Bearing the Shame

Something shifted in our society during my lifetime.  I don’t know exactly how it happened.  I don’t know when the shift started, but I know it was as if a switch suddenly was thrown and many things that were once not considered acceptable became acceptable.  Things that were once taboo were now mainstream.  This shift has left many scratching their heads in bewilderment.

I remember my senior year in high school.  I lived in a small community surrounded by farms and ranches.  The only time it looked like it had snowed was during cotton harvesting season when the sides of the road were littered with errant strands of cotton that had escaped their modules while being transported to the gin; or those that had escaped the metal fingers on the cotton strippers.  Wide open spaces dominated along with the boredom that accompanies a rural, agricultural society.  The fact that kids snuck out and away from parents to engage in underage drinking was nothing new.  Neither was it new that kids would have romantic rendezvous.  These things have always been taking place as far as I can tell.  But, having four, five, or even six high school girls under the age of 18 walking around school pregnant–now that was unheard of.

And they literally had no shame.

None what-so-ever.

They wore their pregnancy as a badge of sorts, and if anyone raised any sort of moral objection, they were met with fierce attack.  “You can’t judge me!” they would scream.  Teen pregnancy had somehow become acceptable.

Perhaps the changes that began in the 1960's finally began reach a tipping point around this time.  For I remember the “Jerry Springer Show.”  How many of you are actually going to admit that you remember that show as well?  Remember how Jerry captivated his audiences by bringing in the most outrageous things that he could?  Remember how there would be questions during the show that said something like, “Did your uncle sleep with your girlfriend and your sister at the same time?  We want to have you on our show.”  Suddenly, aberrations like this went mainstream.  The non-acceptable was made acceptable because of the lure of money and 15 minutes on national television.  And when people actually showed up on this show–and had their fights, they were defiant as all get out.  They had a “you can’t judge me attitude.”  They had absolutely no shame.  None.  Nada.  And millions of people saw this.  They saw such behavior rewarded.  And it hasn’t stopped.

Even the porn industry isn’t shoved underground into seedy theaters and specialized places.  If you have access to a computer and the internet, this stuff is literally a few clicks away.  Even Playboy magazine has stopped having nude women in it.  Why?  There is no need for such a magazine.  People flaunt their naked bodies on the internet with reckless abandon.  And you know what is scary?  Do you know what is even worse?  So do teens under the age of 18.  Of course, they don’t post such photos on the internet because of legalities, but millions of kids with cell phones are snapping naked pictures of themselves and sending them to friends without any shame at all.  They don’t care.  And, for the most part, society turns a blind eye.  Society shouts from the roof tops, “Express yourself, and don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.  You have nothing to be ashamed of!!!”

Contrast this with what is happening in our lessons from this evening.  Each of these lessons, as different as they are, set forth a very real reality for both Mary and Joseph.  Both of these lessons, when seen in their societal context shout loudly and clearly that sometimes, when you follow the will of God, you will face shame and ridicule.

Luke shows us that following in the footsteps of God’s plan is no guarantee for the removal of shame.  In fact, in the case of Mary and Joseph, the acceptance of God’s will for their lives means a lifetime of shame heaped upon them by the rest of society.  How so? Let’s look at these two texts before us.  Don’t worry, I am not going to go through them with a great deal of detail because that would take far too long, but I am going to look at them to point out the common thread running through them.

First, please take note of the Lucan text where the angel Gabriel visits Mary.  Gabriel approaches Mary and says, “Greetings favored one!”  Technically, the word favored one should be translated a little differently.  It should be translated “graced” one.  This is why Roman Catholics say in the Rosary, “Hail Mary, full of grace!”  This mirrors exactly what Gabriel says to Mary here, and it is important.  The word carries the connotation of having received a special favor from a benefactor.  In this instance, that benefactor is God, the Lord, as Gabriel says.

Mary is in awe of these words. She is a peasant girl, probably in her teens.  She carries no special significance.  She has no special standing in the community.  She is not well known.  Yet, the angel says she has found special favor with the Lord.  Is it any wonder she is much perplexed and tries to think this through?  How in the world has she found favor with the Most High God?

Gabriel then lays it all out: ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’  This is a highly significant statement and it deserves much explanation; however, we do not have time for a thorough break down tonight.  Let the words stand as they are said, plainly.

Mary responds again with a question, “How can this be since I am a virgin?”  Unlike her cousin Zechariah, this is not a question of doubt.  Zechariah said, “How will I know...?  Mary asked, “How can this be...?” the nature of the question is very different.  Mary is not doubting.  She wants to understand.

Gabriel continues, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Now, before we get to Mary’s final words, let me talk about the implications here.  Let me remind you that Mary was betrothed.  She was promised to be married, but she was not married yet.  If indeed she were to become pregnant, everyone around would think some very unholy thoughts about her.  Contrary to some who say that in this time people didn’t have all the understanding of how babies are conceived; folks knew exactly how it happened.  They didn’t understand about X and Y chromosomes, but they knew that sexual intercourse produced babies.  And they knew if you got pregnant outside of wedlock, you were engaging in something you weren’t supposed to be doing.  Unlike what happened during my final years of high school, shame was not only given, but it was felt: deeply and hurtfully.  The angel Gabriel has announced something great and wonderful, but it came with a cost: deep and utter shame.

And Mary says, “Let it be with me according to your word.”  She accepts this burden of shame.

Similarly, Joseph accepts the burden as well.  Whereas Luke tells us the story through Mary’s eyes.  Matthew tells us the story through Joseph’s eyes.  Joseph is also visited by an angel in his dreams.  But before that dream, Joseph knew that his betrothed had become pregnant.  He didn’t know the child was of the Holy Spirit because of what he had intended to do.  Joseph, being a righteous man, but also a compassionate man, was going to dismiss Mary and save her from shame.  He could have had her stoned–God’s Law afforded him that right.  But he didn’t want to have her killed.  He would send her away privately, and very few would be any the wiser.

However, the angel appeared to Joseph and rendered his plans worthless.    ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

Again, this saying deserves much consideration, but again, because of time this morning, we will allow it to stand as plain as possible.  Therefore, let us also consider the consequences for Joseph if he were to follow this advice: Joseph too would have been put to shame.  For he would be marrying a woman who was unclean; unfaithful; a sinner.  Folks would whisper behind his back, “Does he know what kind of woman he is marrying?  Doesn’t he understand that she is sinful?  Doesn’t he know that God frowns upon such things?”  The gossip would fly through the village, and people would have long, long memories.  Shame would be a daily part of Joseph’s life.

And he accepts it.  He accepts the will of God even though it will cost him dearly.

Mary and Joseph will pay the price for doing God’s will.  They will be looked down upon. They will be whispered about.  They will lose honor and status in their community.  They will be shamed.  Society will reject them, and this is but a foretaste of what will happen to their Son.

For in Jesus we will see utter shame and rejection at its worst.  In Jesus, we will see a man–a man who is also God–rejected by the crowds.  He will be accused of blasphemy.  He will be accused of being a false Messiah.  He will be beaten, mocked, spat upon, and hung naked on a cross.  The public shame and rejection by man is intended to discredit Him and prove Him a phony–a liar.  But even this is small potatoes compared to the ultimate rejection Jesus faces on the cross.

For you see, not only is Jesus rejected by man, He is also rejected by God.  You may scratch your head in wonder at that statement, but let me assure you, it is true.  Because Jesus became the punishment for all sin.  Jesus became the sacrifice of atonement to pay for all sin ever committed.  Jesus bore the weight of that sin upon Himself even though He did not have to.  He lived the perfect life and did not deserve what He received.  So why did He receive it?  Why did He have to die?  Why did He cry out in forsakenness from the cross?

He did it because He could not bear the thought of losing us.  He did it because He couldn’t bear the thought of His creation spending eternity apart from its creator.  He did it to change our hearts away from our selfish; self-centered living and capture them with the love of God who is willing to die for us.  He did it because He loves us.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  Jesus endured shame and rejection to bring you close to God.

And isn’t it funny that in our culture today; if you stand up for the values of the sanctity of marriage, for sexual relations to be saved for marriage, for loving people who are vastly different than yourself, for daring to proclaim the exclusivity of Jesus, for daring to believe in Absolute Truth and that this Truth has been revealed in Jesus, then you are the one who is shamed?  It is small wonder though.  Just as following God’s will brought Mary shame, and Joseph shame, and Jesus ultimate shame; we should not be surprised if we are shamed as well.  May we have the courage to be shamed.  Amen.

An Unexpected Visit

    How many of you here this morning have ever had an unexpected visitor?  Most of us probably have at some point and time in our lives.  Second question: how do you normally react to an unexpected visit?  This often depends upon the circumstance and who the visitor is.  I mean, I remember when the bishop of our synod, Michael Rinehart unexpectedly popped in to see me a couple of years ago.  I had no idea he was in the area.  I had no hint of his arrival.  There was just a knock on my door, and there stood my bishop!

    Of course, I welcomed him in, and he stayed for a short visit before heading on to accomplish more of his busy schedule.  I can say that I enjoyed his visit and that he got a chance to meet my wife and kids.  Even though he and I do not see eye to eye on many things, it was still thoughtful and kind of him to drop in and talk about things other than churchy stuff.  When he left, I was glad that he stopped by.  Despite the fact that he saw my living room with toys scattered all over it and a month’s worth of dust coating several picture frames and what not, I was still glad he took the time to drop by.  The circumstances were fine, and the person was welcome.

    Of course things could be much different.  I mean, I also remember when my wife and I were living in Seguin.  We had invited some folks over to the house for a get together.  We were sitting on our back patio enjoying our visitation.  Then, our two female dogs decided to have an altercation.  It wasn’t a pleasant sight, and I had to rush in to break things up before they literally killed each other.  As I am trying to separate these dogs, some sales folks were hitting up the neighborhood.  I am there with my dogs growling at each other–holding them down while having house guests, and this lady starts trying to sell me stuff while talking to me through the backyard fence.  She was completely oblivious to the circumstances and kept trying to go on and on.  “I’m not interested,” I managed to get out.  She left.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience.  Crazy circumstances.  Complete stranger.  Not a good unexpected visit.

    Many times, it is such circumstances that govern those unexpected visits.  They color how we view them and experience them.  The circumstances can make those visits very pleasant and fulfilling, and they can also make those visits miserable.  With such matters in your head now, I would like you to join me in looking at our gospel text this morning from the first chapter of the book of Luke.  This snippet from scripture is often called “The Annunciation.”  It is the time when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced that she would bear Jesus.

    As we read through this, I’m going to read it just a little differently than what you have in your bulletin this morning.  There is a reason for this–especially as I work to point out the circumstances surrounding the angel Gabriel’s appearance.

     In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, ‘Grace is upon you, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

    You will notice I changed the greeting of Gabriel from “Greetings favored one” to “Grace is upon you, favored one.”  This is closer to the original Greek text, and it’s important.  It explains why Mary is perplexed by this greeting.

    The Greek word for grace carries a very important connotation, especially during this time period.  It designated a ruler’s special favor toward someone.  Think about that: grace designated a ruler’s special favor toward one of his subjects.  So, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, a 12-14 year old girl who is betrothed to a man named Joseph; Mary, who has little or no power or prestige; who doesn’t have any political connections to anyone; who is almost as insignificant as they come in those days.  Gabriel comes to her and basically says, “The Ruler’s special favor is upon you.  The Lord is with you!” 

    Can you see why Mary is perplexed?  Can you see why she might have difficulty with this greeting and tries her best to understand?  There is nothing she has done to deserve such a greeting.  She has no connections with the powerful to deserve such a greeting.  She is nothing special in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of the community.  She’s just a very young woman in an out of the way town.  And yet, on this unexpected visit, she is told, “Grace, the favor of the Ruler is upon you!  The Lord is with you!”

    Gabriel then further explains; follow along and listen for the change, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

    “You have found grace with God.”  God’s gracious disposition has turned toward’s Mary, and God wants to use her for a grand purpose.  God wants to use Mary as part of God’s plan to reconcile the world unto Himself.  God will send Mary a son who will be named Jesus–and frankly, Jesus is going to be awesome.

    I mean think about this in such terms–pretend you are engaged to be married.  You are waiting expectantly for your wedding day, and then a complete stranger comes up to you and says, “God has given me a vision, and in the very near future, you will conceive and bear a child.  That child will be the President of the United States.  He will be so great, they will change the constitution to allow him to preside and lead for as long as he possibly can.  His name will be known throughout history and for generations to come.”

    You’d probably think the guy telling this to you was crazy.  You’d probably think there is no way this could happen.  You would probably doubt to the nth degree the possibilities of this fortune. 

    Even Mary was perplexed about this.  “How in the world can this be?” she said.  “I am a virgin–a young girl, from lowly status, who is not rich, who does not have any connections, who will be looked down upon if I become pregnant before I am officially married, who will suffer all sorts of scorn, who will be an embarrassment to my husband.  How can this be?”

    And Gabriel replies, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”

    We oftentimes read this and hear the thing about the Holy Spirit.  We also hear that Jesus will be the Son of God, but we usually skip over that statement, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”  God’s power will surround you–engulf you.  Think about those words for a moment.  Think about what it would be like to have God’s power coming over you as you walk through life on a daily basis.  Do you think you would fear?  Do you think you would panic?  Do you think you would worry and stress?  Most likely not.  You would know you are in very good hands.  You would know that no matter what happens, God would be with you.

    Is it any wonder Mary finally says, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord.  Let it be with me according to your purpose.”?   Gabriel has come to her and told her that God’s grace is with her.  She has undeservedly found favor with God, and He is smiling down upon her.  He wants to use her to fulfill His promise to the world, and He will overshadow her and engulf her throughout this whole process.  It’s a fantastic promise!  Brought about by this unexpected visit.  A visit that points to Jesus–the God who came to earth in an unexpected way, and once again, the circumstances were of the utmost importance.

    For you see, the Messiah wasn’t completely unexpected.  People were waiting for a Messiah who would come and restore the kingdom of Israel.  They were waiting for Him to drive off all of their enemies and make them powerful once again.  They were waiting for a Messiah who would bring peace and justice to the world through military means.  And many believed that their faithfulness would bring this about.  If they were just holy enough; if they were just faithful enough; if they just followed God’s commands enough, then they would find favor with God; then God would be pleased enough to come down.

    But the circumstances ended up being quite different.  God made His visit much more unexpectedly.  Not as a king on a throne.  Not as a great military leader.  But as a baby born in a stable.  As a carpenter who had calloused hands.  As an itinerant preacher who proclaimed the Kingdom of God; who healed the sick; who fed the hungry; who made the blind to see.  As a man wholly and totally devoted to the will of His Father in Heaven; a Father who longed to be reconciled to the world and His children; a reconciliation that could not be brought about through conquering armies and temple sacrifices and doing enough good things.  A reconciliation that we could not accomplish on our part by our own works.  A reconciliation that could only be brought about by a cross.

    And this too was unexpected.  This too was a complete and utter departure from everything the world had known or has ever known.  Every other religion demands its followers to earn their own salvation.  Every other philosophy believes the answer to that which plagues humankind is work harder.  Be better.  Do more good.  Achieve perfection or be as perfect as you can be.

    The unexpected news of Christianity is God became flesh and reconciled the world unto Himself while we were imperfect and broken.  Jesus loved us and died for us when we were unlovable.  We found grace–favor with our Ruler, our Creator, when we deserved it least. 

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.”

    God’s reconciliation project is about to begin.  We will celebrate the news of His unexpected visit in a few short days.  Let us prepare our hearts to receive the news. Amen.