John D. at the 3rd International Convention – 1960

About This Speaker Tape

A pulpit in Rome, a young man gripping the wood with white knuckles, and a memory that fails mid-sentence. John D. begins with the wreckage of a public blunder—trying to recite the story of the prodigal son and forgetting the lines—to illustrate the gap between a child's understanding of the divine and a man's.

He rejects the image of a gray-bearded old man in favor of a Higher Power that is a mystery, a transcendence beyond the "shabbiness" of a spoiled earth. He speaks of seeing the Creator through a tarnished bronze mirror, where the vision is dim but sufficient to walk by. For John D., the path out of the dark night of despair is paved with humility and the "burning coal" of spiritual cleansing.

He frames the alcoholic's return not as a defeat, but as a father spotting a lost son from a long way off, waiting through every day of the drinking experience to welcome the dead back to life.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening serenity prayer and reminder of personal anonymity.
• 2:15 Bill W. reflects on the 25th anniversary and the 'pathway to whatever destiny' awaits.
• 4:30 Father John D. shares a funny story about a pulpit failure and the prodigal son.
• 7:10 Discussion on the necessity of moving past a child's understanding of a Higher Power.
• 10 Laughter: Father John D. discusses the 'tarnished bronze mirror' of human perception.
• 13:45 Analysis of the Hebrew word 'Kadosh' and the transcendence of the Higher Power.
• 17:20 The connection between the humility of St. Francis A. and the humility that keeps a person in AA.
• 21:10 The metaphor of the hairs on one's head as a symbol of inherent worth.
• 24:30 Closing reflection on the parable of the prodigal son and the Higher Power's constant watch.