Confession and Absolution

St. John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The early Christians knew they had been cleansed of “original sin” in their baptism.  But, that is not a guarantee of perfection.  Many unchristian influences assault us every day of our lives.  The pressure of them is so great we are frequently driven or enticed out of the way that Christ sets before us.  We may ignore or discount our sins, but we only deceive ourselves.  We know that we do many things which could never stand our Lord’s inspection.  That does not mean our Christian faith is theory only.  It is meant to be lived in a complicated and sometimes unpleasant world.  Our Lord knew there would be post-baptismal sins and that we needed a way to deal with them.  He would not minimize the grievousness of sin, but He did provide the means required to overcome it and return to the grace of God’s presence.

Remember the exchange between Jesus and Peter when Jesus wanted to wash the Apostles’ feet?  When Jesus insisted, Peter then wanted Jesus to wash him completely.  Jesus reminded him, “he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet.”  The cleansing of Baptism had prepared Peter for the Kingdom of God, but he still needed to remove the recurrent impurities gathered on the road of human life.

The Ministry of Forgiveness is a vital part of the Gospel and lies close to the heart of the Church.  After His resurrection, our Lord said, “Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations.”

The divine forgiveness is offered to men and women through the Gospel.  We do not earn it.  It always rests on the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord.  By repentance and faith we qualify to receive it.  But, it must be brought out of the realm of theory into the world of practice.  There it is committed to the Church to be taught, preached, and mediated through the Ministry of the Church by the Church’s accredited representatives.

Remember when Jesus healed the sick man in a room so crowded the man was let down through the roof into Jesus’ presence?  The first thing Jesus said was, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”  The critics in the crowd called this blasphemy because only God could forgive sins.  Then Jesus replied, “That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”

When Jesus sent forth His Apostles to continue His work, He said, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you . . . Receive ye the Holy Ghost:  whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them;  and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”  Jesus declared His power to forgive sins, and then commissioned His Apostles to do likewise in His Name.  Only God can forgive sins.  Christ, being God Incarnate, exercises that divine prerogative.  When a priest says, “I absolve thee,” he is speaking for Christ just as when he says, “I baptize thee.”  No priest can forgive anybody’s sins.  He points and personalizes the forgiveness of God which becomes available through the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

Confession and absolution is a sacrament and like all others shows the goodness of God coming to us through human channels because we are human beings.  Sins are explicit things and require explicit handling.  “We do not receive forgiveness of sins in order to enter the Catholic Church;  we enter the Catholic Church in order that we may have our sins forgiven.”  This does not interfere with free access to God.  It is a case of using instruments provided for the exercise of spiritual privileges.

We must remember that Christians are members of the Body of Christ and live a corporate life.  Thus sins are not only offenses against God but blemishes on the Body which affects all Christians.  Therefore the sinner stands in need, not only of the forgiveness of God, but also of reconciliation with his brethren.  The early Christians recognized this quite clearly.  A notorious, persistent, and unrepentant sinner was excluded from the company of the Church and denied admission to the Holy Communion – he was excommunicated.  To regain his Christian standing, the Church required evidence of repentance and amendment of life.  This marked the beginning of a penitential system.

At first the offender was expected to confess his wrong-doing publicly in the congregation, accept whatever penance might be given him, and be publicly restored and readmitted to Communion.  These open confessions raised obvious practical problems and were gradually withheld in favor of private confession to the priest acting in the name of the Church.  This was a fixed custom during the Middle Ages.  Eventually the hardening rigidity of ecclesiastical discipline did strange things to the whole penitential system.  Sins were weighed and classified.  The theory of the Treasury of Merits and the granting of indulgences led to a traffic in forgiveness.  Confession was made compulsory and a tariff was established.  This placed a blight on spiritual sincerity.  At the Reformation, many of the revolting bodies abolished confession and penance altogether.

The Anglican Church attempted to correct abuses by reform rather than by destruction.  The mediating office of Confession and Absolution was preserved without the mechanical calculations of indulgences.  The Book of Common Prayer contained a general confession and a general absolution in the daily prayer services as well as in the Communion service.  Worshippers were expected to examine themselves, and clear their consciences before approaching the Altar.  In the absolution in the Morning Prayer office, it is stated that God “hath given power, and commandment, to His Ministers, to declare and pronounce to His people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins.”  In the Communion service, the priest performs that function and announces, “Almighty God . . . have mercy upon you;  pardon and deliver you from all your sins;  confirm and strengthen you in all goodness;  and being your to everlasting life.”    This is in the spirit of the early Church when reconciliation with the congregation is coupled with forgiveness from God.

At the same time, the English Prayer Book also made provision for private confession and absolution – but as a voluntary privilege rather than a compulsory duty.  The second Exhortation to Holy Communion urges the need for self-examination and adds, “If there be any of you, who by this means cannot quiet his own conscience herein, but requireth further comfort or counsel, let him come to me, or to some other Minister of God’s Word, and open his grief;  that he may receive such godly counsel and advice, as may tend to the quieting of his conscience, and the removing of all scruple and doubtfulness.”

Psychologists recognize the therapeutic value of private confession.  It is good to get something, which is festering, off one’s mind.  It is also good spirituality to receive the assurance of absolution as a potent medicine for a spiritual hurt.  As a sacrament, the matter is contrition, confession, and satisfaction on the part of the penitent.  The form is the declaration of absolution.  The benefit is spiritual cleansing and reconciliation with God and His Church.

Contrition means the recognition of the wrong done to God together with a desire and intention to avoid repetition of it.  It is necessary to face our faults and realize the extent of their damage to our relationship to God and to each other.  You needn’t worry about confessing privately to the priest.  The “seal of confession” is binding upon every priest and he may not reveal anything heard without the consent of the penitent.  Satisfaction means that something shall be done as an evidence of contrition.  It is not a question of satisfying God but of building up a wall of resistance.  If we have inflicted an injury upon another person, we should make some sort of restitution.  If we have shamed ourselves, we should undertake some spiritual exercise as an antidote to a possible recurrence of the fault.  With contrition, confession, and satisfaction accomplished, one becomes a candidate for absolution.

God’s forgiveness is broad and generous, but we do not get forgiveness merely for the asking.  In order to be forgiven, we need to be forgivable.  We prove our sincerity by contrition, confession, and satisfaction and then we are qualified for absolution.