On Private Confession - I

On Private Confession
It has been said by some that I am more Catholic than Lutheran. Some have said that as a compliment, others have said it with a little more venom in their voice. That being said I believe that there is something that we Lutherans can learn from our Roman brothers and sisters. What is that you ask? I believe that we can learn from the role of Private Confession in the lives of God's people.

Luther and Melancthon understood the importance of Private Confession and Absolution in the life of the believer. “Confession has not been abolished in our churches. For it is not customary to administer the body of Christ except to those who have been previously examined and absolved. The people are also most diligently taught concerning faith in the word of absolution, about which there was a great silence before now….Nevertheless, confession is retained among us both because of the great benefits of absolution and because of other advantages for consciences “ (Augsburg Confession XXV) We also see Luther's understanding of Private Confession at other places in his writings, “Since Absolution or the Power of the Keys is also an aid and consolation against sin and a bad conscience, ordained by Christ himself in the gospel, Confession or Absolution ought by no means to be abolished in the Church…” (Smalcald Articles Part III, Art. VIII). Martin Luther wrote in the Large Catechism regarding Private Confession and Absolution: “Christ himself entrusted absolution to his Church and commanded us to absolve one another from sins. So if there is a heart that feels its sin and desires consolation, it has here a sure refuge when it hears in God’s Word that through a fellow human being, God absolves a person from sin."

What I think many of us fail to understand is that Private Confession is a place where the Church truly functions as the Church. In Private Confession the Chruch is exercising the “Keys of the Kingdom” as set forth in the Gospels.

Private Confession and Absolution is the personal, individual reception of forgiveness of sins from God given through the pastor or a fellow Christian. Christ comes to us through the means of grace: the Holy Scriptures, Baptism, and Holy Communion. Not only does he offer forgiveness of sins to us through these means of grace, but also through private confession and absolution.

Does a person NEED Confessional Absolution?
In a word, “No”. A person does not need to participate in Private Confession in order to receive God's forgiveness of sins. When we participate in Public Confession on Sunday mornings, when we confess our sins to God in the privacy of our own hearts we believe that God hears our pleas and cries and grants us God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness. So no, a person does not NEED Private Confession in order to be forgiven. However, I believe that Private Confession is the essence of God's grace made manifest among God's people.

We have all been in relationships. Whether with family members, loved ones, good friends, all of us are involved in relationships with other people. I am sure that all of us at one point have had to ask a person we love to forgive us. I am convinced that the three most powerful words that people can speak to one another are “I forgive you.” I know that many will say that the words “I love you” may pack more power, but I challenge that Love without Forgiveness is empty and void. Therefore, to hear the words of forgiveness spoken to you is the most powerful tool of reconciliation and relationsip that we have.

Do I need to confess everything?
No, you don’t need to confess any specific sins. Of course, you may want to do so. There is great spiritual and psychological benefit in baring your soul. King David writes about his experience in Psalm 32. Sometimes a person cannot find real peace and assurance of God’s forgiveness without full disclosure of what is troubling him or her.

Do I have to go to a pastor?
Again, the answer is no. Any Christian may hear confession and assure you of God's forgiveness. We must remember though that the pastor is under the “confessional seal” and is bound to confidentiality. The pastor may not share with others what has been confessed to and forgiven by Christ.

In Conclusion.
I would encourage Christ's Church, especially those of us in the Lutheran Rite of Christ's Church to recapture our “First Love”, to reclaim the gift given to us in Holy Scripture and retained by Brother Martin and the other reformers. Let us proudly claim our Lutheran identity and restore Private Cofession to Christ's Church.