Trying to keep it simple

March Angelus

Fr. Dale

As I write this, we are half way through Lent. It has been a delightful journey thus far. Our Wednesday fellowship group (meeting at 9:30 am) has moved from discussion (and practice) of prayer to a metaphysical discussion on Being and God as that which is. With that group we have to try to keep things simple, but we cover lots of ground. On Wednesday evenings, between 45 and 60 folks from the east Honolulu parishes have been meeting to consider various perspectives on the Joseph of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Each time we have met it has been better than the last. And it took me 3 sessions to finally get a bowl of mushroom soup. Joseph has been seen as a member of a dysfunctional family, as a sign of redemption, as reminder of the need to work against slavery in the world today, . . . and upcoming Joseph as dreamer and Joseph as a way of seeing ourselves. As I began preaching, Lent just beginning, I stumbled onto a phrase that has become my personal mantra for the season. Show up Listen Speak heart-felt truth Let go of the results These 4 steps have become for me a short-hand way of understanding my daily task of living faithfully, under the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ. They don’t say all that needs to be said, but they provide a road-map for me of what I must do in order to recognize God’s sovereignty over my life. The other day I happened to share with the small youth group meeting the message I tell myself at least once a week. They didn’t really believe me. I said, “I don’t necessarily do a very good job of it, but I tell myself that it’s the goal.” The acronym means: “keep it simple stupid.” It originated with the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous and its Twelve Steps to sobriety. But I apply the wisdom of “keep it simple stupid” to my daily affairs and to my aim in preaching, teaching, and counseling. Now the fact is that I am not very good at keeping it simple. The “stupid” part of the saying is usually the loudest for me. “Don’t think too highly of yourself, Dale,” I hear it say. “Take yourself much less seriously.” As the bumper sticker said, that’s why angels can fly, because they regard themselves lightly. Many before me have noted that the 12 steps are in fact a marvelous short-hand way to understand the Christian life. They match remarkable well with the way of life outlined by saints and holy men and women of ages past. These are the original Twelve Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous: We admitted we were powerless over . . . that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to . . . , and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I learned some time ago a short-hand way of remembering the 12 steps, reducing them to 3: “I can’t. God can. I think I’ll let him.” Now these don’t really cover all of the steps, only the 1st half. The 2nd half could be summarized by the opening of St. Mary’s mission statement, “Share God’s love.” I can’t God can I think I’ll let Him Share His Love Easter (in this short-hand environment) is getting to the end of the 12∕4 steps (which is really a way to get to the beginning of them all over again). Easter is recognition that in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have indeed been awakened, we have been raised with him, we have become a new creature. Thank you for the journey. I invite you into the simple steps that proceed from showing up to sharing God’s love.