Dennis M. Campbell - "Seeing and Believing" (October 2, 1988)
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Transcript
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(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning, and welcome to worship | 2:59 |
in Duke University Chapel. | 3:01 | |
This is indeed a day the lord has made, | 3:03 | |
and it is our privilege to rejoice | 3:07 | |
and be glad in it in these beautiful surroundings. | 3:09 | |
We will be led in sermon this morning | 3:12 | |
by the Rev. Dr. Gayle Felton, | 3:14 | |
who is assistant professor of philosophy and religion | 3:16 | |
at Meredith College. | 3:19 | |
Gayle is a very able teacher, a scholar, | 3:21 | |
and preacher, and we hear you gladly today, Gayle. | 3:23 | |
Let us worship God. | 3:28 | |
(organ plays) | 3:34 | |
(congregation sings hymn) | 3:58 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:06 |
Grant, oh merciful God, that your church | 6:08 | |
being gathered together in unity by your holy spirit | 6:11 | |
may show forth your power among all peoples | 6:15 | |
to the glory of your name through Jesus Christ, our lord, | 6:18 | |
who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, | 6:23 | |
one God, forever and ever, amen. | 6:27 | |
Please be seated. | 6:33 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:46 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 6:48 | |
by the power of your holy spirit | 6:51 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 6:54 | |
we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen. | 6:57 | |
The first lesson is taken from the second book of Samuel, | 7:05 | |
the 23rd chapter, beginning at the first verse. | 7:09 | |
Now these are the last words of David, | 7:14 | |
the oracle of David, the son of Jesse, | 7:16 | |
the oracle of the man who was raised on high, | 7:20 | |
the anointed of the God of Jacob, | 7:23 | |
the sweet psalmist of Israel. | 7:26 | |
The spirit of the lord speaks by me, | 7:30 | |
his word is upon my tongue. | 7:32 | |
The God of Israel has spoken, | 7:35 | |
the rock of Israel has said to me, | 7:38 | |
when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, | 7:41 | |
he dawns on them like the morning light, | 7:45 | |
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, | 7:49 | |
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. | 7:53 | |
Yea, does not my house stand so with God, | 7:58 | |
for he has made me an everlasting covenant, | 8:01 | |
ordered in all things and secure. | 8:05 | |
For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire, | 8:08 | |
but godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, | 8:14 | |
for they cannot be taken with the hand, | 8:19 | |
but the man who touches them arms himself with iron, | 8:22 | |
and the shaft of a spear, and they are | 8:26 | |
utterly consumed with fire. | 8:29 | |
Here ends the reading of the first lesson. | 8:32 | |
(organ plays) | 8:38 | |
(choral singing) | 8:59 | |
- | The second lesson is taken from Paul's first letter | 13:11 |
to the Corinthians, the first chapter | 13:14 | |
beginning at the 18th verse. | 13:17 | |
For the word of the cross is folly to those | 13:20 | |
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, | 13:23 | |
it is the power of God. | 13:27 | |
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, | 13:29 | |
and the cleverness of the clever I will thrwart. | 13:32 | |
Where is the wise man? | 13:36 | |
Where is the scribe? | 13:38 | |
Where is the debater of this age? | 13:40 | |
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? | 13:43 | |
For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know | 13:46 | |
God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly | 13:50 | |
of what we preach to save those who believe. | 13:54 | |
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, | 13:58 | |
but we preach Christ crucified. | 14:01 | |
A stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, | 14:04 | |
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, | 14:08 | |
Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. | 14:12 | |
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, | 14:16 | |
and the weakness of God is stronger than men. | 14:19 | |
For consider your call, brothers and sisters, | 14:23 | |
not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, | 14:26 | |
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, | 14:29 | |
but God chose what is foolish in the world | 14:34 | |
to shame the wise. | 14:37 | |
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. | 14:39 | |
God chose what is low and despised in the world, | 14:43 | |
even things that are not, to bring to nothing things | 14:47 | |
that are so that no human being might boast | 14:50 | |
in the presence of God. | 14:54 | |
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, | 14:56 | |
whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness, | 15:00 | |
and sanctification and redemption. | 15:03 | |
Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts | 15:07 | |
boast of the lord. | 15:11 | |
Here ends the reading of the second lesson. | 15:13 | |
(organ plays) | 15:18 | |
(choral singing) | 15:48 | |
- | In the lesson from John, Jesus is speaking | 18:18 |
to those who were confused, | 18:22 | |
even hostile, in the face of his claim to be | 18:25 | |
the bread of life. | 18:29 | |
Here are the words of the gospel. | 18:32 | |
For my flesh is food indeed, | 18:37 | |
and my blood is drink indeed. | 18:40 | |
Those who eat my flesh, and drink my blood, | 18:44 | |
abide in me and I in them. | 18:48 | |
As the living father sent me, | 18:53 | |
and I live because of the father, | 18:56 | |
so whoever eats me will live because of me. | 19:00 | |
This is the bread which came down from heaven. | 19:05 | |
Not such as our ancestors ate and died, | 19:10 | |
whoever eats this bread will live forever. | 19:14 | |
This he said in the synagogue | 19:20 | |
as he taught at Capernaum. | 19:22 | |
Many of his disciples when they heard it said, | 19:26 | |
this is a hard saying, who can listen to it? | 19:31 | |
But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples | 19:38 | |
murmured at it said to them, | 19:42 | |
do you take offense at this? | 19:47 | |
Then what if you are to see the son of man | 19:51 | |
ascending where he was before? | 19:55 | |
It is the spirit that gives life, | 19:59 | |
the flesh is of no avail. | 20:03 | |
The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life, | 20:06 | |
but there are some of you that do not believe. | 20:12 | |
For Jesus knew from the first who those were | 20:17 | |
that would not believe him, | 20:21 | |
and who it was that would betray him. | 20:23 | |
And he said, this is why I told you | 20:27 | |
that no one can come to me unless it is granted | 20:30 | |
by the father. | 20:35 | |
After this, many of his disciples drew back | 20:38 | |
and no longer went about with him. | 20:43 | |
Jesus said to the 12, | 20:48 | |
do you also wish to go away? | 20:51 | |
Simon Peter answered him, lord, | 20:57 | |
to whom shall we go? | 21:01 | |
You have the words of eternal life, | 21:04 | |
and we have believed and have come to know | 21:09 | |
that you are the holy one of God. | 21:12 | |
A recent popular television commercial | 21:24 | |
selling a light beer, I believe I recall, | 21:30 | |
insisted exuberantly and repeatedly that | 21:35 | |
you can have it all, | 21:41 | |
you can have it all. | 21:46 | |
This is a claim so typical, I believe, | 21:53 | |
of the lives of most of us. | 21:57 | |
We want to have it all. | 22:01 | |
And more than that, we really believe, | 22:06 | |
and are encouraged by the society around us to believe, | 22:10 | |
that it is indeed possible. | 22:16 | |
I have been engaged in teaching at one level or another | 22:23 | |
for most of my adult life. | 22:29 | |
And I am still surprised to find young men | 22:32 | |
and women believing that they can enjoy | 22:37 | |
academic success without sacrificing either social life, | 22:42 | |
or sleep, or soap operas. | 22:49 | |
On a more serious level, | 22:56 | |
we see so many persons today | 22:59 | |
struggling with the demands of careers | 23:04 | |
which monopolize their time and energy, | 23:08 | |
high-pressure, demanding careers that tate them | 23:13 | |
out of their homes, and take their attention | 23:18 | |
away from their loved ones, | 23:21 | |
even when they are physically present, | 23:23 | |
and yet in the midst of that still expecting | 23:26 | |
to be able to sustain loving and stable family lives. | 23:31 | |
We want it all. | 23:38 | |
We want all the money | 23:42 | |
we could ever desire, | 23:45 | |
and yet all the leisure time that we need | 23:48 | |
to enjoy spending it. | 23:52 | |
We claim strong religious commitment | 23:57 | |
and yet we expect to be able to adjust smoothly | 24:02 | |
to the secular society in which we live. | 24:07 | |
We believe that we can indeed have everything we want, | 24:13 | |
that we don't need to deny ourselves, | 24:19 | |
that we don't need to make choices, | 24:22 | |
that we don't need to give up anything. | 24:25 | |
And this expectation, I'm afraid, | 24:31 | |
underlies the great difficulty that so many of us have | 24:36 | |
in making decisions. | 24:43 | |
For making decisions involves an honest facing | 24:49 | |
of the necessity of choosing between various options. | 24:54 | |
And we don't want to do that. | 25:03 | |
We don't even really think we should have to. | 25:07 | |
All of you when you were in high school | 25:14 | |
read the poems of Robert Frost, | 25:18 | |
and you're all familiar with this classic, | 25:21 | |
The Road Not Taken. | 25:25 | |
But because it is so pertinent here, | 25:28 | |
let me share it with you again. | 25:31 | |
Frost, you remember, pictures himself, | 25:37 | |
or the traveler whose life he is describing, | 25:41 | |
as standing at the edge of a deep wood, | 25:46 | |
and into that wood goes a road, | 25:52 | |
but in a short distance, the road forks | 25:57 | |
so that it will not be possible for the traveler | 26:03 | |
to go on both branches of it. | 26:08 | |
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, | 26:14 | |
and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler | 26:19 | |
long I stood and looked down one as far as I could | 26:26 | |
to where it bent in the undergrowth. | 26:33 | |
Then took the other, as just as fair, | 26:39 | |
and having perhaps the better claim | 26:46 | |
because it was grassy and wanted wear, | 26:48 | |
though as for that the passing there | 26:54 | |
had worn them really about the same. | 26:57 | |
And both that morning equally lay in leaves, | 27:02 | |
no step had trodden black. | 27:08 | |
Oh, I kept the first for another day. | 27:13 | |
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, | 27:17 | |
I doubted if I should ever come back. | 27:22 | |
I shall be telling this with a sigh, | 27:28 | |
somewhere ages and ages hence. | 27:32 | |
Two roads diverged in a wood, | 27:38 | |
and I, I took the one less traveled by, | 27:43 | |
and that has made all the difference. | 27:50 | |
At so many points in our lives | 28:00 | |
two roads diverge. | 28:07 | |
And being one traveler we cannot follow both. | 28:13 | |
We look down their grassy course | 28:20 | |
in a hope to catch some clue, | 28:23 | |
but we must make our decision without knowing | 28:27 | |
what lies at the end of either. | 28:32 | |
Oh for a short distance it's possible to keep | 28:39 | |
the other path in view, | 28:42 | |
and to entertain the possibility of cutting | 28:45 | |
through the wood and changing course, | 28:47 | |
but before long there is no going back, | 28:51 | |
and our destiny is the result of our decision. | 28:55 | |
Ultimately, choices have to be made. | 29:03 | |
Decisions have to be finalized. | 29:11 | |
Consequences must be faced. | 29:17 | |
When we make choices, we by the very nature of them | 29:26 | |
close out other options. | 29:30 | |
You can easily think of examples in your own life | 29:37 | |
of choices that you have made | 29:43 | |
about education, about vocation, | 29:46 | |
about personal relationships, | 29:52 | |
many other arenas of life | 29:56 | |
where the decisions made along the way | 29:59 | |
have determined your course | 30:03 | |
and brought inevitable consequences. | 30:07 | |
We simply can never do, be, see, | 30:12 | |
go, have, experience everything. | 30:18 | |
We live limited lifespans. | 30:24 | |
Our time has its limits, | 30:28 | |
as do our resources, our abilities, and our energy. | 30:33 | |
And faced with this simple fact, | 30:40 | |
we have problems so often in the setting of priorities. | 30:42 | |
For to decide that which is most important, | 30:50 | |
that to which one will devote and dedicate oneself | 30:54 | |
is by necessity to give up a great deal else. | 30:59 | |
Some things have to be done without. | 31:12 | |
Prices have to be paid. | 31:21 | |
It's easy to wish, | 31:29 | |
I sit like you do and flip idly the pages | 31:35 | |
of the health magazines and envy the bodies | 31:38 | |
that are pictured there, | 31:43 | |
but we know how it is. | 31:47 | |
If we want good health, we have to get out and exercise. | 31:49 | |
If we want good figures, we have to be | 31:54 | |
careful about our diet. | 31:56 | |
We have to make choices and sacrifices. | 31:59 | |
We want satisfying personal relationships, | 32:04 | |
and if we really do, | 32:10 | |
we must devote to those relationships | 32:14 | |
with those important people | 32:16 | |
the time and the attention essential | 32:19 | |
to the developing of real intimacy. | 32:24 | |
We want outstanding accomplishments in our careers, | 32:30 | |
and so we must sacrifice much leisure | 32:36 | |
and deny ourselves many vacations. | 32:41 | |
We want a bigger house, we may have to buy a smaller car. | 32:46 | |
It's just a law of life. | 32:53 | |
In this realm of existence, we are finite people | 32:57 | |
living finite lives, | 33:00 | |
and we must make choices. | 33:03 | |
In the scripture lesson from the gospel of John, | 33:11 | |
those who have been with Jesus | 33:15 | |
are facing a time of decision. | 33:19 | |
They have heard Jesus proclaim some | 33:24 | |
of his most stunning statements about himself. | 33:28 | |
They have heard this Jewish teacher claim to be | 33:34 | |
the revelation in flesh of the living God. | 33:39 | |
And in the face of that claim and that challenge, | 33:47 | |
the scripture tells us that many drew back, | 33:52 | |
and no longer went about with him. | 33:58 | |
And in response to the dwindling of his following, | 34:04 | |
watching the discouragement and the confusion | 34:09 | |
of those who dropped away, | 34:12 | |
Jesus turns to his closest friends, | 34:15 | |
to his 12 carefully chosen disciples | 34:21 | |
and asks them poignantly, | 34:26 | |
do you also wish to go away? | 34:30 | |
Our lives are a succession of decisions, | 34:41 | |
but we need to recognize that there is | 34:51 | |
one basic decision in life, | 34:56 | |
one fundamental choice | 35:03 | |
which underlines and determines all others. | 35:07 | |
As Jesus addressed these 12 disciples 2,000 years ago, | 35:15 | |
so Jesus speaks to us in Duke Chapel this morning, | 35:22 | |
and calls us to an ultimate commitment and loyalty to God, | 35:29 | |
as God is known in Jesus Christ. | 35:38 | |
The primary decision of our lives, | 35:45 | |
in the midst of so many decisions, | 35:49 | |
the primary decision is to recognize Jesus | 35:53 | |
as the holy one of God, | 36:00 | |
as the one who has the words of eternal life. | 36:04 | |
To make the choice to trust ourselves to God | 36:13 | |
and commit ourselves to the living out | 36:20 | |
of the divine will in us. | 36:24 | |
One of the great contributions made by John Wesley, | 36:33 | |
the founder of what has become the Methodist church, | 36:40 | |
to Christian theology was what we call | 36:44 | |
Wesley's doctrine of prevenient grace. | 36:49 | |
The grace of God that comes to us before anything else | 36:55 | |
and prepares and enables us | 37:05 | |
to make the decisions of our life. | 37:08 | |
Wesley believed, unlike Calvin, | 37:14 | |
that our eternal destinies were ultimately determined | 37:18 | |
by what we ourselves choose, | 37:22 | |
that God has given and continues to give to each person | 37:27 | |
the ability to respond | 37:32 | |
to God's offer of saving grace, | 37:37 | |
or to freely choose to reject it. | 37:42 | |
We are not predetermined by something | 37:48 | |
that happened thousands of years before our birth, | 37:52 | |
we are not even predetermined totally | 37:56 | |
by the mistakes of our parents, | 37:59 | |
we choose our own destiny, | 38:02 | |
because God in graciousness chooses | 38:07 | |
to grant us that ability. | 38:11 | |
The choice to follow Jesus above all else | 38:19 | |
is a difficult one, | 38:24 | |
partly because it is not the kind of choice | 38:28 | |
that you might make in Duke Chapel on Sunday morning, | 38:31 | |
or at any altar in any church, | 38:36 | |
or at any decisive crisis point in your life | 38:40 | |
and make it once and for all. | 38:45 | |
(organ music) | 38:51 | |
(bells ring) | 41:52 | |
(choral singing) | 42:15 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to Duke University Chapel. | 45:20 |
Our preacher this morning | 45:24 | |
is the Rev. Dr. Dennis Campbell. | 45:26 | |
Dr. Campbell is the dean of Duke Divinity School, | 45:29 | |
and an ordained elder in the North Carolina | 45:32 | |
Conference of the United Methodist Church. | 45:34 | |
The preacher next Sunday will be | 45:38 | |
the Rev. Dr. Will Willimen, and the sacrament | 45:40 | |
of holy communion will be celebrated. | 45:43 | |
Please see your bulletin for other announcements. | 45:47 | |
And now, let us worship God. | 45:50 | |
(organ plays) | 45:54 | |
(congregation sings hymn) | 46:32 | |
- | Let us pray. | 51:07 |
Eternal God who has exalted your son with heavenly glory | 51:10 | |
after his suffering for our salvation, | 51:16 | |
open our hearts to your saving grace | 51:20 | |
that we may exalt Christ as lord in our lives, | 51:23 | |
in his name we pray, amen. | 51:27 | |
- | Let us pray. | 51:40 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 51:43 | |
by the power of your holy spirit | 51:46 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 51:49 | |
we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen. | 51:52 | |
The first lesson is taken from the book of Genesis. | 52:00 | |
Then the lord God said, | 52:05 | |
it is not good that the man should be alone, | 52:08 | |
I will make him a helper fit for him. | 52:11 | |
So out of the ground, the lord God made every beast | 52:15 | |
of the field, and every bird of the air, | 52:19 | |
and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, | 52:22 | |
and whatever the man called every living creature | 52:26 | |
that was its name. | 52:30 | |
The man gave names to all cattle, | 52:32 | |
and to the birds of the air, and to every beast | 52:35 | |
of the field, but for the man, there was not found | 52:38 | |
a helper fit for him. | 52:41 | |
So the lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, | 52:44 | |
and while he slept, he took one of his ribs | 52:49 | |
and closed up the place with flesh. | 52:53 | |
And the rib which the lord God had taken from the man | 52:56 | |
he made into a woman, and he brought her to the man. | 52:59 | |
Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones, | 53:05 | |
and flesh of my flesh. | 53:10 | |
She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. | 53:13 | |
Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother | 53:18 | |
and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. | 53:22 | |
This ends the reading of the Old Testament lesson. | 53:28 | |
- | Please stand for the reading from the psalter, | 53:37 |
printed in your bulletin. | 53:40 | |
Blessed is everyone who fears the lord, | 53:48 | |
who walks in his ways. | 53:51 | |
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. | 53:54 | |
(congregation answers) | 53:58 | |
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine | 54:02 | |
within your house, your children will be like olive shoots | 54:04 | |
around your table. | 54:09 | |
(congregation answers) | 54:11 | |
The lord bless you from Zion. | 54:15 | |
(congregation answers) | 54:18 | |
May you see your children's children. | 54:23 | |
(congregation answers) | 54:26 | |
(organ plays) | 54:30 | |
(congregation sings hymn) | 54:38 | |
- | The second lesson is taken from the book of Hebrews. | 55:35 |
In many and various ways, God spoke of old | 55:40 | |
to our ancestors by the prophets, | 55:44 | |
but in these last days, he has spoken to us by a son, | 55:47 | |
whom he appointed the heir of all things, | 55:52 | |
and through whom also he created the world. | 55:55 | |
He reflects the glory of God, and bears | 55:59 | |
the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe | 56:02 | |
by his word of power. | 56:07 | |
When he had made purification for sins, | 56:10 | |
he sat down at the right hand of the majesty of high, | 56:13 | |
having become as much superior to angels | 56:17 | |
as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. | 56:20 | |
But we see Jesus, who was for a little while made lower | 56:25 | |
than the angels, crowned with glory and honor | 56:30 | |
because of the suffering of death, | 56:34 | |
so that by the grace of God | 56:37 | |
he might taste death for everyone. | 56:39 | |
For it is fitting that he, for whom and by whom | 56:43 | |
all things exist, and bringing many sons and daughters | 56:46 | |
of glory should make a pioneer of their salvation | 56:50 | |
perfect through suffering. | 56:54 | |
For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified, | 56:58 | |
all have one origin, that is why he is not ashamed | 57:02 | |
to call them brothers and sisters. | 57:06 | |
(organ plays) | 57:11 | |
(choral singing) | 57:55 | |
- | In the name of the father, and of the son, | 1:00:24 |
and of the holy spirit, amen. | 1:00:27 | |
My text for this morning's sermon is taken | 1:00:30 | |
from the book of Hebrews that Judah just read to us. | 1:00:34 | |
This is a remarkable text, because it contrasts | 1:00:38 | |
the intention of God in the creation | 1:00:42 | |
with the reality that we now see, | 1:00:46 | |
and with the reality that is promised through Jesus Christ. | 1:00:51 | |
I want to reread just a couple sentences from the text. | 1:00:58 | |
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, | 1:01:03 | |
he left nothing outside his control. | 1:01:07 | |
As it is, | 1:01:11 | |
we do not yet see everything in subjection to man, | 1:01:13 | |
but we see Jesus, who for a little while | 1:01:17 | |
was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory | 1:01:21 | |
and honor because of the suffering of death, | 1:01:25 | |
so that by the grace of God he might taste | 1:01:29 | |
death for everyone. | 1:01:32 | |
Now the first question for us in addressing this text | 1:01:36 | |
is what kind of a world you and I see | 1:01:40 | |
when we look at the world in which we live. | 1:01:44 | |
If you are like most of us, you see things | 1:01:48 | |
that are out of our control, | 1:01:51 | |
and you see things that are under our control. | 1:01:54 | |
You see things that are unquestionably bad and evil, | 1:01:59 | |
and you also see things that show signs | 1:02:04 | |
of promise and of good. | 1:02:07 | |
On the one hand, we see that which is bad and evil, | 1:02:10 | |
hurricanes, storms, and human degradation, | 1:02:15 | |
hunger ravaging people at home and abroad, | 1:02:19 | |
drugs threatening to undo our society, | 1:02:24 | |
war and threats of nuclear destruction, | 1:02:28 | |
ethical scandals in medicine, law, business, | 1:02:33 | |
and even religion. | 1:02:37 | |
We see a world that is dominantly secular and materialistic, | 1:02:39 | |
secular lifestyles seem to predominate, | 1:02:44 | |
and materialism informs us all. | 1:02:48 | |
Some of you will have read, perhaps in the past few months, | 1:02:52 | |
the bestseller by Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, | 1:02:56 | |
in which he chronicles, in this case in New York City, | 1:03:01 | |
the masters of the universe, the have-it-all crowd | 1:03:05 | |
of yuppies and post-yuppies who live | 1:03:10 | |
in the best part of town. | 1:03:13 | |
Last year, a survey showed that when they were asked | 1:03:17 | |
the purpose of education, Duke students suggested | 1:03:20 | |
that it would help them get money, power, and things. | 1:03:24 | |
But it is also possible to point to good and positive signs | 1:03:32 | |
in our world. | 1:03:37 | |
After all, men and women do respond in charity | 1:03:38 | |
to devastation and hunger. | 1:03:43 | |
Strong efforts are being made | 1:03:46 | |
by many for peace in our time. | 1:03:49 | |
Recently, when a Duke organization asked for volunteers | 1:03:53 | |
to give time and talent to children in public schools | 1:03:57 | |
who need special tutoring, | 1:04:01 | |
300 Duke undergraduates showed up. | 1:04:03 | |
And also just recently, Duke students have started | 1:04:07 | |
a program of Habitat for Humanity. | 1:04:10 | |
And in chronicling positive signs this morning, | 1:04:13 | |
how could we fail to say that it's been a long time | 1:04:17 | |
since Duke has been five-and-oh. | 1:04:20 | |
And Carolina oh-and-four. | 1:04:25 | |
Well, what do we see when we look at the world we live in? | 1:04:31 | |
Well, we've got to do better than the 10-second clip. | 1:04:36 | |
The 10-second clip, you know, is what | 1:04:41 | |
our current political candidates are so anxious | 1:04:43 | |
to get on the evening news. | 1:04:45 | |
That 10-second clip in which they can make appearance | 1:04:48 | |
seem like reality, | 1:04:52 | |
to capture quickly that which seems or appears | 1:04:55 | |
rather than that which is. | 1:04:59 | |
Well friends, that won't do. | 1:05:03 | |
Reminds me of the man who said that there are | 1:05:06 | |
to every complex problem 10 simple answers, | 1:05:09 | |
all of them wrong. | 1:05:14 | |
I have another friend who says that the job | 1:05:16 | |
of a theologian is complexification, | 1:05:18 | |
so let me do some complexifying for you this morning. | 1:05:21 | |
How would we look at the world through theological eyes? | 1:05:25 | |
Well, in theological terms what I've been saying, | 1:05:30 | |
and what our Hebrew text says, is that we live | 1:05:33 | |
in a fallen world, | 1:05:36 | |
but it is a fallen world in which | 1:05:39 | |
redemption has begun, | 1:05:42 | |
but in which redemption | 1:05:45 | |
is a long way from fulfillment. | 1:05:48 | |
I am suggesting that you can look at the world, | 1:05:54 | |
at reality and see different things. | 1:05:58 | |
The question is how we see the truth, | 1:06:02 | |
and understand the true meaning of what we see. | 1:06:05 | |
So my second point this morning is for us to consider | 1:06:12 | |
in relation to our text the Christian vision of the world, | 1:06:15 | |
redemption through Jesus Christ. | 1:06:21 | |
Christians certainly see a fallen world. | 1:06:24 | |
Things are not as the creator would have them be, | 1:06:27 | |
not all things are | 1:06:32 | |
as they were created to be. | 1:06:35 | |
Now some people would stop at that point, | 1:06:39 | |
and declare that the world is in a mess, | 1:06:42 | |
that it is hopeless, and that there is | 1:06:45 | |
no meaning to existence, but for the Christian, | 1:06:48 | |
as the writer of Hebrews asserts, | 1:06:53 | |
there is more to be said. | 1:06:56 | |
Yes, we see the fallen state of humankind, | 1:06:58 | |
and of the world, | 1:07:03 | |
but we see Jesus. | 1:07:08 | |
Now if you remember nothing else from this sermon | 1:07:12 | |
this morning, remember this great phrase, | 1:07:15 | |
the phrase, if you will, that follows the comma, | 1:07:19 | |
but we see Jesus. | 1:07:22 | |
It was the disciple Thomas who after the resurrection said, | 1:07:27 | |
unless I see, I will not believe. | 1:07:30 | |
Seeing and believing. | 1:07:36 | |
The fact is that we can see | 1:07:39 | |
and yet not see. | 1:07:43 | |
Thomas was expressing in his time the same kind | 1:07:47 | |
of literal mindedness that characterizes | 1:07:51 | |
our own 20th century. | 1:07:54 | |
One remembers, for instance, the Russian cosmonaut | 1:07:57 | |
who came back from a satellite trip | 1:08:00 | |
and announced that he had looked for God, | 1:08:02 | |
but had not seen God. | 1:08:05 | |
Helen Keller, in her autobiography, tells of a little boy | 1:08:08 | |
who came up to her on one of her trips and said, | 1:08:12 | |
Ms. Keller, isn't it awful to be blind? | 1:08:14 | |
She said she replied to him, | 1:08:19 | |
not half so bad, son, as to have two good eyes | 1:08:21 | |
and see nothing. | 1:08:26 | |
She went on to say that she walked with sighted people | 1:08:29 | |
who could not see woods, sky, beauty, or truth. | 1:08:32 | |
She comments, their souls voyaged | 1:08:38 | |
through this enchanted world with a barren stare. | 1:08:41 | |
You see, we can see | 1:08:48 | |
and not see. | 1:08:51 | |
Our literal mindedness can blind us to the truth. | 1:08:54 | |
We live in a time when we celebrate facts | 1:08:59 | |
and objectivity, but when we fail to understand | 1:09:02 | |
what that really means. | 1:09:08 | |
I've been fascinated this week, for those of us | 1:09:10 | |
who live in Durham, by the press reports | 1:09:13 | |
in the Durham Morning Herald about the Shroud of Turin. | 1:09:16 | |
There's an editorial in there this morning about it. | 1:09:19 | |
Well, what would it mean, I ask myself, | 1:09:22 | |
what would it mean to faith if it were possible | 1:09:25 | |
to determine its authenticity? | 1:09:28 | |
Well, as a matter of fact, I think it would be meaningless, | 1:09:32 | |
it would mean nothing, because you see, | 1:09:36 | |
faith has never been based | 1:09:39 | |
on a literal-minded seeing, | 1:09:43 | |
or some false objectivity. | 1:09:47 | |
Faith always has been, and always has required, | 1:09:50 | |
being able to see the truth in God's revelation | 1:09:55 | |
not simply in human terms and under human conditions. | 1:09:59 | |
Soren Kierkegaard, the great 19th century | 1:10:05 | |
Danish philosopher theologian once asked | 1:10:08 | |
in this same vein if Jesus's original disciples | 1:10:12 | |
had an easier time coming to faith. | 1:10:16 | |
After some consideration, he determined that the answer | 1:10:20 | |
was no, they did not have an easier time, | 1:10:24 | |
because finally they, too, had to be able | 1:10:27 | |
to see with the eyes of faith. | 1:10:31 | |
They had no advantage over subsequent disciples, | 1:10:35 | |
the Thomas story proves that, | 1:10:40 | |
no advantage over us. | 1:10:42 | |
But we see Jesus. | 1:10:46 | |
And according to our text, | 1:10:50 | |
in him we see humility, | 1:10:53 | |
obedience, and exaltation. | 1:10:56 | |
Our text says that for a little while, Jesus was made | 1:10:59 | |
lower than the angels, | 1:11:03 | |
Jesus was God in human form, | 1:11:06 | |
he was truly human like you and me. | 1:11:09 | |
He humbled himself. | 1:11:13 | |
This humility allowed Jesus to be obedient | 1:11:16 | |
even through the suffering of death. | 1:11:21 | |
This is a scandalous reversal, let's not miss it, | 1:11:26 | |
a kind of outrageous reality. | 1:11:30 | |
It is, after all, nothing less than a suffering messiah. | 1:11:33 | |
But because of that irony, that scandalous reversal, | 1:11:39 | |
because of that, Jesus is crowned with glory and honor. | 1:11:44 | |
That's what the writer of Hebrews says. | 1:11:49 | |
Jesus Christ is both human and divine, | 1:11:52 | |
and as such, in his exaltation, we see the truth | 1:11:56 | |
of our world, the truth of all creation. | 1:12:02 | |
Well, what is our response to this, | 1:12:09 | |
on the one hand, how we see the world, | 1:12:12 | |
and how we see Jesus? | 1:12:15 | |
Our response is a response of faith, | 1:12:18 | |
a response of life in the spirit. | 1:12:25 | |
As a matter of fact, I think the problem | 1:12:29 | |
with this business of seeing and believing | 1:12:32 | |
may not be that we cannot see, | 1:12:36 | |
or do not see, | 1:12:40 | |
but rather that we do not like what we see. | 1:12:42 | |
This is so because what we see if we see rightly | 1:12:48 | |
has consequences, consequences this morning | 1:12:53 | |
for you and for me. | 1:12:57 | |
Christian faith, let us get clear, is not just a set | 1:13:00 | |
of ideas, it is a new life, | 1:13:04 | |
it is a new life. | 1:13:09 | |
You know, you can know too much in this world, | 1:13:12 | |
you can be too smart. | 1:13:16 | |
You can be too smart, if you will, to see the truth. | 1:13:20 | |
And this is because of human pride. | 1:13:24 | |
In fancy words of the theologian, | 1:13:28 | |
this is anthropocentrism. | 1:13:30 | |
The 18th-century writer Dr. Samuel Johnson | 1:13:33 | |
once said of an acquaintance, he was a solid, | 1:13:38 | |
Orthodox man, he had a reverence for religion, | 1:13:41 | |
though defective in practice, | 1:13:46 | |
he was religious in principle. | 1:13:49 | |
Religious in principle, but defective in practice, | 1:13:53 | |
you see, there's something wrong with that, | 1:13:57 | |
it's not to see rightly. | 1:13:59 | |
This cannot be in Christian faith, | 1:14:02 | |
because we see Jesus, | 1:14:05 | |
who exemplified practice. | 1:14:08 | |
We, too, are called to the same humility, | 1:14:12 | |
or the same sort of humility, not identical but similar, | 1:14:16 | |
to the humility of Christ. | 1:14:20 | |
Not long ago I got an invitation in the mail | 1:14:24 | |
from People Magazine. | 1:14:28 | |
It said, Dear Dr. Campbell, we are sending this invitation | 1:14:31 | |
only to prominent professional people, | 1:14:35 | |
offering you a discount for People Magazine. | 1:14:38 | |
Well I shouldn't have been taken in, | 1:14:48 | |
I've got one of those machines that can personalize letters | 1:14:50 | |
in my office. | 1:14:53 | |
Why are we taken in by that? | 1:14:57 | |
Well it is because of two weaknesses, | 1:14:59 | |
at least in my case, vanity and frugality. | 1:15:01 | |
Human pride. | 1:15:10 | |
For some, being the center of attention | 1:15:12 | |
becomes all-consuming. | 1:15:15 | |
A couples years ago, my family and I visited | 1:15:16 | |
Theodore Roosevelt's home at Sagamore Hill, | 1:15:19 | |
Oyster Bay, New York. | 1:15:22 | |
The house exemplifies the personality | 1:15:25 | |
of Theodore Roosevelt, you know it was | 1:15:28 | |
of Theodore Roosevelt that it is said | 1:15:30 | |
that he wanted to be the bride at every wedding | 1:15:32 | |
he attended and the corpse at every funeral. | 1:15:36 | |
Well we in the universities aren't exempt from pride. | 1:15:43 | |
We spend a lot of time in processions, in rank. | 1:15:47 | |
We spend a lot of time worrying about rank | 1:15:51 | |
and seeding order, | 1:15:54 | |
and of course, so does the church, | 1:15:57 | |
it doesn't come off so well, either. | 1:15:59 | |
In fact, we are all, if the truth is told, | 1:16:02 | |
found wanting on the humility scale. | 1:16:07 | |
Well what do we do about it? | 1:16:11 | |
Surely we are called to recognize and remember | 1:16:14 | |
that all we achieve, and all we have, | 1:16:17 | |
is by God's grace. | 1:16:21 | |
If we are called to humility, | 1:16:23 | |
like Christ we are also called to obedience. | 1:16:28 | |
In The Bible we are told, especially here | 1:16:32 | |
in the letter to Hebrews, about those of old | 1:16:35 | |
who were obedient to God, | 1:16:37 | |
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Jesus himself. | 1:16:40 | |
Obedience, though, is not a popular idea | 1:16:45 | |
in the 20th century. | 1:16:48 | |
We modern men and women prefer talk of freedom | 1:16:50 | |
rather than responsibility. | 1:16:53 | |
Robert Bellah, the great Berkeley sociologist, | 1:16:55 | |
in his recent book, Habits of the Heart, | 1:16:58 | |
reports language in a sociological study of Americans | 1:17:01 | |
that he calls almost unmitigated individualism. | 1:17:04 | |
Here you see Christian faith runs counter | 1:17:10 | |
to prevailing culture, because Christian identity | 1:17:14 | |
requires of us a self-limiting obedience, | 1:17:18 | |
a self-limiting obedience. | 1:17:23 | |
In Luther's great phrase, it is that we should love God | 1:17:27 | |
and do what we like. | 1:17:31 | |
And of course, the meaning of that is that we | 1:17:34 | |
properly love God. | 1:17:37 | |
If we rightly see the truth, then in doing what we like, | 1:17:38 | |
we will do what we ought. | 1:17:42 | |
Seeing and believing. | 1:17:48 | |
Seeing rightly, you see, has consequences. | 1:17:50 | |
We will not be the same. | 1:17:54 | |
Well this morning, I offer you then an invitation. | 1:17:58 | |
An invitation to see what is real, | 1:18:03 | |
rather than what appears to be real. | 1:18:06 | |
To see beyond the sorry state of this world | 1:18:09 | |
in which we live. | 1:18:13 | |
To see beyond the sins and failures of the human condition. | 1:18:16 | |
To see beyond the shortcomings of the church. | 1:18:21 | |
To see the truth. | 1:18:26 | |
And as we look at the world, | 1:18:29 | |
to say with the scriptures | 1:18:32 | |
and with the Christian church in all ages, | 1:18:35 | |
but we see Jesus, | 1:18:40 | |
amen. | 1:18:45 | |
(organ plays) | 1:18:52 | |
(congregation sings hymn) | 1:19:40 | |
- | The lord be with you. | 1:22:15 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 1:22:16 |
- | Let us pray. | 1:22:18 |
Almighty and everlasting God, who has spoken by prophets | 1:22:28 | |
in every generation, | 1:22:33 | |
hear our prayers for those who proclaim | 1:22:36 | |
your righteousness today, | 1:22:38 | |
for those who challenge us with uncomfortable words | 1:22:41 | |
inspired by you. | 1:22:45 | |
We pray for those who suffer ostracism, | 1:22:48 | |
imprisonment, depravation, or torture | 1:22:52 | |
from powers that would silence them. | 1:22:56 | |
Grant to your prophets courage and wisdom | 1:23:00 | |
as they proclaim your truth, | 1:23:03 | |
and give us ears to hear what you are saying through them. | 1:23:06 | |
Lord of grace, you have made your love visible | 1:23:11 | |
in Jesus Christ, we pray for the eyes of faith, | 1:23:15 | |
for the world and for ourselves, | 1:23:21 | |
that we may recognize you in our midst, | 1:23:24 | |
and give the honor due your name. | 1:23:28 | |
Bless those who show us Jesus, | 1:23:31 | |
your word incarnate, by their holiness in everyday life. | 1:23:34 | |
Forgive us when we have hindered another's belief | 1:23:41 | |
by insisting they can only see you | 1:23:45 | |
from where we are standing. | 1:23:48 | |
Oh God whose holy spirit equips all who love | 1:23:52 | |
and believe in you, we pray for all who have yielded | 1:23:56 | |
hearts, and minds, and hands, and called them | 1:24:00 | |
not their own, but yours. | 1:24:03 | |
By your power, equip those in ministry | 1:24:07 | |
and those preparing for ministry | 1:24:11 | |
that they may lead your church with singleness of heart. | 1:24:14 | |
Pour out your gifts on all your church, | 1:24:19 | |
that its members may bear the fruits of goodness, | 1:24:23 | |
joy, gentleness, and peace | 1:24:26 | |
in their various occupations. | 1:24:30 | |
We pray for the spirits anointing upon the sick, | 1:24:33 | |
especially those in hospitals, that they may receive | 1:24:37 | |
the wholeness, and fortitude, and peace | 1:24:41 | |
that come only from you. | 1:24:44 | |
These things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, | 1:24:48 | |
our lord, who lives and reigns with you | 1:24:50 | |
in the unity of the holy spirit, | 1:24:54 | |
one God now and forever, amen. | 1:24:57 | |
And now in response to the word read and proclaimed, | 1:25:03 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves to God. | 1:25:08 | |
(organ plays) | 1:25:12 | |
(choral singing) | 1:26:12 | |
- | Accept, oh lord, these offerings thy people | 1:35:07 |
make unto thee, and grant that the work | 1:35:10 | |
to which they are devoted may prosper under thy guidance. | 1:35:14 | |
To the glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ our lord, | 1:35:18 | |
who taught us to pray together, saying, | 1:35:23 | |
our father who art in heaven, hallowed by they name. | 1:35:26 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:35:31 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:35:35 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:35:37 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:35:40 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:35:42 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 1:35:46 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 1:35:49 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 1:35:51 | |
and the glory forever, amen. | 1:35:54 | |
(organ plays) | 1:35:58 | |
♪ Rejoice, ye pure in heart ♪ | 1:36:30 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:36:35 | |
♪ Your glorious banner wave on high ♪ | 1:36:40 | |
♪ The cross of Christ your king ♪ | 1:36:45 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:36:51 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:36:56 | |
♪ Bright youth and snow-crowned age ♪ | 1:37:03 | |
♪ Strong men and maidens meek ♪ | 1:37:08 | |
♪ Raise high your free, exultant song ♪ | 1:37:13 | |
♪ God's wondrous praises speak ♪ | 1:37:18 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:37:24 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:37:29 | |
♪ With voice as full and strong ♪ | 1:37:37 | |
♪ As ocean's surging praise ♪ | 1:37:42 | |
♪ Send out the hymns our fathers loved ♪ | 1:37:47 | |
♪ The psalms of ancient days ♪ | 1:37:52 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:37:57 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:38:03 | |
♪ Yes, on through life's long path ♪ | 1:38:10 | |
♪ Still chanting as ye go ♪ | 1:38:15 | |
♪ From youth to age, by night and day ♪ | 1:38:21 | |
♪ In gladness and in woe ♪ | 1:38:27 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:38:32 | |
♪ Rejoice, give thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:38:38 | |
♪ Still lift your standard high ♪ | 1:38:44 | |
♪ Still march in firm array ♪ | 1:38:50 | |
♪ As warriors through the darkness toil ♪ | 1:38:55 | |
♪ Till dawns the golden day ♪ | 1:39:01 | |
♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪ | 1:39:06 | |
♪ Rejoice, gives thanks, and sing ♪ | 1:39:12 | |
- | And now unto him who was able to keep you falling, | 1:40:24 |
and to present you before the presence of his glory | 1:40:28 | |
with exceeding joy, | 1:40:31 | |
to the only wise God, our savoir, be glory, | 1:40:33 | |
majesty, dominion, and power, both now and ever more, amen. | 1:40:37 | |
(choral singing) | 1:40:45 | |
(organ plays) | 1:41:33 |