Sunday Homily - December 8th, 2019 - "Repent from your Addiction!"

John the Baptist Icon

Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

I.

A beloved colleague once told a story about his struggle with alcoholism.

Travis* had started drinking in high school,
 and his struggle worsened as he entered into college.
 [*name changed for confidentiality]

He was a regular at the parties at his university,
 staying up far too late,
  getting drunk and sleeping in until noon.
   His freshman semester was easy,
    and he was smart enough that he stayed up to date on his school homework
     and took late classes in the afternoon so that he wasn't missing class.

However, during his second semester,
 things got worse.
  He began missing class assignments,
   showing up to class late,
    hungover,
     and unable to remember the lectures.

And thus started the negative feedback loop
 that comes with any addiction.
  The repercussions in his life began to build up,
   and so he turned to the only solace he had:
    more alcohol.

The worse he did in school,
 the more he drank.
  The worse his problem got and the more relational bridges he burned,
    the more he drank.
     Travis began to hate himself, to despise who he had become,
      and as his own self-hate grew, his drinking increased all the more.
       Travis was spiraling toward disaster..

But, Travis also had a friend, Jamal.
 A friend who had known him since childhood.

Jamal and Travis of them grew up together,
 played sports together at their local high school,
  and went to the same university.

And Jamal was not going to simply let Travis self-destruct.

One afternoon, when Travis had missed class,
 Jamal took Travis for a drive.

Travis was too hungover to know or care where Jamal was taking him.
 But, all of a sudden, Travis was broken out of his drunken stupor
  as they pulled up to a local church.
   A sign in front of Jamal's care blazed in Travis's mind:
    and the sign had written on it: "Alcoholics Anonymous."

Travis became irritate with Jamal,
 swearing up and down that he didn't have a problem,
  promising that he was planning to stop drinking all together,
   and Travis began to get out of the car in a huff
    and walk away down the street.

And that's when Jamal had had enough.
 Jamal, a very large and powerful man,
  gets out of the car,
   and picks Travis up off the ground,
    kicking, screaming, causing a huge scene,
     and like a child throwing a tantrum,
      Jamal puts Travis back in the car and locks his door.

And Jamal sits down in the drivers seat,
 looks deep into Travis's eyes.
  Travis looks away.

And Jamal then says this:
 "Bud, look at yourself.
  You ain't grown up enough to be goin' to college.
   Nah, you just a child in a man's body.
    Because it takes a man to recognize that he ain't all that.
     It takes a man to look in himself and realize he got cancer
      that only going to the doctor can help'em get better."

Jamal points at the Alcoholics Anonymous sign:
 "Inside those doors are people who are goin' to teach you how to be a man.
  Now, you can continue bein' a scared kid,
   goin' off to Disney Land on your whisky and beer,
    or ya can learn to grow up.
     Because if ya walk away now,
      you are goin' to die,
       and there ain't no way I'm planning your funeral!"

Travis stops cold.
 And after a few minutes,
  tears well up in his eyes.
   And he looks at Jamal silently,
    and just breaks down.

And Jamal, seeing his friend,
 gently but firmly says,
  "Let's go.
   The people in those doors have seen plenty a'men cryin',
    I guarantee that."
_______________________

Have you ever had,
 or do you have,
  that one friend in your life that cares enough about you
   to be brutally honest with you?

Do you have that friend that will tell it to you straight,
  no filter, no quarter,
   and they will call you out immediately when you aren't being honest with yourself
    because, in the end, they want the best for you.

This is often called "tough love,"
 but in reality,
  "tough love" is just "love."
   Brutal, honest love
    that cannot stand for someone to remain bound, enslaved, and hateful of themselves.

And thank God,
 because we have people in the Holy Scriptures who show us what this brutal love looks like.
  And one of those people is John the Baptist.

II.

We cringe at John's words this morning, right?

John cries out against the scribes and Pharisees,
 "You brood of vipers!
  Who warned you of the wrath that is coming?"

And John keeps going, right?
 Just as someone who is caught in an addiction,
  and claims with a half-baked "oh, I'll get better tomorrow" response,
   John ain't havin' it.

"No no, don't say that you have Abraham as your father,
 as if that gives you a free pass.
  Because there is someone coming soon that is about to set you straight.
   Don't be like the trees that bear no fruit and are thrown into the fire!
    Because I baptize you with water,
     but you are about to be baptized by One much greater than me,
      and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!
       Straighten up and prepare yourselves!"
       [Matthew 3:1-12 paraphrase]

John the Baptist is not just yelling death and destruction at people as if they are already condemned.
 John is trying to break people out of their addiction.

John is bringing the fire BECAUSE he has seen the salvation of God
 and he KNOWS that his audience was created for so much more than they imagined!

John doesn't proclaim damnation, as if there was not hope.
 No!
  John proclaims repentance, because there is salvation that is near at hand!

And for the Scribes and Pharisees,
 drunk off of their place in society and the power that comes with it,
  John all the more lays into because they are supposed to be the bearer of the promises
   of the coming Messiah of God!

They of ALL people should know that there is Someone coming and is now here
 that will utterly change the world.

And John ain't going to let people remain in their sinful states.
 Rather, because there is redemption coming,
  because there is salvation near at hand,
   this is why John gives us a good dose of tough love!

III.

John the Baptist is our Jamal today.

John and Jamal ain't gonna let you remain in your self-destructive behaviors.

They are going to drag you kicking and screaming to that Alcoholics Anonymous meeting,
 because they desperately want you to see that with God's help,
  repentance and amendment of life is possible!

Repentance for sin is about crying out for help to God who is more ready to save
 than we are to ask.

And as fellow addicts to sin,
 yes, you and me,
  we cannot break out of our addiction without God's help
   and without other people who hold us in front of the mirror
    and ask us to see how much we need God's help.

Where today, friends,
 do we refuse to seek help for our addictions?

Are you addicted to your status,
 your need to look good to others and your need to put down those whom we see as "lesser?"
  Do you need to be set free from that pride today?

Are you addicted to your stuff,
 your need to have the best and brightest gadget,
  while people go hungry without food or adequate clothing this winter season?

Friends in Jesus,
 pray fervently for the Holy Spirit to amend your lives today.
  And with all your might,
   repent from your addictions,
    and cry out to God for help,
     because Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it,
      but rather that all of us may have life through Him.
      [John 3:17].

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.