It’s actually a bit of a tussle whenever the church puts out a new book of worship because it means the congregations have to learn new
musical settings for the liturgy. And, believe it or not, a lot of the
congregants don’t like change that much.
But apparently some of the members of this
congregation thought they had found a silver lining. They noticed that the
confession of sin was no longer a required part of the weekly worship service.
It was now optional; they could confess their sins if they wanted to, but they
didn’t have to.
Well, they immediately brought this to the pastor’s
attention. Because it seemed as though he had overlooked this important piece
of information. He just looked at them and smiled. He said, No, actually, it
isn’t optional. It might be the new and improved worship setting, but we’re
still the same old and unimproved human beings. We’ll continue to confess our
sins. Every week.
I guess I feel the same way this Lutheran pastor
did. While it isn’t required in our Presbyterian worship – because in our
Reformed worship there are very few things that are explicitly required – it is important in our faith and in our worship.
For Presbyterians, the confession of sin is
strategically placed in our order of worship. It is one of the first things we
do together on a Sunday morning, very simply because it is something we all
need to do before we can enter the Word of God. Before we can hear the Word,
before it can work in us, we need to remove any barriers that stand in the way.
Pretending we are not sinners? That would be a major barrier.
So important is this act of worship, that some
Presbyterian churches put the call to confession as the very first thing. It is
as if to say you cannot even begin to worship God before you have made your
confession.
The prayer of confession is, of course, a corporate
prayer, meaning it is a prayer we make together as one body. And that is
sometimes troublesome to some of us. Many times I have had someone approach me
after the worship service to let me know that they have a bone to pick about
some particular part of the prayer of confession. They will say, “I don’t do that,
so I don’t feel I should have to confess it.” They might say, “That isn’t even
relevant to me, and I am offended by the expectation that I should say it.”
It is true, of course, that some of the things we
confess on any given Sunday we have not done personally. But we are confessing
as a body; we are, in a way, all claiming responsibility for one another. We
confess the sins of the church as a whole, and even sometimes the sins of
humankind as a whole.
But even more, I would suggest to you that the
corporate confession of sin gives each one of us an opportunity to search
ourselves honestly and root out the hidden sin. The moment of silent confession
gives a little time for that.
I know that the time of confession may not be the
most upbeat and joyful part of our worship, but it can truly lead to joy. We
confess our sin to God, we lift off the burden that is weighing us down,
imprisoning us, and we rejoice in the glory of God, who is merciful and loving.
Because every time we enter into confession we
immediately receive an assurance of forgiveness through Christ our Savior. In
the words of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.”
In fact, the reason we can confess our sin so freely
is because our forgiveness is assured.
We confess as a church, together, for the sins of
all. We each confess silently, for the particular sins we have committed. And for
all of it we receive forgiveness. But it may feel, somehow, that the sin clings
to us, even though we have confessed.
I have often heard it said that the problem is that
we don’t forgive ourselves. We remain troubled by sins because we continue to
hold ourselves in contempt, even though God has already forgiven. Friends will
encourage us to be kinder to ourselves, to forgive ourselves so we can move on.
I know this is true sometimes.
But Bonhoeffer raises a question that I find nags at
me: When we have made our confession in the silence of our hearts, naming our
particular sins in silence, are we, perhaps only confessing to ourselves? Is it
possible that in this silent confession we are trying to grant ourselves
absolution, leaving God and everyone else out of it? and is this, possibly, the
real reason we feel unable to leave that sin behind?
Bonhoeffer makes a strong case for each one
confessing their sin to another human being. Not a priest, because there is no
special power that the priest has to wipe out our sins, but to a brother, or a
sister, in Christ. To say them out loud to another, and, of course, that is
something we don’t care to do.
We say that our sin is between ourselves and God,
but there are actually so many ways this is not true. When we have wronged someone
else, when we have failed to give our time and our talents to the work of the
church, when we have been callous about the needs of others – in all these
cases our sins are relevant to others. In truth, our sin is between ourselves
and God and our community. In the community of Christ, we are all called to be
as Christ to one another.
We often say in the Presbyterian Church that we are
all ministers, and that is true in the Lutheran Church as well. We believe
that, by virtue of our baptism we are empowered to share the good news of God’s
grace; we are given the authority to offer the forgiveness of sin in Christ’s
name. And we are strengthened to give strength to one another as we walk this
path together. This is a ministry that we all share. As Paul writes to the
Corinthians, “God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ, has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”
There are moments in the life of a congregation when
this act of reconciliation is crucial. A congregation where I once served went through
a rough patch together. During that time people said things they should not
have said. People did things they should not have done. There was a lot of
hurt. Something needed to be done. So we held a healing service. We implored
everyone to come, especially those whom we knew were suffering.
We made a prayer of confession a central part of our
worship. We prayed together, using the printed words on the page of our
bulletin. Then we took some time to move around the sanctuary to offer
forgiveness to one another. We gave everyone as much time as was needed to
approach the ones they wanted to approach, to say the words they needed to say,
and to offer one another signs and words of forgiveness.
It was something that had to be done. These were not
matters we wanted to carry around with us for years to come, like suitcases
full of bricks. The church had to let it go and the only way to let it go was
to ask for and offer forgiveness.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us.” We find these words in the first epistle of John, and
it is a reminder we all need to hear: that our confession of sin is not an
add-on. It is not just one of many options we might choose on any given day.
The church is sometimes called a hospital for
sinners, because all of these sin-sick souls are in need of healing, which
comes to us through forgiveness. Anyone is welcome here. No one is expected to
get their act together before they walk in the door. Just as God loves each of
us just as we are, we are each called to love others, just as they are.
The church is also sometimes called a school for
saints, because every one of us recovering sinners is in need of spiritual
nourishment, to grow in grace and love. That is our hope for anyone who walks
through our door, no matter who they are.
Only in church can we do these things. Only in the
community of Christ can we give to one another what is needed to heal and grow.
That is why we are here.
I don’t know how I would live without the church,
because it has always been there for me. It feels as though losing the church
would be like losing my heart.
I say this, even though I know that being the church
is never easy. The work of community is hard work. When we would rather sleep
in, we are called to get up and go be with the community. When we would rather
spend our cash on our own private pleasures, we are called to give to the work
of the church. When we would rather walk away from a hard relationship, we are
called to stay in it, working toward reconciliation.
But I must say this morning, the ministry of
reconciliation goes beyond what happens between these four walls. After the
news of another racist mass murder on Saturday in Jacksonville, we are reminded there is much need
for reconciliation out in the world, and once again we see how excruciatingly
painful this problem is. We live in a society where hatred is allowed to grow
freely and flourish. So free that some even believe they are justified in
killing others simply because they have dark skin. This is the sin of our
nation, a sin we all share, and we must face it. Hard as it is, we must face
it.
Only church asks these hard things from us. And only
church gives us the surprising and precious gifts in return.
Together we are so much more than any one of us
could be alone. Together we are the body of Christ our Lord – to him be all
glory and dominion, forever and ever.
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