\u201cMy name is David, and I am an alcoholic.\u201d\u00a0 This is the prescribed introduction for anyone who participates in Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12-Step programs.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know that there are some here today who recognize this introduction by personal experience.\u00a0 But even for those of us who have never attended an AA meeting, the significance of that sentence is still evident.\u00a0 Ever since 1935, when Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, hundreds of thousands of people have used AA\u2019s 12-Step process to achieve a viable and rewarding life.\u00a0 AA has also given birth to a number of other programs helping people cope with the addiction to narcotics, overeating, and gambling.<\/p>\n
The essential premise for all these 12-Step programs is enshrined in that one sentence introduction: \u201cI am an alcoholic.\u201d\u00a0 AA recognizes that things will not change,\u00a0 people will not grow, until they can recognize that they have a problem.\u00a0 Nothing is going to become better as long as people deny that there is a sickness, as long as they refuse to ask for help.<\/p>\n
This is a profound insight into the human condition, and it is connected directly to Jesus\u2019 words in today\u2019s gospel. There Jesus says, \u201cI have come not to save the righteous, but sinners\u201d.\u00a0 Jesus is asserting that he has come to save those who are in need, those who are sinful. Therefore, if we want to have a relationship with him, we must own our need, we must admit our sinfulness.\u00a0 So let\u2019s try this sentence on for size:\u00a0 \u201cMy name is George, and I am a sinner\u201d.\u00a0 Put your own name into the sentence and see how it feels.\u00a0 \u201cMy name is ______, and I am a sinner.\u201d\u00a0 Do you find that there is a part of you that is arguing against this statement?\u00a0 Is there a piece of you that insists, \u201cThat sentence really doesn\u2019t apply to me.\u00a0 I\u2019m not really a sinner, I\u2019m really not that bad.\u201d\u00a0 In one sense, you are correct.\u00a0 You may not be a horrendous sinner, a murderer or someone who has ruined someone else\u2019s reputation. But in another sense, are you saying that you have no shortcomings, that you have no needs which should be addressed?\u00a0 \u201cOh,\u201d you say, \u201cif that\u2019s what you mean, of course.\u00a0 There is always room to grow.\u201d\u00a0 That is exactly what I mean.\u00a0 So here is my question:\u00a0 If we admit that there is room to grow, if we admit that we need to change, why do we resist calling ourselves sinners?<\/p>\n
Here is\u00a0 what I think:\u00a0 I think we believe we can change things ourselves.\u00a0 I think we recognize that there are places in our life where we need to grow, but we convince ourselves that they are not important enough to warrant bothering God with them.\u00a0 Yes, we need to be a bit more patient, or less judgmental, or more generous.\u00a0 It would be good if we dropped a few pounds or quit smoking.\u00a0 We do need to be more honest with our spouse, or spend more time with our family, or find the courage to say \u201cno\u201d to someone who is taking advantage of us.\u00a0 Yes, these are areas where we should grow, but they are really not important enough to bother God with them.\u00a0 We convince ourselves that we can take care of these things ourselves.<\/p>\n
Now I ask you, what kind of thinking is this?\u00a0 It is denial.\u00a0 It is denying that we have a problem, denying that that problem is important enough to move us to change.\u00a0 How long are we going to wait until we deal with patience?\u00a0 Until we stop smoking?\u00a0 Until we find the courage to say \u201cno\u201d?\u00a0 It might seem polite that we decide not to bother God with our needs.\u00a0 But it is not polite at all.\u00a0 It is God\u2019s job to meet our needs.\u00a0 God is our savior, and if we insist on saving ourselves, we turn our relationship with God upside down and distort our roles within it.\u00a0 If we think that we can solve our own needs ourselves, it is impossible to have an honest relationship with God.\u00a0 God is the giver; we are receivers.\u00a0 God is the healer; we are the ones in need.\u00a0 God is the one who saves; we are the sinners.<\/p>\n
Now of course, this doesn\u2019t mean that God works in our life in some magical way.\u00a0 God depends upon our cooperation, our openness, our willingness to exert some effort.\u00a0 But what sense does it make to have an all-powerful and loving God if we do not turn to God in our time of need?\u00a0 It makes no sense at all unless we want to delude ourselves, unless we want to deny that we need to ask for help.<\/p>\n
The gospel invites us to move out of denial and to face the truth, to recognize that there is no need so small that it is inappropriate to bring it to God.\u00a0 Let us leave our pride and recognize our need to grow.\u00a0 If you need to be patient, ask for God\u2019s help.\u00a0 If you need to stop smoking, ask for God\u2019s help.\u00a0 If you need the courage to say no, ask for God\u2019s help.\u00a0 You know what your needs are.\u00a0 Admitting you need help is not a failure. It is the essential step toward a richer life.\u00a0 We are people who need to change.\u00a0 The good news is that Jesus came to save sinners like us.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat have you done for me lately?\u201d\u00a0 We have all heard this question before. Whether it has arisen in a business setting or a family setting, that question defines a certain kind of relationship.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you done for me lately?\u201d defines a relationship in which we are expected to give to another, in which we are expected to sacrifice on behalf of another.\u00a0 In this kind of relationship, if we do not produce, if we do not do what is expected, if we do not deliver, then it is very likely that the relationship will come to an end.<\/p>\n
Now I think that many of us look at our relationship to God in these terms.\u00a0 We imagine God saying to us, \u201cWhat have you done for me lately? Have you been patient with your spouse, even though that\u2019s difficult? Have you given time to your family, even though that is a sacrifice? Have you promoted justice? Have you welcomed the stranger? Are you giving yourself to build my kingdom?\u201d\u00a0 But if we were to define our relationship to God in terms of those kinds of expectations, we would be doing our relationship with God a disservice.<\/p>\n
This is not because the actions I just described are unimportant.\u00a0 It is important that we are patient with our spouse, that we do justice, that we welcome the stranger.\u00a0 Nor does it mean that those expectations are imaginary.\u00a0 God does expect us to spend time with our families and give ourselves to the building of God\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 But if we were to use those actions, those expectations for us, as the basis of a relationship, we would be skewing our relationship to God.\u00a0 Because prior to any action on our part, more fundamental than any success or failure on our part, God establishes a relationship to us on the basis of God\u2019s free choice and God\u2019s endless grace.\u00a0 God\u2019s grace is prior to our deeds.\u00a0 God\u2019s mercy is more fundamental than our sacrifice.<\/p>\n
This truth is revealed most clearly as we watch Jesus interact with sinners.\u00a0 In today\u2019s gospel Jesus calls tax collectors and sinners to himself. By so doing he is making it very clear that our relationship to God is not based upon our goodness or holiness. It is based upon God\u2019s goodness and God\u2019s holiness.\u00a0 If Jesus\u2019 fundamental question was \u201cWhat have you done for me lately?\u201d the sinner could only respond \u201cNothing.\u201d And that would be that.\u00a0 But as we watch Jesus\u2019 action it becomes clear that even when we have nothing to offer, God nevertheless seeks us out and claims us as God\u2019s own.\u00a0 Not because we deserve it, but because that is the way God is.<\/p>\n
Now it is very important for us that we let this truth influence the way that we think about our faith. We must allow it to influence how we believe.\u00a0 When someone asks us, \u201cWhy are you a Christian?\u201d if the first think you think about is being good, being a moral person, you are taking what is in second place and putting it in first place. What is in first place is not our moral response to God.\u00a0 (Indeed, we could find many people who don\u2019t even believe in God who are better people and more moral than we are.)\u00a0 What is to be in first place is not our moral goodness, but God\u2019s boundless love.\u00a0 When someone asks you, \u201cWhy are you a Catholic?\u201d if the first thing you think about is rules and regulations and laws that direct our actions, you are replacing what is fundamental with something that is derivative.\u00a0 Because the first thing we should think of when someone asks us why are we a Catholic is that we believe in a God who created us and saved us out of love\u2014a God who will be with us though all our phases of life, both when we are good and when we are not.\u00a0 That is the Good News.\u00a0 That is putting first things first.<\/p>\n
In the gospel today, Jesus tells the scribes, \u201cGo and learn the meaning of this saying \u2018I desire mercy, not sacrifice.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 But it\u2019s not only important for the scribes to learn what that saying means. It is important for us as well.\u00a0 We need to learn that our faith is not about our sacrifice, but about God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 A mercy that is prior to any action on our part.\u00a0 A mercy that is deep and lasting.\u00a0 And when we learn that, then we can live each day in thankfulness and hope.\u00a0 Because we know that our life is not founded on our successes or ruined by our failures. It is founded on God\u2019s endless mercy.\u00a0 And God\u2019s mercy is not a single action.\u00a0 It is the air we breathe.\u00a0 It is the sea in which we swim.\u00a0 When we realize that, then we\u2019ll be able to say without any doubt, \u201cGod\u2019s love is the foundation of my faith.\u00a0 God\u2019s mercy is the reason I am a believer.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Speaking as a Sinner June 5,2005 Matthew 9:9-13 \u201cMy name is David, and I am an alcoholic.\u201d\u00a0 This is the prescribed introduction for anyone who participates in Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12-Step programs.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know that there are some here today who recognize this introduction by personal experience.\u00a0 But even for those of us who … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5879,"featured_media":0,"parent":584,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1830"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5430,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1830\/revisions\/5430"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}