Eugene Taylor Sutton - "Quiet! The Church Is Being Born" (May 19, 1991)

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	(choir singing hymn)	0:01
	(choir singing hymn)	1:00
	(church organ music)	6:49
	(Choir singing hymn)	8:17
-	Good morning and welcome to this service of worship	10:04
	here at Duke University Chapel on this Pentecost Sunday,	10:07
	when we celebrate the birthday of the church.	10:10
	We're delighted to see each of you here.	10:13
	We are pleased to welcome back to the chapel	10:15
	for their second visit of recent weeks,	10:18
	the North Carolina Boy's Choir	10:20
	directed by Mr. William Graham.	10:22
	They will be performing here in the chapel	10:24
	for their annual Spring concert.	10:26
	Uh, you'll have to watch for that date in our announcements,	10:28
	and we are most appreciative of their enthusiastic	10:31
	participation in our service.	10:33
	We are also pleased to welcome as today's preacher	10:36
	the Reverend Eugene T. Sutton	10:38
	who is Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship	10:40
	at New Brunswick Theological Seminary	10:43
	in New Brunswick, New Jersey.	10:45
	In addition to his teaching responsibilities there,	10:47
	he is also completing a PhD in Theology and Communications	10:49
	at Princeton Theological Seminary.	10:54
	Mr. Sutton has also served the church as a local pastor	10:56
	and campus minister.	11:00
	We welcome him for his first visit to the Duke Campus.	11:02
	Our lector for this morning service	11:05
	is the Dr. Robert Durden,	11:08
	Professor in the History Department, here at Duke.	11:09
	All interested singers are invited to join the summer choir	11:12
	by attending an organizational rehearsal	11:15
	to be held this Wednesday evening at 6:25 p.m.	11:18
	here in the chapel.	11:21
	No auditions are necessary for this choir.	11:22
	Following this Wednesday's rehearsal,	11:25
	the choir will rehearse only on Sunday mornings	11:27
	in preparation for the Sunday services.	11:30
	Please note the remaining announcements	11:33
	and they are printed in your bulletins.	11:35
	And now, please stand for the greeting.	11:37
	Our help is in the name of the Lord	11:46
	who created heaven and earth.	11:48
Congregation	Sing loud to he who created the earth.	11:51
	Sing praises to the Lord, Hallelujah!	11:56
Preacher	He rides in the heavens	11:58
	and sends forth his mighty voice.	11:59
Congregation	Hallelujah!	12:02
Preacher	How wonderful is God in his holy places,	12:04
	the god of Israel, giving strength and power to his people.	12:07
-	Hallelujah!	12:13
-	All who are led by the spirit of God are children of God.	12:15
	Lord, send forth your spirit	12:20
	and renew the face of the Earth.	12:22
-	Hallelujah!	12:24
	(Church organ music)	12:28
	(choir and congregation sing)	13:11
-	Spirit, we call and many are the names	15:35
	by which we call you.	15:39
	You are Creator, father and mother, you are provider,	15:41
	bread and wine, you are counselor, guide and beacon,	15:45
	you are helper, talent and will, you are reconciler,	15:51
	bridge and the first step, you are presence, host and guest.	15:56
	our names for you gush forth as waters from desert springs,	16:02
	they team as creatures in the seas.	16:07
	Our God who art in heaven hallowed be thy names,	16:09
	come to us on Earth as in heaven, amen.	16:13
-	Let us pray.	16:35
All	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	16:38
	by the power of your holy spirit so that as the word	16:41
	is read and proclaimed, we might hear with joy	16:45
	what you say to us this day, amen.	16:49
-	The first reading is taken from the book of Genesis.	16:55
	"Now, the whole earth had one language and the same words	16:59
	and as they migrated from the East	17:05
	they came up on a plane in the land of Shinar	17:08
	and settled there.	17:12
	And they said to one another,	17:14
	'come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.'	17:16
	and they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar.	17:21
	Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city	17:26
	and a tower with it top in the heavens	17:31
	and let us make a name for ourselves,	17:34
	otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad	17:38
	upon the face of the whole Earth.'	17:40
	The Lord came down to see the city and the tower,	17:44
	which mortals had built.	17:48
	And the Lord said, 'look, they are one people	17:50
	and they have all one language	17:54
	and this is only the beginning of what they will do.	17:57
	Nothing that they propose to do	18:00
	will now be impossible for them.	18:03
	Come, let us go down and confuse their language there,	18:06
	so that they will not understand one another speech.'	18:11
	So, the Lord scattered them abroad	18:15
	from there over the face of all the Earth	18:17
	and they left off building the city,	18:21
	therefore, it was called Babel	18:24
	because the lord, there, confused the language	18:27
	of all the Earth and from there,	18:31
	the Lord scattered them abroad	18:33
	over the face of all the Earth."	18:35
	This is the word of the Lord.	18:39
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	18:41
-	This reading is from The Gospel According to Saint John.	18:46
	"When the advocate comes,	18:53
	whom I will send to you from the father,	18:54
	the spirit of truth who comes from the father,	18:57
	he will testify on my behalf.	19:00
	You, also, are to testify	19:04
	because you have been with me from the beginning.	19:05
	I did not say these things to you from the beginning	19:11
	because I was with you.	19:14
	But now I am going to him who sent me	19:16
	yet none of you asked me, 'where are you going?'	19:19
	but because I have said these things to you,	19:24
	sorrow has filled your heart, nevertheless,	19:28
	I will tell you the truth:	19:31
	It is to your advantage that I go away	19:33
	for if I do not go away,	19:37
	the advocate will not come to you.	19:39
	But if I go, I will send him to you and when he comes,	19:42
	he will prove the world wrong about sin	19:47
	and righteousness and judgment.	19:50
	About sin because they do not believe in me.	19:54
	About righteousness because I am going to the father	19:58
	and you will see me no longer.	20:01
	About judgment because the ruler of this world	20:04
	has been condemned.	20:08
	I still have many things to say to you	20:10
	but you cannot bear them now.	20:13
	When the spirit of truth comes	20:16
	he will guide you into all the truth,	20:19
	for he will not speak on his own	20:22
	but will speak whatever he hears and he will declare to you	20:24
	the things that are to come.	20:29
	He will glorify me because he will take what is mine	20:32
	and declare it to you, all that the father has is mine.	20:37
	For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine	20:43
	and declare it to you."	20:47
	This is the word of the Lord.	20:50
All	Thanks be to God.	20:53
	(Church organ music)	21:07
	"Requiem aeternam dona eis"	21:12
	♪ Dona eis, oh domine ♪	21:26
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	21:33
	♪ Requiem aertnam ♪	21:39
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	21:45
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	21:52
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:00
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:03
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	22:06
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:16
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	22:22
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:29
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:36
	♪ Requiem aeternam ♪	22:42
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:54
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	22:58
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	23:01
	♪ Dona eis oh, domine ♪	23:11
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	23:17
	♪ Sempiternam requiem ♪	23:24
	♪ Sempiternam requiem ♪	23:31
	♪ Sempiternam requiem ♪	23:37
	♪ Pie Jesu Pie Jesu Domine ♪	23:43
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	23:50
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	23:58
	♪ Dona eis domine ♪	24:01
	♪ Sempiternam requiem ♪	24:05
	♪ Dona eis oh domine ♪	24:13
	♪ Dona eis requiem ♪	24:19
	♪ Sempiternam requiem ♪	24:27
-	The word of God continues for us this morning	25:05
	in the book of Acts,	25:08
	the second chapter beginning at verse one.	25:09
	Listen for the word of God.	25:15
	"When the day of Pentecost had come	25:17
	the disciples were all together in one place	25:20
	and suddenly from Heaven, there came a sound	25:24
	like the rush of a violent wind	25:26
	and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.	25:30
	Divided tongues, as of Fire appeared among them	25:34
	and a tongue rested on each of them.	25:39
	All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit	25:43
	and began to speak in other languages	25:46
	as the spirit gave them ability.	25:48
	Now, there are devout Jews from every nation	25:52
	under Heaven living in Jerusalem	25:54
	and at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered	25:59
	because each one heard them speaking	26:04
	in the native language of each.	26:07
	Amazed and astonished, they asked,	26:10
	'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?	26:12
	And how is it that we hear, each of us,	26:17
	in our own native language?	26:20
	Parthians, Meads, Elamites, and resonance of Mesopotamia,	26:22
	Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,	26:28
	Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya	26:33
	belonging to Sireen, and visitors from Rome,	26:37
	both Jews and Proselytes, Cretans and Arabs.	26:41
	In our own languages, we hear them speaking	26:46
	about God's deeds of power.'	26:49
	All were amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another,	26:53
	'What does this mean?' But others sneered and said,	26:58
	'They are filled with new wine.'	27:03
	But Peter, standing with the 11, raised his voice	27:06
	and addressed them saying,	27:10
	'Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem	27:12
	let this be known to you and listen to what I say;	27:15
	indeed, we are not drunk as you suppose	27:19
	for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.	27:24
	No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel.	27:28
	In the last days it will be, God declares,	27:32
	that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh	27:34
	and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy	27:39
	and your young men shall see visions	27:43
	and your old men shall dream dreams.	27:45
	Even upon my slaves, both men and women,	27:48
	in those days, I will pour out my spirit	27:51
	and they shall prophesy.	27:55
	And I will show the importance in the heaven above	27:58
	and signs on the earth below: blood and fire,	28:01
	smokey mist, the sun shall be turned to darkness	28:05
	and the moon to blood before the coming	28:08
	of the Lord's great and glorious day.	28:11
	Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord	28:14
	will be saved.'"	28:18
	This is the word of the Lord.	28:22
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	28:24
-	The sermon is entitled, 'Quiet, The Church is Being Born.'	28:29
	Let us pray to God for inspiration.	28:34
	Dear Lord, tell us what we need to hear	28:40
	and show us what we need to do	28:46
	to become disciples of Jesus Christ,	28:49
	amen.	28:54
	Today is a special day for me,	28:58
	it being the first time I've stepped foot	29:01
	in the state of North Carolina	29:04
	since the death of my grandparents.	29:06
	I spent all of my Summers in North Carolina	29:10
	at a place about an hour south of Fayetteville	29:13
	in the area around Hope Mills,	29:17
	right around the community of Swans Creek	29:20
	on the old Chicken Foot Road,	29:23
	that's where my grandparents on my father's side lived.	29:26
	Trying to eke out an existence of farming	29:30
	in that rough country.	29:33
	Daddy Rob, my grandfather.	29:35
	Miss Ellen, my grandmother.	29:38
	Saints of God, hard working people	29:41
	who live the life of suffering and some injustice	29:44
	but yet worked hard so that their sons and their daughters	29:48
	and their grandsons and granddaughters	29:52
	could have opportunity as I have now	29:56
	of being before you today.	29:58
	When I am here in this state I think of them.	30:01
	I last saw them when I was in high school.	30:06
	I had committed my life to Jesus Christ,	30:08
	or I should say, recommitted my life,	30:11
	I was just following what they wanted me to do	30:14
	and I claimed faith for my own.	30:16
	In high school I went back down to Swans Creek	30:19
	to tell Daddy Rob and Miss Ellen what had happened to me.	30:23
	I went with his friend of mine	30:26
	and I remember the scene well in their living room	30:29
	and I proclaimed to them,	30:32
	"Daddy Rob, Miss Ellen I am a Christian."	30:33
	and we cried and we hugged and we had	30:38
	tears of joy	30:42
	and I left and it was the last time I ever saw them.	30:45
	I am here today because of them and my parents.	30:49
	This is a special day for me.	30:54
	It's a special day in the life of my family also.	30:56
	Even as I stand here now, my wife is kneeling	30:59
	in the church to which we belong in New Jersey,	31:03
	an Episcopal church, and probably,	31:06
	in a few minutes from now,	31:09
	the bishop will lay hands on her and she will be received	31:11
	into that communion together with my children.	31:14
	She is praying for me now, I am praying for her.	31:18
	This is a special day.	31:22
	It's also a special day, isn't it,	31:24
	in the life of the church.	31:26
	For in this day we celebrate, not only little celebrations	31:28
	like I just gave to you, but we all celebrate together	31:33
	what has been called the birthday of the church,	31:38
	the day of Pentecost, commonly called wits Sunday	31:40
	in many of our churches.	31:44
	That day when we celebrate that occasion	31:46
	when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in power	31:49
	so that they could be witnesses to the world.	31:53
	It was a glorious day, a strange day,	31:55
	a day filled with excitement.	31:59
	Tom Long tells the story of teaching	32:02
	his young Sunday school class students	32:06
	about the specialness of this day.	32:09
	He was telling them about the glories of Pentecost.	32:11
	Of course, we celebrate it now as the tail end	32:14
	of the great 50 days of Easter,	32:17
	the resurrection of Jesus, his Ascension into heaven,	32:20
	and the coming of the Holy Spirit.	32:23
	Dr. Long described to those kids	32:25
	the coming of the Holy Spirit,	32:28
	first in the wind and the tongues of fire	32:30
	and the witnessing that the disciples did	32:33
	and the carrying on outside and he proclaimed to them,	32:35
	"Kids, our church was born on this day."	32:38
	And a young girl with a frown on her face replied to him,	32:43
	"well, I think my family was absent that day."	32:48
	And I think she's right.	32:53
	My family must have been absent	32:56
	because that doesn't seem to describe	32:57
	the church as I know it	32:59
	and maybe the church as you know it also.	33:01
	Most of us being members of Christ's Church,	33:03
	probably Protestant,	33:07
	probably main-line denominational churches,	33:09
	that kind of excitement, that kind of experience	33:12
	that we read about in this new testament lesson	33:15
	doesn't seem to characterize our church.	33:18
	If it happened at all at one time,	33:22
	well, we must have been absent.	33:25
	It was a strange day, it was a strange occurrence.	33:28
	The disciples huddled in that upper room.	33:31
	Was it that same room where Jesus had washed their feet?	33:34
	Where they had had that last meal with him?	33:38
	Where they had gathered later in fear	33:42
	and Jesus appeared to them?	33:44
	They were gathered, all of them, in that one place	33:47
	praying the church in prayer,	33:50
	waiting for the promised counselor as was promised by Jesus.	33:53
	And in the midst of that prayer service,	33:57
	I would like to have seen that one.	33:59
	We don't have prayer services like that	34:01
	in the Episcopal Church, at least not where I'm from.	34:03
	In the midst of that prayer service,	34:07
	there came a sound like a rushing wind,	34:10
	violently flowing through that house.	34:13
	The wind of the spirit in Hebrew Ruchbah.	34:17
	Was it the same wind that blew across the face of the Earth,	34:20
	creating order, creating a world out of chaos?	34:24
	That wind, that anemos, the Greek word,	34:28
	the wind and the spirit	34:31
	that Jesus had talked about in the New Testament	34:32
	that will blow wherever it wills?	34:35
	That wind blowing through the house.	34:38
	And also there appeared tongues of fire	34:40
	or something as like tongues of fire,	34:44
	descending upon them.	34:47
	Recalling the words of John the Baptist,	34:49
	that he baptized with water but Jesus who comes after him	34:52
	will baptize with the spirit and with fire.	34:56
	Where as in Jesus's birth the Spirit came	34:59
	in the form of a dove, now the spirit comes as fire	35:01
	to burn and to give power for witness.	35:05
	And with all of that commotion happening in the house,	35:09
	wind & fire, exclamations I'm sure, speech,	35:12
	it couldn't be contained in that house.	35:16
	Something was breaking loose, something was breaking open.	35:19
	It spilled out into the streets	35:22
	and as they were out in the streets	35:26
	those disciples, the devout Jews	35:29
	and proselytes from all over the world	35:32
	heard what was going on and they saw it	35:34
	and they were bewildered and they were amazed.	35:36
	That was a strange sight, I think, at least to us.	35:39
	The scripture passage says, "and with this sound,	35:44
	those on Lookers gathered and were bewildered."	35:49
	What sound was that?	35:54
	Was it the sound of the wind? I think not.	35:56
	They were used to wind blowing around,	35:59
	they were used to the sounds that wind makes	36:02
	when it rustles through the trees.	36:04
	They may have felt the wind.	36:06
	I don't think that's why the people gathered.	36:07
	Why they were bewildered.	36:10
	Was it fire or something that seemed like fire,	36:12
	an excitement an electricity running through	36:16
	that strange group of disciples?	36:19
	It may have been but yet,	36:22
	I think that people were used to religious nuts, as it were,	36:25
	being excited about their religion.	36:29
	Was it really just gibberish,	36:31
	those proclaiming some kind of good news?	36:32
	Was that the sound that gathered and bewildered the people?	36:35
	I think not.	36:39
	In those days as today, we are used to people	36:41
	carrying placards proclaiming from,	36:45
	not only housetops, but from street corners,	36:48
	some strange religious message.	36:51
	We are bombarded by religious messages.	36:53
	Nothing unusual about that.	36:57
	That will not bewilder anyone.	37:00
	I invite you to come with me one day	37:02
	to New York City as I frequently am.	37:05
	I'm used to people shouting out a religious message to me.	37:07
	But yet I think the sound that bewildered them	37:12
	was the knowledge that what those disciples were saying,	37:16
	in their excitement, they understood.	37:19
	It was as if I were in Times Square on a Sunday morning	37:24
	and that which someone is shouting out to me	37:29
	in a strange language, I stopped and said,	37:31
	"Oh my gosh! I understand what they're saying,	37:34
	it speaks to me.	37:36
	A crowd will gather then and the crowd will be bewildered	37:38
	because they understand it.	37:42
	They were confused because they understood,	37:46
	they understood that if this gospel were to be true,	37:50
	if this good news that they were proclaiming	37:54
	was indeed the case, then the world that they knew it	37:57
	could never be the same.	38:01
	It would be turned upside down, topsy-turvy.	38:03
	And for that they were bewildered.	38:08
	Here on Duke University's campus I think we know something	38:11
	about strange sounds in languages being spoken here.	38:15
	Academic disciples, if you will,	38:21
	come from all over the world to this campus	38:23
	to learn, perhaps.	38:26
	They are on a pilgrimage of sorts and when they come here	38:27
	I'm sure it's something like a mini United Nations	38:31
	and the trick is to try to find some kind of common ground,	38:35
	some understanding among the languages.	38:39
	It is ironic, isn't it, however,	38:43
	that there is much confusion in an academic community,	38:45
	on a campus the confusion of different voices.	38:50
	The irony is that for the disciples here,	38:54
	we understand that there will be confusion.	38:58
	In fact, you might say we understand the confusion.	39:00
	And the disciples of old were confused	39:05
	because they understood.	39:10
	But we have disciples from all over the world	39:12
	and it's a trick to try to understand them.	39:13
	Linguists tell US that there are 2796 languages	39:16
	spoken around the world,	39:21
	not counting that of American teenagers.	39:23
	And to try to understand it all,	39:26
	and when you add dialect to it,	39:28
	how in the world are we going to come to common ground?	39:31
	Even within the English language	39:33
	there is some difference between British English	39:35
	and that which the British call American.	39:38
	George Bernard Shaw a hundred years ago proclaimed	39:42
	that we on both sides of the Atlantic	39:45
	are two peoples separated by a common tongue.	39:47
	Well, at Duke University there are many tongues	39:54
	and they aren't all foreign.	39:56
	There are interdepartmental languages.	39:58
	The language of economics doesn't understand wholly	40:01
	the language of of sociology.	40:04
	They think that they're speaking gibberish.	40:07
	The language of the religion department is sometimes	40:10
	not the same language as the science department	40:14
	and they talk past each other	40:16
	in a search to get to common ground.	40:18
	And there are different languages	40:22
	based on where we come from.	40:24
	There is the language of African American students.	40:26
	It's English but it's a language of a people	40:31
	who have a different history than the mainstream students.	40:34
	There's the language of white students,	40:39
	there's the language of black students.	40:40
	There's a language of women and the language of men.	40:43
	The language of young and of old.	40:46
	Even in the Divinity School	40:49
	the language of the liberationists,	40:51
	the language of the traditionalists,	40:54
	the language of the conservatives and liberals,	40:56
	of feminist, of evangelicals.	40:59
	I think that the world of Duke University	41:02
	is not unlike the world of Jerusalem	41:06
	when the church was born.	41:09
	Can the church be born in the midst of this confusion,	41:12
	of this noise?	41:16
	The point I'm making in all of this is that the church	41:18
	was born in the midst of noise and confusion,	41:22
	not decently and in order.	41:25
	The church was Pentecostal before it was Presbyterian	41:28
	and I say that as one in the reformed tradition.	41:33
	Lest you think I'm being flippant about an ordered	41:37
	and liturgical piety and lest you believe	41:39
	that I'm saying that we should all get up out of our seats	41:44
	and start clapping and shouting and go out into the world	41:47
	proclaiming what God has done for us.	41:50
	Lest you don't think or lest you do think	41:53
	that I do not appreciate ordered worship.	41:56
	I will remind you that I am a Christian	42:00
	in the reformed tradition and of a liturgical piety.	42:04
	I am also a member of the Episcopal Church.	42:10
	But that's not the whole story about me.	42:13
	You should also know that I was raised a Baptist	42:17
	and there's something of a Baptist in me.	42:21
	If you peel away this reformed and high liturgical guard,	42:23
	there's a Baptist that's just lurking to break out.	42:29
	I think if you peel back this liturgical skin,	42:34
	Baptist blood will flow.	42:37
	It's safe to say that we Baptists like our religion hot.	42:39
	Or at least more than lukewarm.	42:44
	We like to get excited about it and we like to say so.	42:47
	In fact, as I preach around, I preach in Baptist churches	42:50
	and AME Churches and liturgical churches.	42:54
	I like to get people involved	42:57
	because that's what religious mean to me.	43:00
	I think you ought to know that sometimes it's hard	43:05
	for someone who believes that if the worship service	43:09
	is not is to be quiet then maybe	43:14
	it's no worship service at all.	43:17
	And when I'm in a black Baptist Church,	43:19
	we like to go back and forth with each other	43:21
	and establish community that way.	43:24
	And I reminded by my Baptist friends	43:26
	that Pentecostal power is not accompanied	43:29
	always by silence.	43:33
	Picture with me if you will, a Baptist woman	43:35
	as she finds her way into the chapel	43:40
	at New Brunswick Theological Seminary where I serve.	43:42
	I proudly service at Seminary,	43:46
	which is the oldest seminary in North America.	43:48
	It is run and operated by the Reformed Church in America,	43:51
	the oldest Protestant denomination in North America	43:55
	with a continuous ministry and if you get any of those words	43:58
	out of that you've messed it up it's not true.	44:02
	The Dutch reformed and Dutch Calvinists.	44:05
	She finds her way into our Chapel	44:09
	and the Reverend dr.	44:12
	Arnold Vanderklomperdigsma	44:15
	is holding forth and preaching	44:20
	in all of his liturgical guard and Genevan tabs.	44:22
	She finds her way there, he preaches	44:25
	and he's doing a pretty good job.	44:27
	And in the middle of the sermon	44:28
	she stands up and shouts "Amen!"	44:30
	And all the good people at the chapel turn their heads.	44:32
	But this rather excites	44:38
	the reverend Doctor Vanderklomperdigsma.	44:39
	And so he starts preaching all the more fervently	44:42
	and in the middle of the sermon she shouts out again,	44:45
	"Hallelujah!"	44:46
	And all the good people of the chapel turn their head again.	44:47
	"What was that?"	44:50
	But this just excited the Reverend so much	44:52
	that he left the pulpit and went down the aisle	44:55
	and started waving the Bible around	44:57
	and rightly dividing the word of truth	44:59
	and she met him halfway and said,	45:02
	"That's right! You preach that word now."	45:03
	Well, that was too much for the good people of our Chapel	45:07
	and the reformed and liturgical traditions.	45:11
	So they escorted the woman out north exit	45:13
	and had a word with her and said,	45:15
	"Madam, what's going on in there?"	45:17
	And she said, "I can't help it.	45:20
	When I hear preaching like that, I just get religion."	45:22
	And one of the students said to her,	45:27
	"Well Madam, this is a seminary Chapel,	45:29
	this is no place to get religion."	45:32
	(Congregation laughs)	45:34
	"Shh, shh,	45:39
	Madam, we are worshiping,	45:42
	the church is being formed don't make a sound."	45:45
	The silence of the church.	45:51
	The Silence of the church is well documented	45:54
	in the world, isn't it?	45:56
	Thank God those disciples left the upper room	45:59
	and went outside so that you and I are here today.	46:02
	Unlike some who receive an experience of the Holy Spirit	46:06
	but you get the feeling that it's something only for them,	46:11
	it's something that only edifies them	46:14
	and they only want to gather and be edified	46:16
	and they don't care about the world.	46:18
	The disciples went out but all too frequently.	46:21
	You and I know that the church, when it enters the world,	46:25
	becomes strangely silent.	46:29
	The world my friends, we say, is going to hell.	46:32
	The world is beset by problems, economic,	46:37
	racial injustice problems, social problems,	46:41
	problems between groups, economic groups,	46:47
	problems of hunger, problems of homelessness	46:50
	and all too often the church,	46:54
	we are worshiping so nicely here	46:55
	but when we leave the doors we dare not say a word.	46:58
	The silence of the church in the world.	47:03
	You know what I mean.	47:07
	But that Pentecostal experience	47:09
	that's described in the New Testament	47:11
	is not only talking about the silence of the church	47:13
	in the world, but it has a lot to say	47:15
	about the silence of the church in the church.	47:17
	The silence of the church in the church	47:21
	where even in the church body,	47:23
	we are strangely silent with one another.	47:26
	Do we dare think that any one of us	47:30
	will say to a Christian brother or friend in church	47:33
	or in our fellowship how it is with our soul?	47:37
	Dare we speak words of comfort to one another?	47:41
	Do we visit each other in our homes	47:45
	and in the midst of our despair of our families	47:48
	dare we speak hope?	47:51
	Do we see each other in our hospital rooms	47:54
	that we visit one another there	47:57
	and dare do we speak the word healing?	48:00
	Do we see each other in nursing homes	48:05
	on the tail end of life and do we go there	48:07
	and speak the word resurrection?	48:11
	Do we speak to one another?	48:15
	Do we know one another in our churches?	48:17
	Many friends tell me who are trying to find churches	48:20
	that it seems as if no one cares that they're there.	48:24
	The silence of the church in the church,	48:28
	not speaking, consigning worship	48:31
	only to those ordained clerics,	48:34
	the professional ones who speak.	48:36
	But laity are never to speak, much less shout.	48:39
	The silence of the church.	48:46
	We like our churches, I hope you like yours.	48:47
	I love mine in all of its liturgical beauty.	48:50
	But isn't there something in us	48:53
	that cries out for something more?	48:55
	Avery and Marsh wrote a song about Pentecost	49:01
	entitled, "If There Is A Holy Spirit"	49:05
	The refrain of that song is,	49:09
	If there is a Holy Spirit,	49:11
	if there is a Heavenly Dove,	49:13
	I would like to see it and hear it	49:16
	changing this whole world with love.	49:18
	All the old religion has burned out in me	49:22
	all the wide-eyed wonder of my youth,	49:26
	God relight the light that was turned out in me,	49:29
	give me back some joy, hope and truth.	49:34
	Lots of what the church does seems like a game to me	49:39
	with the same group playing all the time	49:44
	everything they do seems much too tame for me	49:47
	Like a pleasant Christmas pantomime.	49:51
	Take away the doubts that toss and turn in me	49:56
	and give me answers I can use right now.	49:59
	Let the brilliant flame of passion burn in me,	50:03
	Oh God, descend or arise in me somehow.	50:07
	If there is a Holy Spirit,	50:12
	if there is a heavenly dove,	50:14
	I would like to see it and hear it	50:16
	changing the my world with love.	50:20
	No, the church cannot be ultimately born	50:24
	in silence but in noise.	50:28
	The noises of Pentecost: Wind, Fire,	50:32
	and speech.	50:37
	This is the way in which the church was born,	50:39
	this is the way that the world was born,	50:41
	it's the way, in which we were born	50:44
	and it is the way in which we will be born again.	50:47
	When my son my smallest son,	50:51
	my youngest son Benjamin was born	50:54
	I was able to be in the delivery room.	50:57
	I remember the sounds of new birth, do you?	51:01
	The sound of screams of one in pain,	51:05
	the encouraging sounds of a devoted husband	51:11
	to count and to breathe.	51:15
	The sounds of a staff in encouraging, "Push now, push!"	51:18
	The shriek of joy, of wonder and maybe some fear	51:24
	when I head appeared.	51:29
	The sound of a baby crying into a new world.	51:32
	The sound of those were gathered outside and whom I've met.	51:37
	I remember the sounds of birth,	51:42
	something new and exciting is happening	51:44
	and I remember well when my son Benjamin	51:49
	first said Mama and Dada	51:53
	and it was as if when he spoke that and we responded,	51:58
	a whole new world opened up for him.	52:01
	A world formed by language, by speech, forming community.	52:05
	I believe people, that as we give speech	52:12
	to that which has happened within us,	52:17
	our world will no longer be characterized by Babel	52:20
	that was read about in the Old Testament,	52:24
	but by Jerusalem of the New Testament,	52:27
	forming the church, creating community,	52:31
	giving witness to the spirit, the spirit of God within us.	52:35
	It can happen, can you hear it?	52:40
	(church organ music)	52:56
	(chorus and congregation singing)	53:21
Preacher	The Lord be with you.	55:20
Congregation	And also with you.	55:23
-	Let us pray.	55:24
	When the day of Pentecost had come	55:26
	they were all together in one place	55:28
	and all of the many foreigners heard the witnesses	55:31
	speaking in their own tongue.	55:33
	(congregation responds)	55:36
	Speak in the language of our need,	55:43
	let us hear how our deepest hungers, desires and aspirations	55:46
	can be fulfilled by your goodness and in your service.	55:50
	(congregation responds)	55:56
	Speak in the language of our fear,	56:02
	let us hear, however, worries about the future	56:04
	and about each other and about ourselves	56:07
	can find rest your providential care.	56:10
	(congregation responds)	56:14
	Speak in the language of our guilt,	56:20
	let us hear how our confessed shame for wrong things done	56:23
	and good things undone is covered by your forgiveness.	56:28
	(congregation responds)	56:32
	Speak in the language of our gratitude,	56:38
	let us hear how our honest thanks relates us,	56:41
	not only to those with whom we live,	56:45
	but also to you, the Lord and giver of life.	56:47
	(congregation responds)	56:52
	Speak to us in the language of joy,	56:58
	let us hear how our gladness and our delight,	57:00
	not only brighten this world,	57:03
	but honor you who made the world.	57:05
	(congregation responds)	57:09
	Speak to us in the language of hope,	57:14
	let hear how our yearning and our expectations	57:17
	are not just wishful thinking but responses to your promise.	57:21
	(congregation responds)	57:26
	And now, in thanksgiving and in celebration	57:46
	that the holy spirit is truly in our midst,	57:48
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	57:50
	You may be seated.	57:54
	(church organ music)	58:08
	(choir singing)	58:16
	Oh God, you have spoken	1:04:18
	and we have received the gift of life.	1:04:19
	You have opened your hand and we have been fed.	1:04:23
	You have touched with fire	1:04:26
	and our tongues have been loosened to sing your praise.	1:04:28
	You have opened the ears of your people	1:04:31
	and barriers to understanding how come tumbling down.	1:04:34
	we thank you, oh God, for all you have bestowed upon us	1:04:38
	and now we offer you these gifts in return.	1:04:42
	Take our offerings, our witness, our lives	1:04:45
	to benefit all your Human family.	1:04:48
	May your glory be known among us and in all the world.	1:04:51
	This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ	1:04:55
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	1:04:58
All	Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name.	1:05:00
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:05:05
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	1:05:07
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:05:10
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:05:13
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:05:15
	Lead us not into temptation but deliver Us from evil,	1:05:18
	for thine is the kingdom	1:05:23
	the power and the glory forever, amen.	1:05:24
	And now go forth in peace and be of good courage,	1:05:30
	hold fast that which is good,	1:05:34
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit	1:05:37
	and may the blessings of God the father, Son and Holy Spirit	1:05:40
	be with you all Now and forever more, amen.	1:05:44
	(Church organ music)	1:05:51
	(congregation and choir singing)	1:05:58

Item Info

Title:

Eugene Taylor Sutton - "Quiet! The Church Is Being Born" (May 19, 1991)

Description:

The Church has a habit of prefering silence and order to the noise and chaos of Pentecost. Yet it is this excitement, stoked by the flames of the Holy Spirit, that gave the Church its birth. Perhaps we should listen more carefully for it and join in. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 28:29. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 52:45.
Key quotation: “Can the church be born in the midst of this confusion, of this noise? The point I’m making in all of this is that the church was born in the midst of noise and confusion, not decently and in order.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4804z122

Date:

May 19, 1991

Speaker:

Sutton, Eugene Taylor

Liturgical Calendar:

Pentecost

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0232
ref8943_poy
uachapelsermaud
duke:321524
dcrmv001222
ark:/87924/r4804z122
8210a624-8017-4aae-83b9-c39b6c6af1a7

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

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