The Gospel According to Ben Affleck
Did you catch the recent profile of Ben Affleck? He talks candidly about his divorce, true-to-life upcoming movie, (in)famous back tattoo and, most of all, alcoholism. “People with compulsive behavior,” he says, “and I am one, have this kind of basic discomfort all the time that they’re trying to make go away. You’re trying to make yourself feel better. But in the end that ends up making your life worse.”
Here’s a sentence you didn’t expect to read today: The church can learn a lot from Ben Affleck. We may not all be alcoholics, but addiction is one of the most illuminating metaphors of our experience. To be human is to be caught in patterns of thought and behavior we lament but cannot free ourselves from. And our attempts to feel better typically compound the problem. It’s as if we cannot help ourselves; that we practice sin because we’re enslaved to it. I am not the first person who has said this.
I had the honor of inviting you all to a Holy Lent at our 12pm Ash Wednesday service. As a pastor-friend of mine likes to say, this season is neither an invitation to become super-Christians nor an opportunity for new and under-whelming diet plans. To quote the Prayer Book, Lent is about “self-examination and repentance.” To quote Robert Downey Jr (another celebrity in recovery), Lent is about “hugging the cactus.” We practice classic spiritual disciplines to learn about ourselves and find, deeper than whatever skeletons are in our closets, the patient, scarred hands of love. These two discoveries promote true spiritual health and produce lasting change.
I want to draw attention to a special Lenten opportunity at COTC, the Silent Retreat. I have found silence to be the most reliable way of taking stock of my inner life. The beautiful thing about the Silent Retreat is being able to do so with others. I participated last year and palpably remember feeling full on the drive home: full of the Holy Spirit, full of affirmation, full of confidence that I am safe in the love of God.
Two days of silence may seem impossible for you. It’s not. I am as extroverted and media dependent as anyone; I did not find unplugging for 36 hours an undue burden.
Attending the Retreat may seem a (massive) logistical challenge for you. It may be. But so what? We overcome such challenges all the time when work requires it or when we want to go on vacations or simply #loveourselves. Why not do it for this?
Towards the end of the article Affleck notes the holistic change he has experienced in AA. “One of the things about recovery that I think people sometimes overlook is the fact that it inculcates certain values. Be honest. Be accountable. Help other people. Apologize when you’re wrong.” Amen to that. Sounds like a call to a Holy Lent.
Nick
p.s. Our Lent book this year is Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. We’ll discuss the Introduction and Chapter 1 at Catechesis & Coffee this Sunday (9am-9:45). The childcare, coffee and stimulating conversation are all free!
p.p.s The PC will vote on 3/9 on our new constitution and by-laws (these are the current by-laws).Got any questions? Send them to info@cotcaustin.org