Dennis M. Campbell - "Seeing and Believing" (October 2, 1988)

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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

Item Info

Title:

Dennis M. Campbell - "Seeing and Believing" (October 2, 1988)

Description:

There are different ways of assessing what we see when we look at the world. As Christians, though we see a world beset by the effects of the Fall, we also must say that we see Jesus and the virtues his life exhibits. This seeing is a seeing of faith rather than pure objectivity, and it requires a change in the actions of the Christian. That is to say, it requires the Christian to live the way they see Jesus lived. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 1:00:24. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 1:18:48.
Key quotation: “Seeing rightly, you see, has consequences. We will not be the same.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4n873f3w

Date:

October 2, 1988

Speaker:

Campbell, Dennis M.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0100
ref8516_7w1
uachapelsermaud
duke:321575
dcrmv001099
ark:/87924/r4n873f3w
1bce511f-aa2b-43a1-b55f-45d251d548ca

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

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

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