Therefore…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)
Jesus’s Crucifixion was the most painful and shameful punishment the Romans ever invented, reserved for the very lowest class of people in the Empire. He willingly took the place of sinful mankind there, becoming the perfect sin offering on our behalf so that we might be rescued from sin and its effects and share in his very holiness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus freely chose to be lifted up on the Cross (see John 3:14). And just as the bronze serpent in the wilderness (see Numbers 21:6-9) – that terrifying image of the lethal serpent whose very poison was killing them – provided healing for the Israelites in the desert, so for us in the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Jesus hung naked in public: beaten, spit upon, humiliated and mocked out of love for you and me. He actually chose to embrace our shame without himself becoming ashamed by it. He is not repelled or scandalized by it. Scripture says he scorned it.
Whatever you have done, whatever others have done to you, he has already carried it all to Calvary and swallowed it up entirely in his merciful love. He longs to free you from the poison of the power of the lies of the ancient serpent, the Evil One; those lies which have taken root in your self definition telling you that you’re defective, unlovable, or irredeemable. He has already freed you from your Egypt; he wants you not to return to that bondage.
And like the children of Israel in the desert who needed to look at the bronze image of the poisonous snakes which bit them despite their fear, our healing requires that we really look at and fully acknowledge the root cause of our shame. Whatever that might be – neglect, abuse, rejection, betrayal, exclusion – God requires that we look squarely at it all and name it all. It’s a hard thing to do but it’s the one thing necessary for healing.
The enemy of our souls wants us to turn away and hide, to withdraw from God’s light in shame and try to “cover our own nakedness” just as Adam and Eve tried to do. If we instead force ourselves – by God’s enablement – to come fully into the revealing light of Christ, we can access the very reason he bore our shame: his unfathomable, unmerited, merciful love. We can be forgiven, healed, and restored to life where darkness, isolation and shame have previously ruled.
So come out of hiding. If you are Catholic, run to the sacrament of Confession. Whether you are or not, ask Jesus to take your shameful feelings and memories, the things that you did trying to find a remedy for your pain. Exchange the lies for the truth of his acceptance of you in your your vulnerability and weakness. Ask him to tell you the truth of who you are in his love. And keep asking until you believe him. Do not grow weary and lose heart, for he is not only the originator of your pilgrimage to the glory of heaven, but also the perfector of it.
The mercy of Jesus flows like a healing balm for all of your soul’s wounds. It comes exactly there, to the lowest, most painful place where you long to hear, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
Lessons From Love School 