William H. Willimon - "Divine Divestment" (October 13, 1991) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

(reverent organ music)

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Good morning and welcome to this service

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of worship here in Duke Chapel.

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All of today's offering has been designated

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by the Duke Campus Ministry Committee

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to go to victims of the fire

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in Hamlet, North Carolina.

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We urge you to give generously

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to those victims and their families.

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Also, call your attention to various activities

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this week here in Duke Chapel.

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Thursday there will be a vigil

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in front of the chapel at 11 p.m.

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Wednesday, if you're on campus,

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our lunchtime concerts have become a popular

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way to take a break during the day.

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Also, this Sunday we began a three week series

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on Sunday mornings beginning at 9:45

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on anger and spiritual growth

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with professor Miram Anne Glover-Weatherington

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of the Duke Divinity School,

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and you're invited to participate in that series

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on Sunday mornings.

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And now let us stand for the greeting.

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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Congregation

And also with you.

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William

The risen Christ is with us.

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Congregation

Risen is the Lord.

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(reverent organ music)

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♪ O worship the King ♪

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♪ All glorious above ♪

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♪ And gratefully sing ♪

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♪ God's power and God's love ♪

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♪ Our Shield and Defender ♪

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♪ The Ancient of Days ♪

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♪ Pavilioned in splendor ♪

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♪ And girded with praise ♪

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♪ O tell of God's might ♪

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♪ O sing of God's grace ♪

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♪ Whose robe is the light ♪

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♪ Whose canopy space ♪

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♪ Whose chariots of wrath ♪

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♪ The deep thunderclouds form ♪

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♪ And dark is God's path ♪

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♪ On the wings of the storm ♪

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♪ The earth with its store ♪

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♪ Of wonders untold ♪

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♪ Almighty, Thy power ♪

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♪ Hath founded of old ♪

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♪ Established it fast ♪

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♪ By a changeless decree ♪

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♪ And round it hath cast ♪

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♪ Like a mantle, the sea ♪

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♪ Thy bountiful care ♪

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♪ What tongue can recite ♪

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♪ It breathes in the air ♪

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♪ It shines in the light ♪

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♪ It streams from the hills ♪

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♪ It descends to the plain ♪

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♪ And sweetly distills ♪

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♪ In the dew and the rain ♪

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♪ Frail children of dust ♪

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♪ And feeble as frail ♪

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♪ In Thee do we trust ♪

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♪ Nor find Thee to fail ♪

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♪ Thy mercies how tender ♪

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♪ How firm to the end ♪

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♪ Our maker, defender, ♪

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♪ Redeemer, and friend ♪

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Let us join together in prayer.

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Gracious and holy God,

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we come to you because you have first come to us.

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We know you because you have revealed yourself.

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Give us in this morning hour of worship

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a sense of your spirit breathing through us.

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Lift our hearts with the wings of song.

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Heal our souls with the balm of prayer.

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Enliven our minds with the words

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of scripture and interpretation.

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And newly enable us to dedicate our strength,

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our substance, and our service to your work in the world.

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We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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You may be seated.

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Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.

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All

Open our hearts and minds, O God,

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by the power of your holy spirit,

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so that as the word is read and proclaimed

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we might hear with joy

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what you say to us this day, amen.

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The first reading is taken

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from the third chapter of Genesis.

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"They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden

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"at the time of the evening breeze.

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"And the man and his wife hid themselves

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"from the presence of the Lord God

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"among the tress of the garden.

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"But the Lord God called to the man and said to him,

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"'Where are you?'

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"He said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,

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"'and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.'

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"He said, 'Who told you that you were naked?

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"'Have you eaten from the tree

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"'of which I commanded you not to eat?'

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"The man said, 'The woman, whom you gave to be with me,

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"'she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.'

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"Then the Lord said to the woman,

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"'What is this that you have done?'

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"The woman said, 'The serpent tricked me, and I ate.'

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"The Lord God said to the serpent,

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"'Because you have done this,

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"'cursed are you among all animals,

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"'and among all wild creatures.

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"'Upon your belly you shall go,

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"'and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

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"'I will put enmity between you and the woman,

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"'and between your offspring and hers.

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"'He will strike your head

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"'and you will strike his heel.'

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"To the woman, he said, 'I will greatly increase

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"'your pangs in childbearing,

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"'in pain you shall bring forth children,

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"'yet your desire shall be for your husband,

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"'and he shall rule over you.'

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"And to the man he said, 'Because you have listened

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"'to the voice of your wife,

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"'and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you,

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"'you shall not eat of it.

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"'Cursed is the ground because of you.

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"'In toil you shall eat of it

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"'all the days of your life.

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"'Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.

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"'And you shall eat the plants of the field.

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"'By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,

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"'until you return to the ground,

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"'for out of it you were taken.

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"'You are dust, and to dust you will return.'"

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This is the word of the Lord.

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All

Thanks be to God.

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The congregation will please sing responsively

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Psalm number 90, verses one through 12,

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found on page 809 in the hymnal.

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Please stand for the singing of the song.

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(reverent organ music)

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♪ Lord you have been our dwelling place ♪

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♪ In all generations ♪

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♪ Before the mountains were brought forth ♪

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♪ Or ever you had formed the Earth and the world ♪

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♪ From everlasting to everlasting, you are God ♪

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♪ You turn us back to the dust ♪

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♪ And say turn back, O mortal ones ♪

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♪ For a thousand years in your sight ♪

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♪ Are like yesterday when it is past ♪

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♪ Or as the watch in the night ♪

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♪ You sweep them away ♪

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♪ They are like a dream ♪

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♪ Like grass which is renewed in the morning ♪

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♪ In the morning it flourished and is renewed ♪

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♪ In the evening it fades and withers ♪

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♪ For we are consumed by your anger ♪

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♪ By your wrath we are overwhelmed ♪

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♪ You have set our iniquities before you ♪

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♪ Our secret sins in the light of your countenance ♪

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♪ For all our days pass away under your wrath ♪

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♪ Our years come to an end like a sigh ♪

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♪ The days of our life are threescore and ten ♪

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♪ But if in the strong they be fourscore ♪

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♪ Even then their span is only toil and trouble ♪

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♪ They are soon gone, and we fly away ♪

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♪ Who considers the power of your anger ♪

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♪ The awesomeness of your wrath ♪

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♪ So teach us to number our days ♪

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♪ That we may receive a heart of wisdom ♪

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♪ O glory be to you creator ♪

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♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪

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♪ And to the Holy Spirit, the trinity ♪

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♪ As it was ere time began ♪

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♪ Is now and will be forevermore ♪

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The second reading is from the Epistle to the Hebrews.

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"Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest

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"is still open, let us take care

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"that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

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"For indeed, the good news came to use just as to them.

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"But the message they heard did not benefit them,

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"because they were not united by faith

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"with those who listened.

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"For we who have believed enter that rest,

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"just as God has said, 'As in my anger I swore

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"'they shall not enter my rest.'

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"Though his works were finished

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"at the foundation of the world."

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This is the word of the Lord.

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All

Thanks be to God.

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(tender organ music)

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♪ Lord, thou hast been our refuge ♪

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♪ From one generation to another ♪

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♪ Oh God ♪

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♪ Our help ♪

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♪ In ages past ♪

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♪ Before the mountains were brought forth ♪

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♪ Or ever the earth and the world were made ♪

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♪ Thou are God ♪

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♪ From everlasting ♪

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♪ And world without end ♪

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♪ Thou turnest man to destruction ♪

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♪ Again thou sayest ♪

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♪ Come again ♪

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♪ Ye children of man ♪

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♪ For a thousand years in thy sight ♪

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♪ Are but as yesterday ♪

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♪ Seeing as that is past ♪

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♪ As a watch in the night ♪

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♪ As soon as though scatterest them ♪

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♪ They are even as asleep ♪

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♪ And fade away ♪

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♪ Suddenly ♪

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♪ Like the grass ♪

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♪ In the morning ♪

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♪ It is green ♪

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♪ And groweth up ♪

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♪ But in the evening ♪

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♪ It is cut down ♪

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♪ And withered ♪

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♪ For we consume away ♪

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♪ In thy displeasure ♪

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♪ And are afraid at thy ♪

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♪ Wrathful indignation ♪

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♪ For when thou art angry ♪

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♪ All our days are gone ♪

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♪ We bring our years to an end ♪

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♪ As a tale that is told ♪

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♪ The years of our age ♪

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♪ Are threescore years and ten ♪

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♪ And though men be so strong ♪

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♪ That they come to fourscore years ♪

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♪ Yet is their strength but labor and sorrow ♪

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♪ So passeth it away ♪

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♪ And we are gone ♪

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♪ Turn thee again, O Lord ♪

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♪ At the last ♪

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♪ Be gracious ♪

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♪ Unto thy servants ♪

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♪ Be gracious unto ♪

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♪ Thy servants ♪

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♪ O satisfy us ♪

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♪ With thy mercy ♪

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♪ And that soon ♪

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♪ So shall we rejoice and be glad ♪

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♪ All the days ♪

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♪ All the days ♪

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♪ Of our lives ♪

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(reverent organ music)

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♪ Lord ♪

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♪ Thou has been our refuge ♪

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♪ From one generation to another ♪

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♪ Before the mountains were brought forth ♪

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♪ Or ever the earth and the world were made ♪

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♪ Thou art God ♪

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♪ From everlasting ♪

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♪ And world without end ♪

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♪ And the glorious majesty ♪

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♪ Of the Lord be upon us ♪

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♪ Prosper though, O prosper though ♪

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♪ Prosper though, O prosper though ♪

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♪ O prosper though ♪

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♪ Prosper though ♪

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♪ O prosper though ♪

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♪ O prosper though ♪

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Hear the Gospel.

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"As he was heading out on a journey,

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"a man ran up and knelt before him and asked,

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"'Good teacher, what must I do

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"'to inherit eternal life?'

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"And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good?

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"'No one is good but God alone.

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"'You know the commandments, do not kill,

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"'do not commit adultery, do not steal,

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"'do not bear false witness, do not defraud,

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"'honor your father and your mother.'

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"And he said, 'Teacher, all of these

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"'have I observed from my youth.'

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"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him,

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"and said to him, 'You lack one thing.

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"'Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor.

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"'And you will have treasure in heaven.

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"'Come, follow me.'

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"At that saying his countenance fell.

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"And he went away sorrowful,

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"because he had great possessions.

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"And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,

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"'How hard it will be for those who have riches

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"'to enter the kingdom of God.'

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"And the disciples were amazed at his words,

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"but Jesus said to them again,

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"'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God,

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"'it is easier for a camel

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"'to go through the eye of a needle,

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"'than for a rich one to enter the kingdom of God.'

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"They were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,

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"'Well then who can be saved?'

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"Jesus looked at them and said,

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"'Our people, it is impossible.

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"'But not with God, for all things are possible with God.'"

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This is the word of the Lord.

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All

Thanks be to God.

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-

The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard,

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returned home from a grand church service one Sunday morning

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and wrote with disgust of what happened there.

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"In the magnificent cathedral,

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"the Honorable and Right Reverend Geheime-General

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"Ober-Hof Pradikant, the elect favorite

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"of the fashionable world,

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"appears before an elect company

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"and preaches with great emotion upon a text

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"that he himself hath selected.

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"Quote, 'God hath elected the base things of the world,

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"'and the things that are despised.'

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"And nobody laughs."

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Today I am to preach on Mark 10:17-27,

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the story of Jesus and the rich man.

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Now, Rick Lischer, Professor of Preaching

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at the Divinity School was supposed to preach on this text.

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I thought that I had written him a letter

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asking him to preach on this text.

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Three weeks ago Rick told me that he had not heard about it,

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that he had not received a letter from me,

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and that he was planning to go to his

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40th high school reunion.

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But, of course, that's no excuse.

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He was supposed to preach on this text.

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So I had to leave a beach house

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and get into my $15,000 car

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and drive to my $150,000 home

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to preach to you on this text.

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And I am wondering when I am done

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if anybody will laugh.

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Let us first put this episode with Jesus in proper context.

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Jesus has just blessed the children.

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We read about that last week.

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Jesus one day was lecturing to his people on theology,

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everybody trying to pay attention,

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everybody taking notes.

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And his disciples said, "Jesus, send these

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"children away, we cannot pay attention."

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Someone had pulled somebody's hair,

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someone was rolling with someone else

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in the dirt behind them.

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"Jesus, send these children away

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"so that we can pay attention."

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You remember what Jesus did on that occasion?

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He reached out into the crowd and he took a child

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and pulled the child up front next to him

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and he blessed the child.

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He put the child in the midst of them.

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In other words, these small, helpless,

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ignorant, dependent, vulnerable, dependent little child,

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the one whom we place at the margins

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of our great society,

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Jesus put in the middle of them.

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We tend to put children out on the fringes

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of our society, we marginalize them.

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After all they are unproductive,

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they are dependent, they are vulnerable.

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We have progressed in this society to the point

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where we treat our very old and our very young

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in exactly the same way.

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We institutionalize them.

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Where we pay people to look after them

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because they are not productive,

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they have no place in this society.

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They are, dependent,

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needy, small.

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And the curious thing that day

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was that Jesus took those whom we put out

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on the fringe of our society,

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and put them right in the middle of his disciples.

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Those whom we regard as a distraction

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from paying attention to the really

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important things of life,

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Jesus put in the midst of his disciples

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as a kind of last ditch effort

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to get us to pay attention.

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It's as if Jesus wanted to say

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you want to get into my kingdom,

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well the only way to get into my kingdom

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is to be very, very small.

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Only children get into my kingdom.

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The small, the little, the vulnerable,

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the needy, the dependent.

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There are gonna be no adults in my kingdom,

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they'll be no self-sufficient, autonomous, liberated

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independent adults, there'll just be these children.

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Let the children come to me, this is the kingdom.

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Here is a kingdom with a very small door.

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At any rate, my point is that Jesus

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has just shocked his disciples

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by pulling a child out of the crowd

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and putting the child in the midst of them.

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Now, as fate would have it that episode is followed

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by another in which an anything

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but weak, needy, dependent, small child

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comes forth to Jesus.

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Mark says that the person who came to Jesus that day

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was a rich man.

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Matthew, when he tells this story,

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says that he was a young, rich man.

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Luke says that he was a ruler.

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But all three gospels, when they describe this event,

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they all agree on one thing,

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that whether he was a ruler or whether he was young,

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they all agree he was rich.

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And this rich young man comes up to Jesus

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saying that he wants some of this eternal life,

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which Jesus has to offer.

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Evidently, despite the fact that he has achieved

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and gotten so much in life,

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he doesn't have eternal life.

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And so he asked Jesus, "Jesus, what have I got to do

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"to inherit eternal life?"

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Note what he's asking, what must I do.

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Evidently this young man had been very good at his doing.

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Eternal life is just another way of saying

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kingdom of God in Mark's Gospel.

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How can I, what do I need to do

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to get into your kingdom?

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Asked this young man who has been so successful

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at getting into the world's kingdoms.

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And Jesus responds, "You want to get into this kingdom,

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"well it's just simple, it's simple.

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"All you gotta do is to obey all the commandments of God.

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"Don't worship anything but God,

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"don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie,

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"don't be envious of anything your neighbor's got.

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"Stuff like that, that's all you gotta do."

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Now, I've always expected that invoking

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the anything but simple to follow commandments,

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maybe Jesus expected this high achiever to recoil

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and say something like, "Oh gosh Jesus,

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"when you put it like that, I mean why should I be going

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"out looking for other stuff to do

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"when I've already been such a failure

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"at doing all that other stuff about religion

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"that I knew about before."

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But I told you this young man was a success.

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He's ah- he's a hardcore success.

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So he replied, "Hey Jesus, I've done all that stuff

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"since I was a kid in Sunday school."

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Evidently this young man is a bigger success

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than even Jesus thought.

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Because he's not only been successful at getting

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material stuff, but he's been very successful

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at getting ethical religious stuff.

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He is a success at religion.

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Now I think in the context of that day

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his success in keeping the Ten Commandments

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would not have come as a great surprise

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to the audience gathered there.

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After all, he's rich.

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And because he's rich this means that's he got plenty

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of free time on his hands to be religious.

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If he wants to study the Bible

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and what the Bible commands,

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he's got enough free time to do it.

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If he wants to take off a weekend

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and go out on a religious retreat

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and think religious thoughts, he can spare the time.

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He can afford it.

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And no wonder that the Bible rather uniformly teaches

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that rich people have been blessed by God.

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Their material well-being is a concrete sign

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that God has blessed them.

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Very well remember, years ago one of the first

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churches I served, I was urging this woman

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to become more active in the church.

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"Come to church more often," I said.

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And she told me, "Preacher, I work six days a week,

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"10 hours a day as a waitress.

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"And on many Sunday mornings I hurt so bad

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"I can't get out of bed and come to church."

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Then very embarrassingly she told me,

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"There are many Sundays that my feet are so swollen

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"I can't get into my Sunday shoes.

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"And I don't want to be embarrassed at church."

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Because they thought that rich people were blessed

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with enough free time to afford to be religious,

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to obey the Bible, to hire expensive psychotherapists

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to help them with their problems,

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to pay expensive tuition and come to great universities,

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and ponder the great mysteries of life

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and to examine their lives.

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You can imagine their shock

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when they are told by Jesus,

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when he turns to this spiritually and materially successful

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young man and says, "So you've succeeded

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"in obeying the Ten Commandments, well, great.

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"Then let me ask you to do just one teeny weeny

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"more little thing for God, okay.

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"Go, sell everything you've got,

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"give it to the poor.

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"Come follow me and you'll be in the kingdom."

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To everybody's amazement, Jesus considered

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this young man's wealth and privilege

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not as a sign of divine favor

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but as a great big problem.

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Strip down, raffle your Porsche,

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liquidate your portfolio, break free, cut it loose.

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Give it to the poor.

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In other words, strip down, throw away your crutches.

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Become weak, little, small, poor, vulnerable.

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Because didn't I say earlier you cannot get in here

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unless you're a little child?

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Didn't I tell you this kingdom

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has a very, very small door?

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And with that, Mark says this rich young man

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slumped down and got real depressed.

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And he slinked back into his Porsche and he drove away.

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You see this is a call story.

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This is a call story, it's very similar

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to many of the other call stories in Mark.

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Someone here is being called to be a disciple,

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to come follow me.

42:38

Somebody's being invited to join up with Jesus.

42:40

Interestingly enough, in those stories of Jesus

42:45

calling an invitation in Mark,

42:49

people thus far have come forward and followed.

42:52

But in this story, the young man walks away.

42:57

And the story says he walks away because he's rich.

43:04

And as he's walking away Jesus turns around to his disciples

43:11

and he says, around the disciples, the church, us,

43:14

and he says, "Man, it is hard to get one of these rich ones

43:20

"in to my kingdom, it is hard."

43:25

One of the disciples said, "Well how hard is it, Jesus?"

43:28

And he said, "It's hard, it is hard.

43:31

"In fact I would say it is just about as hard

43:35

"to get one of these rich people in my kingdom

43:37

"as it is to ... to shove a camel

43:39

"through they eye of a needle.

43:45

"It's that hard."

43:46

Now can you see why I wanted Rick Lischer

43:51

to preach on this text, today?

43:53

Because of course, by the standards of that world,

43:57

no by the standards of this world, we're rich.

44:02

You know where we would find our place in this story.

44:09

We are the rich young man walking away.

44:12

He is us all over.

44:18

Anuradhi Vittachi in his book, "Earth Conference One,"

44:25

asked us, in order to picture the economic condition

44:31

of the world, he asked us to picture ourselves

44:34

as members of a village that has 100 families.

44:37

He says, "If this metaphorical village

44:43

"consists of 100 families,

44:46

"65 of those families cannot read.

44:51

"Some 80 families have no members of their families

44:55

"who have ever flown in aeroplanes.

44:59

"And 75 have no drinking water at home.

45:03

"About 60 families occupy only 10% of the village.

45:09

"While just seven own 60% of all the land in the village.

45:16

"And only one family out of 100

45:24

"has anyone in the family with a university education."

45:29

This rich young man is us all over.

45:39

By the way, I really wish I could help you with this text

45:44

about easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle

45:46

than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

45:49

I wish I could help you with this,

45:51

I wish I could tell you that you take the word,

45:53

the word for camel here and you change one letter

45:55

in the original and it's rope.

45:58

No, I mean besides it wouldn't be that easy

46:02

to get a rope through the eye of a needle anyway.

46:05

Around the 9th century there was some creative

46:09

homiletician who said that there was a gate,

46:11

a very narrow gate in Jerusalem,

46:15

and so Jesus isn't talking about an actual eye of a needle,

46:17

he's talking about this narrow gate

46:20

that was called The Eye of the Needle.

46:22

No, there is no such gate in Jerusalem.

46:26

I am sure that was the invention

46:31

of a preacher like me, who back in the 9th century

46:33

had to preach this text to a congregation like us.

46:39

So the disciples spoke for us all

46:44

when they said to Jesus, "God, who can be saved?"

46:47

And Jesus replies, "It's hard, it's just, it's hard.

46:53

"It's impossible for rich people

47:00

"to enter God's kingdom."

47:03

But then Jesus follows up,

47:08

"You know, I'd say it's impossible

47:09

"for anybody to enter the kingdom.

47:11

"Just impossible."

47:16

But with a twinkle in his eye he says,

47:20

"With God, on the other hand,

47:22

"everything is possible."

47:25

Just in you case you watched that previous episode

47:31

with Jesus blessing the little children.

47:33

Asking these little children to come follow him,

47:37

just in case you thought that following Jesus

47:39

was something nice and sweet and easy,

47:40

Mark tells us this story.

47:46

We can only come to Jesus as a small, weak, needy,

47:50

little child.

47:53

There's nothing sweet or easy about it, it's hard.

47:57

And as a preacher I must fight my inclination

48:03

to make this thing sound easy.

48:06

It's hard, as Jesus says,

48:09

in fact come to think of it, it's impossible.

48:11

Then Jesus says, "With God,

48:14

"with God even this is possible."

48:16

It is even possible for someone who is rich

48:22

to divest and get into the kingdom.

48:24

And I don't know whether this is good news or bad.

48:30

'Cause Jesus has clearly taught that you can't

48:36

get in this kingdom, this kingdom of the small door,

48:38

unless you're small and needy and weak

48:40

and vulnerable and empty handed.

48:42

How can we get in this kingdom

48:47

when we're all grown up and self-sufficient,

48:48

and autonomous, and well to do,

48:50

and we've scored high on the SAT?

48:52

Jesus says, "Well...

48:56

"Well, with God it's uh- it's possible."

48:58

That is with God it is possible

49:04

that given enough time and enough life

49:06

it is even possible that we will get stripped down,

49:08

made small, impoverished, divested.

49:14

With God, that's possible?

49:19

We have been initiated into the world's kingdoms.

49:27

The hymns that we sing are "I'm just a material girl,"

49:32

or "It's money that matters."

49:36

It is very tough for us to even imagine the possibility

49:42

that it might be possible for us to let go,

49:46

throw away our crutches, strip down,

49:49

and wrench our fingers off that grip

49:55

of those things to which we so ruthlessly cling.

49:58

But with God, Jesus promises, it just may be possible.

50:04

And I don't know whether this is

50:09

a promise by Jesus, or a threat.

50:11

As we go through life accumulating our things

50:17

and getting our advanced degrees

50:21

and earning our salaries and driving our cars

50:22

and paying our mortgages, we just better look back

50:24

over our shoulder,

50:26

'cause just when we get all secure and set up

50:30

and fixed and insured,

50:32

well there may just be that old pursuer behind us

50:37

ready to jump us.

50:39

To divest us.

50:42

'Cause with God, it's possible.

50:46

After I have spiritualized this text,

50:53

rationalized it, there it sits in the corner

50:55

just grinning and staring at me.

50:57

And we all exclaim, "It's hard!"

51:03

Who can be saved, and the text say oh well it's,

51:09

it's possible.

51:14

It's possible.

51:18

She went to Honduras with the Duke Chapel mission work team

51:21

on a spring break.

51:24

She went down to Honduras to help the poor in Honduras.

51:26

She spent her spring break living with

51:31

this poor family down there,

51:33

sleeping on this dirt floor at night,

51:34

living up in the hills in a little hut

51:36

without electricity, without running water.

51:39

In the evenings, she loved to sit with the family

51:43

around the fire and they would sing

51:47

and they would tell stories.

51:52

She was in a family where the elders

51:57

were cherished and honored.

51:59

And the little ones were adored.

52:02

When she got back on campus she said,

52:08

"That family made me think of my family.

52:10

"Compared with that poor family in Honduras

52:17

"my family is dysfunctional."

52:20

"I wonder why it is we have so much

52:26

and yet so little of what really matters."

52:31

Isn't that odd, she went to Honduras to help the poor,

52:37

and she got help.

52:43

She went down there rich,

52:46

she came back poor.

52:50

Which I guess is good news.

52:55

'Cause Jesus says nobody who's rich and big

52:59

can get into his kingdom.

53:01

With God, even the impossible is possible.

53:07

Or is this bad news?

53:13

You make the call.

53:16

C.S. Lewis once noted that,

53:21

"Now all things are possible.

53:24

"All things are possible,

53:27

"it is even possible to get a large camel

53:29

"through the small eye of a needle.

53:35

"That's possible.

53:39

"But it will be extremely hard on the camel."

53:44

(congregation laughing)

53:49

(reverent organ music)

53:54

♪ What does the Lord require ♪

54:22

♪ For praise and offering ♪

54:26

♪ What sacrifice, desire ♪

54:31

♪ Or tribute did you bring ♪

54:35

♪ Do justly, love mercy ♪

54:40

♪ Walk humbly with your God ♪

54:45

♪ Rulers of earth, give ear ♪

54:51

♪ Should you not justice know ♪

54:55

♪ Will God your pleading hear ♪

55:00

♪ While crime and cruelty grow ♪

55:04

♪ Do justly, love mercy ♪

55:09

♪ Walk humbly with your God ♪

55:15

♪ Masters of wealth and trade ♪

55:21

♪ For whom you work and toil ♪

55:25

♪ Think not to win God's aid ♪

55:29

♪ If be your commerce soiled ♪

55:34

♪ Do justly, love mercy ♪

55:39

♪ Walk humbly with your God ♪

55:44

♪ How shall our lives fulfill ♪

55:51

♪ God's law so hard and high ♪

55:55

♪ Let Christ endue our will ♪

55:59

♪ With grace to fortify ♪

56:03

♪ Then justly, in mercy ♪

56:08

♪ We'll humbly walk with God ♪

56:14

-

The Lord be with you.

56:27

Congregation

And also with you.

56:29

-

Let us pray, you may be seated.

56:30

O God, amid the toil and troubles of life

56:41

we admit that we focus too much on ourselves

56:46

and things we can accumulate.

56:50

We are puffed up with our accomplishments

56:53

and pride of success.

56:56

We consider ourselves righteous,

56:59

but our hearts are hardened.

57:02

Truly we are like the rich man

57:05

who turned away from Jesus

57:07

because the cost of discipleship was just too high.

57:09

We cling to our possessions,

57:15

but our spiritual lives are bankrupt.

57:17

Reveal our poverty and spiritual emptiness to us,

57:21

that we might turn toward you

57:26

and become as children, small, needy,

57:29

vulnerable, dependent.

57:34

For truly we can do nothing apart from you,

57:37

and our salvation is as hard for us to accomplish

57:41

as for a camel to go through they eye of a needle.

57:45

There would be no hope for us

57:49

were we left to our own power,

57:52

possessions, intelligence, and righteousness.

57:54

But we give you thanks that through your grace

58:00

all things are possible,

58:03

even for such a stiff-necked and prideful people as us.

58:05

Teach us, Lord, to live like children,

58:11

open-hearted, trusting, giving,

58:15

absolutely dependent upon you.

58:19

For you remind us that Christ is the champion of the small.

58:22

That the last will become first,

58:27

and the first will become last.

58:29

Those whom we have marginalized and considered least

58:32

are first in your concern.

58:36

We pray that you would make them first in our concern,

58:39

that you would open our eyes and hearts

58:43

to see and respond to their needs.

58:46

The children who are abused and neglected.

58:50

The elderly who are forgotten and devalued.

58:54

The poor in our inner cities and rural areas

58:58

who are scorned and feared.

59:03

The sick who are considered expendable

59:06

and a drain on resources.

59:09

Those in third world countries who are labeled second-class,

59:12

and used to meet our insatiable material desires.

59:16

O God, teach us to care for all those

59:22

who are small and marginalized,

59:25

for to such belong the kingdom of God.

59:28

And when we turn toward you as the small and vulnerable,

59:32

when we put you first in our lives,

59:36

then we will know that you can accomplish

59:39

what is impossible by our own efforts.

59:42

Then we will know that even when life is difficult

59:46

salvation has come and enteral life is a reality.

59:50

For this we give you thanks and praise,

59:56

through Jesus Christ our Lord who has come

59:59

that even we might have eternal life, amen.

1:00:02

With gladness let us present the offerings

1:00:11

of our life and labor to the Lord.

1:00:13

(soft organ music)

1:00:22

(reverent organ music)

1:00:45

♪ We praise thee, O God ♪

1:00:52

♪ We acknowledge thee ♪

1:00:57

♪ To be the Lord ♪

1:01:01

♪ All the earth doth worship thee ♪

1:01:06

♪ The Father everlasting ♪

1:01:14

♪ To thee all angels cry aloud ♪

1:01:21

♪ The heavens, and all powers therein ♪

1:01:28

♪ To thee Cherubin and Seraphin ♪

1:01:35

♪ Continually do cry ♪

1:01:41

♪ Holy ♪

1:01:46

♪ Holy ♪

1:01:50

♪ Holy ♪

1:01:54

♪ Lord God of Sabbath ♪

1:01:59

♪ Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty ♪

1:02:09

♪ Of thy glory ♪

1:02:15

♪ The glorious company of the Apostles ♪

1:02:25

♪ Praise thee ♪

1:02:31

♪ The goodly fellowship of the Prophets ♪

1:02:35

♪ Praise thee ♪

1:02:40

♪ The noble army of martyrs ♪

1:02:44

♪ Praise thee ♪

1:02:48

♪ The holy Church throughout all the world ♪

1:02:49

♪ Doth acknowledge thee ♪

1:02:55

♪ The Father ♪

1:02:59

♪ Of an infinite majesty ♪

1:03:04

♪ Thine honorable true ♪

1:03:10

♪ And only Son ♪

1:03:15

♪ Also the Holy Ghost ♪

1:03:20

♪ The comforter ♪

1:03:25

♪ Thou art the King of Glory ♪

1:03:53

♪ O Christ ♪

1:03:56

♪ Thou art the everlasting Son ♪

1:04:03

♪ Of the Father ♪

1:04:06

♪ When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man ♪

1:04:13

♪ Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb ♪

1:04:18

♪ When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death ♪

1:04:22

♪ Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven ♪

1:04:29

♪ To all believers ♪

1:04:33

♪ Thou sittest at the right hand of God ♪

1:04:37

♪ In the glory of the Father ♪

1:04:40

♪ We believe that thou shalt come ♪

1:04:47

♪ To be our Judge ♪

1:04:51

♪ We therefore pray thee, help thy servants ♪

1:04:55

♪ Whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood ♪

1:05:00

♪ Make them to be numbered with thy Saints ♪

1:05:05

♪ In glory ♪

1:05:10

♪ Everlasting ♪

1:05:18

♪ O Lord, save thy people ♪

1:05:33

♪ And bless thine heritage ♪

1:05:39

♪ Govern them ♪

1:05:46

♪ And lift them up for ever ♪

1:05:48

♪ Day by day ♪

1:05:53

♪ We magnify thee ♪

1:05:57

♪ And we worship thy name ♪

1:06:01

♪ Ever world without end ♪

1:06:05

♪ Vouchsafe, O Lord ♪

1:06:13

♪ To keep us this day ♪

1:06:18

♪ Without sin ♪

1:06:24

♪ O Lord, have mercy upon us ♪

1:06:29

♪ Have mercy upon us ♪

1:06:37

♪ O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us ♪

1:06:42

♪ As our trust is in thee ♪

1:06:53

♪ O Lord ♪

1:07:01

♪ In thee ♪

1:07:06

♪ Have I trusted ♪

1:07:09

♪ Let me never ♪

1:07:18

♪ Be confounded ♪

1:07:21

♪ Let me never be confounded ♪

1:07:30

(reverent organ music)

1:07:53

♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪

1:08:46

♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪

1:08:53

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

1:08:59

♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪

1:09:06

♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪

1:09:13

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

1:09:19

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

1:09:25

♪ Hallelujah ♪

1:09:31

-

Let us pray.

1:09:44

God of the rich and the poor,

1:09:46

lift us from our limited views of faithfulness.

1:09:50

Free us from our dependence on things

1:09:54

so we can move from living protectively

1:09:58

to sharing without counting the cost.

1:10:01

Remind us that all that we have

1:10:04

and all that are comes from you.

1:10:08

May we give not for reward

1:10:11

but in joyous thanksgiving.

1:10:14

Now let us pray together the prayer Jesus taught us.

1:10:18

All

Our father, who art in heaven,

1:10:22

hallowed be thy name.

1:10:25

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

1:10:27

on Earth as it is in heaven.

1:10:30

Give us this day our daily bread,

1:10:32

and forgive us our trespasses,

1:10:35

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

1:10:38

Lead us not into temptation,

1:10:41

but deliver us from evil.

1:10:44

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

1:10:46

and the glory forever, amen.

1:10:49

-

God promises eternal life as a gift,

1:10:54

not as a status we can earn.

1:10:57

With God, all things are possible.

1:11:00

Let us go forth as children with Christ,

1:11:04

rejoicing in the power and goodness of God.

1:11:07

And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

1:11:12

and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

1:11:14

be with you all.

1:11:18

♪ Amen ♪

1:11:22

♪ Amen ♪

1:11:30

♪ Amen ♪

1:11:36

♪ Amen ♪

1:11:46

(reverent organ music)

1:12:03

♪ Our God, our help in ages past ♪

1:12:27

♪ Our hope for years to come ♪

1:12:32

♪ Our shelter from the stormy blast ♪

1:12:38

♪ And our eternal home ♪

1:12:44

♪ Under the shadow of Thy throne ♪

1:12:51

♪ Still may we dwell secure ♪

1:12:57

♪ Sufficient is Thine arm alone ♪

1:13:03

♪ And our defense is sure ♪

1:13:09

♪ Before the hills in order stood ♪

1:13:17

♪ Or Earth received her frame ♪

1:13:23

♪ From everlasting Thou art God ♪

1:13:28

♪ To endless years the same ♪

1:13:35

♪ A thousand ages in Thy sight ♪

1:13:42

♪ Are like an evening gone ♪

1:13:48

♪ Short as the watch that ends the night ♪

1:13:54

♪ Before the rising sun ♪

1:14:01

♪ Time, like an ever rolling stream ♪

1:14:08

♪ Bears all its sons away ♪

1:14:14

♪ They fly, forgotten, as a dream ♪

1:14:20

♪ Dies at the opening day ♪

1:14:26

♪ Our God, our help in ages past ♪

1:14:34

♪ Our hope for years to come ♪

1:14:40

♪ Be Thou our guard while troubles last ♪

1:14:46

♪ And our eternal home ♪

1:14:52

(reverent organ music)

1:15:37

William H. Willimon - "Divine Divestment" (October 13, 1991)

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1. William H. Willimon - "Divine Divestment" (October 13, 1991)

Duke University Archives

William H. Willimon - "Divine Divestment" (October 13, 1991)

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Duke University Archives