“Open your Grief”
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost; Proper 6 (Year C)
12 June 2016
Homily at 8 a.m. said and 10:00 a.m. sung Eucharist
Parish Church of Trinity, Ashland
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost; Proper 6 (Year C)
12 June 2016
Homily at 8 a.m. said and 10:00 a.m. sung Eucharist
Parish Church of Trinity, Ashland
The Rev. Fr. Tony Hutchinson, SCP, Ph.D.
God, take away our hearts of stone
and give us hearts of flesh. Amen.
“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).
Repentance and confession are themes
that run through all of today’s lessons. King David is confronted about and then
confesses his murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba. As a result, the “Lord has put away” his sin,
though its consequences remain. Paul
uses his own personal experience of trying to be super religious only to find
he has been murdering people in the religion’s name to teach that trusting faith
in Christ, apart from any actions, is what counts when it comes to a genuine
experience of God. The story of the
sinful woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears in today’s Gospel exemplifies
the role of remorse and sorrow for our failings in establishing such a trusting
faith.
Today’s Psalm is clear about the
psychology involved: we feel alienated and shriveled up until we confess our
guilt. We tend to want to hide our sins
from ourselves. We justify them, or make
excuses for them, or say they are not all that bid a deal. Often, it is only in conversation with
another person whom we trust, like the prophet Nathan, that we force ourselves
to be honest about what we would rather forget or excuse.
In the prayer book, the rite for
Holy Eucharist is prefaced with an exhortation. It says in part:
“Beloved
in the Lord: Our Savior Christ, on the night before he suffered, instituted the
Sacrament of his Body and Blood as a sign and pledge of his love, for the
continual remembrance of the sacrifice of his death, and for a spiritual
sharing in his risen life. For in these holy Mysteries we are made one with
Christ, and Christ with us; we are made one body in him, and members one of another…
“But
if we are to share rightly in … those holy Mysteries, and be nourished by that
spiritual Food, we must remember [their great value and worth]. … Saint Paul
exhorts all persons to prepare themselves carefully before eating of that Bread
and drinking of that Cup.
“For,
as the benefit is great, if with penitent hearts and living faith we receive
the holy Sacrament, so is the danger great, if we receive it improperly, not
recognizing the Lord’s Body. Judge yourselves, therefore, lest you be judged by
the Lord.
“Examine
your lives and conduct by the rule of God’s commandments, that you may perceive
wherein you have offended in what you have done or left undone, whether in
thought, word, or deed. And acknowledge
your sins before Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life, being
ready to make restitution for all injuries and wrongs done by you to others;
and also being ready to forgive those who have offended you, in order that you
yourselves may be forgiven. And then, being reconciled with one another, come
to the banquet of that most heavenly Food.
“And
if, in your preparation, you need help and counsel, then go and open your grief
to a discreet and understanding priest, and confess your sins, that you may
receive the benefit of absolution, and spiritual counsel and advice; to the
removal of scruple and doubt, the assurance of pardon, and the strengthening of
your faith. …
Admission of fault and remorse for
our wrongdoings are part of a healthy process of amendment of life.
Such confession and contrition are a necessary step in helping us to find peace
with each other and within ourselves. So we have a general confession of sin in
almost all of our worship, both Morning and Evening Prayer and the Holy
Eucharist.
But in addition to general public confession
and our private confessions to God in our prayers, the exhortation says we can
go a step further. “Open your grief” it says, “to a discreet and understanding
priest.” The Prayer Book provides for the
Reconciliation of a Penitent (pp. 446-452), an ancient ritual, and one
of the Sacraments of the Church.
In the Episcopal Church, the rite usually
takes place privately at or near the altar rail or the clergy's
office. 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. And its absolution of sins makes present for the
penitent the important truth that “the Lord has put away your sin.”
We do not see private confession as a
one-size-fits-all requirement: we say, “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, takes time and effort, and, quite frankly, triggers
fears of being embarrassed, many Episcopalians never bother to seek the
sacrament. This is a mistake.
Confession in the presence of a priest who can then pronounce absolution
remains a powerful experience that helps us be honest, and amend our
lives. I have found in my own life that
it is an important way to make a clear break with sins that we hope are
past.
At Trinity, we always open the
church on Shrove Tuesday before Lent and on a day before Advent for
confessions. And they are always
available by appointment. To help ease
the embarrassment, the priest usually faces in the same direction as the
penitent, so you don’t have to feel someone’s eyes on you as you open your
heart. 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 or any
of the assisting clergy here at Trinity can guide you through it if that makes
you feel more comfortable.
Rest assured that anything you say
in this context is fully confidential, never to be repeated or referred to
again. Priests are under a strict discipline of respecting the seal of
the confessional. Your confession is
between you and your God, even if you need a priest to help you focus on your
sins and on Christ’s loving forgiveness.
Confession is about moving closer to God, not placing ourselves in
the power of the confessor. The confessor, again, can never refer to it
again. And, from personal experience I
must say, we always seek to forget what we have overheard of the conversation
of a parishioner and Jesus.
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 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.
In the name of Christ, Amen.
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