Quote: "[The] pattern of total abstinence [from alcohol] has become thoroughly established among American Mennonites of all branches, most of whom today would not knowingly tolerate among their membership the drinking of alcoholic beverages…. Although America in general, since the breakdown of prohibition [in the early 20th century], has increased its drinking, particularly of hard liquors, the American Mennonites as a whole are firmly set in their opposition to alcoholic drinking in any form."
         That quote is from the Mennonite Encyclopedia, written in 1951. It comes near the end of an article that outlines the various approaches to alcohol use among Anabaptist groups since their inception in the 16th century. According to H. S. Bender, who wrote that particular article, there have been advocates of abstinence from the earliest times of Anabaptist/Mennonite history in Europe, as well as the presence of brewers and distillers of ales and liquor within the church. However, by the time Bender wrote his article for inclusion in the Encyclopedia, it appeared as if American Mennonites had come to a relatively clear stance for abstinence.
         Last summer, at the Mennonite Church USA convention in Columbus, I began to notice an interesting series of asides coming from the podium in both business sessions and in other settings. With a wink and a nod, speakers were joking about drinking: what alcohol Mennonites drink rather than if Mennonites drink. Certainly, I found their openness unusual and, to me, a little disconcerting--I don't think that kind of conversation would have happened even three or four conventions ago--but I also realized that the speakers were mostly acknowledging a significant and real shift in practice. Many Mennonites--not all--do drink alcoholic beverages. In fact, in our town, we have a bar where Mennonites gather regularly to fellowship, play games, share, study--and drink.
         This past winter, after our series on family life, one of our members encouraged us on the pastoral staff to include the topic of alcohol in the next series that we might do on family life--to not remain silent about this particular question of faith and practice. About four of us had a good discussion via email about this, sharing resources with each other (some of which I'll share with you this morning), but not really having a clear idea of when we might raise the topic in the context of worship. I certainly wasn't planning to address it!
         So, here we are--months later. I am using my next-to-the-last sermon at Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship to preach on this prickly topic. Why in the world?!? Well, that's a really good question!! Perhaps the answer is that I experienced a growing conviction in this summer when our adult nurture hour sessions have focused on these kinds of practice questions: debt, marital discord, gambling, and so on. Perhaps it stemmed from conversations I've had with my own children. Perhaps I figured if I make you all uncomfortable and unhappy with me, then it would be easier to leave next month! I'm joking about that last--sort of. I do think it's possible that 80 percent of you will be arguing with me in your hearts and minds: 40 percent because I'm not going to preach total abstinence and 40 percent because I'll be perceived as too harsh or simply unsophisticated. And that's okay! If the outcome of this morning is that we actually talk about our faith perspectives and practice in this area--somewhere and with someone!--then I will be glad.
         The two texts that Denise read for you this morning show, in a representative sort of way, the two of the streams or ways of talking about alcohol in Scripture. From Jeremiah, we see that wine symbolizes the fruit of the land, a sign of the blessing of God's abundance and provision. It is familiar at the table--recognize its presence at the last supper--and at celebrations--witness Jesus turning water into wine at the behest of his mother.
         However, as our text from Proverbs highlights, there is also a stream in Scripture that focuses on the pitfalls and often-tragic outcomes of drunkenness. In story and teaching, the Bible warns against the abuse of alcohol. It's interesting to note how often in the Old Testament alcohol is used as the key part of the plot to manipulate another: for instance, in the case of Lot's daughters, to commit incest with their father, and in a variety of political plots, to overthrow those in power. Again and again, alcohol and drunkenness are linked to foolishness and folly, to destruction and downfall.
         So, as it appears that many in the Mennonite Church are beginning to re-appropriate that first way of thinking about wine and alcohol in general--as a regular part of life and fellowship and maybe even as a sign of God's goodness--then how do we continue to hold the warnings of that second stream in scripture? I want to suggest that we think about the concept of prudence.
         Prudence has to do with wisdom and judgment, especially in the practical aspects of life and in the context of faith. It has to do with carefulness in how you behave and thoughtfulness in how you plan for the future. It is, I think, a kind of self-analysis: an ability to pay attention to the reasons that you make the choices you do and then to make those choices for the best reasons.
         So, prudence requires a recognition of what drinking alcohol does. Alcohol is a depressant, and minimal drinking increases our physical and mental response times. Yesterday as I was driving to church, I heard a radio ad about drinking and driving, which I'm sure many of you have also heard. The tag-line was: buzzed driving is drunk driving. The point of the ad is to refute the belief that you can drive when you've had just a few drinks. You're just not as quick to respond as you handle the two-ton vehicle that you're operating--about the size of an average car--when you've had even a little alcohol. And when you drive that two-ton vehicle after you've had just a few, then you're not only putting yourself at risk, you also become more capable of doing harm--doing violence--to others.
         Alcohol also lowers our inhibitions, which for some folks I suppose is a desired outcome (we'll come back to that at the end), but lowered inhibitions also means that drinking can facilitate behaviors that you would never choose if you hadn't been drinking. So, choices you would usually make about how you present yourself or how you engage with others become fuzzy when you've been drinking. And it is possible that regret becomes your companion once your thinking clears again.
         Although there are other things that alcohol does that I could and probably should talk about, there's just one more that I want to highlight this morning. There is growing evidence that binge drinking (defined as five drinks in a drinking event for a male and four for a female) among teenagers has a "particularly toxic effect on [their] brain cells," according to Susan Tapert, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego. In the stories reported on NPR about the time the four of us were having those email conversations last winter, Michelle Trudeau reported that, "The regions of the brain important for judgment, critical thinking, and memory do not fully mature until a person is in his or her mid-20s. Tapert found that alcohol can damage the normal growth and development of a teenager's brain cells in these regions." The damage affects boys and girls differently; for girls, performance on tests of spatial functioning declines, and for boys, the ability to focus and pay attention declines. According to Tapert, it is any binge drinking that can have these effects. It's not how often there's binging; it's whether there's binging at all. (1)
         Prudence also requires paying attention to the habits that form and the risks of addiction that are present. While scientists have not been able to identify one single gene that is directly linked to the propensity to develop alcoholism, there is statistical and biological evidence to suggest that both environment and physiology can make some individuals more vulnerable. (2) A definition of alcoholism developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 1990 reads this way, "Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial." (3)
         Alcoholism is not limited to one kind of person: it is found among all socio-economic classes and in most cultures, although some cultures do have either greater or lesser rates of incidence. (Europe is not one of the ones with lesser rates.) Bryan and I and likely many of you have stories in our/your families about people--closer in and further out--who have been hurt by alcohol abuse, directly or indirectly. Alcoholism affects not only those who are struggling with the addiction but also everyone in their networks of relationship: their parents, their children, their siblings, their grandchildren, their friends, their communities of faith. And the effects can last for generations: a child raised in a family in which alcoholism is present can develop dysfunctional behaviors and responses in relationships which continue into adulthood, and can be perpetuated, whether or not that child drinks at all him- or herself. (4)
         So, in order to help develop prudence, here's a partial list of questions to ask yourself in order to test your relationship to alcohol from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Addiction. In the past year, have you ever: had times when you ended up drinking more, or longer, than you intended? More than once wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn't? More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unsafe sex)? Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Spent a lot of time drinking or being sick or getting over other after-effects? Continued to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends? Found that drinkingor being sick from drinkingoften interfered with taking care of your home or family or caused trouble on your job or at school? Given up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to you, or gave you pleasure, in order to drink? (5) Some questions to consider… If you answer "yes" to these, get help.
         Prudence also requires you to know why you're doing something. So, if you choose to drink, be aware of your motivations and make your decision for good, sound, conscious reasons. Be aware of how your thinking may be influenced by the advertising that is EVERYWHERE--both humorous and heart-tugging--where the drinkers are always young, lovely, and having a really good time--we're to think it's because of the alcohol presumably--and where the schlubby guy always gets the gorgeous girl. Resist those influences! Instead, consider consciously what it is you can embrace and what you need to turn away from.
         J. Lawrence Burkholder, a wise man who died just last month, wrote a number of articles on Christians and social drinking. One of the most recent appeared in an on-line edition of Christianity Today just last fall. In that brief essay, Burkholder wrote about one possible way to reason prudently about drinking. He says, "Christians who do not commit to a principle of total abstinence should follow a guideline that would represent both discernment and Christian freedom by allowing limited use, now and then, within the context of family, friendship, religious celebration, and diplomatic protocol…. [Such guidelines offer] the practical advantages of sobriety, the personal advantages of responsible maturity, and the theological advantages of biblical wisdom." (6) Burkholder is providing a trifold rubric for us: sobriety, responsible maturity, and biblical wisdom.
         I've been thinking about another possible principle or rubric to consider: When we remember Jesus' response to the Pharisees' query about which is the greatest commandment, we hear these words, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (from Mark 12:30-31) So here's what I'm thinking: our use of alcohol cannot be the primary mediator in these fundamental relationships: not with God, not with others, and not with ourselves. Part of our task as maturing people of faith is to come to terms with who we are in these relationships--unvarnished and laid bare, unhidden by a facade created with the help of alcohol. Drinking in order to hide from God or from others or even from ourselves--to pretend that we're someone we're not--is always the wrong reason to drink. But God does love us and wants us to live a life that is both whole and full. That whole life may or may not include partaking of alcohol in ways that are prudent and which may be able to extend the reign of God in hospitality and fellowship as we develop relationships with one another--one sign of God's abundance and blessing? So the rubric is this: Can we love God and others well and with integrity in the context in which we drink responsibly? If we can answer yes, then perhaps such is truly prudent.
         Now, as I said at the beginning, what I really hope with all of this is to begin conversation: here, in our homes, with our friends. There's so much more stuff that I didn't cover (legality among them), but there's simply not time! These questions--to drink or not and how to do it--are questions about how our faith informs our practice, which principles we embrace in choosing what we do, and how we talk about any of it. May God grant us discernment and gentleness and prudence in it all. Amen.
        

(1) Michelle Trudeau, " With Drinkin g, Parent Rules Do Affect Teens' Choices ,'' and " Teen Drinking May Cause Irreversible Brain Damage ," npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122765890 .

(2) "The Genetics of Alcoholism," f rom the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with commentary by Enoch Gordis, M.D. , and director.

(3) Approved by the Boards of Directors of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (February 3, 1990) and the (February 25, 1990).

( 4 ) Tetyana Parsons, " Alcoholism and Its Effect on the Family ," allpsych.com/journal/alcoholism.html

(5) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/WhatsTheHarm/WhatAreSymptomsOfAnAlcoholUseDisorder.asp

(6) J. Lawrence Burkholder, "A Little Wine for the Soul?" November 30, 2009, christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/questions/personalconcerns/alittlewineforthesoul.html?start=2