Showing posts with label Communion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communion. Show all posts

Friday, July 13, 2018

Forgive Us Our Trespasses


In “high church” traditions, the worship service generally includes recitations of confession and absolution each week. Those of us who attend less liturgical churches may not give much thought to the need for confession and reminders of God’s forgiveness. Even when there is a moment of silence for confession, it can be easy to overlook or minimize any sins we should be confessing. It’s true that we can confess and find forgiveness on our own anytime anywhere, but there is something unique and important about the experience of confessing together as the Body of Christ. Tish Harrison Warren writes in Liturgy of the Ordinary:

“When we confess and receive absolution together, we are reminded that none of our pathologies, neuroses, or sins, no matter how small or secret, affect only us. We are a church, a community, a family. We are not simply individuals with our pet sins and private brokenness. We are people who desperately need each other if we are to seek Christ and walk in repentance… Because of this, I need to hear my forgiveness proclaimed not only by God but by a representative of the body of Christ in which I receive grace, to remind me that though my sin is worse than I care to admit, I’m still welcome here. I’m still called into this community and loved” (58).

Although I’m not a big fan of recited prayers, which can often become meaningless repetition, I do think we all need frequent reminders of the seriousness of sin and the gracious forgiveness of our loving God. Martin Luther wrote that “the entire life of believers should be repentance.” And yet how often do we do so? Rich Mullins shared this story:

“Those of you that are young enough to go to camp and rededicate your life every year you keep doin’ it, ‘cause about the time you get to college you’re gonna learn that you have to rededicate your life about every six months. And then you’ll graduate from college and it will become a quarterly thing. By the time you're in your 40s and 50s you’ll do it about four times a day… Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNYtYRbH6aI).

What might it look like for your church to adopt more regular practices confession and repentance? In many churches, the frequency of communion determines the frequency of repentance for a lot of the members. My church typically has communion quarterly plus a couple special occasions. Why does it take a special service for us to give thought to our need for the grace of forgiveness?

I would challenge all of us to take seriously the call to confess our sins and to walk in the light with Christ and with one another (1 John 1:7-9).

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth” (Psalm 145:17-18 ESV).



© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.