Learn: a practice on a Way of Love
Sermon notes
28th February (Mark 8)
Learn: a practice on a way of love
Introduction
A miracle has happened in our time. On Thursday January 15, 2009, Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia airport New York City bound for North Carolina. The plane was heading North over the Bronx. Two minutes after take-off the plane had a double strike: a flock of geese took out first one and then the other engine. They lost power.
Faced with disaster Chesley Sullenberger had to make some critical decisions – they had about two or three minutes to do so. The nearby airports were too far. The only option was to land on the Hudson River. It is not easy to land on water. Land too soon or too late you miss the water. Land too hard and the plane breaks into pieces.
A number of important actions had to be taken in those crucial two or three minutes. Amazingly, the Pilot makes a decision informs air traffic control and then ends communication so that there is no debate. How decisive! What leadership! The pilots had to turn off the engines. They had to set the right speed so that the plane could glide as long as possible. They had to get the nose of the plane down to keep speed, but then lift it up again before hitting the water. They had to disconnect the auto pilot. They had to glide the plane in a sharp left-hand turn. They then had to straighten the plane up so that it would be exactly level with the river.
All 155 people on board the plane were safe. Many describe this as a miracle.
The power of acquired habits
While the safe landing of Flight 1549 is brilliant it is moreover a spectacular demonstration of the power of acquired habits. On closer examination the landing of flight 1549 on the Hudson River is the result of a number of factors:
· The intensive training of the pilots
· Years of experience: Chesley Scullenberger was near retirement
· Confidence in the training and experience that has taken a life-time to achieve.
· Courage
· Restraint
· Cool judgement
· Being calm and centred
· and concern to do the right thing for others.
None of these factors come naturally. The miracle happens when a person makes a thousand small decisions which may in the early years have required effort and concentration. When the crunch comes these decisions have become second nature. It was second nature to the pilots to take the steps they took in order to land the plane safely. Many years of practice, study, training and experience were built to these “second nature” decisions. It is precisely this aspect of what becomes “second nature” that best describes the way of love.
What is a way of love?
Our theme this year is the way of love. A way of love is a way of life centred on Jesus and the regular disciplines or practices that make such a life possible. A way of love is a way of de-centring the self to make God the centre of our lives. The way of love becomes the way of our lives. In a way of love, we live from the True Self, the inner self. Living a life of love is a life worth living.
In the words of Michael Curry, a way of love is “not microwave religion.” It takes time. It takes the consistent practice of disciplines such as turn, learn, worship, pray, rest, go, bless. Last week Doug reflected on the discipline of rest as a practice in the way of love. We reflect on the practice of Learn through the lens of Matthew 8.
Why adopt “learn” as a discipline in a way of love?
Learn means to study Jesus and the resources that help us to study Jesus include the Bible and sacred texts that describe what following Jesus looks like. Why adopt learn as a habit? We are bombarded by information all the time. Gradually repeated patterns of information form and shape us. But what is the ultimate source of information for you and how you can live the best possible life? Clearly the pattern of Jesus as it is revealed to be in the Bible.
This is precisely what Paul meant in Romans 12. Listen to how two different translations depict the necessity of Learn as a spiritual discipline in a way of Love.
New International Version: Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.
New Living Translation: Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We practice Learn in a way of love so that the pattern of Jesus can become my pattern. Michael Curry again: “We want to engage in the world on the Word’s terms not the world’s terms.” Without learn we unconsciously respond to events according to the patterns of the world which are “the survival of the fittest” or “me first” or “God helps those who helps themselves”. According to Jesus, God helps those who cannot help themselves. We adopt learn as a powerful habit because we want the Word to master us. We read the Bible, but the Bible reads us too.
‘Learn’ and Mark 8
In Mark 8 we have a clear demonstration of what happens when we allow the pattern of the world to shape us, and not the pattern of Jesus. This is what Jesus means when he rebukes Peter: “your mind is on human things not divine things.” What is going on in Peter’s mind?
Imagine this: Peter is a Hebrew growing up under the oppression of the Romans, the oppression is brutal. Peter is also deeply spiritual, and his culture and tradition promise him that a time will come when a Messiah will end the oppression and reinstate the kingdom of David. For about a year or more Peter has been following Jesus and has witnessed the miracles, the teaching and how people are following him. Not once but twice huge crowds have gathered around Jesus. In the immediate run-up to the confrontation between Peter and Jesus, Jesus creates a Eucharist feast in the wilderness and the scripture is telling, 4000 people were fed not counting women and children. This is not chauvinism. Why mention the men and not the women? Could it be that what the disciples are seeing is an army that can violently overthrow the Romans? Is this what is on Peter’s mind when he rebukes Jesus? Later Jesus organises a feast and this time there are 5000 people. In 8v27-30 Jesus asks his friends who do you say that I am? Peter replies: “You are the Messiah.”
Jesus describes himself not as the Messiah but as the human one. He then describes how he will suffer and die. Instead of leading a war alongside the traditional leaders to re-establish the reign of David against the Romans, the human one will instead be murdered by a coalition of the traditional leadership and the oppressive regime Rome working together.
The true humanity of Jesus, humanity defined by love is contrasted with the non-humane brutality of the Powers, the religious, economic and political powers. This is too much for Peter.
Without the discipline of learn on the way of love Peter has allowed the patterns of the world, the myth of religious violence, to become his pattern. In contrast the pattern of Jesus is to die to death itself, to die to the myth of redemptive violence, to die to violence itself, to love enemies and see enemies as a gift from God.
The threat to put people to death is the ultimate power of the domination system and this is how the Powers remains in power. Die to that threat and the domination system loses its power. Resist this fear of death and pursue love regardless of the consequences and the domination system has no authority. This doesn’t come naturally, it is a habit that is built up over time through an intentional study of Jesus, through the discipline of learn.
Will we learn from Jesus? Will we let his pattern of loving enemies, seeing enemies as gift, of resisting all violence be our pattern? Will we take up the cross?
To take up the cross does not mean private suffering, it means to agree to receive the full punishment for treason. Nelson Mandela took up the cross when he agreed to treason. Whatever our thoughts about Julian Assange it is clear that there are political consequences for his truth telling and he has taken up the cross. To take up the cross is to take political action against the powers for the sake of love. It is not easy, but it can become second nature. I end with a quote from Walter Wink.
“The slack decadence of culture-Christianity cannot produce athletes of the spirit. Those who are the bearers of tomorrow undergo what others might call disciplines ... to stay spiritually alive.”