Walter Brueggemann - "What a Difference a Week Makes!" (December 31, 1989)

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	(stately music)	0:01
	(elegant music)	2:30
	(solemn music)	3:30
	(regal music)	4:55
-	I welcome you to this service of worship,	6:03
	the first Sunday after Christmas.	6:06
	On this day, we are faced with a tough text from the gospel.	6:12
	And as our custom, whenever we have a tough text to preach,	6:17
	we always invite in a guest preacher.	6:21
	And our guest preacher today	6:24
	is a lively interpreter of biblical faith,	6:25
	Dr. Walter Brueggemann from Columbia Theological Seminary	6:28
	in Decatur, Georgia.	6:32
	We welcome him back to our pulpit.	6:34
	He gave a wonderful series of lectures here at Duke	6:36
	last fall at the Divinity School Convocation,	6:41
	and we're glad to have Dr. Brueggemann	6:44
	here with us again today.	6:46
	Our lector is the Reverend Deborah Luther,	6:49
	a student at the Divinity School.	6:53
	She will be leading a group of Duke students this next week	6:55
	on a work team project to Johns Island, South Carolina,	7:00
	working on some of the hurricane damage there,	7:03
	and we welcome her as our lector today.	7:06
	And we have been led in worship already	7:10
	by the UNC Brass Ensemble.	7:12
	They are regulars here on the first Sunday of Christmas,	7:16
	and we're glad to have them with us.	7:19
	And now let us stand as we joyfully sing the hymn.	7:21
	("Angels We Have Heard on High")	7:28
	♪ Angels we have heard on high ♪	8:31
	♪ Sweetly singing o'er the plains ♪	8:36
	♪ And the mountains in reply ♪	8:40
	♪ Echoing their joyous strains ♪	8:45
	♪ Gloria ♪	8:49
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	8:58
	♪ Gloria ♪	9:03
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	9:12
	♪ Shepherds, why this jubilee ♪	9:20
	♪ Why your joyous strains prolong ♪	9:25
	♪ What the gladsome tidings be ♪	9:30
	♪ Which inspire your heav'nly song ♪	9:34
	♪ Gloria ♪	9:39
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	9:48
	♪ Gloria ♪	9:53
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	10:02
	♪ Come to Bethlehem and see ♪	10:11
	♪ Christ whose birth the angels sing ♪	10:15
	♪ Come adore on bended knee ♪	10:20
	♪ Christ the Lord, the newborn king ♪	10:25
	♪ Gloria ♪	10:29
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	10:39
	♪ Gloria ♪	10:43
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	10:53
	♪ See him in a manger laid ♪	11:02
	♪ Whom the choirs of angels praise ♪	11:07
	♪ Mary, Joseph, lend your aid ♪	11:12
	♪ While our hearts in love relays ♪	11:17
	♪ Gloria ♪	11:22
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	11:32
	♪ Gloria ♪	11:36
	♪ In excelsis Deo ♪	11:46
-	Lord Jesus, by whose incarnation	11:58
	were united all things earthly with things heavenly,	12:02
	in this great season of joy,	12:06
	we rejoice at your presence among us,	12:08
	asking that during this time of worship,	12:12
	you would more closely unite our wills with your will	12:15
	so that we might come to praise you,	12:20
	not only with our lips in Christmas song,	12:23
	but with our lives in Christ-like service, Amen.	12:27
	You may be seated.	12:32
-	Would you join me in the prayer for illumination?	12:43
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	12:47
	by the power of your Holy Spirit	12:51
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,	12:54
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, Amen.	12:58
	The first lesson comes from the book of Isaiah,	13:04
	the 63rd chapter.	13:07
	I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,	13:11
	the praises of the Lord,	13:14
	according to all that the Lord has granted us,	13:16
	and the great goodness to the house of Israel	13:20
	which God has granted them according to God's mercy,	13:23
	according to the abundance of God's steadfast love.	13:27
	For God said, "Surely they are my people,	13:32
	"children who will not deal falsely."	13:35
	And God became their Savior.	13:38
	In all their affliction, God was afflicted,	13:41
	and the angel of God's presence saved them.	13:45
	In love and in pity, God redeemed them,	13:48
	lifted them up, and carried them all the days of old.	13:52
	Thus ends the reading of the first lesson.	13:58
-	Let us stand for the Psalm.	14:04
	Let us read responsively Psalm 111,	14:13
	men reading the regular type	14:16
	and women reading the boldface type.	14:18
	Praise the Lord.	14:24
Congregation	I will give thanks to the Lord	14:26
	with my whole heart,	14:28
	in the company of the upright, in the congregation.	14:30
-	Great are the works of the Lord,	14:33
	studied by all who have pleasure in them.	14:35
Congregation	Full of honor and majesty	14:39
	are the works of the Lord,	14:41
	whose righteousness endures forever.	14:43
-	Who has caused his wonderful works to be remembered,	14:45
	the Lord is gracious and merciful.	14:49
Congregation	The Lord provides food for the faithful	14:52
	and is ever mindful of his covenant.	14:55
William	The Lord has shown his people	14:57
	the power of his works	14:59
	by giving them the heritage of the nations.	15:01
Congregation	The works of the Lord's hands	15:05
	are faithful and just.	15:06
	The precepts of the Lord are trustworthy.	15:09
	They are established forever and ever,	15:12
	to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.	15:15
-	The Lord sent redemption to his people	15:19
	and has commanded his covenant forever.	15:22
	Holy and wondrous is God's name.	15:25
Congregation	The fear of the Lord	15:28
	is the beginning of wisdom.	15:29
	All those who practice it have a good understanding.	15:32
	The praise of the Lord endures forever.	15:36
	(solemn music)	15:39
	♪ O Lord, make speed to save me ♪	15:47
	♪ O Lord, make haste to help me ♪	15:54
	♪ Glory be to the Father and the Son ♪	16:01
	♪ And to the Holy Ghost ♪	16:08
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	16:15
	♪ Is now and ever shall be ♪	16:22
-	You may be seated.	16:32
	The second lesson comes from the epistle to Hebrews,	16:40
	beginning in the second chapter.	16:44
	For it was fitting that the one	16:47
	for whom and by whom all things exist,	16:49
	in bringing many sons and daughters to glory,	16:52
	should make the pioneer of their salvation	16:56
	perfect through suffering.	16:58
	For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified	17:01
	have all one origin.	17:05
	That is why Jesus is not ashamed	17:07
	to call them brothers and sisters, saying,	17:09
	"I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.	17:12
	"In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you."	17:16
	And again, "I will put my trust in God."	17:19
	And again, "Here am I and the children God has given me."	17:23
	Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,	17:28
	Jesus likewise partook of the same nature,	17:32
	in order to destroy through death	17:35
	the one who has power of death, that is, the devil,	17:37
	and to deliver all those who through fear of death	17:41
	were subject to lifelong bondage.	17:45
	For surely it is not with angels that Jesus is concerned	17:48
	but with the descendants of Abraham.	17:52
	Therefore Jesus had to be made	17:55
	like human beings in every respect	17:57
	in order to become a merciful and faithful high priest	18:00
	in the service of God,	18:03
	to make expiation for the sins of the people.	18:05
	For because Jesus also has suffered and been tempted,	18:09
	Jesus is able to help those who are tempted.	18:13
	Thus ends the reading of the second lesson.	18:17
	(stately music)	18:26
-	This gospel reading follows immediately	20:23
	after the visit of the wise men in Matthew two.	20:26
	It is rather like a cold bath after Christmas.	20:33
	Listen for the gospel.	20:37
	Now when they had departed, that is, the wise men,	20:41
	behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream	20:44
	and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother	20:48
	"and flee to Egypt and remain there till I tell you.	20:50
	"For Herod is about to search for the child	20:53
	"to destroy him."	20:55
	And he rose and took the child and his mother by night	20:58
	and departed to Egypt	21:00
	and remained there until the death of Herod.	21:01
	This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet,	21:04
	"Out of Egypt I have called my son."	21:07
	Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked	21:11
	by the wise men, was in a furious rage,	21:13
	and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem	21:17
	and in all that region who were under two years old,	21:19
	according to the time	21:23
	which he had ascertained from the wise men.	21:24
	Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.	21:27
	"A voice was heard in Ramah,	21:30
	"wailing and loud lamentations,	21:33
	"Rachel weeping for her children.	21:35
	"She refused to be consoled because they were no more."	21:37
	But when Herod died, behold,	21:43
	an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,	21:46
	saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother	21:49
	"and go to the land of Egypt,	21:51
	"for those who sought the child's life are dead."	21:53
	And he rose and took the child and his mother	21:55
	and went to the land of Israel.	21:57
	But when he heard that Archela'us	22:00
	reigned over Judea in the place of his father Herod,	22:02
	he was afraid to go there and being warned in a dream,	22:06
	he withdrew to the district of Galilee.	22:08
	And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth,	22:12
	that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled,	22:15
	"He shall be called a Nazarene."	22:17
	Here ends the lesson.	22:22
	These words are true and they can be trusted.	22:23
	Grace to you and peace	22:31
	from the Messiah who has come and who will come, even Jesus.	22:34
	I am delighted to be with you on this off Sunday.	22:42
	I'm delighted that Dr. Willimon inviting me.	22:47
	It's been a long week since Christmas.	22:52
	It's a week filled with tension and exhaustion	22:56
	and lots of business.	22:59
	Oh, I don't mean your week.	23:02
	I mean the week that has passed	23:05
	for the characters in this Bethlehem story.	23:07
	Because they continue to be the same main characters	23:12
	in this second episode,	23:16
	and what I want you to notice is	23:19
	what a difference a week has made for them	23:21
	when you move from the story of the wise men	23:25
	to the next story of the flight into Egypt.	23:28
	It's worth noticing the change in their lives	23:33
	because it's the kind of change	23:35
	that has to happen in our lives	23:38
	the second week of Christmas.	23:40
	The cast of characters is well-known	23:44
	even though we coalesce the stories of Matthew and Luke.	23:46
	There are Mary and Joseph.	23:50
	They are silent and obedient	23:53
	and they are awed by what's happening.	23:55
	They don't ever say anything.	23:58
	There are the wise men.	24:02
	They've come in their bathrobes and now they've gone,	24:03
	warned in a dream.	24:07
	And there is Herod.	24:11
	He sounded like a good guy in the Christmas story.	24:12
	He said, "When you've found them,	24:15
	"bring me word that I may worship them."	24:16
	And if we had only that story, we would think he meant it.	24:19
	And there are the angels.	24:25
	They are the, first, the one announcer	24:26
	and then the sky is filled with a choir of singing voices,	24:30
	and the story overflows with wonder and amazement.	24:35
	And for a moment, the trains stop running	24:39
	and we stop running,	24:42
	and we suspend our critical judgment and we are bathed	24:45
	in a narrative of innocence at Christmas.	24:50
	It's wonderful.	24:54
	It is the innocence of God's holy intrusion.	24:57
	It is the innocent power of God's love.	25:02
	It is our desperate innocence of believing	25:06
	that the world really could start over again.	25:10
	We've been there.	25:16
	For children, and not just for children,	25:20
	Christmas ends too soon.	25:25
	And the wise men depart and the angels vanish	25:30
	and Herod goes back to the office.	25:34
	And we return to our ordinary weariness,	25:38
	and very little has changed.	25:44
	And we are back to our tired lives.	25:47
	But on the first Sunday of Christmas,	25:55
	my word to you is don't go back yet.	25:56
	Don't give up on Christmas,	25:58
	but linger with these characters and watch them	26:01
	one more time because in one week,	26:06
	a lot has changed.	26:11
	They also have departed innocence,	26:14
	and they've gone back to real life.	26:18
	Consider first Herod.	26:23
	He sounded like he was prepared to meet the new king,	26:27
	"that I also may worship,"	26:31
	but what a difference a week makes to Herod.	26:34
	We don't know why he changed.	26:39
	Perhaps his intelligence told him more about this new king.	26:40
	Perhaps he had just thought awhile and figured it out.	26:46
	Or more likely, he didn't mean	26:52
	what he said in the first place.	26:53
	But in one quick week,	26:57
	Herod is transformed into a frantic, ruthless killer,	27:00
	all for reasons of state.	27:05
	And Herod sounds like Pharaoh back in the book of Exodus.	27:10
	He's gonna search out the baby and he's gonna kill him	27:15
	because he's in a furious rage.	27:18
	And Herod is like all kinds of powerful people	27:21
	who get upset.	27:24
	He's prepared to fight, to fire on the crowd,	27:25
	and to kill civilians for reasons of state.	27:27
	What a difference a week makes to Herod.	27:34
	Because brutality has come back into the narrative.	27:39
	And what this story knows is that mild people	27:44
	can be transformed into passionate rage	27:47
	when their interest is jeopardized	27:51
	and when their status quo is put at risk.	27:54
	So in this story, one week later,	28:00
	we see the full play of evil.	28:03
	It's very interesting	28:08
	that in the church's selection of this lectionary text,	28:09
	it leaves out all the hard verses.	28:11
	It just skips over the brutality.	28:13
	But the Bible does not skip over the brutality.	28:19
	The Bible knows that if you want to celebrate Christmas,	28:22
	you will have to do it in the face	28:24
	of socioeconomic, political, military brutality.	28:26
	And the reason we all think about that is that	28:33
	that brutality is not very far away from us	28:35
	because we also would like to do in innocence	28:38
	if it threatens our status quo.	28:42
	What a difference a week makes.	28:50
	Consider the baby.	28:52
	The baby Jesus is still passive.	28:56
	He doesn't act.	28:59
	He doesn't speak, but he is the driving force of the story.	29:01
	Everything happens because of the baby.	29:08
	You know how it is.	29:12
	At Christmas, the baby is honored and worshiped and saluted	29:13
	and adored and gold and frankincense and myrrh,	29:17
	and if you want to, you can add a few extra sheep and oxen	29:20
	to make it work.	29:24
	But a week later, everything has changed.	29:28
	The music in the Christmas story has become chilling.	29:30
	Because the power of Jesus	29:38
	has changed everything in the story,	29:40
	and two things stand out.	29:42
	First of all,	29:44
	this Jesus has become	29:46
	a threat to Herod	29:48
	and to all the greed and injustice and brutality.	29:54
	One week old and Jesus threatens	30:01
	the way the world is organized.	30:05
	And as Jesus grows into adulthood,	30:09
	Jesus keep threatening the way the world is organized	30:11
	with his power for goodness and his dreams of freedom	30:16
	and his passion for justice	30:20
	and his miracles of healing.	30:24
	And we are told as we read on in the Jesus story	30:27
	is that everywhere he went,	30:30
	the blind see him, the lame walk, and lepers are cleansed,	30:31
	and the dead are raised and the poor rejoice.	30:34
	That's pretty upsetting.	30:40
	And Herod senses it coming.	30:43
	But the other thing you notice about Jesus	30:48
	is that he's so vulnerable.	30:50
	He just a little baby	30:52
	that has barely entered the world,	30:54
	and as he gets older, he continues to be resourceless	31:00
	and weaponless and defenseless.	31:03
	And his vulnerability finally	31:09
	culminates in a cross,	31:12
	where we see what his power is all about,	31:16
	perfect strength in weakness,	31:18
	perfect authority in gentleness,	31:21
	perfect sovereignty in graciousness.	31:23
	And in his vulnerability,	31:31
	Jesus drives the Herods of the world crazy.	31:34
	So one week later,	31:43
	what we got is this crazy man of power	31:44
	and this vulnerable little baby	31:50
	that threatens him.	31:54
	That's the issue that's joined in this story,	31:58
	and it's still joined for us	32:00
	with Herod unleashing brutalized power	32:04
	and the baby.	32:10
	And I want to tell you something.	32:14
	Between Herod's power and the baby	32:15
	is where you will have to live your life.	32:20
	Because the world is arranged in such an unequal way,	32:25
	and you'll have to put your money down	32:32
	and bet your life.	32:34
	You can bet on Herod's brutality	32:39
	or you can bet on Jesus' vulnerability.	32:41
	Herod spoke very loudly.	32:49
	He said, "Kill them all!"	32:51
	He thought if he spoke loudly, it would work.	32:52
	He is the voice of power	32:58
	and greed and fear and control.	33:00
	He doesn't trust anybody.	33:05
	He doesn't believe in transformation.	33:06
	And he is endlessly engaged in destroying himself.	33:11
	Do you know about that?	33:19
	Herod embodies what we all know,	33:20
	and that is the resistance	33:23
	to the newness of God's gospel.	33:27
	Or you can bet on the little baby.	33:33
	But there's one other character that I haven't mentioned.	33:40
	In the birth story of Luke, you know, the angels sing,	33:46
	and in our romantic innocence,	33:51
	we don't mind some angels on Christmas Eve.	33:52
	They come and announce a new king and a new management.	33:57
	And then they leave,	34:04
	and our world feels like it doesn't have any angels in it.	34:07
	But what a difference a week makes?	34:14
	What the angels did in that week	34:16
	is they walked over from Luke to Matthew.	34:18
	They said let's get in this story.	34:21
	Did you wonder what happened to the angels	34:27
	after Christmas Eve?	34:30
	Well, in that dangerous week,	34:34
	the angels have been changed as much as Herod	34:36
	and as much as the baby	34:40
	because these sweet messengers with wings	34:41
	have become active political characters.	34:47
	And when we meet the angel again in this story,	34:52
	the angel is powerful and assertive.	34:54
	The angel comes twice in this story.	35:01
	The narrative says first, "Behold!"	35:06
	That means look out!	35:09
	An angel of the Lord appeared and said,	35:12
	"Get out of here with the baby	35:14
	"or the king's gonna kill him."	35:15
	And then the angel led the baby and the parents	35:18
	to the safety of Egypt, out of reach of Herod.	35:22
	The angel acts to protect the baby	35:28
	from the rage of the empire.	35:33
	And then the second thing the narrative says	35:39
	is when Herod died, behold, that means look out.	35:41
	An angel appeared in the dream and said,	35:46
	"You can go back now, it's safe."	35:47
	And the angel leads another exodus	35:53
	out of Egypt to freedom,	35:57
	just as the angel long ago had led Moses	36:01
	out of slavery.	36:05
	The angel is a force	36:08
	to protect the blessed baby	36:12
	from the crazed king.	36:14
	The angel is the one who lets the baby	36:18
	come back to the land of promise.	36:21
	The angel is the wild card	36:23
	in the deck of God's history	36:27
	that makes all the other characters sit up and take notice.	36:31
	What I want you to see is that	36:38
	the tension between the king and the baby is changed	36:40
	because in the middle of it is an angel.	36:44
	Let me try it this way, that the angel is our narrative way	36:51
	of talking about the overplus	36:58
	of God's power and God's resolve and God's love	37:02
	that is at work in our common life.	37:07
	How you gonna talk about it?	37:10
	It upsets all our equilibriums.	37:14
	It overrides all our power arrangements.	37:16
	It makes all things possible.	37:19
	So the people that put this narrative together	37:27
	didn't start fresh.	37:29
	They went back to the book of Isaiah,	37:31
	and they went back to the Psalms.	37:34
	And what they found there was the language of our community	37:37
	who talk about angels as bodyguards	37:41
	who save people by their presence.	37:47
	Psalm 91 has an angel	37:50
	that lets you walk above snakes and scorpions	37:52
	as a rearguard and a foreguard, utterly safe.	37:56
	It is the Bible's way of saying to us	38:06
	that God's protective power	38:09
	that we can't domesticate	38:13
	keeps love viable,	38:17
	keeps faithfulness safe,	38:20
	guards those who obey and keeps those who devote their life	38:26
	to the purpose of God.	38:30
	You know, don't you, that if in this story,	38:35
	there was only Herod and Jesus,	38:37
	Herod would have won.	38:42
	And the baby would have been killed	38:45
	and we wouldn't be here this morning.	38:47
	Jesus' name would have been forgotten.	38:50
	That's predictable.	38:54
	What changes everything	38:59
	is that the angel of the Lord appeared	39:00
	in the center of the narrative.	39:04
	The angel came and the story is changed.	39:09
	Have you noticed how this same overplus	39:11
	of God's power and God's love	39:16
	keeps life open to newness where none seemed possible?	39:19
	Have you noticed the overplus of God's power	39:25
	in Czechoslovakia and in Romania and in Poland?	39:31
	Did you imagine that the innocent protesters	39:36
	would overthrow brutality	39:40
	by the, oh no, not by themselves,	39:42
	but by the overplus of God's power	39:46
	that finally will not let brutality kill the babies?	39:50
	Have you noticed the strange break points	39:58
	in the struggle for justice and peace and freedom	40:03
	against all the odds,	40:08
	where humanness keeps turning up	40:13
	when we thought it not possible?	40:15
	Have you noticed in your life and in the life around you	40:20
	that there are openings for humanness and newness	40:24
	and healing and wholeness	40:28
	against all odds?	40:31
	You may think it's surface religious poetry	40:35
	when we sang Angels We Have Heard on High.	40:39
	We are the people who read the world differently,	40:45
	and this is our way of talking about it.	40:53
	And the news one week later	40:57
	is that the overplus of God's power and God's love	40:58
	has not been driven out of the story.	41:01
	It is present and it is active and it is decisive,	41:05
	and that is good news.	41:09
	You see, the event at Christmas	41:17
	was not just a little romantic pageant	41:20
	that you can forget about and go home unscathed.	41:25
	The event of Christmas is an assertion	41:31
	about God's power in the world against the power of evil.	41:34
	And it is because of God's resilient power in the world	41:41
	that the baby is safe and the promise is under way	41:45
	and we are available for healing.	41:49
	When Will invited me and I looked at these lectionary texts,	41:57
	I thought, oh no, all the lectionary texts are about angels.	42:00
	And it's wonderful to come to a university campus	42:04
	and talk about angels.	42:07
	Because in a university campus, we are so sure	42:10
	and we see so well and we explain so clearly.	42:13
	Indeed, the university is a place where we gather	42:17
	in celebration of our awesome control	42:22
	and our capacity to have our life the way we want it.	42:25
	That's what we're all about.	42:28
	And it sounds maudlin and romantic and fantastic	42:32
	to speak about angels.	42:37
	That's why we're here.	42:40
	You don't believe, do you,	42:45
	that there is only cruel Herod and vulnerable Jesus?	42:47
	You don't believe, do you,	42:54
	that there are only brutalizing forces and innocent love?	42:55
	The story says there's a third force.	43:02
	An angel of the Lord appeared and said.	43:07
	The third character who had such a long week	43:12
	is the strong power of God's purpose	43:18
	that is on the loose in ways	43:22
	that we cannot predict or control or administer.	43:24
	But notice that by the end of this narrative,	43:29
	Herod is gone, vanished from history,	43:32
	and the baby has come home.	43:37
	The angel departs, probably going back	43:42
	to choir practice in heaven.	43:44
	But that angel is not to be trifled with,	43:48
	tough and hard and determined.	43:52
	We call this story the slaughter of the innocents,	44:00
	and the innocent go on being slaughtered	44:08
	when the army shoots among the civilians	44:12
	in Romania and in Panama.	44:15
	And the innocents are slaughtered	44:19
	in university classrooms,	44:20
	in families, and everywhere we are.	44:22
	And the Bible does not blink.	44:27
	But there is this.	44:32
	That God's powerful purpose is at work,	44:36
	not always visible, not always triumphant,	44:38
	but at work in the midst of Herod's insanity.	44:43
	So if you're like me, it's been a long, long week	44:50
	for these people in this story.	44:55
	What we celebrate is a new beginning beyond the craziness	45:01
	and beyond the destructiveness,	45:08
	a new beginning that happens because of God's overplus	45:12
	of power and love	45:19
	that is vulnerable but resilient.	45:22
	Take notice toward the new year	45:27
	that the angel has not been driven out	45:31
	of the story,	45:35
	and indeed will not.	45:38
	And that's for rejoicing, Amen.	45:41
	("Hark the Herald Angels Sing")	45:49
	♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪	46:11
	♪ Glory to the newborn king ♪	46:17
	♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪	46:22
	♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪	46:27
	♪ Joyful, all ye nations rise ♪	46:32
	♪ Join the triumph of the skies ♪	46:37
	♪ With angelic hosts proclaim ♪	46:43
	♪ Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪	46:48
	♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪	46:53
	♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪	46:58
	♪ Christ, by highest heav'n adored ♪	47:06
	♪ Christ, the everlasting Lord ♪	47:11
	♪ Late in time, behold him come ♪	47:17
	♪ Offspring of a virgin's womb ♪	47:22
	♪ Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see ♪	47:27
	♪ Hail the incarnate deity ♪	47:32
	♪ Pleased with us in flesh to dwell ♪	47:37
	♪ Jesus, our Emmanuel ♪	47:42
	♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪	47:48
	♪ Glory to the newborn king ♪	47:53
	♪ Hail the heav'nly prince of peace ♪	48:30
	♪ Hail the sun of righteousness ♪	48:36
	♪ Light and life to all he brings ♪	48:41
	♪ Ris'n with healing in his wings ♪	48:46
	♪ Mild he lays his glory by ♪	48:52
	♪ Born that man no more may die ♪	48:57
	♪ Born to raise the sons of earth ♪	49:02
	♪ Born to give them second birth ♪	49:08
	♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪	49:13
	♪ Glory to the newborn king ♪	49:18
-	The Lord be with you.	49:30
Congregation	And also with you.	49:31
-	Let us pray, be seated.	49:33
	Gracious God, because we could not get ourselves together	49:46
	and come to you,	49:51
	you came to us,	49:54
	reaching out to us, stooping to us as a baby,	49:57
	one of us, with us.	50:01
	Lord of all heaven and earth,	50:06
	when you entered the world at Bethlehem	50:08
	and took upon us, upon yourself, our flesh,	50:11
	you thereby exalted us,	50:17
	taking on our human need,	50:21
	our care, our fear and hurt	50:24
	as if your own.	50:28
	Encouraged by the mystery of your incarnation,	50:31
	we are bold to pray	50:34
	for all human need.	50:37
	Oh, child who knew what it was	50:42
	to be hounded by an unjust, cruel tyrant,	50:44
	we pray for all those who suffer	50:48
	from political and governmental oppression,	50:49
	rejoicing when people rise up, throw off the chains	50:54
	of governmental and economic tyranny	50:58
	as a triumph of your will for all.	51:02
	We rejoice at poor families like Joseph's,	51:06
	dream even yet and give Herod the slip.	51:10
	Oh, Emmanuel who knows what it is like	51:15
	to be in a poor family,	51:19
	to have no place to call your own,	51:22
	no protection from the cruelty of the elements	51:26
	by the designs of calloused people in high places,	51:29
	we pray this day for all poor families	51:33
	who are ill-fed or ill-clothed, ill-housed	51:37
	often as a result of our callousness.	51:41
	We still have so little room for the poor.	51:46
	Oh, dayspring from on high	51:52
	who began this life as a refugee with his parents,	51:55
	we pray for all refugees and displaced persons	51:59
	in Afghanistan, El Salvador,	52:04
	the West Bank and Gaza,	52:09
	Mozambique and Vietnam.	52:11
	Herod rages even yet.	52:15
	Oh, prince of peace	52:20
	whose advent provoked not peace	52:22
	but a massacre of the innocents,	52:25
	we pray for all children who suffer	52:28
	because of adult incompetence,	52:32
	adult ambition or cruelty.	52:36
	Rachel weeps even yet for her children.	52:40
	Oh, child of Nazareth,	52:46
	after the Christmas angels and the star,	52:48
	the wonder of Bethlehem singing,	52:52
	now we return to a more accustomed world,	52:56
	a gray January world,	53:02
	a world where there is pain	53:06
	and injustice and family problems,	53:07
	political shenanigans, occupying armies,	53:10
	and an uncertain future.	53:14
	And yet by your grace,	53:18
	we return to this world	53:22
	by a different way than that which we came,	53:23
	entering a new year with the songs of angels on our lips,	53:27
	facing our accustomed problems	53:33
	with unaccustomed joy,	53:36
	knowing that wherever we are,	53:39
	you are with us, Amen.	53:43
	As is the custom in this chapel,	53:52
	all of the Sunday offering goes	53:55
	to alleviate suffering at home and abroad.	53:57
	Therefore, as forgiven and reconciled people,	54:01
	we invite you to give generously.	54:05
	(solemn music)	54:14
	(stately music)	59:55
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	1:00:28
	♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪	1:00:34
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:00:40
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:00:43
	♪ Praise him above, ye heavenly host ♪	1:00:47
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:00:53
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:00:59
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:01:02
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:01:05
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:01:08
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	1:01:11
-	Eternal God, we give thanks that by the birth of Jesus,	1:01:25
	you gave yourself to the world.	1:01:30
	Grant, we pray, that being born in our hearts,	1:01:33
	he may save us from our sins and restore within us	1:01:36
	the intended image and likeness of our creator,	1:01:40
	to whom be everlasting praise and glory,	1:01:44
	world without end.	1:01:47
	And so we pray	1:01:50
	as our Savior has taught us,	1:01:52
	our Father, who art in heaven.	1:01:55
All	Hallowed be thy name.	1:01:58
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	1:02:00
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:02:04
	Give us this day our daily bread.	1:02:06
	And forgive us our trespasses,	1:02:09
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:02:12
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:02:15
	but deliver us from evil.	1:02:18
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	1:02:20
	and the glory forever, Amen.	1:02:24
-	And now may the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ	1:02:28
	be with you and remain with you now and always, Amen.	1:02:31
	("Good Christian Friends, Rejoice")	1:02:39
	♪ Good Christian friends, rejoice ♪	1:03:14
	♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪	1:03:18
	♪ Give ye heed to what we say ♪	1:03:23
	♪ News, news, Jesus Christ is born today ♪	1:03:27
	♪ Ox and ass before him bow ♪	1:03:33
	♪ And he is in the manger now ♪	1:03:37
	♪ Christ is born today ♪	1:03:42
	♪ Christ is born today ♪	1:03:46
	♪ Good Christian friends, rejoice ♪	1:03:52
	♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪	1:03:56
	♪ Now ye hear of endless bliss ♪	1:04:00
	♪ News, news, Jesus Christ was born for this ♪	1:04:04
	♪ He hath opened heaven's door ♪	1:04:11
	♪ And ye are blest forevermore ♪	1:04:14
	♪ Christ was born for this ♪	1:04:19
	♪ Christ was born for this ♪	1:04:23
	♪ Good Christian friends, rejoice ♪	1:04:28
	♪ With heart and soul and voice ♪	1:04:32
	♪ Now ye need not fear the grave ♪	1:04:37
	♪ News, news, Jesus Christ was born to save ♪	1:04:42
	♪ Calls you one and calls you all ♪	1:04:49
	♪ To gain his everlasting hall ♪	1:04:53
	♪ Christ was born to save ♪	1:04:57
	♪ Christ was born to save ♪	1:05:02
	(lively music)	1:05:18
	(people chatter)	1:05:46

Item Info

Title:

Walter Brueggemann - "What a Difference a Week Makes!" (December 31, 1989)

Description:

The week between the birth narrative in the Gospels and Jesus' family's flight to Egypt is a long and painful week. It is one in which the innocence of Christmas is shot through with the brutality of Herod and the Empire. Yet, the good news is that God's overplus of power and love is still present and active in the story (in the character of the angel), and because of this new beginnings and new life are possible. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 22:31. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 45:46.
Key quotation: “The news one week later is that the overplus of God’s power and God’s love has not been driven out of the story. It is present, and it is active, and it is decisive, and that is good news.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4jq0t926

Date:

December 31, 1989

Speaker:

Brueggemann, Walter

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Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0162
ref8719_ll2
uachapelsermaud
duke:321377
dcrmv001158
ark:/87924/r4jq0t926
3f51d007-bce9-4881-aa18-fdf656088ae1

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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English

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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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Walter Brueggemann - "What a Difference a Week Makes!" (December 31, 1989)

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