Fleming Rutledge - "Was Blind but Now I See" (February 17, 1980)

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-	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship,	0:03
	February 17th, 1980.	0:06
	(peaceful music)	0:09
	(pastoral music)	4:05
	(happy music)	7:09
	♪ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, ♪	11:08
	♪ For my soul shall exult in my God ♪	11:12
	♪ For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, ♪	11:16
	♪ He has covered me with a robe of righteousness ♪	11:23
	♪ As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, ♪	11:30
	♪ And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels ♪	11:36
	♪ Adorns herself with her jewels ♪	11:42
	♪ With her jewels ♪	11:47
	♪ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, ♪	11:53
	♪ And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, ♪	11:58
	♪ To spring up, to spring up ♪	12:04
	♪ So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise ♪	12:10
	♪ Will cause righteousness and praise ♪	12:18
	♪ To spring up, to spring up, to spring up ♪	12:22
	♪ Before all the nations ♪	12:29
	(joyful music)	12:43
-	Grace to you and peace.	17:24
	The lord our God who creates us, redeems us	17:26
	and sustains us, come my friends,	17:30
	let us praise the lord our God,	17:34
	let us rejoice in the joy of our salvation.	17:37
	Now here in the presence of one another	17:41
	and in the presence of almighty God,	17:44
	let us pray together and with penitent	17:47
	and obedient hearts, confess our sins	17:51
	so that we may obtain forgiveness	17:54
	by God's infinite goodness and mercy.	17:56
	Let us humbly confess our sins	18:00
	into almighty God as we pray responsively,	18:03
	be seated, let us pray.	18:07
	Oh Jesus Christ, the lord of all good life,	18:18
	enrich and purify our lives and deepen in us	18:23
	our discipleship, make us humble, brave, and loving,	18:27
	make us ready for adventure, we do not ask thee	18:33
	to keep us safe but to keep us loyal to thee	18:37
	who for us faced death unafraid.	18:41
	From lack of reverence for truth and beauty,	18:46
	from prejudice and sentimentalism,	18:49
	from being contented with the mean and ugly.	18:51
-	Christ, deliver us.	18:55
-	From the cowardice that dares not face new truth,	18:57
	the laziness contented with half truth	19:01
	and the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth.	19:04
-	Christ deliver us.	19:08
-	From artificiality in life and worship,	19:10
	from all that is hollow, unreal, and insincere.	19:13
-	Christ deliver us.	19:17
-	From trivial ideals and cheap pleasures,	19:20
	from mistaking vulgarity for humor.	19:23
-	Christ deliver us.	19:27
-	From being dull and pompous, from being rude, offensive,	19:29
	and ill mannered.	19:34
-	Christ deliver us.	19:36
-	From being cynical and unkind about others,	19:38
	from all faults pride, intolerance, and contempt.	19:42
-	Christ deliver us.	19:48
-	From the false piety which cannot laugh,	19:49
	from being self centered in our feelings	19:52
	and from loving institutions more than we love thee.	19:55
-	Christ deliver us.	19:59
-	From the disloyalty of being satisfied	20:01
	with things as they are, in the church, in the university,	20:03
	and in the world, and from failing to share thy indignation.	20:07
-	Christ deliver us.	20:13
-	From everything in our lives that may hide	20:15
	the true light of thee who are the light of the world.	20:18
-	Christ deliver us.	20:23
-	Amen, let us now confess silently our prayers	20:25
	to almighty God.	20:29
	Be assured, fellow believers in Jesus Christ,	20:59
	there is declared to all who are penitent	21:04
	the forgiveness of our sins for Christ's sake.	21:07
	Let us hear now the words of our Lord.	21:12
	Your faith has made you whole, go in peace.	21:15
	Amen.	21:21
	Let us give thanks for God is good	21:24
	and God's love is ever lasting.	21:28
	(crowd response)	21:31
-	Amen.	21:43
	I welcome you this morning and pray	21:45
	that God's spirit will speak to you,	21:48
	to me, to all of us as we worship in this holy place,	21:50
	in his holy name.	21:54
	This Wednesday we begin the holy season of Lent,	21:56
	with the observance of Ash Wednesday.	21:59
	I invite you to come and to share in that holy day	22:03
	with us either at eight o'clock in the morning	22:06
	or at five o'clock in the afternoon	22:09
	with a special Ash Wednesday service.	22:12
	This evening at seven o'clock,	22:15
	Professor Fenner Douglass, the university organist,	22:17
	will present a concert on the Flentrop organ.	22:20
	You're invited, there is no admission charge,	22:24
	the concert begins at seven pm.	22:28
	It is our privilege today to have with us	22:32
	the reverend Mrs. Fleming Rutledge	22:36
	who is assistant rector of Christ Church Episcopal	22:39
	in Rye, New York.	22:43
	The reverend Mrs. Rutledge is a native of Virginia,	22:46
	a graduate of Sweet Briar College	22:50
	and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary	22:53
	in New York City, ordained in the episcopal church.	22:55
	Ms. Rutledge we welcome you and pray God's blessing on you	23:00
	as you bring to us the word for this day, amen.	23:04
	(reverent music)	23:11
-	Bless this reading of your holy word	28:06
	and the sermon which is to follow	28:12
	that in the hearing and in the reading	28:15
	we may meet your son, our lord Jesus Christ, amen.	28:21
	The holy gospel of our lord Jesus Christ	28:31
	according to Saint John.	28:33
	As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth,	28:45
	and his disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, who sinned,	28:52
	this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?	28:57
	Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned,	29:03
	nor his parents, it was in order that	29:07
	the works of God might be displayed in him.	29:10
	While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.	29:14
	When he had said this he spat on the ground,	29:22
	and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the clay	29:24
	to the man's eyes, and said to him, go, wash in the pool of	29:27
	Siloam, and so he went away,	29:33
	and washed, and came back seeing.	29:37
	The neighbors therefore, and those who previously	29:42
	saw him as a beggar, were saying,	29:44
	is not this the one who used to sit and beg?	29:47
	Others were saying, this is he, still others were saying	29:52
	no, but he is like him.	29:56
	He kept saying, I am the one.	29:59
	Therefore they were saying to him,	30:04
	how then were your eyes opened?	30:06
	He answered, the man who is called Jesus made clay,	30:09
	and said to me, go to Siloam and wash.	30:13
	So I went away and I washed and I received my sight.	30:16
	And they said to him, where is he?	30:21
	And he said, I do not know.	30:24
	They brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind.	30:29
	The Pharisees asked him how he received his sight	30:35
	and he said to them, he applied clay to my eyes,	30:38
	and I washed, and I see.	30:41
	Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying,	30:44
	this man is not from God,	30:47
	because he does not keep the Sabbath.	30:49
	But others were saying, how can a man who is a sinner	30:52
	perform such wonderful signs?	30:56
	And there was a division among them.	31:00
	They said therefore to the blind man again,	31:03
	what do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?	31:06
	And he said, he is a prophet.	31:10
	The Jews therefore did not believe it of him,	31:14
	that he had been blind and had received his sight,	31:16
	until they called the parents of the very ones	31:19
	who had received his sight.	31:21
	They questioned him saying, is this your son	31:25
	who was born blind?	31:27
	Then how does he now see?	31:29
	His parents answered them and said,	31:32
	we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind	31:34
	but how he now sees, we do not know	31:38
	or who opened his eyes, we do not know.	31:41
	Ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself.	31:44
	His parents said this because they were	31:49
	afraid of the Pharisees, they had agreed that if anyone	31:51
	should confess him to be the messiah,	31:55
	he should be put out of the synagogue.	31:57
	So a second time they called the man who had been blind,	32:00
	and they said to him, give glory to God,	32:02
	we know that this man, Jesus, is a sinner.	32:05
	The blind man answered, whether he is a sinner or not,	32:09
	I do not know, one thing I know,	32:12
	that I was blind and now I see.	32:17
	They said, therefore, to him,	32:23
	what did he do to you?	32:24
	How did he open your eyes?	32:26
	He answered them, I told you already and you did not listen.	32:29
	Why do you want to hear it again?	32:35
	You do not want to become his disciples too, do you?	32:39
	And they reviled him and they said,	32:43
	you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.	32:45
	We know that God has spoken to Moses,	32:49
	but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.	32:51
	The man answered and said to them,	32:55
	well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know	32:57
	where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.	33:01
	We know that God does not hear sinners	33:05
	but if anyone is God-fearing	33:08
	and does his will, he hears him.	33:10
	Since the beginning of time it has never been heard	33:12
	that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.	33:15
	If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.	33:19
	The Pharisees answered and said to him,	33:25
	you were born entirely in sin, and are you teaching us?	33:27
	And they threw him out.	33:35
	Jesus heard that they had put him out,	33:38
	and finding him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man?	33:42
	He answered and said, and who is he, Lord,	33:49
	that I may believe in him?	33:52
	Jesus said to him, you have seen him,	33:54
	he is the one who is speaking with you now.	33:58
	And the man said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him.	34:03
	And Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world,	34:11
	that those who do not see may see,	34:16
	and those who see may become blind.	34:20
	Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things	34:25
	and said to him, do you mean that we are blind?	34:28
	Jesus said to them, if you were blind,	34:35
	you would have no sin, but since you say,	34:38
	we see, your sin remains.	34:43
	The gospel of the lord.	34:51
	(joyful music)	34:53
-	Whoever you are, out there,	36:09
	and the visiting preacher can only make	36:14
	a semi informed guess,	36:16
	whoever you are,	36:20
	this sermon is for you	36:23
	because the story that was just read	36:27
	is your story and mine.	36:31
	The ninth chapter of the gospel of John	36:37
	is probably the most striking single dramatic unit	36:40
	in the New Testament.	36:44
	More importantly however, it is a story	36:47
	that is meant to draw the hearer	36:50
	right into the middle of the action.	36:52
	I invite you therefore to join with me this morning	36:57
	as we walk with Jesus of Nazareth	37:01
	through the streets of Jerusalem	37:03
	as for deciding which of you will play which parts	37:07
	we shall have soon have an opportunity to find out.	37:13
	As he passed by the evangelist rites	37:18
	he saw a man blind from his birth	37:21
	and his disciples asked him, master who sinned,	37:24
	this man or his parents that he should be born blind?	37:28
	Now this question is based on an old rabbinical belief	37:32
	that disease is caused by particular sins.	37:36
	The disciples are reminded of a classic rabbinical conundrum	37:40
	They see the blind beggar as a theological problem	37:45
	to be discussed coolly at a distance.	37:50
	They stand apart, they look down,	37:54
	they say well now, and therefore,	37:57
	and on the other hand.	38:01
	The other day I read in the New York Times	38:04
	that 76 percent of the Inuit or Eskimo population	38:06
	of a certain village in Alaska has become alcoholic	38:11
	since the pipeline was built.	38:14
	76 percent.	38:17
	Here is a human consequence of our	38:21
	rapacious demand for energy.	38:23
	I mentioned this statistic to a friend of mine	38:28
	who has interests in the oil business.	38:31
	Well now, he said, that's a very complicated situation.	38:34
	Jesus does not see the blind man	38:41
	as an object of sociological speculation,	38:44
	he sees the man in his need,	38:49
	in his isolation, and loneliness,	38:53
	in his pathetic and neglected condition.	38:58
	He sees the man as one of those he has come to save.	39:05
	Notice that the blind man has done nothing	39:11
	to attract Jesus' attention.	39:13
	As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.	39:18
	The blind man is unaware of Jesus' presence,	39:23
	he just sits there staring blankly into the darkness.	39:25
	But Jesus sees him.	39:32
	All of us have had the feeling of being in misery.	39:38
	But even worse than the feeling of being miserable	39:42
	isn't it, is the feeling of being alone in misery.	39:45
	The feeling that nobody knows,	39:49
	nobody understands, nobody cares.	39:52
	Jesus notices.	39:59
	Jesus cares.	40:02
	Jesus sees.	40:06
	Jesus saw the blind man, saw him in a way	40:11
	that no one else saw him.	40:14
	Jesus sharply silences the irrelevant chit chat	40:16
	of the disciples, stop arguing about	40:20
	why he was born blind, you are about to see	40:23
	the power of God at work in him.	40:26
	I am the light of the world.	40:30
	This is the reason Jesus came.	40:35
	To give light to the blind.	40:38
	To raise the fallen, to give life to the dead,	40:41
	to show his brightness to all who are in the world.	40:45
	In the presence of Jesus with suffering humanity,	40:51
	God himself steps on the scene,	40:55
	bringing rescue from heaven.	40:59
	Jesus bends to the Earth and makes clay for the man's eyes.	41:05
	Some of the old commentators say	41:11
	that wonderfully we see here the creator of the world,	41:14
	the one by whom all things were made	41:19
	stooping again to the dust from which man was created	41:23
	in order to create in the poor fallen beggar,	41:28
	the gift of sight and new life.	41:33
	The son of God does not hesitate to use humble,	41:37
	base materials to help the poor blind man	41:40
	believe that he is going to be healed.	41:44
	Then Jesus sends him off to wash	41:52
	in this rather distant pool.	41:55
	The man's willing obedience to Jesus'	41:59
	strange command is important	42:02
	because this is the beginning of faith and sight for him.	42:06
	He trusts and obeys, he goes and he washes	42:11
	and he comes back seeing.	42:16
	Now this, sisters and brothers is just the beginning	42:21
	of the story, the healing only occupies	42:25
	two verses out of the 41.	42:28
	The real drama is about to begin.	42:31
	You and I are about to be drawn in.	42:34
	It is dangerous for us to be here,	42:38
	we are going to be forced to take sides.	42:42
	This is about to become our story.	42:46
	When the blind man, I'm going to keep calling him that	42:50
	because it takes much too long	42:53
	to say the formerly blind man,	42:54
	when the blind man came back he discovered	42:57
	that people behaved very strangely toward him.	42:59
	Instead of rejoicing with him	43:03
	they regarded him with suspicion.	43:04
	These people are unwilling to admit	43:08
	that the man has really been healed,	43:09
	that healing is an offense to them.	43:11
	They try to figure out ways of keeping it	43:15
	at a safe distance from their lives	43:16
	and they hold him at arms length as though	43:20
	he were an embarrassment to them.	43:22
	Note also that these neighbors	43:26
	questioned the man about his cure	43:29
	and we discover at this point that he knows	43:31
	almost nothing at all about Jesus except	43:34
	well all he can say about him at this point	43:38
	is that he is a man named Jesus	43:41
	who put clay on his eyes.	43:43
	Now it is at this interesting juncture	43:47
	that the man is hauled off before the Pharisees.	43:50
	Most of us are accustomed, of course	43:56
	to thinking of the Pharisees as hypocrites and villains,	43:58
	but we can never understand the New Testament that way.	44:00
	We must realize that the Pharisees	44:04
	were the truly respected men of their community.	44:07
	Unlike the tax collectors they were not rich,	44:12
	they were high in the public regard	44:15
	because of their learning, their ability,	44:17
	their commitment, their religious seriousness.	44:21
	Pharisees were not the bad guys.	44:25
	They were the good guys.	44:27
	So picture the blind man suddenly	44:31
	thrust before this assembly of religious leaders.	44:33
	What authority does he have?	44:37
	The Pharisees are the ones who interpret all matters	44:39
	of faith and order.	44:42
	The blind man is nothing but an illiterate beggar.	44:43
	Besides, there are a lot of Pharisees	44:47
	and only one of him.	44:50
	It is a very intimidating situation.	44:51
	Well the interrogation begins in a reasonably	44:57
	neutral fashion, the Pharisees say how did you receive	45:00
	your sight, and the blind man answers.	45:03
	But as soon as the Pharisees hear	45:06
	his straightforward testimony,	45:09
	a vehement dispute arises among them.	45:12
	Some of them say this man Jesus	45:15
	cannot be from God, others say	45:17
	well if he's not God then how can he do	45:19
	such wonderful things as this.	45:21
	The blind man observing this debate	45:24
	among the learned religious authorities	45:26
	must have felt himself being drawn into a controversy	45:28
	of rather serious consequences.	45:31
	How easy it would've been for him to say,	45:35
	look I don't know anything about this,	45:38
	I was just sitting there, I don't want any trouble.	45:40
	But he does not say that.	45:45
	The Pharisees turn to him and say	45:47
	what do you say about this man	45:50
	since it was your eyes that he opened.	45:52
	And he says, he is a prophet.	45:54
	To say that Jesus was a prophet	46:00
	was to make a very strong claim.	46:01
	There had not been very many of those.	46:04
	In view of the fact that all the blind man	46:07
	really knows about Jesus is his name.	46:10
	This is a remarkable affirmation.	46:15
	Well so the Pharisees just did not believe	46:20
	that he had received his sight,	46:22
	denial was the easiest of the alternatives for them.	46:23
	So they called his parents in and they said,	46:27
	come now, this isn't your son who was born blind, is it?	46:29
	The man's parents made a curious response.	46:34
	They blew the Pharisees cover, first of all	46:39
	by saying this is our son and he was born blind.	46:41
	But they would not commit themselves any farther than that.	46:46
	We don't know how he got his sight, they say.	46:51
	We don't know who healed him, you ask him	46:54
	he can speak for himself.	46:56
	The evangelist explains this evasiveness	46:59
	by telling us that the blind man's parents	47:02
	were afraid of being thrown out of the synagogue.	47:04
	What a familiar story.	47:09
	Fear of ostracism,	47:12
	fear of looking foolish,	47:15
	fear of becoming involved.	47:18
	Who, me?	47:22
	I don't know about any dope traffic,	47:25
	I don't know about any race prejudice around here,	47:28
	I don't know about any human rights violations,	47:33
	I don't know about Jesus of Nazareth.	47:37
	Ask that other guy over there.	47:42
	But in the mean time the Pharisees	47:48
	are faced with the offending fact of the man's cure.	47:50
	They summon him back again and this time,	47:56
	this time there is no division among the Pharisees.	47:59
	Those who had been vaguely considering	48:04
	a pro Jesus position have now gone over to the other side.	48:06
	The chairman of the board of the Pharisees	48:10
	leans forward, we have come to a conclusion,	48:12
	he says to the blind beggar.	48:16
	You should give God the glory for what happened to you.	48:19
	This man, Jesus, is a sinner.	48:23
	Now this is the point of no return for the blind man.	48:28
	Council of the Pharisees has pronounced	48:31
	its official decision and what's more	48:33
	it has pronounced it in the name of God.	48:35
	We must understand how unequal	48:40
	this contest is.	48:43
	The blind man has no reason whatever	48:45
	to think that these godly men,	48:49
	these pillars of the faith, might be wrong.	48:52
	In the face of utter condemnation	48:59
	he doggedly clings to what he knows.	49:03
	Whether he is a sinner or not,	49:08
	I do not know, one thing I know	49:10
	I was blind, now I see.	49:16
	The power and truth of this statement	49:25
	is not lost on the Pharisees.	49:28
	They back away from it and retreat to safer ground.	49:32
	How did he open your eyes they demand to know.	49:35
	With sudden resourcefulness and audacity	49:40
	the blind man snaps back at his inquisitors,	49:43
	I've already told you, why do you want to hear it again?	49:47
	Do you want to become his disciples too?	49:52
	And at this they turn on him furiously.	49:55
	You're the one who is his disciple.	49:58
	We are disciples of Moses,	50:00
	we know that God spoke to Moses	50:03
	but as for this man we do not even know where he comes from.	50:05
	Now that is the last word in Pharisaical clout.	50:12
	The learned man of the faith reached back into the arsenal	50:18
	of their tradition and they bring down	50:22
	upon the head of this apparently defenseless blind man,	50:25
	the lightning and thunder and fire and smoke	50:30
	of Mount Sinai itself.	50:33
	But brothers and sisters almighty God alone	50:40
	is in charge of his lightning and thunder.	50:42
	The holy spirit blows where he wills.	50:46
	It is not the Pharisees who are catching fire.	50:49
	By the power of the spirit the lowly blind man	50:53
	is becoming a preacher of the gospel,	50:56
	what an extraordinary thing, he exclaims.	51:00
	You the leaders of the faith cannot	51:03
	figure out where this man comes from.	51:05
	To open the eyes of a man born blind	51:07
	it is unheard of since the world began.	51:10
	If this man had not come from God he could do nothing.	51:12
	And with that Pharisees rise up	51:18
	and throw him out of the temple, out of the company	51:22
	of decent people, out of the circle of the respectable,	51:26
	outside the arena of salvation,	51:31
	outside the dwelling place	51:35
	of mercy and forgiveness, and sanctuary.	51:37
	And now to him who is thrown out of the temple,	51:46
	comes the lord of the temple.	51:51
	Upon him who has been cast into outer darkness	51:57
	now shines the light of the world.	52:01
	Jesus the evangelist tells us,	52:07
	hearing that they had cast him out	52:10
	came and found him close to the one	52:13
	who has been sentenced to a living death	52:18
	comes Jesus of Nazareth to the outcast man	52:21
	and gently says, do you believe in the son of man?	52:25
	That is, do you believe in the divine savior	52:31
	who is to come, for that is what the title	52:34
	son of man meant in those days.	52:37
	And this same blind man who was so stubborn	52:40
	and so assertive before the Pharisees	52:44
	now instantly and humbly yields himself	52:48
	to the leading of Jesus and says, who is he sir?	52:52
	Tell me, that I may believe in him.	52:56
	And Jesus says, it is he who is speaking with you now.	53:00
	And the blind man says, lord, I believe.	53:06
	And kneels down and worships him.	53:11
	It is for this purpose that the blind man	53:17
	was given his sight, that he should see Jesus	53:20
	and believe in him.	53:24
	As you will have understood fully by now	53:27
	this story is not so much about	53:30
	physical blindness as it is about spiritual blindness.	53:32
	The chapter begins with a man	53:35
	who is going to be given the gift of true sight.	53:37
	And the chapter ends with a sentence	53:40
	passed upon those who have refused to see.	53:43
	The story ends with Jesus' solemn word of judgment	53:47
	upon the Pharisees.	53:51
	To be confident of one's own knowledge and virtue	53:57
	is to be blind as the Pharisees were blind.	54:02
	To know one's powerlessness and need,	54:08
	to know one's dependence on divine aid,	54:12
	that is the beginning of vision.	54:16
	Ignorance of Jesus and of one's own sin,	54:20
	that is darkness indeed.	54:22
	Knowledge of him means knowledge of the one true light.	54:26
	Three times during the confrontation	54:32
	between the Pharisees and the blind man	54:34
	the Pharisees confidently state what they know.	54:37
	Three times the blind man confesses	54:43
	his ignorance of everything except his healing.	54:46
	But that is all he needs.	54:51
	Because he clings to what little light he has	54:54
	Jesus gives him more and more.	54:58
	Total knowledge comes to him at last	55:05
	in the personal encounter when he sees	55:08
	the lord face to face and falls	55:12
	to his knees to worship him.	55:16
	The point of the story is not the miracle,	55:21
	the point of the story is that Jesus Christ	55:26
	is the son of God and the light of the world.	55:29
	And now we must decide, you and I,	55:36
	how we fit in to the story.	55:40
	From Saint Augustine's time to our own,	55:45
	interpreters have pointed out that the blind man	55:48
	stands for us all.	55:51
	Flannery O'Connor writes, we are all the poor.	55:55
	The blind man represents fallen humanity	56:03
	lost in ignorance and sin with no hope of salvation.	56:06
	But what we need to see is that we are also	56:12
	like the disciples who discuss causes	56:15
	but showed no compassion.	56:19
	We are like the neighbors who resented	56:22
	the embarrassing intrusion of the divine intervention.	56:24
	We are like the parents who feared making a commitment.	56:29
	Most of all though, we are like the Pharisees.	56:34
	In our self righteousness, our hardness of heart,	56:40
	our devotion to a preferred religious system	56:45
	which blinds us to the very presence of God	56:48
	and the person and work of Jesus Christ.	56:51
	The light of the world stood before the Pharisees	56:56
	and they refused to look at him.	56:59
	Revelation stared them in the face	57:02
	and they scoffed and ridiculed	57:05
	and threw out the witness	57:08
	and in the end the light became to them	57:11
	as darkness and the revelation to them as a curse.	57:13
	It's a lot like confronting an alcoholic.	57:20
	An experience I have had many times.	57:24
	The alcoholic who acknowledges his sickness	57:28
	and his need for help can enter a new life.	57:31
	But if he will not, then the confrontation	57:37
	becomes for him judgment and not salvation.	57:43
	You and I stand within this story.	57:50
	Jesus the light of the world is present with us now.	57:56
	In all his resurrected power,	58:02
	we must face the question,	58:05
	which group do we belong to?	58:09
	Are we like the man who knew he was blind,	58:12
	who trusted Jesus and was brought to life and light.	58:16
	Or are we like the Pharisees who could not come	58:21
	to the light because they would not pay	58:24
	the price of admitting that they had been blind.	58:27
	Every one of us is part Pharisee,	58:34
	and part blind man.	58:39
	The Pharisee in you is cock sure, self sufficient,	58:43
	as long as you are secure in your good looks,	58:51
	your good grades, the amount of money you are making,	58:56
	your sexual prowess, your modern opinions,	59:01
	your ability to con people into admiring you,	59:06
	then you are in great spiritual danger,	59:11
	for you feel no need of Christ.	59:15
	And if you allow this aspect of yourself	59:20
	to get the upper hand then you are turning	59:22
	away from Jesus and you will eventually face darkness,	59:26
	blindness, sickness, and death.	59:31
	But even the most glossy and secure among us	59:38
	has a blind man tucked away inside.	59:45
	There is not one person here this morning	59:50
	who is not afraid of something.	59:53
	Afraid of failing, afraid of being rejected	59:56
	in favor of someone else, afraid of being	1:00:00
	found out in some way, afraid of the ominous	1:00:05
	shadow of nuclear war.	1:00:10
	This aspect of ourselves knows the world	1:00:15
	to be a fearful, lonely, and insecure place.	1:00:19
	The blind man in you	1:00:25
	knows your need for a savior.	1:00:28
	The story of these two kinds of men	1:00:36
	is the story of our lives because it is the story	1:00:38
	of a series of moments	1:00:43
	like our lives.	1:00:46
	The blind man and the Pharisees begin	1:00:49
	at the same place with no knowledge of Jesus.	1:00:52
	The blind man gradually moves close and closer to him	1:00:56
	as the Pharisees are gradually turning	1:01:01
	farther and farther away.	1:01:03
	Your life and my life are made up of those	1:01:06
	series of moments.	1:01:10
	Every decision we make to pursue self interest,	1:01:15
	self indulgence, every sign of apathy, callousness	1:01:19
	and indifference, moves us further away from Christ.	1:01:25
	Every refusal of help, every act of self isolation,	1:01:29
	every grab for power and privilege,	1:01:35
	every stiffening against the approach of love,	1:01:37
	sends us deeper into the darkness.	1:01:43
	But if you have the uneasy feeling	1:01:48
	that you are not really the kind of person	1:01:52
	God wants you to be.	1:01:55
	If you have the feeling that you are not	1:01:58
	the kind, the cool, confident, worldling	1:02:01
	that you would like to appear,	1:02:06
	if you have the feeling that something	1:02:10
	might be wrong not just with the Iranians	1:02:13
	and the Russians, but with us also,	1:02:17
	that in fact you and I and the world	1:02:22
	are all sick at heart and infected with evil	1:02:26
	and overrun with violence and hatred and crime	1:02:30
	and oppression and injustice and despair	1:02:35
	and terror and anarchy and war	1:02:38
	then this moment	1:02:43
	is for you.	1:02:47
	And for us.	1:02:50
	Jesus Christ has once more	1:02:53
	stepped on the scene.	1:02:57
	Look, look at him.	1:03:01
	Behold the lamb of God	1:03:07
	who takes away the sin of the world.	1:03:11
	It is he who gives you the eyes to see.	1:03:16
	Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.	1:03:23
	These things were written, says the evangelists,	1:03:29
	this story was read,	1:03:33
	this sermon was preached,	1:03:37
	and I pray	1:03:41
	this message was heard	1:03:44
	in order that you may believe that Jesus	1:03:49
	is the Christ, the son of God,	1:03:53
	and that believing you may have life	1:03:59
	in his name.	1:04:04
	(reverent music)	1:04:14
-	The word of God has been read, proclaimed, and sung	1:06:24
	and now with one voice let us affirm what we believe.	1:06:30
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	1:06:36
	who has come in the truly human Jesus,	1:06:41
	to reconcile and make new,	1:06:44
	who works in us and others by the Spirit.	1:06:47
	We trust God who calls us to be the Church,	1:06:51
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	1:06:56
	to love and serve others,	1:06:59
	to seek justice and resist evil,	1:07:02
	to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,	1:07:05
	our judge and our hope.	1:07:09
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	1:07:12
	God is with us.	1:07:17
	We are not alone.	1:07:19
	Thanks be to God.	1:07:21
	The lord be with you.	1:07:25
-	And with your spirit.	1:07:26
-	Let us pray.	1:07:28
	Oh lord our God,	1:07:39
	oh God our help in ages past,	1:07:43
	our hope for years to come,	1:07:48
	help us now individually and communally	1:07:52
	to lean upon the rod and the staff	1:07:58
	of your eternal mercy as we pray unto you.	1:08:01
	We give thanks oh God this day	1:08:10
	for everything that lifts our hearts	1:08:13
	and makes life worth living.	1:08:16
	For all happiness in which we are allowed to share.	1:08:22
	For home and friends, for the joy of loving	1:08:30
	and of being loved, we give you thanks.	1:08:36
	For signs of your holy and good presence,	1:08:43
	drop throughout our world in the most unexpected places,	1:08:49
	for all insights of beauty and understanding	1:08:57
	that have broken open and that speak to us	1:09:00
	all around us, for the mystery of music	1:09:05
	and the sudden strange power	1:09:12
	of some expression of art,	1:09:14
	for the bush that burns often at our feet	1:09:18
	and is never consumed, we give you our deepest	1:09:21
	thanks oh lord our God.	1:09:26
	We pray now, oh lord for those whose faith is sorely tried,	1:09:32
	those whose hopes have suffered wreck or serious damage,	1:09:40
	those whose love is strained to the breaking point,	1:09:47
	we pray for those who cry for comfort	1:09:54
	because their heart's desire has been	1:09:58
	withheld or taken away.	1:10:00
	Grant unto all those oh God faith that never fails,	1:10:04
	hope which no change or loss can destroy,	1:10:09
	love which bears all things	1:10:14
	and bring those persons oh God	1:10:18
	through all rain and darkness by the clear light	1:10:20
	of your mercy and protection, through Jesus Christ our lord.	1:10:23
	We commit to you now, oh God, in our prayers	1:10:31
	all young people everywhere and those who lead them	1:10:34
	and especially those young minds, bodies,	1:10:41
	and spirits here at this place of learning,	1:10:43
	may they all grow in wisdom as in stature,	1:10:48
	in strength of character and in the knowledge	1:10:52
	of the lord Jesus our Christ.	1:10:55
	Pray now oh lord for our nation	1:11:01
	and indeed for all nations of the world,	1:11:03
	somehow through your miraculous power	1:11:07
	and the indwelling and the moving of your spirit,	1:11:10
	may a new era dawn and a new and more excellent way	1:11:13
	open out before all the people's of the Earth, we pray.	1:11:17
	Now oh God we commit unto your care	1:11:24
	our loved ones wherever they may be.	1:11:26
	And allow us in our human loves and affections	1:11:30
	to be able to perceive and to live more and more	1:11:34
	that life of love which comes from you	1:11:38
	and your unfailing, unfaltering love	1:11:41
	through Jesus Christ who is love manifest to us	1:11:48
	and to all your children and who taught us to pray	1:11:55
	as we pray together now,	1:11:59
	Our Father, Who art in Heaven,	1:12:02
	hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come,	1:12:05
	thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.	1:12:09
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:12:14
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	1:12:17
	who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation,	1:12:21
	but deliver us from evil.	1:12:26
	Thine is the kingdom, power, and the glory,	1:12:29
	for ever and ever, amen.	1:12:33
	(reverent music)	1:12:37
	(joyful music)	1:18:33
	Here oh lord our God, we lay before	1:19:48
	you these our gifts, the symbols of the greater offering	1:19:51
	of our lives in your service.	1:19:55
	We are yours for you have made us, remade us	1:19:58
	and supported us.	1:20:03
	All that we have is yours already.	1:20:05
	So now in love and gratitude we give	1:20:09
	this offering and we give ourselves	1:20:12
	to you in the name of Jesus the Christ	1:20:15
	who gave his life and love even to us, amen.	1:20:18
	(joyful music)	1:20:28
	Now in the name of Christ as one Christian to another,	1:24:00
	may I offer you this benediction.	1:24:04
	The grace of our lord and savior Jesus Christ,	1:24:08
	the love of God, the communion and fellowship	1:24:11
	of the holy spirit, be with you	1:24:16
	and with those whom you love this day and forever.	1:24:19
	(reverent choral music)	1:24:26
	(dramatic organ music)	1:25:49

Item Info

Title:

Fleming Rutledge - "Was Blind but Now I See" (February 17, 1980)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 36:09. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 1:04:09.
We must recognize our own sin and imperfection and then trust in God to heal it, as we are all flawed and broken. The sermon emphasizes unity and recognition that we, like everyone else in the world, are flawed. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Ignorance of Jesus and of one’s own sin, that is darkness indeed; knowledge of him and of one’s helpless condition means knowledge of the one true light.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4gb1xx2g

Date:

February 17, 1980

Speaker:

Rutledge, Fleming

Liturgical Calendar:

Lent

Biblical Book:

John

Chapter and Verse:

John 9:1-41

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1074
ref7360_ohu
uachapelsermaud
duke:320481
dcrau001953
ark:/87924/r4gb1xx2g
df4f326b-aaf0-4972-a336-e323373b6a4b

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

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

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Fleming Rutledge - "Was Blind but Now I See" (February 17, 1980)

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Duke University Archives