Rev. David Holwick D
Congregational Church of Bristol
Bristol, Maine
August 13, 2023 Jeremiah 6:14-15;
Philippians 3:18-19
SHAMELESS
I. Politicians always take the lead.
A. The Liar of Long Island.
George Santos is the Republican congressman for the wealthiest
district in New York.
He got very little attention from the media until the election
was over, but then the floodgates opened.
You might say he "fudged" on his resume to win his election:
He claimed his grandparents survived the Holocaust.
- he is not Jewish, but Catholic.
He claimed his mother had died as a result of 9-11.
- she was in Brazil on the day of the attack.
He claimed to have made a fortune on Wall Street.
- he never worked there.
Santos lied about his high school, where he went to college,
about almost every job he ever had, and on and on.
He has also been accused of defrauding charities, disabled
veterans, and stealing $3,000 meant for a sick dog.
Several articles have tried to rank his lies in order
of severity, usually listing 13 or more.
The biggest issue in my mind - he has refused to take the
blame for any of this, or to resign from his seat.
He is utterly shameless. #66709
And he is not the first, of course.
The lack of shame among our leaders has been noted since the
1990s.
One commentator has even suggested that shamelessness is
a new Superpower.
B. The cornerstone of the issue may be "The Scarlet Letter."
How many of you had to read this in high school?
I don't think it is required reading anymore, so younger
people will have no idea what I am talking about.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote it in 1850 and it is set among
the New England Puritans in the early 1600s.
Hester Pryne is a young woman who is pregnant and she
won't name her lover.
Since she is married - though her husband has been missing
for some time - she is judged to be an adulteress.
Hester is forced to wear a deep red "A" on her clothes so
everyone will know.
Hester holds her head high and eventually gains the respect
of her community because of her good deeds.
In the end, her lover is revealed to be the preacher,
Rev. Dimmsdale.
He finally confesses and dies from his suppressed guilt.
II. What exactly is shame?
A. It is closely associated with guilt, but different.
1) Guilt is feeling bad for something we have done, whether
anyone else realizes we have sinned or not.
2) Shame is our concern for how others will perceive our
sin. We don't want people to look down on us.
B. Shame is powerful.
1) Japanese businessmen and politicians give public confessions
and sometimes commit suicide because of shame.
2) In Islamic culture, shame can lead families to commit "honor
killings."
a) This week I read that in Africa, many Muslim women will
not report being raped because of the shame it could
bring on their family, much less they themselves.
3) Shame is changing in America.
a) Zillah Salmon sent me a photo of her in the pillory
at Williamsburg. Her son was acting like he was
going to throw tomatoes at her.
b) A few judges still use this technique.
Jennifer Dawn Langston, 27, of Cabot, Pennsylvania,
admitted she had been drinking and talking on her
phone when she crashed and killed Glen Clark and
left his wife in a permanent coma.
As a condition of her probation, the judge required her
to keep photos of the couple in her wallet.
But she balked at the photo the family gave her: it
shows the man lying dead in his coffin.
The man's mother said, "That's where she put him."
The judge agreed. #16743
The Brunswick, Maine, police department has used its
own version of shaming.
In 2018, after a spate of shoplifting, they posted
photos of arrested people on Facebook.
The Auburn police did the same thing.
Curiously, the Brunswick police chief said, "We're not
here to publicly shame people, but they need to
realize they can be arrested for this." [1]
c) Perhaps our most common modern example is to shame people
on the internet. Thousands will troll and attack
people who have violated their values.
C. Shame depends on your values.
1) "The Scarlet Letter" was Hawthorne's rebuke of Puritanical
culture.
Puritans still get a bad rap for it today.
It is interesting that by the time he wrote the book,
New England was no longer practicing public shaming.
2) Many Christians today feel that shame should be relegated
to the past.
A radical Lutheran pastor named Nadia Bolz-Weber recently
wrote a book called "Shameless: A Sexual Reformation."
In it she argues people should cast off the shame that
is foisted on them by churches for their sexual
dispositions and behaviors.
To this pastor, shamelessness is a badge of honor.
I guess Hester Pryne should have ripped off her scarlet
letter & published a best-selling tell-all memoir instead.
III. Shame in the Bible.
A. The Bible portrays shame in the very beginning.
1) In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are created perfect beings,
they disobey God, and their "eyes were opened."
2) Immediately they saw their nakedness as a negative and
sewed fig leaves to hide behind.
a) Perhaps they thought God wouldn't see their nakedness.
b) But they apparently realized this wouldn't work, so
when God called out to them they hid, fig leaves
and all. #28370
B. The prophets challenged God's people to feel shame.
1) The prophet Jeremiah might have had our current debate in
mind when he wrote in 6:14-15 :
"They [the religious leaders] dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace.
"Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush."
2) Theologian Richard John Neuhaus thinks shame faded away in
America in the 1950s when leaders like Norman Vincent
Peale preached you could have all the positive without
the negative.
Neuhaus argued, "we SHOULD dislike much about ourselves,
because there is much about ourselves that is not only
profoundly dislikable but odious.
It's not for nothing that the Ten Commandments are put in
the negative." #2974
3) In Philippians 3:18-19, the Apostle Paul says some strong
things about the enemies of the cross of Christ (bear in
mind that these were former church members).
He says they are so bad they brag about their shamefulness.
IV. Shame has its place.
A. Society should have expectations on behavior.
1) Those who do bad, should feel bad. Otherwise everyone will
end up hurting.
2) Every community needs a moral foundation that we share in
common.
3) Our goal should be to form a caring and consistent community,
and individuals should assess themselves by that standard.
B. We should also recognize the possible destructiveness of shame.
1) The modern version of shaming, such as internet trolling,
can be devastating to people.
a) Some have seen their careers destroyed, others have
received death threats.
b) And often it is for something that is not even true.
2) It is always easier to judge others than to judge ourselves.
a) Christians have often been noted for this.
b) Nathaniel Hawthorne was not far off the mark when he
had the main hypocrite of his story be the preacher.
Headline two weeks ago:
"Former pastor charged with killing 8-year-old girl who
was walking to Bible camp nearly 50 years ago."
1> Never forget that every one of us is a sinner.
2> What is good for the goose must be good for the
gander.
3) We should aim for shame that heals, not shame that destroys.
V. Jesus knew all about shame.
A. His crucifixion was grounded in shame.
1) He went to the cross naked, spit upon, and abused.
2) All his friends deserted him.
3) The nation's religious leaders called him a liar.
4) He was mocked and despised.
5) Yet he experienced it willingly.
Hebrews 12:2 says:
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
B. His shame can lead to our glory.
1) On the cross, he took the shame we deserve and he killed it.
2) Our sins have been erased by his blood.
3) We can be forgiven and cleaned.
C. As Christians we should show the world how to handle shame.
1) Christians should be known for expressing shame for our
own bad behavior, rather than always being the first
to put shame on others.
2) And shame is not God's last word for us - forgiveness is.
Romans 10:11 says, "Everyone who believes in him [Christ]
will not be put to shame." #66707
VI. There is one shame you should never have.
A. Don't be ashamed at identifying with Jesus.
1) If we are ashamed of him, he will be ashamed of us. Mk 8:38
2) Society is not keen on Christianity right now, but hold to
your beliefs and values.
B. Shame will become a growing pressure for Christians.
1) The gap between our values and theirs will grow ever wider.
a) We will be shamed for holding to beliefs that the Bible
tells us to have, but the world rejects.
b) Will you be willing to face the heat?
2) The decisive question must be, who has the truth?
3) Since I was 17, I have voted for Jesus.
a) His example inspires me.
b) The Bible he believed in describes my weaknesses and
failings.
c) It also offers me hope of redemption - in the next life,
but also in this one.
C. Live unashamed!
An American missionary said that she found this poem in the home
of a martyred African believer almost 100 years ago:
I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
I have the Holy Spirit Power.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed,
my present makes sense,
and my future is secure.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions,
plaudits, or popularity.
I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven,
my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away,
turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up
until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up,
and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He returns,
give until I drop,
preach until all know,
and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem
recognizing me.
My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel,
because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes." (Romans 1:16)
#24111
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] "Shaming Or Prevention? Brunswick Police Post Mug Shots of
Shoplifting Suspects On Facebook," by Hannah LaClaire, Times Record,
December 19, 2018; <https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12/19/shaming-Or-Prevention-Brunswick-Police-Post-Mug-Shots-On-Facebook/>.
# 2974 "The Return of Shame," by Jonathan Alter and Pat Wingert,
Newsweek magazine, page 21, February 6, 1995.
#16743 "That's Where She Put Him," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 18,
2004.
#24111 "The Fellowship of the Unashamed," by an unknown African martyr,
attributed to Louise Robinson Chapman; Abe Kudra collection;
<https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/what-is-the-fellowship-of-the-unashamed/>.
#28370 "Trying To Cover the Nakedness," by Betsy Childs, A Slice of
Infinity: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries;
September 15, 2004; <http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/>.
#66707 "Our Shameless World," by Andrew Davis, March 25, 2015;
<https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/our-shameless-world>.
#66709 "The Liar of Long Island," by Rev. David Holwick, adapted from
these internet sources:
<https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/george-santos-worst-lies>
<https://www.npr.org/2023/01/22/1150136390/george-santos-dog-gofundme-anthony-devolder>
<https://www.npr.org/2023/02/15/1157049312/george-santos-politics-of-shame>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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