Hi! My name is Joe Doe, and I am an alcoholic.
Last Friday night, I attended the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) session that meets in our building. It was my first time to attend such a meeting. I have seen AA sessions in movies but to be there in person and witness how those meetings are actually conducted, was real, moving and inspirational.
The first thing I noticed was that each AA member before sharing would say, “Hi, my name is Joe Doe and I am an alcoholic.” and the group would acknowledge it by responding, “Hi Joe Doe.”
I find this interaction powerful. There was no shame. There was a sense of owning one’s situation and not pretending otherwise. By saying “I am an alcoholic “one recognizes his vulnerability and hangs on to the promises of sobriety. Those in attendance were sober for years and their strength comes from the collegiality and mutual support the group provides.
They were under no illusions that the fight for alcohol was won. The temptation was always there and yet the desire to overcome it was stronger. They all wanted to be “normal “and make up from past wrong decisions. There was not self-pity but the determination to turn their lives around for good.
They have known each other for years and could pretty much track each other’s efforts, the ups and downs of their struggle. At one point, we all say the serenity prayer “Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, wisdom to know the difference.”
I was humbled to be in that room. Here I was with people who know their limitations, name their struggles, and seek help. Life couldn’t get any realer than that. I was speechless when the leader asked me to say few words. All that I could say was that we all have struggles but of different natures. We live in a very judgmental society. At times, we measure our success from the failures of others.
It is a zero-sum game out there. Some of us put a veil on the real us. No one knows who we really are because we present a different facet of ourselves. Fortunately, we also encounter people who are genuine in their interaction, and many are around us. During my entire hour at the AA session, I couldn’t stop thinking of different scenarios in the Bible where Jesus welcomes those who the society marginalizes. In fact, his entire ministry was a ministry of healing. In Luke 4, 18, he says “the spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor … freedom to the prisoners…” This suggests to me that in whatever captivity we find ourselves in, there is a way to set ourselves free, with God’s help.
The myth has been that individuals are solely responsible for their own misfortunes and needed bootstraps to pull themselves up. But the reality is that the society plays a major role in one’s person rehabilitation and social mobility. In my view AA meetings are a microcosm of this endeavor and the Church could as well play the same role.
In His Name,
Pastor Will