Spiritual Disciplines- Submission

Prov 1:8-19; James 4:1-10; Matt 26:36-46

The spiritual discipline we are looking at this week is submission. That is not necessarily one that would be on the top of the list for most of us. It is not one we are particularly drawn to. There is nothing trendy about it. We might even think it is a bad thing. We all know that authority can be abused, so when we think about submission we might think about cult leaders who demand complete submission on the part of their followers. … In a society suspicious of authority, we are taught to not submit. The idea of practicing submission, as if it is good for us, seems strange.

Christian submission is always a submission to Christ. And it usually happens in the context of community. Submission is not having to have things our own way. It is giving up our right for the benefit of someone else. … For example, say you like Christian heavy metal music, but you recognize that most people can’t relate to that on Sunday morning. You refrain from sending the priest a note after worship every Sunday requesting the inclusion of more Christian heavy metal music. So, you submit to the will of the community because you know Christ desires unity.

It is also important for leaders to submit themselves to the community when appropriate. So, for example, a leader might not worship exactly according to their particular tastes for the benefit of the community. If a priest leans towards high church worship, using “smells and bells”, they might practice submission to the community and practice more of a 'low church' worship if it would be more beneficial for the community to worship that way.

As we read in the letter of James, 

“[we] covet something and cannot obtain it; so [we] engage in disputes and conflicts” (James 4:2).

 How many church communities have split because they didn’t practice the spiritual discipline of submission with one another. How many wars and murders have taken place because people feel they have to get their own way. What would politics look like if parties were willing to submit to each other where they felt they could do so with integrity?

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 8) he discusses the issue of food dedicated to idols. Some of the people in the church were okay with eating food dedicated to idols because they knew that the idols had no power. Others, however, were very bothered by the idea of food being dedicated to idols and would completely avoid it. To eat that food would be like participating in idol worship. Paul recognized that those who were not bothered by eating the food had the right to do so, but he urged them to give up their right so that they wouldn’t cause offence to those who were bothered by it. They practiced submission for the sake of unity- to not cause a problem for their sisters and brothers whose consciences might be bothered.

Or, perhaps you submit yourself to someone who is a spiritual director for you. I once heard the pastor Eugene Peterson talk about a woman who began attending his church. She was a new Christian, and she was truly absorbing the way of being a Christian. But, after a couple years at his church she seemed to always be living with a man. She jumped from one boyfriend to another even after she had been attending for a couple years. Peterson didn’t shy away from preaching on sexual morality, but she never really seemed to grab hold of the Christian teaching about sexuality belonging within marriage. After knowing her a while, and after he knew she trusted him, Peterson asked her if she would be celibate for six months. He didn’t offer her any explanation. He just asked her to do it for him. She trusted him, so she submitted to him without really understanding. He received an angry call from her boyfriend shortly after she agreed, but after a couple months she realized that she had found a profound freedom in her celibacy. He saw she had a problem with her identity- she didn’t know who she was outside of a sexual relationship. Peterson knew the practice of celibacy would show her that in a way that his words wouldn’t.

A wise spiritual director can call us into practices that we might not understand to be good for us until after we practice them. They can help us work towards becoming Christlike by helping us stop doing things we shouldn’t do, and start doing things we should.

Richard Foster says, 

“Self-denial is simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have to have our own way. Our happiness is not dependent upon getting what we want” (Celebration of Discipline, p. 113).

 Submission teaches us humility by diminishing our ego that is offended at not getting what it wants. This teaching is central to the way of Christ. Jesus says, 

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mk 8:34). 

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it (Matt 10:39).

 Jesus calls us to have an other-centered life, as opposed to a self-centered life.

Jesus didn’t just preach this, he practiced this as well. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prays, 

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want” (Matt 26:39).

 It is an ancient Christian teaching that Jesus had two natures- Divine and human. Jesus had to bring his human will into alignment with his Divine will. In his human nature, Jesus did not want to suffer and die, but within the Divine will there was a greater good to be obtained through his sacrifice. Jesus submitted his human will to the Divine will. … This is something we are all called to do- submit our human will to the Divine will, trusting that God is good and wants what is best.

This is not about letting people walk all over you. As we read the gospels we don’t get the sense that Jesus is a pushover. Jesus was very purposeful about when he practiced submission. There were many times that Jesus did not meet the expectations of people around him. He was constantly disappointing people by not conforming to their ideas about who the messiah was supposed to be. Jesus carefully discerned the right times to practice submission. It is also important to notice that there are many times when he did not submit to people’s expectations.

We sometimes worry that in submission we will lose ourselves, but Richard Foster reminds us, 

“self denial does not mean the loss of our identity as some suppose. … Did Jesus lose his identity when he set his face toward Golgotha? Did Peter lose his identity when he responded to Jesus’ cross-bearing command, ‘Follow me’ (John 21:19)? Did Paul lose his identity when he committed himself to the One who had said, ‘I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name’ (Acts 9:16)? Of course not. We know that the opposite was true. They found their identity in the act of self-denial.” (p.114).

There are ways that submission can go wrong. If we just submit to everyone all the time without discerning when it is appropriate it can degenerate into self-hatred. That is not the way of Christ. If we go to the other extreme, always needing to get our own way and never submitting to any other will, then we might end up in self-glorification. That is a self-centered and prideful life. … The spiritual discipline of submission avoids both of those extremes.

There are many ways we can practice Submission. First of all, we submit ourselves to the will of God. We do not accept any submission that is in contradiction to the will of God. To this end we submit ourselves to Scripture as we can best interpret it according to the Spirit of Christ.

We can also practice submission in the context of our families. Practice not getting your own way with those you live with, maybe your husband or wife, or maybe with extended family especially when it comes to how you organize family holidays. Commit to truly listening to each other’s desires. We could also practice submission with neighbours- maybe try it on the road or in the parking lot- especially when someone takes your parking spot.

Every spiritual discipline leads to a corresponding freedom. They are means to an end. They are to guide us into a deeper life with God. In submission we learn to de-center ourselves from the universe. We get off the throne and accept that things don’t have to go our way. The way of Christ is a cross-carrying life. We will not be able to carry our cross unless we practice submission and learn to love in a way that we are not the center. And in that we will be open to God being on the throne of our lives. 

Amen