Dennis M. Campbell - "A Sower Went Forth" Founders' Day (December 9, 1990)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(gentle music) | 0:00 | |
(inspirational music) | 1:12 | |
- | Thursday afternoon, in this place, | 5:02 |
university community took occasion on the anniversary | 5:04 | |
of the signing of the Duke indenture 66 years ago | 5:08 | |
to reflect upon our heritage. | 5:11 | |
To single out those | 5:14 | |
who have made a significant contribution to the university | 5:16 | |
and to recognize recipients of scholarships made possible | 5:19 | |
by the founding family. | 5:23 | |
Today, we pause as we do each year, in memory | 5:25 | |
of the Duke family. | 5:29 | |
To honor all those who have given of themselves | 5:30 | |
in service to the future by creating | 5:33 | |
and recreating this university. | 5:37 | |
We reaffirm here our pledge of this university | 5:39 | |
to the ideal of service to humanity, and we give thanks | 5:43 | |
to those who unselfishly take responsibility | 5:48 | |
for a future that is not theirs. | 5:51 | |
That belongs to other generations. | 5:53 | |
We remember, also, | 5:57 | |
that this university returns the wealth of the land | 5:58 | |
to its people through respect for knowledge and | 6:01 | |
for truth and through the continuing generosity of those | 6:05 | |
who established it for all time. | 6:09 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:16 |
Gracious God, you have blessed us | 6:18 | |
with a rich heritage through the sacrifices of others | 6:20 | |
in the past. | 6:24 | |
We are the recipients of good gifts in the present. | 6:25 | |
Plus we give thanks, acknowledging our indebtedness | 6:29 | |
to our founders as evidence of our indebtedness to you | 6:32 | |
for all good gifts, Amen. | 6:38 | |
Please join me in the litany of commemoration. | 6:41 | |
Almighty and eternal God in whom our mothers | 6:47 | |
and fathers have trusted, we their children, at this time | 6:49 | |
of remembrance, offer unto thee our prayers of thanksgiving. | 6:53 | |
(congregation chants) | 6:58 | |
For the members of the Duke family. | 7:00 | |
Father, daughter, sons, and their spouses, grandchildren, | 7:02 | |
and all others in continuing generations | 7:05 | |
until this very day. | 7:08 | |
Who, with concern and compassion, devotion and dedication. | 7:09 | |
And by their generosity built | 7:15 | |
on a solid foundation continue to worthy school | 7:17 | |
and provide it for education and service | 7:21 | |
beyond even their dreams and expectations. | 7:24 | |
(congregation chants) | 7:27 | |
For the pioneering and persevering men | 7:30 | |
and women connected with this university. | 7:32 | |
Methodist and quakers. | 7:34 | |
Farmers and merchants. | 7:37 | |
Teachers and administrators, who in days gone by, | 7:38 | |
believed in education and made their beliefs prevail. | 7:42 | |
(congregation chants) | 7:45 | |
For the embodiment of their dreams from private school | 7:49 | |
to academy to college, the great university, | 7:52 | |
founded in hope. | 7:55 | |
Continued with sacrifice, growing in outreach, | 7:57 | |
serving with commitment. | 8:01 | |
(congregation chants) | ||
For faculty and staff whose vision was bolstered | 8:06 | |
by their courage, whose patience was tested and found true, | 8:09 | |
and whose idealism was implanted in the hearts | 8:13 | |
and minds of others. | 8:16 | |
(congregation chants) | ||
For the ongoing presence of noble ideas, the blending | 8:20 | |
of (foreign language), the freedom | 8:25 | |
for responsible academic research and teaching. | 8:27 | |
The ongoing respect for both body and the spirit, pursuit | 8:31 | |
of knowledge in the sciences and the humanities, | 8:36 | |
the realization that the old order changes | 8:38 | |
and new times bring new opportunities. | 8:41 | |
(congregation chants) | 8:45 | |
For the future | ||
of Duke University, established for thy glory and | 8:48 | |
for the enlightenment of the human mind and spirit, | 8:52 | |
for consecration to learning by the young. | 8:54 | |
For the best use of the wisdom of those in latter years, | 8:57 | |
for the commitment to growth and enhancement of all persons, | 9:00 | |
for a sense of humor. | 9:04 | |
A spirit of cooperation, and a desire | 9:06 | |
for understanding among all within our community | 9:09 | |
and the world. | 9:12 | |
We give thee thanks and praise. | 9:13 | |
And to thee, oh God, we shall strive as is most do, | 9:16 | |
all grace and glory. | 9:21 | |
World without him, Amen. | 9:23 | |
Be seated. | 9:27 | |
Service of worship here on the first Sunday of advent, | 9:36 | |
second Sunday of advent here at New Chapel. | 9:40 | |
Call your attention to the various advent activities here | 9:43 | |
in the chapel as listed in the bulletin, | 9:48 | |
particularly the performance of the Second Shepherd's Play, | 9:52 | |
a mystery play here in the chapel at four this afternoon. | 9:56 | |
Admission is free and open to all. | 10:00 | |
Also remind you that, as is our custom, | 10:03 | |
holy communion will be celebrated immediately | 10:06 | |
after the service in Memorial Chapel. | 10:10 | |
And now let us continue the worship of God. | 10:13 | |
(inspirational music) | 10:21 | |
Stand. | 10:26 | |
(inspirational music) | 10:27 | |
(vocalizing) | 11:06 | |
- | Please be seated. | 16:35 |
Let us pray. | 16:46 | |
Merciful God, you sent your messengers, the prophets, | 16:47 | |
to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. | 16:52 | |
Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins. | 16:57 | |
That we may celebrate alike, the commemoration | 17:02 | |
of the nativity. | 17:05 | |
And may await with joy, becoming in glory | 17:07 | |
of Jesus Christ, our redeemer, who lives and reigns | 17:11 | |
with you and the Holy Spirit. | 17:15 | |
One God forever and ever, Amen. | 17:16 | |
- | Let us pray. | 17:26 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God. | 17:29 | |
By the power of your Holy Spirit, so that | 17:31 | |
as the Word is read and proclaimed, we might be prepared | 17:34 | |
for your advent among us, Amen. | 17:38 | |
The first reading is taken from the book of Isaiah. | 17:43 | |
Comfort, oh comfort my people, says our God. | 17:46 | |
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her | 17:50 | |
that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid. | 17:54 | |
That she has received from the Lord's hand double | 17:58 | |
for all her sins. | 18:02 | |
A voice cries out of the wilderness, prepare the way | 18:04 | |
of the Lord. | 18:08 | |
Make straight to the desert to highway for our God. | 18:09 | |
Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain | 18:13 | |
and hill be made low. | 18:17 | |
The uneven ground shall become level | 18:18 | |
and the rough places, a plain. | 18:21 | |
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, | 18:24 | |
and all people shall see it together for the mouth | 18:27 | |
of the Lord has spoken. | 18:31 | |
A voice says, cry out. | 18:34 | |
And I said, what shall I cry? | 18:36 | |
All people are grass. | 18:40 | |
Their constancy is like the flower of the field. | 18:42 | |
The grass withers. | 18:46 | |
The flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. | 18:48 | |
Surely, the people are grass. | 18:52 | |
The grass withers. | 18:55 | |
The flower fades, but the Word | 18:57 | |
of our God shall stand forever. | 18:59 | |
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion. | 19:02 | |
Herald of good tidings. | 19:05 | |
Lift up your voice with strength, oh Jerusalem. | 19:08 | |
Herald of good tidings. | 19:11 | |
Lift it up! | 19:14 | |
Do not fear. | 19:15 | |
Say to the cities of Judah, here is your God. | 19:16 | |
See, the Lord comes with might. | 19:20 | |
And his arm rules for him. | 19:22 | |
His reward is with him and his recompense before him. | 19:25 | |
He will feed his flock like a shepherd. | 19:30 | |
He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them | 19:33 | |
in his bosom and gently lead the mother sheep. | 19:37 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 19:40 | |
This reading is from the Gospel according to St. Mark. | 19:48 | |
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son | 19:51 | |
of God, as it is written in the prophet, Isaiah. | 19:55 | |
See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you | 19:58 | |
who will prepare your way. | 20:03 | |
The voice of one crying out in the wilderness. | 20:05 | |
Prepare the way of the Lord. | 20:08 | |
Make his paths straight. | 20:11 | |
John the Baptizer appeared | 20:13 | |
in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance | 20:16 | |
for the forgiveness of sins. | 20:19 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 20:21 | |
(upbeat music) | 20:48 | |
(vocalizing) | 21:14 | |
- | Hear this reading now from Matthew. | 26:29 |
In the 13th chapter. | 26:33 | |
A sower went forth to sow. | 26:36 | |
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path. | 26:40 | |
And the birds came and ate them up. | 26:44 | |
Other seeds fell on rocky ground | 26:47 | |
where they did not have much soil, and they sprang | 26:51 | |
up quickly since they had no depth of soil. | 26:55 | |
But when the sun rose, they were scorched. | 26:59 | |
And since they had no root, they withered away. | 27:04 | |
Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up | 27:07 | |
and choked them. | 27:13 | |
Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, | 27:14 | |
some a hundred fold, some 60, some 30. | 27:20 | |
Let anyone with ears listen. | 27:26 | |
- | - What a graphic picture of a sower | 27:32 |
we have in this parable. | 27:35 | |
With his bag of seed over his shoulder, | 27:38 | |
he goes forth to sow. | 27:41 | |
As he scatters seeds, some fall on the path | 27:45 | |
and are eaten by the birds. | 27:48 | |
Some fall on rocky ground, | 27:50 | |
and they are unable | 27:54 | |
to develop deep roots. | 27:56 | |
And when the sun comes up, they are scorched. | 27:58 | |
And then they die. | 28:01 | |
Some seeds fall among thorns and weeds, | 28:04 | |
and the weeds and thorns choke them out. | 28:08 | |
What a discouraging picture. | 28:14 | |
Sort of reminds me of my lawn. | 28:17 | |
I've got some of my neighbors here this morning. | 28:20 | |
They can tell you that that's true. | 28:23 | |
We moved into a new house three years ago, | 28:26 | |
and we were surrounded front and back by bare expanse | 28:29 | |
of Durham's famous clay soil. | 28:34 | |
We seeded that autumn, and some seed was eaten by the birds. | 28:37 | |
Some little plants died | 28:43 | |
when it got hot the next summer. | 28:46 | |
Some were choked by weeds despite EPM. | 28:49 | |
It was frustrating, | 28:54 | |
but we sowed more that year | 28:57 | |
and more the next year. | 29:00 | |
And now we've got a semblance of a lawn. | 29:02 | |
I was glad, though, that our income didn't depend | 29:07 | |
on our efforts at cultivation. | 29:10 | |
And I grew increasingly in my respect for farmers. | 29:13 | |
Was that way with the sower in our parable. | 29:18 | |
Despite the frustration, he went forth. | 29:22 | |
And some seed fell on good soil | 29:27 | |
and brought forth grain, | 29:31 | |
but it was not just that grain came forth. | 29:33 | |
It came forth thirty, sixty, | 29:38 | |
a hundred fold. | 29:42 | |
At first hearing, | 29:45 | |
this parable can evoke a sense of discouragement. | 29:47 | |
There is waste, there is frustration, | 29:52 | |
there is loss. | 29:56 | |
But if upon further reflection, it seems to me | 29:59 | |
that it's clear that the meaning of the story | 30:02 | |
has to do with remarkable fulfillment. | 30:06 | |
In the end, | 30:11 | |
there is rich harvest many times greater | 30:13 | |
than could be anticipated or imagined. | 30:17 | |
Almost certainly, the telling of this parable | 30:22 | |
was occasioned by doubts on the part | 30:27 | |
of the followers of Jesus. | 30:30 | |
They were discouraged | 30:33 | |
because they could not see immediate and positive results | 30:35 | |
of his ministry and of their work. | 30:38 | |
He intended that they learn a profound truth, | 30:43 | |
characterized by the person and work of the sower. | 30:47 | |
To the eyes of men and women, much of the work | 30:52 | |
seems to be for nothing. | 30:55 | |
But what seems, at first, to be futile and fruitless labor, | 30:57 | |
in fact, brings forth a rich harvest. | 31:02 | |
This is one of the ways in which God works. | 31:08 | |
In spite of beginnings which are frustrating | 31:13 | |
and appear hopeless, God's grace is more than sufficient | 31:17 | |
to produce results that are unanticipated | 31:23 | |
and perhaps even beyond our imagination. | 31:25 | |
The capacity of the sower to see a fallow field | 31:29 | |
and imagine it rich with undulating grain | 31:33 | |
ripe for the harvest | 31:37 | |
is not mere positive thinking. | 31:39 | |
It is trust in the power and truth of God's promise | 31:42 | |
that the future holds a triumphant end. | 31:47 | |
Some seed is lost. | 31:52 | |
Nevertheless, nevertheless, | 31:54 | |
we wait with patience and trust, | 31:58 | |
and there is harvest. | 32:00 | |
This morning, we culminate our celebration | 32:04 | |
of Founders' Day at Duke. | 32:07 | |
Trinity College, our predecessor institution, | 32:11 | |
began in 1838. | 32:15 | |
And Duke University was founded December 11th, 1924 | 32:17 | |
when James B. Duke signed the indenture providing the | 32:22 | |
resources for a great, private research institution | 32:27 | |
to be created around the liberal arts college. | 32:31 | |
Since that date, many men and women | 32:35 | |
have joined the Duke family | 32:38 | |
as additional founders. | 32:40 | |
Duke must and will always have new founders, | 32:43 | |
who believe in what we are trying to do. | 32:48 | |
Last night, we had a dinner for our founders | 32:52 | |
and gave sowers to our newest founders. | 32:55 | |
The symbol of the founders' society is the sower-- | 33:00 | |
I brought one with me this morning. | 33:05 | |
It's a magnificent replica of the famous statue | 33:09 | |
of the sower on the lawn in front of East Duke building | 33:13 | |
on our East campus. | 33:18 | |
This replica is the work of Franklin Creech | 33:20 | |
of the class of 1964. | 33:24 | |
A number of weeks ago, as I began to think | 33:28 | |
about this sermon one afternoon, I left my office, | 33:31 | |
didn't tell anyone where I was going, and I went over | 33:35 | |
to East campus to look at the sower, at the original. | 33:39 | |
I've loved it for many years. | 33:44 | |
When I was a freshman here in 1963, | 33:47 | |
we couldn't have cars. | 33:51 | |
Let those with ears listen. (laughter) | 33:54 | |
If we were going to go downtown | 34:01 | |
(and there weren't any shopping malls in those days-- | 34:03 | |
the theaters, the restaurants, | 34:06 | |
the movies were all downtown) | 34:08 | |
we took the bus to East campus, and we walked | 34:10 | |
across the lawn. | 34:13 | |
We couldn't walk on the lawn over here or | 34:14 | |
on the main part of East campus, but we did | 34:17 | |
between East Duke building and the wall. | 34:19 | |
We jumped the wall, and we walked | 34:22 | |
up Main Street to downtown. | 34:24 | |
But as we passed the sower, we always paused | 34:26 | |
to see how he was doing. | 34:30 | |
And we always looked to see in his hand here | 34:32 | |
whether there was a penny there. | 34:35 | |
The story is told that a fellow could put a penny | 34:38 | |
in the sower's hand, | 34:42 | |
and if he came back and found the penny gone, | 34:44 | |
then he could kiss his date twice. | 34:47 | |
And in the early days of the university, | 34:49 | |
there was strict rules that women | 34:53 | |
at Duke could only have three dates a week. | 34:56 | |
When I went over a couple weeks ago, there was a penny | 35:02 | |
in the sower's hand. | 35:07 | |
And I was happy to see that, and I left it there. | 35:10 | |
Last Friday, (laughter) | 35:13 | |
Last Friday, the sower was carrying a huge | 35:22 | |
bouquet of balloons. | 35:25 | |
Black, green, and white | 35:29 | |
as a symbol and hope for peace, | 35:32 | |
and so the tradition of the sower goes on. | 35:36 | |
The sower is older than the university. | 35:39 | |
It was a gift of James B. Duke himself to Trinity College | 35:42 | |
in the late fall of 1914, exactly 10 years | 35:46 | |
before he made his greatest gift | 35:51 | |
which we celebrate this morning. | 35:54 | |
Two years before that, in 1912, | 35:56 | |
a famous commencement sermon was preached | 36:00 | |
at Trinity College | 36:03 | |
by Bishop William Fraser McDowell of Chicago. | 36:05 | |
I had heard about this sermon. | 36:08 | |
And so earlier this week, I went over | 36:11 | |
to the university archives. | 36:13 | |
And with the splendid Bill King, who knows | 36:15 | |
everybody and everything about Duke, we looked it up. | 36:18 | |
And we found the sermon, and I read it. | 36:21 | |
I was astonished to find that he had preached on Matthew 13, | 36:24 | |
and I was glad that I had already announced | 36:28 | |
my text and title weeks before for this sermon. | 36:31 | |
It was a powerful sermon. | 36:35 | |
It made a great impression. | 36:37 | |
Believe it or not, so great an impression | 36:40 | |
that the Durham Morning Herald the next morning, | 36:43 | |
on Wednesday the 5th of June 1912, | 36:46 | |
published the entire text of the commencement sermon-- | 36:51 | |
said that Trinity College was used to great oratory, | 36:55 | |
but this had been especially significant. | 37:00 | |
In great big letters on the front page | 37:02 | |
of the Durham Morning Herald, they called it "powerful." | 37:05 | |
Bishop John Carlisle Kilgo, who had been president | 37:10 | |
of the college and was now a bishop of the church, | 37:13 | |
was present, as was William Preston Few, his successor | 37:16 | |
as president of the college. | 37:20 | |
And two years later, in the early fall of 1914, | 37:22 | |
Bishop Kilgo was visiting James B. Duke at his home, | 37:27 | |
Duke Farms in New Jersey. | 37:32 | |
And he saw the statue of the sower, | 37:35 | |
and he remembered the sermon. | 37:40 | |
And he said to Mr. Duke, | 37:42 | |
"Please give that statue to Trinity College | 37:45 | |
because I want the students of the college | 37:49 | |
to look upon the sower day by day, every day, | 37:53 | |
and remember the story of the sower | 37:58 | |
and its meaning. | 38:01 | |
And so, Mr. Duke immediately shipped the statue to Durham | 38:03 | |
on the railroad. | 38:08 | |
James B. Duke himself had found the statue | 38:11 | |
in Leipzig, Germany. | 38:15 | |
And liked it and bought it and brought it | 38:17 | |
to his home in New Jersey. | 38:20 | |
The original, over on East campus, is the work | 38:21 | |
of the 19th century German sculptor, Stephen Walter. | 38:24 | |
After the statue was placed on its base | 38:31 | |
over on East campus, | 38:35 | |
the story is told that one of the caretakers | 38:37 | |
of the college was heard to remark, | 38:40 | |
"You know, that's really Mr. Duke himself | 38:45 | |
sowing his money." | 38:49 | |
In a sense, that caretaker was exactly right. | 38:53 | |
Mr. Duke could not possibly have imagined | 38:59 | |
what the institution he made possible | 39:02 | |
through his initial gift would become. | 39:06 | |
The harvest has truly been | 39:08 | |
thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. | 39:11 | |
Our history, as an institution, shows that | 39:15 | |
in the early days of Duke University, | 39:19 | |
there were frustrations, adversities, | 39:22 | |
and even doubts. | 39:26 | |
Despite the magnificence of the Duke endowment, | 39:29 | |
there was never enough money. | 39:33 | |
Controversies in the faculty threatened to undo us. | 39:36 | |
Nevertheless, patience produced a great harvest | 39:42 | |
for which we offer thanksgiving to God this morning. | 39:47 | |
Mr. Duke was a sower, and so are we. | 39:52 | |
We would do well to follow Kilgo's advice. | 39:57 | |
Look each day upon the sower | 40:01 | |
and remember the meaning of the story. | 40:05 | |
There are three things I want to say | 40:10 | |
about this this morning. | 40:12 | |
The first is that the university needs to look | 40:13 | |
upon the sower's face day by day. | 40:17 | |
In our university today, there is controversy. | 40:21 | |
And there are frustrations. | 40:27 | |
Our teaching does not seem always to bear fruit. | 40:30 | |
Students do not always work as hard as they should. | 40:35 | |
I talked with a friend | 40:39 | |
from the medical school the other day, | 40:41 | |
and he was complaining that | 40:43 | |
his research on AIDS is not producing quick results. | 40:45 | |
A colleague in Arts and Sciences reported | 40:51 | |
on the opposition in her department | 40:54 | |
to curricular changes that she is convinced are necessary. | 40:57 | |
There still are disagreements in the faculty. | 41:02 | |
There is some waste. | 41:07 | |
There are some false starts. | 41:09 | |
We still don't have enough money, | 41:12 | |
but we are sowers. | 41:17 | |
And therefore, despite all of these odds, with trust | 41:20 | |
and patience, we trust that the returns will be manifold. | 41:23 | |
What is going on at Duke today is fulfilling the dreams | 41:29 | |
of our founders in ways they could not imagine, | 41:34 | |
and it is good. | 41:38 | |
You who are our founders, | 41:41 | |
our continuing founders, remember, | 41:45 | |
though you cannot see now what will be, | 41:49 | |
the promise is sure. | 41:53 | |
So the university needs to look | 41:57 | |
upon the sower's face day by day. | 41:59 | |
Secondly, the church needs to look | 42:01 | |
upon the sower's face day by day. | 42:04 | |
There are those who can see no good future | 42:07 | |
for the church today. | 42:09 | |
Is its influence lessening? | 42:11 | |
Is its vitality being sapped? | 42:14 | |
The mission of the church has always been difficult. | 42:18 | |
The discouragement of any moment, however, | 42:21 | |
should not blind us to the certainty of God's promise. | 42:25 | |
The church will endure. | 42:30 | |
A year ago this month, the communist regimes | 42:33 | |
in Eastern Europe crumbled. | 42:37 | |
Perhaps never before had any political system | 42:40 | |
so systematically sought to eradicate religion, | 42:44 | |
but the church endured and played a major role | 42:48 | |
in the revolution. | 42:51 | |
A leader of the revolution in Romania declared | 42:53 | |
that the church had provided | 42:56 | |
"space to think." | 43:00 | |
Oh, where are kings and empires now of old | 43:04 | |
that went and came. | 43:06 | |
But, Lord, thy church is praying yet | 43:09 | |
a thousand years the same. | 43:13 | |
The university and the church need to look | 43:17 | |
on the sower's face day by day and so do you and I. | 43:20 | |
That's the third point. | 43:24 | |
You and I need to look on the sower's face day by day. | 43:25 | |
For like the sower, our lives | 43:28 | |
and work will sometimes seem futile, | 43:32 | |
prone to failure, and fruitless. | 43:35 | |
But we need to remember that we cannot imagine | 43:40 | |
what ultimate good we may do. | 43:43 | |
Number of years ago, I was an intern in a small town | 43:47 | |
in northern Wisconsin. | 43:52 | |
And I went one afternoon to see an elderly man | 43:55 | |
who had lived all his adult life | 43:58 | |
in that town teaching high school. | 44:00 | |
He was intelligent, and he was cultivated. | 44:03 | |
But he was also somewhat depressed. | 44:06 | |
He wondered to me whether, perhaps, | 44:08 | |
his life had been wasted there. | 44:11 | |
There had been no hint of fame or fortune. | 44:16 | |
Three weeks later, almost to the day he died, | 44:22 | |
and I was amazed that, at his funeral, | 44:25 | |
there were almost 200 people present. | 44:28 | |
One man came back from New York City. | 44:31 | |
He was a senior officer of the permanent staff | 44:34 | |
of the United Nations. | 44:39 | |
And afterwards, he said to me, | 44:42 | |
"You know, I had to come back to see old Billy off. | 44:44 | |
"He was a good man," he said. | 44:48 | |
"He lifted my eyes to the world | 44:51 | |
and encouraged me to go forth | 44:56 | |
from the wilderness of these Northwoods. | 44:59 | |
We never know what we may achieve. | 45:04 | |
Our society desperately needs men and women | 45:09 | |
in the service professions who will set aside the greed | 45:13 | |
that leads them to immediate gratification | 45:17 | |
and give of themselves in trust for the future. | 45:21 | |
The seeds we sow are not for our own selfish ends, | 45:26 | |
but for the good of others. | 45:31 | |
This is the second Sunday in Advent. | 45:35 | |
Advent is the season of beginning | 45:37 | |
and of waiting for the fulfillment of promise. | 45:41 | |
We wait in patience and in trust, | 45:45 | |
but we do not wait in idleness. | 45:48 | |
We sow seeds in the confidence | 45:52 | |
that God will bring forth the harvest | 45:55 | |
in ways we cannot even imagine. | 45:58 | |
Behold, a sower went forth to sow. | 46:02 | |
And knowing that there would be difficulties in the way | 46:06 | |
and no absolute certainty of success, | 46:09 | |
he nevertheless did what he went to do. | 46:14 | |
What a terrible mistake it is to think | 46:19 | |
that it is not worthwhile to try. | 46:22 | |
What a magnificent inspiration is the person | 46:26 | |
who knows life for what it is, but nevertheless, | 46:31 | |
does what is to be done | 46:36 | |
trusting that the harvest will come. | 46:39 | |
It will. | 46:44 | |
And with God's grace, it will be good. | 46:46 | |
Thanks be to God. | 46:51 | |
(hymnal music) | 46:58 | |
(vocalizing) | 48:03 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 52:23 |
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven | 52:26 | |
and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord | 52:30 | |
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born | 52:34 | |
of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, | 52:38 | |
was crucified, dead, buried. | 52:41 | |
He descended into Hell. | 52:44 | |
The third day he rose again from the dead. | 52:46 | |
He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand | 52:50 | |
of God, the Father Almighty. | 52:53 | |
From thence, he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. | 52:55 | |
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, | 52:59 | |
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, | 53:02 | |
the resurrection of the body, | 53:06 | |
and the life everlasting, Amen. | 53:08 | |
The Lord be with you. | 53:13 | |
(congregation chants) | ||
Let us pray. | 53:17 | |
As seed cast upon the Earth waiting to rise and be born, | 53:27 | |
we wait your advent among us, oh God. | 53:33 | |
Be light to our darkness, life to our deadness, peace | 53:39 | |
to our troubled world. | 53:48 | |
Having perceived the brightness of your light | 53:51 | |
in your first advent in Bethlehem, we are bold to pray | 53:54 | |
for your healing presence among us now. | 53:59 | |
We long to think thoughts of peace and sing songs to you, | 54:05 | |
Prince of Peace. | 54:08 | |
But we cannot in the midst of words | 54:12 | |
and preparations for war. | 54:13 | |
So we pray for the people of the troubled near East. | 54:17 | |
The nations of Israel and the Palestinians and the people | 54:22 | |
of Iraq and Quwait, Saudi Arabia and the Americans | 54:26 | |
who are there. | 54:30 | |
Guide our leaders, oh Wisdom from on High. | 54:33 | |
Make a straight highway in the desert. | 54:38 | |
Come to us and give us what we cannot achieve | 54:41 | |
on our own, peace. | 54:46 | |
We long to sing carols of love. | 54:51 | |
Come down at Christmas. | 54:55 | |
And yet, how can we with all the signs of lovelessness | 54:58 | |
in our midst? | 55:04 | |
And thus, we pray. | 55:07 | |
For all hungry, neglected children. | 55:09 | |
Child of Bethlehem, bless the children. | 55:14 | |
For all troubled, divided, unhappy families. | 55:19 | |
Son of Mary and Joseph, bring peace to our families. | 55:24 | |
Deliverer of captives. | 55:31 | |
We pray for all prisoners and hostages and their families. | 55:34 | |
For all sick, infirmed, and troubled, heal | 55:41 | |
and comfort those who suffer. | 55:46 | |
Especially those in Duke hospitals and those who care | 55:50 | |
for those who suffer. | 55:55 | |
For all students taking exams or considering what path | 55:58 | |
to take in life, stand beside and guide those | 56:02 | |
who are perplexed. | 56:07 | |
Especially our young. | 56:09 | |
Oh, come desire of nations, | 56:13 | |
bind all peoples in one heart and mind. | 56:15 | |
In this place of knowledge, to us, the path | 56:23 | |
of knowledge shown. | 56:29 | |
It calls us this advent in her ways to go, Amen. | 56:32 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people, let us offer ourselves | 56:42 | |
and our gifts to God. | 56:46 | |
(hymnal music) | 56:50 | |
(vocalizing) | 57:34 | |
- | Kind and gracious God whose glory we await, | 1:02:40 |
we thank you for all that we hold dear in this season | 1:02:43 | |
of preparation for your coming. | 1:02:47 | |
For time spent with family and friends, which renews | 1:02:49 | |
and restores us. | 1:02:52 | |
For the gifts of worship, of music, of silence, | 1:02:54 | |
which sustain us in our waiting for your Word | 1:02:58 | |
which provides comfort for our troubled | 1:03:01 | |
but expectant hearts and reminds us who we are | 1:03:03 | |
as people of God. | 1:03:07 | |
Let us rejoice that you come to proclaim peace on Earth | 1:03:09 | |
as you make each of us messengers of that hope | 1:03:12 | |
throughout our world. | 1:03:14 | |
This we pray in the name of the one who is the way of peace. | 1:03:17 | |
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 1:03:21 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth | 1:03:25 | |
as it is in Heaven. | 1:03:29 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 1:03:30 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those | 1:03:33 | |
who trespass against us. | 1:03:36 | |
And lead us not into temptation. | 1:03:38 | |
Deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom, the power, | 1:03:41 | |
and the glory, Amen. | 1:03:45 | |
May the God of peace make you holy in every way | 1:03:51 | |
and keep your whole being, spirit, soul, and body free | 1:03:54 | |
from every fault at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. | 1:03:59 | |
(spiritual vocalizing) | 1:04:07 | |
(hymnal music) | 1:04:30 | |
(vocalizing) | 1:05:05 |