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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Judgment and Grace" (March 10, 1991)

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	(quiet footsteps echo)	0:08
	(single note from organ sounds)	0:10
	(quiet footsteps echo)	0:14
	(pitch pipe plays note)	0:42
	(choir sings meditative, a cappella prelude)	0:49
	(last note fades)	2:42
	(pitch pipe sounds notes)	2:55
	("Take My Hand Precious Lord" by Thomas A. Dorsey)	3:03
	♪ Precious Lord ♪	3:09
	♪ Take my hand ♪	3:12
	♪ Lead me on ♪	3:14
	♪ Let me stand ♪	3:18
	♪ I am tired, I am weak ♪	3:22
	♪ I am worn ♪	3:28
	♪ Through the storm, through the night ♪	3:34
	♪ Lead me on ♪	3:40
	♪ To the light ♪	3:44
	♪ Take my hand, precious Lord ♪	3:52
	♪ Lead me home ♪	3:58
	♪ When my way grows drear ♪	4:08
	♪ Precious Lord, linger near ♪	4:14
	♪ When my life is almost gone ♪	4:20
	♪ Hear my cry, hear my call ♪	4:31
	♪ Hold my hand lest I fall ♪	4:37
	♪ Take my hand, precious Lord ♪	4:48
	♪ Lead me home ♪	4:55
	♪ When the darkness appears ♪	5:07
	♪ And the night draws near ♪	5:13
	♪ And the day is past and gone ♪	5:20
	♪ At the river I stand ♪	5:31
	♪ Guide my feet ♪	5:39
	♪ Hold my hand ♪	5:45
	♪ Take my hand ♪	5:54
	♪ Precious Lord ♪	6:02
	♪ And lead me home ♪	6:10
	♪ Precious Lord ♪	6:21
	(quiet footsteps echoing)	6:38
	(quiet footsteps on podium)	7:25
-	Good morning.	7:31
	Welcome to this service of worship	7:32
	here at Duke University Chapel	7:34
	on this fourth Sunday in Lent.	7:35
	We are delighted to see each of you,	7:38
	and pray you will receive a blessing during this hour.	7:39
	We are also delighted to welcome	7:43
	the Chamber Singers from Fayetteville State University	7:45
	who are assisting	7:48
	in the musical leadership of our service this morning.	7:48
	Our regular Chapel Choir is on break, over spring break,	7:51
	and we are most grateful to those visiting choirs	7:55
	that are able to join us during that time.	7:57
	Their director is Dr. Augustus Pearson.	7:59
	We are also indebted to the Reverend Margaret Via,	8:03
	pastor to the congregation at Duke Chapel,	8:05
	for presiding in today's service,	8:07
	and to Mrs. Eleanor Ferguson,	8:10
	Vice President of the congregation at Duke Chapel,	8:12
	for serving as our lector.	8:14
	As is our usual custom, holy Eucharist will be celebrated	8:17
	immediately after this service	8:20
	in the Memorial Chapel, which is just to my right.	8:22
	Please note, the remaining announcements	8:26
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	8:27
	And now, let us stand for the greeting.	8:29
	The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you.	8:38
Congregation	And also with you.	8:42
-	Bless the Lord, o my soul,	8:44
	and all that is within me, bless God's holy name!	8:46
Congregation	Bless the Lord, o my soul,	8:51
	and forget not, o God, our iniquities.	8:53
-	Who forgives all your sins,	8:56
	and heals all your infirmities.	8:58
Congregation	Who redeems your life from the grave	9:01
	and crowns you with mercy and loving kindness.	9:04
	(organ plays St. Petersburg)	9:10
	♪ Thou hidden source of calm repose ♪	9:52
	♪ Thou all-sufficient love divine ♪	10:00
	♪ My help and refuge from my foes ♪	10:07
	♪ Secure I am ♪	10:14
	♪ If Thou art mine ♪	10:17
	♪ From sin and grief ♪	10:21
	♪ From guilt and shame ♪	10:26
	♪ I hide me, Jesus ♪	10:28
	♪ In Thy name ♪	10:33
	♪ Jesus, my All in all Thou art ♪	10:38
	♪ My rest in toil ♪	10:46
	♪ Mine ease in pain ♪	10:49
	♪ The med'cine of my broken heart ♪	10:53
	♪ In war, my peace ♪	11:00
	♪ In loss, my gain ♪	11:04
	♪ My smile beneath ♪	11:07
	♪ The tyrant's frown ♪	11:12
	♪ In shame, my glory and my crown ♪	11:14
	♪ Jesus ♪	11:24
	♪ My all in all Thou art ♪	11:26
	♪ My rest in toil, my ease in pain ♪	11:32
	♪ The healing of my broken heart ♪	11:40
	♪ In war my peace, in loss my gain ♪	11:47
	♪ My smile ♪	11:54
	♪ Beneath the tyrant's frown ♪	11:56
	♪ In shame my glory ♪	12:02
	♪ And my crown ♪	12:06
	♪ In want, my plentiful supply ♪	12:12
	♪ In weakness, mine almighty power ♪	12:20
	♪ In bonds, my perfect liberty ♪	12:27
	♪ My light in Satan's darkest hour ♪	12:35
	♪ In grief ♪	12:42
	♪ My joy unspeakable ♪	12:44
	♪ My life in death ♪	12:50
	♪ My Lord, my all ♪	12:54
	(final chord from hymn echoes)	13:00
-	Please join in the prayer of confession	13:05
	found on page 891 of your hymnal.	13:08
-	[Margaret And Congregation] Almighty and merciful God,	13:17
	we have erred and strayed from Thy ways	13:20
	like lost sheep.	13:23
	We have followed too much	13:25
	the devices and desires of our own hearts.	13:27
	We have offended against Thy holy laws.	13:31
	We have left undone those things	13:35
	which we ought to have done,	13:37
	and we have done those things	13:39
	which we ought not to have done.	13:41
	But Thou, o Lord, have mercy upon us.	13:44
	Spare Thy, those, o God,	13:48
	who confess their faults.	13:50
	Restore Thou, those who are penitent,	13:52
	according to Thy promise,	13:56
	declared in Christ Jesus, our Lord.	13:58
	And grant, o merciful God,	14:01
	for His sake,	14:03
	that we may hereafter live a Godly,	14:05
	righteous, and sober life,	14:07
	to the glory of Thy holy name.	14:10
	Amen.	14:12
-	If we confess our sins,	14:28
	God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins,	14:30
	and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.	14:35
-	[Margaret and Congregation] Thanks be to God.	14:39
-	Would you be seated?	14:43
-	Let us pray.	14:55
Congregation	Open our hearts and minds, o God,	14:58
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	15:02
	so that, as the word is read and proclaimed,	15:05
	we might hear with joy	15:09
	what you say to us this day.	15:12
	Amen.	15:15
-	The first reading is taken	15:18
	from the second book of Chronicles.	15:20
	"All the leading priests and the people, also	15:24
	"were exceedingly unfaithful,	15:28
	"following all the abominations of the nations.	15:31
	"And they polluted the house of the Lord	15:36
	"that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.	15:39
	"The Lord, the God of their ancestors,	15:43
	"sent persistently to them, by His messengers,	15:47
	"because He had compassion on His people,	15:51
	"and on His dwelling place,	15:54
	"but they kept mocking the messengers of God,	15:56
	"despising His words, and scoffing at His prophets,	16:00
	"until the wrath of the Lord against His people	16:05
	"became so great that there was no remedy.	16:09
	"Therefore, he brought up against them	16:14
	"the king of the Chaldeans,	16:17
	"who killed their youths with the sword	16:19
	"in the house of their sanctuary,	16:21
	"and had no compassion on young man or young woman,	16:24
	"the aged or the feeble.	16:29
	"He gave them all into His hand.	16:32
	"All the vessels of the house of the Lord, large and small,	16:36
	"and the treasures of the house of the Lord,	16:40
	"and the treasures of the king and of his officials,	16:44
	"all these he brought to Babylon.	16:48
	"They burned the house of God,	16:51
	"broke down the wall of Jerusalem,	16:53
	"burned all its palaces with fire,	16:56
	"and destroyed all its precious vessels.	16:59
	"He took into exile, in Babylon,	17:03
	"those who had escaped from the sword,	17:05
	"and they became servants to him	17:08
	"and to his sons,	17:11
	"until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia	17:12
	"to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,	17:17
	"until the land had made up for its sabbath.	17:21
	"All the days that it lay desolate,	17:25
	"it kept sabbath to fulfill 70 years.	17:28
	"In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,	17:33
	"in fulfillment of the word of the Lord, spoken by Jeremiah.	17:37
	"The Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia	17:42
	"so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom,	17:47
	"and also declared in a written edict,	17:50
	"'Thus says King Cyrus of Persia.	17:54
	"'The Lord, the God of Heaven,	17:58
	"'has given me all the kingdoms of the earth,	18:00
	"'and He has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem,	18:04
	"'which is in Judah.	18:08
	"'Whoever is among you of all his people,	18:11
	"'may the Lord, his God, be with him.	18:14
	"'Let him go up!'"	18:18
	This is the Word of the Lord.	18:22
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	18:24
-	Will you stand?	18:32
	Let us read, responsively, Psalm 137, verses 1 through 6,	18:34
	found on page 852 and 853.	18:40
	"By the rivers of Babylon,	18:48
	"there we sat down and wept,	18:51
	"when we remembered Zion."	18:53
Congregation	"There on the poplars	18:56
	"we hung up our harps."	18:58
-	"For there, our captors required of us songs	19:00
	"and our tormentors mirth, saying,	19:03
	"'Sing us one of the songs of Zion!'"	19:06
Congregation	"How shall we sing the Lord's song	19:09
	"while in a foreign land?"	19:12
-	"If I forget you, o Jerusalem,	19:14
	"let my right hand wither."	19:16
Congregation	"May my tongue cleave	19:19
	"to the roof of my mouth	19:21
	"if I do not exalt Jerusalem	19:22
	"above my chief joy."	19:25
	(organ plays responsorial psalm)	19:30
	(congregation sings responsorial psalm with organ)	19:37
Margaret	You may be seated.	20:27
	This reading is from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.	20:35
	"But God, who is rich in mercy,	20:40
	"out of great love with which he loved us,	20:44
	"even when we were dead through our trespasses,	20:47
	"made us alive, together with Christ.	20:51
	"By grace, you have been saved,	20:55
	"and raised us up with Him,	20:58
	"and seated us with Him in the heavenly places	21:01
	"in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come,	21:05
	"He might show the immeasurable riches	21:10
	"of His grace, in kindness toward us, in Christ Jesus.	21:12
	"For, by grace, you have been saved, through faith,	21:19
	"And this is not your own doing.	21:23
	"It is the gift of God, not the result of works	21:26
	"so that no one may boast.	21:32
	"For we are what He has made us,	21:34
	"created in Christ Jesus for good works	21:37
	"which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."	21:42
	This is the Word of the Lord.	21:50
Congregation	Thanks be to God!	21:53
	(music quietly rustling)	22:05
	(pitch pipe plays note)	22:13
	(choir sings slow a cappella tune)	22:20
	(last chord resonates)	25:15
-	A reading from the Gospel according to St. John.	25:39
	Here, we encounter Jesus, as he speaks with Nicodemus,	25:43
	at the end of their dialogue.	25:46
	Nicodemus, the Pharisee, you remember,	25:48
	came to Jesus by night.	25:50
	And Jesus takes this opportunity	25:53
	to offer a theological summary of His ministry.	25:54
	"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent	25:59
	"in the wilderness,	26:02
	"so must the Son of Man be lifted up,	26:03
	"that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.	26:06
	"For God so loved the world,	26:10
	"that He gave His only Son,	26:12
	"so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish,	26:15
	"but may have eternal life.	26:19
	"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world	26:22
	"to condemn the world, but in order that	26:25
	"the world might be saved through Him.	26:28
	"Those who believe in Him are not condemned.	26:31
	"But those who do not believe	26:35
	"are condemned already,	26:37
	"because they have not believed	26:38
	"in the name of the only Son of God.	26:40
	"And this is the judgment:	26:43
	"that the light has come into the world,	26:46
	"and people loved darkness, rather than light,	26:48
	"because their deeds were evil.	26:52
	"For all who do evil hate the light,	26:54
	"and do not come to the light,	26:57
	"so that their deeds may not be exposed.	26:59
	"But those who do what is true	27:03
	"come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen	27:05
	"that their deeds have been done in God."	27:08
	This is the Word of the Lord.	27:13
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	27:15
-	If I may beg your indulgence,	27:21
	I'd like to speak with you heart-to-heart	27:22
	for a moment this morning	27:25
	to give you a glimpse from the other side of the pulpit.	27:27
	What's it like to stand up in a place	27:31
	like Duke Chapel to preach the gospel?	27:33
	Many of you have asked.	27:35
	And, for the sake of those of you	27:37
	who are genuinely interested,	27:39
	I thought I'd offer one perspective.	27:40
	Preaching is hard work, I don't mind telling you.	27:44
	But it may be for different reasons	27:47
	than you'd imagine.	27:49
	Yes, it is difficult when the assigned text	27:51
	is so obscure that even the scholars	27:54
	cannot agree on what it means.	27:55
	Yes, it can feel like sweating blood	27:58
	trying to find just the right words	28:01
	and just the right images to express an idea.	28:03
	And, yes, it takes buckets of energy	28:07
	to communicate with a congregation	28:08
	so vast and diverse as you, in a church like this one.	28:10
	Overall, I could say it's a pretty humbling experience.	28:16
	But I think, for myself, as for most preachers,	28:19
	it's the heart of the task at hand	28:22
	which is the most challenging.	28:25
	Convincing all of you that the love of God	28:27
	is free of charge for everyone,	28:30
	and all you have to do is believe it.	28:33
	That's the hard part.	28:35
	God loves and accepts you first,	28:38
	before you can even lift a little finger	28:39
	to make yourself more lovable or acceptable.	28:42
	No honorary degrees, no community service awards,	28:45
	no Sunday school attendance pins required.	28:50
	We are reminded of this most graphically	28:54
	every time we baptize a helpless, screaming infant.	28:56
	God did it all first.	29:01
	But, by the time we reach the age of accountability,	29:03
	and we're trying to live respectable, responsible lives,	29:07
	as members of society, not to mention	29:10
	members of the church,	29:13
	we're so accustomed to working for everything we get	29:15
	that the tables get turned around a little bit,	29:19
	and pretty soon, we're putting our good works before God's	29:22
	in the order of salvation.	29:26
	That's when the preacher's job becomes a Herculean task.	29:28
	Certain topics in Christian theology	29:33
	play right into this general resistance	29:35
	to hearing the gospel for what it is,	29:38
	and in light of today's lesson,	29:40
	I'm thinking particularly of the topic of judgment.	29:42
	Judgment, one of the most easily-misunderstood	29:46
	aspects of Christian theology.	29:49
	As you may know from your own experience,	29:52
	preaching about judgment has long been used	29:54
	as a means of browbeating people into belief.	29:57
	Some of my earliest memories in church	30:01
	have to do with the terror I felt	30:04
	when the preacher blasted the congregation	30:06
	with forewarnings of hellfire and brimstone to come	30:08
	if we didn't make a decision for Christ.	30:11
	Interestingly, with all the stress on the decision	30:15
	we had to make,	30:18
	I don't remember nearly so much attention	30:19
	being given to the decision God had already made for us.	30:21
	Well, this is known as judgment-as-settling-score,	30:26
	the reward and punishment approach,	30:29
	and amazingly enough,	30:31
	these sermons get some of the very best press.	30:32
	Witness the success of many a televangelist.	30:36
	You can bet on a judge known for death sentences	30:39
	to draw a bigger crowd than one known for acquittals.	30:42
	And so, the church has grown so accustomed	30:46
	to hearing sermons about what it is God is going to do to us	30:48
	as a means of threatening us into action	30:53
	that it's just hard to take a preacher seriously	30:56
	who claims that God has taken away the sins of the world	30:58
	and has already absolved all our records.	31:02
	John 3:16 may be one of the church's most beloved passages,	31:06
	but John 3:17 is surely one of the toughest to preach.	31:10
	"For God did not send His Son into the world	31:15
	"that He might condemn, or judge the world,	31:17
	"but that the world might be saved through Him."	31:20
	A verse John considers important enough	31:24
	to restate in the 12th chapter.	31:26
	It's hard to ask people to believe, as Paul does,	31:29
	the logical consequence of that statement,	31:32
	that "there is therefore, now, no condemnation	31:34
	"to those who are in Christ Jesus."	31:38
	Because when you do that, some pretty tough questions	31:41
	start popping up, like, "What about Hitler?"	31:43
	Now updated to include, "What about Saddam?"	31:47
	"What about child molesters?"	31:50
	"What about my boss, the tyrant?"	31:53
	Or, as Robert Capon, to whom I am indebted	31:55
	for several of his ideas about judgment puts it,	31:58
	"What have you done with the Hell we know and love?"	32:01
	You can see the bind these texts put a preacher in	32:06
	as she tries her best to prepare a well-reasoned	32:08
	and intellectually-acceptable sermon.	32:11
	There's a lot about the gospel	32:14
	that just flies in the face of reason.	32:16
	Contrary to the guilty expectations	32:20
	which have been nurtured in most Christians over the years,	32:22
	God is not mad at the world.	32:25
	Even when God sends His Son into the world,	32:29
	to whom he has given over all judgment,	32:31
	according to John,	32:34
	this Son, strangely enough, does not judge,	32:35
	but rather, saves.	32:39
	One gets the image, as Capon suggests,	32:41
	of a rigged trial.	32:44
	Of a judgment at which the judge is shamelessly in cahoots	32:46
	with the guilty world, and utterly determined to acquit it	32:50
	no matter what.	32:54
	But, beware of resting too comfortably on John 3:17,	32:56
	as tempting as that is for this preacher.	33:01
	Lest you get the idea that judgment has been	33:04
	done away with in John altogether,	33:06
	as John goes on to enlighten us,	33:09
	those who believe in God's Son are not judged,	33:11
	but those who do not believe	33:15
	have already been judged because they have not believed	33:17
	in the name of the only Son of God.	33:20
	Clear and simple.	33:23
	All the world needs to do to escape judgment is believe.	33:25
	By the gracious action of God, in Christ,	33:30
	the world has already escaped it.	33:32
	We need do nothing to earn this escape,	33:35
	and we certainly have no reason to compile	33:39
	long, questionable list of good works	33:42
	to prove that we deserve to escape judgment.	33:44
	We need not negotiate with God,	33:48
	or try conning God into being lenient.	33:50
	When was the last time you prayed	33:54
	if God would take away some menacing force in your life,	33:56
	you would tithe every week without fudging?	33:58
	To embrace the foolishness of Christ, as Paul writes,	34:03
	requires, as much as anything,	34:06
	to let out a good laugh,	34:08
	loud, and long, and clear as the Mary Poppins song puts it,	34:09
	that the whole business is so graciously easy	34:14
	for those who believe.	34:17
	But, for those who do not believe,	34:19
	for those who will not die in order to live,	34:22
	who go on insisting on responsibility and accountability	34:26
	and all the other dreadful ideas the church has	34:30
	about salvation,	34:32
	for them there is deep trouble.	34:34
	For they have been judged, and condemned.	34:37
	Not by a sentence sent down from God,	34:40
	but by their own refusal to believe in the acceptance	34:43
	which has already been proclaimed.	34:46
	And this is how it works, John writes.	34:50
	"This is the judgment,	34:53
	"that the light has come into the world	34:55
	"and people loved the darkness rather than the light	34:57
	"because their deeds were evil.	35:01
	"For all who do evil hate the light,	35:03
	"and do not come to the light,	35:06
	"lest their deeds be exposed."	35:08
	Yes, Jesus says, there is judgment.	35:12
	But I do not judge you.	35:14
	I have come to lift the curse of the law	35:17
	and give you a yoke that is easy.	35:20
	But, if you insist on taking your stand	35:22
	on the law's demands, rather than on my righteousness,	35:25
	if you will not come to me	35:28
	and let me transform your ugliness into my beauty,	35:31
	if you fear my beauty because you dread its contrast	35:35
	with your ugliness,	35:39
	then there is nothing else I can do.	35:40
	Or to put it another way, according to Capon,	35:43
	Jesus says, "I wish we could do business.	35:46
	"And as a matter of fact, I have gone ahead	35:49
	"and done all the business that needs doing.	35:50
	"But, as long as you keep yourself out there in the dark,	35:54
	"my doing of it might just as well never have happened.	35:58
	"I have put a billion-dollar deal in your left hip pocket,	36:02
	"and you won't even move your hand to check it out.	36:04
	"You have judged yourself."	36:08
	Of course, the reality is that	36:12
	we judge ourselves almost every day,	36:13
	beginning with our first look in the mirror each morning.	36:16
	And from that point on,	36:20
	we may spend much of our day	36:21
	trying to soften that judgment as much as possible.	36:23
	When the hard truth doesn't turn out to suit us,	36:27
	in the bright light of day,	36:29
	we've become very creative	36:31
	at offering substitutes for it,	36:33
	or perhaps ignoring it altogether.	36:35
	That is, we're good at clinging to darkness.	36:38
	I'm reminded of a story told several years ago	36:42
	from this pulpit by Tom Long of Princeton Seminary	36:44
	about the son of a divorced couple,	36:48
	who lived with his mother, but lived for the rare occasions	36:51
	when he could visit with his father.	36:55
	One such occasion was about to occur,	36:58
	when the boy received an invitation from his dad	37:00
	to attend the circus with him.	37:03
	It was the best news he'd gotten in months,	37:07
	and so, everything began to revolve around his plans	37:08
	to visit the circus with his dad.	37:11
	As soon as the advertisements appeared in the paper,	37:15
	he cut them out, and proudly tacked them	37:17
	on the bulletin board in his room.	37:19
	He told all of his friends about it,	37:22
	and he even bought some new clothes for the big occasion.	37:24
	But, when the hour came for the father to pick his son up	37:29
	at the house, there was no father.	37:31
	Even as the boy's mother tried to comfort him,	37:35
	and assure him that something must have come up	37:37
	at the last minute,	37:40
	the handwriting was on the wall.	37:41
	The boy knew his father had forgotten him.	37:44
	There would be no circus.	37:47
	There would be no father.	37:50
	What happened to this father, I wonder?	37:53
	The story does not give us an answer,	37:57
	but it leaves me with the feeling	37:59
	that this was a father clinging, somehow, to his darkness,	38:01
	rather than face the judgment	38:06
	of his own son's glistening, expectant eyes.	38:07
	He tried to protect himself from the truth	38:11
	in a feeble attempt to manipulate it,	38:13
	and he thereby judged himself.	38:16
	Undoubtedly, it was this man's habit,	38:19
	avoiding the truth, manipulating it for his own purposes.	38:21
	I can't think of a quicker way to set oneself	38:26
	straight down the road into eternal darkness.	38:29
	Getting a little closer to home,	38:34
	I was pondering, just this week,	38:35
	the ways in which our country	38:37
	has tried to escape judgment of ourselves	38:40
	by limiting the images of war,	38:42
	which shape our understanding of war.	38:44
	This became a critical issue for the first time	38:48
	over the past several weeks	38:50
	as war was waged on prime time television.	38:51
	How much information?	38:55
	What kind of images were we, the public,	38:57
	to be exposed to regarding casualties	38:59
	and human suffering on the side of the enemy?	39:02
	Early on, General Schwarzkopf responded	39:06
	to some reporters' questions about this	39:08
	with a simple answer.	39:10
	"We're not going to get into body counts."	39:11
	But, as the war progressed,	39:15
	opportunities began to present themselves	39:17
	for photographers to beam back images,	39:19
	pictures of corpses strewn across the landscape,	39:22
	most notably in the bombing of the military headquarters,	39:26
	which also posed as a civilian shelter.	39:29
	Fortunately for us, at least,	39:33
	the news rapidly shifted away from this grisly scene.	39:35
	You remember when talks about peace initiatives	39:38
	began to surface in Moscow,	39:41
	but the impressions which remained were indelible.	39:43
	How long could we be expected to actually look	39:47
	at the bodies of the dead and wounded victims	39:50
	and continue our bombing	39:53
	with such unabashed enthusiasm?	39:54
	Needless to say, we were all relieved	39:58
	when there weren't any more such scenes	40:00
	to stare us in the face,	40:02
	because it was almost too much to bear.	40:04
	A hard look at the actual cost of war,	40:07
	in terms of human suffering	40:09
	was a perspective most of us felt	40:11
	we couldn't afford to have,	40:13
	because once we did get a look at those Iraqi men	40:15
	dressed up like soldiers, with their white flags waving,	40:18
	just about everyone I know,	40:22
	and even a few of the American soldiers, it seemed,	40:24
	were moved, at least a little, to have compassion on them.	40:27
	It's tough waging war against, and having compassion for,	40:32
	the same people at the same time.	40:35
	As you must have heard,	40:41
	we were blessed, here at the Chapel, just a week ago now,	40:42
	by the presence of two brothers and two sisters	40:45
	living in religious communities,	40:48
	Taize and Little Sisters of Jesus.	40:50
	They talked, sang and prayed with us for an entire week,	40:53
	bringing with them the essence of Christian spirituality:	40:58
	simplicity, centeredness, relationships to the poor,	41:01
	openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit.	41:06
	A mixed group of people participated	41:10
	in their thrice-daily services:	41:12
	students, staff, townspeople,	41:15
	Protestant, Catholics and undecideds.	41:17
	And almost all of us had a similar reaction.	41:21
	We were moved!	41:24
	We all felt these visitors had brought something deep,	41:25
	something authentically Christian with them.	41:29
	I began to hear stray comments from students	41:33
	during the week, saying things like,	41:36
	"I feel as if my life has become too scattered."	41:38
	"I wish I could be more like them."	41:42
	"I'm rethinking my career goals."	41:45
	"I'm going to devote more time to prayer	41:48
	"and study of scripture."	41:51
	It was the closest thing to a real revival	41:53
	I've ever seen at Duke Chapel!	41:55
	"But where did these comments come from,"	41:58
	I wondered to myself.	42:00
	"What were these students really saying?"	42:01
	I've since decided	42:05
	there was some judgment going on that week,	42:07
	but without a single word of chastisement being uttered.	42:10
	The light of Christ,	42:14
	which radiated from these humble men and women,	42:15
	was bright enough to illumine	42:18
	even the dingiest, dirtiest corners of our lives,	42:20
	and it was the most freeing thing in the world.	42:24
	Every person who was touched by it	42:27
	had no alternative but to confess	42:29
	his or her sinfulness, and get busy doing the truth,	42:32
	as John refers to those who come to the light.	42:36
	Which is all that Jesus asks of any of us, after all.	42:40
	Doing the truth isn't so much doing good works	42:44
	as it is bringing our ugliness out of the dark	42:48
	into the light,	42:52
	and letting the acceptance of Christ shine upon it,	42:53
	which is the real purpose of Christian confession,	42:57
	after all, in case you've wondered.	42:59
	Clearly, we're not telling God, in confession,	43:02
	anything God doesn't already know.	43:05
	And, if you're hoping to strike a deal with God	43:08
	just because you 'fessed up about your shortcomings,	43:11
	forget it!	43:14
	The whole point is to bring our sins	43:15
	to the light of Jesus, and to see plain as day	43:18
	that they were forgiven all along.	43:21
	To put it in the rather startling terms of the exultet,	43:25
	the Latin proclamation sung on Easter eve,	43:28
	"We force ourselves to rejoice over sin,	43:32
	"because it has become the occasion of God's grace."	43:35
	We've always been home free!	43:39
	Lightened, even in the darkness,	43:41
	by the light of light in which we were wrought.	43:43
	What better news could I bring to you today?	43:48
	God decided a long time ago	43:51
	that an eye for an eye won't work,	43:53
	because all it does is double the number of people	43:56
	without eyes.	43:58
	A judgment that works only by punishing sinners	44:01
	and rewarding the righteous produces all Hell	44:03
	and no kingdom!	44:06
	There are just too many sinners, and not enough righteous.	44:07
	That is, there are no righteous.	44:11
	The only thing powerful enough	44:15
	to overcome the evil in the world	44:16
	was for Christ to take it into Himself on the cross,	44:18
	to drop it down into the black hole of His death	44:23
	and to make a new creation by the power of His resurrection.	44:26
	If you believe it, I think you'll agree with me,	44:32
	grace is the only game in town.	44:35
	Thanks be to God!	44:40
	(organ plays St. Agnes)	44:49
	♪ Jesus, united by Thy grace ♪	45:18
	♪ And each to each endeared ♪	45:26
	♪ With confidence we seek Thy grace ♪	45:32
	♪ And know our prayer is heard ♪	45:40
	♪ Still let us own our common Lord ♪	45:48
	♪ And bear Thy easy yoke ♪	45:56
	♪ A band of love, a threefold cord ♪	46:02
	♪ Which never can be broke ♪	46:10
	♪ Make us into one Spirit drink ♪	46:19
	♪ Baptize into Thy name ♪	46:27
	♪ And let us always kindly think ♪	46:33
	♪ And sweetly speak, the same ♪	46:41
	♪ Touched by the lodestone of Thy love ♪	46:50
	♪ Let all our hearts agree ♪	46:58
	♪ And ever toward each other move ♪	47:04
	♪ And ever move towards Thee ♪	47:12
	♪ To Thee, inseparably joined ♪	47:21
	♪ Let all our spirits cleave ♪	47:29
	♪ O may we all the loving mind ♪	47:35
	♪ That was in Thee receive ♪	47:44
	♪ This is the bond of perfectness ♪	47:53
	♪ Thy spotless charity ♪	48:02
	♪ O let us, still we pray, possess ♪	48:08
	♪ The mind that was in Thee ♪	48:17
Margaret	The Lord be with you!	48:28
Congregation	And also with you.	48:30
-	Let us pray.	48:32
	Be seated.	48:33
	O God of history and God of love,	48:42
	it is difficult to sing your songs of gladness,	48:47
	for in the midst of life,	48:50
	we are surrounded by death.	48:52
	The death that works in our minds and spirits,	48:56
	the death that works in our bodies,	48:59
	the death of dreams, the death of hope,	49:02
	the death of promises.	49:05
	O God of the living and the dead,	49:08
	touch our souls with a song of remembrance	49:11
	of what you have done for us	49:14
	as we sit and weep.	49:17
	The song of the cross, we know, will comfort us	49:21
	when sadness threatens to absorb us and devour us.	49:24
	Let us remember that we are witnesses of your grace,	49:30
	which has the power of reconciling all persons,	49:33
	even ourselves, to Yourself.	49:37
	We, as your children, lift our concerns	49:42
	with the needs and the pain of the world.	49:44
	For those who fight, and are filled with hatred and rage,	49:49
	for those who exclude each other,	49:53
	let them taste, o Lord, the everlasting kindness	49:56
	that expresses itself in care and concern,	50:00
	rather than in war and intolerance.	50:04
	Lord, in your mercy...	50:08
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	50:10
-	For those who are homeless, oppressed and poor	50:13
	in a world that suffers from lack of wholeness and meaning,	50:16
	visit them, set them on new paths, and open to them	50:21
	new ways of live.	50:25
	Lord, in your mercy...	50:28
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	50:30
-	For those who are victims of exploitation,	50:33
	neglect and ignorance,	50:35
	let them experience the living life of Christ,	50:38
	who shared the nameless pain of those	50:41
	who have no other hope than God.	50:44
	Lord, in your mercy...	50:48
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	50:50
-	For those who are sick, suffering and dying around us,	50:53
	let them receive strength in their weakness,	50:56
	for your power is mighty in those who are weak.	51:00
	Lord, in your mercy...	51:05
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	51:07
-	For those in this university who are traveling,	51:10
	for those who are away for rest and relaxation,	51:13
	for those of our chapel community working	51:16
	in the Honduras mission project,	51:18
	we ask that spirits be renewed and refreshed,	51:21
	that tasks be accomplished,	51:24
	friendships strengthened, and good news lived and taught.	51:27
	Lord, in your mercy...	51:32
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	51:34
-	Those who are battered and torn	51:36
	from the war in the Middle East,	51:37
	for those confused, in pain, and vengeful,	51:39
	may they find answers to their multiple problems	51:44
	in a land of tears and violence.	51:47
	Lord, in your mercy...	51:51
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	51:53
-	We pray for the leaders of the nations.	51:55
	May they work as diligently for a lasting peace	51:58
	as they do to win wars.	52:01
	Grant an end to all hatred, fear and the fascination of war,	52:04
	and may your kingdom come, through Christ our Lord.	52:10
	Amen.	52:15
	When we love, we want to give.	52:19
	If we loved God enough, we would give away our lives.	52:22
	May the gifts we bring be love offerings	52:26
	which reach into all the world,	52:29
	saving lives and making life more worthwhile.	52:32
	(organ plays quietly)	52:39
	(pitch pipe plays note)	53:57
Harmon	And on that day,	54:01
	a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.	54:03
	And they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea	54:07
	and Samaria, except the apostles.	54:10
	Devout men buried Stephen,	54:13
	and made great lamentation over him.	54:15
	(choir sings softly)	54:19
	But Saul laid waste to the church,	54:25
	and entering house after house,	54:28
	he dragged off men and women,	54:30
	and committed them to prison.	54:32
	(choir sings softly)	54:34
	Now, those who were scattered went about	54:37
	preaching the word.	54:40
	Unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed,	54:42
	crying with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed	54:45
	or lame were healed.	54:49
	(choir sings softly)
	Saul, breathing threats and murder	54:55
	against the disciples of the Lord.	54:57
	♪ Saul, Saul ♪	55:02
	♪ Saul, Saul ♪	55:07
	♪ Saul, Saul ♪	55:11
	♪ You simply have murdered ♪	55:13
	♪ Disciples of the Lord ♪	55:16
	(dramatic organ music)	55:20
	He went to the high priest,	55:35
	and asked him	55:37
	for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,	55:38
	so that if any be found belonging to the way,	55:41
	men or women, he might bring them bound,	55:44
	in chains, back to Jerusalem.	55:47
	♪ Bring them bound in chains, ♪	55:51
	♪ Bound in chains ♪	55:54
	♪ To Jerusalem ♪	55:55
	(dramatic, dissonant organ music)	56:02
	Now, as he journeyed, he approached Damascus,	56:11
	and suddenly, a light from heaven	56:16
	flashed about him, and he fell to the ground,	56:18
	and heard a voice, saying to him...	56:21
	♪ Oh ♪	56:27
	♪ Oh ♪	56:30
	♪ Oh ♪	56:33
	♪ Saul ♪	56:42
	♪ Saul ♪	56:56
	♪ Saul, why ♪	57:02
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	57:06
	♪ Why do you persecute me ♪	57:17
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	57:25
	♪ Why do you persecute ♪	57:34
	♪ Why do you persecute me ♪	57:39
	(dramatic organ cadence)	57:49
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	57:53
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	57:55
	♪ Why do you persecute me ♪	58:00
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	58:05
	♪ Why do you persecute me ♪	58:07
	♪ Why, why, why ♪	58:12
	♪ Do you persecute me ♪	58:15
	♪ Why do you persecute me ♪	58:20
	♪ Why, why ♪	58:27
	(dramatic organ chords)	58:32
	♪ Why, why ♪	58:39
	(dramatic organ chords)	58:44
	♪ Why, why ♪	58:51
	(dramatic organ chords)	58:59
	♪ Why do you persecute ♪	59:13
	♪ Me ♪	59:23
	♪ Saul ♪	59:27
	♪ Why ♪	59:33
	(late chord fades)	59:36
	(quit footsteps echo)	59:45
	(quiet organ music rises to crescendo)	59:52
	(organ plays doxology)	1:00:10
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	1:00:46
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪	1:00:55
	♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts ♪	1:01:03
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:01:12
-	O God, with deep thanksgiving,	1:01:28
	we acknowledge that we cannot escape your mercy and love.	1:01:31
	You search us out, wherever we may be.	1:01:36
	Your love is like a mother's blanket,	1:01:40
	enfolding and protecting us wherever we go.	1:01:43
	If we've traveled to the heights of the universe,	1:01:48
	and the depths of the seas,	1:01:51
	your love is there.	1:01:53
	If we fall into the pits of sin, your love is there.	1:01:55
	When the truth of your love and the cross	1:02:00
	opposes the darkness that we love,	1:02:03
	the light of your judgment and truth	1:02:06
	graciously shines.	1:02:08
	As we raise these gifts of our love for You,	1:02:11
	may the shadow of the cross and the light of Your truth	1:02:14
	overcome all the darkness, the separation,	1:02:18
	and the evil of our world.	1:02:22
	Give to us the hope of a future that is already present	1:02:25
	in the life of Christ, and in the life	1:02:29
	which He brings to us.	1:02:32
	In the name of the Christ, who taught us to pray, saying	1:02:35
Congregation	Our Father, who art in heaven,	1:02:39
	hallowed be Thy name.	1:02:42
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,	1:02:45
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:02:48
	Give us this day our daily bread.	1:02:50
	Forgive us our trespasses,	1:02:53
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:02:56
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:03:00
	but deliver us from evil.	1:03:02
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	1:03:04
	and the glory, forever.	1:03:07
	Amen.	1:03:09
-	And now, may we go in peace,	1:03:12
	knowing that God is rich in mercy,	1:03:15
	has sent out of great compassion for us,	1:03:18
	and raised us up, and made us to sit with Christ,	1:03:21
	in the heavenly places.	1:03:24
	May we go out in joy,	1:03:26
	knowing that Christ's love and forgiveness is forever.	1:03:28
	May we go out in love,	1:03:33
	seeking to serve Christ all the days of our lives.	1:03:35
	In the name of the Father, and of the Son	1:03:40
	and of the Holy Spirit, amen.	1:03:43
	(organ plays Cwm Rhondda)	1:03:47
	♪ God of grace and God of glory ♪	1:04:11
	♪ On Thy people pour Thy power ♪	1:04:16
	♪ Crown the ancient church's story ♪	1:04:22
	♪ Bring its bud to glorious flower ♪	1:04:27
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:04:33
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:04:39
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:04:44
	♪ Lo, the hosts of evil round us ♪	1:04:52
	♪ Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways ♪	1:04:58
	♪ From the fears that long have bound us ♪	1:05:04
	♪ Free our hearts to love and praise ♪	1:05:09
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:05:15
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:05:21
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:05:26
	♪ Cure Thy children's warring madness ♪	1:05:34
	♪ Bend our pride to Thy control ♪	1:05:40
	♪ Shame our wanton, selfish gladness ♪	1:05:45
	♪ Rich in things and poor in soul ♪	1:05:51
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:05:57
	♪ Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:06:03
	♪ Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:06:09
	♪ Set our feet on lofty places ♪	1:06:18
	♪ Gird our lives that they may be ♪	1:06:23
	♪ Armored with all Christlike graces ♪	1:06:29
	♪ Pledged to set all captives free ♪	1:06:35
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:06:41
	♪ That we fail not them nor Thee ♪	1:06:47
	♪ That we fail not them nor Thee ♪	1:06:54
	(organ plays florid, uptempo postlude)	1:07:07

Item Info

Title:

Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Judgment and Grace" (March 10, 1991)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 27:21. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 44:42.
Judgement is not necessarily a negative or something that implies punishment because God has already forgiven us. Rather, we must simply admit and acknowledge our sin. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Doing the truth isn’t so much doing good works as it is bringing our ugliness out of the dark into the light, and letting the acceptance of Christ shine upon it.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r47w67m6b

Date:

March 10, 1991

Speaker:

Ferree-Clark, Nancy

Liturgical Calendar:

Lent

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Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0225
ref8916_833
uachapelsermaud
duke:321359
dcrmv001215
ark:/87924/r47w67m6b
98574702-7891-460c-bd39-d8c88fd3f08c

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Judgment and Grace" (March 10, 1991)

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1. Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Judgment and Grace" (March 10, 1991)

Duke University Archives

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Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Judgment and Grace" (March 10, 1991)

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