William H. Willimon - "Don't Think for Yourself" (November 3, 1991)

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-	In selling Christmas cards and greetings.	0:01
	Those can be for purchase outside of the chapel today	0:04
	as you go forth.	0:08
	It is good to have you.	0:11
	This is always a special service here in the chapel	0:12
	as we remember the saints of the past who guide us yet.	0:14
	Now, let's stand for the greeting.	0:20
	The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.	0:27
Congregation	And also with you.	0:30
-	The risen Christ is with us.	0:32
Congregation	Praise the Lord.	0:34
	("For All the Saints")	0:37
	(organ music)	0:40
	♪ For all the saints who from their labors rest ♪	1:13
	♪ Who thee by faith before the world confessed ♪	1:21
	♪ Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest ♪	1:30
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	1:38
	♪ Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might ♪	1:50
	♪ Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight ♪	1:58
	♪ Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light ♪	2:08
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	2:16
	♪ O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold ♪	2:28
	♪ Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old ♪	2:36
	♪ And win with them the victor's crown of gold ♪	2:45
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	2:54
	♪ O blest communion, fellowship divine ♪	3:06
	♪ We feebly struggle, they in glory shine ♪	3:14
	♪ Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine ♪	3:24
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	3:33
	♪ And when this fight is fierce, the warfare long ♪	3:45
	♪ Steals on the ear the distant triumph song ♪	3:54
	♪ And hearts are brave again and arms are strong ♪	4:03
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	4:11
	(organ music)	4:22
	♪ From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast ♪	5:34
	♪ Through gates of pearl stream in the countless host ♪	5:43
	♪ Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	5:53
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	6:01
Debra	Eternal God, we praise you for the great company	6:22
	of all those who had finished their course in faith	6:26
	and now rest from their labors.	6:30
Congregation	We praise you for those dear to us	6:33
	we now name before you.	6:36
	(Congregation speaking over one another)	6:41
-	To all of these, grant your peace.	6:50
Congregation	Let perpetual light shine upon them	6:53
	and help us so to believe where we have not seen	6:57
	that your presence may lead us through our years.	7:01
-	And bring us at last with them	7:05
	into the joy of your home not made with hands,	7:08
	but eternal in the heavens.	7:12
Congregation	Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	7:15
-	You may be seated.	7:19
-	Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.	7:37
Congregation	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	7:44
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	7:47
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	7:50
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	7:54
-	The first reading is taken from the book of Deuteronomy.	8:06
	"Now this is the commandment,	8:13
	"the statutes, and the ordinances	8:16
	"that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe	8:20
	"in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy,	8:24
	"so that you and your children and your children's children	8:29
	"may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life	8:34
	"and keep all his decrees	8:38
	"and his commandments that I am commanding you,	8:40
	"so that your days may be long.	8:44
	"Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently	8:48
	"so that it may go well with you	8:52
	"and so that you may multiply greatly	8:55
	"in a land flowing with milk and honey	8:58
	"as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.	9:02
	"Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.	9:08
	"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart	9:15
	"and with all your soul	9:18
	"and with all your might.	9:20
	"Keep these words that I am commanding you today	9:23
	"in your heart.	9:27
	"Recite them to your children	9:30
	"and talk about them when you are at home	9:32
	"and when you are away,	9:35
	"when you lie down and when you rise.	9:37
	"Bind them as a sign on your hand.	9:41
	"Fix them as an emblem on your forehead	9:45
	"and write them on the doorposts of your house	9:49
	"and on your gates."	9:52
	This is the word of the Lord.	9:58
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	10:00
-	And this reading is from the Gospel according to Mark.	10:06
	"One of the scribes came near	10:16
	"and heard them disputing with one another	10:19
	"and seeing that Jesus answered them well,	10:22
	"he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?'	10:25
	"Jesus answered, 'The first is,	10:34
	"'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.	10:39
	"'You shall love the Lord, your God,	10:46
	"'with all your heart and with all your soul	10:48
	"'and with all your mind and with all your strength.	10:51
	"'And the second is this,	10:55
	"'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.	10:58
	"'There is no other commandment greater than these.'	11:03
	"Then the scribe said to him, 'You are right, teacher.	11:07
	"'You have truly said that God is one	11:14
	"'and besides God, there is no other	11:18
	"'and to love God with all the heart	11:22
	"'and with all the understanding and with all the strength	11:23
	"'and to love one's neighbor as oneself,	11:27
	"'this is much more important	11:31
	"'than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'	11:33
	"When Jesus saw that he answered wisely,	11:41
	"he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'	11:45
	"And after that, no one dared to ask him any question."	11:53
	This is the word of the Lord.	12:04
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	12:06
	(calm saxophone music)	12:31
-	Undoubtedly, you have seen the movie	16:58
	"The Dead Poet's Society".	17:00
	In that movie, an energetic teacher	17:04
	at an exclusive prep school	17:07
	is depicted as opening up the mind	17:11
	of his hung-up, privileged young students	17:13
	by urging them to quote, "Think for yourselves.	17:18
	"Don't trust what your parents have told you,	17:25
	"don't trust what you've always heard.	17:27
	"The important thing is to think for yourselves."	17:29
	In one scene, he rips up a textbook,	17:32
	telling them, "No, don't th... listen to the experts,	17:35
	"think for yourselves."	17:38
	A friend of mine noted that despite the movie's claim	17:43
	that this teacher was somehow liberating his students	17:49
	from social convention,	17:55
	it would be hard to think of a more conformist	17:58
	and socially conventional message in today's context	18:02
	than to give young people the advice, think for yourselves.	18:07
	If there ever were a day	18:12
	when such advice was deemed radical,	18:14
	that day has passed.	18:17
	In fact, here's how the president of Yale University	18:21
	welcomed the freshmen to Yale last year.	18:23
	He told them, "The faculty can guide you,	18:28
	"we can take you to the frontiers of knowledge,	18:30
	"but we cannot supply you with a philosophy of education	18:34
	"any more than we can supply you with a philosophy of life.	18:37
	"This has got to come from your own active learning,	18:42
	"from your own choices, your own decisions.	18:45
	"Yale expects you to take yourself seriously.	18:49
	"Think for yourself."	18:53
	In other words, the university has absolutely no clue	18:58
	what you're supposed to be doing here.	19:02
	(congregation laughs)	19:05
	Oh, we've got this smorgasbord of courses and professors,	19:06
	we've got this curriculum.	19:10
	But whether it all adds up to something called wisdom	19:12
	by the time you graduate,	19:17
	well, that's really up to you.	19:18
	The important thing is that you think for yourself.	19:20
	And it appears that we are thinking for ourselves.	19:29
	A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a woman,	19:35
	written in the shaky handwriting.	19:39
	She's in her late 70s.	19:41
	She wrote me and in her letter,	19:45
	she enclosed a clipping from an article	19:46
	that appeared in the Raleigh newspaper.	19:51
	I think the Durham newspaper	19:53
	protected the citizens of Durham	19:54
	from this particular story.	19:57
	But it was a newspaper article	19:59
	describing how, during the Gulf War,	20:01
	American troops had buried alive	20:04
	700 to 800 Iraqi soldiers in their trenches.	20:08
	One of the G.I.s said,	20:14
	"Well, by the time we got there,	20:15
	"there was nothing but hands and arms	20:16
	"sticking up out of the sand."	20:18
	In her letter, she said,	20:23
	"Why did not we hear about this?	20:25
	"Have you mentioned this in one of your sermons?	20:28
	"Have you mentioned this in one of your prayers?	20:30
	"Where is the moral voice of our churches?"	20:32
	Well, one possible reply is, "Look, lady, it's called war.	20:39
	"The old rules just don't apply.	20:46
	"It's always a nasty business.	20:48
	"Besides, when it comes to burying people alive,	20:51
	"you've got your opinions, I've got mine.	20:54
	(congregation laughs)	20:56
	"The important thing is that each of us	20:58
	"thinks for ourselves, right?"	20:59
	Ironically, when I got her letter,	21:04
	I had been reading this new book,	21:06
	"The Day America Told the Truth".	21:08
	That book says that 91% of us admit that we lie routinely.	21:14
	31% of us who are married	21:20
	admit to having an extramarital affair lasting over a year.	21:23
	86% of youth lie regularly to their parents.	21:28
	75% lie regularly to their best friends.	21:34
	One in five Americans loses his or her virginity	21:38
	before the age of 13.	21:41
	2,245 New Yorkers were murdered	21:44
	by their fellow citizens last year,	21:49
	an increase of 18%.	21:53
	By the way, when asked,	21:57
	religion plays no role	21:59
	in shaping the opinions of 2/3s of those	22:02
	who are asked their opinions about sex.	22:06
	Well, it's a lie here, an extramarital affair there,	22:12
	and before long,	22:15
	it's hands and arms sticking up out of the sand.	22:16
	We really are thinking for ourselves.	22:21
	Now, an alternative epistemology is asserted	22:27
	in today's text from Jesus and from Deuteronomy.	22:31
	Deuteronomy, "Keep these words that I'm commanding you today	22:39
	"in your heart.	22:43
	"Recite them to your children.	22:43
	"Talk about them when you're at home and when you're away.	22:45
	"Fix them as an emblem on your forehead.	22:48
	"Write them on the ... doorposts of your house	22:50
	"and on your gates."	22:52
	And the words, these words that Deuteronomy is referring to,	22:55
	are the words of the law of Israel, Torah.	22:59
	Torah, better translation of Torah than law, I suppose,	23:03
	is teaching, the teaching of Israel.	23:08
	Or more literally, the finger pointing in the direction.	23:12
	Torah is not so much the law,	23:18
	the law that we're not to break,	23:21
	but it is the divine finger pointing us	23:23
	in the direction we ought to walk.	23:27
	Torah.	23:30
	Now, interestingly enough, in Mark's Gospel	23:33
	when Jesus is asked about life's big questions,	23:35
	he simply refers them to Deuteronomy...	23:38
	to Torah!	23:43
	Good Jew that he was, Jesus simply said,	23:47
	"Look, you know the answer.	23:50
	"We're to love God with all of our heart	23:51
	"and soul and mind and strength	23:52
	"and our neighbor as ourselves."	23:56
	This is Torah, truth.	23:59
	So, you may not know a lot about Jesus.	24:05
	You may not be clear on everything	24:07
	that he said and did and taught,	24:10
	but today's text says if you know this about Jesus,	24:13
	it's all you need to know for now.	24:20
	Love God with everything that you've got,	24:23
	to the very depths of your soul,	24:25
	and your neighbor as yourself, class dismissed.	24:28
	People who follow Jesus,	24:37
	just like those in Israel before us,	24:39
	are people who do not bow down to other gods,	24:43
	be they called by the name Eros	24:49
	or last January, Mars, IBM, M-Way or USA.	24:53
	We're just real funny about who we'll worship.	24:59
	We do not use labels like faggot, kink, nigger, broad,	25:05
	preferring instead to refer to people as sister, brother.	25:09
	We have a very odd notion	25:15
	of who our next door neighbors are.	25:17
	Love God with everything you've got	25:22
	and then your neighbor as yourself.	25:24
	Take these words, advises Deuteronomy,	25:27
	teach them to your kids.	25:30
	Paint them over the door to your dormitory room.	25:34
	Brand these on your forehead.	25:36
	Tattoo them on your biceps.	25:37
	Take these words and just ...	25:40
	drill them into yourself	25:44
	so that you won't forget.	25:46
	Here we have come into a collision	25:51
	with an alternative way of knowing,	25:53
	a culturally disruptive epistemology.	25:58
	Alas, you have been the willing victims	26:04
	of a mode of education	26:07
	which has taught you to always locate the normative answer	26:10
	exclusively within your own experience,	26:16
	as though your own experience,	26:21
	particularly, your racial, gender, cultural experience,	26:24
	could yield insight on the spot.	26:30
	Think for yourself.	26:34
	And that's why most of my sermons	26:38
	begin with your experience,	26:39
	because I have a hunch	26:44
	that's the only thing you really trust.	26:45
	And so I begin my sermons, you know,	26:47
	always groping around for some point of contact	26:49
	with what you already know.	26:51
	But Torah, on the other hand,	26:56
	always begins with what you could not know	27:00
	unless somebody had told it to you.	27:03
	"Hear O Israel, the Lord, your God, is one."	27:07
	Don't think for yourself.	27:13
	Thinking in Israel, thinking with Jesus,	27:15
	begins as an auditory act.	27:18
	You notice those verbs hear, listen, speak, tell.	27:20
	Unlike Yale or many of my sermons,	27:29
	Israel did not expect her young	27:31
	to devise insight via personal conjuring.	27:33
	You don't have to be the author of your own faith,	27:41
	for here is a massive faith	27:47
	that lies way outside the limited confines	27:49
	of your individual psyche.	27:53
	Israel's sons and daughters	27:56
	don't have to invent the secrets to life.	27:58
	Their parents love them enough to tell them the secrets.	28:03
	And it is no coincidence that in today's text,	28:08
	wisdom is depicted as an exchange between an elder	28:12
	and someone of the younger generation,	28:18
	as the giving of an intergenerational gift.	28:22
	Being 19 years old is just way too tough	28:25
	without having to make up the world as you go.	28:30
	The stance that you're going to shortly assume	28:35
	here at the Lord's table,	28:37
	you know, with hands outstretched, open, empty, eager,	28:40
	ready to receive the gift of bread and wine,	28:45
	that is the primary biblical posture	28:48
	for how you get wise, for Torah-type wisdom.	28:51
	Alas, parenting and education in our day	28:59
	have become little more	29:01
	than the management of conflicting truth claims,	29:02
	a process of cool consideration of diverse alternatives,	29:07
	some of which may be true.	29:11
	But not here, not in the middle of Deuteronomy,	29:15
	not at the feet of Torah.	29:18
	When your daughter asks, Joshua 4:6,	29:21
	when your daughter asks, "What mean these stones?"	29:25
	You are not to reply, "Well, they may mean	29:28
	"that the Lord might have brought us out of slavery	29:31
	"and chosen us to be obedient to his way	29:34
	"and then it might not."	29:39
	No, in this Torah curriculum,	29:43
	there is only nervy, pushy assertion,	29:45
	passionate assertion of truth,	29:49
	which is reliable and coherent	29:52
	and confident in the face of chaos,	29:54
	narcicisstic subjectivity,	29:57
	hands and feet sticking up out of the sand.	30:00
	I agree with that great theologian Oscar Wilde,	30:08
	who said, "About the worst advice you could give anybody	30:11
	"is be yourself."	30:15
	Don't think for yourself.	30:19
	As Walter Brueggemann says, "Torah is not just for children.	30:23
	"Anomie is not just a danger for the young.	30:29
	"It may surface in what is now conventionally called	30:33
	"the crisis of midlife," listen up, alumni,	30:37
	"or anywhere else.	30:40
	"All persons of whatever age face the threat of darkness."	30:43
	Brueggemann says everybody needs some time of homecoming,	30:50
	when you can return to those sureties	30:57
	which do not need to be defended nor doubted.	31:00
	That's what Torah is, it's homecoming.	31:05
	A Torah-less world in which there are many gods	31:13
	and no neighbors is a world just full of idols and enemies.	31:17
	Maybe that's why we're so fatigued	31:24
	as we rush breathlessly from one worship service to another.	31:26
	Before long, after you've bowed down at enough altars,	31:32
	the only posture you know is that of bowing,	31:36
	so accustomed have we become	31:41
	to submitting to so many different gods,	31:42
	the nation, the corporation, my own ego.	31:46
	All the while, rattling our chains	31:52
	and pitifully asserting how free we are.	31:54
	Having learned to bend ourselves before so many altars,	31:59
	there is almost nothing to which we will not stoop.	32:03
	It's a lie here, a deceit there,	32:07
	until we are quite able to walk past	32:12
	the hands and arms sticking up out of the sand	32:16
	without even a twitch of conscience.	32:19
	The Durham city council has become us all over.	32:25
	With no Torah induced neighbors,	32:32
	the world is only driven by competing savage self-interests.	32:35
	Even the people under our own roof become our enemies.	32:39
	The office becomes a battleground	32:42
	for the war between the sexes.	32:44
	Cultural chaos leads to ethical immobility.	32:49
	We don't make many big moves.	32:54
	Having nowhere to stand, we can't make big moves.	32:57
	A recent Duke graduate...	33:04
	a recent Duke graduate asked his old man	33:08
	late one night when he went back home,	33:11
	"Look, I'm getting ready to go out into life.	33:15
	"Tell me what you know.	33:19
	"Go ahead, tell me if you know something."	33:22
	For this touchingly childlike request,	33:26
	he received an hour of ramblings,	33:31
	a confession about how his old man	33:36
	had had an affair with his secretary when he had been 13,	33:38
	and about how he hated his job	33:42
	and he'd love to chuck it all	33:44
	and just move out to a cabin in the woods	33:45
	and he really despised his marriage	33:47
	and he couldn't trust any of his friends.	33:49
	"Man, you are messed up," said the son.	33:55
	"I'm supposed to be asking you for advice?"	33:59
	Well you see, now he's reduced to thinking for himself.	34:04
	Torah asserts a counter-cultural way of wisdom,	34:11
	which is intergenerational, public,	34:18
	counter-cultural, historical.	34:20
	The beautiful thing is,	34:25
	you don't bear the burden of having to think for yourself.	34:26
	Every time you walk in this building, the chapel,	34:31
	but I think especially today, on All Saints,	34:34
	a host of predecessors leans down out of the windows	34:39
	and tries to speak to you,	34:44
	if we'll dare to listen.	34:47
	They stare down at us from the windows,	34:50
	begging to show us the way.	34:53
	Saints, saints are people who managed to love God	34:57
	more than life itself,	35:01
	managed to love neighbor more than the self,	35:07
	and thereby found true life.	35:11
	Saints are people who just push their way	35:16
	into our modest present	35:18
	and make the God question and the neighbor question	35:21
	the only interesting intellectual questions.	35:24
	Christians are those who've learned to think	35:30
	with the saints.	35:33
	And thereby, we think much more creatively than we could	35:36
	if we'd been left to our own devices.	35:39
	Saint Francis, Martin Luther King,	35:43
	Teresa of Calcutta, Gideon, Mary,	35:44
	they help us to think beyond ourselves.	35:48
	They help us to think despite ourselves.	35:51
	And thereby, in this act of holy remembering	35:55
	and saintly thinking,	35:58
	new options are envisioned.	36:00
	We're encouraged.	36:02
	A new world, not of our own devising, is offered to us.	36:03
	We get some big ideas.	36:09
	Torah and the saintly lives thereby produced	36:14
	is a kind of intelligence by proxy.	36:19
	The philosopher Immanuel Kant once said,	36:27
	"I stand in awe of two things,	36:30
	"the starry heavens above	36:32
	"and the individual law of morality within."	36:35
	I'm still awed by the starry heavens.	36:44
Debra	The Lord be with you.	36:58
Congregation	And also with you.	37:00
-	Let us pray.	37:01
	Almighty God, we confess	37:07
	that we have been an unfaithful people.	37:10
	We have not loved you with all our heart	37:13
	and with all our soul and with all our mind	37:16
	and with all our strength.	37:20
	We have bowed down before other gods	37:23
	and we have sought our own way,	37:26
	rebelliously seeking freedom	37:29
	when true freedom can only be found in you.	37:32
	We have treated our neighbors	37:36
	as suspicious strangers and enemies	37:38
	and we have not even loved ourselves very well.	37:41
	Forgive us for our infidelity	37:46
	and restore us to the paths you have set before us.	37:48
	Lord, in your mercy--	37:53
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	37:55
-	God, we give thanks that in your wisdom,	37:58
	you have not left us to find our own way.	38:01
	You have sent your prophets throughout history	38:05
	to help your people discover what it means to live fully.	38:08
	You gave us your commandments as signposts	38:13
	to point the way to life eternal	38:16
	and when we failed to follow your prophets	38:19
	or your commandments,	38:22
	you sent your own dear Son to reveal your love for us,	38:24
	to free us from the power of sin,	38:29
	and to empower us to love you, ourselves, and our neighbor	38:32
	as you have always intended.	38:38
	We are grateful that you loved us enough	38:40
	to involve yourself so intimately in our lives.	38:43
	You've claimed us as your own children.	38:47
	Help us remember	38:50
	and live up to the heritage we have been given.	38:52
	Lord, in your mercy--	38:55
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	38:58
-	From the days of the early church to the present,	39:00
	your saints have modeled what it means	39:03
	to live as a Christian,	39:05
	as one who has died to self	39:08
	and risen with Christ to live for you.	39:10
	We give thanks for all those	39:14
	who have had the courage	39:15
	to stand up for their faith convictions,	39:17
	for those whose lives have exemplified the Christian faith	39:20
	through loving service to others,	39:25
	and for those who have helped to shape our values	39:28
	and sense of what is truly important in life.	39:31
	Most of all, we give thanks for those	39:36
	who have helped us know that you alone are God	39:38
	and that whatever else we might do or think,	39:41
	our ultimate allegiance belongs to you.	39:45
	Help us learn to model our lives	39:49
	after those saints of the past and of the present	39:51
	who so clearly reflect what it means	39:56
	to live as a faithful Christian.	39:58
	Lord, in your mercy--	40:01
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	40:04
-	We pray also that you will so shape our lives	40:06
	that we may become faithful witnesses to others.	40:10
	Send us out as your redeemed people	40:15
	to serve the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the oppressed,	40:18
	and the downtrodden in our world.	40:25
	May our service to others reflect your love	40:28
	and service for us,	40:31
	that all may believe and come home to you.	40:33
	In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.	40:38
	Since Christ has opened his heart to us,	40:45
	let us open our hearts to one another	40:48
	and God will be glorified.	40:51
	Please stand and exchange signs of peace with one another.	40:53
	(congregation murmuring)	40:59
	Freely we have received, freely let us give.	41:27
	You may be seated.	41:31
	♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪	42:00
	♪ The truth goes marching on ♪	42:08
	♪ Oh, when the saints go marching in ♪	42:19
	♪ Oh, when the saints go marching in ♪	42:23
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	42:28
	♪ When the saints go marching in ♪	42:32
	♪ Oh, when the revelation comes ♪	42:37
	♪ Oh, when the revelation comes ♪	42:41
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	42:45
	♪ When the revelation comes ♪	42:50
	♪ Oh, when the new world is revealed ♪	42:55
	♪ Oh, when the new world is revealed ♪	42:59
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	43:03
	♪ When the new world is revealed ♪	43:08
	♪ Oh, when they gather round the throne ♪	43:13
	♪ Oh, when they gather round the throne ♪	43:17
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	43:21
	♪ When they gather round the throne ♪	43:26
	♪ Hallelujah brothers, hallelujah sisters ♪	43:32
	♪ Hear the music going round and around ♪	43:36
	♪ While the saints go marching up into glory ♪	43:40
	♪ Oh, hear those angel trumpets sound ♪	43:45
	♪ Oh, when they crown him King of kings ♪	43:49
	♪ Oh, when they crown him King of kings ♪	43:53
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	43:57
	♪ When they crown him King of kings ♪	44:02
	♪ And when the sun no more will shine ♪	44:11
	♪ And when the sun no more will shine ♪	44:16
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	44:20
	♪ When the sun no more will shine ♪	44:25
	♪ And when the moon has turned to blood ♪	44:36
	♪ And when the moon has turned to blood ♪	44:43
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	44:50
	♪ When the moon has turned to blood ♪	45:03
	♪ And on that hallelujah day ♪	45:15
	♪ And on that hallelujah day ♪	45:19
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be in that number ♪	45:24
	♪ On that hallelujah day ♪	45:29
	♪ Oh, when the saints go marching in ♪	45:34
	♪ Oh, now when the saints go marching right in ♪	45:39
	♪ Oh Lord, I want to be, I want to be in that number ♪	45:44
	♪ Oh, when the saints ♪	45:48
	♪ Oh, when they go ♪	45:49
	♪ Oh, when they march ♪	45:51
	♪ That saving realm ♪	45:52
	♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪	45:53
	(calm piano music)	46:02
	(organ music)	47:03
	♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪	47:23
	♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪	47:30
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	47:36
	♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪	47:44
	♪ Praise God the Son and Holy Ghost ♪	47:51
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	47:58
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ♪	48:05
-	Let us join together in the prayer of thanksgiving.	48:24
	The Lord be with you.	48:29
Congregation	And also with you.	48:31
-	Lift up your hearts.	48:32
Congregation	We lift them up to the Lord.	48:34
-	Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.	48:35
Congregation	It is right to give God thanks and praise.	48:38
-	Blessed are you, God of Abraham and Sarah,	48:40
	God of Miriam and Moses,	48:44
	God of Joshua and Deborah, Ruth and David,	48:46
	God of priests and prophets, of apostles and martyrs,	48:49
	of our mothers and fathers,	48:53
	God of our children to all generations.	48:55
	You made us in your image.	48:59
	Even though we sinned and fell short of your glory,	49:01
	you loved the world so much	49:05
	you sent your Son Jesus Christ to be our savior.	49:06
	He delivered us from the slavery to sin and death	49:10
	and made with us a new covenant.	49:12
	And so, with your people in all ages	49:15
	and all the company of heaven,	49:19
	we praise your name and join in their unending hymn.	49:21
	(organ music)	49:25
	♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪	49:35
	♪ God of power and might ♪	49:40
	♪ Heaven and earth are full of your glory ♪	49:45
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	49:50
	♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord ♪	49:55
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	50:02
	On the night he offered himself up for us,	50:14
	he took bread, gave thanks to you,	50:16
	broke the bread, gave it to his disciples,	50:18
	and said, "Take, eat, this is my body given for you.	50:20
	"Do this in remembrance of me."	50:24
	When the supper was over,	50:27
	he took the cup, gave thanks to you,	50:29
	gave it to his disciples, and said,	50:31
	"Drink from this, all of you.	50:33
	"This is the blood of the new covenant	50:36
	"poured out for you and many	50:38
	"for the forgiveness of sins.	50:40
	"Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."	50:43
	He has been known to us in the breaking of the bread	50:46
	and in the power of your Holy Spirit.	50:50
	And so, in remembrance of these,	50:53
	your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,	50:55
	we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving	50:58
	as a holy and living sacrifice	51:01
	in union with Christ's offering for us	51:03
	as we proclaim the mystery of faith.	51:07
	(organ music)	51:10
	♪ Christ has died ♪	51:19
	♪ Christ is risen ♪	51:22
	♪ Christ will come again ♪	51:24
	Send the power of your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts,	51:31
	that in the breaking of bread and the drinking of this wine,	51:35
	we may know the presence of the living Christ,	51:37
	be one body in him, and grow into his likeness.	51:40
	Renew our communion with all your saints.	51:46
	May we run with perseverance the race set before us,	51:49
	being surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses	51:52
	looking to Jesus,	51:55
	the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.	51:57
	Through him, and with him, and in him,	52:00
	in the unity of the Holy Spirit,	52:01
	all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever.	52:03
	(organ music)	52:07
	♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪	52:17
Congregation	Our Father, who art in heaven,	52:31
	hallowed be thy name.	52:33
	Thy kingdom come,	52:35
	thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	52:36
	Give us this day our daily bread	52:40
	and forgive us our trespasses	52:42
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	52:44
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	52:48
	For thine is the kingdom, the power,	52:52
	and the glory forever, amen.	52:54
-	When we break the bread,	52:58
	is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ?	52:59
	When we give thanks over the cup,	53:03
	is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ?	53:05
	Come to the Lord's table.	53:10
	Body of Christ.	53:13
	("Swing Low, Sweet Chariot")	53:15
	(organ music)	53:19
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	53:38
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	53:46
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	53:51
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	53:59
	♪ I looked over Jordan and what did I see ♪	54:06
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	54:14
	♪ A band of angels coming after me ♪	54:19
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	54:27
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	54:33
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	54:41
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	54:47
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	54:55
	♪ If you get there before I do ♪	55:02
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	55:09
	♪ Tell all my friends I'm coming too ♪	55:16
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	55:24
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	55:30
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	55:38
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	55:44
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	55:53
	♪ I'm sometimes up and sometimes down ♪	56:00
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	56:08
	♪ But still my soul feels heavenly bound ♪	56:14
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	56:22
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	56:29
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	56:37
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	56:43
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	56:51
	♪ The brightest day that I can say ♪	56:58
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	57:06
	♪ When Jesus washed my sins away ♪	57:12
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	57:20
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	57:27
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	57:35
	♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪	57:41
	♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪	57:49
	(jazzy saxophone and piano music)	59:08
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:13
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:16
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:18
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:21
	♪ Stop and let me tell ya about the coming of the Savior ♪	1:04:24
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:26
	♪ Stop and let me tell ya about the coming of the Savior ♪	1:04:29
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:32
	♪ God's gonna up and speak to Gabriel ♪	1:04:34
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:37
	♪ Go on and look behind the altar ♪	1:04:40
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:42
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:45
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:48
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:50
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:53
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:04:55
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:04:58
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:01
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:03
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:06
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:08
	♪ Then the time shall be no longer ♪	1:05:11
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:14
	♪ For the judgment day is coming ♪	1:05:17
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:19
	♪ Now pick up your silver trumpet ♪	1:05:22
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:25
	♪ Gonna now blow my trumpet ♪	1:05:27
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:30
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:35
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:41
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:43
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:46
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:48
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:51
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:54
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:05:56
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:05:59
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:01
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:04
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:07
	♪ Then you'll see the coffins burstin' ♪	1:06:09
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:12
	♪ See the dry bones come a creepin' ♪	1:06:15
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:17
	♪ Hell shall be uncapped and burnin' ♪	1:06:20
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:22
	♪ And the dragon shall be loosened ♪	1:06:25
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:28
	♪ Then you'll see the moon a bleedin' ♪	1:06:31
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:33
	♪ You will see the stars a fallin' ♪	1:06:36
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:38
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:41
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:44
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:46
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:49
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:51
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:54
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:06:56
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:06:59
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:07:02
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:04
	♪ Then you'll see the sinner calling ♪	1:07:07
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:09
	♪ Down I'm rolling, down I'm rolling ♪	1:07:12
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:15
	♪ But the righteous will be marching ♪	1:07:17
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:20
	♪ And the Christians will be rising ♪	1:07:23
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:25
	♪ Marching to their home in heaven ♪	1:07:28
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:31
	♪ Marching to their home in Jesus ♪	1:07:33
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:36
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:07:39
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:41
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:07:44
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:46
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:07:49
	♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪	1:07:51
	♪ In that great gettin' up morning ♪	1:07:54
	♪ Fare thee well ♪	1:07:57
	♪ Fare thee well ♪	1:08:02
	♪ Fare thee well ♪	1:08:13
	Stand for the benediction.	1:08:30
	The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	1:08:36
	the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:08:39
	be with you now forever.	1:08:42
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	1:08:51
	♪ Amen, amen ♪	1:09:03
	♪ Amen ♪	1:09:15
	("Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above")	1:09:32
	(organ music)	1:09:37
	♪ Come, let us join our friends above ♪	1:10:13
	♪ Who have obtained the prize ♪	1:10:18
	♪ And on the eagle wings of love ♪	1:10:23
	♪ To joys celestial rise ♪	1:10:28
	♪ Let saints on earth unite to sing ♪	1:10:34
	♪ With those to glory gone ♪	1:10:39
	♪ For all the servants of our King ♪	1:10:44
	♪ In earth and heaven are one ♪	1:10:49
	♪ One family we dwell in him ♪	1:10:56
	♪ One church above, beneath ♪	1:11:01
	♪ Though now divided by the stream ♪	1:11:06
	♪ The narrow stream of death ♪	1:11:11
	♪ One army of the living God ♪	1:11:17
	♪ To his command we bow ♪	1:11:22
	♪ Part of his host have crossed the flood ♪	1:11:27
	♪ And part are crossing now ♪	1:11:32
	♪ Ten thousand to their endless home ♪	1:11:39
	♪ This solemn moment fly ♪	1:11:44
	♪ And we are to the margin come ♪	1:11:50
	♪ And we expect to die ♪	1:11:55
	♪ Even now by faith we join our hands ♪	1:12:00
	♪ With those that went before ♪	1:12:05
	♪ And greet the blood-besprinkled bands ♪	1:12:10
	♪ On the eternal shore ♪	1:12:16
	♪ Our spirits too shall quickly join ♪	1:12:23
	♪ Like theirs with glory crowned ♪	1:12:29
	♪ And shout to see our Captain's sign ♪	1:12:34
	♪ To hear his trumpet sound ♪	1:12:39
	♪ O, that we now might grasp our Guide ♪	1:12:45
	♪ O, that the word were given ♪	1:12:51
	♪ Come, Lord of Hosts, the waves divide ♪	1:12:56
	♪ And land us all in heaven ♪	1:13:02
	(lively organ music)	1:13:18

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Don't Think for Yourself" (November 3, 1991)

Description:

Sermon start time: 16:58. Sermon end time: 36:48.
While the world exalts the ability to think for oneself and make one’s own favorable decisions, this way of living ends up in chaos driven by competition and savage self-interest. The Torah asserts a counter way of wisdom, commanding people to love God and each other so that a moral world is possible. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4q23rf86

Date:

November 3, 1991

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0254
ref9013_3hl
uachapelsermaud
duke:321579
dcrmv001244
ark:/87924/r4q23rf86
e2028ae9-0fd7-48c8-a386-e6db4a6df974

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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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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William H. Willimon - "Don't Think for Yourself" (November 3, 1991)

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1. William H. Willimon - "Don't Think for Yourself" (November 3, 1991)

Duke University Archives

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William H. Willimon - "Don't Think for Yourself" (November 3, 1991)

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Duke University Archives

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