Elizabeth Achtemeier - "Contingency, Chaos, and Christ" (June 23, 1991)
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(church organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Welcome to this service at Duke University Chapel | 1:06 |
on this fifth Sunday after Pentecost. | 1:09 | |
We are grateful to Mrs. Sylvia Arnett | 1:12 | |
a gifted musician and the president of the congregation | 1:15 | |
here at Duke Chapel for serving as lector. | 1:19 | |
Our preacher is the Reverend Doctor Elizabeth Achtemeier, | 1:23 | |
a frequent guest preacher at Duke Chapel. | 1:26 | |
She is a noted Old Testament theologian, | 1:31 | |
author, and preacher, currently teaching | 1:34 | |
at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. | 1:37 | |
It is a pleasure to have Mrs. Achtemeier | 1:42 | |
again with us here at Duke Chapel. | 1:45 | |
Will you stand for the greeting? | 1:49 | |
Behold now is the acceptable time. | 1:57 | |
Behold now is the day of salvation. | 2:01 | |
Congregation | Great is God | 2:06 |
and greatly to be praised; | 2:07 | |
all the ends of the earth know God's name. | 2:09 | |
- | We have heard and seen God's steadfast love | 2:13 |
in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us. | 2:17 | |
Congregation | Through Christ we are reconciled to God, | 2:22 |
Who does not count our trespasses against us. | 2:25 | |
- | Come then, rejoicing and praising God | 2:29 |
in awe and wonder | 2:33 | |
and faith. | 2:35 | |
Congregation | The storms of life cannot destroy | 2:37 |
our Savior's peace, be still. | 2:39 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 2:45 | |
♪ Praise my soul ♪ | 3:20 | |
♪ The King of Heaven ♪ | 3:22 | |
♪ To the throne ♪ | 3:26 | |
♪ Thy tribute bring ♪ | 3:28 | |
♪ Ransomed, healed ♪ | 3:32 | |
♪ Restored, forgiven ♪ | 3:34 | |
♪ Evermore God's ♪ | 3:37 | |
♪ Praises sing ♪ | 3:40 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:42 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:45 | |
♪ Praise the ♪ | 3:48 | |
♪ Everlasting King ♪ | 3:49 | |
♪ Praise God for the ♪ | 3:56 | |
♪ Grace and favor ♪ | 3:59 | |
♪ To all people ♪ | 4:03 | |
♪ In distress ♪ | 4:06 | |
♪ Praise God still the same as ever ♪ | 4:09 | |
♪ Slow to chide and swift to bless ♪ | 4:14 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:20 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:23 | |
♪ Glorious in God's ♪ | 4:25 | |
♪ Faithfulness ♪ | 4:28 | |
♪ Father-like God tends ♪ | 4:34 | |
♪ And spares us ♪ | 4:38 | |
♪ Well our feeble frame ♪ | 4:42 | |
♪ God knows ♪ | 4:45 | |
♪ In His hands ♪ | 4:47 | |
♪ God gently bears us ♪ | 4:49 | |
♪ Rescues us from ♪ | 4:53 | |
♪ All our foes ♪ | 4:56 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:59 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:01 | |
♪ Widely yet ♪ | 5:04 | |
♪ God's mercy flows ♪ | 5:06 | |
♪ Angels in the height ♪ | 5:48 | |
♪ adore Him ♪ | 5:51 | |
♪ You behold God ♪ | 5:55 | |
♪ Face-to-face ♪ | 5:58 | |
♪ Saints triumphant ♪ | 6:01 | |
♪ Bow before Him ♪ | 6:04 | |
♪ Gathered in ♪ | 6:07 | |
♪ From every race ♪ | 6:09 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 6:13 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 6:16 | |
♪ Praise with us ♪ | 6:20 | |
♪ The God of ♪ | 6:22 | |
♪ Grace ♪ | 6:25 | |
- | Oh God of the high and the lowly, | 6:33 |
the ruler and the beggar, | 6:36 | |
the saint and the sinner, | 6:38 | |
enfold us today in Your compassionate love | 6:40 | |
and unfailing mercy as we worship and praise You. | 6:44 | |
We rejoice that You challenge us by Your strong | 6:49 | |
yet gentle, divine spirit. | 6:53 | |
How great You are, oh God. | 6:55 | |
Before Your majesty we are astonished and contrite. | 6:59 | |
Draw us now to Yourself and to each other | 7:03 | |
so that we might be renewed in every way. | 7:07 | |
In Christ's name we pray. | 7:11 | |
Amen. | 7:14 | |
You may be seated. | 7:16 | |
- | Let us pray. | 7:29 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God | 7:31 | |
by the power of Your Holy Spirit, | 7:35 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed | 7:37 | |
we might hear with joy what You say to us this day. | 7:41 | |
Amen. | 7:46 | |
The first reading is taken from the Second Book of Samuel. | 7:48 | |
Then all the tribes of Israel came | 7:52 | |
to David at Hebron and said, | 7:55 | |
Look, we are your bone and flesh. | 7:57 | |
For some time while Saul was king over us | 8:00 | |
it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. | 8:03 | |
The Lord said to you, | 8:07 | |
it is you who shall be the shepherd of my people Israel, | 8:08 | |
you who shall be ruler over Israel. | 8:12 | |
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron | 8:16 | |
and king David made a covenant with | 8:20 | |
them at Hebron before the Lord. | 8:22 | |
And they anointed David king over Israel. | 8:24 | |
David was 30 years old when he began to reign, | 8:28 | |
and he reigned 40 years. | 8:32 | |
At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, | 8:34 | |
and at Jerusalem he reigned over all | 8:38 | |
Israel and Judah 33 years. | 8:41 | |
The king and his men marched to | 8:44 | |
Jerusalem against the Jebusites, | 8:46 | |
the inhabitants of the land who said to David, | 8:49 | |
you will not come in here. | 8:52 | |
Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, | 8:54 | |
thinking David cannot come in here. | 8:57 | |
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, | 9:00 | |
which is now the City of David. | 9:04 | |
David had said on that day, | 9:06 | |
whoever would strike down the Jebusites, | 9:08 | |
let him get up the water shaft | 9:11 | |
to attack the lame and the blind, | 9:13 | |
those whom David hates. | 9:15 | |
Therefore, it is said the blind and the lame | 9:17 | |
shall not come into the house. | 9:20 | |
David occupied the stronghold | 9:22 | |
and named it the City of David. | 9:24 | |
David built the city all around from the Millo inward | 9:26 | |
and David became greater and greater, | 9:30 | |
for the Lord, the God of Hosts was with him. | 9:32 | |
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David | 9:37 | |
along with cedar trees, and carpenters, | 9:39 | |
and masons who built David a house. | 9:42 | |
David then perceived that the Lord had established him | 9:45 | |
king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom | 9:49 | |
for the sake of his people Israel. | 9:53 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 9:56 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 9:58 |
- | This reading is from Paul's Second | 10:01 |
Letter to the Corinthians. | 10:03 | |
All this is from God who reconciled us | 10:07 | |
to Himself through Christ | 10:11 | |
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. | 10:13 | |
That is in Christ, God was reconciling the world | 10:17 | |
to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, | 10:21 | |
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. | 10:25 | |
So we are ambassadors for Christ, | 10:30 | |
since God is making his appeal through us. | 10:32 | |
We entreat you on behalf of Christ, | 10:36 | |
be reconciled to God. | 10:38 | |
For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, | 10:41 | |
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. | 10:46 | |
As we work together with him we urge you also | 10:50 | |
not to accept the Grace of God in vain. | 10:53 | |
For he says, at an acceptable time I have listened to you, | 10:56 | |
and on a day of salvation I have helped you. | 11:00 | |
See now is the acceptable time. | 11:04 | |
See now is the day of salvation. | 11:08 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 11:12 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 11:14 |
- | Before I read the gospel lesson, | 11:29 |
just let me say what a pleasure it is | 11:31 | |
once again to be with you | 11:34 | |
and to worship with you in this church. | 11:36 | |
Our Gospel lesson is taken from the fourth chapter | 11:41 | |
of the Gospel According to Mark beginning of the 35th verse. | 11:43 | |
On that day when evening had come Jesus said to them, | 11:49 | |
let us go across to the other side. | 11:53 | |
And leaving the crowd the disciples took Jesus with them | 11:56 | |
just as he was in the boat, | 11:59 | |
and other boats were with him. | 12:02 | |
And a great storm of wind arose | 12:05 | |
and the waves beat into the boat | 12:07 | |
so that the boat was already filling. | 12:08 | |
But Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion. | 12:12 | |
And they woke him and said to him, | 12:15 | |
Teacher, do you not care if we perish? | 12:16 | |
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, | 12:21 | |
Peace, be still. | 12:24 | |
And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. | 12:28 | |
And Jesus said to them, why are you afraid? | 12:32 | |
Have you no faith? | 12:35 | |
And they were filled with awe and said to one another, | 12:38 | |
Who then is this that even wind | 12:42 | |
and sea obey him? | 12:45 | |
This is the Word of the Lord. | 12:48 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 12:50 |
- | We live in a contingent universe. | 12:57 |
That is, it is dependent on something outside of itself | 13:02 | |
for its beginning and continuing existence. | 13:05 | |
Now, we do not think about that very often, of course. | 13:08 | |
For us, our world and our universe | 13:11 | |
are just givens that are there. | 13:14 | |
And to our minds they work quite automatically. | 13:16 | |
Everything moves along by natural law, | 13:21 | |
enclosed in a system that is self-sustained. | 13:24 | |
So it has always been, we feel, and so it will always be. | 13:28 | |
But how did it all get started? | 13:34 | |
And what preserves and holds our universe together? | 13:37 | |
Our scientists tell us that it is most probable | 13:43 | |
that everything started with one big bang. | 13:46 | |
From an infinite concentration of matter | 13:50 | |
our universe exploded outward to form | 13:53 | |
the stars, and the planets, | 13:55 | |
and the world as we now know it. | 13:57 | |
And the universe is still expanding. | 13:59 | |
But there are amazing facts that are | 14:02 | |
known to us about that first big bang. | 14:05 | |
For example, if the early rate of expansion | 14:08 | |
had been less by even one part in a thousand-billion, | 14:12 | |
the universe would've collapsed again | 14:17 | |
before temperatures had fallen below 10,000 degrees. | 14:19 | |
Or on the other hand, if the rate had been greater | 14:24 | |
by a part-in-a-million the universe would've | 14:26 | |
expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form. | 14:28 | |
Or also if the strong nuclear force in the initial explosion | 14:33 | |
had been slightly weaker we would've | 14:37 | |
had only hydrogen in the universe. | 14:39 | |
Or if it had been slightly stronger | 14:43 | |
there would be only helium. | 14:45 | |
In other words simply amazing events have taken place | 14:47 | |
to form this good green Earth as we know it. | 14:51 | |
And I suppose we could say that all took place by chance. | 14:56 | |
Heaven knows we cannot prove anything. | 14:59 | |
But as biologist Lewis Thomas once said, | 15:03 | |
it is absurd to say that a place like this, | 15:06 | |
like this Earth, is absurd, | 15:09 | |
that it is all the result of | 15:13 | |
chance happenings and meaningless. | 15:15 | |
Look at the world around us. | 15:19 | |
We are surrounded of billions of different forms of life, | 15:21 | |
each one in its own way perfect, | 15:25 | |
and all linked together to form a pulsating ongoing chain | 15:28 | |
of vital existence and growth and change. | 15:32 | |
And I think we have to ask | 15:35 | |
did that all take place by chance? | 15:36 | |
Some months ago I had the privilege of holding | 15:41 | |
my one-day-old grandson in my arms. | 15:45 | |
And as I looked at that tiny boy | 15:50 | |
I was simply overcome with wonder. | 15:52 | |
From the love of our daughter and her husband | 15:55 | |
and one tiny fertilized egg there now lay | 15:58 | |
in my arms a wiggling human being. | 16:01 | |
With every tiny fingernail formed | 16:05 | |
and every tiny toe in place, | 16:08 | |
with little lips and tongue | 16:11 | |
that knew instinctively how to suck, | 16:13 | |
and little vocal cords that could produce a wail. | 16:16 | |
Was he all the product of chance? | 16:21 | |
The automatic conglomeration of atoms? | 16:24 | |
No I do no think so, | 16:29 | |
anymore than I think that each one of you, | 16:31 | |
with your distinctive voice and features | 16:33 | |
and fingerprints are the products of chance. | 16:35 | |
Rather the Bible tells us that you and I | 16:39 | |
and the marvel of this universe | 16:42 | |
are the result of the creation of God. | 16:43 | |
Of God creating order out of chaos. | 16:47 | |
In the beginning God, that is Genesis, Confession of Faith. | 16:50 | |
Everything came forth from God. | 16:56 | |
And so now we walk on His earth, and we breath His oxygen, | 16:59 | |
and our heart pumps its steady | 17:05 | |
rhythm by muscles that He made. | 17:07 | |
In the beginning there was nothing, says the Biblical faith; | 17:11 | |
void, darkness, non-life. | 17:13 | |
And the Hebrew mind equated that | 17:17 | |
nothingness with evil and with death | 17:20 | |
because God is the God of life, | 17:23 | |
and good, and light, and power. | 17:25 | |
There was nothing but it is very hard | 17:28 | |
to talk about nothing, isn't it? | 17:30 | |
And so the Bible put it in the form of a symbol. | 17:34 | |
It said that that nothingness in the beginning | 17:37 | |
before creation was simply chaos; | 17:40 | |
chaotic waters, oceans, sea, | 17:44 | |
with nothing but the Spirit of God | 17:48 | |
blowing over the surface of the waters. | 17:50 | |
And then Genesis says God created everything | 17:53 | |
by bringing order into the chaos. | 17:56 | |
God put checks on the chaotic waters, | 17:59 | |
and instead of their darkness created light. | 18:02 | |
God bound the chaos | 18:06 | |
and instead of its turbulence brought forth order. | 18:07 | |
In place of the evil of chaos God created the world good. | 18:12 | |
In place of the death of chaos | 18:17 | |
God made Earth's swarming life, and you and me. | 18:18 | |
And you see all of that is not intended | 18:23 | |
by the Biblical writers to be a scientific statement. | 18:25 | |
Rather it is a confession of faith, | 18:29 | |
a confession that this wondrous universe is not a chance | 18:33 | |
and meaningless happening in the history of the cosmos, | 18:37 | |
but rather that it has behind its existence | 18:42 | |
a creator God of purpose and of love. | 18:44 | |
God intended the universe, God intended you and me. | 18:48 | |
In the beginning God, | 18:54 | |
He created it all in place of chaos. | 18:57 | |
Now I tell you all of this because it is | 19:03 | |
the background of the story in Mark | 19:05 | |
that we read for our gospel lesson this morning. | 19:07 | |
In that story Jesus and his disciples | 19:11 | |
are crossing the Sea of Galilee. | 19:13 | |
Jesus is asleep in the stern of the boat | 19:17 | |
when a storm arises and the chaotic waters | 19:19 | |
threaten to swamp the boat and drown them all. | 19:22 | |
And what does Jesus do according to Mark? | 19:26 | |
Well, he awakes and rebukes the sea. | 19:29 | |
He says to the chaotic waters threatening their lives, | 19:33 | |
Peace, be still. | 19:36 | |
And the storm immediately subsides | 19:40 | |
and the disciples ask in wonder, | 19:42 | |
who is this that even wind and sea obey him? | 19:45 | |
Who is this, dear friends, who stills the chaotic waters | 19:51 | |
that threaten all of creation? | 19:55 | |
Well, who was it who put checks | 19:59 | |
and guards on chaos in the first place? | 20:01 | |
It was God, wasn't it? | 20:04 | |
The creator God. | 20:07 | |
And so Mark is telling us here in our Gospel story | 20:09 | |
that that man in that boat with all of those | 20:12 | |
frightened disciples is not just | 20:14 | |
some human prophet from Galilee. | 20:17 | |
He is the Son of God through whom all things were made, | 20:20 | |
and his power is the power of the very creator | 20:26 | |
who in the beginning called forth our universe. | 20:29 | |
Now I wonder if you remember, however, | 20:34 | |
the question that the frightened disciples | 20:36 | |
asked Jesus before he stilled the storm. | 20:38 | |
Lord, they shouted at him over | 20:40 | |
the sound of the wind as they woke him up, | 20:42 | |
do you not care that we perish? | 20:44 | |
And though Jesus rebuked his disciples | 20:49 | |
for their lack of faith, it is clear that he cared | 20:51 | |
and he still cares very much. | 20:54 | |
As some of you know our scientists also tell us | 20:59 | |
that it is impossible to determine how the | 21:01 | |
electrons in this universe are going to act. | 21:04 | |
If you know the position of an electron | 21:08 | |
you cannot calculate its velocity. | 21:10 | |
But if you know the velocity of its movement | 21:13 | |
you cannot tell where it will end up. | 21:16 | |
And when I hear all of that my naive | 21:18 | |
imagination starts to run wild. | 21:20 | |
Great Scott, I think to myself. | 21:23 | |
What holds everything together? | 21:25 | |
What if everything starts to disintegrate? | 21:30 | |
What if there are no constants? | 21:33 | |
What if the electrons up there in the roof of this building | 21:36 | |
suddenly forget where they are going? | 21:40 | |
What if, as Yates said, things fall apart, | 21:44 | |
the center cannot hold? | 21:47 | |
What if? | 21:48 | |
But God, you see, | 21:51 | |
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit | 21:55 | |
conquered the chaos in the beginning. | 21:56 | |
And by His faithful care He still holds it in check. | 22:00 | |
And so not only the beginning | 22:05 | |
but now even the very structure of our world | 22:07 | |
is dependent on His faithfulness. | 22:10 | |
And because He cares for each one of us, | 22:13 | |
seed time and harvest, cold and heat, | 22:15 | |
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. | 22:18 | |
And the stars will all follow their accustomed orbits. | 22:22 | |
And the flowers will still bloom in Duke Gardens. | 22:26 | |
As G.K. Chesterton once poetically expressed it, | 22:31 | |
the sun doesn't rise by natural law, | 22:34 | |
it rises because God says get up and do it again. | 22:36 | |
Or let's put it in the words of Colossians; | 22:42 | |
all things hold together in Christ. | 22:45 | |
He cares for us, dear friends. | 22:49 | |
He does not wish us to perish. | 22:50 | |
And so he gives us this wondrous world to live in, | 22:54 | |
and then he preserves and sustains its order | 22:58 | |
and light and life, day and night without ceasing. | 23:00 | |
Now the Bible uses our figure | 23:07 | |
of chaos in other ways, however. | 23:08 | |
It not only talks about God holding chaos in check | 23:12 | |
to create and sustain our universe, | 23:15 | |
but it also uses the figure of chaos | 23:17 | |
to symbolize the disorder in our personal and public lives. | 23:20 | |
What is chaos according to the scriptures? | 23:25 | |
Well, in the Book of Job, it is the void of meaninglessness | 23:29 | |
over which Job's life dangles in his suffering. | 23:33 | |
Or it is the pathless waste through which | 23:37 | |
the nations of the world wander | 23:40 | |
in their affairs without wisdom and guidance. | 23:42 | |
In the Prophets, chaos is a symbol of the powerlessness | 23:46 | |
and delusion of those who worship false gods. | 23:49 | |
Or it is a figure of life that brings no result, | 23:53 | |
of life lived apart from all truth and purpose. | 23:57 | |
And I think we all sometimes know | 24:01 | |
those kinds of chaos in our lives, do we not? | 24:03 | |
When our days and labors make no sense, | 24:08 | |
and our existence seems like just one big evil joke. | 24:10 | |
I once drove behind a young woman in a red convertible | 24:15 | |
who had that one word on her bumper sticker, chaos. | 24:18 | |
And I was not sure if that was the name of a new rock group | 24:23 | |
or her personal confession about her life; | 24:26 | |
that it was chaos. | 24:30 | |
But certainly we know what the word means | 24:33 | |
at all those times when everything seems to fall apart. | 24:35 | |
Shall we say, when the divorce becomes final | 24:40 | |
and our life seems nothing but failure? | 24:42 | |
Or perhaps when we have made a whole string of bad decisions | 24:47 | |
or when our kids are making theirs. | 24:51 | |
Or is it two weeks after the funeral | 24:54 | |
when we cannot seem to get organized | 24:57 | |
and loneliness sits in our living rooms? | 24:59 | |
Chaos. | 25:03 | |
How right the Bible is when it says | 25:06 | |
that without God the chaos can come again. | 25:07 | |
It comes time and again into our troubled lives. | 25:10 | |
But in the midst of those times | 25:15 | |
we should remember our gospel lesson. | 25:17 | |
Over against the chaos that threatens us so often | 25:21 | |
there is that figure in the boat on the Sea of Galilee | 25:24 | |
who says to the chaotic waves and storm, peace be still. | 25:27 | |
There is God, the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, | 25:33 | |
who conquered the chaos when He created our world, | 25:36 | |
and who can conquer it still. | 25:39 | |
Indeed, says our Epistle lesson, God in Christ | 25:44 | |
can conquer all of the forces of chaos daily. | 25:46 | |
He can make of our jumbled lives brand new creations. | 25:50 | |
If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. | 25:55 | |
The old has passed away, behold the new has come. | 26:00 | |
In Christ there can be once again | 26:06 | |
goodness and order, light and life, | 26:08 | |
just as there was at the original creation of the world | 26:10 | |
when God said, let it be, | 26:13 | |
and all the morning starts sang together. | 26:16 | |
The story is told of the great 18th century | 26:21 | |
Lutheran scholar Johann Albrecht Bengel, | 26:24 | |
to whom we owe the foundations of modern | 26:28 | |
New Testament textual criticism. | 26:30 | |
Bengel was a professor in charge of a theological | 26:33 | |
training school at Denkendorf, Germany. | 26:36 | |
But one day when he fell seriously ill | 26:41 | |
he sent for a theological student at the school | 26:43 | |
to give him a word of consolation. | 26:46 | |
But the youth came and he said, | 26:48 | |
oh sir, I'm but a pupil, a mere learner. | 26:49 | |
I don't know what to say to a great teacher like you. | 26:53 | |
What? Said Bengel. | 26:56 | |
A divinity student and not able to | 26:58 | |
communicate a word of scriptural comfort? | 27:00 | |
Whereupon the flustered student | 27:05 | |
managed to stutter out a Biblical sentence, | 27:06 | |
the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, | 27:09 | |
cleanses us from all sin. | 27:11 | |
Ah, sighed Bengel, that is the very word I want. | 27:14 | |
It is quite enough. | 27:20 | |
Lord, do you not are if we perish? | 27:24 | |
Oh yes good Christians, he cares desperately, | 27:28 | |
that we not be overwhelmed and done to death | 27:31 | |
by darkness and evil, | 27:34 | |
and the terrible failures and disorders of our lives. | 27:37 | |
And so God was in Christ reconciling the world | 27:42 | |
to Himself not counting our trespasses against us, | 27:45 | |
taking them all, all upon himself, | 27:50 | |
and nailing them to a cross, | 27:53 | |
and then burying them, defeating them, | 27:56 | |
rising triumphant over them, | 27:58 | |
and giving you and me a new beginning, | 28:00 | |
as if we were brand new creations of our loving creator God. | 28:04 | |
And so what is there to fear, good Christians? | 28:10 | |
What is there to fear if we trust Him? | 28:15 | |
In the words of the Psalmist, God is our refuge and strength | 28:19 | |
the very present help in trouble. | 28:22 | |
Therefore we will not fear though the Earth should change, | 28:24 | |
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. | 28:28 | |
In other words, though all chaos, the chaotic waters, | 28:33 | |
threaten to overwhelm and destroy us. | 28:37 | |
What is there to fear? | 28:41 | |
Nothing at all. | 28:43 | |
Because we have a God who made the world in the beginning, | 28:46 | |
and who endowed it with life and light | 28:50 | |
and order and goodness, | 28:52 | |
who now maintains the stars and their courses | 28:55 | |
and sends His rain to water the earth, | 28:58 | |
who feeds the thrush that sings in the willow tree, | 29:01 | |
and clothes the lilies of the field | 29:05 | |
in a glory exceeding Solomon's, | 29:07 | |
who gives the work of day and the rest of night | 29:11 | |
and brings forth each new generation, | 29:14 | |
who numbers the very hairs on our heads | 29:18 | |
and knows when one sparrow falls to Earth. | 29:21 | |
And the same faithful God in Christ | 29:26 | |
who created it all in the beginning | 29:29 | |
and who sustains it all by His care, | 29:32 | |
now says to the chaotic storms in our lives, | 29:35 | |
Peace, be still. | 29:38 | |
And He pours out His love upon us from a cross, | 29:42 | |
and He rises triumphant over all of our evil. | 29:45 | |
And He can make us new creations by His love | 29:50 | |
offered at His table. | 29:54 | |
All because, you see, He does care, | 29:58 | |
and He does not wish us to perish. | 30:01 | |
No friends, there is nothing to fear. | 30:05 | |
Nothing at all if we trust Him. | 30:09 | |
Amen. | 30:14 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 30:29 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 30:31 |
- | Let us pray. | 30:32 |
Oh transforming God, our strength and our salvation. | 30:36 | |
Your love to us is more gracious than we can ask or think. | 30:41 | |
You call us from our many places | 30:47 | |
to find courage and strength in You. | 30:49 | |
You invite us to places beyond where we are, | 30:53 | |
to those noble places far beyond where we have been. | 30:56 | |
We confess, oh righteous God, | 31:02 | |
that before You we understand who we are, | 31:04 | |
sinners in need of your redeeming love. | 31:08 | |
Too often we have deceived ourselves | 31:12 | |
claiming that we are good when there is no goodness in us, | 31:15 | |
claiming that we are mighty when | 31:20 | |
we are lowly in thought and deed. | 31:22 | |
Claiming that we are less than we are, | 31:26 | |
limiting our power because | 31:28 | |
of our fear and weakness. | 31:31 | |
Summons us from our self-abasement and self-interest | 31:35 | |
to a life concerned with more than our own pleasures, | 31:39 | |
with more than our own greed, | 31:43 | |
with more than our own conflicts, | 31:46 | |
with more than our own securities. | 31:49 | |
Grant that we may see ourselves and others in this moment | 31:53 | |
with Your eyes of mercy and compassion. | 31:57 | |
Jolt us, | 32:02 | |
jar us, | 32:03 | |
amaze us and save us | 32:05 | |
from ourselves and the evil around us. | 32:07 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 32:12 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 32:14 |
- | Oh God of understanding, | 32:16 |
Your son became human walking among us, | 32:18 | |
breaking the bread of affliction | 32:22 | |
and drinking deep of a cup of despair. | 32:24 | |
Our suffering and pain is also Your pain, Your suffering. | 32:28 | |
Because You share our lives, our joys, and our sorrows, | 32:33 | |
help us to reach out and touch those people of the world | 32:37 | |
who are in binding circumstances, | 32:41 | |
in chaotic confusion, and physical distress. | 32:44 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 32:48 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 32:50 |
- | Oh God of suffering, | 32:52 |
may we acknowledge that our ministry | 32:54 | |
of reconciliation comes from Christ, | 32:56 | |
the one who knew no sin, | 32:59 | |
the one who teaches us the way to claim | 33:01 | |
Your gift of grace at work within us. | 33:04 | |
Confront us with the one whom even the wind | 33:08 | |
and the sea obey. | 33:11 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 33:13 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 33:15 |
- | We pray for those afraid because | 33:17 |
of illness and physical pain, | 33:19 | |
for those afraid of growing old, | 33:22 | |
of growing useless, and of being disabled. | 33:24 | |
Grant that they may live accepting the grace | 33:28 | |
that You give them day-by-day, year-by-year. | 33:31 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 33:36 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 33:38 |
- | We pray for those who are afraid of the political | 33:40 |
and economic instability of our world, | 33:43 | |
for those who have lost homes and jobs, | 33:46 | |
lost a sense of worth, | 33:49 | |
lost hope for improvement in their human lot. | 33:51 | |
Oh God give them hope in themselves and in You, | 33:55 | |
their only hope of deliverance. | 33:59 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 34:02 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 34:04 |
- | For those who cry to You as if | 34:06 |
You did not care for creation and all that is in it. | 34:08 | |
Show us that You bring peace and order | 34:12 | |
in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. | 34:15 | |
Enable us to accept the gift of Your power | 34:18 | |
and presence when all else seems futile. | 34:21 | |
Fill us with awe and wonder at Your almighty power. | 34:25 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 34:30 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 34:33 |
- | Shatter our fear, take all of our doubts, | 34:34 |
and transform them into an abiding faith | 34:37 | |
which can withstand the misery | 34:41 | |
and the pain in our uncertain existence. | 34:43 | |
Lord, in Your mercy. | 34:47 | |
Congregation | Hear our prayer. | 34:49 |
- | May we be reconciled to You, oh God | 34:51 |
praising Your name and proclaiming that You are God, | 34:54 | |
now and forever more. | 34:57 | |
Amen. | 35:00 | |
And now will you stand and offer each other | 35:03 | |
signs of God's peace and reconciliation. | 35:05 | |
(congregation murmuring) | 35:15 | |
Because we are people of faith | 35:28 | |
and because we care about those | 35:30 | |
who are lost in our world we bring our gifts | 35:32 | |
and in so doing we join together in the ministry | 35:35 | |
of reconciliation throughout our world. | 35:38 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 35:45 | |
(choir jubilantly singing) | 37:06 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 40:09 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 41:07 | |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 41:14 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:21 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:24 | |
♪ Praise Him above thee heavenly hosts ♪ | 41:29 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 41:35 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:42 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:45 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:49 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:52 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 41:56 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 42:08 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 42:10 |
- | Lift up your hearts. | 42:11 |
Congregation | We lift up them up to the Lord. | 42:13 |
- | Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. | 42:15 |
Congregation | It is right to give our thanks and praise. | 42:17 |
- | It is right and a good and joyful thing always | 42:21 |
and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, | 42:24 | |
creator of Heaven and Earth. | 42:27 | |
We have pondered Your steadfast love, oh God, | 42:29 | |
in the midst of Your sanctuary. | 42:33 | |
As Your name, oh God, so Your praise | 42:35 | |
reaches to the ends of the earth. | 42:38 | |
When we had gone astray and were lost in our ways, | 42:40 | |
when our lives were empty and dreary, | 42:44 | |
You reconciled us to Yourself by Your gift of Christ, | 42:47 | |
and made us ambassadors of Your good news for humankind. | 42:52 | |
And so with all Your people on Earth | 42:57 | |
and all the company of Heaven we praise Your name | 42:59 | |
and join their unending hymn. | 43:03 | |
(organ music) | 43:05 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 43:15 | |
♪ Lord God of power and might ♪ | 43:20 | |
♪ Heaven and Earth are full of Your glory ♪ | 43:24 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 43:29 | |
♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord ♪ | 43:34 | |
♪ Hosanna ♪ | 43:41 | |
♪ In the highest ♪ | 43:44 | |
- | Holy are You and blessed is Your Son, Jesus Christ, | 43:53 |
who became one with us that we might know Your presence | 43:56 | |
all the days of our lives. | 44:00 | |
Christ weaves, in our ordinary lives, the extraordinary, | 44:03 | |
bringing peace to us in a world beyond our chaos. | 44:07 | |
You made him, who knew no sin, oh God, to be sin for us, | 44:11 | |
that we, who knew no righteousness, | 44:16 | |
might be made righteous through him. | 44:18 | |
In his will is our peace. | 44:21 | |
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, | 44:24 | |
he took bread, gave thanks to You, broke the bread, | 44:27 | |
gave it to his disciples and said, | 44:30 | |
take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. | 44:32 | |
Do this in remembrance of me. | 44:36 | |
When the supper was over he took the cup, | 44:39 | |
gave thanks to You, gave it to his disciples and said, | 44:42 | |
drink from this all of you. | 44:45 | |
This is my blood of the new covenant, | 44:47 | |
poured out for you and for many | 44:49 | |
for the forgiveness of sins. | 44:51 | |
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. | 44:54 | |
And so in remembrance of these, | 44:59 | |
Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, | 45:01 | |
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving | 45:03 | |
as a holy and living sacrifice | 45:07 | |
in union with Christ's offering for us | 45:10 | |
as we proclaim the mystery of faith. | 45:12 | |
♪ Christ has died ♪ | 45:26 | |
♪ Christ is risen ♪ | 45:28 | |
♪ Christ will come again ♪ | 45:30 | |
- | Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here | 45:37 |
and on these gifts of bread and wine. | 45:41 | |
Make them be for us the Body and the Blood of Christ, | 45:44 | |
that we may be for the world, | 45:47 | |
the Body of Christ redeemed by his blood. | 45:49 | |
By Your Spirit make us one with Christ, | 45:53 | |
one with each other, and one in ministry | 45:56 | |
to all the world until Christ comes in final victory | 45:58 | |
and we feast at his heavenly banquet. | 46:02 | |
Through Your son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, | 46:06 | |
and Your holy church all honor and glory is Yours | 46:08 | |
Almighty God, now and forever. | 46:12 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 46:26 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 46:28 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 46:31 | |
- | And now with the confidence of children of God, | 46:39 |
let us pray. | 46:42 | |
Congregation | Our Father who art in Heaven, | 46:44 |
hallowed be Thy name. | 46:46 | |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, | 46:49 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 46:52 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 46:55 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 46:57 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 47:00 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 47:03 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 47:05 | |
for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 47:08 | |
and the glory forever and ever. | 47:10 | |
Amen. | 47:13 | |
- | When we break the bread, | 47:17 |
is it not a means of sharing in the Body of Christ? | 47:18 | |
When we give thanks over the cup, | 47:26 | |
is it not a means of sharing in the Blood of Christ? | 47:28 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 47:51 | |
(choir singing) | 48:17 | |
- | Eternal God, you are Lord of Heaven and Earth. | 55:31 |
You stretch out Your strong arms with unfailing love. | 55:36 | |
The cross of Your Son is stamped | 55:40 | |
upon every loaf of bread, every glass of wine, | 55:42 | |
giving to us nourishment of body and gladness of spirit. | 55:46 | |
May we be faithful to You as You are faithful to us, | 55:51 | |
sharing Your grace with all humankind. | 55:56 | |
And now go out into this world, a world that is frightening. | 56:01 | |
But be of good cheer, God is your strength. | 56:05 | |
Go out into the world abounding in God's gracious love. | 56:09 | |
Rejoice for God is your salvation. | 56:13 | |
Go out into the world to live for peace and righteousness. | 56:17 | |
For God's goodness and peace | 56:21 | |
are from everlasting to everlasting. | 56:24 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 56:27 | |
and of the Holy Spirit. | 56:29 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 56:42 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 56:44 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 56:46 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 56:52 | |
♪ Hail thou once despised Jesus ♪ | 57:39 | |
♪ Hail thou Galilean ♪ | 57:45 | |
♪ King ♪ | 57:49 | |
♪ Thou didst suffer to release us ♪ | 57:51 | |
♪ Thou didst free salvation ♪ | 57:56 | |
♪ Bring ♪ | 58:01 | |
♪ Hail thou universal savior ♪ | 58:02 | |
♪ Who has borne our sin and shame ♪ | 58:08 | |
♪ By thy merits we find favor ♪ | 58:13 | |
♪ Life is given through thy name ♪ | 58:19 | |
♪ Paschal lamb by God ♪ | 58:27 | |
♪ Appointed ♪ | 58:31 | |
♪ All our sins on thee ♪ | 58:33 | |
♪ Were laid ♪ | 58:37 | |
♪ By almighty love ♪ | 58:39 | |
♪ Anointed ♪ | 58:43 | |
♪ Thou hast full atonement ♪ | 58:45 | |
♪ Made ♪ | 58:49 | |
♪ Every sin may be ♪ | 58:50 | |
♪ Forgiven ♪ | 58:54 | |
♪ Through the virtue of thy ♪ | 58:56 | |
♪ Blood ♪ | 59:00 | |
♪ Opened is the gate of ♪ | 59:02 | |
♪ Heaven ♪ | 59:06 | |
♪ Reconciled are we ♪ | 59:07 | |
♪ With God ♪ | 59:11 | |
♪ Jesus hail enthroned ♪ | 59:16 | |
♪ In glory ♪ | 59:20 | |
♪ There forever to ♪ | 59:21 | |
♪ Abide ♪ | 59:25 | |
♪ All the heavenly hosts adore ♪ | 59:28 | |
♪ Thee ♪ | 59:32 | |
♪ Seated at thy Father's ♪ | 59:33 | |
♪ Side ♪ | 59:38 | |
♪ There for sinners thou art pleading ♪ | 59:39 | |
♪ There thou dost our place prepare ♪ | 59:44 | |
♪ Thou for saints art interceding ♪ | 59:50 | |
♪ Till in glory they ♪ | 59:56 | |
♪ Appear ♪ | 1:00:00 | |
♪ Worship, honor, power, ♪ | 1:00:05 | |
♪ And blessing ♪ | 1:00:08 | |
♪ Christ is worthy to ♪ | 1:00:10 | |
♪ Receive ♪ | 1:00:14 | |
♪ Loudest praises, ♪ | 1:00:16 | |
♪ Without ceasing ♪ | 1:00:19 | |
♪ Right it is for us ♪ | 1:00:22 | |
♪ To give ♪ | 1:00:26 | |
♪ Help ye bright angelic ♪ | 1:00:28 | |
♪ Spirits ♪ | 1:00:33 | |
♪ Bring your sweetest, ♪ | 1:00:34 | |
♪ Noblest lays ♪ | 1:00:37 | |
♪ Help to sing of ♪ | 1:00:40 | |
♪ Jesus' merits ♪ | 1:00:43 | |
♪ Help to chant ♪ | 1:00:46 | |
♪ Emmanuel's ♪ | 1:00:49 | |
♪ Praise ♪ | 1:00:52 | |
(organ music) | 1:00:59 |