"Forgiving Our Own Sinds"

Sermon 02.17.10 Ash Wednesday
“Forgiving Our Own Sins”

A very wise theological student wrote in a final examination on church history: “The Protestant Reformation is when the Protestants broke away from the church and began to forgive their own sins.”

Sins – tonight’s text are full of sins and confession of sins, from the prophets’ urging to repent, to David’s emotional outburst when confronted by Nathan about his rape of Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah, to Jesus’ condemnation of the practices of the false piety of the Pharisees.

Most churches do not talk a lot about sin anymore, and so I think a brief history lesson on sin and repentance might be interesting before my message. Now, we’re not going to go all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden. What I want to explain to you is the process of repentance, penance, contrition and redemption that has fallen by the wayside, and brought truth to the statement written by the theological student.

In the early days of the church, during the first few centuries following Jesus’ death, the newly-formed Christian community found itself in the position of having to deal with those who had been baptized – an act that washed away the original sin of Adam & Eve – but were still back-sliding into old transgressions. They needed a way to systematically deal with this improprieties, and in particular, with those individuals who recanted their belief in Christ when faced with death or imprisonment during the Roman rule.

The leaders first response was to make the road back to full inclusion in the church community as long and difficult a process as possible. This is where the process of penance was created. Repenting members spent years being denied the sacraments, were often required to perform obnoxious, repellent tasks and made to focus the remainder of their lives on deeds and works of penance.

The point was to make a lasting impression so that there would not be a second fall from grace. However, the concept of a death-bed confession existed, assuring that someone could still live a lifetime of transgressions and suddenly be absolved at the last possible moment.

This was an attractive proposition to many and so it did little to appease the churches who found themselves up to their necks in young, healthy sinners. It was the Irish St. Patrick who created and popularized the system of private confession and repeatable penances, which he then passed on to parish priests. By the thirteenth century, the penances were lightened, and in some cases, simple contrition was enough to merit a priestly absolution.

In the Protestant tradition, confession has been further weakened by making it a corporate element in the worship service. We confess our sins as a whole, and then assure ourselves of God’s grace. Little emphasis is placed on penance, if any at all. The sentiment is that basically people are okay, they mess up from time to time, and no real transformation of the heart is necessary.

Dietrich Bonhoffer, a Protestant German scholar and theologian argued in this manner: We must ask ourselves…whether we have not been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the real reason perhaps for countless relapses and the feebleness of Christian obedience to be found precisely in that fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not real forgiveness.”

And Bonhoffer pretty much nails this one. We are living in a society where there is still an “urge to purge”. Countless celebrity guests have told their deepest sins on the television shows of Jerry Springer and Montel Williams. We have elected officials at the press conference microphones confessing their infidelities. Stockbrokers and automobile makers have been exposed for their greed and disregard for their clients and customers. To be sure, there’s a lot of dirty laundry flapping in the wind, but no sense of contrition. And very little penance. Yes, we’re sorry. But the problem is that we are sorry that we got caught doing whatever we did.

Today, on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that a little more is required if we are to be fully reconciled to God. The prophet Joel calls for the people to return to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning. I doubt that any of us is ready to take him up on that FULL offer. Paul tells the Corinthians that the person of Christ who knew no sin, became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. In Psalm 51, King David displays the desperate remorse for his transgressions and offers to God a broken and contrite heart. We must truly confess our sins to God as well as to one another and be prepared to make reparations before absolution is given. Lent is the perfect season to put this into practice.

In the gospel text, Jesus specifically criticizes the Pharisees for their pretentions displays, and reminds them that they need not parade around for others to see their piety. Verse 18 urges them not to let others see their fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” In other words, confess to God and not to the people on the street or to Geraldo Rivera. And certainly don’t look to them for your absolution.

As we enter this Lenten season, let us be aware of our sins against God and neighbor and the need for true contrition and reparations. It is the only means of being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Let us find a way of doing Protestant penance for our actions that separate us from others and from our heavenly Father. Rather than the foolish and insipid and lukewarm public confessions that we hear on a daily basis, let us seek time alone with God to declare our sins and our sorrow at having committed them.

As the psalmist says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. May we bring our broken and contrite spirits before the Almighty, and allow God to do the forgiveness. Amen.