Day 212, November 5, Isaiah 19-21; Psalm 32; Colossians 3 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. (Psalm 32:1-7 NRSV) The old saying, Confession is good for the soul, may come to mind when reading these verses from Psalm 32. David hid his sin from God, and others. By doing so he faced the danger of being exposed. He felt that Gods hand was heavy upon him. The ironic element in this is that he was hiding his sin from God, and God already knew the sin he was hiding. When David writes that his body wasted away because of his silence, in effect he is saying that his guilt was eating him alive. He was being consumed by his guilt and it showed up in his body. When he confessed his sin to God he found forgiveness and a new hiding place for his sin. God could hold the sin for him, hide it for him. God was his container for his guilt. The weight of his guilt was too much for him to carry. He needed to let go of it but the only way for that to happen was to tell God about it. The God who already knew. Confession is associated with the Roman Catholic Church much more than any other Christian denomination. The Book of Common Prayer includes two forms for the Rite of Reconciliation (Page 447 and forward in the BCP). I would wager, however, that many priests have never been asked to hear a confession in their entire career. I would also guess that many priests have never made a confession in their lives. The pages of the BCP show wear beginning at page 355, but most BCPs found in the pew will be pristine after page 393. (Page 355 is first page of the Holy Eucharist Rite Two and page 393 is the final page of the Prayers of the People.) Justin Welby, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, recently encouraged people of the church to unburden themselves through the Rite of Confession. telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10368140/Catholic-confession-is-good-for-the-soul-says-Archbishop-of-Canterbury.html Making ones confession is not easy. I can say this from my own experience. I can also say that as difficult as it can be, it is also one of the most freeing and grace filled experience I have had as a Christian. **Tomorrow - Day 213, November 6, Isaiah 22-24; Psalm 33; Colossians 4**
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:49:24 +0000
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