DAY 14
From the devotional book Beyond Words by Frederick Buechner
“ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, or A.A., is the name of a group of men and women who acknowledge that addiction to alcohol is ruining their lives. Their purpose in coming together is to give it up and help others do the same. They realize they can’t pull this off by themselves. They believe they need each other, and they believe they need God. The ones who aren’t so sure about God speak instead of their Higher Power.
When they first start talking at a meeting, they introduce themselves by saying, “I am John. I am an alcoholic,” “I am Mary. I am an alcoholic,” to which the rest of the group answers each time in unison, “Hi, John,” “Hi, Mary.” They are apt to end with the Lord’s Prayer or the Serenity Prayer. Apart from that they have no ritual. They have no hierarchy. They have no dues or budget. They do not advertise or proselytize. Having no buildings of their own, they meet wherever they can.
Nobody lectures them, and they do not lecture each other. They simply tell their own stories with the candor that anonymity makes possible. They tell where they went wrong and how day by day they are trying to go right. They tell where they find the strength and understanding and hope to keep trying. Sometimes one of them will take special responsibility for another–to be available at any hour of day or night if the need arises. There’s not much more to it than that, and it seems to be enough. Healing happens. Miracles are made.
You can’t help thinking that something like this is what the church is meant to be and maybe once was before it got to be big business. Sinners Anonymous. “I can will what is right but I cannot do it,” is the way Saint Paul put it, speaking for all of us. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19).
“I am me. I am a sinner.”
“Hi, you.”
Hi, every Sadie and Sal. Hi, every Tom, Dick, and Harry. It is the forgiveness of sins, of course. It is what the church is all about.
No matter what far place alcoholics end up in, either in this country or virtually anywhere else, they know that there will be an A.A. meeting nearby to go to and that at that meeting they will find strangers who are not strangers to help and to heal, to listen to the truth and to tell it. That is what the Body of Christ is all about.
Would it ever occur to Christians in a far place to turn to a church nearby in hope of finding the same? Would they find it? If not, you wonder what is so big about the church’s business.”
See also Lord’s Prayer.
my reflection When I first started contemplating Christianity on a deeper level 20 or so years ago, I had the assumption that churches would actively do whatever they could to facilitate people becoming part of their congregation. I figured all I had to d was call the church’s office, and they would get a ride for me. After all, I was (theoretically, at least) part of their preferred demographic: a seeker wanting, and needing, a place to belong. It took almost no time at all for these assumptions to be proven wrong. It turns out that, while churches are always hoping for more fannies in the pews, they don’t seem to feel any obligation to assist people to get there. And oftentimes it’s still sometimes a struggle to get rides to and from church even when you’re part of the supposed church community. I don’t have any personal experience with AA, but it isn’t hard to believe that such things aren’t as much of an issue with them. No matter what your overall feelings might be about AA, there is no denying that they are a true community. Their whole model is structured on people helping people, being there for one another, trust, and reciprocation. Like Buechner, I believe that the church started out with this model but at some point they lost it. At this point church is indeed big business, marketing to certain demographics as opposed to individuals, way too much emphasis on elaborate appearances, large sanctuaries, pitch perfect music, sermons tailored to certain age groups…in short, the medium has become way more important than the message. The church could, I think, learn some valuable things from AA about the cultivation of community. It’s way past time to start getting back to basics, to focus on individuals other than groups, to become less corporate. I know there are a lot of people who are like I was 20 years ago, having a lot of questions, loking for a place to belong. If I hadn’t gotten some much-needed encouragement at crucial times my initialexperience almost certainly would have wound up with me drifting away from Christianity, never to return. The church is losing people and needs to do better.
- Our Weekend Getaway - January 22, 2024
- So Long, Mom, And Thanks For All The Spaghetti - November 10, 2023
- Thoughts On The Chogaffirm Petition - June 3, 2023
- Rhonda - June 3, 2023
- Beyond Words Day 23 - April 4, 2023
- Beyond Words Day 21 - April 1, 2023
- State Of The Household - January 9, 2023
- Book Review and Miscellany Thoughts - November 18, 2022
- Initial Thoughts On My Writing - September 13, 2022
- Beyond Words Day 19 - September 11, 2022
