The Cross

In this chapter Welch shows us how the cross is the best and quickest summary of what God says to unworthy people.  But with his explanation is the charge to understand it and make it something we TALK about.

The rejection Christ experienced on the way to the cross was like a concentrated despising by all human beings at the same time.  Ever drunk concentrated grapefruit juice?  How strong it is and nasty?  Bet you didn't drink the whole cup did you?  But Jesus did!  Look at the hatred and rejection He took on Himself

• Jesus' shame was deeper than ours and we are among the scorners
• look at Jesus's alienation and rejection at the hands of the entire world, including us
• all human contempt was focused on Jesus and we participated

Welch tells us to move our shame to second place, giving more attention to Jesus shame makes our own shame less controlling.  Lets look at the shameful steps Jesus carried for us:

• First He prayed that this cup pass from Him, but not as He willed but as God willed (Mt 26:39)
• this cup was God's wrath all stored up for centuries and anyone who drank it would be left reeling, staggering, disoriented and Jesus knew He needed help to keep His wits about Him
• Jesus asked for God to be with Him because the cup also represented separation from God - under God's curse not blessing.  Jesus would experience the worst kind of rejection and alienation from the Father FOR US
• Jesus experienced incomparable shame, and He experienced it at the hands of EVERYONE
• He was put on trial!
• the mocking was nonstop!
• was taken before Pilate, which meant He was not just on trial before the Jews but in front of the WHOLE WORLD!
• He was flogged!
• He was spit on!
• although offered wine to help Him with the pain, He refused it, suffering every bit of pain WITHOUT painkillers!
• even as He was hung on the cross, people continued to mock Him, even those hung beside Him! (Mt 27:34-39)
• only a handful of Beatitude-keeping women would stand with the King!
• then He died!!!  In His God-forsaken state He calls out "It is finished"!

Now we have to DO something!  We HAVE TO TELL OTHERS WHAT THE CROSS MEANS.

Just like any multi-tasker God has many roles and they all came together at the cross: Father, Son, Spirit, Brother, Servant, King, Priest, Judge, Warrior ...  Welch now takes a closer look at the relational love and cleansing power of the Father, Husband and Priest.

Father - This time Welch shows how the story of the Prodigal Son comes together at the cross (Luke 15).  It is because of what happened at the cross that the Heavenly Father can run to embrace us, His swine-contaminated, contemptuous people.  Not only does the Father run to MEET US, He also accepts us enthusiastically giving us honour, clothing us in the robe of distinction (Luke 15:22-24).  The cross brings reconciliation, restoring our relationship with God (Rom 5:9-11; 1 Pet 3:18)!!!

Priests - the story of the cross is also about the temple with its priests and the people who brought an endless amount of sacrifices and offerings Welch next explains.  Five different sacrifices were offered in the OT: grain and fellowship offerings of thanks, no animals slaughtered, included a meal to symbolize fellowship with God. Burnt, sin and guilt offerings all shed blood whether the worshiper was guilty of sin and contaminated or defiled by something unclean.  Blood had to be shed to show the great cost of reconciliation with the Holy One - Jesus' death.  Shed blood also demonstrated cleansing was more than washing because blood represented LIFE (Lev 17:11).  We need true, spiritual life to replace the soul-deadening effects of shame.

When Jesus said "It is finished" He taught us there is nothing left to do.  He has touched you and me, sprinkled His blood on us:

• He brings us into the temple, the place of God's presence
• we lay our hands on the Lamb of God, transferring our sin and shame to Him as He identifies with us
• the final barrier between us and God was gone when Christ's sacrifice was complete, the temple curtain torn from top to bottom (Mt 27:51)
• we are invited to a fellowship meal with God - the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:23-26)

Everything has changed!!!

Husband - God is THE HUSBAND from which earthly husbands are images.  The prophets Ezekiel and Hosea tell the story of how Israel (us) turned away from God but God reached out as a husband, keeping His covenant promises, buying us back over and over.  The cross shows what the Husband did for His wayward wife (us)

• died for us!
• when Jesus died, we died along with Him.  We identify with Him!
• Jesus was resurrected!
• when Jesus was resurrected, we were made alive with Jesus - we are no longer the same person - our shame is no longer attached to us!

We now live out of the love, cleansing, and purification we have been given.  We live like the new people we are (2 Cor 5:14-15) (p. 193).

SHAME HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE CROSS!!!!!

Welch encourages us to keep the cross in mind, to remember what happened there and then TALK, TALK, TALK about it.  Ask others to TALK about it with you.  Find ourselves in Scripture!

Mark 14: Shame, Betrayal, and Abandonment

Personally I find this next chapter a breakthrough chapter!!

In this chapter Welch shows how Jesus "takes our guilt and shame and we receive His righteousness and holiness."  He took this burden to the cross and there obliterated it. When I hear that word obliterated, I think of a bomb totally obliterating, destroying that burden of guilt and shame.  How did Christ do that?

Welch uses  one chapter of Mark to help us understand this.  He encourages us to look at this chapter and watch how uncleanness, rejection, and soon, nakedness pile up on Jesus in concentrated form.  There is NO WAY we can say Jesus doesn't understand (p.171-2).

Mark 14 begins with the leaders wanting to kill Jesus -- He was rejected totally!!

The next verses tell how the people didn't get the importance of who Jesus was, thinking money for the poor was way more important than perfume for Jesus.  Verses 3-9 tell how only Simon the Leper and the woman anointing Him knew who He was -- all the rest rejected Him!!

Verses 10-11 then describe Jesus' betrayal by one of His closest twelve friends!!! - BETRAYED, REJECTED!!

Then DENIAL - verses 27-31 Peter's denial is prophesied.  To be denied labels you as the most severe form of NOTHING (p.173)!!

Verses 32-34, 37-42 describe how His disciples could not stay awake for Him, to pray for Him -- another expression of Jesus' value to the disciples. NOBODY was with Him in His pain, death was all around Him and they couldn't Pray!!

Verses 43-46, 50 - "they all left Him and fled." -- Everyone, ISOLATION in it's worst case scenario!!

Verses 53 - 59 - procession of accusers accusing the God Himself - the world was judge and jury.  THIS WAS THE PATH JESUS CHOSE!!!  The PATH to rescue YOU and ME!!!

Verses 60-65 Jesus says nothing to defend Himself.  The shamed are powerless, Welch tells us, and Jesus chose to give up all power -- DESPISED, USELESS ANIMAL!!!

Verses 66-68 Peter denies Jesus, and he is put on trial by the servant girl who is ruthless, turning to the bystanders, and still Peter denies Jesus!  3 TIMES DENIED by His disciple!!!

Welch leaves us with these two questions to think about:

1. Are you persuaded that Jesus experienced shame?
2. What difference does it make to you that Jesus experienced these extremes of rejection?

New Boundaries for a New Kingdom

Now Welch explains how when Jesus overturned cultural conventions and stretched religious boundaries, He was reclaiming land that had been in enemy hands too long.  The Beatitudes showed who was honoured in the Kingdom but if we think of the anti-Beatitudes we can see who is excluded: the self-satisfied, those who don't care about the misery of others, those who continually shake their fist at God, those who hunger for earthly riches and honour above King-God, the hypocrites intent only on their own self-seeking goals, those who divide people with their anger and gossip, those who refuse to taste shame for the sake of Jesus' name.

This list might make us feel a bit uncomfortable -  am I an outcast after all?  But Welch goes on to say "if the anti-Beatitudes step on your toes and hurt a little, or provoke a hint of anxiety, then you are not an outcast." (p. 169)

Welch now encourage us to look a little closer at the boundaries of the Kingdom of God.  It includes the outcasts, failures, poor, poor in spirit, those without earthly honour, all who claim a childlike neediness for Jesus Himself.  It excludes those who identify with the world's guidelines for inclusion: wealth, reputation, power and personal honour. Amazing when you look at these boundaries and you see how God's normal is made abnormal by satan, and God's abnormal is made normal by satan and we have gotten sucked up by this LIE.

But then Welch turns us back to another side of shame.  Most people experience shame because other "powerful" people impose shame on them and we can't minimize that!  What we do have to understand, Welch warns, is that the oppressors' days are numbered.  Other people can still victimize, BUT THEY CAN'T DRAG US AWAY FROM THE HOLY ONE!!  By faith we have a connection to Jesus that no perpetrator can sever (p.161).

Now contamination can only come from inside ourselves.  Please read Matthew 15:17-20.  Jesus is telling us that no longer can anything outside us make us unclean.  The things that make us UNCLEAN are the things that come out of our own heart!! And only God can make us truly CLEAN:

• only our own sins can contaminate us
• no one has the power to make us sin
• God is quick to forgive when we turn to Him
• when the inside is clean, the outside is clean (Mt 23:25-26) (p.162)

Now Welch goes on to look at some specific questions we might have.
What keeps me from becoming unclean by those who touch me?  When we trust God to keep us safe, instead of trying new ways to self-medicate we are being touched by Him.  When we are touched by the Holy One, we become HOLY.  Holiness is contagious (John 13:10) and once holy always holy, although we will still get our feet dirty (still sin) and need daily washing that does not nullify the bath of holiness.

What do I do with the uncleanness I bring on myself?  We will still sin, turn away from God, but that doesn't affect what God has done for us through Jesus.  He has still touched us (given us a bath), all we have to do is turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness and He WILL forgive (Is 43:25).  The wonderful thing about this is that it's not about us!  God forgives for His sake.  When He forgives that gives Him honour and glory!!

Am I ready to begin distinguishing the sins of others from my own sins? Welch asks us to ask ourselves the next question before we try to answer the first one - Do I believe it honours God when I trust Him to forgive and cleanse me? Sometimes things get complicated when although someone victimizes us, we also sin because of it, or in response to it and then we need to look to God to help us unwind the complications.  When we pray "God have mercy", He will help us OWN what belongs to us and let Him look after the sins of others and what belongs to them.  Mercy comes to us as cleansing for both guilt and shame (p.165).

Welch encourages again when he says "Jesus is the BURDEN-LIFTER (Mt 11:30) and if we feel as if Jesus just adds new burdens, we are mistaking Him for someone else (Mt 23:4).  We don't have to get defensive but make Psalm 139:23-24 our own words!

Now Welch goes on to warn us to BEWARE OF THE "REALLY BAD SIN".  Perhaps you have been feeling hope that you might be cleansed and then something happens BAM, you might "discover that you believe there are two categories of people: those who do normal sins, which are forgivable, and those who commit really bad sins, which might be forgivable but only after you.... you don't know what you have to do to be forgiven" (p.167).  Remember we're Christians under Construction so our growth is slow, and sometimes things may have to be taken apart and re-built, but steadily you WILL grow in Christ's image!

Welch counters this BAM moment by turning us to Scripture again, to look at some of the truly human people there: murderers (Moses, David, Paul), adulterers (David), and blatant denier of Jesus (Peter) and see that they were ALL FORGIVEN.  Paul, in his letter to the Galatians is very clear that "Jesus death paid for everything, especially the really bad sins, and he is more than a little ticked off if you disagree.  If you try argue with Paul about this he'll argue right back at you (1 Tim 1:16)" (p.169).

Welch finishes this chapter with the words "If you live as though that forgiveness needs a small boost from your own grief or good works, then you don't understand what He did.  You could read Galatians with this theme in mind."  So when we sometimes lose our bearing, instead of turning to ourselves, let's turn to God, read about Jesus, perhaps taking a quick read through Galatians before Welch's next chapter.

A New Code of Honour

"What is the opposite of shame?
     Being touched by the right person."

This is how Welch begins this next chapter and then goes on to explain how Scripture teaches that   Jesus touches us and teaches us how to live in a new Kingdom.  Our old culture was one of shame, with all the manners, rules, and prohibitions that every culture has.  Welch now gives us the task to live in a new culture, which could be very awkward at first, as we still carry our old shame-culture with us.

This new Kingdom has Jesus as King, gathering His subjects around Him as He teaches them on the side of a hill.  In this chapter Welch shows how the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5-7 applies to us.  Jesus uses this Sermon to show how the 10 commandments have been added to through Jesus' work.  With the 8 beatitudes, divided into 2 parts: first 4 applying to how we relate to God and the last 4, how we relate to people, Jesus unloads all the old thoughts about shame and honour.

"Blessed" is a loaded word showing honour, recipients getting divine approval and favour.  Welch encourages us to replace Blessed are with How honourable are to get a better sense.

How honourable are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven - The poor were the original people Jesus spoke to, but by adding poor in spirit to describing nothing.  Welch uses Martin Lloyd-Jones description to show that NOTHING includes the consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God.  When I read this part I just sat there, crying in relief that this nothingness is a relief!! God requires NOTHING from me!!  Please sit with that for a moment.....

Welch encourages us now, and he repeats this a number of times - think the opposite of the way you normally do.  Depending on the King instead of ourselves, makes us share in what is His.  That means we have EVERYTHING, and it will all LAST.

How honourable are those who mourn, for they will be comforted - Book of Job shows the old system's view of mourning, that they must have done something bad to be under God's judgment, which Welch comments that this is actually quite ironic considering that Job was one of God's favourites, showing that suffering was actually a badge of honour (p. 144).  Shame also thinks that we have to have done something bad to suffer and mourn but Welch reminds us to look at those who cry - they are the compassionate ones.   In fact crying tears of sadness is a way to get rid of toxins in our body.  Science has proven that when the tears of sadness have be chemically measured, they are toxic enough to kill a rodent.  Crying is important for our healing!  Welch tells us that they are badges of honour in God's Kingdom.

How honourable are the meek, for they will inherit the earth - Jesus is quoting Psalm 37:11 but Welch encourages us to read the whole Psalm to see the lies around victimization.  If people acting as enemies add to our shame, the psalmist encourages the path of meekness, "Trust in the Lord"  "Be still before the Lord", "Refrain from anger".  Even when we don't understand why or what is happening it does not help to fight against it, but it's more important to trust God, that He knows what is going on, and will lead us on the path of humble obedience.  This is very tough for us because we are not naturally meek, we want to know why, be able to "fixit" so here is another one of those times when we have to learn to think the opposite of our natural ways.

How honourable are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled - Anyone who is hungry or thirsty is poor, and the poor include those who live with shame, Welch tells us.  Jesus takes this point to make us think more deeply about what it means to be hungry and thirsty -- it means we are dependent on something, food and drink, in order to live, which leads us to realize that to truly LIVE we are dependent on God/Jesus.  When Jesus was obedient to God, even dying on the cross, He made us RIGHTEOUS before God.  That is what we need to live, we need to follow Jesus and therefore know true honour.

These first four beatitudes point to our relationship with God and that has to come first for us to be healed from our shame.  Shame seems to be about our relationship with others - what others think of us, where we fit in so thinking that our relationship with God has to come first is hard to recognize. The thing is that, we know we are accepted by the King-God and we know how to live before Him, the power of shame before others is actually BROKEN.  You may think that other people's voices may still hurt but they really don't reach as deep or last as long when we are firmly connected to God.  PLEASE BELIEVE IT!!!

How honourable are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy - Welch tells us that mercy is for the miserable and therefore this beatitude assumes we have suffered, and that we have also tasted mercy.  The reality is that only when we receive mercy can we offer it.  The great thing is that the more we receive/understand God's mercy, the more we can offer mercy, receive mercy, give mercy, receive mercy, give mercy ......  Even when we're afraid that our shame will contaminate someone if we show mercy, the truth is that the way of the Kingdom is that those who need mercy are uniquely qualified to show mercy (p. 149).

How honourable are the pure in heart, for they will see God - the idea of being pure may seem a bit foreign to us, especially when we feel shame, but Welch reminds us to remember where we have been!  Pure is possible for the poor in spirit because we have been PURIFIED by Jesus.  Being pure is NOT something we do ourselves but it is something DONE to us.  We receive it by faith which is the gentle yet powerful touch of Jesus!!  Remember faith is calling to God to help us, and He makes us pure = sanctification, Christians under Construction.  Purity comes from being purified and our Christ-purified hearts will show Christ-like behaviour --> genuine love and mercy, pursuing peace more than personal rights.

How honourable are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God - when we realize the power of God in that He accepted me, an outcast, we will want to invite others to peace with God and peace with other people (p. 151).  Sometimes its hard to figure out how to be a peacemaker but Welch tells us that "shamed people feel powerless, and what could be more powerful than being an agent of peace in the midst of war?  What could be more powerful than disarming someone with love?  Peacemaking is, indeed, an honourable profession." (p. 151)  But peacemaking doesn't always work, Welch warns, and the way of honour is still the more important point of being connected to the King, than being an expert peacemaker.

How honourable are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven - the disciples had to learn that even though they followed Jesus, it didn't mean that their social standing got better.  In fact many times their social status became less.  We also can't expect that because we follow Jesus our health, wealth and prosperity will be great, warns Welch. Instead he tells us to expect comfort and hope during trouble, strength during persecution.

Knowing the beatitudes is the reality that our old reality has to change.  We have to truly understand and believe that our relationship with the King changes everything, honour is found only in knowing the King and saying "I am with Him." (p. 153)  But this new reality will not be easy, we will NOT be placed in a higher social status.  We have to think the opposite of what we would normally think!  Power and prestige in this world is NOT what we're looking for, it won't heal us from shame!  Instead we have to become like little children (Mt 18:1-4), hanging onto God with a simple child-like faith!

When God Touches the Untouchables

Welch begins this chapter by reminding us how Jesus really succeeded in associating with outcasts. The Pharisees asked why He was a friend of "tax collectors and sinners", the very dregs of society: the divorcer, the adulteress, the thief, the physically handicapped or abused, the blind, the molested. Jesus looked for them and they looked for Him!  The Jews expected God to be close but not too close. Jesus came close, even touching the untouchable!

What does it mean to be touched?  We're touched constantly throughout our day as people brush up against us, but what about the deliberate touch of someone you love, or who loves you?  Welch describes how when you love someone you touch them.  Attachment theory says that the first way we attach to someone is through the senses, which includes touch.  Think about how we attach to a baby? We get close, get them to look at us, hold their hand, get them to grasp our finger.  So touch is important to a secure attachment.

But sometimes there is a harmful touch, purposeful, intentional harmful touch, which can shame us, especially if it is sexual.  This kind of touch can't be broken except through a good touch that erases and replaces the harmful touch (p.129).

Welch then looks at OT touching, where he tells us that Scripture is all about touching.  The priest touched the consecrated (made holy) altar and the holiness rubbed off on him; some Israelites were burying a man and quickly threw his body into Elisha's (a holy prophet) tomb and when the body touched Elisha's bones it quickly came back to life (2 Kgs 13:21);  Aaron, the high priest laid his hands on the scapegoat (an actual live goat) and confessed the peoples' sins over the goat, transferring their sin onto the goat so that the goat, not the people, would carry the weight of the sin (Lev 16:20-22); prophet Elisha stretched himself over top of a dead boy, touching him so he came alive again (2 Kgs 4:32-34).

In the OT touch was usually a good thing but you still needed to be careful.  When God came to the people at Mt Sinai they had to ritually wash themselves but even then if someone touched the mountain they would die (Ex 19:10-13); when ark was returned and unauthorized Uzziah touched it, he died (2 Sam 6:6-7).

What we have to learn from this, Welch tells us, is that touch has a deeper meaning -- get touched at the wrong time by the wrong person and you at least became unclean, even might die; get touched at the right time by the right person and you come to life (p.131).

So now Welch goes on to look at the purposeful touch of Jesus.  Jesus intentionally touched many, healing the lame, blind, leprous, discarded and sinful.  With the story in Matthew of the leper  (Mt 8:1-3) you see how Jesus makes Himself unclean to make the leper clean.  Can we make this our story???  Can we say, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."?  Welch urges us to do just that, not to just nod our head in agreement but to actually say those words!!!  If we can't say it, pray that God will help you say it, and then we also have to BELIEVE it.  Do we really believe what God says?  If we don't then we have to be careful because in a sense then we are actually saying our worthlessness has more authority than Jesus.  Jesus is NOT telling the truth, that His touch is less powerful than Elisha's (p. 132).

Now Welch points us toward the story of the woman with a bleeding for twelve years (Luke 8:42-48). Her touching Jesus was totally intentional but she wanted it to stay secret because she was UNCLEAN and when she touched Him she made Him unclean.  Are we also willing to contaminate the KING? What she did was done in FAITH.  Faith is our response to Jesus.  Welch tells us that Jesus makes the first move, bee-lining it toward us and then we respond "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."  or simply, "Yes Lord, I believe."

THIS IS THE GOSPEL -- GOD TOUCHES US (my emphasis of Welch's words).  Christ displaces our shame and replaces it with holiness (2 Cor 5:21).  Welch describes it as "With our touch Jesus becomes our scapegoat, in His touch Jesus takes our sin and absorbs our shame" (Ps 69:9, Rom 15:8).

THIS IS FAITH -- WE REACH OUT AND TOUCH THE HOLY ONE (my emphasis of Welch's words).  Faith -- or touching Jesus -- means saying, "Jesus, I need you." (p. 136)  Shame may make it hard to say that and our instinct is to turn inward, rather than putting our trust and confidence in Jesus but EXPOSE that LIE!  Even as we have seen this as self-protection, Welch warns us that it is actually UNBELIEF.  Shame and unbelief are very close cousins.  BEWARE!

Truly look at what happened when Jesus came:  unclean people were filled with hope and boldly ignored the townspeople and searched for Jesus.  When they found Him they felt compelled to touch Him = faith, they came ALIVE!!!  Join them and purposefully reach out to touch Him today!!!

The Boundary Violator

This time Welch helps us understand even more how Jesus the King identifies with the shamed and destitute and actually became the shamed and destitute as it says in Psalm 69:7-9.

Welch begins by looking at Jesus' life verse:  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour  (Lk 4:18-19, quoted from Is 61:1-2).  The poor, the prisoner, the worthless and forgotten are Jesus' constituency.

Welch then uses John 4, the story of the Samaritan Woman to help us understand that Jesus came for the shamed.  Welch helps us imagine that we are the Samaritan Woman and reminds us of the cultural barriers between Jesus and this woman:

• men didn't talk to women in public!
• Jews didn't associate with Samaritans!
• Jews didn't contaminate themselves by eating or drinking with non-Jews!

This story shows how Jesus crossed social boundaries, spending time with the lowest of the low, even you cannot be any lower than this woman!!  We have to say "I believe you Lord"  before we go on to see how Jesus deals with her.

Just as the Samaritan woman did not expect Jesus to start talking to her, we probably don't expect Jesus to take the initiative to us either, but He does!!!  Just as Jesus invited the woman to ask for the living water He also invites us to ask for something, but in our shame we probably pull back, cringe as He continues to talk to her/us.  Finally she/we hear Him, shock has passed, hope starts to kick in = FAITH.  But then Jesus tells the woman to get her husband and she immediately feels the shame again, freezes in it, she and we get defensive.  She/we don't want to go to those dark and shameful areas but then Jesus says, Don't worry, I already know all about your past, your shameful spots, but I still want to give you the living water.

We don't have to go into all the shameful details of our past, Welch tells us, because Jesus already knows all about them. We don't have to get defensive but we often do, changing the subject from us to religion.  We might say something like, "With so many denominations and religions, who is to know what's true?" Somewhat of a dumb question but we're really trying to get the focus off ourselves because we still don't really know who Jesus is.

Jesus IS the one true God!  We simply have to worship Him!!  Stop trying to change the subject.  Jesus is a friend who knows all about you and me and we don't have to feel shame in His presence.  Just as Jesus connected with the Samaritan woman, so He is connected to you and me.  He WILL give us living water and His Holy Spirit to live in us.  We are no longer isolated, outcast.  Please hold onto that!!!!

A Shameful Start

Welch begins this next chapter in this second section with these words:

"What is the way out of shame?
Start with Jesus.
Look outside yourself to Jesus, who has been both highly honoured and deeply shamed.
Somehow, you must be associated with Him.
You associate yourself with Him by faith."  (p. 108)

Attachment theory tells us that when we are attached to someone in love, their acceptance and reputation keep us in a secure attachment and from there we can venture forth, grow and mature to become the people we were meant to be.  Imagine if that lover had a perfect love!  Welch tells us to imagine no longer but our job is to get to know the better LOVER and to trust in Him!!

Jesus -- the Servant-King, someone who no one expected to be like He was -- A King from David's line, King of the Jews heralded by angels, a royal envoy preceding Him; yet He was also Nothing -- identifying Himself with things and people considered to have no value.  This incongruity, Welch tells us, is where we find our hope for our own rejection and contamination.  He understands Nothings because He chose to BE one; He elevates Nothings when they associate with Him, King Jesus.  Welch now goes on to show how Scripture introduces Jesus to us.

Royal Blood

To get rid of shame we need to be connected to someone who can actually do something about it - a King, and Jesus was royalty.  We can read His lineage in Matthew and Luke, but also see that Tamar (became pregnant through her father-in-law), Rahab (an outsider and prostitute), and Ruth (an outsider reduced to nothing) are included in the royal line.  These women were sinful, didn't have much worth but their sin and shame would no longer define them because, through God's mercy, they were honoured as part of the royal line of Jesus, the Messiah.  Can you think of any other King who can reverse shame and replace it with honour????  (p. 110)

The Right Place of Birth

Want to let people know how important you are?  Start dropping names of who your ancestors were, perhaps they were founding members of the church or community.  Then make sure you tell everyone where you were born, and make sure it wasn't on the poor, rejected side of town.

Now lets look at Jesus.  Remember the incongruity of His royal blood?  Jesus was born in Bethlehem, nothing to boast about in those days (Micah 5:2).  Then His family is forced to flee to Egypt, the place where the Jew had been enslaved!!  Welch compares this to a Jew in Hitler's time, fleeing to Germany to find safety!!  Jesus' family in Egypt were outcasts, with no privileges or reputation, poorer than poor.  Next they go to Nazareth, a place about as far away from Jerusalem in prestige as you could get because it was associated with Gentiles, unclean people who would make you unclean if you came in contact with them. This is the town (John 7:41) that Jesus was identified with; common and poor people saw Him as one of their own, the ruling class thought He should stay there.  

Dreams and Announcements

Welch tells us that Scripture gives Jesus' credentials to us -- a commoner, outcast who knows us and identifies with us so we can identify with Him;  a King who takes us to the heights of honour and privilege (p. 112).

Famous births come with signs, dreams and pageantry but Welch points us once again to the incongruities of these for Jesus.

• angels sang at His birth -- but sang to shepherds, the lowliest of occupations
• angel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear a Son of the Most High God -- but she will be pregnant before she is married, about as shameful as you could get in that day
• This was how King Jesus chose to be born -- took on human flesh, taking on the most rejected place on the social ladder

Envoys and Ambassadors

Now Welch describes how Kings don't just show up, they have to be properly announced, therefore these ambassadors have to be impressive, standing out in the crowd with their uniforms, medals, banners flying (p. 113), making all the proper arrangements.

Jesus' ambassador was John the Baptist whose uniform was a primitive coat of camel's hair, his royal food -- locusts and wild honey, very popular with the poor and common crowd yet called the ruling class a brood of vipers (Luke 3:7).  John's ministry offered cleansing symbolized by baptism (John 1:26).

The message Welch wants us to hear is that the King identifies Himself with outcasts, and that the OT continually shows that people NEED cleansing, shown by all the sacrificial rituals.  But now John and Jesus unveil a radical message -- unclean, shamed people can experience cleansing by confessing their sins;  if you were contaminated by others, you were cleansed and accepted.  No more would sacrifices be necessary, you do not need to bring ANYTHING!!!  Jesus was the Servant-King (Mt 20:28), the Lamb-King (Jn 1:29), the Outcast-King, the Naked-King -- an unexpected King who cannot be compared to anything/one else!  We who are Nothing, may understand that He considers us as one of His own!

Shame, Honour and Jesus

This is the title of Welch's next section which he begins with:

"Everything Scripture says about shame converges at Jesus.  From His birth to His crucifixion, the shame of the world was distilled to its most concentrated form and washed over Him.  He was despised, insulted, naked, a friend of sinners, and abandoned by those who knew Him best.  The crucifixion was not the tragic end of an otherwise charmed life.  It was the logical conclusion of the shame he voluntarily accumulated from the moment of His birth.  The task in the first section was just to listen and give hope a fighting chance.  Now the job is to work, and "this is the work of God, that you believe in Him in whom He has sent."" (John 6:29)

"Their Faces Shall never be Ashamed"

Again Welch turns us to the book of Isaiah 54:1-5 and Psalm 34:1-8.

Up to this point Welch has been encouraging us to have hope, allowing it to take root in our hearts.  He describes hope as "steely confidence that God is in this story of shame and He is up to something good." (p.97)  Like Isaiah we might not understand all the details yet but through getting to know God's character that's enough for us right now.  We know God truly loves those who are the underdog!  That's why we continue to look at Isaiah even as he prophesies of some very hard things to come.  The good thing about that is, on the other side of the hard, dark things there is light through the Servant King Jesus.  A Servant who would be despised and rejected but somehow through all that He would take on all our shameful acts and every bit of shame done against us.  The Servant would identify with us and call us to identify with Him. (p. 98).

"Sing, O barren one" (Is 54:1).  Welch tells us that when we think of the most shameful thing that could happen today, we think of sexual abuse.  This compares with the same level of shamefulness in the OT as being barren.  Being barren was so noticeable, so public, your family line would not continue....  Yet these words of Isaiah show that something the Servant King did, made the barren one sing, her joy comes bursting out of her!!  She is honoured among her people instead of shunned.  What would that look like today?  Can we imagine something happening so that our shame is gone and the opposite -- honour, glory, renown happens?

"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced"  (Is 54:4).  The shame that has stubbornly stuck to our hearts, Isaiah tells us will be gone.  When God says "Fear not", we can positive that He is doing something.  It may be hard but let's just LISTEN to these words, just stop and LISTEN, HOPE!

"For your Maker is your husband"  (Is 54:5).  Welch reminds us that shame usually works with associations and this is a key point here.  We can feel shame because of our connections to something/someone shameful, but we can also feel shame when we have no connections.  God built in us this need for attachment and when we feel we are not invited into anyone's presence, this brings great shame.  We are identified with nothing and this is a great curse.  Nothing is bad and we may feel like we are worth nothing in poverty, if we are orphans/adopted, if we are rich because we identify ourselves with money which really is nothing, or when we attach ourselves to some other idol because idols are really nothing.  In this passage of Isaiah Israel was nothing, until they were identified with God, the Lord Almighty, the King, the Holy One.  Because Israel became His bride, He chose her, Israel became glorious!  Welch tells us that "The cure for shame will always be found in how we become connected to God." (p. 103)

"Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."  (Ps 34:5)  Imagine a wedding ceremony, the moment when the bride and groom face each other, deeply connected, eyes only for each other.  Welch tells us that this is similar to what happens when Our King turns His face toward us.  He is committed to us and change will happen.  The worst curse is found in Psalm 27:9 when God turns His face away from us, and the greatest blessing is heard every Sunday in the worship service (Num 6:24-25) when the LORD makes His face to shine upon us.  In response we look to His face, turning away from emptiness and nothing.  We might think we're still not good enough to turn and face God, we have to clean up our act a bit first, shame is still pulling us away from God, but Welch pushes us to TURN TO HIM deliberately, perhaps talking to someone to help you, to pray for and with you, to point you in the right direction.

Ever thought married couples start to look like each other, the longer they stay together, the more deeply they know each other?  The same happens with God.  The closer we are to Him, the longer we spend time with Him, the more we look like Him.  Remember Moses (Ex 34:29) and then look at Paul's words in 2 Cor 3:18.  In His Grace, God turns to us and we in response begin to reflect His beauty.  It won't take long and people will start to see it too.  Welch welcomes us to shame's opposite and encourages us to turn and find acceptance, honour, worth, even glory.

In his next chapters Welch wants us to discover the identity of the despised and rejected Servant, who is the Author of all those benefits.

Touch and Cleansing

Welch begins this chapter by quoting Isaiah 6:1-7 and it is well worth having that passage open as we go through summarizing this chapter.

Welch reminds us first that the OT is filled with signposts explaining that we get directions, walk a ways, then get another sign and so on...  The first signs put names to shame --> unclean, rejected, exposed, outcast, naked, ugly.  Scripture gives us the words for our feelings so that we can do something with them.  Next come the stories of hope --> people are covered, outcasts accepted, regulations given to make unclean clean, animal skins can be traded in (at least temporarily) for clothes that transform.  What will be the next part of the story???

Cleansing is possible and it is not dependent on how carefully we follow temple rules!

God is the one who cleanses and it give Him great pleasure to do it.  Isaiah's story shows us that cleansing is not just so we can be clean and acceptable in our community, but that the Holy One can come close, so close that He touches us.  (p.88)

In his vision Isaiah is taken to the throne room, unprepared, not dressed for the occasion, and the first thing he does is to look away, yet not quite quick enough.  He knew that to look on God was to die (Ex 33:18-20).  Yet for some reason he does not die, but hears the words: "Holy, holy, holy."  Because repeating something in Hebrew makes it more intense, Isaiah is surrounded and overwhelmed by God's Holiness!  It reverberates around him!  God is God and we are not!  He is infinite and eternal!!!  We are not.

This does not really bring comfort in our shame but it made Isaiah and us more aware of our shame and this is not necessarily a bad thing if it turns us to God, to trust Him or be associated with Him.  In fact the word Holy is the answer to our shame.  God is not a mere human and nothing on earth compares to Him!!

Sometimes things happen to us on earth by people who stand in God's place and so we thing God is like that too.  Therefore we have to look at Scripture in HUMILITY, Welch encourages.  We have to acknowledge we don't know everything and we might truly be confused about God.  We need to truly sit back and LISTEN now also as Isaiah helps us understand God's holiness.

Isaiah came into the presence of the Holy One, dirty, unprepared, expecting to die but God teaches him and us something about Himself.  We need to take a reality check about now --> do we still think/believe we can clean ourselves???

There really is only one thing for us to do and that is to admit that we are unclean.  Say it, repeat it: "I am unclean, and I live with people who are unclean." (p.93)  Welch tells us that simply saying and meaning it will not cause us despair but will identify us with Isaiah because what happened to him next is AMAZING!!
The LORD sent the seraphim on a special mission --> take hot purifying coals and touch Isaiah's mouth.  THE MINUTE THEY DID THAT, ISAIAH WAS CLEAN.  Wow!!!  Isaiah was forgiven, cleansed, welcomed into the presence of God where we also BELONG.

This story is a foretelling of the time when Christ would come, sent from the throne to come close to us, close enough to touch us.  Sounds amazing because we know that God is not human, He is the Holy One, The Triune God and we ABSOLUTELY may not limit Him to human terms.

Welch encourages us to think that we have a delusion.  The delusion is shame and that makes shame very real to us and God's holiness the lie.  Giving up our shame delusion is incredibly hard but we have to give it up!!!  The only way to give it up, is to truly get to know God, since it is only through building a relationship with someone that we will trust and believe them.  May God give us the knowledge and strength to make His Holy Spirit live in us and help us to let go of the lies of satan and accept the cleansing truth of God's character!!!

When God is your Tailor

"What is the way out of shame?
The unclean become clean.  The clean become holy.
The naked are clothed in royal garments.
The outcasts are accepted as children of the honoured King.
You might decide that life is worth living." (Welch, p. 76)

Humans were created naked and unashamed; they made themselves naked and ashamed, so they ran and hid, not wanting to be seen.  But God found them and covered them up with animal skins.

Welch now describes how God established the priesthood to lead His people in worship, but that He gave them the clothes to wear, beautiful clothes, sacred and holy, set apart by God Himself just as its wearers were.  Now we really begin to see how God wages the war against shame as He gives glory and beauty to His people.  Glory, beauty, consecrate -- all words to identify holy things belonging to God.  Splendour is possible because God makes it splendid and that's what we need to hold onto and just let wash over us.  Don't fight it!  Just rest in it!  Stop the BUTS and just sit for a moment and let that thought that God makes you splendid sit with you!!!

On regular days, the priests were just regular people, doing regular chores, eating, drinking, sleeping, cleaning, parents, coaches, neighbours....  The only thing was that their "job" was priest, a job they didn't earn but was given to them by God.  Just regular people like you and me, until they got dressed.  Then they looked SPECTACULAR. (p. 79)

When you read the description of the priests' clothes in Exodus 28, you see the detail that God designed into the clothing because whoever wore that clothing became associated with the Holy King.  It changed the status of whoever wore  God's designer clothes.

But how does this help us?  Welch describes three ways:
1.  the priests were normal, sinful human beings just like us -- you don't have to be perfect to be made holy.
2.  OT culture was like ours, your identity is tied to who you represent, usually a king, prime minister, country and the status of that king, PM, country is your status.  We are Israelites, God's chosen covenant people so we are tied to God, our identity is tied to God's identity!
3.  The priests wore the Israelites -- precious stones symbolizing Israel's 12 tribes were on their garments (Ex 28:29).  In a very real sense, the people entered the presence of God when the priests did, and whenever you go into the presence of God, you WILL look a bit more glorious!

Welch encourages us to keep with the slowly unfolding story in the OT.  Splendour comes back into the world through a group of old, bearded men who you wouldn't think were anything special until they wore their royal priestly robes!!  We are connected to those priests.  1 Peter 2:9 "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood."  Wow, I'm a royal priest?  Sounds hard to believe but don't fight it, just relax and let those words sit with you again.  You are a royal priest!!!  Let the words roll over you, sit with you.....

Welch explains that these royal garments make us stand out, but they also make us fit in.  They announce that we BELONG.  When we wear a special garment, we're no longer alone, outcast and we don't act the way we once did.

When you get a uniform for your job, think police officers, paramedics..., you represent that company, job, adopting the values of that job -- healing, safety, service -- whatever the company values you put on and show that to others.  It's like a clothing makeover, changing you from a regular joe, to company rep, shoulders squared, stand a bit straighter, adding a bit of a swagger....

Now think about wearing the priestly robes of our God, connecting us to Him, belonging to Him, we have a purpose!!  There is a reason for us to get out of bed now and move toward other people, to bless others is part of our job description (Num 6:22-27).

This may sound hard right now, especially if you are having a hard time believing God is good, but just hang onto the hope and fight that little voice that wants to trash all of this.  Tell it to STOP, and just relax, imagine that you are wearing God's designer outfit, imagine wearing LOVE which is the biggest value of God.  Let your heart fill with the idea that God gives you love.  Think about a pail filling with water, your heart filling with God's love.  When the pail gets full, it starts to overflow and that's the same with us.  When our hearts fill with God's love we will overflow with God's love (Lk 6:45).  That's what it means to fulfill our purpose of priestly blessing (p. 83).

Clean and Unclean, Holy and Common

"What is the way out of shame?
Knowledge that leads to belief.
Belief that leads to trust:
     trust in Jesus
     trust in His Words
     trust in His promises." (p.64)

For me, the hope out of shame begins in this chapter where Welch discusses the OT teaching of sacrifices (the part most of us skip over) but the point he really wants to make is how things were categorized into clean and unclean, common and holy and the reasons for that.  Lev 10:10.  Welch tells us that with these four basic categories we get the basic building blocks of the spiritual universe and everyone fits into two of those four groups.  The groups are very distinctly separate --> you can't be a little clean or sort of unclean.  Clean is acceptable, normal; unclean is defiled, cast out, abnormal.  The clean can't cleanse the unclean but the unclean can contaminate the clean and that's why the unclean were separated from the clean.  Think about how lepers were treated in Biblical times. (p. 66)

Welch goes on to describe how uncleanness strikes us all (Is 64:6) because of something we have done or what what has been done to us.  God makes a point about who belongs in the category of uncleanness (anyone associated with death, idol worship, who violates God's intended order) whether perpetrator or victim, because He wants to make clear that uncleanness does not belong in His Kingdom.  Welch is quick to point out though: "That doesn't mean the unclean are unwelcome, but it means God must do something for them before they enter His presence."

The OT spends a lot of time explaining how people could become part of the group again if they became unclean, through sacrifices, but the important difference for us today is that we do not need to find a priest to make a sacrifice for us.

To be clean is shalom, peace, everything is right, the way it's supposed to be, but for us who know shame, being clean is a place we know exists, where most other people live but we never will.  We can't just walk from our unclean, shameful place into the part of town where the clean people live.  In the OT, Welch reminds us that, the way of cleanness went through the temple where the cost of the sacrifice wasn't important, but the shedding of blood was.  The OT was teaching us that a very significant cost was involved to move from unclean to clean, but after the sacrifice of blood you were clean and could rejoin the community and be fully accepted.  No one could point at you and say you were still unclean after the priest had pronounced you clean!

In the next part of the chapter Welch deals with the struggle we might still be having if we find it hard to accept that sacrifices done on our behalf can make us clean.  He is very strong on this part and I would encourage anyone struggling with this to really take a good hard look at yourself --> do you still feel that you have to DO something, or are you just stubborn and angry with the contaminator, playing the victim card, your pride is holding you back, you are believing the lies of the devil!!  Beware, he is prowling around like a lion, looking for someone to devour.  1 Pet 5:6-11.

The OT system may seem to have its advantages with the way to becoming clean following a set of prescribed steps, and then in a ceremony of closure you were clean and fit completely back into the community.  Welch reminds us that this only gets better as we continue our walk through God's Word, the OT rituals are only a warm-up!!

Welch finishes the chapter by also looking at holy and common, with clean and unclean having the same parent -- the common which is separate from the holy.  The category of holy is all about God.  God is holy and anything He declares uniquely His is also holy, set apart to God.  Only the priests in the OT had access to the parts of the tabernacle closest to the Holy of Holies.  If you were unclean in the OT you could become clean yet there was still a barrier between you and God.  Yet God said in Lev 11:45, that He called the entire people of Israel holy.  God made them His own people and as God's covenant people don't we fit into that category?

Finally Welch looks at the common category which relates to people and all created things.  In the OT the common included the clean after it was consecrated.  In the NT the journey from common to holy is sanctification, which is a process where we become more and more like Christ --> we're Christians under Construction.

Welch finishes the chapter by saying, "whether we know it or not, what we truly want is to be holy, to enjoy the presence of the Holy One.  That is the deepest answer to the problem of shame." (p.75)

The Outcast

Now in chapter 7 Welch looks at how shame comes in the form of being an outcast.  When we are filled with shame we feel cast out, just as Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, Cain was cast out of his family, and then there was Hagar, Gen 16:1-15.  Often when we read these stories we can really identify with these real people, but that is as far as it goes.  We don't see the hope that these histories include.  We'll often think these histories are helpful for someone else, someone less contaminated than we are, that we're not worthy.

In fact Welch warns us that we often treat HOPE as a contaminated substance.  We don't think we deserve hope and when people tell us things like, "it isn't your fault," "you are created in the image of God, so you are worth it," "God doesn't make junk," "God loves you," or we try to show God how hard we are trying, or remember that we are loved by a parent, friend, etc none of these things work to make us feel better.  Even when we know that God chooses a small group of people to be the line for the Messiah, that He honours people who are not the firstborn, He brings judgment on nations who treat the poor, the widow and the orphan in the wrong way, that still doesn't seem to help us.  Nothing seems to sink into our thick skulls, we just want to go back to our comfortable place of our dark prisons of shame.  That's home.  That's what we are used to.  (p. 59)

Welch then encourages us to try something that goes so against our natural ways:  instead of looking at ourselves, look at God!  Get to KNOW God, who He is first and foremost.  The passage Welch uses to start with is Deuteronomy 7:6-8, where he encourages us to get to know God as KING.  God invites us into His Kingdom, He is faithful to us because of His love, not our worthiness, not because we are lovable but because GOD IS LOVE.  We have to get over our pride, our sense of self-esteem, or anything that would make us acceptable to God.

Welch sums it up when he says, "You can turn inward, in which case you are looking for a little self-worth to bring to the Lord, and that is pride.  Or you can turn to Him and discover that He has a heart for the unworthy." (p. 62)

Let's look at WHO God is and not even look at ourselves right now.  Let the knowledge of WHO our covenant God IS, just flow over us without trying to apply it to ourselves.  Let's try to find out what it is about God's character that causes us to love Him and turn toward Him.

Naked with Shame

Welch begins this next chapter by explaining that shame cannot always be pinpointed at the exact time and place of its arrival in our own lives, but that it has a very long history.  It began in Eden, Gen 3:6-10 when shame's trinity: nakedness, rejection and contamination invaded humanity.  First came nakedness after the fall, when Adam and Eve tried to cover it up with fig leaves, but since that didn't feel like enough they also tried to hide.  Welch tells us that hiding, covering, self-protection, feeling exposed, are all telltale signs of shame.

Then came rejection, separated from, cast out, or not being invited into God's presence.  Modern shame's most common description is rejection according to Welch, but wherever you find rejection you also notice nakedness and contamination.  Separation, rejection is also the telltale signs of an insecure attachment.  In the Genesis story, God drove out the man and woman, Gen 3:24, and sent them out of the garden of Eden, Gen 3:23.

"Unclean" or contaminated is the third triad of shame and Welch tells us that came later.  "Unclean" came first in Exodus and in Leviticus it is the word used to identify shame.  Since this all happened before we  were born it also explains why shame doesn't necessarily have a specific starting point in our lives.  We are connected to Adam and Eve and therefore we feel shame, and often continue to repeat shameful acts ourselves.

Welch believes it is very necessary to begin at the fall of Adam and Eve to truly know the truth about shame. He describes it as taking a walk, knowing that we feel shame because we are linked to a shameful family line in Adam and Eve, we can't escape it and we also have to recognize that we are not different from Adam, repeating his actions every day.  Therefore he encourages us to stay on the walk of watching our family history unfold but also watch ourselves.

Shame says we are unpresentable.  We often feel the shame before other people but are blind to the fact that shame is also, and primarily, before God.  (p. 48)  Welch continues to encourage us not to turn away in panic as we learn that just as Adam and Eve brought shame on themselves so do we.  If we really want to know cleansing and acceptance we have to be able to distinguish between the shame that we bring on ourselves because of what we do, and the shame that comes from other people's actions to us.  Identifying the shame because of our own actions is not easy or painless but it is necessary and relieving as it comes out into the open. Owning what we do wrong, and receiving God's forgiveness is often easier than when the shame is attached to us because of sins done against us.

When shame is made public, we begin to blame, Gen 3:11-13.  Shame is disorienting, Welch tells us, often blaming ourselves when we shouldn't, and blaming others when we should be looking at ourselves.  Satan wants us to believe bad things happen because we have been bad, but if we look at Jesus and the early disciples, we see bad things happen to them when they were not bad people.  The Bible also shows us that if we are sinned against, it's not our fault (Dt 24:16, Ezek 18:18-23).  Welch promises to talk more about this later.

On the other hand, when Adam and Eve fell, they blamed others when they should have been taking responsibility for their own choice.  Welch explains that when we feel relentless condemnation and don't know where to go for forgiveness and cleansing, we look for a way to prove our innocence (p. 53).

Welch goes on very adamantly, "Whether blame leads you to take the blame for everything or shift the blame for everything, you will experience hopelessness.  The only way out of this quagmire is to put things where they really belong.  Own what is yours and only what is yours.  It sounds easy, but if you have been living with shame, this one might be too advanced for your skill set, at least for now." (p. 53)

Since shame seems to be part of our fallen nature, Welch encourages us by explaining that God recognized this struggle at the very beginning, that our shame problem is important to God and He will DO something about it.

Which extreme do you lean toward: "It's all my fault," or "It's all the other person's fault"?  How does the connection between shame and our associations hit you?

Shame, before Christ

In the next seven chapters Welch now looks at how shame can be traced through three historical periods: before Jesus Christ, during Jesus' life on earth, and after Jesus' resurrection.  In the first era he says shame begins as nakedness, followed by rejection and completed by contamination, with all three in contrast to God's holiness, making shame even more shameful.  Ultimately however this contrast is intended to remind us of our need for covering, acceptance and cleansing that only God can give.

Naked without Shame

Welch tells us that the Bible is all about shame.

God identifies it.
God experienced it.
You are not alone.

Gen 2:25 describes Adam and Eve, both naked and not ashamed.  BUT THAT CHANGED.  Shame came into the picture:(  But watch out, every step we take into God's story will bring a little more hope, sometimes gently -- feeling understood, other times so amazing it'll take our breath away.  (p. 41)

The thing is though, Scripture is about shame from the beginning to the end and we have to figure out the texts to consider, and there are MANY of them, which should give us hope!  In summary it is the GOSPEL, when we receive things we don't deserve!!.  Welch adds a comment here, "if what follows doesn't sound like good news to you, you are not really hearing the story.  On the other hand, if it sounds too good to be true, you are hearing correctly.  Your heart and mind just need to catch up to its reality.  YOU WON'T FIND THIS HOPE ANYWHERE ELSE (my emphasis)."

In the beginning there was no shame.  People walked around with no shame, nude, with no concerns about their bodies, no concerns about what they had done, they feared no critical judgments because their bodies were flawless, they had done nothing wrong, no one was critical or condescending.  Sounds wonderful!!!

We have to start there, according to Welch, because it's important to know that shame shouldn't be part of the human condition, so shame is like a thief, a robber, who shouldn't be there!!

The problem is though, that if I feel like I am shame, how do I get rid of myself, cleanse myself of me?????  Scripture tells us that we have something absolutely amazing - better than Eden after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Scripture takes awhile to get to the details but "better" is definitely there!!

I pray that everyone may have the beginning of some hope at this point.

Shame and Disgust

Chapter 4 is the last chapter in uncovering shame and begins connecting the three human experiences:

"You feel like an outcast.  You don't belong.
You feel naked.  While everyone else is walking around with their clothes on, you feel exposed and vulnerable.  You are seen, and what others see is not pretty.
You feel unclean.  Something is wrong with you.  You are dirty.  Even worse, you are contaminated.  There is a difference between being a bit muddy and harbouring a deadly, contagious virus." (p.27)

Tough, tough words but this is the only way to uncover, expose it because it is everywhere.  Welch gives a list of places where it is seen -- depression, anger, anorexia, fear and withdrawal, exhibitionism, addiction, cutting, fears of being exposed, suicide, doubts that God could ever love you, you can't forgive yourself, you're a failure.  Every culture has its worthless and honoured and Welch says the schoolyard is the world in miniature, where the caste system falls into place.  The picked on are the most visible, but underneath the popular child's belittling and powerfulness, is often a child who goes home to an insecure attachment household.  Their bravado is a coverup for the belittling they often perceive.

To really dig out shame we have to give it the tough language it truly describes:
unclean     defiled     disgraced     dishonoured     outcast     worthless     filthy     unlovable     loathed     shunned     discarded     scorned     disgusting     repulsive     vile
Sometimes it may mean opening up a number of different layers to truly get to the shame layer and sometimes shame at the extreme has no words.  The only way we can express shame, according to Welch, is by doing disgusting things: vomiting, promiscuity, intentional failure in work or relationships.

Sometimes we do shame, sometimes we are shamed, and many times we are a combination of both (p.33).  The world spits shame on other people and most recipients believe they deserve it (Num 12:14, Deut 25:8-9, WWII concentration camps dehumanizing Jews).

The language of shame is extreme and when we hear it often enough we believe it, but we cannot minimize it.  Shame can be cleansed but we have to confront it.  I'm going to finish today with Welch's words on p. 35, "To be human is to experience shame, but to be human is also to hope."  You don't have to stay unclean forever!!

Shame Through the Years

This chapter starts with :
What is Shame?
You are different
rejected
exposed
contaminated.

Then Welch goes on to show that shame is nothing new in this world, quoting a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.  In this book a woman must wear the letter A as punishment for her adultery, and even though the man involved did not have to publicly wear the letter he had privately etched the letter on his own chest.  Most of us will notice a little bit of shame in our lives but some have reminders every day.  The point of Welch's book is help you so that all shame is gone, whether private or public.

In earlier days when someone broke the law they stood in either stocks, where your feet were locked in yet your hands were free to defend yourself from things thrown at you, or a pillory where arms and head were locked in so you were totally defenseless.  The good thing about either of the above is that when you were free, it was like a public announcement that you were now socially acceptable.

Shame is still the the main ingredient of punishments today, giving the punisher power, and the victim often tries to make sense of it by believing they got what they deserved.  This is the most powerful lie that the devil wants us to believe so we must be very aware and ALWAYS  assume that shame accumulates lies!!!!

Can we identify the scarlet A that we wear, either publicly or privately?  What is that like?  Can we begin to identify some of the lies that are attached to our shame?