Esau's Kiss

Summary of a sermon series concluded this week at the Chapel Hill Bible Church

This morning, at the Chapel Hill Bible Church, we finished a two week discussion on shame, shame-management, face-covering, flight from God's presence (or face), and the nature of God's embrace and redemption of humanity.

The narrative covered several facing events in the life Jacob —
• Disguised face, steals his brother's blessing
• Facing event, in a vision at Bethel, he is in the face/presence of God and does not know it
• Community shame, the covering of his bride (an expected custom) used as an act of shame to break a contract and to deceive Jacob into marrying the wrong sister

Then, a great foreshadowinging event of facing —
• Jacob wrestles with a divine being and receives his prophetic blessing. He names the location of the struggle, "Peniel" or "Face" because he entered the presence or face of God.

Finally, a fulfillment event in the narrative
• He encounters his wronged brother with an army of men
• Jacob, embracing his shame, "lowers his face" to ground seven times
• But Esau "lifts up his face" and "kisses his face" — a dramatic moment of experiencing redemption from his shame.

The whole Biblical narrative of shame, anticipation of redemption, the experience of redemption, and the working out of this redemption is dramatized in this story.

A question emerges from this story — how can we embody redemption rather than shame as a community. I think a portion of the answer lies in the Eucharist — being a community that retells the narrative and embodies the story of redemption through a ritual that reforms and reshapes our living. For me, this story challenges me to to rethink a theology and the practice of Eucharist.

I also have felt the need to challenge our view of sin — an embrace of sin should motivate a yearning for the embrace of the redemptive, shame-liberated life. Three failed or dreadly incomplete views of sin (failed because they do not great an anticipation for the rituals and life of redemption).
• The "personal guilt" view — very modern, the product of an over-individualized culture, sin is about the guilt of my self-contained actions of the specific wrongs done to me! (envisions a redemption of a single and simple verdict)
• The "tumor" view — very modern, the product of materialism, sin is an evil substance living in me, (envisions a redemption that is a surgical intervention by trained professionals without an real collateral damage in my life)
• The "Heinous Act" view — largely postmodern, a view that only embrace horrific acts that we would never consider in the first place, the product of a contextual, preference driven culture (envisions a redemption of simple avoidance)

But, if we see the shame of humanity as a relational, contagious, viral, pandemic of the human condition — this anticipates a redemption of shame and guilt that is social, holistic, pervasive (to all of creation) and is practiced in social ritual and relationship/community rather than received in personal decisions, individual commitments, and private rituals.

I think a transformation of our understanding of shame and the human condition reforms our theology and reshapes our communal and ritual lives.

Comments

[Scott]

Tim,

Wonderful critique of shame-based theology and reductionistic approaches to sin. Barth says that the only sin we can preach about is forgiven sin. Interesting thought.....

Scott

[Miles]

I'm catching up on all the recent posts.... Wasn't shame the most conspicuously absent emotion in Revenge of the Sith? Anikan was inexplicably more cold and machine-like than the robotic Vader in any of the earlier (later?) movies. From my own experience, desire coupled with the absence of shame is still not as powerful a motivation for sin as shame itself and the feeling of defeat. Maybe that's why forgiveness/redemption is so important like Scott says.

Even though it was kind of hokey, I still liked the throw-back scene of Vader coming off the slab like a dark frankinstein, compete with 1950s monster movie effects!

On another note, do you have a RSS link on here so I can be notified of your updates? I can't find one.

[Tim Conder]

Scott,
Thanks for the word on Barth. I wasn't familiar with that quote but there is a nice warning to it — anytime we describe sin we run the risk of further reducing it. Thanks.

[rick]

"Who told you that you were naked." Seems that most folks bought the lie of shame.

Considering that Augustine was severely beaten by his schools masters and sent of by his parents he probably expereinced major shame. Reading the Confessions it is clear that he had a view of himself that was one of deep shame.

Scary, he was one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history. Calvin was greatly influenced by Augustine. 1700 years later we are preaching sermons to somehow heal people from thier shame. many Christians are walking around thinking they are miserable pieces of crap you deserve the wrath of hell. Crap theology has supported this grave injustice ti humanity.

Frankly, there is entirely too much talk about sin in the church, seems to contradict Jesus' reason for being here.

We are loved beyond our comprehension.

[Tim Conder]

Agreed — partially, Rick. My point, as seemingly yours, is that shame is a lie and myth that humans embrace as their story. I don't think we are "healed" from shame at all. The whole point is to embrace and accept Jesus' narrative as the story that defines our humanity.

Despite a Reformed education, I no huge fan of the system. But I am, as a friend of mine likes to say, "a one pont Calvinist" — having seen so much evidence of the fractured, brokenness of humanity that allows for personal and systemic evils to flourish in our world. We are indeed loved beyond comprehension. But my sense of that love includes a sense of its magnitude in light of redemption that we need.

I don't there is too much talk of sin in the church — just really poor talk about sin. In this sermon I strongly critiqued highly individualistic, guilt-only, substantival views of sin that ignore its as a relational virus that motivates our interactions toward shame, guilt, competition, greed, etc.