"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the presbyters of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." -- James 5:13-16
I recently had a conversation with some fellow seminarians about going to Confession. One of the number had never gone before and expressed an interested in doing so during the upcoming holytide of Lent. The rest of us then began retelling some of our experiences with Confession. To a man, each of us mentioned the overwhelming sorrow for our sins that brought us to tears as we poured out a lifetime's worth of sins to the priests hearing our confessions. Also shared among us was the fear and the shame we experienced, the apprehension that griped us as we waited for the priest to say something in reply to the veritable encyclopedia of wickedness to which we had just confessed ourselves guilty. And again without exception, we told of how our priests addressed us in the most loving way, assuring us of God's love for us and the forgiveness which he gives us. Nothing compares to that moment when you hear those merciful, sweet words of absolution, knowing those sins that burdened your conscience and stained your soul are carried away:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners, which truly repent and believe in him: of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: and by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
This absolution comes from the Visitation of the Sick contained in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the very first of many editions, published under the authority of King Edward VI. The inclusion of this absolution with that office raises an important question. Why on earth would we associate the need for confession of sin with bodily ailment? I think the passage from St. James' epistle above provides us with sufficient biblical grounds for making the connection. But why would James write this?
The answer, unfortunately, more lies with us than with St. James. We ask this question because most people (Christians included) no longer believe that a human being is Body, Mind, and Spirit, and that each of these constituent parts affect one another in profound ways. Thus, when you sin, you not only damage your relationship with God in the purely spiritual sense, you also face physical consequences. The Early Christians, along with their Israelite ancestors, recognized this. It is not surprising then to see Jesus first forgave the sins of the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof on the cot before Jesus healed him of his paralysis. Incidentally the surprising thing about that miracle was that Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins, a solely divine authority, which comes to bear when he communicates that authority to the Church following his resurrection.
In conclusion, we must remember that our sins have consequences more far reaching than we realize. They are not confined to the “realm of the spiritual”, as some might call it. We Christians are not gnostics. We believe that when Adam fell, all creation fell with him. But we are to be comforted in that Jesus the Christ, though being God, assumed our human nature, and redeemed it through his sinless life, patient suffering, precious death, mighty resurrection, and glorious ascension. Through him we have obtained the forgiveness of our sins if we truly repent and turn to him, and by his stripes we are healed both in body and soul. Therefore we praise, bless, hallow, and adore, thee, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
You blogpost reminded me of a discussion about confession last semester in Church History I. As I'm sure you know Stephen, we Southern Baptists do not practice a formal confession. Dr. Finn, however, did tell us about the origins of confession. St. Patrick used it as a discipleship method for new believers, and it quickly become a widespread practice and was formally adopted the western Church in the high middle ages. Regular confession is something evangelical protestants have tried to replace with accountability groups, but we really have not found a better system for confession of sin.
ReplyDeleteActually, Josh, confession has existed since the earliest days of the Church. Individual confession of sin was made "in public" and the penances were quite strict, often times involving a couple decades of exclusion from the divine liturgy and the sacraments. That was back when the Church took post-baptismal sin seriously. However, you are correct in saying that the Irish made an important contribution to sacramental confession, particularly with their Penitentials and a more private format.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I will write a post sometime on the theology behind confession and why it is a good and holy practice for all faithful Christians.