“Take me as I am” was the title of an Easter sermon for “the Denver women’s prison” delivered by Nadia Bolz-Weber. She’s referring to Christ’s appearance in that locked room where the disciples were fearfully huddled, hiding from the mob, pondering their own failures to support and assist Christ during His trials, for denying any association with Him, failing to even stand with Him at the crucifixion itself, and each searching for someone to blame.

And standing among this woebegone group of followers, the Risen Jesus suddenly appears and says, “Peace be with you.” He is taking them as they are, with all their betrayal, denial, and fear. That’s His Grace. And, He takes us as we are, not what we should or could be, but as we are. So, with the disciples. They were learning that Christ was a power greater than themselves, the depth of their belief’s deepened.

My mind slipped to my own moments of surrender. I had long denied any need to quit drinking. I denied hurting friends, family, my boss. At best, if I knew I’d hurt anyone, “fuhgeddaboudit” for I was interested only in keeping the good times rollin’.

The Program doesn’t require a certain level or frequency of pain. But it does require us to surrender our ego, to come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could bring us to sanity.

Christ accepted those “locked-up” disciples each afraid of himself, filled with self-pity, blaming everyone else. His Grace touched the disciples “as they were.” He welcomed them and so does the Program welcome the drunk surrendering his addiction to his or her Higher Power.

His unlimited Easter Grace is freely given to me, a sinner. So, it is with the Program.

JRA, St. X Noon, Cincinnati