Jacob's Shame (Sermon Blog)

For the next couple Sundays, I'm guest speaking at the Chapel Hill Bible Church. I want to thank LeRon Shults (theology prof at Bethel Seminary) and Kara Eckman Powell (Fuller Seminary) for their excellent presentations at the Emergent Conventions this year on humanity. Their work on the theology of humanity conveyed in concepts of "face" and "facing" inspired this short series on Jacob.

A short summary of Kara's and LeRon's presentation:
• Much of the human experience is shaped by the faces of others. The human experience is also characterized by shame — we cover our faces because of our shame.
• The biblical narrative "face" and the "covering of our faces" takes on a grave theological significance. "Face" not only is used to express human emotion (for example: the biblical phrase for "joy" is literally "shining face), "face" also conveys relational encounters. The Hebrew word for "face" is also the theologically loaded word "presence" used regularly to describe the presence of Yahweh and human encounters with Yahweh.
• The covering our faces reveals the viral presence of sin our lives and community — we hide ourselves from God and from the presence of God in community. (Shame, of course, is experienced in community).

I strongly recommend getting their presentation from youthspecialties.com or emergentconvention.com. I'm just giving you a taste. Their words on the relationality of sin is a deeply provocative portion of theology that has been lost in our very individualized culture. The implications for baptism (a rite of initation into redeemed community) and eucharist (the repetitive practice of uncovering our faces to each other in affirming and accepting God's "face" or "presence" are huge in this concept. LeRon and Kara do a great job in exploring these possibilities.

I'm my sermons, I'm exploring these themes through the story of Jacob and his narrative of face covering. Note these incidents —
• Jacob disquises himself to steal his brother Esau's blessing. This, naturally, enrages Esau and Jacob must flee in the night to save his life.
• In his great dream, Jacob in his shame is blind to a facing event. At Bethel, the presence or face of God is revealed to Jacob but he proclaims his own shame and blindness with some of the most tragic words of the OT, "surely God was in this place and I didn't know it!"
• The bizarre wedding scene where he marries Leah rather than the intended Rachel. As was the custom, the face of the bride was covered during the ceremony. As Jacob goes to consummate the marriage, he finds that he has been tricked by Laban (the father of these two women). Face-covering in this scene reveals the treachery and dishonesty of all of humanity.
• The Jacob story is a narrative of two journeys — a shameful journey from home and a forced journey to home, to the place of Esau's angry face and the places (specifically Bethel) where Jacob has encountered the face of God.
• As foreshadowing of the presence of God, just before reaching Esau, Jacob encounters angels. Jacob names this place "the camp of God" (a place where God stops by on occassion?).
• As he sends his family and gifts ahead to appease Esau, Jacob wrestles with a divine figure. At daybreak, Jacob demands a blessing (literally "show me your face"). The blessing that Yahweh has always intended for Jacob is given. Jacob names this place, "Peniel" or "Face" because he has encountered the presence of God and survived.

It is a great story, an "everywoman" and "everyman" story of our fleeing in shame from the face or presence of God. Next week, I'm going to continue the story by looking at "Esau's kiss" — an event laden with divine eradication of shame and typology of Jesus.

For those who heard me today, feel free to use the comments here to share a story or a thought. The covering of our faces in a universal human experience. Freedom from shame comes in community that follows the journey of Christ.

Comments

[Don Taylor]

Tim

I thought your sermon was great. I particularly appreciated your exploring publicly what your "masks" are--this really encouraged the congregation to explore our own masks. Your powerpoint slides identifying some common "masks" might be helpful on this blog to encourage folks to keep considering their own mask(s).

Don

[sk]

i attended your sermon on sunday. yesterday the words you spoke hit home. I had a huge fight with my wife this week. My shame management showed up. I was afraid to be vunerable. To let her openly share her feelings (good and bad ) and for me to respond accordingly. Instead , I put on my cloak. I shut down. Much like my PC when it goes into sleep mode. I'm still alive, but its as if i'm dead. Its like talking to a ghost.

I know u shared ur how u manage shame. I manage mine by shutting down and not letting my wife or God see me for who I am, when I'm at my weakest.

It goes back to trust and faith. If I don't truely trust God or my wife, then would I want to let her or God see my shame ? Its funny you hear the Word over and over again..but you just don't get it. Until something happens that makes it all click.

It all makes sense to me now.

I pray for myself and all those who suffer this way of managing their shame. I pray that we will all learn to trust and have faith, "at all times", and just not when its convenient.

[Tim Conder]

Thanks for those very vulnerable words SK. Your vulnerability is a gift to others. Don, here's the short list (I'm sure there are many others) I generated about shame management:

Dealing with Shame: “Don’t look at my face, look at my…”
• Capability — I’ve got it all together, I am how I perform
• Incapability — I can’t do anything, I am how I fail
• Apathy — I just don’t care, it doesn’t matter who I am, “Whatever”
• Beauty, I am how I look, who I am on the outside
• Immorality — I am what I do
• Morality/Religiosity — I am what I do (Note: opposite form, same strategy)
• Accumulation — I am what I’ve got
• Adrenaline — I am what I experience
• Emotion — I am what I feel

Personal Questions:
• What is your default “identity strategy” in dealing with your shame?
• Is it really working?
• Will it work forever?

[CWH]

While I can see that this is a nearly 2-year old entry, I want to thank you for sharing this. I am dealing with some deep, personal, decades-old shame, mixed with pain & fear, that I am just beginning to scratch the surface of, and this could prove to be a good part of my working through it.

God bless you & again, thank you!

[AwaivaSiz]

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