Flight 901
Learn to live in such a way that those who know you, but don’t know God, will come to know God because they know you.
Unknown
On November 28, 1979 a sightseeing flight left the Auckland Airport in New Zealand for Antartica.
This was the 14th flight they had done like this. A round trip flight with 237 passengers and 20 crew members, 257 people total. One of the crew members was a tour guide who would talk over the speaker system in the plane and point out all the things to see along the way.
Everyone on board Air New Zealand Flight 901 that day was excited to see the sights in Antartica and to take pictures of a part of the world most people would never get a chance to see in person.
Flight 901 departed the airport at 8AM that morning and was set to return at 9PM that same day. But there was a small 2 degree error in the flight coordinates of which the pilots of flight 901 were completely unaware.
2 Degrees
People much smarter than me and much better at math than me have figured out that for every 1 degree a plane veers off course, it misses it’s target destination by 1 mile for every 60 miles you fly. So the further you travel, the further you are from your intended destination.
So after 100 yards, the length of a football field, you would be off course by 5.2 feet. Not huge, but noticeable.
But let’s imagine you’ve traveled the distance of 1 mile, now you’re off track by 92.2 feet!
The 2 degree error in the flight coordinates meant that as flight 901 entered Antartica it was about 28 miles off course from where the pilots thought they were!
Off Course
Most of us in the room aren’t pilots, but all of us know what it’s like to get off course.
Some of us set a few New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of this year. We’re 23 days into 2022 and we’re already off course! Some of those things we decided to do on January 1 haven’t happened or haven’t happened every day like we hoped they would!
We’re already off course!
Some of us, regardless of whether we made New Years resolutions or not, want to be better husbands, better wives. We want to be better parents. We want to be healthier, eat better, exercise more. Some of us want to be closer to God, we want to pray more, read scripture more, be at church more!
We know some of what we need to do to make those things happen, we at least know what direction we need to move in, but we keep getting sidetracked and off course.
The hard reality is that we live in a world where many people have written off Christianity. Why?
It’s not because of Jesus. It’s not because of anything he taught, the way he lived, or anything he ever did. Even people who don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world generally don’t have a problem with Jesus. They think he was a wise teacher and a good person.
People have written off Christianity not because of Christ but because of Christians!
Why?
Because somewhere along the way we got off course.
Somewhere along the way we lost sight of what Jesus taught, how He lived, and how He wanted his disciples to live.
Somewhere along the way we got off course, maybe by only 1 or 2 degrees, but it’s led us into living a life where people who know us but don’t know God either don’t come to know God at all because of us… and that’s a problem, or they come to have a negative view of God because of us, and that’s a problem, too!
So how can we learn to live our lives in such a way that those who know us, but don’t know God, will come to know God because they know us?
How to Stay On Course
The good news is that Jesus answered that question before he went to the cross. He wanted every disciple in every generation to know how to stay On Course so that people who know us but don’t know God could come to know God because they know us!
In John 13, Jesus in this moment is sitting with his disciples in an Upper Room. They come to this place for the night to celebrate the Passover Meal. But just before the meal, Jesus did something none of them expected.
Typically, before a meal like this, a servant would come around and wash everyone’s feet before the food was served. If that sounds strange to you, you just have to remember that the tables they sat at were on the floor, so they sat on the floor and it wouldn’t be unusual to not just see someone’s feet, but to smell them. And that’s not something you wanted to see or smell before dinner! So a servant would come around with a basin of water to remove your sandals and wash your dirty feet before everyone began to eat.
Except, this time there was no servant in the room. No one was tasked with this responsibility. John writes…
John 13.3-5
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Jesus saw the need, got up from the table, and did the dirty job no one else wanted to do. The disciples were stunned. Peter even resisted, but Jesus persisted and washed everyone’s feet.
Jesus served them in love even though he knew that within a matter of a few hours, one of them would betray him, one of them would deny him 3 times, and all but one of them would abandon him at the cross.
I don’t know about you, but when someone I know hurts me, or is about to hurt me and I know about it, the LAST thing I want to do is SERVE them!
Serving Others in Love
This is what Jesus taught his disciples. In fact, he said it this way…
John 13.34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How do we live in such a way that those who don’t know Jesus will come to know Jesus because they know us?
By serving one another in love. By self sacrifice.
This is the way to STAY ON COURSE!
Jesus knew that these disciples, they were about to go through the most difficult time in their life. He is about to be betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, convicted of crimes he did not commit, sentenced to death and then executed before their very eyes.
All but one of them will abandon him in his darkest hour.
Every one of them will wonder why they just spent the last 3 years of their lives following a man who is dead and buried. What will Jesus say to these disciples right before this moment that they will never forget?
He tries to tell them..
John 14.1-6
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
In other words, don’t be afraid. Keep believing in God. Keep believing in me.
Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when you’re confused and afraid. Even when things aren’t working out the way you thought they would. Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
But they are confused. They are afraid. And they don’t know where Jesus is going or which WAY to go to STAY ON COURSE if something happens to Jesus.
Thomas speaks up…
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
How do we know which way to go if something happens to you? How do we stay on course?
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I AM the WAY. I AM the TRUTH. And I AM the LIFE.
What does this WAY look like that leads to LIFE?
It looks like washing feet. It looks like loving each other the same way I have loved you. Serve one another in love. Follow the narrow way of self sacrifice. This is the WAY to STAY ON COURSE!
Mount Erebus
The story of Air New Zealand Flight 901 has a tragic ending.
Captain Jim Collins, the pilot of the aircraft was completely unaware through no fault of his own that the coordinates were 2 degrees off. The plan descended to a lower altitude once they arrived in Antartica to give the passengers a better view of the landscape below as they flew over open water at McMurdo Sound.
But there were a lot of clouds that day.
Everything was covered in snow forming what is know as a sector whiteout. Visibility was almost nonexistent. The pilots couldn’t make out the horizon because everything was white and bright and blended together.
They had no way of knowing as they descended that they were some 28 miles off course! They were not over the open water at McMurdo Sound. They were on a collision course with Mount Erebus!
Mount Erebus rises to an elevation of more than 12,000 feet. They didn’t know that there was a mountain in front of them until the plane’s alarm system went off warning them that they were dangerously close to terrain. But by then it was too late. Within seconds the airplane collided with Mount Erebus and all 257 people were instantly killed.
2 degrees off course. Just 2 degrees.
Small actions over a long period of time make a huge difference in where we end up.
Have you gotten off course?
It’s so easy to get off course. It’s so easy to get caught up in things that don’t really matter. It’s so easy to forget what matters most.
For so many of us, this is what happens. It’s not on purpose. We’re often unaware of what’s happening or what we’ve done until it’s too late. But how many times have we’ve seen it in our own lives or in the lives of people we love?
We’ll spend time in prayer and scripture tomorrow. We’re too busy today.
We’ll talk to our kids about becoming a Christian, about being baptized, next week. Or maybe next year when they’re a little bit older. We’ve got to get through this next test, or the next tryout, or the next recital, or the next whatever first.
We’ll give more to the church this year, or start giving regularly, we’ve got to get this debt paid off first, or get those repairs done first, or we really need a new car first.
We’ll get involved at church soon, we’ll teach, or we’ll serve as greeters, or maybe we can help in the AV booth, or make the coffee, or set up chairs… we’ll find a way to serve soon we’re just in a busy season right now and we can’t do it now but we’ll get involved one day.
We’ll… fill in the blank. We live our lives with good intentions of what we’ll do one day. But all those good intentions left undone leave us way off course.
We wake up one day only to feel like our lives are headed into a head on collision with a mountain and we’re worried it’s too late to get back on course.
Never Too Late
The good news is that with God, because of Jesus, it’s never too late to get back on course.
Right before his death on the cross, Jesus turned to a thief who was being crucified next to him and promised him that he would be in paradise with him. I don’t say that to encourage you to wait until you’re on your deathbed to change course! I say that to let you know that if you’re worried you’ve gone to far, if you’re concerned that too much damage has been done, if you think God would never take you back, it’s never too late with God.
This is the GRACE of GOD!
How do you get back on course? How do you live your life in such a way that those who know you but don’t know Jesus will come to know Jesus because they know you?
Simply remember that JESUS is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
And He showed us HOW to STAY on COURSE. The WAY to STAY on COURSE is by SERVING those around you.
Stay on the course before you by serving those around you.
This is how we ENGAGE in what matters most. This is how we engage in eternal life!
The Way of Self-Sacrifice
Who’s feet can you wash today?
Who can you serve?
Who can you sacrifice for?
Every time you focus on Serving Others… you engage in the eternal life Jesus offers and invites us into. And as you do, the world around you will know you, they will know US, by our love.
If we’re not self-sacrificing, are we really living the WAY of Jesus?
I don’t know much about airplanes, but I do know that like any vehicle you can change direction, you can alter your course, at any time by making one small move. When I’m driving my truck around town, one small movement of the steering wheel to the right or the left can drastically change my direction.
What if we made this small move together. What if our focus wasn’t on us, but was on others? And not just on others, but on how we could serve others. How we could love others.
I know we could list off a number of ways we do this already. And we could make that list and be proud of ourselves for a moment. But it’s so easy to get off course. It’s so easy to turn our attention back inside these four walls. Back to our likes and dislikes. Our preferences and opinions.
Jesus said, I want you to be known for your LOVE. For serving others in need. For washing feet. That’s what I want my disciples, my church to be known for!
So let’s keep making small course corrections, let’s keep the focus on serving others, on engaging in what matters most, participating in making things on earth as they are in heaven.
May we stay on the course before us by serving those around us SO THAT those who know us but don’t know God will know God because they knew us!
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