Spiritual Watchfulness (Part 3): Feelings of Shame and Embarrassment
Main Idea
This sermon addresses the subject of spiritual awakening and explains the importance of the conscience awakening, a person recognizing their sins, and sincerely desiring to return to God. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that feeling ashamed of past sins may be a sign of an awakened conscience and a pure heart. A person who recognizes their mistakes feels sorrow because they have violated God’s commandments and harmed themselves, their thoughts, and their senses. The sermon draws on biblical examples, such as the repentant tax collector and the prodigal son, to illustrate how recognizing sin leads to humility and seeking God’s mercy.
Spiritual Message
The sermon emphasizes that holy shame over sin is not merely a fear of having one’s mistakes exposed before other people, but an inner feeling that arises from recognizing God’s holiness, goodness, love, and long-suffering patience. A person may feel ashamed of receiving God’s many blessings while failing to fulfill their responsibilities toward Him, of making promises to God and then failing to keep them, and of repeating prayers without living according to their meaning. The teaching explains that the Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin, helps them recognize their weakness, and calls them to repentance and a return to God. Complete absence of shame over sin, however, may indicate a sleeping or insensitive conscience that needs awakening and renewal.
Educational Lesson
The sermon explains that sin does not affect the individual alone, but may also bring shame and pain to their family, friends, and the community to which they belong. It also explains the difference between feeling ashamed of a sin before committing it and feeling ashamed after falling into it. Shame before committing a sin serves as spiritual protection that helps a person resist temptation and avoid falling. Shame after sinning, however, should lead to repentance, correcting one’s course, and avoiding the repetition of the mistake. The sermon also emphasizes that honestly confronting the truth about oneself before one’s conscience helps a person recognize their weakness instead of pretending to be righteous or ignoring their mistakes.
Practical Application
The sermon calls every person to examine their conscience honestly and review their actions, thoughts, promises, and prayers before God. A person should learn to turn away from sin before committing it and should neither justify their mistakes nor treat them lightly. If they fall into sin, they should acknowledge their responsibility, repent, and seek God’s mercy, using this feeling as an opportunity to improve their life. They should also ensure that their prayers and promises correspond to their practical behavior and make holy shame a motivation for change rather than a cause of despair. The purpose of this spiritual awakening is for the conscience to awaken, spiritual life to be renewed, and the person to return to God with a humble heart and sincere repentance.
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