Sinners Anonymous

Sinners Anonymous
(a brief lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

The meeting would start something like this: I would walk to the front of the room.  I would step behind one of those metal lecterns that doesn't hide anything, place my hands on either side of the little tray that usually holds someone's lecture notes, and then look out at the small crowd.  I would say, "My name is Steve and I am a sinner."  And they would respond in unison, "Hi, Steve!"

Looking out at the group, I would recognize some of them.  Perhaps from other meetings, or perhaps from outside this room.  A few I would know, and they would know me.  We few would be more aware of each other's specific struggles; but we would certainly not be the only ones in that room with that kind of closer relationship. 

I would explain that I had fallen off the wagon since we last met; that I had been unkind, that I had on several occasions failed to love my neighbor as myself, that I had come THIS CLOSE to taking something that did not belong too me.  And they would listen, and thank me for my honesty.  And when I was done, I would sit and listen to each one share his/her burdens with the same caring and respect they had shown me. And when we were all done, we would come together to thank God for His mercy and grace. 

This reverie of mine is not a new concept.  It's been used as a metaphor for many years to describe one way church should work.  And it is one of those I choose to cling to as a vision of how we might be able to relate to one another.  I sometimes covet the liberty and honesty of the 12 Step programs on which it is based. Somehow I think if we could quit comparing ourselves to others (and regarding ourselves as better or worse than they), we could, like the Tax Collector in this week's lectionary reading (Luke 18:9-14), go to our homes justified.  Thinking we are somehow better because we only missed the target by a few feet when others missed it by yards or miles is really such poor reasoning as to be ludicrous.  If the objective is to hit the target, then the amounts we missed it by are distinctions without a difference. 

Something for us all to think on. 

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If you are in Waco on Friday, join the group at Cafe Cappuccino (downtown on 6th) at 8:00 a.m. for great food and even greater fellowship. Lots of good discussion of this week's scriptures.

This week's lectionary readings:
Joel 2:23-32
Psalm 65 or Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Psalm 84:1-7
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14