We’ve had an emotional and historic few weeks. You’re likely tired. Maybe hopeful. Either way, you probably feel like you need rest. I get that. Give yourself that space. But give yourself that space knowing that the work isn’t done. Not when we proclaim Christ as King.
“Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.”[1] Every week, perhaps even every day, we utter this invitation to confession. For many of us, the words probably feel familiar. Comforting. This invitatory sentence suggests that, in just a few moments, we will be “right” with God. Before I go any further, let me clearly state that: (1) God hears our confessions, regardless of formality. (2) God receives our confessions and embraces us, God’s children. (3) God forgave and forgives our sins through Christ. So with that, church is over, right? “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.”[2] If you’re still here, still listening past the Good News, then you and I are cut from the same cloth. You’re not content separating being right with God from being right with the world, neighbors, and yourself. Rather, you believe that to “not love our neighbors as ourselves” is to not love God “with our whole heart;” that the thoughts, words, and deeds which we may or may not have done are not just towards God, but also towards others. You recognize that you, like me, are a sinner and, like the people of Nineveh, you feel a need to don a sackcloth and proclaim a fast after confessing to God as a means of participating in the forgiveness you received.[3] For some reason, you can’t just feel that God forgives you. Well, let’s listen to that feeling. This is a sermon for my fellow sinners who believe that, yes, God forgives and that for us to embrace and actualize this forgiveness in our own lives, we must put in work.[4] This sermon is an invitation to my fellow sinners to explore individual and communal confession. This isn’t easy work. This isn’t glamorous work. This isn’t fast work. But this is necessary work if we are to be “right” with ourselves, our neighbors, and the world. “We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.” Genuine confession requires repentance, an act of mind, body, or spirit which turns us towards the light. If being a passive recipient of forgiveness is something with which you struggle, then this concept of repentance can bring comfort. We know God forgives. Yet, if we don’t think ourselves worthy of God’s forgiveness, then it is hard to feel – let alone embrace – our redemption through Christ. Repentance is one avenue to help us feel forgiven as it offers us a way to prepare ourselves to receive God’s forgiveness. Repentance can take many forms. It can look like the people of Nineveh who had to confront and confess their sins to God and participated in their communal forgiveness through believing, relying on, and submitting to God.[5] Through their acts of repentance, the Ninevites were transformed and able to embrace God’s mercy. Repentance can look the first disciples who, when called by Jesus, literally turned toward the Light, and followed him.[6] By physically turning to the Light of the World, Simon, Andrew, James, and John embarked on a journey of repentance, of continuous learning what the world could be in Christ.[7] Repentance can look like engaging in work for racial justice, gender justice, justice for the LGBTQ+ community, and condemning White Supremacy and Christian Nationalism. It looks like striving to build Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King’s vision of the Beloved Community. Repentance can look like us making amends in our own lives, reaching out to those we’ve harmed to ask for forgiveness. It can look like us striving to forgive ourselves for when we have been unkind to ourselves or not lived up to our own expectations. None of this is easy work. It isn’t glamorous work. It isn’t fast work. But it is necessary work if we are to be “right” with ourselves, our neighbors, and the world. Ultimately, there is one action which spans all forms repentance may take. And that is truth telling. We must tell the truth of who we are, of what we’ve done, to have open hearts and for healing to begin. Repentance without truth is baseless. Confession without truth is disingenuous. Without truth, both are dangerous. In both our personal and communal lives, to move to talk of unity, forgiveness, and reconciliation before we tell the truth is to put a band aid on a deep wound. A quick confession makes us feel good in the moment, but a band aid does not heal. A band aid is false hope. It is performative. It does not create lasting change. In our lives, it is tempting to stop confessing when we believe that we are “right” with God. Thankfully, we sinners can rest in knowing that: (1) God hears our confessions, regardless of formality. (2) God receives our confessions and embraces us, God’s children. (3) God forgave and forgives our sins through Christ. Believing this is the first step. Then, with this knowledge, we can do our personal and communal work of confession and repentance. This work begins with truth telling. So, fellow sinners, tell the truth. Do this hard, messy, and slow work. Then, only after we’ve told the truth, confessed, and repented can reconciliation, with ourselves and others, begin to occur. “For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.” (BCP 1979, 360) [1] BCP 1979, 360. [2] BCP 1979, 360. [3] Jonah 3:5. [4] For more on this concept, see the 12 steps of AA. https://www.alcohol.org/alcoholics-anonymous/. [5] Jonah 3:5. [6] John 8:12. [7] Mark 1:16-20. |