Dealing with Shame

This Sunday's lectionary reading is about Joseph and his reaction to his fiance's unexpected pregnancy and how he responded to it. After reading the story, I found myself asking how Joseph must have felt both as he discovered Mary's untimely pregancy or wrestled with the feelings of shame he probably experienced long after he and Mary were married. Did people talk about his as he walked by? Did Mary's parents believe that Joseph didn't get their daughter pregnant?

I believe most of us have experienced shame at one point or another in our lives. Living with shame is tough, and how we go about dealing with it truly marks our character. In any event, here is a portion of the sermon I am going to preach later tonight. You can read the entire sermon by visiting my church's website once I post the sermon online tomorrow (or later tonight).

At some point or another, some of us have been there too: It’s the dead of the night, that special hour when the silence seems spooky, and suddenly you are awakened. On the surface, it could be for any reason: a fragment of a disturbing dream, some stressful remnant from the day before. But as you lie there sinking back into sleep, something else rises up to grasp your conscious mind. It’s more than just an anxious feeling cresting on a cloudy surface; it’s a whisper from way down deep, past the layers of worry, anxiety, and need. It’s a small voice buried in the very center of who you are. And the voice asks, ‘Am I okay? Am I really satisfied with the way I am? Maybe there is something wrong [with me] after all.'