Perry H. Biddle, Jr. - "Her Great Love Proves That Her Many Sins Have Been Forgiven" (June 18, 1989)

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	(organ music)	0:00
-	Good morning, and welcome to this service	1:52
	of the Lord's supper here at the Duke University Chapel	1:54
	on this fifth Sunday after Pentecost.	1:57
	We are delighted to see each of you here,	2:00
	and recognizing that many of you may be visitors	2:02
	to the Duke campus for the first time,	2:04
	we wish you a very pleasant stay.	2:07
	We also extend greetings to those of you	2:09
	in our radio and television audiences,	2:11
	especially those patients and families at Duke hospitals.	2:14
	Our preacher for today's service is the	2:18
	Reverend Doctor Perry Biddle, Jr.	2:20
	Minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Old Hickory	2:22
	in metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee.	2:26
	A native North Carolinian, Dr. Biddle was educated	2:28
	at Davidson College, Union Theological Seminary in Richmond,	2:32
	and Vanderbilt University.	2:36
	A well-known author, preacher, and conference speaker,	2:38
	Dr. Biddle is the author of seven books	2:42
	with his latest book to be published this September.	2:44
	We welcome Dr. Biddle and his wife, Sue, to the chapel.	2:48
	Please note the remaining announcements	2:52
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	2:54
	And now let us continue our worship.	2:56
	(choir music)	3:01
-	Our God is a God of justice	8:39
	waiting to be gracious to you,	8:42
	yearning to have pity on you,	8:45
	blessed are all who wait for the Lord.	8:48
	In penitence and faith,	8:51
	let us our confess our sins to almighty God.	8:53
	Please be seated.	8:56
	Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned	9:06
	against you in thought, word, and deed	9:10
	by what we have done and by what we have left undone.	9:14
	We have not loved you with our whole heart.	9:19
	We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	9:22
	We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent.	9:26
	For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ,	9:30
	have mercy on us and forgive us	9:33
	that we might delight in your will and walk in your ways	9:36
	to the glory of your name, amen.	9:41
	If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just	9:55
	and will forgive our sins	10:00
	and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.	10:02
	Thanks be to God.	10:05
-	Let us pray.	10:15
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	10:17
	by the power of your Holy Spirit	10:20
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	10:24
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	10:27
	The first lesson is taken from the first books of Kings.	10:36
	Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done	10:42
	and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.	10:46
	Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying,	10:51
	"So may the gods do to me, and more also,	10:54
	if I do not make your life as the life	10:57
	of one of them by this time tomorrow."	11:00
	Then Elijah was afraid and rose and fled for his life.	11:04
	And came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah,	11:08
	and left his servant there,	11:12
	But Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness,	11:16
	and came and sat down under a broom tree,	11:19
	and asked that he may die saying,	11:23
	"It is enough now, oh God,"	11:27
	"Take away life for I am no better than my ancestors."	11:30
	Then Elijah laid down and slept under a broom tree.	11:36
	And behold an angel touched him and said, "Arise and eat."	11:42
	And Elijah looked, and behold there was at his head	11:50
	a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.	11:54
	And he ate and drank and lay down again.	12:00
	The angel of God came a second time	12:05
	and touched him and said,	12:09
	"Arise and eat, else the journey will be to great for you."	12:11
	And Elijah arose and ate and drank.	12:17
	And went in the strength of that food,	12:22
	forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.	12:24
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	12:32
-	Please stand as we read the psalter responsively.	12:40
-	As the heart longs for flowing streams.	12:49
	(parishioners respond)	12:53
	My soul thirst for God, for the living God.	12:57
	(parishioner respond)	13:01
	My tears have been my food for day and night.	13:05
	(parishioners respond)	13:09
	These things I remember as I pour out my soul.	13:13
	(parishioners respond)	13:18
	With glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving.	13:23
	(parishioners respond)	13:28
	Why are you cast down, oh my soul.	13:31
	(parishioners respond)	13:34
	Hope and God.	13:38
	(parishioners respond)	13:40
	My soul is cast down within me.	13:45
	(parishioners respond)	13:48
	Deep calls to deep at the thunder of thy cataracts.	13:55
	(parishioners respond)	14:00
	By day the Lord commands his steadfast love.	14:04
	(parishioners respond)	14:08
	I say to God, "My rock, why has thou forgotten me?"	14:14
	(parishioners respond)	14:19
	As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me.	14:23
	(parishioners respond)	14:28
	Why are you cast down, oh my soul?	14:34
	(parishioners respond)	14:37
	Hope in God.	14:40
	(parishioners respond)	14:43
	(choir music)	14:46
-	The second lesson is taken	15:49
	from Paul's letter to the Galatians.	15:51
	We ourselves who are Jews by birth, and not Gentile sinners,	15:56
	yet who know that a person is not justified	16:01
	by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.	16:04
	Even we have believed in Christ Jesus,	16:09
	in order to be justified by faith in Christ,	16:12
	and not by works of the law;	16:15
	because by works of the law, no one shall be justified.	16:18
	But if, in our endeavors to be justified in Christ,	16:23
	we ourselves also are found to be sinners,	16:28
	is Christ then an agent of sin?	16:31
	Certainly not.	16:35
	But if I build up again those things which I tore down,	16:37
	then I prove myself a transgressor.	16:44
	For I through the law died to the law,	16:49
	that I might live in God.	16:53
	I have been crucified with Christ,	16:57
	it is no longer I who live,	17:00
	but Christ who lives in me.	17:02
	And the life I now live in the flesh,	17:06
	I live by faith in the Son of God,	17:09
	who loved me and gave Himself for me.	17:12
	I do not nullify the grace of God;	17:15
	for if justification were through the law,	17:19
	then Christ died for no purpose.	17:22
	This ends the reading of the second Gospel.	17:24
-	First let me say what a real privileged and pleasure	17:49
	it is to worship with you today	17:52
	and the Duke University Chapel.	17:55
	And I very much appreciate the hospitality	17:59
	of Nancy Clark and those that have provided for us.	18:02
	Nancy told me that the text I'm about to read	18:07
	is one of her favorites.	18:10
	I'm not surprised because of the gracious hospitality	18:13
	that has been extended to my wife and myself already.	18:17
	When we arrived, we checked into the Brownstone Motel	18:21
	and found that there were two rooms for us,	18:25
	not one but two reservations.	18:27
	And last night we were hosted for dinner	18:30
	by two good friends, Jim and Nita Crenshaw	18:33
	who formally were at Nashville at Vanderbilt.	18:37
	And low I find that there not one but two glasses	18:41
	of water provided for the minister,	18:43
	so you have indeed been overly gracious.	18:45
	My friends kid me back at Nashville that	18:50
	I write and make royalties	18:54
	on the miseries of others,	18:58
	reminding me that I have written about the sick	19:01
	and hospital visitations, about funerals	19:04
	and funeral services, about divorce,	19:09
	and then about marriage for some it's misery, you know.	19:15
	And then more recently about preaching	19:19
	and for many both the task of preaching	19:23
	and listening to preaching is a misery.	19:26
	In fact, I heard of a true story of a church,	19:31
	a high church, that had a bulletin that was prepared	19:34
	on a computer each week,	19:37
	and down the left were rubrics	19:40
	for standing, sitting, kneeling at various points,	19:42
	the denomination will remain unnamed.	19:46
	Someone got into the computer before Friday	19:51
	when the secretary was printing it out	19:56
	without her knowledge and without it picking it up	19:58
	beside the sermon,	20:02
	they put sleep.	20:06
	I hope you won't sleep today.	20:10
	I want to say another word of appreciation	20:14
	to Will Willimon, a long time friend and one	20:16
	that I appreciate very much for his writings,	20:19
	his leadership in the American Church today.	20:22
	He reminds me in ways of William Barclay	20:26
	who published so prolifically	20:29
	and also of Karl Barth for it be said	20:32
	of Karl Barth you could agree or disagree with him	20:35
	but you couldn't ignore him.	20:37
	And the same could be said	20:39
	of your minster of the chapel, Will Willimon.	20:40
	I'm delighted though that he could	20:44
	be with his family for Father's Day	20:46
	as his father-in-law preaches his last sermon	20:48
	in Lake City, South Carolina,	20:53
	and retires from the ministry.	20:56
	I'm reading today from the New English Bible translations	20:59
	because those translators have worked out	21:02
	a little tricky part of the text	21:05
	and it saved me having to do the translation	21:07
	and explaining it.	21:11
	The text is from Luke's gospel,	21:15
	the 7th chapter,	21:20
	beginning with the 36th verse.	21:21
	I will remind you that Luke enjoys telling of Jesus	21:24
	going to feasts and banquets and enjoying	21:27
	that sort of conviviality,	21:31
	opportunity for dialogue with those around him.	21:34
	One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him,	21:40
	and he went to the Pharisee's house	21:42
	and took his place at table.	21:45
	A woman who was living an immoral life in the town,	21:48
	had learned that Jesus was at table at Pharisee's house,	21:52
	and had brought oil of myrrh in a small flask.	21:56
	She took her place behind him by his feet, weeping.	22:02
	His feet were wet with her tears,	22:06
	and she wiped them with her hair, kissing them,	22:08
	and anointing them with the myrrh.	22:10
	When his host the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself,	22:14
	"If this fellow were a real prophet,	22:18
	he would know who this woman is that touches him,	22:22
	and what sort of woman she is,	22:26
	that she is a sinner."	22:31
	Jesus took him up and said,	22:34
	"Simon, I have something to say to you."	22:36
	"Speak on, master," said he.	22:40
	"Two men were in debt to a money lender.	22:43
	One owed him 500 pieces of silver,	22:47
	and the other fifty.	22:51
	As neither had anything to pay with, he left them both off.	22:55
	Now,	22:58
	which one will love him more?"	23:00
	Simon replied, "I should think the one	23:04
	that was let off most."	23:07
	"You're right," said Jesus.	23:10
	Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon,	23:11
	"Do you see this woman?	23:15
	I came to your house.	23:18
	You provided no water for my feet,	23:19
	but for this woman has made my feet wet with her tears	23:23
	and wiped them with her hair.	23:26
	You gave me no kiss, but she has been kissing my feet	23:29
	ever since I came in.	23:31
	You did not anoint my head with oil,	23:35
	but she has anointed my feet with myrrh.	23:37
	And so I tell you,	23:40
	her great love proves	23:43
	that her many sins have been forgiven.	23:46
	Where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.	23:50
	Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."	23:54
	The other guests began to ask themselves,	23:58
	"Who is this that he can forgive sins?"	24:01
	But he said to the woman,	24:06
	"Your faith has saved you;	24:09
	"go in peace."	24:13
	After this Jesus went journeying	24:18
	from town to town and village to village,	24:19
	proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.	24:21
	With him were the twelve and a number of woman	24:25
	who had been set free from evil spirits and infirmities:	24:27
	Mary, know as Mary of Magdalene,	24:31
	from whom seven devils had gone out,	24:33
	Joanna, the wife of Chuza, a steward of Herod's,	24:35
	Susanna, and many others,	24:39
	These woman provided for them	24:44
	out of their own resources.	24:46
	Thanks be to God for the word.	24:49
	Jesus loved banquets.	24:58
	Wouldn't you love to have been a guest	25:00
	at one of those banquets with Jesus	25:02
	as people ate and drank	25:04
	and enjoyed good conversation?	25:05
	Some of the scholars tell us that	25:10
	this banquet that we are hearing about was	25:12
	after Jesus had preached in the synagogue.	25:16
	And so it would be like having the preacher	25:20
	for Sunday dinner.	25:22
	In those days a Palestinian house was built	25:25
	around a courtyard and the door was open,	25:27
	and so it was not at all uncommon	25:31
	for people of the village when they heard	25:33
	that there was a famous wise man to	25:36
	just wander into the courtyard.	25:40
	And for these sort of banquets,	25:42
	the guest reclined on benches around the table.	25:45
	So Jesus's feet were extended	25:50
	and as he was dining with the Pharisee Simon	25:53
	this woman who was noted for her many sins,	25:58
	we're not told what her sins were,	26:01
	some speculate she was a prostitute	26:04
	others think that she was noted as a sinner	26:07
	because of her husband's business	26:09
	but for whatever reason, she was well-known as a sinner.	26:11
	And as Jesus and Simon were talking,	26:16
	this woman very quietly	26:19
	knelt over Jesus's feet	26:22
	and was so moved to tears	26:25
	by the forgiving love of God	26:28
	that she had known	26:30
	that she wet his feet with her tears	26:33
	and let her hair down and used her hair as a towel	26:37
	to dry his feet and she had brought with her	26:41
	a little vile of perfume of myrrh	26:45
	which she proceeded	26:49
	to anoint Jesus's feet with.	26:51
	Without saying anything, she did this.	26:54
	And her actions went even beyond what was required	26:58
	for she anointed Jesus's feet	27:01
	with this precious ointment of myrrh.	27:03
	And then Jesus turned to her and pointed out	27:08
	that her great love	27:11
	proved that her many sins were forgiven.	27:14
	And that friends is our text for today.	27:19
	That her great love proves	27:24
	that her many sins had been forgiven.	27:26
	We gather today around the Lord's table at another feast.	27:31
	Jesus is our host today and we are his guests.	27:36
	We have come to celebrate the death	27:41
	and resurrection of Jesus Christ,	27:44
	and we come like the woman	27:47
	who snuck into the feast	27:49
	because we are sinners saved by grace.	27:55
	We come as she did in faith,	28:00
	believing that through faith	28:03
	we can get a greater grasp on Jesus Christ.	28:05
	That we can be reassured that our sins are forgiven.	28:10
	That we can be restored to a right relationship with God	28:15
	and one another	28:19
	and go out in peace.	28:22
	The woman's faith was her confidence in God	28:25
	in spite of her sinful past	28:28
	and her faith restored her relationship	28:30
	to God through Jesus.	28:32
	We come to the Lord's table, trusting that the same God	28:38
	who was merciful to the woman	28:42
	who was notorious for her sins	28:44
	will and wants to be merciful to us	28:48
	and restore us to right relationship.	28:53
	And as we leave this place today,	28:56
	let us remember Jesus's words to the woman,	28:58
	"Your faith has saved you;	29:01
	"go in peace."	29:04
	My wife and I like to go the movies	29:09
	when we have some free time, and we saw a recent movie	29:12
	set in Yazoo City, Mississippi.	29:15
	I was born in Mississippi and had three years	29:17
	of pastorate in Starkville, Mississippi.	29:20
	And this movie maybe some of you have seen,	29:23
	it is called "Miss Firecracker".	29:25
	In it, a young woman, Carnelle Scott,	29:29
	who is a born loser, is full of self-doubt	29:33
	like a Tennessee Williams' character.	29:37
	She was orphaned at eight	29:39
	and left to be raised by an aunt and her two cousins.	29:41
	And over the years, Carnelle dealt	29:46
	with her achy feelings of inferiority	29:49
	by becoming sexually promiscuous.	29:53
	She jumped into bed with lots of boys in Yazoo City	29:56
	in an effort to gain acceptance.	30:00
	And in doing so, she earned the name	30:03
	about town as Miss Hot Tamale.	30:05
	Carnelle entered the Fourth of July contest	30:09
	1998 when Miss Firecracker of Yazoo City.	30:13
	It was the last year she was eligible by age to enter it.	30:17
	She was not a likely candidate to win	30:21
	for she had this bad reputation,	30:23
	she worked in a catfish factory,	30:26
	and had no social position.	30:29
	But she'd had a change of heart.	30:33
	And she had a friend in a black seamstress,	30:36
	nicknamed Popeye Jackson,	30:40
	who became a chief ally and coach in her act.	30:43
	Carnelle struggled to even get in the final runoff	30:47
	for Miss Firecracker and after doing her act,	30:50
	she ended up in 5th place.	30:55
	No winner by a long shot.	30:59
	But a friend tells her to look for eternal grace,	31:03
	and that's what she does.	31:06
	And this is what she finds.	31:08
	For her life is transformed by the grace of God.	31:11
	There's no other way to explain it.	31:16
	And she can accept herself as she is	31:18
	without being a beauty queen	31:20
	like her older cousin, Elain, had been years before.	31:22
	And she even has found God's acceptance	31:27
	which is most important of all.	31:31
	Remember at the end of the movie,	31:33
	she climbs to the top of an observatory,	31:34
	there in the village	31:38
	and there she stands while the firecrackers and fireworks	31:41
	go off behind her against the dark sky,	31:44
	and there's celebration in her heart and on her face	31:48
	and joy in her life as she knows	31:51
	that her sins are forgiven and she is a new person.	31:54
	Her great love and great joy proves	31:59
	that her sins though many	32:02
	have been forgiven.	32:06
	Moving a little further south to Mobile, Alabama	32:10
	where we also had a ministry.	32:13
	You may have read, I'm sure you have read	32:18
	in various news articles	32:20
	over the last ten years or so	32:22
	about Michael Donald, a 19 year old black man	32:26
	who was murdered by members of the United Klans of America	32:31
	near Mobile, Alabama, March the 21st, 1981.	32:35
	The story's told in a New York Times magazine article	32:40
	of November the 1st, 1987.	32:43
	Tiger Knowles,	32:48
	a 17 year old white man,	32:51
	was one of the Klansmen who helped to murder	32:54
	and then hang the body of Michael Donald	32:56
	from a tree.	33:01
	Michael Donald was just happened to be a black man	33:03
	at the wrong place at the wrong time	33:06
	when these angry Klansmen were seeking	33:09
	a black person to lynch.	33:12
	At the trial where he testified as state's evidence	33:15
	for a reduced sentence,	33:19
	Tiger Knowles faced Beulah Mae Donald, the victim's mother.	33:20
	This was some years after the murder	33:25
	and during which time	33:28
	Tiger Knowles had had a change of heart.	33:31
	He had come to know God's forgiveness.	33:35
	But as he testified,	33:39
	Mrs. Donald couldn't look him in the eye.	33:40
	He began,	33:46
	"I've got just a few things to say.	33:50
	"I know that people tried to discredit my testimony.	33:52
	"I've lost my family.	33:57
	"I've got people after me now.	33:58
	"Everything I said is true, I was acting	34:00
	"as a Klansman when I done this," said Tiger Knowles.	34:03
	"And I hope that people learn from my mistake.	34:08
	"I do hope you decide a judgment against me.	34:14
	"Everyone else involved.	34:19
	And then Tiger Knowles turned and looked at	34:23
	Beulah Mae Donald, the mother	34:26
	of the young black man he helped lynch,	34:28
	and for the first time they locked eyes.	34:30
	And he begged her forgiveness.	34:35
	"I can't bring your son back," he said,	34:39
	sobbing and shaking.	34:42
	"God knows if I could trade places with him I would.	34:45
	"I can't; whatever it takes, I have nothing,	34:51
	"but I will have to do it.	34:55
	"And if it takes me the rest of my life to pay it,	34:58
	"any comfort it will bring, I hope it will."	35:01
	By that time, the jurors were openly weeping	35:06
	and the judge	35:10
	wiped away a tear.	35:11
	"I do forgive you,"	35:17
	Mrs. Donald said to Tiger Knowles.	35:21
	"From the day I found out who you all was,	35:24
	"I asked God to take care of you all,	35:26
	"and he has."	35:29
	Tiger Knowles who came to know the forgiveness of God	35:33
	for a horrible crime,	35:36
	through his love for Mrs. Donald	35:40
	proved that his many sins	35:44
	had been forgiven.	35:47
	Then there is a familiar story you know	35:52
	from the bible of the Apostle Peter	35:54
	who had told Jesus shortly before his arrest,	36:00
	"Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison	36:04
	"and to death."	36:08
	Jesus said, "I tell you Peter,	36:11
	"the cock will not crow tonight	36:14
	"until you have	36:16
	"three times denied me."	36:18
	A few short hours later, Peter stood around a little fire	36:22
	outside the courtyard of the high priest house	36:25
	where Jesus was being accused.	36:29
	A serving maid saw Peter and said,	36:34
	"This man was with him too."	36:38
	And Peter denied it.	36:41
	"Woman," he said, "I do not know him."	36:43
	Then the second time he was being accused	36:47
	of being one of the disciples and he denied.	36:49
	And then another person, a man, came up	36:53
	and said, "You're one of those disciples of Jesus."	36:56
	And Peter said, "Man, I do not know	37:00
	what you're talking about."	37:02
	And at that very moment while he was still speaking,	37:05
	over across the way	37:10
	a rooster crowed	37:15
	and there was a sharp pang of conscious of Peter	37:18
	and Jesus turned and looked at him,	37:22
	and Peter remembered Jesus's words,	37:24
	"Tonight before the cock crows,	37:27
	you will disown me three times."	37:29
	Then you know the story.	37:33
	They crucified Jesus and laid his body in a tomb.	37:34
	But three days later, the first disciple	37:38
	to see Jesus resurrected was none other	37:41
	than the same apostle, Peter.	37:45
	And then the little band of disciples	37:49
	were assembled that Easter evening,	37:51
	talking about what had happened during the day,	37:52
	and they said it is true, the Lord has risen,	37:55
	he's appeared to Simon Peter.	37:59
	Jesus forgave Peter for his denial,	38:04
	and Peter's life was transformed.	38:09
	What happened to Peter?	38:13
	He became the chief apostle	38:14
	in the Church of Jerusalem.	38:18
	He became a bold proclaimer of the good news	38:21
	who stood before Sanhedrin and said,	38:26
	"We must obey God rather than men."	38:29
	And tradition says that Peter died a martyr's death	38:34
	for his Christian faith.	38:37
	And as they were about to crucify him, tradition says,	38:40
	Peter asked that he be crucified upside down	38:44
	with his feet up and his head down	38:47
	for he felt unworthy to be crucified	38:51
	in the same position as his Lord	38:53
	for Peter loved Jesus 'til the end	38:58
	for his many sins had been forgiven.	39:03
	Friends,	39:09
	how is it with you?	39:12
	Have you come to know the forgiveness	39:15
	of God for your sins, though many?	39:18
	Do you know the freedom from bondage to evil	39:24
	which the crucified Christ can give?	39:26
	Do you know the peace within your heart	39:31
	which forgiveness brings?	39:33
	And do you know the joy of living a forgiven life	39:36
	as a new person?	39:40
	Christ stands ready now to come into your life	39:42
	and to transform you as he did	39:46
	these people of these stories.	39:48
	Then you too will love much	39:52
	for your many sins	39:56
	have been forgiven.	39:59
	Your faith has saved you.	40:03
	Go in peace.	40:06
	Let us pray.	40:10
	Precious God, we give thanks for Jesus Christ	40:15
	who came and died for us	40:18
	that we might have life and have it abundantly.	40:22
	We thank you that our sins, though many,	40:26
	have been forgiven	40:30
	and that we can go in faith	40:33
	for we have been saved	40:38
	and we can go in peace.	40:42
	We make our prayer in the name of the Christ,	40:44
	Amen.	40:48
	(choir music)	40:51
-	With gladness, let us present the offerings	42:59
	of our life and our labor to the Lord.	43:02
	Please be seated.	43:05
	(choir music)	43:12
-	The Lord be with you.	52:20
Parishioners	And also with you.	52:21
-	Lift up your hearts.	52:23
Parishioners	We lift them up to the Lord.	52:24
-	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.	52:26
Parishioners	It is right to give him thanks and praise.	52:28
-	We give thanks, Father, because you were God	52:32
	even before time began.	52:35
	You have seen every sun rise, every day begin,	52:37
	since you first gave form to our home the Earth.	52:41
	You launched it into your universe,	52:45
	shaped its hills and filled its seas.	52:47
	When space was ready, you brought life out of the waters	52:50
	and in time made us in your image, male and female.	52:53
	Yet, we were not content with such a paradise.	52:58
	We rebelled, putting our wills before yours.	53:01
	Even then, we found you boundless in love.	53:05
	Time after time, you reached out your hand	53:08
	to touch our lives with loving kindness.	53:11
	You led us from captivity to life in the land you promised.	53:14
	You made covenant to take us to be your people,	53:18
	to love and to cherish, and we took you as God and ruler,	53:21
	promising to forsake all others.	53:26
	You put your words on the lips of women and men.	53:29
	They spoke your words of love,	53:32
	gave themselves and the struggle for justice	53:34
	and taught us to sing your glory.	53:37
	We join with those who have lived	53:40
	and those now living in faith	53:42
	as with one voice in the song of unending praise.	53:44
All	Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,	53:48
	heaven and earth are full of your glory,	53:53
	Hosanna in the highest.	53:55
	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,	53:57
	Hosanna in the highest.	54:00
-	Full in deed are heaven and earth	54:02
	of your glory, Holy Lord God.	54:04
	When time was ready, you the creator of all that is,	54:07
	sent Christ to be a creature like us.	54:11
	Instead of a servant, you sent your own son	54:14
	that he might be a servant of all.	54:17
	Christ alone, He who is closest to your heart,	54:20
	He made you known to us.	54:24
	Walking among us, Jesus the Christ performed great signs	54:26
	to reveal his Glory.	54:30
	He spoke as one having authority	54:32
	that we might trust your love and obey your law.	54:34
	When his hour had come, he drank the cup of suffering	54:38
	and accepted the baptism of death.	54:41
	Like a Lamb he was led away from the living,	54:43
	but as your son, he was raised from the grave.	54:47
	Having triumphed over death, he left our sight	54:50
	that his spirit might fill our hearts	54:53
	as we await the completion of all things in him.	54:55
	On the night in which he gave himself up for us,	54:59
	the Lord Jesus took bread in his hands,	55:02
	lifting his eyes to heaven he gave you thanks,	55:05
	broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said,	55:08
	"Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you."	55:11
	When super was over, he took the cup.	55:16
	Again he offered thanks to you,	55:19
	gave the cup to his disciples and said,	55:20
	"Drink from this, all of you,	55:23
	this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood	55:26
	poured out for you and for many	55:28
	for the forgiveness of sins."	55:30
	When we eat this bread and drink this cup,	55:34
	we know anew the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ	55:36
	and look to the day when we shall feast	55:39
	in his eternal kingdom.	55:42
	With hearts raised in joy, we know anew Christ life	55:44
	among us, his death because of us,	55:48
	his resurrection for us, and his ascension to glory.	55:50
	Join us this memorial made by your priestly people	55:55
	bound by earth and time to the heavenly and timeless,	55:57
	offering for us of Christ himself, our great high Priest.	56:01
All	Dying, Christ destroyed our death,	56:07
	rising, Christ restored our life,	56:09
	Christ will come in glory.	56:12
-	Send, we pray, your Holy Spirit on us	56:15
	gathered here out of love for you,	56:18
	and on this offering, may your spirit make real	56:20
	the signs that through breaking bread	56:23
	and drinking wine together,	56:25
	we may know Christ present among us.	56:27
	By the spirit, make us one with the goodness of Christ	56:30
	as you made him one with our sinfulness	56:33
	that we may be one with each other	56:36
	and one in service to all that you have created.	56:38
	Through your son, Jesus Christ,	56:42
	with the Holy Spirit and your holy church,	56:43
	all your people and all your works glorify	56:46
	and honor you, Father, now and forever, amen.	56:49
All	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;	56:54
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	56:58
	on earth as it is in heaven.	57:01
	Give us this day our daily bread;	57:03
	and forgive us our trespasses	57:05
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	57:07
	and lead us not into temptation,	57:10
	but deliver us from evil.	57:12
	For thine is the kingdom, the power,	57:14
	the glory forever, amen.	57:17
-	The gifts of God for the people of God.	57:35
	(choir music)	57:41
-	Please stand as we pray together.	1:07:35
	We give you thanks, almighty God,	1:07:56
	that you have refreshed us through the healing power	1:07:57
	of this gift of life,	1:08:00
	and we pray that in your mercy	1:08:02
	you will strengthen us through this gift	1:08:04
	in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another.	1:08:06
	For the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.	1:08:11
	Go in peace to serve God	1:08:16
	and your neighbor in all that you do.	1:08:18
	(parishioners respond)	1:08:21
-	The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ	1:08:23
	and the love of God and the communion	1:08:25
	of the Holy Spirit be with you all.	1:08:26
	(choir music)	1:08:35

Item Info

Title:

Perry H. Biddle, Jr. - "Her Great Love Proves That Her Many Sins Have Been Forgiven" (June 18, 1989)

Description:

Sermon start time: 17:49. Sermon end time: 40:51.
Key quotation: "We come to the Lord's table trusting that the same God who was merciful to the woman who was notorious for her sin will, and wants to be, merciful to us and restore us to right relationship."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4nc5st8s

Date:

June 18, 1989

Speaker:

Biddle, Perry H., Jr.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0137
ref8635_rn2
uachapelsermaud
duke:321331
dcrmv001133
ark:/87924/r4nc5st8s
ebd37d7a-6072-42c0-84c3-9b64d3fb230a

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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Perry H. Biddle, Jr. - "Her Great Love Proves That Her Many Sins Have Been Forgiven" (June 18, 1989)

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Duke University Archives

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