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God’s Shame

12/12/2010 By

Well Christmas is on its way, but it is not here yet. Today is the third Sunday in Advent.  Advent (from the Latin word meaning “coming”) is a season observed in many Western Christian churches.  The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. This double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power.

Luke 2:1-7 (The Message)

The Birth of Jesus

1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

Copyright © 2002

Claire said a couple of weeks ago as we started our advent journey these words:

The culture we live in makes us think that we are not good enough, safe enough, certain enough, perfect enough, extraordinary enough.  The culture we live in tells us that an ordinary life is the same as a meaningless life.

‘We fear that if people really knew us and the messy lives we have then actually we wouldn’t be in their group.  Peer pressure!  It’s out there at school, at work, at home, here in the Bridge.  How many of you have ever said “I’m too much of a mess to go tonight, my life is too upside down, people might see me not coping, not looking bright and cheery, or needing their love and care instead of being able to offer it to them?’

How many of us would say we have sinned?

How many of us would say we are ashamed or know what shame is?

There are some who say it is shameful that God created the world the way it is,

There are some who say that it is shameful that there is so much suffering.

There are some who say that it is shameful that God has just left us to get on with it and do the best we can.

There are some who say the shame is God’s.

And what does God answer?

He refuses to get defensive.

He does not come out with clever arguments or theological statements.

He doesn’t leave us just to get on with it. He shows us.  You see in the story we read about tonight, that we celebrate at Christmas then we see the shame of God lived out.

It was at New Wine in August when I reflected what we might do for Advent this year. The entry in my notebook is 2 Aug amongst the scribbles and notes I made.  As I was preparing for tonight about 2 weeks I thought it would be really good to hear someone tell a story about how they had dealt with shame.  Helen said a week ago she needed to come and see me, she is going to come and join me now and tell us some of the story she told me.

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Antidote to Looking at the Joneses – Zechariah and the Father’s Blessing of his Son

05/12/2010 By

Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John

57-58When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

59-60On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”

61-62″But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

63-64 Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

65-66A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”

67-79Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he came and set his people free.

He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,

and in the very house of David his servant,

Just as he promised long ago

through the preaching of his holy prophets:

Deliverance from our enemies

and every hateful hand;

Mercy to our fathers,

as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,

What he swore to our father Abraham—

a clean rescue from the enemy camp,

So we can worship him without a care in the world,

made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”

will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,

Present the offer of salvation to his people,

the forgiveness of their sins.

Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,

God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,

Shining on those in the darkness,

those sitting in the shadow of death,

Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,

down the path of peace.

80The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,  - Roles of traditions/societal pressure – ‘THEY WERE GOING TO NAME HIM’ ….AFTER HIS FATHER ZECHARIAH

60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

- But his Mother intervenes

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

THEY SAID to her – this is a break with tradition/custom because there is NO ONE AMONG YOUR RELATIVES WHO HAS THAT NAME (i.e. something is wrong if we break the customs)

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.

This leads them to consult with the Father (obviously the Mother wants to do something unusual, well let’s ask the Dad….maybe THEY think he will speak some sense and call HIS BOY after himself or another male relative from within the family)

63 He asked for a writing tablet, – Zechariah rises to the challenge – he is not apathetic, doesn’t just allow the Mother Elizabeth to choose alone or the group to make the choice, but he has to ask for a tablet because he can’t speak at this point because he has been struck dumb by the angel because he didn’t believe the angel’s message from God

and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” – The Father and the Mother are working TOGETHER both of them following God and not just tradition to initiate something NEW. Everyone was astonished – because after all the difficulty John and Elizabeth had had in trying to conceive finally when Zechariah gets a SON…he chooses to call him  A NEW NAME and NOT FOLLOW THE PAST + PRESENT TRADITIONS/SOCIAL CUSTOMS and thus IMPRINT ON HIS SON THE  BIOLOGICAL FATHER’S OLD NAME IDENTITY. Zechariah and Elizabeth are doing a new thing here.

64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free,  - as soon as Zechariah finishes obeying God his physical disability is taken away – his mouth is opened and his tongue set free

and he began to speak, praising God.  His first words are praising God – an indication that our physical organs are not designed to express fear or doubt of God, but are intended to utter sincere and genuine joy and praise of God

65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

The result among the relatives and wider community is AWE and WONDER as they recognise that this birth narrative is something NEW, something unusual, a break with custom and they therefore ask questions about the child’s DESTINY or vocation. THEY SAY:

“What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Why do they ask this….because the Lord’s hand was with him ….i.e. God’s Spirit …the Holy Spirit was with this baby boy from birth.

So the author of this book the Gentile doctor Luke begins his account of the birth of the Messiah Jesus by recounting the birth of another special boy – called John.

We can summarise this narrative with the following steps:

Custom/tradition/society/relatives were going to name the boy after his biological father (effectively saying everything is going to go ahead in a very orderly manner as things have always happened. He will be his Father’s son.

The Mother steps in and intervenes and says he is going to be called something different – i.e. this boy is not going to be defined by custom or tradition or society, but by a new  name given by God

The relatives/community OBJECT i.e. they resist the Mother’s choice. They resist the new thing being done by God. They say effectively – that’s not right custom/society SAYS a child should be named after someone from the biological family, especially the biological parents. THEY SAY the child’s identity and therefore life and destiny is to be defined by his relationship to tradition/custom/biology.

They are still resisting the new thing God is trying to do through his servant Elizabeth. They are still seeking to follow the past and the custom of the society…But perhaps they are starting to wobble so they go to the Father Zechariah. The father representing in the Middle East and in Israelite culture the principle authority in the family because it is a patriarchal culture. Surely he will speak sense and want the boy named after him.

Zechariah unable to speak…struck dumb by God’s Angel…has perhaps had time to reflect on the kind of words that come out from his mouth…he has had chance to pause and consider before he makes a statement…especially a statement that expresses doubt and disbelief in the face of a miracle… He there WRITES: “His name is John.” No argument. No discussion. His name…IS…JOHN!

THEY are astonished!

Then as a result of obedience of putting into practice the new thing God has asked both Elizabeth and Zechariah to do and not following society, not resisting God…a physical miracle is released…Zechariah can suddenly speak again. His mouth is opened, his tongue is loosed and he is free to speak…Of course now he speaks different kinds of words to before…now he speaks Praise!

GOD’s Servants: Elizabeth + Zechariah

THEY: Relatives, Neighbours, Community, Customs and Traditions of society

God doing something NEW vs  Custom

57 Elizabeth gives birth to a boy New!

58 THEY rejoice and celebrate with her New/Custom

59 THEY want to call him after his biological Father – Zechariah Custom

60 Elizabeth intervenes – initiates something NEW – obeys God’s new word to her New

61 THEY RESIST – there is no one in your family with that name. Therefore it is not the right choice Custom

62 THEY CONTINUE TO RESIST, but possibly waiver a little THEY go to the Father Custom

63 Zechariah writes His name is John. He goes against the they…he rejects tradition and custom. He refuses to print his own identity on the new baby boy and he agrees with his wife and follows through on God’s new thing. THEY are ASTONISHED New

64 Zechariah’s mouth is opened. His tongue is loosed. He can speak. He praises God. New

65-66 THEY are filled with awe, and  talk about it across wider community. Everyone WONDERED and ASKED about it, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. New

67-80 Zechariah speaks more NEW WORDS over his son. He does not sulk because he is not going to be like him. He delights in the new work that God has shown him his son will carry out. He moves out of everyday custom and tunes into a deeper story in the people of God’s history. He perceives that his son is not going to be a servant of the status quo, but a harbinger of a new dawn of God’s love and power in time and history. He  PROPHESISES this – HE SPEAKS IT OUT.

+ He BLESSES HIS SON – even when he is only days old the Father identifies qualities and characteristics in his new born child that are going to make him stand out from the crowd and he affirms them. New!!!

But the story doesn’t stop there!

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn[c] of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

71 salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

72 to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

79 to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[d]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

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“Oh what a shame!”

28/11/2010 By

Bible reading – Matt 1 18-21

The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.)  Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant.  She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph felt ashamed, he was trying to work out how make things right.  He was probably also not quite sure whether to believe Mary. Was she telling him the truth?

Perhaps today we lose some of that shock and embarrassment.  I mean people don’t get married any more to have sex, children are conceived without people being married, families are often made up of people who do not share the same father or mother for a variety of reasons.

So what would Joseph have felt so ashamed about?  To understand this we need to get inside the culture of the first century world.  Joseph lived in a shame/honour culture which is difficult for us to get our heads round as we tend to live in a guilt/innocence culture.  Those living in Asiatic, Latin American, Mediterranean or Islamic countries have considerable advantage in their reading of the New Testament in this regard, since many of those cultures place a prominent emphasis on honor and shame.

So what would that have looked for Joseph?  If taken in strong doses the honor-shame code can seem suffocatingly oppressive.  If you think about the honor-culture of rape and suicide in India and Pakistan:  ”The use of rape in tribal disputes has become, one might say, normal. And the belief that a raped woman’s best recourse is to kill herself remains widespread and deeply ingrained.”

How can this be condoned, especially when the woman is not at fault? Our objections, however, appeal to innocence, and the honor-shame code often has little to do with innocence or “who is at fault”. Women in this context are irrevocably shamed, regardless of their innocence, because of the nature of female honor. Unlike male honor, which is macho and won in verbal or physical contests, and which can be restored after loss in a later conflict — female honor is fundamentally sexual.  If a woman fails to protect her honor, for example by engaging in extramarital intercourse or by displaying “looseness” by providing males outside her family with her company or her words, she actually brings shame upon her husband or father.  It’s absolute: once lost, it’s forever gone.

Honor signifies respect for being the kind of person and doing the kinds of things the group values.  Shame signifies being seen as less than valuable because you have behaved in ways that run contrary to the values of the group.  Shame and honour cultures have a very strong sense of belonging and acceptance but at a high price.

We live at some distance from the honor culture of the first-century Greco-Roman world. In our culture the bottom line for decision-making is not always identifying the honorable thing to do. In the corporate world, for example, the “profitable” frequently acts as the central value. Considerations of right and wrong are also prominent, but this is no longer based on the moral code of society.  Its our own individual code.

Typically we do not talk about honor and shame much, but we do wrestle with “worth,” with “self-esteem,” with the push and pull of “what other people will think.”  Our culture is now much more based on individualism as a result  we are less likely to communicate openly with each other, especially those beyond our circle of acquaintances, friends and kin.  We are less likely to openly challenge others or to openly censure them where they go against the values we consider to be central to our group or to the society.  How many of you would ask a fellow traveller on the train or the bus to turn down the music on their ipod?

We can, however, get under the skin of the cultural environment of the first-century world when we think about peer pressure.  We are aware, for example, of the effects of peer pressure, particularly on teenagers. Those who do not conform are ostracized, insulted and often the targets of physical violence (or at least the threat of violence). All of this is unofficial from the standpoint of the authority figures, but it is nevertheless a potent force in the lives of teenagers today.  And maybe so for adults too.

Belonging to one group or other — conforming to its culture and finding affirmation there — often means conflict with another group. The “Geeks” vs “football crowd”. There is also the artsy crowd, the social crowd, the rebel crowd, the drug crowd and so forth.

Within each group, peer pressure forces each individual to conform and difference is punished.  Those who are deeply influenced by this pressure may change their whole image to secure approval rather than ridicule.

This gives us an insight into the honor/shame culture but the rules for belonging in the first century were related to a strong moral and ethical code, not just wearing the right clothes.  We need to think about our memories or experiences of peer pressure to understand the bible reading we have tonight.

So this is where Joseph is at.  He’s ashamed and dishonored.  He’s looking for a way out!  How often do we feel that way?  Are there things that you feel ashamed or dishonored about?  Maybe things from this week, maybe things in the past.  Joseph was ashamed that his fiancée was not a virgin, her honor had been taken away and that reflected on him.  He was in turmoil because he knew he had to take action.  If he disassociated himself from Mary to protect his honor then Mary would become an outcast and her family would disown her in order to protect themselves as well.  But Joseph was also a noble man, he wanted to do right by Mary.

This is shame.  And it lives alongside fear.  Fear of what others might say or do.  And so as Joseph wrestles with what to do, God steps in to offer him advice.  God confirms the truth of Mary’s story in by doing so he offers Joseph the chance to step beyond that fear and the shame.  We often recognize that Mary was amazing girl (and she was a girl, only in her early teens) and that she was faithful to God but here we see Joseph also stepping out and taking a risk.  Just because God had told him the truth – what if the rest of their community ostracized him as well as Mary?

Whilst the concept of honour/shame has reduced considerably within our culture, we still want to know that we are valuable, worthwhile people, and we want to give the impression of being such.  As a result we often live with shame and with fear.  The culture we live in makes us think that we are not good enough, safe enough, certain enough, perfect enough, extraordinary enough.  The culture we live in tells us that an ordinary life is the same as a meaningless life.

We probably carry a lot of shame around in our lives.  Do you feel that you haven’t lived up to expectations?  That you’ve missed out on the best bits of life?  When you look at others do you see people who are “together”, “sorted”?  Do you keep on wearing the mask so that no one will know that you are not as sorted as they are?

We fear that if people really knew us and the messy lives we have then actually we wouldn’t be in their group.  Peer pressure!  It’s out there at school, at work, at home, here in the Bridge.  How many of you have ever said “I’m too much of a mess to go tonight, my life is too upside down, people might see me not coping, not looking bright and cheery, or needing their love and care instead of being able to offer it to them?

This shame keeps us from being real and honest with each other.  And its connection with each other that gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  Connection, the ability to belong is how we’re wired, how we’re made.  In order for connection to take place we have to be seen and known.

Well amazingly God has a solution!

Summing up – shame not sin!

Our performance song is about the freedom from shame and fear that can often enslave us.  Just like it enslaved Joseph until God stepped in

Oh my Lord… You sent your son to save us

Oh my Lord… Your very self you gave us

Oh my Lord… That sin may not enslave us and love may reign once more

The bible reading concluded with

‘She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.”

Tonight for sin read shame.  In Jesus we are saved from the shame which keeps us apart from each other and from God.  Jesus being born as a baby tells us how worthy we are to him.  He values our very birth, our lives and all the potential that we have.

If we can trust that we are worthy because Jesus loves us then our ordinary lives will give us great joy and contentment.  If we can allow God to help us hold onto the worthiness that he sees in us then our relationships with others will be transformed.

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Advent

25/11/2010 By

Advent is a season observed in many churches, the Bridge is one of them. It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus

There are a great array of resources for use during the season. Sometimes people read a chapter of a book, or follow a set of words or  give something up or live in a beach hut!

The Mustard Seed Associates do a great page with some excellent resources. Go and have a look

Christine Sine has a great series of Advent meditations

You could follow the Natwivity on Facebook or on Twitter or even on your mobile.

Have a look around and see how you might Advent

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