William H. Willimon - "Now" (December 2, 1990)

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	(gentle pipe organ music)	0:00
-	Advent is a time of self-examination and reflection.	5:52
	Of preparation for the Advent	5:56
	of Christ among us at Christmas.	5:59
	Therefore I bid you welcome to this service	6:03
	of worship on the first Sunday of Advent.	6:06
	And I call your attention to the many ways	6:10
	to prepares ourselves, listed during	6:12
	Advent, here in the chapel.	6:16
	One correction of the Advent schedule,	6:22
	the Graduate and Professional Students Fellowship	6:24
	will meet at 5:15 on Monday rather than	6:27
	as it is listed in the schedule.	6:31
	Our choir has been graciously and exuberantly	6:35
	performing Handel's Messiah this weekend,	6:39
	there's one more concert left this week,	6:44
	and we thank them for their presence here today	6:48
	and the way they have blessed us in Messiah this weekend.	6:51
	Now let us stand.	6:55
	The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.	7:02
Churchgoers	And also with you.	7:06
-	The risen Christ is with us.	7:08
Churchgoers	Praise the Lord.	7:11
	(religious pipe organ music)	7:13
	(gospel singing)	7:41
-	Eternal God.	11:54
	Before whose power we bow in awe,	11:56
	we thank you for the majesty and grandeur	11:59
	of your creation, but even more and above all	12:02
	we thank you for the revelation of your	12:05
	glory and grace in Jesus Christ.	12:07
	In him, you kindled the hope for new life in a new world.	12:10
	Let that hope be reborn in us today.	12:16
	Amen.	12:20
-	Let us pray.	12:29
	Open our hearts and minds.	12:31
	By the power of your Holy Spirit.	12:34
	So that as the word is read and proclaimed,	12:37
	we might be prepared for your Advent among us.	12:40
	Amen.	12:44
	The first reading is taken from the Book of Isaiah.	12:45
	Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down	12:49
	so that the mountains would quake with your presence.	12:52
	As when fire kindles brushwood,	12:55
	and the first causes water to boil.	12:57
	To make your name known to our adversaries	12:59
	so that the nations might tremble at your presence.	13:02
	This is the word of the Lord.	13:06
Churchgoers	Thanks be to God.	13:08
-	This reading is taken from Paul's	13:10
	first letter to the Corinthians.	13:11
	Listen, I will tell you a mystery.	13:14
	We will not all die, but we will all be changed.	13:16
	In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.	13:19
	At the last trumpet.	13:22
	For the trumpet will sound and the dead	13:24
	will be raised and perishable.	13:26
	And we will all be changed.	13:28
	For this perishable body must put on imperishability,	13:30
	and this mortal body must put on immortality.	13:34
	This is the word of the Lord.	13:37
Churchgoers	Thanks be to God.	13:39
-	The gospel for this first Sunday of Advent.	13:47
	But about that day or hour, no one knows.	13:57
	Neither the angels in Heaven,	14:00
	nor the Son, but only the Father.	14:02
	Beware, keep alert.	14:06
	For you do not know when the time will come.	14:08
	It is like a man going on a journey.	14:12
	When he leaves home and puts his servants in charge,	14:16
	each with his own work, and commands	14:20
	the doorkeeper to be on the watch.	14:23
	Therefore, keep awake.	14:26
	For you do not know when the master	14:28
	of the house will come, in the evening,	14:31
	or at midnight, or at cock crow, or at dawn.	14:34
	Or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.	14:38
	And what I say to you I say to all.	14:42
	Keep awake.	14:45
	The word of the Lord.	14:48
Churchgoers	Thanks be to God.	14:50
-	Our parable takes place out in Galilee.	14:54
	It's a world of absentee landlords, and servants	15:00
	who were left on their own for years at a time.	15:04
	You do not know when the time shall come, says Jesus.	15:10
	It is like a man who's going on a journey	15:14
	and he leaves home and he puts his servants	15:16
	in charge, each with his or her own work to do.	15:18
	It's a parable about servants,	15:24
	about masters and slaves, and about those	15:26
	who have and those who work for those who have.	15:31
	And right at the beginning you know	15:36
	exactly where our sympathies lie	15:38
	because in such stories you and I are always	15:40
	for the little guy, the have nots.	15:44
	Our sympathies are not with his	15:48
	absentee landlord, but with these servants.	15:49
	We wonder why this master was going on a journey.	15:54
	Well it was December.	15:59
	The days were growing short and cold	16:01
	and each day it took longer to walk out	16:03
	to the barn to feed the livestock.	16:06
	It was about on one of these	16:08
	cold mornings the master said,	16:10
	"Boys, you take care of things for the winter.	16:14
	"I'm going down to Palm Beach.	16:17
	"I'll send you a postcard in February."	16:20
	And you know whose side we're on because,	16:25
	as it turns out, it's a story about	16:27
	the one who is living in Manhattan	16:30
	living off of the proceeds of his	16:32
	coal mines in West Virginia, it's the person	16:35
	lounging by the pool in LA while someone	16:37
	slaves for him in the sweatshops of Hong Kong.	16:41
	It's a story about a man who went on	16:46
	a journey and left his servants in charge.	16:48
	And there must have been a great	16:53
	deal of this in ancient Galilee.	16:54
	Many absentee landowners.	16:59
	Because if you will recall, this isn't	17:02
	the only story that Jesus told about them.	17:04
	Who is the faithful servant?	17:08
	Blessed is that servant whom his master	17:10
	comes will find hard at work, but if that wicked	17:12
	servant says to himself my master is delayed	17:15
	and begins to beat his fellow servants	17:18
	and eats and drinks with the drunken,	17:20
	the master of that servant will come	17:22
	on a day he doesn't expect, at an hour	17:24
	he doesn't know, and he will punish him.	17:26
	Matthew 24.	17:30
	Elsewhere: For it will be as when a man	17:33
	going on a journey called his servants	17:36
	and he entrusted to them his property,	17:38
	and to one he gave five talents, and to another	17:40
	three talents, and to another	17:42
	one talent, and then he went away.	17:43
	Matthew 25.	17:46
	Or there was a man who planted a vineyard.	17:50
	Set a hedge around it, he dug a wine press,	17:55
	built a tower, and then he lent it out	17:58
	to tenants and he went into a far country.	18:00
	Mark 12.	18:03
	It does appear that out in Galilee there was	18:05
	a great deal of this coming and going.	18:07
	Many absentee landowners, there was a lot of absence.	18:11
	And of course whenever the master is absent,	18:18
	it is always an occasion for testing.	18:21
	Now class, I'm going down the hall	18:26
	to the principal's office to get	18:29
	a three-pronged plug so that I can show you	18:30
	a film strip on the rubber industry in Malaysia.	18:34
	I'm leaving the door open, and I hope	18:39
	that I can trust you, but just in case	18:42
	I can't trust you, I've asked Mrs. Moffatt	18:45
	across the hall to listen if there's trouble.	18:47
	Now I'm leaving, and I'd better not hear a word out of you.	18:52
	Absence is a test.	18:58
	And the return of the master is an	19:00
	occasion for an accounting.	19:02
	Johnny, what are you doing on top of that desk?	19:05
	And so Jesus, all of Jesus' story is about absence,	19:09
	the master's absence, are stories about testing.	19:14
	What will we do when the master's away?	19:20
	This Sunday we begin the season of Advent.	19:26
	A time when we prepare for the Advent of the Messiah.	19:29
	The babe at Bethlehem is to us a sign,	19:34
	this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find	19:37
	the babe wrapped and so on, a sign	19:39
	of God's presence among us.	19:42
	Immanuel, God with us.	19:45
	And we long for that presence.	19:49
	If you will note, all of our Advent hymns	19:51
	sing of expectation of presence.	19:54
	Come, thou long expected Jesus.	19:57
	Return for thy servant's sake.	20:03
	Today's lesson from Isaiah.	20:05
	Oh that thou would rend the heavens the come down.	20:08
	That the nations should tremble at thy presence.	20:12
	The prophet pleads for presence.	20:19
	He prays that there will be a day when God	20:22
	would just split the heavens and come down	20:24
	and be among us, irrefutable presence.	20:26
	And we assume that somehow faithfulness	20:32
	would be a lot easier if he were present.	20:35
	Earlier Isaiah says we become like one who is unclean,	20:41
	like a polluted garment, we fade like a leaf.	20:46
	Why?	20:51
	Because thou hast hid thy face from us.	20:54
	Absence tends to produce faithlessness.	21:00
	When the master goes on a journey there's a test.	21:07
	Which we often flunk.	21:10
	And so we pray come, thou long expected Jesus.	21:14
	It's a story, today's parable, of an absentee landlord.	21:20
	And therefore it is a story of absence,	21:25
	it's a story about a dry place.	21:27
	Where there is nobody to stand	21:31
	beside us and look over our shoulders	21:33
	and tell us how well we're doing.	21:35
	It's a story about these great gaps,	21:38
	this absence, these valleys.	21:41
	And here's where the trouble begins, when there is	21:45
	no master, and there's nobody taking names.	21:48
	And there's no supervisor walking	21:53
	up and down the assembly line.	21:54
	And there's no parent downstairs to say George,	21:59
	don't you have homework to be doing tonight?	22:01
	And no Mrs. Moffatt running breathless	22:06
	into the office saying Miss Jones,	22:09
	you'd better get back down to your class.	22:11
	And the way I figure it, most of the New Testament	22:16
	is concerned with this problem of absence.	22:20
	Oh when Jesus was with us in the flesh,	22:24
	oh that was one thing.	22:26
	Because then from his own voice we could hear	22:29
	reassuring things like rise, and have no fear.	22:31
	Peace be with you.	22:35
	There was always, when he was with us,	22:39
	this possibility of the healing touch,	22:41
	the reassuring word, the comforting gesture.	22:43
	But in the meantime.	22:48
	In the absence.	22:51
	In this valley between his first	22:54
	Advent and the next, what of us?	22:57
	Is not this the great issue behind	23:04
	at least two-thirds of John's gospel?	23:06
	What of us?	23:08
	In John's gospel, the disciples frequently ask	23:10
	the questions, the questions of little children.	23:14
	Little children always ask the same questions	23:17
	when they see mama and daddy gathering up coats	23:19
	and hats and getting ready to go out for an evening.	23:21
	What are the questions, always the same.	23:24
	Where are you going?	23:26
	Can we come too?	23:29
	Who's gonna stay with us?	23:31
	And I think this parable is Mark's way	23:35
	of addressing that very same question of absence.	23:39
	It's like a man that goes on a journey.	23:45
	And he puts his servants in charge.	23:49
	Oh we pray for Advent.	23:53
	For Christ's presence.	23:56
	In the Eucharist, Holy Communion,	24:00
	it's the church's way of proclaiming	24:04
	the real presence of Christ in bread	24:06
	and wine and sharing food and drink.	24:09
	But today's parable suggests that sometimes	24:13
	we talk so much in the church about presence	24:15
	'cause we've got so much absence.	24:18
	When you think about it, we've really	24:23
	never known any time with Jesus, the church.	24:24
	Except absence.	24:28
	We've never lived anywhere except in that time,	24:31
	the mean time between his first Advent and the next.	24:35
	Absence.	24:40
	And so we pray and we read and we listen.	24:43
	We eat and drink.	24:46
	But still, even in church, something rises	24:49
	in the heart to meet the prophetic word.	24:52
	Thou hast hid thy face from us.	24:57
	Oh in this service.	25:04
	Here in the chapel you may feel God's near presence.	25:06
	You may feel, sometimes, that it is as if	25:10
	the heavens are just rendered.	25:12
	Or at least made somewhat ajar so that just a smidgen	25:16
	of divine light pours through, but it's enough.	25:19
	But shortly, you're gonna leave this place.	25:25
	And you're gonna go back to your carol in the library.	25:28
	Back to preparing for exams, back to Pegrum.	25:32
	Or the OR or the kitchen sink, and you may find	25:36
	that prayer may not come as easily as here.	25:39
	The presence will not be as sure	25:45
	as it is in this blessed bread and wine.	25:46
	Hunger for God temporarily assuaged	25:50
	at the altar of the chapel.	25:53
	Will rise again, and your Monday prayer will be...	25:56
	Thou hast hid thy face from us.	26:02
	Of course Jesus warned us.	26:09
	It will be like a man going on a journey.	26:13
	When he leaves home.	26:18
	And he puts his servants in charge,	26:21
	each with their own work to do.	26:22
	Did you hear that phrase in the story?	26:27
	In the initial shock of absence,	26:32
	going on a journey, when he leaves home, did you	26:35
	hear that phrase he puts his servants in charge?	26:39
	Each with his or her own work to do.	26:46
	The story is a parable about absence,	26:51
	yes, about masters who go away	26:54
	just when we could use their advice.	26:56
	And in listening to the story we're happy	26:59
	to hear that and absolutely nothing else.	27:01
	Absence, painful absence.	27:03
	But the story is also a message about the meantime.	27:06
	How now do we live?	27:12
	The master is going away, yes yes yes,	27:15
	we know all about that, we've known	27:18
	about that for 2,000 years now.	27:19
	But here's something you may not know	27:24
	if you hadn't come to chapel this morning.	27:26
	The master puts his servants in charge.	27:30
	Each with his or her own work to do.	27:37
	Oh there's a curse of absence.	27:46
	But there's also a grace in vocation.	27:51
	Because the class, it won't work except	27:58
	when Miss Jones is pacing up and down	27:59
	the aisles with her ruler, is a worthless class.	28:01
	The servant who can only be trusted	28:07
	when the master happens to be	28:08
	in residence is a worthless servant.	28:10
	The faith that can only be trusted when Messiah	28:15
	is standing next to us is a worthless faith.	28:18
	The piety that knows no other prayer	28:22
	than God come down here and do something...	28:25
	Is worthless.	28:29
	Moral behavior.	28:32
	Which has no basis other than the naked	28:35
	omnipresent stare of God, isn't very moral.	28:37
	Oh certainly God's presence is decisive.	28:44
	The return of the master, whenever he returns,	28:48
	is a time of accounting and judgment.	28:51
	And we are right to come here and pray about,	28:54
	and to sing about, and to enjoy	28:58
	the presence of God whenever we get it.	29:00
	Here in bread and wine on this altar on Sunday	29:06
	are over coffee and cornflakes on Monday.	29:10
	Having experienced one Advent of Christ	29:14
	at Bethlehem, we are right to stand	29:17
	on tiptoes expecting the next.	29:20
	But my point is that doesn't change a thing in the meantime.	29:24
	Which is the only time we've ever known.	29:29
	Because whether the master is present with us,	29:34
	or absent from us, present in Durham	29:38
	or absent in Palm Beach, with us out here	29:41
	in Galilee, or off somewhere more exciting,	29:45
	The good news is the master has put	29:50
	his servants in charge, each with his own work.	29:53
	Therefore you got to watch, therefore,	29:57
	'cause you don't know when the master may come.	29:59
	Whether it'll be an evening, or morning,	30:01
	or in just a few moments when you receive	30:03
	blessed bread and wine here at the altar,	30:05
	or tomorrow morning over your cornflakes, you don't know.	30:08
	But the point is that the Kingdom of God,	30:12
	the presence of God, the presence of God in our world,	30:15
	is not only a matter of absence, painful empty absence.	30:19
	It's also a matter of important work	30:25
	being entrusted to a bunch of servants.	30:28
	Servants.	30:34
	With responsibilities to be met and lives to be lived	30:36
	and children to be raised and exams to be taken.	30:39
	And classes to be attended.	30:43
	And words to be spoken and prayers to be said	30:46
	and bread and wine to be received and deeds to be done.	30:48
	The master, the first time he was	30:53
	with us, put his servants in charge.	30:56
	Each with his or her own work.	31:02
	And he told us to keep at it until he got back.	31:06
	We don't know when he'll come and put us to the test.	31:11
	We don't know when we shall hold our lives	31:14
	in the palm of our hands and have to	31:16
	render account, we don't know.	31:18
	Of that our Jesus says nobody knows,	31:19
	not even the angels in Heaven, not even the Son.	31:22
	All we know is that the Kingdom of God is now.	31:27
	We don't have to wait until our Advent	31:32
	prayers for presence are answered,	31:34
	and come thou long expected Jesus	31:36
	is not just a pious wish, but a present fact.	31:38
	All we know is that the Kingdom is now.	31:45
	He's put his servants in charge.	31:49
	Each with his or her own work.	31:54
	Last week, a group of us met	32:01
	to discuss the fearful situation in the Middle East.	32:05
	What could we do, we wondered, what could we do?	32:09
	So we called together community leaders.	32:11
	And there were people there, a lot of	32:15
	clergy mostly, and some professors.	32:17
	Some of the people there were very important people,	32:22
	somebody had just been on the phone	32:24
	with Jimmy Carter asking him what he thought.	32:25
	Somebody else had been on the phone with somebody else,	32:28
	and somebody had just gotten back from	32:32
	Baghdad with a group of dignitaries.	32:34
	I noticed in the meeting there was a woman	32:37
	sitting over at the side knitting.	32:39
	Nodding in agreement occasionally during the discussion.	32:41
	And at the break I asked her who she was.	32:45
	What she was doing there.	32:48
	She said she had caught wind of the meeting	32:50
	from her pastor and she wanted to be there.	32:52
	And then she told me, she said,	32:57
	A person does what can be done.	33:01
	For the last two months I have begun	33:06
	every day by writing a personal	33:08
	letter to each of our senators.	33:10
	I write one letter approving and one letter disapproving.	33:14
	And each day I try to think of something new to say,	33:19
	some new rationale why we should not have war.	33:22
	And I've written now about a hundred such letters.	33:28
	And then she said to me, I guess that's a little thing.	33:35
	But sometimes a person just has	33:41
	to do what you're supposed to do.	33:43
	The master has gone away	33:52
	and left his Kingdom in the hands of a bunch of servants.	33:55
	Amen.	34:03
Nancy	The Lord be with you.	34:13
Churchgoers	And also with you.	34:15
-	Let us pray.	34:16
	Oh wisdom, breath of the most high,	34:23
	pervading and permeating all creation.	34:26
	You have called us to watch for your return,	34:30
	for soon the veil between earth and sky will be lifted.	34:33
	We receive your promise with grateful hearts,	34:37
	even as we admit that it causes us to tremble.	34:40
	Lord, hear us as we pray.	34:46
	Come, Lord Jesus.	34:48
	Oh radiant dawn, splendor of	34:52
	eternal light and son of justice.	34:53
	We who are so addicted to activity	34:57
	have been directed to wait.	34:59
	We who are so anxious to get ahead	35:02
	have been called to prepare the way for another.	35:05
	We who would build mansions have been beckoned to a manger.	35:09
	We who would be great must kneel before a baby.	35:13
	Lord, hear us as we pray.	35:18
	Come, Lord Jesus.	35:20
	Oh root of Jesse standing as a signal to the nations,	35:23
	before whom all kings are mute.	35:27
	To whom the nations will do homage.	35:30
	You call us to become your peacemakers among the nations,	35:33
	but we continue to be plowshares into battleships,	35:37
	and pruning hooks into missile heads.	35:41
	You command us to love our neighbors as ourselves,	35:45
	but we afflict them with cold hearts,	35:48
	quick tempers, and cruel deeds.	35:51
	Lord, hear us as we pray.	35:55
	Come, Lord Jesus.	35:57
	Oh Lord of Lords and leader of the House of Israel,	36:00
	who appeared to Moses in the burning bush	36:03
	and gave him your law on Sinai,	36:06
	make us open to the people around us	36:09
	and the troubled world in which we live.	36:11
	Especially those whom we call our enemies.	36:14
	Multitudes of your children suffer	36:18
	unspeakable pain out of sight.	36:20
	Give us open eyes.	36:23
	Their cries for help are muffled.	36:25
	Give us open ears.	36:28
	Their pain is often born alone.	36:30
	Give us open hearts.	36:33
	Their hope and encouragement are ours to grant.	36:35
	Give us open hands.	36:39
	Lord, hear us as we pray.	36:41
	Come, Lord Jesus.	36:43
	Oh Immanuel, our king and lawgiver,	36:47
	the anointed of the nations.	36:50
	Forgive us our faint spirits.	36:52
	Forgive us our timid souls.	36:55
	As we open our arms to the Christ child,	36:58
	clasp us to your heart.	37:01
	Teach us with a firm hand how to	37:03
	refuse the evil and choose the good.	37:06
	And lift us up with a gentle hand when we stumble and fall.	37:09
	This we pray for thy love sake.	37:14
	Amen.	37:17
	Christ invites to his table all who love him	37:22
	and who desire to live in peace with one another.	37:25
	Let us stand and offer each other	37:29
	signs of peace and reconciliation.	37:31
	As a forgiven people call to wait for the Lord,	37:54
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	37:57
	(singing in foreign language)	38:38
	(uplifting orchestra music)	39:12
	(singing in foreign language)	39:55
	(religious pipe organ music)	43:23
	♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪	44:01
	♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪	44:07
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	44:13
	♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪	44:20
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	44:26
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	44:33
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	44:38
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	44:44
-	Join me in giving thanks.	44:56
	The Lord be with you.	44:58
Churchgoers	And also with you.	45:00
-	Lift up your hearts.	45:01
Churchgoers	We lift them up to the Lord.	45:02
-	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.	45:04
Churchgoers	It is right to give our thanks to Christ.	45:06
-	Almighty God, in this season,	45:10
	when we celebrate the coming	45:12
	of your Son, our Lord Jesus,	45:14
	we give you thanks and praise.	45:16
	You created all things.	45:18
	You made us in your image.	45:20
	You did not desert us even when we rebelled against you.	45:23
	You delivered us from captivity.	45:27
	You spoke to the prophets who look forward	45:30
	to that day when the heavens would be rendered	45:33
	and you would come in fullness of presence among us.	45:37
	And so, with your people on Earth,	45:42
	and all the company of Heaven, we praise	45:45
	your name and join in their unending hymn.	45:47
	(religious pipe organ music)	45:52
	♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪	46:05
	♪ God of power and might ♪	46:12
	♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪	46:18
	♪ God of power and might ♪	46:25
	♪ Heaven and Earth are filled ♪	46:31
	♪ With your glory ♪	46:37
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	46:43
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	46:49
	♪ Blessed is he who comes ♪	46:57
	♪ In the name of the Lord ♪	47:03
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	47:09
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	47:15
-	Holy is your name.	47:27
	Blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ.	47:29
	In him you put down the mighty from their thrones	47:32
	and exalt those of low degree.	47:35
	You fill the hungry with good things	47:38
	and the rich you send empty away.	47:40
	Your own Son Immanuel came among us, your presence with us.	47:43
	He humbled himself in obedience to your will	47:47
	accepting death on a cross.	47:50
	On the night he offered himself up for us	47:53
	he took bread, gave you thanks,	47:55
	broke the bread, gave it to his	47:57
	disciples and said take, eat.	47:58
	This is my body given for you.	48:02
	Do this in remembrance of me.	48:03
	And when the supper was over he took the cup,	48:06
	gave you thanks, gave it to his disciples	48:09
	and said drink from this, all of you.	48:11
	This is my blood in the new covenant poured out	48:15
	for you and many for the forgiveness of sins.	48:18
	Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.	48:21
	And so in remembrance of these,	48:26
	your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,	48:28
	we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving	48:31
	as a holy, living sacrifice in union	48:34
	with Christ offering for us as we	48:37
	proclaim the mystery of faith.	48:39
	(religious pipe organ music)	48:42
	♪ Christ has died ♪	48:54
	♪ Christ is risen ♪	48:58
	♪ Christ will come again ♪	49:01
-	In remembrance of all your mighty acts,	49:10
	we ask that you accept this,	49:13
	our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving	49:15
	which we offer in union with Christ,	49:18
	sacrificed for us, as a living	49:20
	and holy surrender of ourselves.	49:23
	Send the power of your Holy Sprit	49:25
	on us and on these gifts.	49:28
	That in the breaking of this bread	49:30
	and the drinking of this wine we may	49:31
	know and knew the presence of the living Christ.	49:33
	Be cleansed by his blood faithfully	49:36
	to serve him in the world.	49:38
	To look forward to that day foretold	49:40
	by prophets and apostles.	49:42
	When the one who came in humility,	49:44
	and who comes today in word and spirit,	49:47
	shall come in final victory.	49:49
	Through him, and in him, in the	49:52
	unity of the Holy Spirit we pray.	49:55
	All honor and glory is yours,	49:58
	Almighty Father, now and forever.	50:00
	(religious pipe organ music)	50:02
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	50:15
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	50:21
-	Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.	50:32
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	50:36
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	50:38
	Give us this day our daily bread,	50:41
	and forgive us our trespasses as we	50:43
	forgive those who trespass against us.	50:46
	Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	50:49
	For thine is the Kingdom,	50:53
	and the power and the glory forever.	50:54
	Amen.	50:58
	Come to the Lord's table.	51:00
	And as we come, we will sing 1-9-6.	51:03
	(religious pipe organ music)	51:06
	♪ Come, thou long-expected Jesus ♪	52:01
	♪ Born to set thy people free ♪	52:09
	♪ From our fears and sins release us ♪	52:16
	♪ Let us find our rest in Thee. ♪	52:23
	♪ Israel's strength and consolation ♪	52:30
	♪ Hope of all the Earth thou art ♪	52:37
	♪ Dear desire of every nation ♪	52:45
	♪ Joy of every longing heart ♪	52:52
	♪ Born thy people to deliver ♪	53:01
	♪ Born a child and yet a king ♪	53:08
	♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪	53:15
	♪ Now thy gracious kingdom bring ♪	53:22
	♪ By thine own eternal spirit ♪	53:29
	♪ Rule in all our hearts alone ♪	53:36
	♪ By thine all sufficient merit ♪	53:43
	♪ Raise us to thy glorious throne ♪	53:49
	♪ Since by man ♪	56:22
	♪ Came death ♪	56:27
	♪ Since by man ♪	56:36
	♪ Came death ♪	56:43
	♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪	56:58
	♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪	57:04
	♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪	57:10
	♪ For as in Adam ♪	57:22
	♪ All die ♪	57:31
	♪ For as in Adam ♪	57:40
	♪ All die ♪	57:48
	♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪	58:02
	♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪	58:06
	♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪	58:10
	♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪	58:18
	(religious pipe organ music)	58:25
	♪ People look east, the time is here ♪	59:06
	♪ Of the crowning of the year ♪	59:09
	♪ Make your house fair as you are able ♪	59:12
	♪ Trim the hearth and set the table ♪	59:15
	♪ People look east ♪	59:19
	♪ Love, the guest is on the way ♪	59:22
	♪ Furrows be glad, though earth is bare ♪	59:27
	♪ One more seed is planted there ♪	59:30
	♪ Give up your strength the seed to nourish ♪	59:33
	♪ That in course the flower may flourish ♪	59:36
	♪ People look east ♪	59:40
	♪ Love, the rose is on the way ♪	59:43
	♪ Stars, keep your watch when night is dim ♪	59:48
	♪ One more light the bowl shall brim ♪	59:51
	♪ Shining beyond the frosty weather ♪	59:54
	♪ Bright as sun and moon together ♪	59:58
	♪ People look east ♪	1:00:01
	♪ Love, the star is on the way ♪	1:00:04
	♪ Angels announce with shouts of mirth ♪	1:00:09
	♪ Him who brings new life to earth ♪	1:00:13
	♪ Set every peak and valley humming ♪	1:00:16
	♪ With the word, the Lord is coming ♪	1:00:19
	♪ People look east ♪	1:00:22
	♪ Love, the Lord is on the way ♪	1:00:26
-	Please stand for the benediction.	1:00:36
	And now may the grace of our Lord	1:00:45
	and Savior Jesus Christ come among you	1:00:46
	and bless you this day and ever more.	1:00:49
	♪ Amen ♪	1:00:58
	(religious pipe organ music)	1:01:18
	(gospel singing)	1:01:47
	(religious pipe organ music)	1:03:54

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Now" (December 2, 1990)

Description:

Sermon start time: 14:54. Sermon end time: 34:04.
The preacher reads Jesus' stories of the master's absence from his servants as stories about testing. The preacher argues that the time between Jesus’ first and second coming is a time of absence where we feel God’s face is hidden from us. The preacher calls for faithful discipleship during this time of waiting for Christ’s return, for before Jesus left the earth, he entrusted his servants with work to do. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Absence is a test. And the return of the master is an occasion for an accounting.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r48p5vr2h

Date:

December 2, 1990

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Advent

Biblical Book:

Mark

Chapter and Verse:

Mark 13:32-37

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0212
ref8873_3hm
uachapelsermaud
duke:321486
dcrmv001202
ark:/87924/r48p5vr2h
265d0957-6be6-4e48-beb7-892d095af57c

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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William H. Willimon - "Now" (December 2, 1990)

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Item Info

1. William H. Willimon - "Now" (December 2, 1990)

Duke University Archives

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Duke University Archives

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