We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him (Step 3).[i]
On any given
day, if it be a warm afternoon, and I have a lull in activity, I may check in
the refrigerator or basement cool-room for a beer. If there is one available I
may pop the can and enjoy a cold one – or I may open the fridge, find some ice
cubes and then enjoy a glass of ice water with even greater relish. I am
blessed with a freedom of choice on all occasions.
I have lived
my whole lifetime alongside persons for whom this is not a choice, supplies
usually referred to as case of 24. My dad’s younger brother was an alcoholic.
He told fascinating stories to my brothers and I, and we could also tell that
he tested the patience of dad, because our dad knew the source of those stories
was mere fabrication, self-indulgent dreams or whatever uncle would impose on others,
his wife, his parents (my grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc). They had seen it
all.
Perhaps as per
tradition in large families, I have at least three siblings admitted alcoholics, stories not quite as colorful as my uncle but
addictive personalities for sure. Alcoholics have been there during my years of
pastoral ministry, some active church members, others looking in from the fringe,
often in company of others in denial of a problem. Alcoholism has been forever,
obviously exacerbated by historic events like colonialists ‘pioneering’ new
lands occupied by indigenous resident owners, firewater often utilized as a
currency of trade.
Recent social
media posts are getting my thinker going on this topic. Said one young man, not
on topic of addiction, but on latest societal trends, AI and its influence on
information. In today’s yen for packaged quick answers to everything, he says,
we are forgetting how to think. We interrupt conversations by quick Google
searches of whatever topic is at hand. He is accurately critiquing not only his
generation (chatGPT), but perhaps his mother and her friends; all of us
retirees included. Seems like we, young, old, or in between, are losing the joy
of looking each other in the eye.
The point of
my young friend is that it is leading to massive decline in brain function; my
thinker is relating it to the Higher Power of the Alcoholics Anonymous
handbook. I confess I’ve never thought of it that way, but (you guessed it) my
thinker has really got going on this.
Ever since
Donald Trump got elected as U.S. President and the inauguration January 20
last, I have been deluged with opinions – much of it by friends and cronies,
much on social media, usually irritated by those who sit in men’s breakfasts,
and the occasional unavoidable spats with relatives. Among the endless chat
stuff I have grown appreciative of my church. We of the barely surviving ones
are somehow also hanging in with one another almost as though there is a
camaraderie in do or die. My wife has a particular ability to nurture this holy
glue of what it means to be fellowship of believers.
So that’s
the local scene. There is, however, that other player now also part of my life,
chat groups ranging from top notch theologians to a group of truckers.
Theologians have a little mystique for me going way back to my college years,
and truckers, well I know they have been the lifesavers at several points of my
journey. Everybody needs others.
Among the
theologians recently a disappointment, which now brings me to the theme of this
little post. A certain Dr Conrad Kanagy eulogizes a well-known world renowned Professor
Walter Brueggemann who passed away this month, June 5 at the age of 92. In
reference to the deceased’s genuine faith even within a world of doctorates,
scholars and students, Kanagy shares an incident, “Walter often told me that he
regretted his habitat has been among liberals, because they don’t believe the
Bible nor that Someone is truly on the end of the line when they prayed.” Well,
I had an inner objection here, how important is liberal or conservative or ..? And so did others! In short order I read liberal
(progressive?) and conservative professors beginning to weigh in and argue with
one another almost like church members at a breakfast meeting, allegations of
empty piety versus realism, defensiveness and probably some quick breathing at
the laptops everywhere. Quite disappointing this is to me, one who very much
appreciated Brueggemann’s living faith always evident – and he actually
believed it! Why must professionals belittle one another in a chatbox; it
reminds me of politicians.
Now back to
the addiction topic. There are many addictions: The Apostle Paul provides an
amazing list of misbehaviors – nothing omitted seemingly, sexual immorality to
debauchery to drunkenness to greediness to empty words, “It is shameful even to mention what the
disobedient do in secret. But
everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is
illuminated becomes a light” (Ephesians 5:12-13). Something about the
Alcoholics 12 step program is shining an amazing light onto the conversations
of the theologians, the professionals, the church members, the truck drivers,
the adolescents, parents, grandparents, even good learning material for
children.
There is no 12-step systematic theology to provide good sermon material for a Christian congregation. There is also no wise and all-purpose sensitive AI written document to do the job. God, no matter how we understand Him, needed so much more than our many smart and intelligent pursuits. Not only at the other end of the line, but God is sitting in the circle, none righteous no not one (Romans 3:10).
[i] Alcoholics
Anonymous Big Book, 3rd Edition (New York: A.A. World Services,
1976).
