Gods Shame

The Rev. Joseph Winston September 25, 2011

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1 You never know what will set it off. Maybe it was a late night that made them especially grouchy today. Perhaps it was a difcult day at school. It even could be something going on in your life. No matter what caused it, everyone here recognizes it. You cant make me. Im the boss of me. I wont. I wont. I wont stop. You cant make me. You cant. You cant. You cant. First comes absolute panic. I hope that no one else sees or hears what is happening to me. Then action quickly kicks in. You think to yourself, Something must be done right now about the complete meltdown that is happening here before my eyes. What happens next depends on the type of parent you are. Some
1 Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

like to use cool logic. These parents use this response, We dont act that way. Others prefer negotiation. Please be quiet and listen to me. After we nish, we can go to the park and play for a little while. You hope this ploy works because there is not enough time in the day for yet one more activity. Then there are the ones that demand immediate action and shout out louder than the child throwing the t, Stop! After it is all over, you want to go off and hide under the nearest rock. After all, someone will surely bring this incident up later and not be happy about it. You know all the names we have for this feeling of never wanting to show your face in public again. Shame is one of them. Your childs poor behavior has changed the way others look at you. Never will anyone believe the story that you are a perfect parent. Embarrassed is another word we use. Your faced burned with all the eyes looking at you. Now everyone is watching your every step and you cannot imagine what will happen next. Then there is foolish. No matter what you did, your child got the best of you. Really, who was the immature one out there? Feelings of shame, embarrassment, and foolishness are certainly not restricted to parents with young children. There are jobs you never want your grown child to have on their resume. Drug dealer, assassin, and terrorist are just three examples that quickly come to mind. These discomforting emotions go far beyond the bond between parent and child. Most denitely there are people who you do not want to live in your town. Who wants their city to be known as home for a notorious mob boss? How about living in the place where the divorce rate is the highest in the nation? Is there anyone that wants to live in the poorest city in the country? 2

Every scene in todays Gospel lesson contains references to shame that we still can feel almost two thousand years after it happened. It all begins when the leaders of the Temple want to know who the power is behind Jesus (Matthew 21:23). After all, a great number of people welcomed Him into the city just yesterday. They cried out, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21:9)! You do not even have to guess what happens next, it is recorded for you. Everyone wanted to know who this is (Matthew 21:10). The reason is just as clear. The Roman troops occupying the city looked pretty foolish as the crowd welcomed their king. But this one is not from Rome. It is certainly not Caesar Augustus. It is just some Jew that they knew nothing about. The rst order of business for this King was to wreck the Temple (Matthew 23:12). He threw out all the businesspeople trying to earn a living by selling animals for sacrice. He damaged the places where the bankers converted the worlds currencies into coins that could be used in the Temple. Then He squarely placed the blame for all of these problems on the leaders of the Temple (Matthew 21:13). If that was not enough embarrassment for the Temples leaders in a single day, He started healing the sick (Matthew 21:14). Now in addition to restoring the good order they once had in the Temple, they were required to cleanse the Temple from all the disease it now held. You do not blame the leaders for being a little upset, do you (Matthew 21:15)? How about asking for a reason behind all of this (Mathew 21:16)? You know what Jesus answers them? Have you read the Bible?, He tells them. Go check Psalm 3

8:2. That is why the current leaders of the Temple are asking this question about authority in todays Gospel lesson. Their supporters in the occupying forces want to know what other tricks they are going to pull and the members in their own ranks are frankly tired of all the attention they are getting. Jesus responds to the question with a gambit.2 I will tell you, he replies, if you rst answer this simple question (Matthew 21:24). Who gave John the Baptizer his authority (Mathew 21:25)? Immediately, the leaders recognize the trap and they can feel their faces turn red. If we say John came from God, He will want to know why we did not believe Him and if we do not then the mob will have our hides (Matthew 21:26). So, they took the easy way out and answered, Dont know (Matthew 21:27). Jesus tries a second time and quizzes the leaders again, What do you think (Matthew 21:28)? A man had two sons that he asked to go work. The rst shamed him by saying No and then went into the eld (Matthew 21:29). The second shamed him by saying Yes and then did nothing (Matthew 21:30). Which one was less shameful (Matthew 21:31a)? Neither choice is a good answer, but the leaders went with the knave that was the rst boy. Now Jesus really embarrasses the current leaders of the temple. He says, You know all those people who aid and abet the enemy. Those ones who bring constant shame to their families: the tax collectors and the prostitutes. They will arrive in
It is recorded that Jewish Rabbis would answer a question with a question. Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 299.
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Gods kingdom before you (Matthew 21:31b). Step back for a minute and take a look at this scene from Gods viewpoint. Just about everything in this lesson is shameful to God. The Romans have overrun the Holy Land and it does not appear like any of them are becoming Jews. It looks like the King of the Universe is powerless against the strongest army in the world. The current leaders of the Temple are not doing God any favors either. They confuse convenience with worship and they cannot see what is happening right under their noses. It does not seem that God is doing anything here either. And then there is the fact about who is welcoming Jesus. It is not the leaders of the time, it is instead the people that you do not want in your neighborhood: tax collectors and prostitutes. God does not seem to be able to even pick the right kind of people to live in His kingdom. What does this all mean? God constantly lives in a state of shame and the Lord is not doing anything about it. Before you get all worked up about what God does and does not do, take a good look at your life. Your actions show others where your loyalty really lies and it is not with Jesus. That is bad enough but there is more. You sit on the fence and refuse to come down on one side or the other. Either you live your life as if Jesus matters or come out and say that He is a complete and total fraud. Your behavior does not make God look very good. God promises to punish those who do not live a life worthy of the King but you are still here. This is but the rst hint of the Good News that abounds in todays Gospel lesson. God accepts each and every bit of shame that you cause Him. God takes 5

on the embarrassment of the pastors like me that cannot point people to Jesus even if their lives depended on it. God continues to look foolish as you and I fumble the ball called living a life that pleases God while prostitutes, drug addicts, and prisoners change by the Spirits power into model citizens of Gods kingdom. Despite all you do and do not do, God lets you live. There is much more to say. The Fathers Only Son died a death reserved for the worst political prisoners in Rome. Jesus was crucied on the tree. This punishment went far beyond the physical torture imposed on the criminal. Shame was heaped upon the family. Everyone knew that it was your son up there and they were not going to let you or anyone else forget it. For if they did, that type of death faced their own sons. Jesus willingly placed this humiliation on His name and that of His Father so you could live. That is not all Jesus that Jesus did for you. He was cursed for your benet. The Holy Scripture says God curses all who are crucied (Deuteronomy 21:23). This carries with it its own form of shame. You did something so bad that it follows you forever. You can never shake it no matter what you do. Jesus received an everlasting curse on that day so many years ago for you. What you get in return for His suffering is everlasting life. This brings us to the last example of God taking our shame that we are often uncomfortable talking about. There is the undeniable perversion of justice that Jesus places on His Father, which in turn heaps an incalculable amount of embarrassment on Gods head. God promised that the ones who live a life worthy of 6

the Lord would live and those who do not will die. Jesus certainly did what God requires yet He died. You and I who do not do what God demands live due to the sacrice of Jesus. This is not how it was meant to be but it is. Jesus does all of this and more because He like His Father and His Spirit, wants you to live. This is not some life without a care in the world but one of service, one that has a passion for justice, a life with a never ending hunger for Gods Word. When you see someone throwing a t, it is only natural to think, Didnt your parents raise you better than that? God knows how you feel. He gave you life so you can live. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.3

References
Harrington, S.J., Daniel J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991).

Philippians 4:7.