	We lift up our hearts to thee, O Lord.	8:58
-	We confess the unworthy living	9:01
	that has stained the record of the year that has passed.	9:03
	For pardon, for grace to make restitution,	9:07
	for a clean heart and a right spirit	9:11
	with which to enter the new year.	9:13
Congregation	We lift up our hearts to thee, O Lord.	9:16
-	Grant us honesty to face ourselves	9:19
	as we confront another year.	9:22
	Save us from self-deceit, mean excuses, unworthy evasions,	9:24
	and prepare us with inner integrity and spiritual resource	9:30
	that we may be adequate for all that lies before us.	9:35
Congregation	O Lord, have mercy upon us	9:39
	and grant us this blessing.	9:41
-	From loss of faith and hope and courage,	9:43
	from anxiety that harasses us and fear that affrights us,	9:47
	cowardice that defeats us,	9:51
	and from the loss of thy companionship,	9:54
	without which no life is good, no soul is strong.	9:57
Congregation	Good Lord, deliver us from this.	10:02
-	From cherishing ill will	10:04
	in a world that perishes for want of goodwill,	10:05
	from selfishness in a world	10:09
	whose need of generosity is deep and desperate,	10:11
	from so living that Christ shall be crucified again,	10:15
	and the Kingdom of God delay its coming.	10:19
Congregation	Good Lord, deliver us from this.	10:22
-	Confirm now in each of us some worthy decision.	10:25
	Bring us to the new year's beginning	10:29
	with such vision of our duty, such resolution to perform it,	10:31
	and such resources for its consummation,	10:36
	that whether in the year ahead we live or fall asleep,	10:38
	we shall be neither dishonored nor ashamed before thee.	10:43
	Lord, have mercy upon us and grant us this blessing, amen.	10:48
	Gracious God, at the beginning of this year,	10:54
	bless us with your presence,	10:57
	that in all things in the year ahead,	10:59
	we may see thee, amen.	11:02
	Be seated.	11:05
-	Let us pray.	11:21
	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	11:25
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	11:27
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	11:30
	we might hear with joy	11:33
	what you say to us this Christmastide, amen.	11:35
	The Old Testament lesson comes from the book of Numbers,	11:52
	chapter six, verses 22 through 27,	11:57
	in which God grants to his people	12:06
	the words of a great benediction.	12:08
	"The Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron and his sons,	12:13
	"'thus you shall bless the people of Israel.	12:18
	"'You shall say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you.	12:23
	"'The Lord make his face to shine upon you	12:29
	"'and be gracious unto you.	12:31
	"'The Lord lift up his countenance upon you	12:34
	"'and give you peace.	12:37
	"'So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel	12:41
	"'and I will bless them.'"	12:44
	Here ends the reading of the Old Testament.	12:47
-	Let us stand for the psalm.	12:54
	May God be gracious to us and bless us.	13:02
Congregation	And make his face to shine upon us.	13:07
William	That thy way may be known upon earth.	13:09
Congregation	Thy saving power among all nations.	13:12
William	Let the peoples praise thee, O God.	13:14
Congregation	Let all the peoples praise thee.	13:18
William	Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.	13:20
Congregation	For thou hast judged the peoples	13:24
	with equity and guide the nations upon earth.	13:25
-	Let the peoples praise thee, O God.	13:29
Congregation	Let all the peoples praise thee.	13:32
-	The earth has yielded its increase.	13:34
Congregation	God, our God, has blessed us.	13:38
-	God has blessed us.	13:40
Congregation	Let all the ends of the earth fear him.	13:43
	(organ music)	13:47
-	The epistle lesson is taken	14:56
	from Paul's letter to the Christians at Philippi,	14:59
	chapter two, verses nine through 13.	15:03
	Paul describes the great reward which comes to Christ	15:13
	for being such a obedient servant	15:15
	of both God in heaven and man on earth.	15:17
	"Therefore, God has highly exalted him	15:22
	"and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,	15:26
	"that at the name of Jesus,	15:31
	"every knee should bow,	15:32
	"in heaven and on earth and under the earth,	15:35
	"and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,	15:39
	"to the glory of God the Father.	15:43
	"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,	15:48
	"so now, not only as in my presence,	15:52
	"but much more in my absence,	15:55
	"work out your own salvation in fear and trembling.	15:58
	"For God is at work in you,	16:05
	"both to will and to work for his good pleasure."	16:09
	Here ends the reading of the epistle.	16:15
	♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪	16:21
	♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪	16:25
	♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪	16:29
	♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪	16:34
	♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪	16:39
	♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪	16:44
	♪ See he lays his glory by ♪	16:50
	♪ Born that man no more may die ♪	16:55
	♪ Born to raise the sons from earth ♪	17:00
	♪ Born to give them second birth ♪	17:04
	♪ Born to raise the sons from earth ♪	17:09
	♪ Born to give them second birth ♪	17:14
	♪ Hail the holy Prince of Peace ♪	17:20
	♪ Hail the Son of Righteousness ♪	17:25
	♪ Light and life to all he brings ♪	17:30
	♪ Risen with healing in his wings ♪	17:34
	♪ Light and life to all he brings ♪	17:39
	♪ Risen with healing in his wings ♪	17:44
	♪ Let us then with angels sing ♪	17:50
	♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪	17:55
	♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪	18:00
	♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪	18:04
	♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪	18:10
	♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪	18:15
	♪ Sound, sound your instruments of joy ♪	18:24
	♪ Sound, sound your instruments of joy ♪	18:28
	♪ Your instruments of joy ♪	18:32
	♪ Sound, sound your instruments of joy ♪	18:34
	♪ To triumph shake each string ♪	18:40
	♪ To triumph shake each string ♪	18:44
	♪ Let shouts of universal joy ♪	18:47
	♪ Universal joy, universal joy ♪	18:51
	♪ Welcome, welcome ♪	18:56
	♪ Welcome the newborn King ♪	19:08
	♪ See, see the gladdening dawn appears ♪	19:13
	♪ See, see the gladdening dawn appears ♪	19:17
	♪ The gladdening dawn appears ♪	19:20
	♪ See, see the gladdening dawn appears ♪	19:22
	♪ Bright angels deck the morn ♪	19:29
	♪ Bright angels deck the morn ♪	19:33
	♪ Behold the great I Am is here ♪	19:36
	♪ I Am is here, great I Am is here ♪	19:39
	♪ The King, the King ♪	19:44
	♪ The King of glory is born ♪	19:55
	♪ Let heaven and earth and sea proclaim ♪	20:01
	♪ Let heaven and earth and sea proclaim ♪	20:05
	♪ Let heaven and sea proclaim ♪	20:08
	♪ Let heaven and earth and sea proclaim ♪	20:10
	♪ The wondrous love of God ♪	20:16
	♪ The wondrous love of God ♪	20:21
	♪ And all the universal frame ♪	20:24
	♪ Universal frame, universal frame ♪	20:28
	♪ Sing praise, sing praise ♪	20:32
	♪ Sing praises to our God ♪	20:44
	Would the congregation please rise	21:03
	for the reading of the Gospel.	21:05
	The good news comes to us	21:19
	from the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ	21:20
	according to St. Luke, chapter two, verses 15 through 21,	21:23
	in which the Gospel writer tells us of events	21:31
	on the night of Christ's birth,	21:34
	after the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field.	21:36
	"When the angels went away from them into heaven,	21:42
	"the shepherds said, one to another,	21:45
	"'Let us go over to Bethlehem	21:48
	"'and see this thing that has happened,	21:50
	"'which the Lord has made known to us.'	21:53
	"And they went with haste	21:57
	"and found Mary and Joseph and a babe lying in a manger.	21:58
	"And when they saw it,	22:04
	"they made known the saying	22:05
	"which had been told them concerning this child.	22:08
	"And all who heard it	22:12
	"wondered at what the shepherds told them,	22:13
	"but Mary kept all these things,	22:17
	"pondering them in her heart.	22:20
	"And the shepherds returned,	22:23
	"glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen	22:25
	"as it had been made known to them.	22:29
	"And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised,	22:33
	"he was called Jesus,	22:37
	"the name given by the angel	22:39
	"before he was conceived in the womb."	22:42
	Here ends the reading of the Gospel lesson.	22:46
	("Good King Wenceslas")	22:54
-	One of the questions often asked of a minister is,	25:27
	"How does one discern the true meaning of scripture	25:32
	"when one is reading the Bible?"	25:35
	This is a complex subject, indeed,	25:38
	and one that I couldn't fully answer in a single sermon,	25:41
	even if I felt I had the answer.	25:44
	But I do commend	25:46
	to those of you who have ever asked such a question	25:47
	an idea that was proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola,	25:51
	the founder of the Jesuit order.	25:54
	He suggested that in an attempt	25:56
	to discern the meaning of a passage of scripture,	25:59
	the reader should imagine him or herself	26:03
	as one of the characters in the story.	26:05
	Picture the sights, the sounds, the feelings	26:08
	that are a part of the scene.	26:11
	Imagine the joys and the sorrows, the conflicts,	26:14
	and the celebrations that character might experience.	26:18
	Such a method has been very helpful for many people	26:21
	and it often reveals a new and extremely personal connection	26:24
	for them to scripture.	26:28
	I, too, have found this method helpful from time to time,	26:30
	but in today's Gospel lesson,	26:34
	I'll admit to having difficulty imagining myself	26:36
	as a character in that story.	26:39
	Though I did grow up on a farm,	26:42
	I feel little affinity with shepherds.	26:44
	Their work was too boring	26:47
	and the conditions too harsh for my taste.	26:49
	Well, that just leaves Mary and Joseph	26:52
	as parents of the new babe.	26:54
	Indeed, I can relate,	26:56
	at least to their challenge of being a new parent,	26:58
	having become a mother this past July.	27:01
	But I find the idea of a manger in a stable unfathomable	27:04
	alongside birthing beds and epidurals at Duke Hospital.	27:09
	And the image of a new baby	27:14
	surrounded by a group of dirty shepherds, adoring or not,	27:15
	is simply repulsive	27:18
	to a parent worried about infectious diseases.	27:20
	Then, there's all that happened to the Holy Family	27:24
	after the shepherds came and went.	27:26
	We read in today's lesson that,	27:29
	"At the end of eight days,	27:30
	"the child was circumcised and was called Jesus,	27:32
	"the name given by the angel	27:35
	"before he was conceived in the womb."	27:37
	Now, as most of you know,	27:41
	if you've been a new parent yourself	27:42
	or even if you've ever been around one,	27:44
	eight days can seem like an eternity	27:46
	in the life of those just blessed with the gift of new life.	27:48
	There's that sudden onset of never-ending exhaustion,	27:52
	on-the-job training,	27:56
	and bathing, changing, and feeding the baby,	27:58
	and new negotiating for mom and dad	28:01
	to decide who will do what.	28:03
	When, quite mysteriously,	28:06
	all of a sudden it begins to feel like	28:08
	that little bundle of joy has been around forever.	28:10
	"Was there life before he or she came to be,"	28:13
	a parent may very well be asking by the eighth day.	28:17
	All of which makes it difficult for me to understand	28:22
	how Mary and Joseph could actually go through with it,	28:24
	naming the baby Jesus, I mean.	28:28
	After all, it was only an angel who told Mary	28:32
	that would be his name	28:34
	and that was at least nine months before.	28:35
	Now that the baby was actually theirs,	28:39
	why not give him a family name?	28:41
	Or at least something they came up with on their own?	28:44
	Maybe the angel didn't really mean it,	28:48
	all this talk about Son of the Most High,	28:50
	ruler over the house of Jacob.	28:53
	Like all good Gospel writers,	28:57
	St. Luke has his reasons for telling us what he does,	29:00
	the way he does it.	29:02
	We hear about the circumcision and naming of Jesus	29:05
	on the eighth day	29:07
	not so much as a reminder of Jesus' humanity	29:09
	or even the humanity of his parents.	29:12
	We hear of the naming of Jesus	29:16
	because of Mary and Joseph's faithful obedience	29:18
	to God's word.	29:21
	As the angel Gabriel had announced at the annunciation	29:23
	that his name would be Jesus, the Savior of the world,	29:25
	so it was, no questions asked, no bargains proposed.	29:29
	This is but a tiny piece of a larger picture	29:35
	found in Luke's Gospel,	29:38
	where he depicts Mary as the first disciple of Jesus.	29:39
	"Let it be to me according to your word,"	29:43
	was her reply to the angel's salutation.	29:46
	You remember how quick Elizabeth was	29:49
	to recognize this depth of faith	29:51
	when she proclaimed Mary blessed,	29:54
	as one who believed there would be fulfillment	29:56
	of the angel's foretelling.	29:59
	Luke underlines this image of Mary	30:01
	when he writes of her pondering these things in her heart,	30:04
	at both the Nativity	30:07
	and as her 12 year old son visits the Temple.	30:09
	This parallels his later description	30:12
	of seed sown in the good soil in the parable of the sower,	30:14
	as those who hear the word	30:18
	hold it fast in an honest and good heart	30:20
	and bring forth fruit with patience.	30:24
	On this first day of 1989,	30:28
	also known as feast of the Holy Name,	30:31
	Mary is a fitting model of discipleship	30:34
	for us to ponder in our own hearts today.	30:36
	Her standards of humility, acceptance,	30:40
	and obedience to God's word	30:42
	stand out in bold relief	30:44
	against our own pride, faithlessness, and need to control.	30:45
	Especially as we enter the new year,	30:50
	she shows us the way in which the spirit of Christmas	30:52
	is more than just a few days of goodwill,	30:55
	but rather a standard for living.	30:58
	Mary is first of all striking in her humility,	31:01
	which allowed her to accept the wisdom of God's will	31:04
	in her life.	31:07
	Even when that caused major upheavals	31:09
	in her own plan, she assented.	31:11
	Now, those of you who have gone	31:14
	through carefully planned pregnancies	31:15
	can only imagine the inconveniences	31:17
	of an unexpected annunciation.	31:19
	But perhaps even more difficult for Mary	31:22
	was the manner in which she was asked	31:24
	to raise the child Jesus.	31:26
	She learned very early,	31:28
	perhaps even at the time of the child's naming,	31:30
	a lesson that comes hard for parents.	31:33
	And that is that our children are not ours to possess,	31:36
	but only to love.	31:40
	What a revelation it can be	31:43
	after years of constant attention	31:44
	and abiding affection	31:46
	when parents realize that their child is turning out	31:47
	nothing like they expected.	31:50
	They had hoped for a concert pianist	31:52
	and they get a basketball player.	31:55
	They had dreamed of a poet and they get a car salesman.	31:57
	They had imagined a beauty queen	32:01
	and they get a physically impaired child.	32:03
	As if the business of rearing a family	32:07
	were not traumatic enough already,	32:09
	it's made even more so by the stark reality	32:11
	that a child is something of a stranger,	32:14
	a sign to a particular address by God and God alone.	32:17
	And for whatever resemblances he or she has to the parents	32:23
	in appearance or temperament,	32:26
	those similarities include both a positive and a negative.	32:28
	A child is a gift, like all of life is a gift.	32:33
	But, with a no return policy.	32:36
	Mary understood that, even from the beginning,	32:39
	and she accepted it gratefully.	32:41
	Mary is also impressive in her ability to face the future	32:45
	with no expectation of what it might hold for her,	32:48
	a rather striking contrast	32:52
	to our attempt to know the future as thoroughly as possible,	32:53
	especially at this time of year.	32:57
	Don't we all look forward	33:00
	to reading Jeane Dixon's annual forecast for the new year?	33:01
	Understandably, when we have just ended a year	33:05
	with images of Soviet Armenia	33:08
	and Lockerbie Scotland fresh on our minds.	33:10
	Time Magazine has named the Earth as Planet of the Year,	33:14
	with harrowing accounts of endangered species,	33:18
	problems of waste disposal, and global warming trends.	33:21
	We ask, "What does the future hold?"	33:25
	Not only for the rest of the world, but for ourselves?	33:28
	Related to this anxiety about the future	33:33
	is an increasing sense that there isn't enough time	33:36
	and so we seek to find ways to manage it better	33:40
	and more efficiently, in hopes of increasing it.	33:43
	Perhaps this is one of your New Year's resolutions, too.	33:46
	On the one hand,	33:50
	we could all benefit from an increased awareness	33:51
	of the passage of time.	33:54
	But on the other,	33:56
	wouldn't you say this can be a little pretentious	33:57
	on the part of we contemporary men and women?	34:00
	We have no more or less time	34:03
	than any other civilization that has preceded us.	34:06
	Unless, of course, you take into account the fact	34:09
	that we do live in an expanding universe,	34:12
	which will theoretically collapse upon itself one day.	34:14
	According to those who seem to know about such things,	34:19
	then time will indeed run out, at least as we have known it,	34:21
	and the future will begin to precede the past.	34:25
	Read physicist's Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time	34:28
	for a mind-boggling description of how that will work.	34:32
	Time is a mysterious thing, a gift from God	34:36
	which we ultimately have little control over.	34:40
	We measure it with our sophisticated chronometers.	34:44
	We anticipate it with our five and 10 year plans.	34:48
	We manage it with our desk organizers and car telephones.	34:51
	But as a gift from God,	34:56
	it is one to be lived and not just utilized.	34:57
	One of the great maladies of our day is busyness,	35:02
	breathlessness, rushing hither and yon.	35:04
	Sociologists observe that one of the automatic consequences	35:08
	of a rising standard of living is that time becomes scarcer.	35:11
	For every hour of leisure is an opportunity for production,	35:16
	which is lost.	35:20
	We then try and substitute more goods for leisure	35:22
	with this higher standard of living,	35:25
	such as televisions, computers, videos.	35:27
	But the unfortunate result	35:31
	is that the time taken to maintain all of our possessions	35:32
	is an even greater drain on our so-called free time.	35:36
	"If I keep a cow," Emerson once wrote, "that cow milks me."	35:41
	Thus, busyness has become a mark of success in our culture	35:47
	and lack of availability is an accepted sign	35:51
	of someone's importance.	35:53
	No wonder we feel the urge, at the start of a new year,	35:55
	to get a handle on things, to get rid of the clutter,	35:58
	to learn to say no.	36:02
	The question is,	36:04
	if Gabriel tried to get an appointment with one of us,	36:06
	would we have time to see him?	36:09
	Perhaps most admirable about Mary	36:13
	is her unfailing commitment to God	36:16
	and acceptance of God's sovereignty.	36:18
	It was Simeon who foretold her	36:22
	at the time of Jesus' presentation in the Temple,	36:24
	when the baby was 40 days old,	36:27
	that "a sword will pierce your own soul."	36:29
	Yet, she did not attempt to change the direction of history	36:33
	simply to spare herself or her son pain.	36:36
	Rather, she stood by Jesus throughout his ministry,	36:39
	even at the foot of the cross	36:43
	and as a member of the community of faith,	36:45
	called him Lord.	36:48
	And so, Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians,	36:51
	"That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,	36:53
	"and every tongue confess him Lord."	36:57
	But during the season when we celebrate his birth,	37:00
	have you noticed how we often bow to commercial ventures	37:03
	before we bow to Jesus?	37:06
	It would seem strange to see a creche set up by mid-October,	37:09
	but we are hardly phased when the Christmas trees go up	37:13
	in department store windows by then.	37:16
	Interestingly, Christmas is the only occasion	37:19
	in our secular culture	37:22
	when ritual still unifies all of us at some level.	37:23
	Gifts are exchanged, parties are thrown,	37:28
	people are cheerier, and for that, we can be grateful.	37:31
	But perhaps, we in the church need to ask at this season,	37:35
	in what sense do we, like Mary,	37:39
	renew our commitment to Jesus as Lord of all in this season?	37:41
	Perhaps it is best simply to recognize	37:48
	that even for the church, Christmas itself is by grace.	37:50
	That for all of our efforts to organize it,	37:55
	to wrap it up in plastic,	37:58
	to make it something comprehensible, it cannot be tamed.	38:00
	The Word became flesh.	38:05
	Ultimate mystery born with a skull with a soft spot on top.	38:08
	It is not sweet, it is not beautiful.	38:13
	It is unthinkable darkness riven with unbearable light	38:17
	to which a name has been given.	38:21
	You can only cover your eyes and shudder before it.	38:24
	"God of God, light of light,	38:28
	"very God of very God,	38:32
	"who for us and our salvation came down from heaven,"	38:34
	says the Nicene Creed.	38:38
	Came down from heaven.	38:41
	Only then, as his mother sweetly calls his name, Jesus,	38:43
	do we dare uncover our eyes and see what we can see.	38:49
	It is the resurrection and the life she holds in her arms.	38:54
	It is the bitterness of death he takes at her breast.	38:59
	("In the Bleak Midwinter")	39:13
-	The Lord be with you.	43:15
Congregation	And also with you.	43:17
-	Let us pray.	43:18
	Everliving God, God of all endings and beginnings,	43:32
	Alpha and Omega,	43:37
	by whose mercy we have come to the gateway of another year,	43:40
	grant that we may enter it with humble and grateful hearts.	43:46
	Confirm our resolution, we beseech thee,	43:51
	to walk more closely in thy way	43:53
	and labor more faithfully in thy service,	43:57
	according to the teaching and example of thy Son,	44:01
	our Lord Jesus.	44:04
	Let not the errors and offenses of the past cling to us,	44:07
	but pardon and set us free,	44:12
	that with purer purpose and a better hope,	44:16
	we may renew our vows in thy presence	44:19
	and set forth another under the guidance of thy Spirit,	44:23
	to travel in the path which shineth more and more	44:28
	into the perfect day of thy heavenly kingdom.	44:32
	O God, as this year comes to an end,	44:38
	we'd remember all those who face the new year	44:42
	in situations of material need,	44:48
	with bills that cannot be paid,	44:52
	a cold winter ahead without enough fuel,	44:55
	young mouths to feed without enough food.	44:59
	We'd remember all those for whom this has been a sad year,	45:05
	who come to the end of this year	45:10
	lonelier than they were at its beginning	45:12
	and we pray that you might give them the comfort	45:17
	and the courage to go on.	45:20
	We pray for all those	45:24
	for whom this has been an utterly ordinary year	45:25
	with nothing special seem to happen,	45:29
	making them forget that it is in life's routine	45:32
	that they win or lose their destiny.	45:38
	Help us to know that in our ordinary everydays,	45:43
	we are blessed by you and called to witness.	45:49
	We pray for all those determined to begin this year	45:55
	more committed to you than before,	45:58
	bearing the name of Jesus	46:03
	in all of their triumphs and tragedies,	46:06
	and all the ordinary days that lie ahead,	46:09
	bearing the name of Jesus into a new year	46:14
	by word, thought, and deed.	46:19
	Give them the strength, we pray, to be faithful disciples	46:26
	in all their days and all their deeds.	46:32
	This we ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus,	46:37
	who stands with us at the beginning of life	46:46
	and also at the end of life.	46:49
	Our Lord and blessed Savior, amen.	46:52
	As a forgiven and reconciled people,	47:00
	let us now offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	47:02
	♪ The old year now away is fled ♪	47:11
	♪ The new year, it is entered ♪	47:15
	♪ Then let us now our sins down tread ♪	47:19
	♪ And joyfully all appear ♪	47:23
	♪ Let's merry be this day ♪	47:28
	♪ And let us now both sport and play ♪	47:32
	♪ Hang free, cast care away ♪	47:36
	♪ God send you a happy new year ♪	47:40
	♪ The name day now of Christ we keep ♪	47:45
	♪ Who for our sins did often weep ♪	47:49
	♪ His hands and feet were wounded deep ♪	47:53
	♪ And his blessed side with a spear ♪	47:58
	♪ His head they crowned with thorn ♪	48:02
	♪ And at him they did laugh and scorn ♪	48:06
	♪ Who for our good was born ♪	48:11
	♪ God send us a happy new year ♪	48:15
	♪ And now with New Year's gifts each friend ♪	48:20
	♪ Unto each other they do send ♪	48:24
	♪ God grant we may our lives amend ♪	48:28
	♪ And that the truth may appear ♪	48:33
	♪ Now like the snake, your skin ♪	48:37
	♪ Cast off from evil thoughts and sin ♪	48:41
	♪ And so the year begin ♪	48:46
	♪ God send us a happy new year ♪	48:50
	♪ God bless the master of this house ♪	49:00
	♪ With happiness beside ♪	49:05
	♪ Where'er his body rides or walks ♪	49:10
	♪ His God must be his guide ♪	49:15
	♪ His God must be his guide ♪	49:20
	♪ God bless the mistress of this house ♪	49:28
	♪ With gold chain 'round her breast ♪	49:32
	♪ Where'er her body sleeps or wakes ♪	49:37
	♪ God send her soul to rest ♪	49:42
	♪ God send her soul to rest ♪	49:47
	♪ God bless your house ♪	49:55
	♪ Your children too ♪	49:57
	♪ Your cattle and your store ♪	50:00
	♪ May God increase you day by day ♪	50:05
	♪ And send you more and more ♪	50:10
	♪ And send you more and more ♪	50:15
	♪ The Lord at first did Adam make ♪	50:29
	♪ Out of the dust and clay ♪	50:33
	♪ And in his nostrils breathed life ♪	50:37
	♪ Ev'n as the scriptures say ♪	50:41
	♪ And then in Eden's paradise ♪	50:45
	♪ He placed him in to dwell ♪	50:50
	♪ That he within it should remain ♪	50:54
	♪ To tend and keep it well ♪	50:58
	♪ Now let good people all begin ♪	51:02
	♪ A righteous life to live ♪	51:06
	♪ And to rejoice and merry be ♪	51:10
	♪ In all that pretty New Year ♪	51:15
	♪ Now for the blessings we enjoy ♪	51:19
	♪ Which are from heaven above ♪	51:23
	♪ Let us renounce all wickedness ♪	51:28
	♪ And live in perfect love ♪	51:32
	♪ What we receive in gladness ♪	51:36
	♪ We should just as gladly share ♪	51:40
	♪ That the heavy burdens of this life ♪	51:44
	♪ We may together bear ♪	51:49
	♪ Now let the people all begin ♪	51:53
	♪ A righteous life to live ♪	51:57
	♪ And to rejoice and merry be ♪	52:01
	♪ In all that green New Year ♪	52:05
	♪ And now the time is near at hand ♪	52:10
	♪ When winter is cruel and chill ♪	52:14
	♪ Let us enjoy all that we have ♪	52:18
	♪ But think of others still ♪	52:23
	♪ Let's feed the poor and hungry souls ♪	52:27
	♪ And such as do it crave ♪	52:31
	♪ As God gave riches to us all ♪	52:35
	♪ And so we must behave ♪	52:40
	♪ Now let the people all begin ♪	52:44
	♪ A righteous life to live ♪	52:48
	♪ And to rejoice and merry be ♪	52:52
	♪ In all that green New Year ♪	52:57
	("All Creatures of Our God and King")	53:04
	Almighty and gracious God,	54:26
	by your love we have been brought	54:29
	to the beginning of another year.	54:30
	We thank you for all the blessings of this life,	54:33
	the daily ways in which you touch our lives,	54:35
	in great and small matters,	54:40
	for all the things that make life so rich and worth living.	54:43
	Take these, our gifts, as signs of our gratitude for you	54:49
	and as we lay these gifts upon the altar,	54:55
	we also lay ourselves upon the altar	54:57
	and renew our commitment	55:00
	to live the narrow way of discipleship,	55:02
	as you would have us to go.	55:04
	Our Father, who art in heaven,	55:07
	hallowed be thy name.	55:10
	Thy Kingdom come,	55:12
	Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	55:14
	Give us this day our daily bread	55:18
	and forgive us our trespasses,	55:20
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	55:23
	Lead us not into temptation,	55:26
	but deliver us from evil.	55:29
	For thine is the Kingdom	55:31
	and the power and the glory forever, amen.	55:32
	(organ music)	55:37
-	And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.	58:54
	May the Lord make his face to shine upon you	58:56
	and be gracious unto you.	58:59
	May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you	59:01
	and give you peace, amen.	59:04
	(brass quintet music)	59:09

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "At the Name of Jesus" (January 1, 1989)

Description:

Sermon start time: 25:27. Sermon end time: 39:04.
Mary presents to the church a picture of what humble obedience to the word of God looks like in the face of such a terrible and awesome mystery as the incarnation of the Word. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Perhaps it is best simply to recognize that even for the church, Christmas itself is by grace. That for all our efforts to organize it, to wrap it up in plastic, to make it something comprehensible, it cannot be tamed.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4t43jh87

Date:

January 1, 1989

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0115
ref8552_5u6
uachapelsermaud
duke:321376
dcrmv001111
ark:/87924/r4t43jh87
2642735f-d2a2-44cc-b501-abfccca6af2e

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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

Unknown Rights-Holder

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For 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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