The young man sits in the courtroom. His hair is dyed a clownish red color. His wild-eyed gaze is punctuated by the lifting of his eyebrows. Family and loved-ones victimized by this killer are staring over at him in anger. One man seethes with hatred as he looks at the person who killed his daughter, and fights the shame of wondering if he could’ve done more to protect her.
By this time we all know who this young man is. He’s the deranged gunman who opened fire on a crowded Aurora, Colorado movie theater killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. Without knowing much else about him, the name James Holmes will forever be associated with evil, and with shame.
There are now pictures and videos being shown of a house in Rancho Penasquitos, California that’s surrounded with reporters, cameras, lights, and media vans. It’s the house where James Holmes grew up. And it’s the house where his dad, mom, and 16-year-old sister still live. While people look for answers as to why this young man did what he did, his family hides in their home, stifled with the contaminating stench of shame.
It’s being reported that James went to church regularly with his parents, and that his sister played bass in the worship team. When interviewed, the pastor recalled James being “a proud, intelligent boy who was determined to go to graduate school.” The pastor no doubt wonders if he should’ve been able to recognize any warning signs that could’ve prevented this tragedy, all the while the contaminants of shame sift their way through his thoughts.
The sobering truth is that shame devourers the guilty,
and everyone associated with them.
The phrase, “There’s sin in the camp,” is often used when things don’t seem to being going well and someone’s to blame. It comes from the Old Testament account of the children of Israel entering into the Promised Land. They had conquered the walled city of Jericho and were now moving forward to take the city of Ai. Joshua sent up 3000 men for what seemed a simple task, only to have them return in total defeat. Exasperated and grieved, Joshua inquired of the Lord to find out what was wrong. God responds,
“Israel has sinned against me. Gather every household and find out who the culprit is!”
One by one Joshua confronts the head of each family, asking each of them if they had done anything wrong. A man named Achan had been nervously listening and watching everything. His face distorted with stress as Joshua now stood in front of him. The question had barely come out of Joshua’s mouth when Achan blurted out,
“It’s me! It’s me! I did it! I’m the one to blame!!!”
It turns out that Achan had kept for himself some of the spoils from the Jericho raid, and it was this thing that had greatly angered the Lord and subsequently caused the defeat at Ai. Joshua then sent some men to Achan’s tent and recovered the items. But it didn’t end there.
Joshua commanded that Achan be stoned to death…along with his wife, and his kids, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his sheep. And after they were stoned, they were to be burned along with everything associated with him. Forever Achan’s name and everything related to him will be horribly and indelibly marred with the shame of sin and guilt.
This is why the book of Proverbs tells us,
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great wealth.” (Proverbs 22:1)
But what if your name is associated with guilt and shame? Is there any cure for this? Yes! Paul declares,
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Jesus now stands in front of our accusers and takes our place as the inquiries and accusations come. Jesus now sits in the courtroom in our place as the charges against us are being read. Jesus now comes to the darkened places we’ve been hiding in, and lets us escape to a new and better place where we will never again be associated with guilt or the contamination of shame.
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