November 17, 2024

On November 9th of each year, I celebrate (God willing) another year of sobriety from alcohol. I typically make some sort of acknowledgment of this, not to pat myself on the back, or to get others to congratulate me, but rather to help the next one in line. We need witnesses to emulate in this life. I attempt to be a good witness to Christ Jesus, and that is very important and primary in my life. I appreciate, however, the assistance I received in getting sober, and one way I give back is to try and be a positive witness for others who find that their lives have become unmanageable due to alcohol or other addiction.  As I now reflect on 11 years of sobriety from alcohol, I want to share a parallel with some of what I’ve been seeing from friends, acquaintances, and strangers on social media over the past several days. I’m not certain that you are seeing what I’m seeing, but there is a lot of emotion out there over the election results. Setting aside the validity of the emotions for a moment it is apparent that there are a lot of people out there whose lives have seemingly become unmanageable. I come to this conclusion out of concern for how miserable many of these individuals appear. Certainly before the election, many people were displaying signs of being miserable; now, however, it seems like a free-for-all competition for who can be the most miserable. It is concerning and heart-wrenching. 

This pain in my chest leads me to acknowledge a few truths that I have picked up along the way: (1) What makes you miserable has power in your life. (2) Unfortunately, we can become addicted to that which makes us miserable. (3) It is possible to become addicted to politics, and that addiction can be seen in the effect it has on you, and others around you. I ask that you take a moment and reflect on the first and second steps of AA rewritten for the present scenario: 

1. We admitted we were powerless over politics — that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

In love and honesty, life does not have to be this way. You can be free. Furthermore, God desires for you to be free, not chained to some emotional reaction stemming from the political world. What you are feeling may very well be honest and valid, but it may also be controlling your life. This leads me to reflect, once again, on my favorite verse from Sacred Scripture. As the newly resurrected Lazurus is shuffling out of the cave Jesus says to those around him “Unbind him and set him free!” There are so many realities that can claim power over our lives. Realities that, because of our fallen nature, can become an addiction. Jesus wants to take back authority over your life. He desires to cry out to those around you, asking them to assist in setting you free. Will you receive their assistance? 

Be unbound. Be set free.

Two Parishes, One Heart

Fr. Adam