Today's sermon was the last in the series "Encounters with Jesus". I chose for this final sermon, the story of "Doubting Thomas." This text, traditionally the text for the first Sunday of Easter is misnamed. Thomas was a doubter (a better translation is unbelieving), but, he is also simply human. Which one of us, returning home to family and friends and being told that a person we loved, who died three days earlier, had suddenly appeared would not have the same reaction as Thomas.
I have always wondered about why the disciples were in a room behind locked doors, "for fear of the Jews". We Christians, for a variety of reasons have either locked ourselves, or others in rooms ever since.
Someone once said that "America has sobered up in the basement of churches" and this is very true. Since the earliest days of Bill W. and Doctor Bob, AA and other 12 step groups have been meeting in churches, most often church basements. We think we are doing them a favor by putting them down in the basement. Down in the basement their coffee won't stain the thirty year old carpet in the "Ladies Aid Room" and of course up until a few years ago they needed a place to be able to smoke. And then, we figured, there is that thing about anonymity; they needed, so we thought, to be someplace where they would not be seen, looked at, or for that matter spoken to. We lock the AA groups in the basement, out of sight and out of mind, another ministry of the church, a ministry that gives us that good liberal feel good feeling, but a ministry that we would rather lock up somewhere else, and not in the church basement.
I visited an open meeting once and asked one of the men at the meeting if anyone from the church had ever come downstairs and invited them to church. He kind of chuckled and said, "No, we aren't allowed upstairs." Interestingly, "They (the AA people) were in a locked room, because the Christians of the church were afraid of the AA people" a twist to the John text.
What does the church have to fear of an alcoholic, drug addict, sex addict or gambler if they are in recovery? Maybe, like some who fear homosexuals, their disease may rub off on them and then they will need to go to rehab. We talk about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, but do we ever invite them upstairs to worship with us. Do we ask them their name, do we sit down next to them at the Thanksgiving dinner and talk to them or do we find one of our regular members, you know, the givers, and sit down next to them. Members of AA and other 12 step groups feel like they are invisible when they walk into most churches. People look at them, but not really at them, if one of these people speak to one of these AA members it is normally to ask them, "May I help you?" with the look of terror in their eyes that say, "I sure hope not."
It is time for churches to start inviting people to church. Next time your AA group meets in your basement, go down, introduce yourself to them, and invite them to next Sunday's worship. Chances are you won't, and thankfully these wonderful people will eventually find their way to Recovery Worship where they will be welcomed.
Merry Christmas, see you Thursday night
An interesting subject matter but one I was having a hard time wrapping my head around. Then I realized the metaphor of a basement doesn't play in California because we usually don't have basements in our churches.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite meetings was a men's stag held at a Catholic church with a million dollar view of the ocean. The parish priest was a 70-year old Irishman who was also a member of our club. Ah, to hear an Irish Catholic priest with a rich brogue talk about sobriety and say the f-word and God in the same sentence was magical.
Needless to say our group was well accepted by the parishioners.