As we rejoice in the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ during this Eastertide, I have been praying and thinking about what resurrection life means in the world of sexual addiction, or really, any addiction. I was struck by the story of the women and Apostles arriving at the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter Sunday. We all know the story, it is the central moment of the Christian faith and of the history of all the world. What got me though this year was the fact that they had to go to the tomb in the first place. Why didn't Jesus just appear in His resurrected glory where they were? The answer is one we all need to hear, and one that we all need to face as we battle each and every day against the power that addiction has over our lives.
First, let us talk about addiction. Addiction, whether sex, money, alcohol, food, etc., has become our 'god'. For those of us who struggle, we know the struggle is real and that it leads us to places we don't want to go. We sacrifice so much to feed our addict as we are pulled away from healthy relationships with God, the self and others, as we are pulled from the light into death and darkness. I am convinced that sex addiction is one of Satan's greatest tools in deceiving God's men today. Isolated, fearful, hurt, angry, depressed, confused, it is like our addiction has led us to the Cross on Calvary. Hanging in death, we are faced with two choices: continue down the path we really don't want to go down or call the darkness into the light, wake up, rise up, and in the hope and power of God in Christ move forward into a new way of life, which is the life we really want to live. That is what happened that first Easter Sunday morning. Taking a quick glimpse at the four Gospel accounts of the Resurrection we see the following: Matthew: On Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to 'look at the tomb'. We are told that the great earthquake occurs, an angel appears and speaks to the women at the tomb. “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified....come see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28) Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome are taking spices to anoint the dead body of Jesus. They are on the way to the tomb contemplating how they will remove the rock that covers the entrance, then they look to see the rock has already been rolled away. Then they entered the tomb and saw a young man (again, an angel). “Don't be alarmed” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. (Mark 16) Luke: Again, we are told the women are taking spices to the tomb. They find the stone rolled away and they enter the tomb, but do not find the body of Jesus. We are told two men in gleaming clothes appear. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24) John: Mary Magdalene wen to the tomb and saw the stone had been moved from the entrance to the tomb. This time, we are told that after Mary shares the news that Peter and the 'other disciple' (John) run to the tomb. John makes it to the tomb first and looks in, then Peter runs straight into the tomb. “He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head.” Then we are told the other disciple went into the tomb as well. What we see here is that all four Gospel accounts tell us that it was the women who first discovered the empty tomb. John further tells us that the two disciples enter the tomb as well. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) share the details of the angels. However, in all four, they either look into or walk into the tomb.....but there is no Jesus. They struggle to understand what exactly this means, for they have not yet grasped the power and joy of the Resurrected Jesus Christ. That comes later with Jesus' actual appearances. But why the tomb to begin with? Again, why not just the Resurrected Lord meeting them in the upper room, or on the beach? Because they have to face their fears, they have to enter into the darkness of death to understand the light. This is where resurrection and recovery meet! Tombs, no matter how simple or ornate, not matter how old or new, all have one thing in common. They contain the reality of death. Lifeless bodies dwell in the cold darkness of the tomb. Jesus tomb was no different in that sense. When the time came though, that changed. The tomb of Jesus was overcome, exploding with light and life as the Father raised the Son as the moment when all things changed. The women and the apostles are not expecting any change. They approach the tomb in sadness and fear. They approach the tomb expecting to find the dead body of Jesus of Nazareth. When we are faced with the reality of our addiction, we must approach the tomb of death. Addiction is death. Yes, we may not die due to the effects of addiction, but it is killing our spirit, and in most cases it will kill the mind and body. Addiction is our tomb! Perhaps you have hit 'rock bottom' (that phrase has a whole new meaning in my life) or you have been 'found out'? What has your addiction cost you? Family, friends, jobs, money, self-confidence? You have had enough, I have had enough. So we must face the fear of addiction, we must enter into the death and darkness of the tomb. We must fight our addiction face to face with Jesus as our power and resurrection as our hope. “Do not be afraid!” Easy to say! Facing our darkness is scary. It means we have to 'come clean' and admit our faults to God, our self and others. For anyone who has done so, you know the power and freedom that comes from that process. So the message remains; “do not be afraid” to enter into the death. Once inside the cold darkness of the tomb, once we come clean, the light shines in. As we look around the tomb, we realize that this death no longer has to have power over us....so we are then faced with another choice. Do we stay (wondering and waiting) or do we 'go' sharing the light and hope with others? If we look to the Gospel accounts again, we see another common theme, the reaction. Matthew tells us that upon experiencing the death of the tomb, and realizing something had changed in the world the women hurried away, 'afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” Mark writes; “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.” Luke tells us that the angels reminded the women that Jesus foretold of His Resurrection and they remembered his words. They then told all the things they had experienced to the eleven disciples. Lastly, John writes that the disciples went back to where they were staying and then Mary Magdalene looks into the tomb, then experiences first hand the risen Lord. Recovery is a reaction to death. Like faith, we are called to 'go forth' and carry the message of recovery and the acts of love to others. The women and the disciples reacted, they did not stay in the tomb of death and darkness. Sure, they may have not instantly understood everything, but they knew remaining in the tomb was not an option. I can imagine how there is comfort in staying in the tomb. We face our fears, we face death, yet there is a comfort in remaining. Faith and recovery call for more. Once we know something has changed, once we realize there is path out of addiction, we must then take it. It takes faith in God, and hope in a new way of life to walk out of the tomb. Like the women that Easter morning, we do so in fear and joy! Fear, because we don't know what life will be like without our drug/behavior, joy because we know there is light in the darkness. I can recall times where I still found comfort in my addiction, even though I hated it. I did not like the dark death of the tomb, but it was all I knew. Then, as I began to work the 12 Steps, increased my life in prayer and Scripture study, participated in the fellowship, came clean, I noticed more and more of the light shining in on me. I was able to step all the way out of the tomb, fearful yes, but also full of joy. Like our faith, and like that of the disciples, there is still the danger of wanting to go back into the safety and familiarity of the tomb. From time to time, we might find ourselves looking 'back into the tomb', but we know the answer is not there. Why look for life in the home of death? Why go back to the death of addiction when we know the life of recovery? Remember, you need to react. Easter points to the way of new life in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we come to faith, we are still sinners. Yet, we know when we fall we don't have to return to certain death. We humbly confess our sins to God and are forgiven, free to continue in joy. When we start recovery and live into sobriety, we may slip, we remain powerless, but not hopeless. Give yourself to the light of recovery and life, give yourself to the Resurrected Christ. Face the fear of death and addiction, let in the light, don' be afraid and go forth in joy!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsAdam Egan, Founder of David's Post Ministry Archives
January 2020
Categories |