Shame Interrupted
A compilation of three blog posts on ccef.org written by Dr. Ed Welch. Ed is currently a counselor and teacher at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation with a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in neuropsychology. I recommend all of his books, including: When People Are Big and God Is Small; Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave; Depression, and Shame Interrupted.

*What is shame?* Shame has to do with your standing before God and your standing in the community. You think you should be unaffected by the opinions and words of other people? Not so. We were created to live in community, and anything that jeopardizes our inclusion goes against who we really are...

Shame is that all-too-human experience of worthlessness, failure and not belonging. It can come from what we have done or from what others have done /to/ us. Once you notice it, you see it everywhere. For example, do you have a hard time believing that the Lord could love /you/? You will find shame there...

Once you find it in you and around you, then you look to Scripture... Keep track of the outcasts and the less important such as Hagar, Leah, anyone who is not the first-born, or is crippled, or has a disease and is deemed “unclean.” Notice the lives of the barren and widows such as Naomi. These were the ones who were considered to be rejected by God and literally worthless because of their poverty. When these people appear in Scripture, they follow a predictable pattern—honor is right around the corner. By the time you get to the end of the Gospels you hope to be a tax collector when you grow up.

There are so many favorite passages and stories that have relief from shame in view. One of the classics is Isaiah 54. It is impossible to miss. It reveals a premiere benefit that comes from the death of Jesus, God’s Suffering Servant: /Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;/ break forth into singing and cry aloud,/ you who have not been in labor!/

That will get the attention of anyone familiar with shame. And her way out of shame? Was it confession? Repentance? Contrition? Penance? No, she simply had to be linked to the right person: /Fear not, for you will *not* be ashamed; … /for you will forget the shame of your youth, … /For your Maker is your husband/

She had to be linked to Jesus. That was her way out. And if your shame is from the ways you have been treated by others, that is your way out too. Their rejection or violence defined you and their evil deeds linked you to them. But by faith, that bond has been broken and you are now linked with Jesus. You are defined by him and receive his reputation.

Release from shame cannot be earned. It comes by being connected to someone of infinite worth. It comes from marrying the right person. /Sin links you to the wrong person; faith links you to the right one./

...In the Old Testament sacrifices were made (1) for sins committed and (2) for skin diseases, contact with a dead body, menstrual bleeding, being in a family that has been polluted by the behavior of a member, and many other reasons that were not one’s fault yet caused shame. This second category is not an occasion for confession (though we need no occasion for confession) but it is an occasion for cleansing and coming near, and this is found through blood.

The woman with persistent bleeding is from this second category (Luke 8:43-48). She understood that only Jesus could cleanse her from her shame so she quietly yet confidently approached him. Her faith—her connection—to Jesus was symbolized by human touch, which indicated that she was now brought close into his holiness and was no longer identified as one-who-bled. Jesus could have said, “Your sins are forgiven,” but here he said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

...When we are sinned against, we don’t confess sinful acts done against us, but death has come close and leaves us connected to the vile actions of others. We need disconnection from sin’s power, cleansing and connection to the right person. Failures make the list not because they are associated with death, but they leave us feeling rejected—outsiders who are distant from both the community and God’s promises. We experience this when we perform poorly in a public task, are impoverished, or are denied a certain job. All these need to hear Jesus’ invitation to come near by faith and touch him. In this, the sinned against are washed and set apart for God, and the rejected are associated with the one who has an impeccable reputation, lifts our heads up, and makes us fruitful as we abide in him.

God’s words to the shamed are varied and attractive. “Come,” “receive a new name,” “come near,” “look, touch,” “believe – believe that the blood of God’s lamb extends to your guilt and shame in a way that you are forever associated with his purity and a beneficiary of his love.” Jesus also says, “Your sins are forgiven.”

In this proclamation, Jesus releases us from all things that once polluted. He separates us from them and brings us close. Sin and death are distanced; we are brought near. He did this by taking our guilt and shame on himself—as though we ourselves were the ones who quietly touched his garment—and dismissing it to judgment and death at the cross. There, sin, both our own and the sins of others against us, lost its power to corrupt. His blood disconnected us from death and gave us his life and holiness. Now we are close, so close that we can say that we are in him and he in us. Since this cleansing was once-and-for-all there is absolutely nothing that can keep us from the nearness and love of God.