22 June 2014 - St. Lamberti Church

Deut 6:4-9 "A plea for the formation of the heart"

Dear congregation,

"This commandment is not as easy as it seems, but it is the sum of all wisdom and science." Martin Luther wrote this exuberant judgement on the Bible passage that we are considering together in today's sermon. What could be more fitting for a university sermon than the biblical "sum of all wisdom and science"? This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of theology in the public eye - and above all without contradiction - as an indispensable part of our university's canon of subjects. Could it possibly be a secret leading science?

So much for the spontaneous wishful thinking and mind games of a church historian who, as a pastor experienced in preaching, suddenly finds herself in the role of a preaching university lecturer. Unfortunately, today's sermon cannot be utilised so strategically. It is also not a springboard for fine reflections on the academic world and its future, which is jeopardised by financial bottlenecks and misguided educational policies. Rather, it is about love. It is about loyalty. It goes to the heart.

Text: Deut 6:4-9
This passage, the "Hear Israel" or Shma' Yisra'el, is prayed by Jews morning and evening - in good and bad days, every day. It is at the centre of every service. It is the first prayer that children learn and the last that dying people say - and thus accompanies a Jewish life from the beginning to the end.
These words are at the very heart of Jewish piety. Israel is to be reminded that a life according to God's instructions is not about all sorts of things, but only about one thing: complete devotion to the one Lord and his love for his people.
It is often said that this commandment to love God is therefore the creed or fundamental confession of Judaism. However, it is not primarily a confession - but a prayer. Judaism has turned the commandment to love into a prayer because it knows "that only constant prayer can create the necessary space in the heart for the commandment" (Hermann Spieckermann).

However, these sentences have also shaped the Christian faith more than almost any other. In Mark 12:28, when Jesus is asked about the highest commandment, he quotes our verses in connection with the commandment to love one's neighbour (Lev 19:18). Jesus spoke the "Hear Israel" countless times in the divine service, in personal prayer and even more: he lived it to the end by speaking and acting. For he proclaimed the nearness of the coming reign of this one and unique God.

That is why these words are at the centre of our faith. The undisputed foundation of faith of all Jews corresponds to the proclamation and the way of Jesus. But as Christians, we must bear in mind that in Christ we have been taken into the history of God with his people. He can only be "our" God if he remains the God of Israel. Framed by memories of God's guidance through the desert and looking ahead to the coming history in the Promised Land as well as to the generations to come, it says in the centre: "Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone." Here it is stated in a unique way that God binds himself to his people in love. He seeks no other relationship: "The Lord is our God."

And this proclamation of God's love is followed by an invitation to love in return. "He alone" is to be followed by "you alone" in response. Do we sense that we are being drawn into a dialogue of love here? In "Hear Israel", it is not primarily the language of reason that is spoken, which defines and summarises everything in a formula, but the language of lovers: "I am yours and you are mine." Before all the commandments, which will follow in abundance in the biblical book of Deuteronomy, before all the demands for a life according to God's guidelines, there is a declaration of God's love for his people. No abstract monotheism is declared here, nor is there any contempt for other gods or interpretations of the world. What we are talking about here is an exclusive bond of love. One loves - and one is to be loved.

The debate about the fundamental willingness to use violence, which is said to be rooted in the monotheistic religions, falls short here. For it overlooks precisely this theology of love, which runs through the entire biblical tradition as the leitmotif of the relationship with God. God is one and only, and everyone should love this God in and with everything that constitutes human life. Three phrases emphasise this undivided devotion: "With all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength". Love for God is not just a feeling, it encompasses the whole person.

Love with the whole heart - in biblical usage, the centre of the person, but also the place of understanding and reason. With the whole soul, literally the "throat" through which the breath passes, i.e. with every breath of life. In the rabbinical interpretation, this is explained by loving God even when he takes our life (the "soul"). And loving God "with all your strength" also includes material goods, our individual talents and all our abilities. This holistic love is not a purely inner attitude, but is expressive and pushes for realisation. It manifests itself in people taking God's words - the commandments and prohibitions - to heart. "And these words ... you shall take to heart" (v. 6). It literally says: the words should be on your heart. God's words are a matter of the heart. The heart has always been symbolic in many cultures and throughout the ages. Perhaps because the heart is the only inner organ that we constantly feel more or less. This added value of the heart has been preserved in many idioms: Taking something to heart, losing one's heart, heartache, having a broken heart.
The people of the Bible and those around them saw the heart as the centre of man, his body, his mind, his soul and his will, as well as his whole personality. Mind and emotion - both were localised there. The heart was something like a large "inner parliament of man" in which many voices (parties) wrestled with each other for the favour of decisions, weighing up, rejecting or supporting thoughts. Reason, emotions, feelings and willpower meet here. That is why the heart is the place where people make decisions, but also where they encounter God.

This knowledge of the great importance of the "heart" in shaping the personality was particularly popular in the so-called "pedagogical age" of the 18th century (Ute Frevert). Following on from the great Protestant piety movement of Pietism, there was talk of a necessary "formation of the heart". Poets and thinkers, theologians and educationalists never tired of calling for an "education of the heart" and with it an education of the emotions. In view of the high esteem in which reason was held in the pathos of the Enlightenment, they argued in favour of a supplement to the transfer of knowledge and a guide to reason-driven scientific work. Education of the heart should educate people to be human, to have compassion, but also to take responsibility and to achieve an appropriate balance of emotions - indeed, to develop their own personality.

The great importance of educating the heart seems to us to belong to times long past, just like the high esteem in which sensitivity was held. We would rather not be reminded of some aspects, such as the education of obedience or the instilling of fixed gender-specific roles. Interestingly, however, the last two decades have seen a certain renaissance of "heart education", albeit with a different sign than in the 19th century. When searching the internet, one is amazed at how many workshops, weekend seminars, courses and how-to books there are that deal with "heart education". This boom was triggered by Daniel Goleman's 1995 bestseller "Emotional Intelligence", which has been translated into 35 languages. Emotional competence was named the key to academic appointment success. So-called "soft skills" such as the ability to work in a team, communication skills, motivational talent, the ability to deal with conflict and realistic self-assessment became important prerequisites for climbing the career ladder. "What good is a high IQ if you're an emotional fool," says Goleman.

The concept of emotional intelligence has been enthusiastically received, particularly in business and in companies - but has also found its way into education. Empathy training, the socially acceptable handling of emotions, violence prevention and pro-social behaviour are just a few of the keywords used in schools and kindergartens today. There are many projects running here, and they are quite successful. However, I am sceptical that everything in the concept of emotional intelligence is clearly defined, solvable and specifically trainable. It is regarded as a career turbo and the key to professional success and personal happiness.

What about emotional intelligence at university? Since the introduction of the Bologna reform, there have been repeated debates at the university about the content of the degree programme, but also about the attitude and self-image of the university and its teaching staff and students. Especially in the 40th anniversary year, we are asking this question. Carl von Ossietzky University was deliberately founded 40 years ago as a reform university. Its reform character was evident in its democratic constitution, but also in the desired study culture of research-based learning. All degree programmes were to have a constitutive reference to social fields of practice. In line with the profile of a reform university, a critical view of power was established as a key competence of teachers and students. For me, practical relevance and responsibility for the critical monitoring of social processes are also relevant perspectives for today. This is certainly not the place to present, let alone evaluate, the achievements of these founding years of our university with all their aberrations and political narrow-mindedness. But it is worth reflecting on the justified concerns of the reform university under the new conditions of a differentiated service and information society and the increasing networking of our living environments.

I believe it would also do us good to rediscover and fight for the university as a place of scholarship and meditation, of intellectual exchange and shared learning, indeed as an academic space for joint research and communication. It is precisely in this respect that the university would gain relevance in terms of personal development! The mission statement of School IV, of which I am a member, states that we want to strive for the personal development of students with regard to their critical-analytical thinking and differentiated judgement. This also includes developing their mediation skills in the event of social, gender-specific, religious and ethnic conflicts. In this way, we are trying to preserve and pass on the best traditions of our University of Oldenburg's namesake, Carl von Ossietzky - his commitment to human rights and peace, his civil courage as a pacifist and champion of a democratic society. In this sense, I advocate a decisive rediscovery of "heart education" as an educational goal and cross-sectional task in all Schools. In this anniversary year, we should endeavour to rediscover this dimension of our study and teaching culture.

In recent years, there has been a clear reorientation at our university towards consistently promoting and valuing excellent research. And we are all basking somewhat in the glow of these publicly visible "beacons" of research. For me, however, the research profile of our university just as consistently and unmistakably includes the social sciences, education and humanities as well as excellent teacher training. Teaching has been discredited in our society for a long time, even though surveys are already showing an upward trend in the recognition of this profession. I consider teacher training to be a great profile element of our university. We train large numbers of people who will pass on their knowledge and expertise to generations of pupils. With their personalities, they act as role models for the children and young people entrusted to them. In this way, they open up opportunities for them to shape their personal and academic appointments. They educate and train people who can actively participate in shaping our society and its culture. It is therefore precisely in teacher training that the noble goal of the reform university as a source of socially formative and socially critical impetus can be realised in the long term. In asking questions about the university for the city of the day after tomorrow, I therefore argue in favour of heart education as a cross-sectional task for all teaching and learning spaces. But how is a heart formed? Or how can it be formed? The heart - a difficult educational goal? Heart education has many facets. And there are more qualified people than me to provide information on this. As a theologian, I would just like to point out one way of educating the heart derived from the Bible. "And these words that I command you today you shall take to heart" (v. 6). The loving God gives words of love in return, which we should take to heart. The heart is therefore not a self-contained unit, but is always related to a "you". In this relationship, the "miracle of the we" (Margit Eckholt) happens again and again. Like no other 20th century philosopher, Martin Buber emphasised this "I-Thou relationship", which is significant for the whole of human existence. "But then, time and time again, you have to thank your fellow human being, even if they have done nothing special for you. For what? For the fact that when he met me, he really met me; that he opened his eyes and reliably heard what I had to say to him; yes, that he opened what I was actually addressing, the well-closed heart." (Martin Buber, Nachlese). The heart is thus formed in those who are open to the words and instructions of God and who open themselves to others. The commandments always have these two dimensions - love of God and love of neighbour. Accordingly, heart formation, trained by the love of God, perceives other people attentively and sensitively, takes responsibility for them and takes their concerns into one's own heart. Fundamental heart formation can thus be understood as opening the heart to the other person. Heart formation therefore initially consists of making my personal centre, my innermost space, available in order to allow myself to be touched by the suffering and challenges of others. Therefore, "heart formation" is never complete, but a lifelong process. An educated heart is wide and sensitive at the same time. An educated heart is vulnerable and combative - for others.

"And you shall inculcate them in your children and speak of them", we are told in our sermon (v. 7). The words of love in return, the commandments, are ultimately also links between the generations. In religious Judaism, the teaching of this "Hear Israel" begins as soon as a child can speak. Combined with the ritual of the prayer straps and the marking of the doorpost, the reminder of the uniqueness of God's love for his people and his reciprocal love in the commandments becomes tangible, tangible, touching. Again and again, morning and evening, when going out and coming home, the remembrance of the one God and the love for him is there. And that from generation to generation.
Couldn't we also use a permanent practice of what we believe and hope? Where are the signs in our everyday lives that remind us of God's love in Jesus Christ? And which at the same time challenge us to mould our lives according to his commandments? As Protestant Christians who place the Word at the centre of worship and devotional practice, we probably need to relearn what it means to let faith and hope take shape in our everyday lives. Fulbert Steffensky has aptly put it this way: "Religion only works if it is everyday religion, if it is practised regularly. [...] In these times, it is difficult to maintain hope and not lose faith. That is why we must recite faith to ourselves and play hope on the instruments of piety that we still have and that we can still use." "Hear Israel" is an invitation to proclaim faith and hope to ourselves and to practice loving God and our neighbour. With its heartfelt urgency, it awakens the desire for heart formation as an educational goal in our time. An educated heart opens itself to others and finds itself in the process.

The church father Augustin, who knew about the importance of educating the heart, summarises "Hear Israel" once again in an inimitable way and thus releases us into freedom: "Love, and then do what you want."

Amen