I worked for about 5 years as a spiritual counselor at a rehab center in South Dakota. About every two months I would speak to those who were doing the inpatient program. Being UCC, I didn't try to convert them to our church or tell them how they can be saved from addiction or hell, I walked them through 3 simple ideas that I hoped would help them, no matter what religion or higher power they would choose. The first is that no matter their beliefs or what they tried or believed in, if it didn't help them treat other people better, then it wasn't working. If they feared or hated or ignored the people around them, then it wasn't going to help their addiction or themselves. To treat other people better would help them treat themselves better. So find something, some way to do care about people and care about yourself.
The second thing I would tell them is to be conscious of what is at their center. Some churches and religions are set up that focus on you, do this, believe this, give this so you can be rewarded, healed, and glorified. If we boil it down and we are at the center, not God, YHWH, Allah, Buddah, Mother Earth, Love or whatever, then it is a self-empowerment program, not a spiritual experience/practice/movement. In AA, a person has to have a higher power, if one is only doing/believing/practicing for ultimately them self, then they are their own higher power, and it's not going to end well. This is what got in trouble in the first place.
The third thing I would offer is that no matter what they choose, they can't do it alone. Jesus tells us that where two or more are gathered, he is also there. That doesn't mean God or Jesus is absent if we are alone, but to truly be a disciple we have to be part of the body. Had a friend who was a Buddhist who was my church secretary, asked her about her group and she lived in rural Minnesota so didn't have a Temple or group. It was hard for her to follow, to practice, and learn doing it by herself. We need support and we need people to call us out on our crap and help us get back on the path. So, in my opinion, to have a good higher power, we have to treat people better, not be in the center, and have a group to practice 1 and 2. I find this in our church, the United Church of Christ, in this First Congregational in Grand Marais and I am glad and give thanks. But it doesn't mean that we are the only church or denomination or religion that does this. Nope, I am glad this works for us, and I am glad of all the churches, religions, and peoples who also find ways to live this out.
Last week, we talked about the Holy Spirit and the myriad of ways that She is present in the Gospels, in the Bible, and how the Spirit is still here today. The Apostle Paul, who started his ministry about 15 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, writes to the church in Corinth about this part of God, part of the church, and part of the world. First, Paul writes to them and to us so that we would not be ignorant, that we would not be haughty, that we would truly know that God gives all people all the gifts they have and people have different gifts, ministries, and activities, but it is the same Spirit that gives them all. In that time of rampant polytheism where there was a different god for every season, country, activity, family, and mine is better than yours. Paul says there is truly only one and gives generously to everyone, and their gifts, their activities, and their ministries are just as important as yours.
Tomorrow is the federal holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and he is worth mentioning. Many will reference the "I have a Dream" speech, which was truly a sermon, during the March on Washington, and I have done this in the past. But in our time, and in this day, we should probably focus a little more on his "Letter to Birmingham". "I have a Dream" is truly inspiring and needs to be remembered, shared, and kept alive. But the way we get there is to focus on the letter. In that time and place, some pastors actually sympathized with King, but openly and publicly chastised him for going too fast, pushing too much, and wanting things to change too quickly. From a jail cell, written on toilet paper, Martin Luther King, just like Paul, imprisoned, because they couldn't stop saying what they knew to be true and working for it, Pastor King wrote to those who told him to sit down and be quiet asking them, why should those who suffer wait any longer for their freedom because those who are comfortable and free are feeling a little out of sorts? It's been a long time since I read that, but we are still in that conversation and on this journey to freedom for all people in this country and in this world.
It is great that we can sing spirituals, it is great that we practice Tai Chi or Qi Gong or Zen Meditation or Centering Prayer, create friendships in Mexico, be a safe place for those who struggle with addictions, and welcome Afghan refugees. This community is blessed to have other churches and practices with their own gifts, services, and activities.
It seems obvious, but it is the most important question we can ask, "Do our beliefs, our worship, our practice, our leaders, our teachings, and all we do help us to treat others better?" And the second is this, "How long do those who aren't treated well have to wait until they are truly free, truly loved, and truly respected that their gifts, their services, and their activities are given by the same Spirit, the same God as are ours?" Let us keep those questions in front of us, keep struggling, and not stop until that Dream becomes as reality. Amen?
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