William H. Willimon - "The Right Sort of People" (April 9, 1995)

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All	Power of your Holy Spirit,	0:00
	so that even as Jesus lead his disciples into Jerusalem,	0:03
	we might follow him where he would lead us, amen.	0:08
-	The Old Testament lesson is	0:14
	from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 50	0:16
	beginning with verse four.	0:18
	"The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher	0:22
	"that I may know how to sustain the weary with the word.	0:27
	"Morning by morning, he wakens,	0:33
	"wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.	0:37
	"The Lord God has opened my ear	0:44
	"and I was not rebellious.	0:47
	"I did not turn backward.	0:49
	"I gave my back to those who struck me	0:52
	"and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard.	0:56
	"I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.	1:01
	"The Lord God helps me,	1:07
	"therefore I have not been disgraced.	1:09
	"Therefore, I have set my face like flint	1:12
	"and I know that I shall not be put to shame.	1:16
	"He who vindicates me is near,	1:21
	"who will contend with me.	1:24
	"Let us stand up together.	1:27
	"Who are my adversaries?	1:29
	"Let them confront me.	1:32
	"It is the Lord God who helps me.	1:34
	"Who will declare me guilty?"	1:37
	This is the word of the Lord.	1:42
All	Thanks be to God.	1:44
-	The gospel reading is from Luke, Chapter 23,	1:49
	beginning with verse one.	1:53
	"Then the assembly rose as a body	1:59
	"and brought Jesus before Pilate.	2:02
	"They began to accuse him, saying,	2:05
	"'We found this man perverting our nation,	2:08
	"'forbidding us to pay taxes to the Emperor	2:11
	"'and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.'	2:15
	"Then Pilate asked him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?'	2:20
	"He answered, 'You say so.'	2:25
	"Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds,	2:30
	"'I find no basis for an accusation against this man,'	2:33
	"but they were insistent and said,	2:39
	"'He stirs up the people by teaching	2:41
	"'throughout all Judea, from Galilee,	2:44
	"where he began, even to this place.'	2:47
	"When Pilate heard this,	2:51
	"he asked whether the man was a Galilean.	2:53
	"And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction,	2:56
	"he sent him off to Herod,	3:00
	"who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.	3:02
	"When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad,	3:06
	"for he had been wanting to see him for a long time	3:09
	"because he had heard about him	3:12
	"and was hoping to see him perform some sign.	3:14
	"He questioned him at length.	3:19
	"But Jesus gave no answer.	3:22
	"The chief priests and the scribes	3:26
	"stood by vehemently accusing him.	3:28
	"Even Herod, with his soldiers,	3:31
	"treated him with contempt and mocked him.	3:33
	"Then he put an elegant robe on him	3:37
	"and sent him back to Pilate.	3:39
	"That same day, Herod and Pilate	3:42
	"became friends with each other.	3:45
	"Before this, they had been enemies.	3:47
	"Pilate then called together the chief priests,	3:52
	"the leaders, and the people, and said to them,	3:55
	"'You brought me this man as one	3:59
	"'who was perverting the people.	4:01
	"'And here, I have examined him in your presence	4:04
	"'and have not found this man guilty	4:07
	"'of any of your charges against him,	4:09
	"'neither has Herod, for he has sent him back to us.	4:12
	"'Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death.	4:16
	"'I will therefore have him flogged and release him.'	4:20
	"Then they all shouted out together,	4:25
	"'Away with this fellow!	4:28
	"'Release Barabbas for us.'	4:30
	"This was a man who had been put in prison	4:33
	"for an insurrection that had taken place	4:35
	"in the city and for murder.	4:37
	"Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again.	4:40
	"But they kept shouting, 'Crucify, crucify him!'	4:44
	"A third time he said to them, 'Why?	4:49
	"'What evil has he done?	4:53
	"'I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death.	4:56
	"'I will, therefore, have him flogged	5:00
	"'and then release him.'	5:02
	"But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts	5:04
	"that he should be crucified.	5:08
	"And their voices prevailed.	5:11
	"So, Pilate gave his verdict	5:16
	"that their demand should be granted."	5:19
	This is the word of the Lord.	5:24
All	Thanks be to God.	5:27
-	By a happy confluence of events,	5:49
	Lent this year has fallen at exactly	5:54
	the same time as the O.J. Simpson trial.	5:58
	I say happy because	6:03
	around here Lent can be	6:06
	the preacher's greatest challenge.	6:09
	It isn't easy for a preacher to convince mostly young,	6:14
	upwardly mobile, politically correct people,	6:18
	people like you,	6:21
	that you are, despite your Masters degree,	6:24
	fallen, sinful, and in need of salvation.	6:27
	I know what you're thinking now.	6:31
	My Lord, I got up and came to Chapel	6:32
	and on a big weekend.	6:35
	Doesn't that count for something?	6:36
	Lent, the Christian season of sin,	6:40
	and the cross of repentance, an honest confession,	6:46
	always seems out of place	6:51
	among people like us.	6:57
	But, happily, not this year,	7:00
	not with your rushing home every afternoon	7:03
	to watch the trial of the century.	7:06
	And don't lie to me, all of you are watching it.	7:08
	You can't get enough of it, hooked on it like heroine.	7:11
	You love O.J. with his mix of Leer and Othello	7:15
	and the National Inquirer	7:19
	and daily parade of Hollywood sleaze,	7:21
	a celebrity hood who dabbles	7:25
	in cocaine between rental car commercials,	7:28
	a woman abused but too hooked on the lifestyle	7:31
	of the rich and famous to leave.	7:34
	All presided over by the oiliest collection	7:36
	of attorneys since the Inquisition,	7:39
	who for $5 million in legal fees might give you	7:41
	the right to do anything you want to your wife	7:44
	and it's all during Lent.	7:48
	And so, you see, the preacher in me can say,	7:52
	"See, boys and girls,	7:55
	"if you don't straighten up,	7:57
	"if you don't repent and get saved,	7:58
	"you might grow up to look like Bob Shapiro."	8:01
	(congregation laughs)	8:04
	Maybe even F. Lee Bailey, marine to marine.	8:05
	Now, how to account for this phenomenon.	8:11
	Well, there are many reasons	8:14
	that you may be hooked on O.J.,	8:15
	not the least of which is	8:19
	here is a trial with which	8:22
	few of us can closely identify.	8:26
	That may surprise you.	8:32
	Drama teachers, though, will tell you	8:34
	that for a play really to have its way with you,	8:38
	for a drama to really engage you,	8:43
	there must be certain amount	8:45
	of what is called distancing, distancing.	8:48
	We often think that the reason we love a drama	8:52
	is because we can identify with the characters.	8:56
	But, no.	9:00
	Drama teachers say that if we	9:03
	too closely identify with the characters,	9:06
	then during the play	9:09
	we are so busy defending ourselves,	9:10
	we can't really get into the drama.	9:13
	If we immediately say when a character walks on stage,	9:15
	"Hey, that's me,"	9:20
	the drama really can't get to us.	9:23
	And that's why the great playwright Bertolt Brecht	9:25
	spoke in his plays of the need for some distancing.	9:29
	The word he used was defamiliarization.	9:34
	Defamiliarization,	9:39
	some space between the viewer and the play.	9:40
	And if you will note that sin	9:47
	is always more accessible	9:49
	when sin pertains to other people,	9:52
	when there's some distance here.	9:56
	Surely, this is hardly the basis for our current assault	10:01
	upon unwed mothers and food stamp frauds,	10:07
	by our politicians and our right wing radio rabble.	10:10
	Most of the fulminations of messers Gingrich, Bennett,	10:15
	and Buchanan against American ethical chaos,	10:18
	tend to be aimed, you will note,	10:23
	at the ethical afflictions of the poorest Americans.	10:25
	And we like it that way,	10:31
	because that way the virtuous few,	10:34
	that is those of us who compose the present company,	10:36
	those of us who are here in this room,	10:39
	those of us who are lounging by the pool at this club,	10:42
	those of us round the table	10:45
	at this faculty meeting,	10:46
	we always know ourselves to be innocent	10:48
	of the ethical chaos which causes such concern.	10:50
	It is other people who stand in need of correction.	10:55
	Other people, people who don't go to Woody Allen movies	10:59
	and didn't got to Yale.	11:03
	I've sometimes noted, in the strident moralism	11:04
	which infects political discourse today,	11:08
	that there does seem to be	11:12
	a kind of precise correlation	11:13
	between people's net worth	11:15
	and the extent of their ethical alarm.	11:18
	The more well-off the commentator	11:22
	on the world's ethical corruption,	11:24
	the more earnest that commentator's indignation.	11:27
	A woman I know has just returned from visiting her father	11:34
	who is in retirement at some	11:38
	exclusive golf commune in Florida.	11:40
	And she complained, upon her return,	11:44
	he spent the whole time talking about	11:47
	how nobody in America wants to work,	11:50
	about how welfare moms are bearing scores	11:54
	of bastard babies to burden the future	11:56
	and the world's going to hell.	11:59
	"This," she said, "This from a man	12:01
	"who has spent his last 10 years	12:05
	"and maybe the next 30,	12:08
	"living off of a social security system	12:09
	"he will take more out of than he's put in,	12:11
	"who's plush retirement was purchased	12:14
	"mainly through the sleazy sell out of his company	12:16
	"and who has spent no more than a third of his life	12:20
	"actually working for a living."	12:22
	Have you noticed moral condemnation	12:27
	appears to work somewhat like binoculars?	12:30
	If you look through one end of the binoculars,	12:35
	at somebody else's trespasses,	12:39
	if you look at safe distance,	12:41
	things are magnified.	12:44
	They always seem greater.	12:46
	But if you will flip those binoculars over	12:48
	and look at it backwards,	12:50
	back at yourself through the other lens,	12:52
	everything is tiny, insignificant, mere peccadillo.	12:55
	When we moved to Durham,	13:04
	we noted how real estate prices in Durham	13:07
	are always lower in the city than in the county.	13:11
	"Why?" we innocently asked our real estate agent.	13:16
	"Simple, a lot of black kids go to the city schools.	13:21
	"There are fewer blacks in the county schools."	13:25
	Well, perhaps sensing my rising glimmer	13:30
	of intellectual indignation in my eye,	13:34
	at the nerve of this real estate salesman	13:37
	to make a racist remark in front of a liberal professor	13:39
	like me, he added, he added,	13:43
	"You know it's funny, lots of Duke faculty	13:47
	"worked for the integration, the racial integration	13:51
	"of the Durham schools.	13:53
	"But once a school's integrated,	13:56
	"those same faculty did anything	13:57
	"to keep from sending their own kids to those schools."	13:59
	I don't know about you, but in such moments,	14:06
	something like defamiliarization occurs to me.	14:08
	It begins to move in a kind of different direction.	14:14
	Does it for you?	14:17
	And I remember the distinguished professor	14:21
	who jetted about the country,	14:23
	lecturing on the need for the liberation of women,	14:25
	on the need for the equality of women,	14:28
	while his own wife stayed home raising,	14:31
	fairly much on her own,	14:34
	the kids he had fathered.	14:36
	Isn't it interesting in our current	14:41
	public policy debates about unwed mothers?	14:43
	Have you noticed, there's no unwed fathers?	14:47
	Poor, American women appear to be bearing	14:50
	poor children by parthenogenesis.	14:52
	(congregation laughs)	14:55
	Give me O.J. on the tube, Marsha,	14:58
	Johnny, F. Lee, and dear Kato.	15:01
	We need you now.	15:03
	We need you now, more than ever,	15:05
	to lead us in our national rituals	15:07
	of national self-delusion and thin denial.	15:09
	Oh, you graciously bear for us	15:14
	the sins of an entire nation,	15:16
	you, along with the welfare moms	15:18
	and the homeless men and the food stamp frauds.	15:21
	Last summer, last summer I saw this expose on TV	15:29
	about bank robberies in Los Angeles.	15:33
	It turns out that Los Angeles is experiencing	15:36
	a veritable plague of bank robberies.	15:39
	During a business day, a bank in L.A.	15:44
	is held up like every hour.	15:46
	And they were interviewing this F.B.I. man	15:49
	about this plague of bank robberies.	15:51
	And he said, "Yeah, it's a serious problem.	15:54
	"We really worry about it.	15:55
	"We worry that some innocent person is gonna get	15:56
	"caught in the crossfire when one of these	16:00
	"bank robberies goes bad.	16:02
	"It's really terrible."	16:04
	And he showed, there on the screen,	16:06
	there captured on the bank security camera,	16:08
	where these people in ski masks	16:10
	are thrusting a gun at the bank teller,	16:12
	holding up the bank.	16:14
	And indignation grew within me.	16:17
	I thought, I could be making a deposit.	16:19
	I could get caught in this thing.	16:21
	They've got to do something about these bank robberies.	16:24
	Then the F.B.I. agent said,	16:28
	"You know, it's funny,	16:30
	"bank robbery is really a stupid crime.	16:32
	"We captured the whole thing on the security camera.	16:36
	"Most of people holding up these banks	16:38
	"are people high on cocaine.	16:40
	"Last three bank robbers we caught	16:44
	"were mothers with little children."	16:45
	"What can they do with the money?	16:48
	"We get back most of the money.	16:49
	"We only lost about $120,000	16:51
	"last year in L.A. in bank robberies.	16:53
	"What can they do?	16:55
	"It's all captured on the film."	16:56
	Then he said, "You know, it's funny,	17:00
	"In the Los Angeles area,	17:03
	"we lost nearly $1 billion in the savings and loan scandals,	17:06
	"but those bank robberies were committed	17:13
	"by people wearing business suits.	17:15
	"And none of them have gone to jail."	17:20
	And I, sitting there in my business suit,	17:26
	(congregation chuckles)	17:30
	I got what you might call defamiliarized,	17:31
	I got, discomfort grew.	17:35
	I began to wonder.	17:37
	I wonder, was C.S. Lewis right when he said	17:41
	of his own conversion to Christ,	17:45
	"For the first time, I examined myself.	17:48
	"and there I found a zoo of lusts,	17:52
	"a bedlam of ambition,	17:59
	"a nursery of fear,	18:01
	"a harem of fondled hatreds."	18:04
	Now, before you continue in this service	18:15
	of Palm Passion Sunday,	18:18
	before you continue,	18:21
	I have for you a warning.	18:22
	This service begins well enough	18:28
	with the waving of palms,	18:30
	with archaic dance and ancient music.	18:32
	You will note that the stories we have read to you	18:36
	are stories of ancient people,	18:38
	Jews of another time, Jews of another place.	18:41
	We will hear read shortly,	18:47
	a sad story of betrayal,	18:49
	as those who were closest to Jesus	18:52
	forsook him and fled into the night	18:56
	as Cesar's soldiers lead away Jesus to capital punishment.	19:00
	Don't worry, these ancient words seem to say to us.	19:05
	Don't worry, this isn't your story.	19:10
	This is not about you.	19:13
	We stand, you will note,	19:16
	at some reassuring distance from all this.	19:19
	Tension builds,	19:28
	the pace quickens,	19:30
	as we move from Pilate's pretorium	19:32
	and the trial of the ages.	19:35
	The trial of the ages is taken to the streets	19:38
	for a verdict by the people.	19:41
	We, the people, we, the people in unison	19:44
	are about to have our say in this whole matter.	19:47
	What will we do with this Jesus of Nazareth?	19:52
	How answer we to this question?	19:57
	Listen, listen to the voices,	20:03
	the voices which cry in unison,	20:08
	"Crucify him!	20:12
	"Crucify him!"	20:13
	It is a stunning, unforgettable moment	20:17
	in the worship of this chapel.	20:20
	Listen, listen to those voices	20:24
	which cry out for death.	20:27
	They're our voices.	20:32
	They ricochet off the walls,	20:35
	they bounce back in our brains.	20:37
	They are our voices.	20:39
	It is our sin,	20:41
	my sin.	20:43
	And so, the old scriptural, the old spiritual ask,	20:49
	were you there when they crucified my Lord?	20:54
	It is today that we know the answer.	21:02
	Yes.	21:08
	The sin which hung him there,	21:11
	the well-organized, national self-deceit	21:15
	that nailed him to the wood,	21:18
	it's my sin.	21:21
	It's my systems of justice and security, my sin.	21:24
	My sin.	21:31
	I told one of you coming in here for the law school	21:38
	alumni weekend and the festivities.	21:40
	I said, "You know, I warn you.	21:42
	"Attorneys don't come off	21:44
	"that well in today, in the service.	21:45
	"But just remember, please remember this,	21:48
	"clergy do much worse with this story."	21:51
	(congregation chuckles)	21:54
	And so, years ago G.K. Chesterton	21:57
	was asked by a magazine editor in England,	22:00
	he said, "I want to do a whole issue of my magazine	22:03
	"on the theme, what is wrong with the universe?	22:07
	"What is wrong with the universe?	22:11
	"Would you write us an article, Mr. Chesterton?"	22:13
	Chesterton sent back an article	22:17
	that consisted of one sentence.	22:21
	On the theme, what is wrong with the universe?	22:25
	Chesterton responded simply,	22:29
	"I am."	22:33
	A service that begins with such joy and youthful exuberance,	22:39
	will end in somber, confusing,	22:44
	cacophony of drum beats marching toward blood and death.	22:48
	We will leave this trial of the ages	22:56
	confused, defamiliarized,	23:00
	encountered, stripped of moral pretension,	23:05
	asking, what shall he do this week with my sin?	23:10
	My sin.	23:24
	(solitary organ tone)	23:37
	(single-voiced operatic singing)	23:46
	(cheery choral singing)	24:11
	(single-voiced operatic singing)	24:45
	♪ Someone to show me the way ♪	24:53
	♪ And to Jesus as I pray ♪	24:56
	(cheery choral singing)	25:00
	(single-voiced operatic singing)	25:17
	♪ When I can't follow the way ♪	25:25
	♪ Jesus as I pray ♪	25:29
	(cheery choral singing)	25:32
	(overlapping choral singing)	25:52
	(angelic choral singing)	27:57
Debra	The Lord be with you.	28:22
Congregation	And also with you.	28:25
-	Let us pray.	28:27
	Oh, God, we welcomed you today with shouts of Hosannah,	28:32
	but you know how quickly our accolades of praise	28:36
	turn into words of condemnation.	28:40
	We sing and praise you when we are	28:44
	among others who praise you, too.	28:46
	But in times of stress, we seek scapegoats	28:49
	to be targets for our anger.	28:53
	Forgive us from our tendency to shift blame to others.	28:58
	Save us from self-righteous moralism.	29:03
	Free us from our obsession with other people's sin	29:07
	that we might recognize our own sin.	29:12
	We have so often betrayed you in ways great and small	29:17
	with angry words and vindictive actions,	29:23
	we have harmed our brothers and sisters.	29:26
	We have dehumanized those we do not wish to understand.	29:30
	We have distanced ourselves from those	29:35
	who disappoint or remind us of our human frailty.	29:37
	We have turned away from you,	29:43
	too busy to seek you,	29:45
	too selfish, too self-righteous to obey you.	29:48
	Forgive us, Lord,	29:54
	both for what we have done and for what we have left undone.	29:55
	Send your compassion again, oh God of steadfast love.	30:02
	Renew us and teach us to be steadfast in our love for you.	30:07
	Help us draw as close to each other	30:14
	as you draw to us in Christ.	30:17
	Give us a repentance that lives in works of love.	30:21
	Make us quick to forgive,	30:25
	even as we have been forgiven.	30:27
	Restore to us a right spirit and bring us together	30:31
	in worship and mutual service.	30:35
	Stretch our boundaries, stir our hearts,	30:39
	and inflame our souls to behold you	30:44
	in every fragment of life,	30:47
	too feel you in every moment of time	30:50
	and to serve you in every occasion	30:54
	with obedience and joy.	30:58
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord,	31:01
	who taught us to pray together saying,	31:03
All	Our Father, who art in heaven	31:07
	hallowed be thy name.	31:10
	Thy kingdom come,	31:12
	thy will be done	31:13
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	31:16
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	31:18
	and forgive us our trespasses	31:21
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	31:23
	and lead not into temptation	31:27
	but deliver us from evil,	31:30
	for thine is the kingdom, and the power,	31:32
	and the glory forever, amen.	31:35
-	As recipients of the love, the forgiveness,	31:41
	and the graciousness of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ,	31:45
	let us offer ourselves and our resources.	31:48
	(rhythmic organ music)	31:54
	(soft choir singing)	32:17
	(rhythmic organ music)	35:52
-	"They went to a place called Gethsemane,	36:59
	"and he said to his disciples,	37:02
	"'Sit here while I pray.'	37:05
	"He took Peter, James and John	37:08
	"and began to be distressed and agitated.	37:11
	"And he said to them	37:14
	"'I am deeply grieved even to death.	37:15
	"'Remain her and keep awake.'	37:17
	"And going a little farther,	37:21
	"he threw himself down and prayed that if it were possible,	37:22
	"this hour might pass from him.	37:26
	"He said, 'Abba, Father, for you all things are possible.	37:29
	"'Remove this cup from me	37:35
	"yet not my will, but thine be done.'	37:38
	"He came and found them sleeping an he said to Peter,	37:43
	"'Simon, are you asleep?	37:45
	"'Could you not remain awake one hour?	37:49
	"'Keep awake and pray that you may not come into	37:52
	"'the time of trial, for the Spirit is indeed willing,	37:54
	"'but the flesh is weak.'"	37:58
-	"He came again, a second and third time.	38:01
	"And found them sleeping and said to them,	38:04
	"'Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?	38:08
	"'The hour has come.	38:12
	"'The son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.	38:14
	"'Get up, let us be going.	38:19
	"'See, my betrayer is at hand.	38:21
	"Immediately, while he was still speaking,	38:25
	"Judas, one of the 12, arrived.	38:28
	"And with him there was an angry crowd	38:31
	"with swords and clubs.	38:34
	"And they laid hand on him	38:36
	"and arrested him.	38:38
	(military drumming)
	"They took him to,	38:40
-	Hey you, you there!
-	Who, what?	38:42
Man	You, you're one of his followers.	38:43
-	Who, who?	38:46
-	She's one
	of his followers!	38:46
-	Who are you talking about, who?	38:48
-	This man, this man who calls	38:49
	himself Jesus.	38:50
-	Who, I--
-	This Jesus of Nazareth.	38:52
-	I don't know what you're talking about.	38:53
	I have never seen this guy.	38:55
-	Look, I don't know who you are,	38:57
	but you've no right to be here.	38:58
-	No right?	39:00
-	No.
-	No right?	39:01
	Do you know what trouble this man is causing?	39:02
	He's crazy.	39:05
	He stirs up the students and the common people and the poor.	39:06
	He speaks out against everything that we hold valuable,	39:10
	our traditions, the foundation of our religion.	39:13
Debra	Excuse me, excuse me, look.	39:17
	I don't know what you want,	39:19
	but you're interrupting our service of worship.	39:20
	If this man is part of your religious sect,	39:23
	you'll have to deal	39:25
	with that yourself.	39:26
	(murmuring)
	I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with us, please.	39:27
-	Well, it should.	39:31
	You have much more power and authority than we do	39:32
	and yet you don't see what a danger this man is to you	39:36
	and to me and to all of us here.	39:38
-	That's right.	39:40
-	Well, tell me, just what has he done?	39:42
-	He stirs up the students and the common people.	39:45
	He speaks out against family values and free market society.	39:47
-	That's right.	39:51
	He is a terrible influence on our youth.	39:52
	He has no respect	39:55
	for this church.	39:56
-	None, whatsoever.
Man	That's right, and not only that.	39:58
	I saw him hanging around	39:59
	the divinity school	40:00
-	Is that right?
-	stirring up trouble.	40:02
	He will not conform to what is taught	40:03
	or the way things should be done.	40:05
-	[Man In Beige Shirt] That's right.	40:07
-	He feels people's head with foolish ideas	40:08
	that have nothing to do with reality.	40:10
-	No base in reality.	40:12
-	He's perverting our nation,
	forbidding us to pay taxes and he claims himself	40:14
	to be a Messiah, a savoir, and a king!	40:17
-	My God, he claims to be divine, this man.	40:20
	He's a blasphemer.	40:22
	He should go to his death.	40:24
	He should be killed!	40:25
-	Kill him, kill him!
	He's a blasphemer!	40:27
-	Crucify him.
-	This man is a revolutionary nut.	40:30
	(men yelling over each other)	40:34
Man In Crowd	Religion and break up our families.	40:36
	He said so.	40:39
-	God only knows what kind of paramilitary group he's	40:41
	responsible for forming.	40:44
-	He's some kind of nut.
-	And he's got his dad.	40:46
	He says he will destroy this temple,	40:47
	this very temple and raise it in three days.	40:49
-	[Man In Beige Shirt] Right,	40:51
	and you still wonder why this man is trouble?	40:52
	You wonder (chuckles)?	40:55
	My God.	40:57
William	Stop, stop this, all of you.	40:59
	This is all very irregular.	41:01
	Get out of here.	41:04
	(crowd clamoring)	41:05
Man	What are you saying?	41:07
-	Stop.	41:09
	If you insist, I will speak to him.	41:15
	Then you've got to go.	41:19
	We, this all, uh, (scoffs).	41:21
	Well, you hear what they're saying.	41:26
	How do you answer?	41:29
Man With Beard	Yeah, go ahead.	41:30
-	Are you some kind of revolutionary?	41:31
	Are you a king?	41:36
-	Of course, he is.
-	You have said so.	41:42
-	No, no, I didn't say so.	41:44
	No, they said that you said.	41:46
Man	No, we didn't.	41:49
-	Well, how do you answer?	41:59
	They've made accu,	42:02
	I find no basis for your accusations of this man.	42:05
	I mean, look at him.	42:08
	I have a suggestion.	42:10
	Why don't you just correct him	42:11
	and then let him go?	42:14
Man	Because this man	42:16
	is a threat to our society.	42:17
	Ask him some more questions.	42:20
-	Yes, ask him, ask him, ask him, ask him.	42:22
	You, ask him.	42:26
-	Well, how do you answer?	42:27
	Are you some kind of king?	42:29
-	Do you ask this yourself	42:36
	or did you hear about me from others?	42:38
-	No, I didn't ask it.	42:41
	I'm not one of them, am I?	42:44
	You, I'm not sure that I've ever seen you.	42:46
	I don't know that this concerns us.	42:49
	I, what is with you anyway?	42:51
	(congregation laughs)	42:54
-	My kingdom is not of this world.	42:56
Man In Tan Suit	There he goes again.	42:59
Debra	So, you are some kind of king?	43:01
-	You have said so.	43:06
	Everyone who belongs to truth listens to my voice.	43:10
	(crowd scoffs)	43:15
William	What is truth?	43:16
-	They have accused you of many things.	43:28
	I'm sorry, we can't help you.	43:32
-	How can we even begin to help you?	43:36
	How can we get involved	43:41
	if you just stand there in silence,	43:42
	if you don't answer?	43:45
	Have you no answer?	43:48
	(crowd murmurs)	43:50
	Look, I, take him out and all the rest of you,	43:58
	get out.	44:02
	(crowd clamoring)
Man With Beard	Well, you heard it folks,	44:05
	he's a threat to our national agenda	44:06
	and everything we hold dear.	44:08
William	I wipe my hands of this whole affair.	44:10
Man With Beard	You do that, wash your hands.	44:12
	And we'll put it to you people.	44:14
	What say you we do with this man, huh?	44:15
	What say you?	44:17
Crowd	Crucify him, crucify him!	44:18
	(crowd clamoring)	44:20
-	Crucify him!	44:24
-	Crucify him!
	Put him to death!	44:26
	Put him to death!	44:27
	Crucify him!	44:28
	Crucify him!	44:29
	Crucify him!	44:30
Man	Crucify him!	44:32
	(male operatic singing)	44:53
	(rhythmic organ music)	45:05
	(rhythmic choral singing)
	(cheery organ music)	45:24
	(organ and choral singing)	45:42
	(military drumming)	46:18
	(Middle Eastern theme)	46:26
	(soft choral singing)	46:36
	(intensified singing)	46:55
	(ominous organ music)	47:13
	(choral singing)	47:34
-	Please rise.	49:15
	There will be a service of worship each night	49:24
	in this chapel during the coming week	49:27
	as we move through the events of Holy Week.	49:30
	Now, may the grace of Lord and savoir Jesus Christ,	49:34
	who gave himself for us and our sin,	49:40
	be with you now and always, amen.	49:43
	(energetic organ music)	49:51
	(solemn choral singing)	53:26
	(soft organ music)	53:35
	(choir singing)	53:42
	♪ Amen ♪	54:28
	(soft organ music)	54:41
	(choir singing "Hallelujah" offering song)	55:09
-	Let us pray.	56:09
	Almighty God, giver of every good and perfect gift.	56:11
	Teach us to render to you all that we have	56:16
	and all that we are,	56:19
	that we may praise you not with our lips only,	56:21
	but with our whole lives,	56:25
	turning the duties, the sorrows, and the joys	56:27
	of all our days into a living sacrifice to you,	56:30
	through our savoir and king, Jesus Christ,	56:35
	who taught us to pray together saying,	56:38
All	Our Father, who art in heaven,	56:41
	hallowed be thy name.	56:44
	Thy kingdom come,	56:46
	thy will be done	56:47
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	56:49
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	56:51
	and forgive our trespasses	56:54
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	56:56
	and lead us not into temptation	57:00
	but deliver us from evil.	57:02
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	57:04
	and the glory forever, amen.	57:07
	(organ music)	57:11
	(all singing)	57:53
-	The grace of our Lord and savoir, Jesus Christ,	1:00:52
	the love of God and the fellowship	1:00:54
	of the Holy Spirit to be with you all.	1:00:56
	(soft choir singing)	1:01:05

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "The Right Sort of People" (April 9, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 05:49. Sermon end time: 23:27.
The preacher names many cruel and violent acts and emphasizes that the very heart of the gospel is that Christ died for the ungodly. He argues that one is self-deceptive and self-righteous to think one is more faithful and deserving of salvation based on one’s good works. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4542jq56

Date:

April 9, 1995

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Biblical Book:

Romans

Chapter and Verse:

Romans 5:6-11

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0419
ref9562_c6i
uachapelsermaud
duke:321675
dcrmv001398
ark:/87924/r4542jq56
ec50955f-72a7-45ee-b011-c1e932c1ef2a

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:

No Re-Use

In Copyright

Rights Note:

The materials in the Chapel Recordings collection are made available for use in research, teaching and private study. Materials from this collection may not be used for any commercial purpose without prior permission from Duke University and any other copyright holders. All copyrights that exist in this material may not have been transferred to Duke University. When use is made of these materials, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain additional permissions as necessary and to observe the stated access policy, the laws of copyright and the educational fair use guidelines. If you have questions regarding these materials, please contact the University Archivist.

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William H. Willimon - "The Right Sort of People" (April 9, 1995)

Transcript

Item Info

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Duke University Archives