Bless Me For I Have Sinned (Mid-week Meditation)

“Bless Me, for I have Sinned” 

Mid-Week Meditation

16 February 2012 

“Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven,

               and whose sin is put away!

Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,

               and in whose spirit there is no guile!

While I held my tongue, my bones withered away,

               because of my groaning all day long.

For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;

               my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

               and did not conceal my guilt.

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’

               Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.” (Psalm 32: 1-6)

Admission of fault and expression of remorse for our wrongdoings are part of a healthy process of amendment of life.   Such acts of confession and contrition have always been seen as a necessary step in repentance and helping us to find peace with each other and within ourselves. That is why we have a general confession of sin in almost all of our worship, both Morning and Evening Prayer offices and the Holy Eucharist. 

In addition to General Public Confession and our private confessions to God in our prayers, the Prayer Book (pp. 446-452) provides for a private confession of sin between a penitent and “a discreet priest.”  The Reconciliation of a Penitent is an ancient ritual.  Though not one of the two Sacraments specifically instituted as such by our Lord while he lived (Baptism and Eucharist), Reconciliation (often just called “Confession”) is counted in Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church as one of the Sacraments of the Church (along with Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Ill, and Holy Orders).  

 

Due to countless images in movies from the rite as practiced in the Roman use, when we hear “confession,” we often picture a special booth with a priest on one side of the screen and the penitent on the other.  But in the Episcopal Church, the rite takes place either in the church (usually near the altar rail) or the clergy's office.   We recognize that it serves as an aid in personal repentance and amendment of life.  It helps us be more honest, less inclined to tell God how we think our failings should be understood, as we might if praying alone or confessing generally in public.  It allows for pastoral counseling and some spiritual direction.   Because we do not see confession as a one-size-fits-all requirement, for us “All may.  None must.  Some should.” That is, we welcome and encourage all to confess as they feel the need, we require no one to do so, and we recognize that some people really ought to avail themselves of this sacrament since it is such a powerful tool in helping us forgive ourselves for past mistakes and find reconciliation. 

Since private confession to a priest is not compulsory for us, and since it takes time and effort, and, quite frankly, often provokes embarrassment in us as we “fess up” in front of another person, most Episcopalians never bother to seek the sacrament unless they attend an Anglo-Catholic Parish.   I think this is worth a second look for Broad Church Episcopalians (and even Low Church Episcopalians) as the centuries long practice of confessing one's sins to God in the presence of a priest who can then pronounce absolution remains a powerful experience, and very helpful in putting an end to past wrongs.   I have found in my own life that it is an important way to make a break with past sins.   This is why as your rector and pastor, I am recommending it as part of our Lenten discipline and preparation for Easter.

I am reserving most of Shrove Tuesday (February 21) to hear confessions so that you might be able to go to Ash Wednesday services the next day with a sense of a new and fresh start.  Appointments can be made by calling the Trinity Parish Office.  I always am available to hear confession upon request.

If you have never done this and are nervous, don’t worry.  There are two rites you can choose from, and both are simple and easy, and generally only take 5-10 minutes.  I will guide you through it if that makes you feel more comfortable.  And rest assured that anything you say in this context is fully confidential, never to be repeated or referred to again.  It is between you and your God.   

In confession we unload our baggage, and dump the toxic waste we have been carrying around with us.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are loaded down and exhausted with a heavy a burden.  Take my yoke upon you and become my students.  I am gentle and kind and you will find a complete rest.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is so light you’ll think it nothing at all” (Matthew 11:28-30).   Confess your sins and God will separate you as from them as far as the east is from the west. Confess them in the presence of another, expressing true repentance and amendment of life and you will find it easier to walk away from that past.  You won’t want to go back to the toxic waste you have unloaded.  And you will find that Jesus’ burden is light indeed. 

--Father Tony+