Debra K. Brazzel - "Called to Newness" (August 27, 1995)

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	(cathedral organ music)	0:00
	(cathedral organ music)	1:00
	(cathedral organ music)	2:06
	(cathedral organ music)	3:04
	(cathedral organ music)	4:01
	(cathedral organ music)	5:02
-	Good morning.	5:35
	We'd like to welcome you to this service of worship	5:37
	on orientation Sunday at the start of this academic year.	5:40
	We'd like to say a special word of welcome to	5:44
	the new students who are joining us today	5:47
	and the new members of the chapel choir.	5:49
	Also to welcome the regular choir back to lead us	5:51
	in worship for this academic year.	5:55
	The choir is continuing its auditions	5:58
	through the coming week for anyone	6:00
	who is interested in auditioning.	6:02
	The information is included in your bulletin.	6:04
	After the service, we will make available	6:07
	Dr. Willimon's book, "Goodbye High School, Hello College"	6:10
	for all first year students and you can pick that up	6:14
	in the narthex on your way out of the chapel.	6:17
	Also to help welcome you, after the service	6:20
	we are having lemonade and music	6:23
	by J.C. Power and Light Company in the chapel basement.	6:26
	And you access the chapel basement in the entrance	6:29
	nearest the Bryan Center.	6:32
	I also want to say a very special happy birthday today	6:34
	to Miss Allen Clelin,	6:38
	Alice Clelin.	6:39
	She is the wife of Dean James T. Clelin,	6:41
	who was a beloved dean of the chapel for many years.	6:44
	She is also the oldest member of the congregation	6:47
	at Duke Chapel and she is celebrating	6:50
	her 95th birthday today.	6:52
	Happy birthday, Alice.	6:54
	Let us continue our worship with a greeting.	6:56
	Please stand.	6:58
	The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.	7:05
Congregation	And also with you.	7:08
-	The risen Christ is with us.	7:10
Congregation	Praise the Lord.	7:13
	("Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" by Chapel Choir)	7:15
	♪ Immortal ♪	7:49
	♪ Invisible ♪	7:51
	♪ God only wise ♪	7:54
	♪ In light inaccessible ♪	7:57
	♪ Hid from our eyes ♪	8:02
	♪ Most blessed and most glorious ♪	8:05
	♪ The Ancient of Days ♪	8:10
	♪ Almighty, victorious ♪	8:14
	♪ Thy great name we praise ♪	8:18
	♪ Unresting, unhasting ♪	8:25
	♪ And silent as light ♪	8:28
	♪ Nor wanting, nor wasting ♪	8:33
	♪ Thou rulest in might ♪	8:37
	♪ Thy justice like mountains ♪	8:41
	♪ High soaring above ♪	8:46
	♪ Thy clouds which are fountains ♪	8:50
	♪ Of goodness and love ♪	8:54
	♪ To all life Thou givest ♪	9:01
	♪ To both great and small ♪	9:05
	♪ In all life Thou livest ♪	9:09
	♪ The true life of all ♪	9:14
	♪ We blossom and flourish ♪	9:18
	♪ As leaves on the tree ♪	9:22
	♪ And wither and perish ♪	9:26
	♪ But nought changeth Thee ♪	9:30
	(somber organ music)	9:37
	♪ Great Father of Glory ♪	11:21
	♪ Pure Father of light ♪	11:25
	♪ Thine angels adore Thee ♪	11:30
	♪ All veiling their sight ♪	11:34
	♪ All laud we would render ♪	11:38
	♪ O help us to see ♪	11:43
	♪ 'Tis only the splendor ♪	11:47
	♪ Of light hideth Thee ♪	11:52
-	Let us pray.	12:02
	Oh God, in mystery and silence,	12:06
	You are present in our lives	12:09
	bringing new life out of destruction,	12:11
	hope out of despair,	12:14
	growth out of difficulty.	12:16
	We thank You that You do not leave us alone	12:18
	but labor to make us whole.	12:20
	Help us to perceive Your unseen hand	12:23
	in the unfolding of our lives	12:25
	and to attend to the gentle guidance of Your spirit.	12:28
	That we may know the joy You give Your people this day.	12:31
	Amen.	12:36
	Please be seated.	12:37
-	Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.	12:45
Congregation	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	12:49
	by the power of Thy Holy Spirit,	12:53
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed	12:56
	we may hear Your Word with joy this day.	13:00
-	Amen.	13:03
	The Old Testament lesson is from the Book of Jeremiah.	13:07
	Chapter 1, verses four through 10.	13:10
	"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying	13:14
	"before I formed you in the womb I knew you	13:17
	"and before you were born I consecrated you,	13:20
	"I appointed you a prophet to the nations.	13:23
	"Then I said, ah, Lord God,	13:27
	"truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a boy.	13:29
	"But the Lord said to me,	13:33
	"do not say I am only a boy,	13:34
	"for you shall go to all to whom I send you	13:37
	"and you shall speak whatever I command you.	13:40
	"Do not be afraid of them	13:43
	"for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.	13:45
	"Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth	13:49
	"and the Lord said to me,	13:52
	"now I have put My words in your mouth.	13:54
	"See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,	13:58
	"to pluck up and to pull down,	14:02
	"to destroy and to overthrow,	14:05
	"to build and to plant."	14:07
	This is the Word of the Lord.	14:10
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	14:13
-	The psalm appointed for this Sunday is Psalm 71,	14:22
	verses one through six,	14:25
	found on page 794 in your hymnal.	14:27
	Please rise and sing the psalm and "Gloria" responsively.	14:30
	(somber organ music)	14:34
	♪ In You, O Lord, do I take refuge ♪	14:41
	♪ Let me never be put to shame ♪	14:46
	♪ In Your righteousness deliver me ♪	14:51
	♪ And rescue me ♪	14:55
	♪ Incline Your ear to me and save me ♪	14:58
	♪ Be to me a rock of refuge ♪	15:05
	♪ A strong fortress to save me ♪	15:07
	♪ For You are my rock ♪	15:11
	♪ And my fortress ♪	15:13
	♪ Rescue me, O my God, ♪	15:16
	♪ From the hand of the wicked ♪	15:19
	♪ From the grasp of the unjust and cruel ♪	15:23
	♪ For You, O Lord, are my hope ♪	15:30
	♪ My trust, O Lord, from my youth ♪	15:34
	♪ Upon You I have leaned from my birth ♪	15:39
	♪ It was You who took me from my mother's womb ♪	15:43
	♪ My praise is continually of You ♪	15:49
	♪ All glory be to You, creator ♪	15:56
	♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪	15:59
	♪ And to the Holy Spirit ♪	16:03
	♪ Blessed great is He ♪	16:06
	♪ As it was at time began ♪	16:10
	♪ It is now and will be ♪	16:14
	♪ Forever more ♪	16:17
-	You may be seated.	16:25
-	The New Testament lesson is from the Book of Revelation,	16:37
	chapter 21, verses five through seven.	16:40
	"And the one who was seated on the throne said,	16:43
	"See, I am making all things new.	16:46
	"Also He said, write this for these words	16:49
	"are trustworthy and true."	16:53
	"Then He said to me, it is done.	16:55
	"I am the Alpha and the Omega,	16:58
	"the beginning and the end.	17:00
	"To the thirsty, I will give water as a gift	17:03
	"from the spring of the water of life.	17:05
	"Those who conquer will inherit these things	17:08
	"and I will be their God and they will be my children.	17:11
	"This is the Word of the Lord."	17:15
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	17:17
-	The Gospel lesson is from the 13th chapter of Saint Luke,	17:20
	Verses 10 through 13.	17:23
	"Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath	17:26
	"and just then there appeared a woman with a spirit	17:29
	"that had crippled her for 18 years.	17:32
	"She was bent over and was quite unable	17:35
	"to stand up straight.	17:38
	"When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said,	17:40
	"woman, you are set free of your ailment.	17:43
	"When He laid His hands on her,	17:47
	"immediately she stood up straight	17:49
	"and began praising God.	17:52
	"This is the Word of the Lord."	17:54
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	17:57
	("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing" by Chapel Choir)	18:17
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	18:57
	♪ My God and King ♪	19:08
	♪ The heavens are not too high ♪	19:13
	♪ His praise may thither fly ♪	19:18
	♪ The earth is not too low ♪	19:23
	♪ His praises there may grow ♪	19:27
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	19:36
	♪ My God and King ♪	19:49
	♪ The church with psalms must shout ♪	19:54
	♪ No door can keep them out ♪	19:58
	♪ But, more than all, the heart ♪	20:04
	♪ Must bear the longest part ♪	20:08
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	20:18
	♪ My God and King ♪	20:31
	♪ Amen ♪	20:38
-	One of the reasons that I continue to work	21:12
	in an academic setting is that I love this time of year.	21:15
	The beginning of the school year when approximately	21:21
	a fourth of our student population is new.	21:24
	As the overflowing station wagons and minivans	21:28
	lineup to unload,	21:32
	the excitement and energy and anxiety are almost palpable.	21:34
	Sometimes it's hard to tell who's most nervous,	21:40
	the students or the parents.	21:43
	You can almost hear the questions, the students worry.	21:45
	Will I like my roommate?	21:48
	Will I find friends?	21:51
	Well I do okay in my classes?	21:52
	And parents wonder,	21:55
	will she like it here?	21:57
	Will she remember what we've taught her?	21:58
	How will she change?	22:01
	But in spite of the anxiety and uncertainty,	22:04
	the very air pulses with life,	22:07
	enthusiasm and hope	22:10
	for what is yet to come.	22:13
	Even for returning students,	22:15
	faculty, administrators and staff,	22:17
	the beginning of the academic year is marked	22:20
	by a sense of new energy and high expectations.	22:23
	In the beginning, when everything is new,	22:28
	there are no failures, no disappointments.	22:31
	Only possibilities.	22:35
	It is the potential and the unknown quality	22:37
	of what is new that draws us toward the future.	22:41
	There's something compelling about newness.	22:46
	In Revelations, it is the promise of God.	22:49
	"See?	22:53
	"I am making all things new."	22:54
	This cycle of the old giving way to the new	22:58
	is built into the very nature of things.	23:01
	It is part of the process by which life renews itself.	23:05
	And we here in the University sense that.	23:09
	We need these new beginnings, these fresh young students,	23:13
	for through them we are all made new.	23:18
	Together, the future beckons us with a potential	23:22
	of what is yet to be.	23:26
	The promise of newness fills us with the hope	23:29
	that better things lie ahead.	23:33
	But in the Christian church we also sing	23:37
	"As it was ere time began	23:40
	"is now and will be forever more."	23:44
	There is a tension between the call to the future	23:48
	and the pull of the past.	23:52
	The beckoning power of newness	23:55
	and the holding power of the familiar.	23:57
	Sometimes it seems that the past holds sway over us.	24:02
	The energy and enthusiasm that we had at the beginning	24:07
	of the academic year soon gives way to too busy schedules,	24:10
	tasks left undone,	24:14
	expectations unmet.	24:16
	Even though we hope to do things differently,	24:19
	to get better organized,	24:22
	say no to more things,	24:23
	spend more time with the people we really care about.	24:25
	Exercise three times a week, lose the 20 pounds	24:28
	we didn't lose last year	24:31
	and finish the book we've been working on,	24:33
	patch up a tense relationship,	24:35
	even though we hope to do things differently.	24:38
	To be different.	24:43
	This year winds up looking very much like last year.	24:46
	How quickly it seems that the promise of newness	24:50
	fades into the familiar patterns of the past.	24:54
	But sometimes we need the familiar.	25:00
	We draw strength from the past.	25:03
	From our relationships, our possessions, our identity.	25:05
	The first thing that every student does	25:10
	is unpack their stuff.	25:12
	They can't begin to feel comfortable	25:14
	until they have familiar things around them.	25:16
	Every office on campus has some personal belongings	25:19
	of the people who work in it.	25:23
	It is our nature as human beings to nest,	25:25
	to make the space where we work and live familiar.	25:28
	We need the feeling of being at home in our surroundings.	25:32
	We cherish the familiar	25:37
	and hold onto the things that we know.	25:39
	And sometimes, we struggle to hold onto the past	25:43
	for fear that all things will pass away.	25:47
	Even as we look forward eagerly to what has yet to be.	25:51
	While you rejoiced at your graduation from high school,	25:56
	saying goodbye to high school friends	26:00
	was twinged with sadness because you knew	26:02
	that you would never be together in the same way again.	26:05
	And even though your parents were filled with pride	26:09
	as they brought you to Duke University,	26:12
	they also knew the bitter sweetness	26:15
	of watching you grow up and away from them.	26:18
	It is natural for us to want to hold onto the things	26:25
	that are precious to us.	26:28
	Our children, our health, our way of life, our knowledge.	26:30
	And yet, we cannot stop the sands of time	26:36
	as we search for the familiar sands beneath our feet,	26:39
	we find that even the sands shift	26:43
	beneath the wave of change.	26:46
	"See, I am making all things new."	26:50
	The tension between the future on the one hand	26:55
	and the past on the other,	26:58
	"all things new as it was ere time began	27:00
	"and will be forever more"	27:03
	is nothing unusual.	27:06
	It is nothing more than the rhythm of history	27:09
	and life itself.	27:13
	And both are true.	27:15
	They are part of the same process.	27:20
	The dynamic of transformation,	27:22
	the dynamic of change which ties us to the past	27:24
	and yet calls us to a new future.	27:28
	Let me outline how this dynamic works	27:31
	both in our individual and corporate lives.	27:34
	You and I are creatures of temporality.	27:38
	We never have enough time because we are it.	27:41
	We're intricately shaped by time.	27:45
	If I were to ask you to tell me who you are	27:47
	you couldn't answer without reference to who you have been.	27:50
	In every moment you integrate	27:54
	who you have been into the present.	27:57
	Your very living forms a trajectory	27:59
	of continually weaving your past into your present.	28:02
	The positive experiences and the negative ones,	28:06
	the peaks and valleys, the highs and the lows,	28:10
	every experience of your life is woven together	28:13
	to make your present self.	28:16
	The first time that you fell in love	28:19
	and whether that love was returned or rejected,	28:21
	that experience is still with you.	28:24
	Those great joys	28:28
	getting chosen for the job that you wanted,	28:30
	making an A in your most difficult class,	28:32
	being excepted to medical school,	28:35
	the birth of your first child or grandchild.	28:38
	Those high moments, they're still reverberating	28:41
	deep inside your soul.	28:45
	The trauma that you would rather forget.	28:49
	A failure.	28:52
	The death of a loved one.	28:54
	A rape.	28:56
	Was it last year or 10 years ago?	28:57
	It's still there.	29:01
	It's behind you but also present.	29:03
	Helping to form you.	29:07
	In your deepest self, every event of your past,	29:10
	the notable and the boring, the joyous and the sad,	29:14
	the wonderful and the painful,	29:18
	they still affect you today.	29:20
	And who you are cannot be explained	29:23
	without reference to who you have been.	29:26
	Who you are is made from a lifetime of experience,	29:29
	continuously brought into the present.	29:33
	The past helps shape how you interpret the present,	29:38
	whether creatively or blindly	29:42
	or lovingly or fearfully,	29:45
	in each fresh moment	29:48
	"as it was ere time began	29:50
	"is now and will be forever more."	29:53
	Your past is here.	29:57
	It's really not way back there somewhere but here.	30:00
	And yet, God is making all things new.	30:06
	You're not only shaped by your past,	30:11
	you're also shaped by the future.	30:13
	You are men and women, children and youth of the call.	30:16
	Your call to a future that is yet untasted,	30:20
	untested.	30:24
	In the Gospel text read this morning,	30:27
	the bent over woman was called to a new future.	30:30
	For 18 years she had lived stooped over.	30:34
	Her vision of the future was limited	30:39
	to what she could see at her feet.	30:41
	It was the only life that she knew.	30:43
	She didn't think that anything else was possible.	30:45
	She was trapped by her past	30:47
	but Jesus saw her and called her and set her free.	30:50
	The future called her	30:54
	but she might have decided that it was too risky	30:57
	to give up the way of life that she had known for so long.	30:59
	She could have stayed, stuck in the past	31:03
	but she didn't.	31:06
	She stood up straight and began praising God.	31:07
	She excepted God's call to dramatic newness.	31:10
	She took the risk to stand up	31:13
	and to step out into an unknown future.	31:16
	The prophet Jeremiah was also called to a new future.	31:21
	It was a future that was different from the one	31:26
	that he had envisioned for himself.	31:28
	He was a shy, quiet man who wanted most of all to be liked.	31:30
	But he was called to speak a harsh, bold,	31:35
	controversial word.	31:38
	He was called, touched and appointed to a path	31:40
	that he didn't seek.	31:44
	The future called him.	31:46
	The future shaped him.	31:48
	The future changed him.	31:50
	For some of you, the call of God to the future	31:54
	means that you may find yourself seeking a career	31:58
	or lifestyle that is different than the one	32:01
	you set out to seek.	32:04
	It may be different than the one you envision for yourself,	32:07
	it may be different than the one	32:10
	your family envisioned for you.	32:11
	Like Jeremiah, you may at first resist	32:14
	the call to the future, and yet,	32:17
	discover yourself known and touched and appointed	32:20
	and sent into a path and a career that you did not seek.	32:25
	I've known physicians that have found themselves	32:31
	caring for migrant farm workers	32:34
	and math majors who work with the handicapped	32:36
	and computer programmers who wound up in Divinity school	32:39
	and engineers who run an orphanage.	32:42
	God's future sometimes calls us to paths	32:45
	that we do not seek.	32:48
	Sometimes the future calls us to let go	32:51
	of a life that we've known for a long time.	32:54
	It's risky to let go of what is familiar and comfortable	32:58
	to step out into the unknown.	33:02
	It's hard to change old habits and patterns of behavior.	33:04
	It's almost like being a trapeze artist	33:08
	when you must let go of one rope	33:10
	in order to grab another one and the space in between	33:13
	can be so terrifying.	33:18
	The first few weeks of school can sometimes feel	33:22
	like that moment in between the ropes	33:25
	when you're hanging in thin there.	33:28
	In between the past that is familiar	33:30
	and the future that is yet to be.	33:32
	But you take the risk	33:36
	and you let go of the rope of home and old friends	33:38
	because the call of the future promises new friends	33:41
	and exciting adventure of learning and self discovery,	33:45
	a new sense of belonging	33:49
	and a new identity.	33:51
	There are times in each of our lives	33:55
	when we are called to something new.	33:57
	Some transformative moment when we must let go of one thing	34:00
	and swing out into the unknown.	34:05
	It might be moving into your first job	34:08
	or changing jobs or getting married or having children	34:11
	or caring for aging parents	34:14
	or making a new life for yourself alone.	34:17
	Wherever you are on life's journey,	34:22
	there will be times when you will be called to let go	34:25
	of the familiar past and reach out to an unknown future,	34:28
	trusting that you will be able to grab hold	34:33
	of the promise of God to make all things new.	34:36
	So who you are is not only the past	34:43
	which becomes part of your present	34:47
	but also the future which shapes your present.	34:48
	And in the present you hold the past and future together	34:52
	and in that past and future held together	34:57
	all things new as it was ere time began	35:00
	is now and will be forever more	35:04
	the two of them together are what create you,	35:07
	which means that you're always	35:12
	in the process of transformation.	35:14
	Because the past is always increasing	35:17
	and the future is always moving,	35:19
	you are moving, you are transformation.	35:22
	Who you are is continually in the process of change.	35:26
	Sometimes you notice it more than others	35:31
	but it never stops being true.	35:33
	Those things that you wish never happened	35:38
	that might have been better if they hadn't happened	35:42
	are yet with you but when you open yourself	35:45
	to the call of the future,	35:48
	they can become a resource for the present.	35:49
	When your friend's parents divorced	35:52
	and you remembered how you felt when your parents broke up,	35:55
	you were able to be there with your friend	35:59
	with an empathy and compassion	36:01
	that you never would have known.	36:03
	Or when your coworker lost a family member.	36:05
	The loss of your own beloved one	36:09
	became a resource for their healing.	36:11
	Or the failure in your research became the impetus	36:15
	for a new and exciting direction in your work	36:18
	that you would never have taken without the failure,	36:21
	the future changed your past.	36:24
	As you call to the future, those things in your past	36:29
	that you understood one way	36:32
	become re-contextualized by a new future	36:34
	so that those things that had been so horrible for you	36:38
	and really were horrible and it really would've	36:41
	been better if they never had happened,	36:44
	that's the truth.	36:46
	But they did happen and you went through them	36:48
	but the new future that God calls you to	36:51
	means that those things in your past	36:54
	which had been negative now have a way	36:56
	in which they can be used positively.	36:59
	Not that they were God's will but that it is God's way	37:02
	to turn even the most painful experiences in life	37:05
	into a blessing.	37:09
	"See, I am making all things new."	37:11
	The future re-contextualizes the past	37:16
	and gives it a new usefulness.	37:21
	This is an important dynamic.	37:24
	The future can change the past.	37:27
	It's not that you go back in time and change it.	37:30
	What happened happened	37:33
	but the future changes the past by lifting up things	37:35
	that you hadn't noticed before	37:39
	and bringing them to a new prominence.	37:40
	By taking that which had been unusable	37:43
	and finding a way to use it.	37:45
	By re-contextualizing the past	37:48
	so that those things which you couldn't deal with	37:51
	now you can because you have a new way	37:54
	of viewing the past.	37:58
	We are shaped by the past and shaped by the future	38:01
	and the present is the savoring	38:05
	of how we weave past and future together.	38:07
	And in the process, we create our distinctive lives.	38:12
	We are always being transformed.	38:16
	We're always with God giving birth to ourselves.	38:18
	"See, I am making all things new.	38:22
	"As it was ere time began is now and will be forever more."	38:24
	God makes all things new.	38:29
	But if this is the dynamic of change,	38:34
	which impacts each one of us individually,	38:36
	it is also the dynamic of change	38:40
	which impacts us corporately.	38:42
	There is a power that comes to us individually	38:46
	and corporately that enables us to move	38:49
	with the dynamic process of transformation.	38:51
	It is made up of three things.	38:55
	The Spirit of God, our communal strength	38:56
	and our creative response.	38:59
	Us individually, corporately with God.	39:02
	These three woven together create the great tapestry	39:06
	that is all of us.	39:10
	In the past, present and future,	39:12
	our lives are woven together to form	39:15
	a single tapestry of history,	39:18
	a comprehensive picture of the present	39:20
	and a vision and trajectory for the future.	39:23
	Our own stories, one by one, may seem relatively small	39:28
	but when we add it to the many stories	39:32
	it takes on a life larger than its own.	39:35
	Like the many threads that go into the weaving	39:39
	of the tapestry or the many drops in a single wave.	39:41
	As we come together as a community at Duke University,	39:46
	we are shaped in part by our	39:51
	individual and corporate history.	39:53
	In the opening convocation,	39:56
	we remember the past that brought us to the present.	39:57
	We recalled the transformations that have taken place	40:01
	over time to create the kind of university,	40:04
	the kind of community that exists today.	40:07
	The history shapes in part who we are	40:11
	and yet history and tradition are always called	40:15
	to respond to a new future.	40:19
	If they did not respond to the changing needs	40:23
	and circumstances of the future,	40:25
	they would become simply dead, lifeless forms.	40:27
	A mere shadow of what they had been or could be.	40:31
	There are a lot of changes on campus this year	40:37
	and there are many who could resist the changes	40:41
	and hold onto the past.	40:44
	But the past is never fixed.	40:46
	The good old days are dead and gone old days.	40:49
	The present is found at the intersection	40:54
	of what has been and what can be.	40:57
	We have a wonderful heritage	41:00
	that can be a resource for the present.	41:03
	But we also must respond creatively	41:07
	to the new future which calls us.	41:10
	For the decisions that we make in the present	41:13
	will set this university and community	41:15
	upon a trajectory that will lead us into a future	41:18
	that is yet to be.	41:21
	We have the opportunity and responsibility	41:24
	to think carefully and to listen deeply	41:27
	to the voice of the future that calls us.	41:30
	There are many voices that would tell us who we should be,	41:34
	what we should be,	41:38
	but as a particular kind of community,	41:40
	a Christian community of faith	41:43
	at the heart of this university,	41:46
	we believe there is a distinctive voice	41:48
	which calls us and beckons us	41:51
	toward a particular kind of future.	41:53
	It is the same voice that said,	41:56
	"See, I am making all things new."	41:58
	These words are trustworthy and true.	42:02
	It is the same voice that said,	42:07
	"To the thirsty I will give water	42:09
	"as a gift from the spring of the water of life.	42:11
	"I will be their God and they will be my people."	42:14
	What would it mean as a university to be called	42:19
	by future with a thirst quenching God at its center?	42:23
	How would our priorities or needs shift?	42:28
	What kind of community would we become?	42:33
	How would we socialize?	42:35
	Would we become more exclusive	42:38
	or would we become more open toward a new togetherness	42:40
	of race, gender, culture and sexuality?	42:44
	Would we feel a greater call to service?	42:49
	To caring for the poor, the sick and the outcast.	42:51
	How would we treat the least of these in our midst?	42:56
	For what purposes would our	43:01
	learning and research be dedicated?	43:02
	What would it mean to be open to the future	43:06
	to which God calls us?	43:10
	Through the dynamic of transformation,	43:14
	we will collectively determine what kind of community	43:17
	will exist at Duke University and in the community at large.	43:21
	The future calls us to a vision of humanity	43:27
	with God at the center, quenching our thirst,	43:31
	filling us with water of life.	43:35
	It is the Spirit of God working in us and through us	43:38
	individually and collectively,	43:42
	calling us together to a new future.	43:45
	Let us rejoice in the call and the promise of God.	43:51
	"As it was ere time began	43:56
	"is now and will be forever more."	43:58
	God makes all things new.	44:02
	Amen.	44:06
	("Be Thou My Vision" by Chapel Choir)	44:12
	♪ Be Thou my vision ♪	44:50
	♪ O Lord of my heart ♪	44:53
	♪ Be all else but naught to me ♪	44:59
	♪ Save that Thou art ♪	45:03
	♪ Be Thou my best thought ♪	45:08
	♪ In the day and the night ♪	45:11
	♪ Waking or sleeping ♪	45:17
	♪ Thy presence my light ♪	45:21
	♪ Be Thou my wisdom ♪	45:29
	♪ And Thou my true word ♪	45:33
	♪ Thou ever with me ♪	45:38
	♪ And I with thee Lord ♪	45:42
	♪ Thou and Thou only ♪	45:47
	♪ The first in my heart ♪	45:51
	♪ Great God of Heaven ♪	45:56
	♪ My treasure Thou art ♪	46:00
	♪ Great God of Heaven ♪	46:08
	♪ My victory won ♪	46:12
	♪ May I reach Heaven's joys ♪	46:17
	♪ O bright Heaven's sun ♪	46:21
	♪ Heart of my own heart ♪	46:26
	♪ Whatever befall ♪	46:30
	♪ Still be my vision ♪	46:36
	♪ O Ruler of all ♪	46:40
Priest	The Lord be with you.	46:49
Congregation	And also with you.	46:51
-	Let us pray.	46:52
	Immortal invisible God only wise,	47:03
	You give light to all, to both great and small	47:07
	and when life grows dim or life turns weak or sour,	47:11
	You re-create and awake a new life.	47:16
	Praise be to you, oh God,	47:20
	that You and no other	47:23
	are our ultimate architect and builder,	47:25
	the final teacher and examiner of our lives.	47:29
	This day, oh Lord, we venture forth into a new year	47:35
	and many of us into a new community.	47:37
	In a world where millions toil from dawn to midnight	47:42
	only to sleep without bed	47:45
	and without food,	47:48
	You invite us into the Garden of Eden	47:51
	called Duke University.	47:54
	In a world where millions have not one cent for a book,	47:57
	we live and move among millions.	48:02
	In a nation of strong and weak,	48:07
	it is our privilege to work and study	48:09
	in one of the best universities of the land.	48:12
	Why, oh Lord,	48:15
	why us?	48:17
	Why such a privilege?	48:20
	Why such an opportunity?	48:23
	Immortal, invisible God only wise,	48:27
	You give life to all both great and small.	48:31
	Lord, in Your mercy.	48:36
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	48:38
-	In a world where life is relentless,	48:41
	the pace driven and hectic,	48:45
	You, oh Lord, Who rested on the Sabbath give us leisure.	48:48
	Leisure to think Your thoughts,	48:53
	leisure to commune with the saints in sages,	48:57
	saints and sages who span not only generations	49:01
	but millennia,	49:04
	saints and sages who span not only lands but continents.	49:07
	Oh Lord, You give us leisure to attend	49:13
	to the new and creative,	49:15
	the perduring and the abiding.	49:18
	Immortal and invisible God only wise,	49:22
	attend us in our leisure that we may hear	49:25
	You're still small voice	49:29
	wherever you speak.	49:31
	Lord, in your mercy.	49:35
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	49:37
-	We hear you calling, Lord, through these rich blessings	49:40
	You have loaned us for a season.	49:43
	Help us to stay focused on You in the midst of such plenty.	49:47
	Take us to new levels of discipleship and service.	49:53
	Move among us moment by moment	49:57
	that we may be remade in Your image	50:00
	and leave this place to serve You and Your world	50:04
	more faithfully.	50:08
	Lord, in your mercy.	50:11
Congregation	Hear our prayer.	50:14
-	Amen.	50:16
	It is our opportunity and our privilege	50:19
	to worship God with our tides and our offerings.	50:21
	(somber organ music)	50:25
	("When in Our Music God Is Glorified" by Chapel Choir)	51:40
	♪ When in our music ♪	52:03
	♪ God is glorified ♪	52:07
	♪ And adoration ♪	52:11
	♪ Leaves no room for pride ♪	52:14
	♪ It is as though ♪	52:20
	♪ The whole creation cried ♪	52:22
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	52:29
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	52:34
	♪ How oft in making music ♪	52:39
	♪ We have found ♪	52:44
	♪ A new dimension ♪	52:47
	♪ In the world of sound ♪	52:50
	♪ As worship moved us ♪	52:55
	♪ To a more profound ♪	52:59
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	53:04
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:10
	(triumphant trumpet music)	53:13
	♪ So has the Church ♪	53:23
	♪ In liturgy and song ♪	53:25
	♪ In faith and love ♪	53:31
	♪ Through centuries of wrong ♪	53:33
	♪ Borne witness to the truth ♪	53:38
	♪ In every tongue ♪	53:43
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	53:47
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	53:53
	♪ And did not Jesus ♪	53:58
	♪ Sing a psalm that night ♪	54:01
	♪ When utmost evil ♪	54:05
	♪ Strove against the light ♪	54:09
	♪ Then let us sing ♪	54:14
	♪ For whom he won the fight ♪	54:16
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	54:23
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:28
	(triumphant trumpet music)	54:33
	♪ Let every instrument ♪	54:52
	♪ Be tuned for praise ♪	54:56
	♪ Let all rejoice ♪	55:00
	♪ Who have a voice to raise ♪	55:03
	♪ And may God give us ♪	55:09
	♪ Faith to sing always ♪	55:12
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	55:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:23
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	55:31
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	55:36
	("Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow" by Chapel Choir)	55:50
	♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪	56:21
	♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪	56:27
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:33
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:36
	♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪	56:41
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	56:47
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:53
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	56:56
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	57:00
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	57:03
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	57:06
-	Let us pray.	57:17
	Oh Lord God, the author and giver of all good things,	57:19
	we thank You for all Your mercies	57:23
	and for Your loving care overall Your people.	57:25
	We bless You for the gift of life,	57:30
	for Your protection round about us,	57:32
	for Your guiding hand upon us,	57:35
	for the tokens of Your love within us.	57:39
	We thank You for friendship and duty,	57:43
	for good hopes and precious memories,	57:46
	for the joys that cheer us,	57:50
	yes, for the trials that teach us to trust in You.	57:52
	Most of all, Lord, we thank You for the saving knowledge	57:57
	of your Son our Savior,	58:00
	for the living presence of the comforter, Your Holy Spirit	58:03
	in Your church and for Your church the Body of Christ.	58:07
	For the ministry of Word and Sacrament	58:11
	and all the means of grace,	58:13
	You have blessed us through these gifts we now bring to You	58:16
	and these and in all things oh heavenly God	58:20
	make us wise for a right use of all Your blessings	58:24
	that we may render an acceptable thanksgiving onto You	58:29
	all the days of our lives.	58:32
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord who taught us to say	58:35
	when we pray.	58:38
Congregation	Our Father, who art in heaven,	58:40
	hallowed be thy name.	58:43
	Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done	58:45
	on earth, as it is in heaven.	58:48
	Give us this day our daily bread	58:51
	and forgive us our trespasses,	58:54
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	58:56
	and lead us not in temptation,	59:00
	but deliver us from evil.	59:02
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	59:04
Priest	Amen.	59:10
	("God of Grace and God of Glory" by Chapel Choir)	59:19
	♪ God of grace and God of glory ♪	59:57
	♪ On your people pour your power ♪	1:00:02
	♪ Crown your ancient church's story ♪	1:00:08
	♪ Bring its bud to glorious flower ♪	1:00:13
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:00:18
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:00:24
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	1:00:29
	♪ Lo the hosts of evil round us ♪	1:00:57
	♪ Scorn the Christ, assail his ways ♪	1:01:03
	♪ From the fears that long have bound us ♪	1:01:09
	♪ Free our hearts to faith and praise ♪	1:01:14
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:01:20
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:01:25
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	1:01:31
	♪ Cure your children's warring madness ♪	1:01:38
	♪ Bend our pride to your control ♪	1:01:44
	♪ Shame our wanton, selfish gladness ♪	1:01:49
	♪ Rich in things and poor in soul ♪	1:01:55
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:02:01
	♪ Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:02:06
	♪ Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal ♪	1:02:12
	♪ Save us from weak resignation ♪	1:02:20
	♪ To the evils we deplore ♪	1:02:25
	♪ Let the gift of Your salvation ♪	1:02:31
	♪ Be our glory evermore ♪	1:02:37
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	1:02:42
	♪ Serving you whom we adore ♪	1:02:48
	♪ Serving you whom we adore ♪	1:02:53
-	Go forth in peace.	1:03:05
	May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ	1:03:07
	and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit	1:03:09
	be with you all.	1:03:13
	♪ Lord be ♪	1:03:17
	♪ In my head ♪	1:03:20
	♪ And in my ♪	1:03:24
	♪ Understanding ♪	1:03:27
	♪ Lord be ♪	1:03:35
	♪ In my eyes ♪	1:03:38
	♪ And in my ♪	1:03:42
	♪ Looking ♪	1:03:45
	♪ Lord be ♪	1:03:53
	♪ In my mouth ♪	1:03:56
	♪ And in my ♪	1:04:00
	♪ Speaking ♪	1:04:03
	♪ Lord be ♪	1:04:14
	♪ In my heart ♪	1:04:17
	♪ And in my ♪	1:04:22
	♪ Thinking ♪	1:04:25
	♪ Lord ♪	1:04:34
	♪ Be ♪	1:04:36
	♪ At my end ♪	1:04:38
	♪ And at ♪	1:04:47
	♪ My ♪	1:04:51
	♪ Departing ♪	1:04:54
	(dramatic organ music)	1:05:15
	(dramatic organ music)	1:06:11

Item Info

Title:

Debra K. Brazzel - "Called to Newness" (August 27, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 21:12. Sermon end time: 44:09.
At the beginning of the school year, the preacher encourages listeners to not be stuck in the past and embrace the newness of the future. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: We have a wonderful heritage that can be a resource to the present but we also must respond creatively to the new future which calls us for the decisions we make in the present will set this university and community on a trajectory that will lead us to a future that is yet to be. We have the opportunity and responsibility to think carefully and listen deeply to the voice of the future that calls us.

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r42z1348m

Date:

August 27, 1995

Speaker:

Brazzel, Debra K.

Liturgical Calendar:

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0440
ref9625_bc2
uachapelsermaud
duke:321612
dcrmv001417
ark:/87924/r42z1348m
600eb66f-c974-4581-8ae1-6e52580ac7c5

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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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Debra K. Brazzel - "Called to Newness" (August 27, 1995)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

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