Twelve Steps in the Right Direction
As part of our seminary education in the Cleveland Diocese, a year-long internship in a parish is required. For me that was a profound blessing. In 1985, my third year of theology, I was assigned to St. Malachi Church on the outskirts of downtown Cleveland. Besides being the premier social justice parish of the diocese, it also was and is the home of one of the longest running AA groups in the country, “The Angle.”Every Thursday night of that internship I attended the AA meeting, beginning with a small group review of Steps 1-3 of the program at 7:00 and then the full meeting at 8:00. (Every Saturday night after dinner I attended a companion program of Adult Children of Alcoholics [ACA] with the Twelve Steps taken in turn from their perspective.)What these experiences taught me went far beyond the power of the Twelve Steps and the heroic lives of those who lived them. It also taught me something about redemption—something that is the focus of this week’s Scriptures.First, the gist of the story from the prophet Isaiah is that the Israelites, now in exile, have forgotten that it was Yahweh who had rescued them from slavery and brought them to the Promised Land. Yahweh is faithful. Yahweh will save those in trouble.The remarkable stories of our brothers and sisters in Twelve Step programs begin at this very point. Like them, all of us tend to forget so easily that we will only triumph if we place ourselves in God’s hands. As much as we would like to think we are in control, such is “stinkin’ thinkin’” in AA parlance. Especially for us in this country, being in control seems to be a national creed. Though self-sufficiency can be a virtue, it can also trap us and control our thoughts and actions to the point of paralysis. Paralysis is what the Gospel is all about. The Marcan Jesus is the one in control, who will fulfill the promise of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. What is remarkable here is that the healing Jesus offers is in response to the faith of the companions of the paralytic, the only story in all of the Gospels where a healing is the result of the faith of others.The connection to the Twelve Step program is remarkable. In those many meetings I saw the power of community to facilitate the healing process. As one recovering friend told me: “Drunk alone; sober together!” It amazes me that we Catholics, who refer to ourselves as a “faith community” or “family of faith,” rarely behave like a community or a family. We sit pews away from one another; we run to a closet to confess our common sinfulness; and offer responses at liturgy that sound more like a whimper than a joyful acclamation. And as far as sharing our life’s struggles, successes, or sorrows – no way!The focus of these Scriptures is important for us today. For God's fidelity to those in trouble is often left to the instrumentality of the community that now bears the name of his Son. The very reason we come here in community is to remember and give thanks. We come here week after week because we have short memories. We need to remind ourselves that our God watches over us with the fidelity of a mother or father. We come here week after week because we need each other. Our common faith in God’s steadfast love, if not our common humanity, is what liberates us from the paralysis of self-interest and worldly addictions. What we have in common helps heal us. In Twelve Step programs it’s “Hi, my name is Lou and I’m a sinner!” It is after all a profound "yes."We need to learn from the Twelve Steps and from our recovering brothers and sisters the two principal tenets of recovery which mirror our hope of redemption. First, that our powerlessness must be rooted in a humility that relies wholly on God’s steadfast love. Secondly, that the power of community can translate the healing power of that love to the here and now. Both are very good reasons for being here. 