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

Item Info

Title:

Elizabeth Achtemeier - "Contingency, Chaos, and Christ" (June 23, 1991)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 12:57. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 30:16.
Although we live in a world of seeming chaos, we live in a world that God created with deliberate and careful intention. As such, we should be comforted that God does care and will calm the world if we are truly in danger. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “God cares desperately that we not be overwhelmed and done to death by darkness and evil and the terrible failures and disorders of our lives.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4j38kz53

Date:

June 23, 1991

Speaker:

Achtemeier, Elizabeth, 1926-2002

Liturgical Calendar:

Pentecost

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0237
ref8958_jsy
uachapelsermaud
duke:321480
dcrmv001227
ark:/87924/r4j38kz53
60e7e3d4-f80a-4342-bbee-91fbd6500bcd

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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