Confession

 "If what's loosed on earth will be loosed on high/it's a hell of a heaven we must go to when we die."

- Josh Ritter, Thin Blue Flame

In Rachel Held Evans' book, Searching for Sunday, which is being read in Adult Formation, there is a chapter entitled "What We Have Done" which is written as a litany. In the first half of the litany, she goes through terrible things done by the church over thousands of years of history, followed by the response, "Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy." In the second half of the litany, she gives thanks for men and women throughout the thousands of years of Christianity who stood up to violence and injustice in the name of Christ, who were pioneers for the Gospel, with the response, "We give thanks."

We probably have all heard the proverb, "Confession is good for the soul." Confession is also good for the community and the Church. At St. John's we practice open confession on a daily basis through our services of Morning Prayer and Eucharist. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that confession of sins was part of John the Baptist's ministry at the Jordan River. Those coming to be baptized confessed their sins before they were baptized. Confession allows us to be open with our mistakes and recognize our own imperfections. Once we confess, we are able to seek forgiveness, which is a good practice for everyone, including community groups. We have more power than we think we do in affecting the lives of those around us.

For all the hurts done by St. John's,

Lord, have mercy.

For all the hearts broken by the community,

Lord, have mercy.

For all those who have been open about their sins and have sought forgiveness,

We give thanks.

For those who stand up to violence and injustice in our community,

We give thanks.