Fr. Don's Sermon, January 27, 2013 - Recovery Sunday

Posted on 1/27/2013

Trinity Episcopal Church
Epiphany 3 – Year C - Recovery Sunday
January 27, 2013

Who can tell how often he offends?
cleanse me from my secret faults.
Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me;
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
--Psalm 19, vv. 12-14

           For several years, the shorthand description of Trinity used on public documents has been “A Place of Welcome, Hope and Healing.” Since before I arrived here 9 years ago, Trinity has played host to seven different twelve –step programs for persons whose lives have been impacted by substance addiction: Four Alcoholics Anonymous programs, two Narcotics Anonymous programs, and one Al-Anon program. The oldest of these groups – the Thursday night Alcoholics Anonymous program, has been meeting at Trinity Church for more than forty years. The Saturday morning AA group is reputed to be the largest “military veterans” group in the state.

            Despite the number of groups meeting at Trinity and the longevity of many of them, the groups themselves exist more as non-stipendiary tenants in our building than as vital members of what makes Trinity a community. And as St. Paul writes in his 1^st letter to the Corinthians we heard this morning, that makes us something less than the whole Body of Christ. There are a number of reasons for this. Among them:

1. The anonymous nature of the groups which is so important limits opportunity for congregational interaction with members. (A number of members of the congregation in fact are members of some of the groups, and some are quite open about that.)
2. The groups meet at times during the week when the “worshipping” congregation by and large is not present on the campus.
3. A third factor I have come to believe is our very human penchant to place people we don’t know very well into little silos based upon one single characteristic. While none of us would probably ever admit to this, or perhaps even be aware of it,  I suspect that many members of the regular worshipping congregation think of folks who participate in the twelve-step programs as living in little silos of addiction, as though they have no other aspects of their lives other than dealing with the addiction. And of course, they are multi-faceted people with many aspects to their lives. As unfortunate as this erroneous assumption may be, the flip side of that coin is perhaps even scarier: That the rank-and-file Sunday attendees – those of us in the congregation each Sunday – are mentally, physically and spiritually “whole;” that we have no concerns regarding addiction or other aspects of our being that I like to call “holes in the soul.” Of course, both notions are as ridiculous as they are simplistic.

The Episcopal Church has been on the cutting edge of recovery ministries both at the local and national level in the United States for many years. There are Anglican roots of the twelve-step movement which arose out of the Oxford Group – in turn a spin-off group from the Oxford Movement of the late-19^th century in the Anglican Church. Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and his co-founder Dr. Bob Smith were moved by the ministry of The Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Rector of Calvary (Episcopal) Mission Church in New York City as they developed the Alcoholics Anonymous program, and Shoemaker was named an Honorary Founding Member at the second national convention of Alcoholics Anonymous.[1]

            The Episcopal Church has also been a leader among other denominations in calling for an affirmative response by the churches to the scourge of addictions. Beginning with the 66^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1979, and subsequently in 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 2003 and 2009, the Episcopal Church has reaffirmed its commitment to education and ministry with those whose lives are touched by addiction.[2] These resolutions have encouraged local dioceses to develop commissions on substance abuse, to develop diocesan-wide policies on alcohol use in church settings, to promote education programs with respect to substance abuse and to encourage annual “Recovery Sundays” in local churches such as the one we are celebrating today. This is the third such annual “Recovery Sunday” in the Diocese of Connecticut, and the first time we are formally honoring it here at Trinity.

            Why is it so important that we set aside this day to focus on our important ministry to and with persons struggling with addiction? Because as is so often true in life, all of us have something to learn from the struggles of others, and as is also so often the case, I believe that what we will learn is that together we share more in common than what makes us different.

Let’s start with our baptismal covenant. It bears noting also that the baptismal covenant as set forth in the Episcopal Baptismal liturgy provides that members of the church will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving their neighbor as themselves, and that they will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.[3]

            So how come some people with addictions themselves or in their family don’t flock to the church for support? There are a number of reasons why many concerned with their own or a loved-one’s addiction do not turn to the church. Frequently guilt and shame prevents addicts from seeing the Church as a source of help. Moralizing sermons on the evils of drinking, gambling, pornography, etc. raise the addict’s feelings of guilt. Some may have spoken to their clergy about their problem and discovered little empathy, understanding, or skill in these matters. Others have “prayed the knees out of their pants” as one alcoholic lamented and appeared to receive no answers. Sincere repentance and strong resolve failed to prevent relapse.[4]

            Another major factor why folks with addictions avoid church is identified by The Rev. Thomas Keating in his book, Divine Therapy: Spirituality and Addiction. Keating is a Cistercian monk who is considered the father of modern Centering Prayer, and in his most recent book he explores the connection between the 12 steps and classical Christian spirituality. Keating observes that many people do not think to seek out the church for assistance precisely because they see the church and the God of their childhood as part of the problem. “Because trust is so important (in a relationship with God and the Church), our spiritual journey may be blocked if we carry negative attitudes toward God from early childhood. If we are afraid of God or see God as an angry father figure, a suspicious policeman, or a harsh judge, it will be hard to develop enthusiasm, or even an interest, in the journey.”[5] So all of these factors militate against members of twelve-step groups perceiving the church to be a source of support and nurture in their struggle with addiction.

            So how is all of this central to what Trinity is about as a place of welcome, hope and healing? How is all of this central to what Trinity is about as a congregation? Thomas Keating powerfully connects the need that persons suffering with addictions face in particular with the need that everyone faces in general as a result of our imperfect human condition. In a chapter of his book, entitled, “Exploring The Human Condition” he notes that one of the great benefits Alcoholics Anonymous offers to its members is the gift of hope, noting that without hope, fear or discouragement turns in on itself, making it almost impossible to enter recovery.

            Then he makes this important statement: “It might also be helpful for the sponsor (of the AA member) to be aware that recovery is not something limited to people with an addiction. This misplaced energy is the heritage that we all carry with us as human beings. It is in our genes, you might say. Theologically, some people call it Original Sin. Scriptural people will simply call it the Fall, referring to Adam and Eve’s . . . losing the experience of what true happiness is, which is intimacy with God. . .Everybody has this original disease, the lack of intimacy with God. It is not a sin because it is nobody’s fault. It is just the way we come into life and develop our self- identity.”[6] Keating is clear throughout his book that the spiritual practices that are encouraged through following the twelve steps are indeed practices that can benefit everyone.

            Reading and reflecting on Keating’s book Divine Therapy opened my eyes to the mysteries of centering prayer and the universal utility of the Twelve Steps as a response – and a resource – to the human condition in general. In speaking with brothers and sisters who have been long-time members of 12-step programs, it is obvious that for many of them, the twelve steps have become part of the fabric of their lives. And I think that is exactly what God is calling each of us to in our relationship with God – to make that relationship with God part of the fabric of our lives.

            It probably says something about my very incarnate spirituality that these words of Keating finally helped me to understand centering prayer in a way that I did not from Keating’s earlier book,  Intimacy with God. After completion of Intimacy, I was left with a somewhat vacuous sense of centering prayer, as though it is some kind of out-of-body, other-worldly experience.

            But studying the 12 steps has helped me to understand centering prayer as the ultimate way of potentiating our humanity – emptying ourselves of our finite, temporal baggage in order to “rest in the presence of God” and, with God’s grace, become most fully the people God intends and desires for us to become. As Keating observes, “creation is an ongoing and continuous act.” This speaks to the notion that as children of God we are constantly in the process of becoming until the day we die – our evolution is never complete in this lifetime. It strikes me that is exactly what the process of recovery is – which is why persons who have struggled with addiction seldom call themselves “recovered” but always “recovering.” And while I would not agree with the statement “we are all addicts” – I think that demeans those who struggle so valiantly with addictions of whatever sort – the fact remains that the twelve steps, as Keating observes, are important spiritual resources not only for those struggling with what are generally considered “addictions” but for every person seeking to become authentically the person God has created him or her to be and desires for them to become. Each of us, like Job, can become most fully human when we trust our lives to the grace-filled power of the Almighty.

            In a few moments we will pray a litany that is patterned after the twelve steps. It speaks to the need that each of us has for wholeness and healing in our lives.   On this Recovery Sunday 2013, I invite the congregation to join me in renewing our commitment to our brothers and sisters who participate in our twelve-step programs here at Trinity. I invite us to go beyond simply opening our doors to their meetings and thinking of them as tenants of Huntington Hall. I invite you to begin seeing yourselves on a similar journey of wholeness and healing, recognizing that all of us have holes in the soul; all of us are in equal need of God’s mercy and grace; and all of us share in the prayer attributed to St. Augustine, Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” Amen.