William H. Willimon - "True Worship" (July 24, 1994)

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	(organ music)	0:02
-	Good morning, and welcome to worship at Duke Chapel.	1:36
	We've been led to worship by our chapel organist,	1:39
	Dr. David Arcus, who has just returned	1:42
	from a brilliant performance in Dallas	1:45
	in an international organ competition.	1:47
	We welcome him back.	1:50
	Also leading the service today	1:52
	is the Reverend Nancy Ferree-Clark,	1:54
	the pastor of the congregation at Duke Chapel.	1:56
	Now, let us stand for the greeting.	2:01
	Come away to a lonely place for awhile	2:05
	to sit and to learn at the feet of Jesus.	2:08
	(congregation mumbling response)	2:12
	In Christ's presence, not one goes hungry,	2:18
	but all find bread for body and soul.	2:21
	(congregation mumbling response)	2:25
	Then, let Jesus lead you to the source of life,	2:31
	and intercede for you before God.	2:35
All	With our sisters and brothers,	2:38
	we seek God's blessing in the name of our savior,	2:41
	Jesus Christ.	2:44
	(organ music)
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	3:20
-	Eternal God who provides for us beyond our expectations,	6:28
	remind us of your mighty works	6:34
	amid the great drama of human history.	6:37
	We have journeyed from near and far,	6:40
	seeking nourishment for our weary souls.	6:42
	As we search for a resting place,	6:46
	we trust in your forgiving, reconciling presence.	6:49
	Open our eyes to the miracles which surround us	6:54
	each and every day, open our hearts to the healing balm	6:57
	of your holy word, hear our prayer, oh Lord, amen.	7:02
Congregation	Amen.	7:07
-	Let us pray for illumination.	7:17
All	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	7:21
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	7:24
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	7:27
	we may hear your message with joy this day, amen.	7:30
-	Here begins the sixth chapter of the gospel	7:38
	according to Saint John.	7:41
	After this, Jesus went to the other side	7:44
	of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius,	7:47
	and a multitude followed him because they saw the signs	7:51
	which he did on those who were diseased.	7:55
	Jesus went up into the hills,	7:59
	and there sat down with his disciples.	8:01
	Now, the Passover, the Feast of the Jews, was at hand.	8:04
	Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a multitude	8:09
	was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip,	8:12
	"How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?"	8:16
	This he said to test him,	8:21
	for he himself knew what he would do.	8:22
	Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy	8:26
	"enough bread for each of them to get a little."	8:30
	One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon-Peter's brother	8:34
	said to him, "There's a lad here who has five barley loaves	8:38
	"and two fish, but what are they among so many?"	8:42
	Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."	8:47
	Now, there was much grass in the place,	8:52
	so the men sat down and numbered about 5,000.	8:55
	Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks,	9:00
	he distributed them to those who seated,	9:04
	so also the fish as much as they wanted,	9:08
	and when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples,	9:12
	"Gather up the fragments leftover that nothing may be lost."	9:16
	So, they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets	9:22
	with fragments from the five barley loaves	9:25
	left by those who had eaten.	9:28
	When the people saw the sign which he had donned,	9:30
	they said, "This is indeed the prophet	9:33
	"who is to come into the world."	9:36
	Perceiving them that they were about to come	9:39
	and take him by force to make him king,	9:42
	Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself.	9:45
	When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,	9:50
	got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.	9:53
	It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.	9:59
	The sea rose because of a strong wind which was blowing.	10:03
	When they had rode about three or four miles,	10:08
	they saw Jesus walking on the sea	10:11
	and drawing near to the boat.	10:15
	They were frightened, but he said to them,	10:17
	"It is I, do not be afraid."	10:21
	Then, they were glad to take him into the boat,	10:26
	and immediately, the boat was at the land	10:29
	to which they were going.	10:32
	This is the word of the Lord.	10:35
-	Thanks to God.
-	The Psalm appointed for this Sunday is number 24,	10:47
	found on page 755 and 56 of your hymnal.	10:51
	Let's sing together the song and the glory responsibly.	10:56
	Please rise.	11:00
	(organ music)
	♪ The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof ♪	11:09
	♪ The world and those who dwell therein ♪	11:15
	♪ For God has founded it upon the seas ♪	11:21
	♪ And established it upon the rivers ♪	11:26
	♪ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord ♪	11:33
	♪ And who shall stand in God's holy place ♪	11:38
	♪ Those who have clean hands and a pure hearts ♪	11:45
	♪ Who do not lift up his soul to what is false ♪	11:51
	♪ and do not swear deceitfully ♪	11:56
	♪ They will receive blessing from the Lord ♪	12:02
	♪ And righteousness from the God of his salvation ♪	12:07
	♪ Such is the generation of those who seek the Lord ♪	12:15
	♪ Who seek the face of the God of Jacob ♪	12:21
	♪ Lift up your heads, oh gates ♪	12:28
	♪ And be lifted up, oh ancient doors ♪	12:30
	♪ That the ruler of glory may come in ♪	12:35
	♪ Who is this King of glory ♪	12:41
	♪ The Lord is strong and mighty ♪	12:47
	♪ The Lord mighty in battle ♪	12:50
	♪ Lift up your heads, oh gates ♪	12:54
	♪ And lift them up, oh ancient doors ♪	12:57
	♪ That the King of glory may come in ♪	13:03
	♪ Who is this ruler of glory ♪	13:10
	♪ The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory ♪	13:15
	♪ All glory be to you, Creator ♪	13:25
	♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪	13:28
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	13:31
	♪ As it was a time began ♪	13:39
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	13:45
	Please be seated.	13:56
	(organ music)	14:00
	♪ Lord, for thy tender mercy's sake ♪	14:21
	♪ Lay not our sins to our charge ♪	14:30
	♪ But forgive that is past and give us grace ♪	14:36
	♪ To amend our sinful lives ♪	14:46
	♪ To decline from sin and incline to virtue ♪	14:52
	♪ That we may walk in a perfect heart ♪	15:03
	♪ Before thee now and evermore ♪	15:10
	♪ That we may walk with a perfect heart ♪	15:17
	♪ Before thee now and evermore ♪	15:24
	♪ That we may walk with a perfect heart ♪	15:31
	♪ That we may walk with a perfect heart ♪	15:41
	♪ Before thee now and evermore ♪	15:52
-	I should mention that each Sunday,	16:20
	people are called to the chapel	16:24
	through the chapel carillon, those beautiful bells,	16:27
	and then they peel us forth at the end of the service.	16:32
	Many people are at the erroneous notion that those bells	16:36
	are activated by a machine somewhere in the chapel tower,	16:39
	but our lecture today is our university carillonneur,	16:45
	Jay Samuel Hammond, and you can see that our first lesson	16:49
	was not read by a machine,	16:53
	(audience laughing)
	but a man who climbs about 300 steps every Sunday	16:55
	and plays our bells, and we are happy	17:00
	to have him participating in this service,	17:04
	as are his wife and two sons and our choir today.	17:06
	And now here, the epistle lesson	17:13
	assigned for this Sunday, from Ephesians.	17:16
	In former generations, this mystery	17:22
	was not made known to human kind.	17:25
	It has now been revealed to his holy apostles	17:28
	and prophets by the Spirit.	17:31
	That mystery is that gentiles have become fellow heirs,	17:34
	members of the same body, sharers in the promise	17:38
	in Christ Jesus through the gospel.	17:43
	Of this gospel, I have become a servant,	17:46
	according to the gift of God's grace	17:48
	given to me by the working of His power.	17:51
	Although I am the least of all the saints,	17:54
	this grace was given to me to bring the gentiles good news	17:57
	of the boundless riches of Christ,	18:01
	to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery	18:03
	hidden for ages in God, who created all things.	18:07
	So that, through the church, the wisdom of God	18:12
	in His rich variety might now be made known tot he rulers	18:16
	and authorities in the heavenly places.	18:20
	This was in accordance with the eternal purpose	18:23
	that He has carried out in Jesus Christ our Lord	18:25
	in whom we have access to God, in boldness	18:28
	and confidence through faith in him.	18:32
	I pray, therefore, that you may not lose heart	18:35
	over my sufferings for you.	18:38
	They are your glory.	18:41
	For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,	18:44
	from whom every family in Heaven	18:48
	and on Earth takes its name.	18:50
	I pray that, according to the riches of His glory,	18:52
	He may grant that you may be strengthened	18:55
	in your inner being with power through His spirit,	18:57
	and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith	19:01
	as you are being rooted and grounded in love.	19:04
	I pray that you may have the power to comprehend	19:07
	with all the saints, the breadth and length	19:11
	and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ	19:14
	that surpasses knowledge so that you	19:17
	may be filled with the fullness of God.	19:20
	Now, to him, who by the power at work in us,	19:25
	is able to accomplish abundantly far more	19:28
	than all we can ask or imagine.	19:31
	To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus	19:34
	to all generations forever and forever, amen.	19:37
	This is the word of the Lord.	19:43
-	Thanks be to God.
-	Earlier this week, I participated	19:50
	in a preaching conference down in Wilmington,	19:52
	and we began this preaching conference	19:58
	by a service of worship, but in the service of worship,	20:02
	the leader read a psalm, and then told us	20:08
	that we would be now asked to meditate	20:13
	upon what we would like to meditate upon	20:17
	for our time of worship, and the leader mentioned something	20:21
	about the leaves and the trees and the breeze	20:25
	and the ocean and the sun, and then we were to sit quietly	20:29
	for 10 minutes, and I tried to worship, I tried to meditate,	20:34
	but I couldn't think of anything to meditate upon,	20:39
	and I found myself meditating over the fact	20:42
	I was gonna have to give a lecture within 30 minutes,	20:46
	and I meditated on the lousy room that I had	20:49
	over at the misnamed Comfort Inn,	20:52
	(congregation laughing)	20:54
	and I was sort of embarrassed
	by my inability to worship,	20:59
	to sit there for 10 minutes	21:03
	and to find something that moved me to worship,	21:05
	and that sort of amorphous, free-floating service.	21:09
	"For this reason," says Paul to the Ephesians,	21:16
	"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father."	21:22
	He's talking about worship, "For this reason, I worship."	21:25
	Well, what is the reason, what is the reason	21:28
	that Paul bows his knees before the God,	21:32
	the fullness of God?	21:37
	What reason motivates you to worship?	21:41
	What reason thrusts you to your knees,	21:45
	lost in wonder, love, and praise, as the old hymn puts it?	21:49
	Here in the chapel with the great organ sounding forth,	21:56
	choir and congregation, this moves many to worship.	22:00
	What makes you worship?	22:07
	I enjoy hiking about this time of the year in the woods	22:12
	when things are in full flower	22:17
	up in the North Carolina mountains,	22:20
	but I never go on a hike that I don't remember.	22:25
	A number of years ago, going on a hike	22:29
	in the North Carolina mountains about this time of the year,	22:32
	when I was a young pastor, and I took a gangling crowd	22:35
	of teenagers up in the mountains for camping and hiking	22:39
	for a few days, and a couple of us were leading	22:43
	this rambunctious entourage up this narrow mountain trail	22:48
	through thick foliage, one afternoon in July,	22:52
	and when we got nearly to the top of this mountain,	22:58
	suddenly the woods cleared, and you could see out	23:04
	across the valley over to the mountain	23:08
	beside the one that we were walking on,	23:12
	and unknown to us, the day had grown late	23:16
	and the summer sun was setting, and its rays	23:20
	had now inflamed this mountain across from us,	23:25
	beautiful tones of deep green and orange and bright red	23:29
	against a late afternoon blue sky, and we just looked	23:35
	across that valley, out across that expanse,	23:38
	out into that beautiful orange sun setting,	23:42
	and all this rambunctious crowd of teenagers	23:45
	just fell silent, stupefied at this wondrous sight,	23:48
	and we all just stood there for the longest time,	23:55
	'til one of the counselors said,	23:59
	"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."	24:03
	And, we worshiped, we just worshiped,	24:11
	fell to our knees, so to speak, awe struck,	24:19
	dumbfounded by the riches of His glory	24:22
	for one wondrous moment.	24:26
	We comprehended the length and the breadth	24:28
	and the depth of the fullness of God.	24:33
	We worshiped, and God be praised	24:37
	for such summertime reasons for worship.	24:40
	Now, in that case, it was the wonder of nature	24:46
	that was my rationale for worship,	24:48
	my occasion to bend the knees before the Father,	24:50
	but what was Paul's reason to worship?	24:55
	What was Paul's reason to focus upon the Father	25:00
	from whom every family in Heaven and on Earth	25:04
	takes it's name, what was His reason for worship?	25:06
	You have to turn back a page in the letter to the Ephesians.	25:10
	We talked about it last Sunday from this pulpit.	25:16
	He says in Ephesians 2, "For He is our peace.	25:21
	"He has made us both one, He has broken down	25:26
	"the dividing wall of hostility that He might create	25:31
	"from Himself a new humanity in place of two,	25:34
	"one in place of two, making peace."	25:39
	There's the reason.	25:44
	Paul has been talking about the tough problem	25:46
	of divisions in the church, and divisions in the world,	25:49
	walls in the church.	25:54
	Specifically, he has been talking about the walls	25:57
	between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians,	26:00
	and he says that, through the miraculous work of God,	26:05
	the centuries of hostility between these two groups	26:09
	have been healed and the walls have come down	26:12
	and there is peace.	26:15
	Paul remembers, in today's scripture,	26:18
	that in the beginning, at the very beginning of the world,	26:20
	God created every family in Heaven and on Earth.	26:23
	In other words, when we were created,	26:27
	we were created to be one.	26:29
	There were no laws, there were no divisions between us,	26:31
	but then we grew up, and we went around the block	26:34
	a couple of times, and we got a little more savvy	26:38
	and sophisticated, and so did our differences,	26:40
	and the walls came up between us.	26:45
	You can see this recapitulated if you look	26:50
	on a school ground with a group of preschoolers at play.	26:52
	Watch the way they don't seem to notice the differences	26:57
	of color or class or accent, and it gives you	27:00
	just a little glimpse of what it was like	27:05
	at the first days of creation	27:07
	when we were very young, at our beginning.	27:08
	The way we were, but are not now.	27:13
	And, I think Paul is saying that for these early Christians,	27:18
	it was just this peaceableness	27:22
	that they were feeling in the congregation.	27:24
	It was just like going back to the very first days	27:26
	of creation when there weren't walls	27:30
	or labels or pigeon holes or divisions	27:33
	to put people in, race and class.	27:37
	It was just like going back to that childlike innocence	27:41
	when we were one, and you could see them,	27:45
	that they in the congregation,	27:49
	as they listened to the letter to the Ephesians.	27:51
	They were women, women who, in that day,	27:54
	in that part of the world were second,	27:57
	third class citizens at best, now they were given	28:00
	leadership roles in the congregation, they were leading,	28:03
	they were thinking for themselves,	28:07
	they were experiencing a whole new world.	28:10
	And there were the poor, the poor always on the bottom,	28:14
	always disempowered, there in the congregation,	28:17
	poor being treated like royalty.	28:21
	Paul says it, when you look at it, you just bend the knees	28:24
	before the Father at the wonder of this fresh new day	28:28
	that is dawned, this new world,	28:32
	this new creation brought by God.	28:35
	And yet, of course, Paul wouldn't be writing them about this	28:42
	if everybody fully comprehended it.	28:45
	The newness has been done, the walls have been	28:48
	broken down in Jesus, but what's not done	28:51
	is our comprehension of the fact of what Christ has done.	28:53
	So, Paul prays for us that one day we'll get it	28:57
	through our little heads and into our little lives	29:01
	just how big the breadth, the length, the depth,	29:04
	the height of the love of Christ.	29:09
	Then we'll worship, then we'll be able to bend the knees	29:11
	before the God that made all things new, all things one.	29:15
	And, you see, we've come here this morning to worship,	29:24
	and yet, alas, a lot of times we come to worship	29:31
	just like nothing has happened,	29:33
	as if all the old boundaries and the labels	29:35
	and the walls and the divisions are still firmly fixed.	29:38
	There's somebody here this morning who's brought to church	29:43
	an old grudge from a long ago afront suffered	29:47
	at the hands of some relative, a grudge that has kept you	29:53
	away from family gatherings for the past 20 years.	29:58
	There's somebody else, I'm sure, here this morning	30:04
	just seething, eaten up with resentment about a friend	30:06
	who was once a friend, but succeeded in a way	30:11
	that you did not, and so he's no longer a friend.	30:15
	Anytime we gather there these secret,	30:22
	but yet rigidly enforced, deeply entrenched,	30:25
	and cherished boundaries, these walls which divide,	30:30
	and we come in here, and it's just like the same old world.	30:34
	Was at a meeting here on campus last week,	30:42
	and during the course of the meeting,	30:46
	a person there, professor at the medical center,	30:49
	said he was having lunch with a man just that day.	30:53
	The professor was White,	30:59
	the man he was having lunch with was Black,	31:02
	and he said, "We had a very good lunch together,	31:04
	"and we had pleasant conversation,	31:06
	"and then toward the end of the meal,	31:08
	"we started talking about race relations in America,"	31:09
	and he said that, my colleague that was having lunch with me	31:15
	made the comment just off hand,	31:18
	"You'll never meet a Black person who, down deep,	31:24
	"when the chips are down and push comes to shove	31:27
	"doesn't hate White people."	31:31
	And, he was still clearly shaken from that statement,	31:36
	and people around the table, mouth dropped open and said,	31:39
	"Gosh, I hope that's not true, I..."	31:42
	And someone said, "Well, I'll tell you, if it's true,	31:45
	"we're in very, very bad shape."	31:47
	And yet, I also had had lunch that day	31:52
	with an African American colleague of mine	31:56
	here at the university, and I had asked him	31:59
	to tell me a little bit about his life journey,	32:02
	how did he get here?	32:04
	He talked about growing up, his daddy was a preacher,	32:07
	even though his daddy had never gone past	32:11
	the fifth or sixth grade in school,	32:15
	and he talked about how he had had instilled in him	32:18
	the desire to do something with his life and to achieve,	32:20
	and he didn't think he could do it in Louisiana at that time	32:24
	and so he moved out to Denver,	32:27
	and he took the civil service exam,	32:28
	and he studied hard for two months.	32:31
	He lived off of pancakes and syrup	32:33
	because that was the cheapest thing to eat	32:36
	while he was studying for the civil service exam.	32:39
	He took the exam, and to his delight,	32:41
	he was the second highest score in the whole state	32:43
	on the civil service exam, and they told him,	32:46
	"We'll call you when there's an opening	32:49
	"at one of the fire stations in Denver,"	32:51
	and he went back to his little room, and he waited,	32:53
	and he waited until there was no money,	32:56
	even for the pancakes and the syrup,	32:58
	and he went down there and he said,	33:01
	"I know people that have been hired for the fire stations,	33:02
	"and when are you gonna call me to be a fireman?"	33:07
	And, the head of the civil service in the city said,	33:11
	"I'm sorry, we've checked in every fire station in Denver,	33:15
	"and we haven't found a single fire station	33:20
	"where the firemen are willing	33:22
	"to sleep with a nigger at night,"	33:24
	and he went back to Louisiana,	33:28
	but then he said, "You know, I guess that's not so amazing,	33:33
	"considering this country, considering the '60s."	33:39
	But, the amazing thing was,	33:45
	the only thing I can remember from that little church	33:48
	I grew up in is we were never taught to hate.	33:50
	My daddy always said, "You go down the road of bitterness,	33:54
	"it'll kill you.	33:59
	"I've never been resentful, I've never been bitter,	34:01
	"and I guess that's kind of amazing."	34:06
	How do you, how do we as a people	34:13
	get beyond the walls and the division?	34:17
	How is it possible for someone to suffer	34:21
	so great an injustice and still come away	34:24
	unbowed, and yet not bitter?	34:28
	Oh, we know all about the old world.	34:34
	That's the one we live in.	34:36
	I had a man in my church who,	34:40
	years before I had gotten there,	34:44
	I think years before I was even born,	34:45
	was in a business deal with his best friend,	34:49
	and his best friend got a piece of land that he wanted,	34:52
	and this man broke with his friend,	34:58
	and there was a gap that had cut right down	35:02
	the middle of that small southern town	35:04
	between those two men,	35:07
	and the older minister who assisted me at his funeral,	35:12
	we were talking on our way out to the cemetery,	35:16
	and I said to the older minister, I said, you know	35:21
	"He took that rift, he took that resentment	35:24
	"right on to his grave, didn't he?"	35:29
	And the older pastor said, "Well, ya know, they usually do."	35:34
	In life, we're able to get over some of our loves,	35:38
	but we don't ever get over our hates.	35:42
	So, maybe Paul would say no wonder our hymn singing	35:50
	is just a little off key,	35:53
	no wonder that our prayer and praise just a little hollow,	35:56
	our prayers not quite too earnest,	36:00
	because Paul might say we're just not ready to worship,	36:03
	caught as we are in the narrow confines of an old world.	36:07
	We're not big enough yet to praise God,	36:11
	the fullness of the length and the height	36:14
	and the breadth of the depth of all creation.	36:16
	Oh, I sit here and I pray that the organist	36:19
	won't be too loud, or I pray that the hymns	36:22
	will be relatively familiar and singable,	36:25
	and the choir will be able to get with it	36:28
	when the anthem comes, but I oughta be standing here praying	36:30
	that we'll have the power to comprehend with all the saints	36:36
	what is the breadth and length and height and depth,	36:39
	and to know the love of Christ,	36:41
	which just surpasses all knowledge, even at a university.	36:43
	So that somebody on a Sunday might get a glimpse	36:48
	of the fullness of God.	36:52
	Somebody might feel moved to a whole new world.	36:53
	That is Christian worship.	36:59
	Just a phrase struck me in our first hymn today.	37:03
	Did it strike you, this old familiar hymn?	37:06
	Let every creature rise and bring	37:08
	honors peculiar to our king.	37:11
	You don't see the word peculiar that often in a hymn.	37:14
	What would it mean to bring honors peculiar to our king?	37:19
	Oh, there's some kings that I suppose are glad to hear	37:23
	a little nature worship,	37:26
	some mushy nice thoughts about the day,	37:31
	but our King wants the honor	37:34
	of reconciliation, love, and oneness,	37:40
	and the barriers broken down.	37:43
	Last year, I received a letter from a former student.	37:49
	I didn't really remember this student.	37:55
	I had to think a minute.	37:57
	I remembered him, I had him in a preaching class	37:58
	about eight years ago.	38:00
	He was very quiet, self-effacing,	38:02
	that was about all I remembered, but he told me	38:04
	in his letter that during the course	38:07
	of one of these preaching classes,	38:09
	I had said something to him about his preaching,	38:13
	which had hurt him very deeply.	38:16
	That I had made a comment, an off-hand comment	38:21
	about his sermon, and he said, "It threw me into such	38:23
	"confusion and pain that I went home, told my wife,	38:27
	"'I'm not gonna be a minister, I'm dropping out,	38:30
	"'this is crazy,'' he said, "I was in torture for weeks	38:32
	"during that class, and I hated you more	38:38
	"than anybody I had ever hated because you seemed	38:42
	"to call into question my vocation,	38:44
	"my sacrifice, my reasons for being here,"	38:46
	but then he said, "God has been dealing with me,	38:51
	"and I want to ask your forgiveness for my hate of you,	38:56
	"for I believe I have wronged you in my resentment."	39:03
	Well, I didn't even know he hated me,	39:06
	I didn't even know that I had anything to forgive.	39:08
	If I had wronged him, my wrongs were not intentional,	39:11
	but of course, unintentional hurts hurt	39:15
	just as much as the intentional ones,	39:18
	but I tell you, when I read that letter	39:22
	and I thought about somebody overcoming	39:23
	hatred and resentment, I just bent my knees	39:26
	before the Father, I just worshiped.	39:30
	Now, I know that some of you've come here	39:35
	this morning to worship, and I know that some of you	39:36
	have put forth a special effort to be here.	39:39
	I know that maybe you've come out of your way	39:43
	to be in such a great building	39:45
	with such a wonderful organ and the choir	39:47
	and the praise and everything, but I'll tell you,	39:50
	a pipe organ can't make you do Christian praise,	39:54
	and even so great and glorious a church as this one	39:59
	can't move you to peculiarly Christian worship.	40:02
	No, true worship, worship right down	40:05
	to the very depths of our souls.	40:08
	As those rare moments in life when the barriers are broken	40:12
	and the walls come down and it's just like	40:14
	we're standing on the very first day of creation,	40:16
	and we are born again, and we can breathe,	40:20
	and there's a new world offered,	40:23
	and that is to comprehend the fullness of God,	40:26
	and the height and the depth and the breadth.	40:30
	I pray you may be given, for it is a gift of God,	40:35
	some such marvelous moment of worship.	40:41
	Amen.	40:48
	(organ music)	40:52
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	41:17
-	The Lord be with you.	43:11
-	And also with you.
-	Let us pray.	43:14
	Oh God of Earth and altar, creator of the universe,	43:27
	we bow before you in humility and hope.	43:33
	Your ways have not been our ways,	43:38
	neither have your thoughts been our thoughts.	43:42
	We are too busy managing the affairs of our own lives	43:45
	to truly worship, yet you have not forsaken us,	43:49
	even as we live in our tangled web of anxiety,	43:54
	distractions, and half-truths.	43:58
	In your mercy, grant us your light and your truth.	44:02
	Lead us from the path of confusion	44:07
	toward the wellspring of life and peace.	44:10
	Oh reconciling God, hear us while we pray	44:15
	for our sisters and brothers in need,	44:18
	for refugees seeking a safe haven, for those who suffer	44:21
	due to the ravages of war, famine, disease,	44:27
	flooding, or drought, let us pray to the Lord.	44:32
	For those who work for racial harmony and justice,	44:39
	and who further Christ call for us to be reconcilers	44:43
	through both their words and their actions,	44:46
	let us pray to the Lord.	44:50
	For the sick and the infirm, for all who are growing weary	44:54
	with the journey of life, for those families, friends,	45:00
	and health care professionals who accompany the dying,	45:04
	let us pray to the Lord.	45:08
	For the unity of the church, for the work of pastors	45:11
	and church leaders, and for the ministry	45:15
	of each and every Christian, let us pray to the Lord.	45:17
	For those who are in doubt and must endure	45:23
	the dark night of the soul, for those longing	45:25
	for the gift of faith, and for those who are unable to grow	45:29
	beyond their own mistrust and cynicism,	45:33
	let us pray to the Lord.	45:36
	For all who are surrounded by conflict	45:40
	within their own families, for all who are burdened	45:42
	with the weight of malice and mistrust,	45:46
	and for those harboring deep resentments	45:48
	which they feel they cannot forgive,	45:51
	let us pray to the Lord.	45:54
	For those who practice hospitality	45:57
	and who attend to the needs of others,	46:00
	for all who live lives committed to service,	46:03
	and for those who provide everyday services	46:06
	in our communities, seen but not often heard,	46:09
	let us pray to the Lord.	46:13
	For those who are charged with the responsibilities	46:17
	of governance, for those who struggle on a daily basis	46:19
	with complex social issues and seek to provide solutions	46:23
	which will relieve human suffering, let us pray to the Lord.	46:27
	All these things and whatever else you see that we need,	46:34
	grant us, oh God, for the sake of him who died	46:38
	and rose again, and now lives and reigns with you	46:42
	in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.	46:45
	Let us present the offerings of our life	46:53
	and our labor unto the Lord with thanksgiving.	46:55
	(organ music)	47:00
	♪ Rejoice in the Lord always ♪	48:30
	♪ And again I say, rejoice ♪	48:34
	♪ Rejoice in the Lord always ♪	48:38
	♪ And again I say, rejoice ♪	48:42
	♪ Rejoice, in the Lord always ♪	48:46
	♪ And again I say, rejoice ♪	48:50
	♪ Rejoice, in the Lord always ♪	48:54
	♪ And again I say, rejoice ♪	48:58
	(choir continuing to sing)	49:02
	♪ And the peace of God which transcends all understanding ♪	49:21
	♪ Shall lead your hearts and minds ♪	49:28
	♪ To Jesus Christ our Lord ♪	49:33
	♪ And the peace of God which transcends all understanding ♪	49:39
	♪ Shall lead your hearts and minds ♪	49:47
	♪ To Jesus Christ our Lord ♪	49:52
	♪ To Jesus Christ our Lord ♪	49:57
	♪ Rejoice, in the Lord always ♪	50:04
	♪ And again, I say rejoice ♪	50:09
	♪ Rejoice, in the Lord always ♪	50:13
	♪ And again, again, again I say rejoice ♪	50:18
	♪ And again, again I say rejoice ♪	50:25
	♪ Again, I say rejoice ♪	50:31
	(organ music)	50:40
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	52:13
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	52:26
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	52:34
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	52:48
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	52:55
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:02
-	Oh eternal God, our rock and our salvation,	53:14
	we thank you for all your mercies	53:19
	and for your loving care over all your creatures.	53:21
	We thank you for your home, this fragile earth	53:25
	which is ours to tend, for the simple joys	53:29
	and the everyday challenges which form us and instruct us.	53:32
	Especially, we thank you for the saving knowledge	53:38
	of your son, our savior, for the living presence	53:40
	of your spirit, the comforter, for your church,	53:43
	the body of Christ, for the ministry of word and sacrament,	53:47
	and for all the means of grace.	53:51
	As we acknowledge you as owner of all we possess,	53:54
	we return to you now the fruits of our labor	53:57
	in joyous thanksgiving for the gift of life.	54:01
	Put these gifts, our time and our talents,	54:04
	to work in your vineyard as we dedicate ourselves	54:06
	to the purposes of your kingdom.	54:10
	These things we pray in the name of the one	54:12
	who taught us to pray with confidence,	54:14
All	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	54:17
	hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,	54:20
	they will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven,	54:23
	give us this day our daily bread and forgive us	54:27
	our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,	54:31
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,	54:35
	for thine is the kingdom, the power,	54:40
	and the glory forever, amen.	54:42
	(organ music)	54:49
	(all singing drowned out by organ)	55:27
-	And now, go forth in peace, and be of good courage.	57:36
	Hold fast that which is good, rejoicing in the power	57:40
	of the Holy Spirit, and may the blessings of God,	57:44
	Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you	57:48
	and remain with you always, amen.	57:51
	♪ Hallelujah, amen, amen ♪	57:56
	(organ music)	58:07

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "True Worship" (July 24, 1994)

Description:

Sermon start time: 19:50. Sermon end time: 40:49.
The fact that Christ has already broken down the walls that separate people and brought peace to opposing groups is a cause to kneel down and worship. And yet so many Christians hold on to old schisms and hostility rather than focus on Christ’s redemption. The preacher asks his audience to embrace unity through their new identity in Christ. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “There’s some kings that I suppose are glad to hear a little nature worship, some mushy nice thoughts about the day, but our King wants the honor of reconciliation, love, and oneness, and the barriers broken down.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r40r9mj8j

Date:

July 24, 1994

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Ephesians

Chapter and Verse:

Ephesians 3:14-21

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0382
ref9446_f7q
uachapelsermaud
duke:321390
dcrmv001364
ark:/87924/r40r9mj8j
8b61b681-b1f5-4b7f-b3b4-788c5df7dfe8

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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William H. Willimon - "True Worship" (July 24, 1994)

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1. William H. Willimon - "True Worship" (July 24, 1994)

Duke University Archives

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William H. Willimon - "True Worship" (July 24, 1994)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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