Listening to shame
Brene’ Brown does it again, but this time she’s on the big stage. Her follow up to her TEDx talk on vulnerability is once again a surgically precise analysis of what haunts the human heart. While she does not wax-theological it is not difficult for those of us who are determined to free the world from the power and curse of sin to see the connection. Shame is sin’s executioner that kills the soul slowly. When Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead He not only defeated death and sin, but He freed us from the executioner’s grasp.
To quote Brennan Manning, “God loves you as you are, not as you should be.”
I am a victim and an assailant. I have been abused and have been the abuser. I have been lied to and I have been the liar. On one hand I can point out the road you should travel and on the other hand I can choose a different road. I would rather hide than be seen, and yet wish to be known and loved. Many come to ask for my advice, and I am often the last one to take it.
The good news is that Jesus died for me anyway.
He died for you anyway.
We no longer must die at the hand of Sin’s executioner, but can live abundantly joyful even in the face of death.
Thanks be to God!
Brene Brown on Vulnerability
As many have asked for a link to the talk I referenced in both my sermon on January 7-8 and in the Redemption Class I thought I would publish here once again her TED talk. Note she does use a curse word, and I disagree with her conclusion that “I am enough” unless that is in the context that we need not clean up before we submit to Jesus. The reality is that we are not enough, we need help, and Jesus is the help we need.
Only the Vulnerable Need Apply
We are wired to be connected to others. The story of creation in Genesis is a story of a God who is connected with people and people who are supposed to be connected with one another. Sin breaks connection. Our response to sin, whether it be what we have done or what others have done to us or to others, can either be to embrace and accept it and admit it hurts or we can try to ignore, grow callous toward, hide from and attempt to separate it from us. Just as Adam and Eve did we hide, use blame, and we tell lies. We may even go to war in order to not accept our own fallibleness as Cain did against Abel thinking that killing those that know our imperfection might mysteriously remove it from reality. In an effort to be perceived as whole, complete, and strong we utilize force, either physical or psychological as in making rules, to protect our image. This sad thing is that the image we protect is, in fact, a false image.
God, on the other hand, is vulnerable. The fact that he places the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in the first place is evidence of God’s willingness to be vulnerable. God loves Adam and Eve and then gives them the opportunity to reject, rebel, and injure Him. This vulnerability extends to Jesus and the Cross and beyond in the invitation He gives us to believe.
God’s example of vulnerability is extremely vital for us because the lie we tend to live is that we need to protect ourselves from allowing the truth about who we really are to be exposed. To allow others to see us as the abuser, the abused, the fornicator, the addict, the murderer, the adulterer, the gossip…the broken is seen by the vast majority of people as weakness. Yet if God is God, and He is the epitomy of strength, then being vulnerable and actually inviting the experience of pain and loss should be seen as experiences that lead to strength.
Just think of things that make you feel vulnerable. For me, asking anything of anyone makes me feel vulnerable. As a kid inviting someone to come over used to cripple me with anxiety and when rejection came I would dive deeply into a sea of self pity. I hate it yet I know from God’s example in the Bible that I must be vulnerable. The Church, then in my opinion, should be a gathering of people that doesn’t just allow vulnerability, but demands it. It requires it’s people to invite others to be connected to them and to be confident in the fact that Christ is enough.
In this 20 minute talk, while she doesn’t mention God or the Church, Brene Brown does reveal some biblical truths about what it means to be healthy people. I strongly encourage you to take the time to watch it. Her conclusion falls a little short in my mind as it should be “Jesus is enough,” but everything leading up to her conclusion is an accurate portrayal of our plight as people. For those who have taken the Redemption class her words should ring true. For those who haven’t – this is the kind of stuff we will explore.