Harold C. Warlick, Jr. - "Power" (August 12, 1990)

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-	Grace and peace to you	0:11
	in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.	0:12
	We welcome you to this service of worship	0:14
	at Duke University Chapel,	0:16
	and pray that you will receive a blessing during this hour.	0:18
	We welcome as our guest preacher today,	0:21
	the Reverend Dr. Harold Warlick Jr.,	0:24
	Chairman of the Department of Religion and Philosophy	0:26
	and Minister to the College at High Point College	0:30
	in High Point, North Carolina.	0:33
	As a former parish minister, seminary professor,	0:35
	and now college professor,	0:38
	he brings a wide of range of experiences to his preaching.	0:39
	We certainly look forward to his message today.	0:42
	I'd also like to thank Mr. Chuck VanSant,	0:46
	Assistant Dean for Residential Life,	0:48
	for serving as our lector today.	0:50
	We are truly indebted to the Duke Chapel Summer Choir	0:53
	for the offerings they have made throughout the summer	0:55
	to our services.	0:58
	This is their final Sunday for the summer	0:59
	and we wish to thank each and every one of them	1:03
	for their vital contributions here at the chapel.	1:05
	Please note the remaining announcements	1:09
	as they are printed in your bulletins	1:10
	and now let us continue our worship.	1:12
	(choir sings)	1:18
	♪ Praise ye the Lord of hosts ♪	1:19
	♪ Sing His salvation ♪	1:22
	♪ Bless His name ♪	1:26
	♪ Show forth His praise ♪	1:29
	♪ In His holy house ♪	1:31
	♪ Earth shall be glad ♪	1:35
	♪ All ye heavens now be joyful ♪	1:39
	♪ Christ bringing peace to the earth ♪	1:44
	♪ All the glad shall sing ♪	1:47
	♪ Alleluia ♪	1:50
	("Come, Christians, Join to Sing")	1:58
	(congregation sings)	2:32
	♪ Come Christians join to sing ♪	2:34
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	2:38
	♪ Loud praise to Christ our King ♪	2:42
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	2:47
	♪ Let all with heart and voice ♪	2:51
	♪ Before His throne rejoice ♪	2:56
	♪ Praise is His gracious choice ♪	3:01
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	3:05
	♪ Come, lift your hearts on high ♪	3:12
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	3:16
	♪ Let praises fill the sky ♪	3:21
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	3:26
	♪ He is our guide and friend ♪	3:30
	♪ To us He'll condescend ♪	3:35
	♪ His love shall never end ♪	3:39
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	3:44
	♪ Praise yet the Lord again ♪	4:34
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	4:38
	♪ Life shall not end the strain ♪	4:43
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	4:47
	♪ On heaven's blissful shore ♪	4:52
	♪ His goodness we'll adore ♪	4:57
	♪ Singing forevermore ♪	5:01
	♪ Alleluia, Amen ♪	5:06
	Mighty God,	5:19
	whom we long to see by some powerful revelation	5:21
	or miraculous intervention,	5:24
	speak to us today in a still small voice.	5:26
	We seek you on behalf of the multitudes	5:30
	who need your transforming power,	5:33
	but also for ourselves.	5:36
	Encourage us to take the next step	5:39
	in response to your summons.	5:42
	Reform our doubts that faith may empower us.	5:44
	Amen.	5:49
-	Let us pray.	6:01
All	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	6:03
	by the power of your holy spirit.	6:06
	So that, as the Word is read and proclaimed,	6:09
	we might hear with joy,	6:13
	what you say to us this day,	6:15
	amen.	6:18
-	The first reading is taken from the book of Exodus.	6:19
	Then the angel of God, who went before the host of Israel,	6:23
	moved and went behind them.	6:27
	And the pillar of cloud moved from before them	6:29
	and stood behind them.	6:32
	Coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel.	6:35
	And there was the cloud and the darkness	6:40
	and the night passed without one coming near the other	6:43
	all night.	6:46
	Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,	6:49
	and God drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night.	6:52
	And made the sea dry land.	6:58
	And the waters were divided.	7:00
	And the people of Israel	7:04
	went into the midst of the sea on dry ground,	7:05
	the waters being a wall to them on their right hand	7:08
	and on their left.	7:12
	The Egyptians pursued and went in after them	7:14
	in the midst of the sea.	7:16
	All Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and drivers.	7:19
	And in the morning watch,	7:23
	God in the pillar of fire and of cloud,	7:25
	looked down upon the host of the Egyptians	7:27
	and confounded the host of the Egyptians,	7:30
	clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily.	7:34
	And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel!	7:38
	"For God fights for them against the Egyptians!"	7:42
	Then God said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,	7:46
	"that the water may come back upon the Egyptians,	7:50
	"upon their chariots, and upon their drivers."	7:54
	So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea	7:59
	and the sea returned to its normal flow	8:02
	when the morning appeared	8:04
	and the Egyptians fled into it	8:06
	and God routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.	8:09
	The waters returned and covered the chariots	8:13
	and the drivers and all the hosts of Pharaoh	8:16
	that had followed them into the sea.	8:18
	Not so much as one of them remained.	8:22
	But the people of Israel walked on dry ground	8:25
	through the sea, the waters being a wall to them	8:28
	on their left hand and on their right.	8:31
	Thus God saved Israel that day	8:35
	from the hand of the Egyptians.	8:37
	And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore	8:40
	and Israel saw the great work that God had done	8:44
	against the Egyptians and the people feared God.	8:47
	And they believed in God and in his servant Moses.	8:51
	This is the word of the Lord.	8:56
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	8:59
-	Please stand as we join together in singing responsively	9:05
	Psalms 106,	9:08
	verses four through 12.	9:10
	♪ Remember me, oh Lord, ♪	9:22
	♪ when you show favor to your people ♪	9:24
	♪ Help me when you deliver them ♪	9:28
	♪ That I might see the prosperity of your chosen ones ♪	9:33
	♪ That I might rejoice in the gladness of your nation ♪	9:39
	♪ That I may glory with your inheritance ♪	9:43
	♪ Both we and our forebears have sinned ♪	9:49
	♪ We have committed iniquity ♪	9:53
	♪ We have done wickedly ♪	9:57
	♪ Our forebears, when they were in Egypt ♪	10:00
	♪ Did not consider your wondrous works ♪	10:05
	♪ They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love ♪	10:11
	♪ But rebelled against the most high at the Red Sea ♪	10:16
	♪ Yet he saved them for his holy name ♪	10:22
	♪ To make known his power on high ♪	10:27
	♪ God rebuked the Red Sea and it became dry ♪	10:33
	♪ And led them through the deep as through a desert ♪	10:38
	♪ So God saved them from the hand of the foe ♪	10:43
	♪ And redeemed them from the power of the enemy ♪	10:48
	♪ And the waters covered their adversaries ♪	10:55
	♪ Not one of them was left ♪	11:00
	♪ Then they believed God's words ♪	11:04
	♪ They sang God's praise ♪	11:07
	("Gloria")	11:12
	♪ Glory be ♪	11:21
	♪ To our creator ♪	11:24
	♪ Praise to our ♪	11:28
	♪ Redeemer Lord ♪	11:31
	♪ Glory be ♪	11:36
	♪ To our Sustainer ♪	11:39
	♪ Ever three ♪	11:44
	♪ And ever one ♪	11:47
	♪ As it was ♪	11:51
	♪ In the beginning ♪	11:54
	♪ Now and evermore ♪	11:58
	♪ Shall be ♪	12:03
-	The second reading is taken	12:19
	from the gospel according to Matthew.	12:20
	Jesus made the disciples get into the boat	12:24
	and go on ahead to the other side	12:27
	while he dismissed the crowds.	12:29
	After dismissing the crowds,	12:32
	he went up on the mountain to pray by himself.	12:35
	When evening came he was there alone	12:40
	but the boat by this time	12:42
	was many furlongs distant from the land,	12:44
	beaten by the waves for the wind was against them.	12:47
	And in the fourth watch of the night,	12:52
	Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the sea.	12:53
	But when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea,	12:58
	they were terrified saying, "It is a ghost!"	13:02
	And they cried out in fear.	13:06
	But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying,	13:09
	"Take heart, it is I; have no fear."	13:13
	And Peter answered, "Lord, if it is you,	13:18
	"bid me come to you on the water."	13:21
	Jesus said, "Come."	13:24
	So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water	13:26
	and came to Jesus.	13:30
	But seeing the wind, Peter was afraid and beginning to sink	13:33
	cried out, "Lord, save me!"	13:38
	Jesus immediately reached out and caught Peter saying,	13:42
	"Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?"	13:46
	And when Jesus and Peter got into the boat the wind ceased.	13:51
	And those in the boat worshiped Jesus saying,	13:56
	"Truly, you are the son of God."	13:59
	This is the word of the Lord.	14:03
All	Thanks be to God.	14:06
	(Requiem, Movement III "Sanctus" by Gabriel Faure)	14:23
	(singing in Latin)	14:29
-	I am delighted to be with you this morning.	17:40
	This is an opportunity for worship.	17:45
	One would think that when you choose a subject	17:49
	for such an opportunity as this,	17:55
	that that subject would be intellectually stimulating,	17:58
	educationally sound,	18:05
	and emotionally compelling.	18:08
	Power is none of those.	18:13
	We clergy do not handle it very well	18:21
	when it comes our way.	18:26
	Yet this morning, we are surrounded	18:29
	by every vestige of power from every direction.	18:32
	The situation in the Middle East reminds us	18:39
	that whether we are Arab or Jew,	18:44
	Christian or Muslim,	18:47
	the fundamental human will to power	18:51
	raises its ugly head in a world of peace.	18:56
	If that were not enough,	19:03
	the ecumenical readings for today	19:05
	are as follows.	19:10
	The Old Testament lesson for August 12th,	19:13
	depicts the power of God	19:17
	to enable Moses to stretch his hands,	19:21
	part the waters,	19:26
	and utterly destroy the entire army	19:29
	of the Pharaoh.	19:34
	The New Testament gospel for today,	19:36
	depicts the power of Jesus	19:41
	to walk on water.	19:46
	The epistle for today,	19:50
	which we did not read,	19:53
	tells of the power of God's word	19:55
	to enable all of us to become children of Abraham.	20:01
	Finally, when you speak at Duke Chapel,	20:07
	they send you tips on the sound system.	20:12
	Speak in a loud powerful voice.	20:19
	It is not too difficult to be too distinct	20:24
	or too dramatic	20:29
	in this very live building.	20:32
	Last night I counseled a young couple,	20:38
	recent graduates of Duke, they're being married in Kentucky	20:43
	and they told me that they loved coming to this Chapel	20:47
	for four years, especially in the summer.	20:52
	But that the summer preachers	20:57
	were either powerful or terrible.	21:01
	We have no choice but to talk about it this morning.	21:09
	I suppose that one first learns about power and control	21:15
	when one goes away from home for the first time.	21:21
	I've always had a special place in my heart	21:26
	for those students on university campuses	21:30
	who are paid to manage dormitories.	21:34
	I served as a resident advisor,	21:38
	managing a dormitory at Harvard University	21:43
	during the Vietnam War era.	21:47
	I grew up in a hurry.	21:51
	It would've been an easy job except for one student.	21:54
	His name was Dan.	21:59
	Dan was a small scrawny little individual	22:02
	but he made up for that with his oversized mouth.	22:06
	His goal in life was to be the world's biggest irritant.	22:11
	He was an expert at it.	22:17
	When a professor would assign a reading from a library book,	22:21
	Dan would go into Widener Library at Harvard University,	22:26
	find the book, look up the chapter, tear it out,	22:31
	fold it up, put it in his pocket,	22:36
	and walk out of the library with it.	22:39
	But his most annoying trait	22:42
	was late night telephoning his fiancee in California.	22:45
	Dan was too cheap to have a phone in his room	22:52
	so he used the payphone in the hallway	22:56
	at 2:00 AM eastern time.	23:00
	Three evenings a week he would go into the payphone	23:04
	and drop umpteen nickels, dimes, and quarters	23:09
	into the machine.	23:14
	Then he would talk to this woman	23:16
	in a loud voice for several hours.	23:19
	All of the students in the dormitory would come to my room,	23:23
	beat on the door, tell me	23:27
	"You're being paid to deal with him.	23:30
	"Make him get off the telephone."	23:32
	I would go and Dan would look at me and say,	23:36
	"Warlick, you don't have the power	23:39
	"to tell me when to use the telephone.	23:42
	"Only the telephone company has the power	23:46
	"to tell me when not to use their telephone."	23:49
	Finally one night, Dan was giving me that	23:54
	you don't have the power to make me do it speech,	23:58
	and Bob walked out of his room.	24:02
	Bob had been an All-American football player	24:05
	at the University of Michigan.	24:07
	He weighed 270 pounds.	24:10
	Without saying a word he took about 15 steps,	24:13
	aimed his shoulder at the telephone,	24:18
	knocked it completely off the wall.	24:22
	Wires whipped everywhere.	24:26
	One of them caught little Dan under his armpit,	24:29
	drew blood, and knocked him on the floor.	24:33
	Bob looked down at him and said,	24:36
	"Now Dan, that's how you use power."	24:38
	Believe it or not, at times,	24:44
	the human race has viewed God's use of power	24:49
	in that manner.	24:54
	The nation Israel at one point,	24:56
	viewed God as a deity who would take	24:58
	all He could stomach of human nature.	25:01
	Let Israel's enemies push her almost to the brink,	25:06
	draw a symbolic line in the sand,	25:12
	and when another nation crossed over,	25:17
	knock them off the wall and start over.	25:21
	At other times, God would take all the irritation	25:25
	he could stand from Israel herself,	25:29
	then he would choose another nation	25:32
	to come in and knock Israel off the wall	25:35
	and say, "Now Israel, that's power."	25:39
	Certainly power is the ability to affect a change.	25:43
	One of the critical elements in the ministry of Jesus	25:49
	was this issue of power.	25:54
	He contended that most of us do not know how God uses power.	25:57
	We often ask if God is so powerful,	26:03
	why does this powerful God allow so much evil to prosper?	26:06
	When those Jews and Christians were praying,	26:12
	why didn't God strike down Adolf Hitler?	26:16
	If I were God, I would've done that.	26:21
	If I were God, we wouldn't have the problems we have	26:24
	in today's world.	26:28
	We would not've had a civil war.	26:30
	I would've ended slavery.	26:33
	We would not have apartheid in South Africa.	26:36
	I would not put up with that mess for one minute.	26:40
	I would show people how to cure cancer.	26:45
	If I were all-powerful,	26:50
	I would not just hear the prayers of the winners.	26:51
	I would've run Marcos out of the Philippines years ago.	26:56
	I would have eliminated Gaddafi,	27:00
	he would be out of this earth.	27:03
	And Iraq would still be beyond the Kuwaiti border.	27:05
	That's power.	27:11
	And Jesus Christ said, "No, it isn't."	27:14
	That that is not real power.	27:21
	That it takes less power to do that	27:24
	than it does to act like God.	27:27
	Jesus said, "God is love."	27:31
	God bears and grieves and cries.	27:34
	And God's power is not related to force.	27:38
	That God's power is related to a purpose.	27:43
	The whole world coming to understand	27:47
	that love is greater than force.	27:49
	The whole world	27:52
	coming to understand that love is greater than force.	27:54
	If that's the goal,	28:00
	God cannot use power selectively.	28:02
	Let me give you an example.	28:07
	A teacher could have a great class	28:10
	if he or she simply excluded all the lazy,	28:13
	average, tiresome, and boring students.	28:17
	If you threw out all the non-A students,	28:23
	you would have a rather exclusive	28:26
	and exciting class to teach.	28:28
	I've known some professors, God forbid, not here at Duke,	28:32
	but at other places I've taught,	28:37
	who use educational power in that manner.	28:40
	The very first class, they throw out a mile a minute lecture	28:45
	and the poor students are sitting there	28:51
	like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose.	28:53
	Then they hand out a reading list and a syllabus	28:59
	that terrifies all but the brilliant students.	29:04
	Those average students drop the course.	29:10
	And all that you are left to teach are the good students.	29:15
	It's quite a power play.	29:19
	You see, teachers are not evaluated	29:21
	until the end of the course.	29:25
	And if you don't have any average students in there	29:28
	everyone is going to get a good grade	29:30
	and they're gonna say	29:32
	Dr. Warlick is the greatest thing since sliced bread.	29:33
	But if your purpose is to teach all the students,	29:37
	it's quite another matter.	29:43
	If your purpose is to educate all the students,	29:45
	you cannot use your power to discriminate.	29:49
	If God must operate with our world in a similar manner,	29:54
	what power do you get from being a Christian?	29:58
	What do you have a right to pray for?	30:03
	What does prayer do for us?	30:07
	The only reason I know for prayer	30:11
	is that it gives you the power of an identity	30:15
	that goes back farther than your own birth and race	30:18
	and extends beyond your own death.	30:23
	The power of an identity	30:28
	that goes back beyond your own birth	30:30
	and extends beyond your own death.	30:33
	It's amazing how we become prisoners of amnesia.	30:36
	To forget who you are is called amnesia.	30:41
	I'll never forget the time Big Al Geddie forgot who he was.	30:46
	Big Al was from the little town	30:52
	of Mount Olive, North Carolina.	30:54
	He was the biggest athlete ever recruited	30:57
	by Furman University.	31:00
	Our colors were purple and white, ugly, but distinctive.	31:03
	So we had purple helmets with a white stripe	31:09
	down the middle.	31:13
	Everyone but Big Al.	31:14
	Big Al's head was so big that the Riddell Company	31:16
	could not make a helmet that big, except in white.	31:21
	So Big Al looked funny.	31:27
	All of us running around in our purple helmets	31:30
	and Big Al out there in his white helmet.	31:32
	One day, Big Al did not come to class.	31:36
	For one week, Big All did not come to class.	31:39
	Nothing in Big Al's room was out of order.	31:44
	His clothes were in the closet, his bed was made,	31:48
	even his wallet was on the dresser.	31:53
	But no one knew where Big Al was.	31:58
	No one at the university had seen him in three weeks.	32:01
	No one in his hometown of Mount Olive, North Carolina	32:05
	had seen him in three weeks.	32:09
	The police and media throughout the south	32:11
	searched for Big Al.	32:15
	You could not watch television	32:17
	without seeing Big Al's picture.	32:19
	The Atlanta, Georgia Police Department finally found him.	32:22
	He was wandering around the streets of downtown Atlanta	32:27
	by Five Points.	32:31
	Big Al didn't know who he was.	32:33
	And the Atlanta Police, realizing that he had amnesia,	32:36
	didn't know who he was either.	32:42
	Nobody, least of all Big Al who didn't know he was Big Al,	32:44
	knew how he got to Atlanta, where he stayed at night,	32:49
	or how he had eaten.	32:53
	They took Big Al back home to Mount Olive, North Carolina.	32:56
	And they reintroduced him to his family.	33:01
	It was embarrassing.	33:04
	They said, "Big Al, meet your momma."	33:06
	I don't know that lady.	33:10
	This is your momma, this is where you came from.	33:12
	I don't know that lady.	33:15
	Big Al, this is your daddy.	33:17
	This is your heritage, this is your family.	33:19
	I don't know that man.	33:23
	Big Al, this is where you came from.	33:25
	Well after a year, Big Al's memory came back.	33:29
	He remember who he was,	33:34
	and he came back to college and finished.	33:35
	Big Al didn't forget he was Big Al anymore.	33:39
	It must be a horrible thing to forget who you are	33:43
	and have to be reintroduced to your heritage.	33:46
	Fred Craddock of Emory believes that we humans	33:51
	have a residue of Eden in our memory.	33:55
	That we are all born created	33:59
	with this faint memory	34:03
	in our consciousness of a closeness to God.	34:05
	Consequently, anyone who cannot attach herself or himself	34:10
	to a memory that stretches back beyond their birth,	34:15
	their race, their country, their family, is in real trouble.	34:20
	In essence, prayer gives us the power to tie ourselves	34:27
	to a life that precedes our birth	34:32
	and goes beyond our death.	34:35
	We are enrolled in a story that is larger than	34:38
	Hal Warlick, 44 year old white man,	34:42
	August 12, 1990, Durham, North Carolina.	34:46
	We were there with the ancient Jews.	34:51
	We were in Egypt waiting to get out.	34:55
	We were with Abraham.	34:59
	We were in Jerusalem.	35:02
	We were at Plymouth, Massachusetts.	35:05
	We were in Valley Forge as the snow fell	35:08
	and made our toes frigid.	35:11
	We were with Black Moses,	35:14
	Harriet Tubman, as she struggled across the Susquehanna.	35:17
	If we do not absorb that	35:23
	into our consciousness,	35:26
	our identity is not complete.	35:29
	We are left orphaned to the illnesses, the wars,	35:33
	the sins of our day.	35:38
	It is amazing how amnesia can strike anyone	35:41
	and make us forget that we are children of God	35:45
	and should live by love instead of force.	35:49
	I've forgotten who I was at a time.	35:53
	People had to come to me and say,	35:57
	"Warlick, you're acting differently from your heritage.	35:58
	"That's not the way you were born."	36:02
	The president of a bank can forget who he or she is.	36:06
	The president of a university can forget the heritage.	36:11
	Students come to college and they forget whose they are.	36:17
	It happens all the time.	36:22
	We get orphaned without a memory.	36:24
	I've seen some horrible cases.	36:28
	I'll never forget one.	36:31
	There was a mother, she raised her son	36:34
	amid the rats in a Houston, Texas ghetto.	36:38
	There were rats coming in and out of the one room	36:43
	that they ate and slept in.	36:48
	The mother held two jobs.	36:51
	By day, she was a teacher's aide	36:54
	in the Houston Public School System.	36:56
	At night, she worked in a laundry folding clothes.	36:59
	With every dollar she made	37:03
	that was not needed for the bare essentials,	37:05
	she purchased books for this little son.	37:09
	This boy grew up and made a perfect score	37:14
	on the SAT.	37:19
	1600, the big 1-6-0-0.	37:21
	He went to the University of Texas.	37:27
	While he was there, he made straight As.	37:30
	A 4.0 grade point average.	37:33
	Every major graduate school in the country wanted him.	37:38
	They sent their best minority recruiters	37:44
	to Austin, Texas to meet with him.	37:48
	Full scholarship.	37:51
	Yale wanted him.	37:53
	Duke wanted him.	37:54
	Harvard wanted him.	37:56
	Stanford wanted him.	37:57
	Finally, Harvard University called in	38:00
	its most outstanding black professor	38:02
	and said, "You go to Austin and get this boy."	38:06
	And he said, "I want to take Hal Warlick with me.	38:11
	"He speaks southern."	38:14
	So I went.	38:16
	And there we were, a strange mixture,	38:18
	to offer a scholarship to this intellectual phenom.	38:22
	We met with him in the lobby of a hotel	38:29
	in downtown Austin.	38:31
	He began the interview	38:34
	by discounting completely his childhood.	38:36
	Dumping on the very environment that had produced him.	38:40
	He let it be known in no uncertain terms	38:45
	that he was going to grab it all.	38:49
	He was going to become a millionaire.	38:53
	And by the time he was 25 years old,	38:56
	he would be driving a big Mercedes up Main Street.	38:58
	In four years of college life,	39:04
	he had not been back to see his mother even one time.	39:07
	"I'm beyond that," He said.	39:11
	"I'm beyond her.	39:13
	"We don't have anything in common intellectually.	39:16
	"We can't even talk on the telephone about philosophy,	39:19
	"about theology, about business,	39:24
	"or the political situation."	39:28
	We asked him if he had gone to church	39:31
	or the university chapel,	39:34
	or belonged to any service organization	39:36
	at the University of Texas.	39:38
	Oh, I'm way beyond that too.	39:41
	I'm long past that simplistic emotional stuff.	39:44
	That pie in the sky by and by stuff is for poor people.	39:49
	And for unintelligent saps.	39:55
	Rather sadly,	39:59
	this venerable professor looked at him and said,	40:01
	"Son, we can't offer you a scholarship.	40:04
	"We don't want you.	40:08
	"Go somewhere else.	40:11
	"You don't even know who you are.	40:13
	"Your memory is too short.	40:17
	"It would be a waste of a university's money	40:21
	"to educate you.	40:25
	"This suffering, hurting, violent world	40:28
	"is not going to be helped by one more selfish millionaire	40:33
	"arrogantly driving his Mercedes up Main Street.	40:37
	"Don't you see that?"	40:42
	The boy jumped up and angrily spit the words	40:45
	into the face of that professor.	40:50
	Like hot rivets pounding into a steel girder,	40:54
	he said, "That's okay,	40:59
	"one day I'll have the power	41:03
	"to bury sentimental fools like you."	41:07
	I had a strange sense of deja vu	41:15
	as he walked angrily away	41:18
	through the falling rain of Austin.	41:20
	In terms of knowing who he was,	41:23
	His amnesia was as great as Big Al Geddie's.	41:26
	Walking aimlessly the streets.	41:29
	A memory that can reach no farther back	41:34
	than our own time.	41:39
	The disciples went to Jesus and they said,	41:41
	"Give us the power.	41:43
	"Teach us to pray.	41:44
	"It gives you something that it doesn't give us	41:46
	"and we want it."	41:49
	It's one of the few things they ever asked Him for.	41:51
	And Jesus said, "When you pray,	41:54
	"say our, not my."	41:57
	Our mother, our father, our parent,	42:02
	cosmic father, mother, parent,	42:05
	of all those born before you and to die after you.	42:08
	Reach an identity that goes back farther than your own life	42:14
	and extends beyond your own future.	42:18
	That's the only way you can put up with the suffering	42:20
	and the illness and the sin of the day in which you live.	42:23
	Can there be any more lasting power.	42:27
	The New Testament crystallized this new identity.	42:30
	Jesus is called the angel of the bottomless pit,	42:34
	the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords,	42:37
	the power of all powers,	42:39
	the name that is before and beyond every name.	42:42
	As they moved and breathed, loved and died.	42:46
	Peter and John were asked this question:	42:50
	Where do you get the power to be so bold?	42:55
	And Peter responded, "There is no other power	43:01
	"given among humanity	43:05
	"by which one can be saved."	43:09
	With an identity that began before his birth	43:13
	and extended beyond his death,	43:16
	Paul could sweep away every lingering doubt	43:19
	as to God's power with a series of paired opposites.	43:23
	Neither death not life.	43:28
	Neither angels nor powers.	43:32
	Nor things present, nor things to come.	43:36
	No power on high, no power from below,	43:40
	shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God.	43:44
	In a world of violence, confusion,	43:51
	help and helplessness,	43:56
	that is power.	43:59
	So be it.	44:03
	("Give to the Winds Thy Fears")	44:10
	♪ Give to the winds thy fears ♪	44:32
	♪ Hope and be undismayed ♪	44:37
	♪ God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears ♪	44:42
	♪ God shall life up thy head ♪	44:48
	♪ Through waves and clouds and storms ♪	44:55
	♪ God gently clears thy way ♪	45:00
	♪ Wait thou God's time so shall this night ♪	45:05
	♪ Soon end in joyous day ♪	45:10
	♪ Leave to God's sovereign sway ♪	45:18
	♪ To choose and to command ♪	45:23
	♪ So shalt that wondering own that way ♪	45:28
	♪ How wise how strong this hand ♪	45:34
	♪ Let us in life in death ♪	45:41
	♪ Thy steadfast truth declare ♪	45:47
	♪ And publish with our latest breath ♪	45:53
	♪ Thy love and guardian care ♪	45:59
Nancy	The Lord be with you.	46:10
Congregation	And also with you.	46:12
-	Let us pray.	46:13
	Oh eternal spirit from whom we come,	46:24
	to whom we belong, and in who's service is our peace,	46:29
	we worship you.	46:34
	Mysterious indeed is this vast universe into which,	46:37
	without our asking it, you have ushered us.	46:41
	We stand in awe before your power	46:45
	which is beyond our ability to measure.	46:47
	Yet even as we fail to comprehend	46:51
	the magnitude of your power,	46:53
	to divide and to heal,	46:56
	we rest in the knowledge	46:59
	that yours is also a gentle strength	47:00
	and that you have cared for us	47:03
	ever since you knit us together in our mother's wombs.	47:05
	You have promised never to forget us,	47:09
	for you have carved us in the palms of your hands.	47:11
	Therefore we life these prayers for others unto you,	47:15
	asking you to hear us and to answer.	47:19
	We bring before you, creating God, all our physical needs.	47:23
	We pray for all those weakened by the merciless plague	47:29
	of hunger and malnutrition,	47:32
	for all who are stricken with terminal illness	47:34
	or other disease, especially patients at Duke Hospital	47:37
	and for their families.	47:41
	For all who seek to do injury to themselves or to others,	47:44
	for all who discover in the process of aging,	47:48
	that their bodies are failing them.	47:51
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	47:54
	We bring before you, redeeming God, the needs of our minds.	47:59
	We pray for all those involved in educational pursuits,	48:04
	students, teachers, administrators, staff.	48:08
	For all those suffering from the tyranny of mental illness.	48:14
	For all who seek to expand our minds,	48:19
	inventors, explorers, creative artists.	48:22
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	48:27
	We bring before you, sustaining God,	48:32
	the needs of our relationships.	48:34
	We pray for all those embroiled in conflict,	48:37
	between parent and child,	48:40
	between husband and wife,	48:42
	between friends,	48:44
	and between nations,	48:46
	especially for the people of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,	48:48
	Liberia, Vietnam, Cambodia.	48:53
	We pray for all who suffer from a lack of relationships	48:57
	and are burdened by a sense of loneliness, of failure,	49:00
	or of despair.	49:03
	We pray for all who seek to build new relationships.	49:06
	For all newlyweds, especially for the many couples	49:09
	married in Duke Chapel over the past year.	49:13
	For all new parents.	49:16
	And for the people of western and eastern Europe,	49:18
	as they create new governments, new economies,	49:21
	and new diplomatic alliances.	49:24
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	49:26
	Oh gracious God, we lift these prayers unto you	49:32
	as well as the deep and unspoken needs	49:35
	of this congregation.	49:37
	Bless us in our waking and in our sleeping,	49:39
	in times of contentment and distress,	49:42
	that your name may be praised throughout all eternity.	49:45
	Amen.	49:50
	And now as we remember the mighty acts of God,	49:55
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	49:58
	(organ music)	50:24
	("With a Voice of Singing" by Martin Shaw)	51:33
	♪ With a voice of singing ♪	51:39
	♪ Declare ye this and let it be heard ♪	51:43
	♪ Alleluia ♪	51:49
	♪ Declare ye this ♪	51:53
	♪ And let it be heard ♪	52:02
	♪ Alleluia ♪	52:06
	♪ Utter it even ♪	52:12
	♪ Unto the ends ♪	52:15
	♪ Of the earth ♪	52:20
	♪ The Lord hath delivered ♪	52:24
	♪ His people ♪	52:29
	♪ Alleluia ♪	52:32
	♪ The Lord hath delivered His people ♪	52:39
	♪ Alleluia ♪	52:46
	♪ Oh be joyful in God ♪	53:01
	♪ All ye lands ♪	53:05
	♪ Oh sing praises to the honor ♪	53:11
	♪ Of His name ♪	53:16
	♪ Make His praise ♪	53:19
	♪ to be glorious ♪	53:23
	♪ With a voice of singing ♪	53:38
	♪ Declare ye this ♪	53:42
	♪ And let it be heard ♪	53:45
	♪ Alleluia ♪	53:49
	♪ Declare ye this ♪	53:54
	♪ And let it be heard ♪	54:00
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:07
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:18
	♪ Declare ye this ♪	54:23
	♪ And let it be ♪	54:28
	♪ Heard ♪	54:31
	♪ Alleluia ♪	54:34
	("Doxology")	54:51
	♪ Praise Him from who all blessings flow ♪	55:19
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪	55:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:31
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:35
	♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts ♪	55:39
	♪ Praise God the Son and Holy Ghost ♪	55:45
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:51
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:54
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:57
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:00
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:04
	God of all mercies, we give you humble thanks	56:17
	for all your goodness and loving kindness,	56:20
	to us and to all whom you have made.	56:23
	We bless you for our creation, preservation,	56:26
	and all the blessings of this life,	56:29
	but above all, for your immeasurable love	56:31
	and the redemption of the world by our Lord, Jesus Christ,	56:34
	for the means of grace and for the hope of glory.	56:38
	And we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,	56:41
	that with truly thankful hearts	56:45
	we may show forth your praise,	56:46
	not only with our lips, but in our lives,	56:48
	by giving up ourselves to your service	56:51
	and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness	56:54
	all our days.	56:58
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord,	57:00
	to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,	57:01
	be honor and glory throughout all ages.	57:03
	Amen.	57:07
	And now let us pray with the confidence of children.	57:08
All	Our Father, who art in heaven,	57:11
	hallowed be thy name.	57:14
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	57:16
	on earth as it is in heaven.	57:19
	Give us this day our daily bread	57:22
	and forgive us our trespasses,	57:24
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	57:26
	And lead us not into temptation,	57:30
	but deliver us from evil,	57:32
	for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and glory, forever.	57:34
	Amen.	57:39
-	And now go forth in peace and be of good courage.	57:42
	Hold fast that which is good,	57:46
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.	57:48
	And may the blessings of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,	57:51
	be with you all, now and forever more.	57:54
	(choir sings)	58:03
	♪ Amen ♪
	♪ Amen ♪	58:09
	♪ Amen ♪	58:15
	♪ Amen ♪	58:24
	("Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart")	58:38
	♪ Rejoice, ye pure in heart ♪	59:06
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	59:11
	♪ Your glorious banner wave on high ♪	59:15
	♪ The cross of Christ your King ♪	59:20
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪	59:25
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	59:30
	♪ Your clear hosannas raise ♪	59:36
	♪ And alleluias loud ♪	59:41
	♪ Whilst answering echoes upward float ♪	59:46
	♪ Like wreaths of incense cloud ♪	59:51
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪	59:56
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	1:00:00
	♪ Yes on through life's long path ♪	1:00:07
	♪ Still chanting as ye go ♪	1:00:11
	♪ From youth to age by night and day ♪	1:00:16
	♪ In gladness and in woe ♪	1:00:21
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪	1:00:26
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	1:00:31
	♪ At last the march shall end ♪	1:00:37
	♪ The wearied ones shall rest ♪	1:00:42
	♪ The pilgrims find their heavenly home ♪	1:00:47
	♪ Jerusalem the blessed ♪	1:00:52
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪	1:00:57
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	1:01:02
	♪ Praise God who reigns on high ♪	1:01:08
	♪ The Lord whom we adore ♪	1:01:14
	♪ The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:01:18
	♪ One God forevermore ♪	1:01:23
	♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪	1:01:28
	♪ Rejoice, give thanks and sing ♪	1:01:34
	Let us go forth in the name of the Lord.	1:01:44
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	1:01:47
	(organ music)	1:01:51

Item Info

Title:

Harold C. Warlick, Jr. - "Power" (August 12, 1990)

Description:

We often confuse power with force and want God to act accordingly, forcefully driving out all of the evil in the world. But Jesus shows us power by another way: the power of connecting our identity to a story that goes before our birth and after our death through prayer. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 17:40. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 44:05.
Key quotation: “God’s power is not related to force…God’s power is related to a purpose: the whole world coming to understand that love is greater than force.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4416td9k

Date:

August 12, 1990

Speaker:

Warlick, Harold C., Jr.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0194
ref8823_roz
uachapelsermaud
duke:321776
dcrmv001186
ark:/87924/r4416td9k
8bd46435-55f6-49a2-adaf-557fb2c628d3

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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Harold C. Warlick, Jr. - "Power" (August 12, 1990)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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