Every Sunday, a clergy friend pronounces God’s forgiveness before the corporate confession. In the BCP (p. 360), it specifies that we confess first, and then the priest or bishop pronounces forgiveness: “Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.”
When I asked them why they switched the order, my friend, who is a deep liturgical thinker, said that we do not confess our sins in order to be forgiven, but rather, our confession is possible because we are forgiven.
In part, they want to undermine the false belief that God’s forgiveness is conditional. This theology permeates many of our prayers and practices. I know people who will not take communion because they do not believe they deserve it. In some churches, one cannot receive the Eucharist without confession. Just this last Ash Wednesday, the Collect of the Day addresses a God who hates “nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent….” It stays silent about those who are not penitent. Too often, belief in conditional forgiveness combines with the (erroneous) belief that we are sinners first and foremost to create a toxic mess of shame which inhibits our ability to actually repent, to change our behaviors and practices.
This is the heart of the issue: what makes it possible for us to change is the confidence that we will be received in love. We spend an extraordinary amount of time and energy protecting our vulnerability. Think of how much advertising appeals to fear, or how much time we spend hiding our insecurity, our ignorance, our uncertainty. Think also of the people with whom you feel safe to share that same vulnerability. My bet is that every one of them is someone you know will love you regardless of your behavior (which is not the same thing as loving your behavior!). In God, we are already known and accepted as we are, and we are loved. Period.
Real change, which begins with confession, is possible because we are already loved, and we know that no matter what we confess, we will be received by God.
As we proceed through our lenten journey, we will begin each liturgy with confession. This is not to highlight our sinfulness. Rather, it is to start our assembly with a reminder that we are forgiven. Everything we do after the confession and reminder of our forgiveness, sing, pray for one another, listen to the stories of God’s people, share a meal, is a communal and habit-forming practice of becoming who we are created to be, a people joyful enough to sing together, compassionate enough to pray for one another, and inclusive enough to eat with friend and stranger.
May our lenten journey be a reminder that God’s forgiveness makes it possible for us to live liberated and compassionate lives.
