The Need for Shame!

Shame - noun: The painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another.

Let’s talk about shame! Have we ever done something that caused us shame, that feeling that tells us what we did was wrong? We live in a world that diminishes the importance of shame. We hear people tell us, “you don’t need to be ashamed of this or that!”  Politicians who lie, cheat and steal smile for their mug shots when they get caught. Legislators legalize abortion and homosexuality calling it justice. It is often hard to tell the church apart from the world for some branches of the church often condone the practices of the world! But none of this saves the sinner from the wrath of God. Saying something is okay, does not make it right! God gave us shame as a natural warning to help us discern right and wrong and to lead us to repentance.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they felt shame and covered themselves up. (Gen. 3:7-8) Paul reminds the Church in Rome that once they lived sinning unaware of the carnal fruit they were producing but now, after their conversion, they are ashamed of the things they used to do! (Rom. 6:20-23) Without Christ bringing our hearts to life, we are spiritually dead. (John 3) We cannot feel shame. We cannot feel, period! Adam and Eve, the first human creations from the God’s hand, knew they had erred when their eyes were open. Their son, Cain, born from their flesh, was not ashamed of his murder of his brother until God’s word was spoken to him from God’s mouth. (Gen. 4:8-12) And so it is with man today. We need to hear God’s Word spoken today. The Law of God is perfect reviving the soul.  (Ps 19:7) We need to wake up. As Paul writes: But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light, Therefore it says, Awake, O sleeper and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Eph. 5:13-16)

Shame is God’s way of reminding us of our errors. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10) And God will cover our shame with the Blood of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:17-25)  A Christian has a past that has been left behind. Our future is led by the Holy Spirit as we are a new creation, a reborn child of God! (Rom. 8:1-11)

The Odor of a True Christian

 ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's victory parade. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. ¹⁵ Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.¹⁶ To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work?¹⁷ We do not sell the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth before God, as messengers of God. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17, New Century Version)

Mother's Day: A View from the Pulpit

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37ESV)
Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mark 10:29-31ESV)

This time last year I took a plane from upstate New York to fly south to visit my mother for Mother's Day. I did so knowing that in all likelihood, it would be Mom's last Mother's Day here on earth. She died three months later from cancer. I always looked forward to calling Mom on Mother's Day, buying her a gift and such. Dealing with Mother's Day as a Sunday celebration was not always as easy.

Mother's Day was the idea of Anna Jarvis, a Sunday school teacher in West Virginia. President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May a national day of recognition for Mothers. And since then, not only have greeting cards and florists benefited from this day, but churches often devote a worship service honoring our mothers. There may be Scripture readings appropriate for the occasion and prayers said. Coming from a liturgical tradition with a lectionary, usually I would preach on the readings appointed and then allow a child to read a poem or something and add a specific prayer during the intercessions. Occasionally, I have referred to a saint who exemplifies Christian character like St. Monica, the mother of Augustine of Hippo. Mother's day is not always easy for many people. It's hard for women who have had abortions. It's hard for adult children who suffered abuse from their mothers. It's hard for women who have difficulty concieving a child or have not found that special man to spend their life with in the sacrament of marriage. I was fortunate. My mother was a stay at home mom and was always there when I came home from school. She along with my father were responsible for me not missing a Sunday in church and making sure I was raised in the Christian faith. But for me and for those whose childhood and motherhood are less than idealic, there is a hope that the Gospel provides.

Jesus died for each and everyone us. When we are born again we are a new creation, the old has passed away. We cannot go back and undo the past. We can accept God's forgiveness because Jesus met God's judgment on the cross. When we make Mother's Day the soul focus of worship without the preaching of the Gospel, we become guilty of idolatry. God created mothers. Let us not worship creation. (Romans 1:24-25) There are no perfect mothers and there is no perfect childhood. Our attention must always be toward Jesus and His perfect love for us! The woman who cannot be the image of her ideal needs to turn away from that ideal and accept the woman God is creating. He is Lord and is sovereign over creation. The person who cannot forgive how he or she was treated needs to see themselves in the light of Christ's cross and why Jesus died for them reflecting on how they treat God the Father, the giver of their life. (Job 1:21) Knowing God's personal forgiveness makes it possible to forgive the unforgivable people in our lives! Everyone of us needs to put Jesus first and ourselves last. We should be thankful for the life we have as it is God who gives us breath and meets our needs, not our wants. We are commanded to honor our mothers and fathers. We are not called to worship them. No one is perfect. The only one who is good and perfect is our Father in Heaven. (Mark 10:18) So let us keep a proper perspective on Mother's Day by ackowledging our need for repentance and our need for a Savior!