In an article titled 'A Wretch Like Who?" (America, 1/29/94) Brian Abel Ragen notes that some contemporary versions of 'Amazing Grace" have changed the line "that saved a wretch like me" to "that saved and strengthened me." Ragen writes:
It is important to note that the idea of a redeemer, a savior; is impossible without the idea of a fallen humanity. You cannot be saved if you are not lost. You cannot be redeemed if you are not in hock [debt]. You cannot be freed if you are not enslaved. American culture, even in its churches, avoids the idea of real sinfulness. It nevertheless clings sentimentally to the idea of redemption.
Popular culture on a large scale both tells people that they are OK and embraces some vague cultural Christianity…
Our culture does not believe in wickedness — that is, in culpability. The "conviction of sin" is hardly possible to us. We believe not in sin and forgiveness but in illness and recovery. It is the endless message of our culture that everyone is basically good and that most of our problems will be solved when we realize this—in other words, when we build up our self-esteem.
If Ragen's assessment of contemporary culture is right, and I suspect it is, then preachers and liturgists face a difficult challenge when they prepare to lead people in worship. Repentance and forgiveness, confession and absolution are at the heart of Christian doctrine and worship, yet for many such terms are nearly a foreign language.
Increasingly the people who gather in sanctuaries on Sunday morning do not come expecting to publicly announce their guilt and to seek forgiveness, but to have their self-esteem enhanced, their "batteries charged," or to find help "to get through another week," In an age where the closest we come to public confession of guilt is "mistakes were made," the sight of a whole congregation announcing themselves in unison as "miserable offenders" is strange indeed. So some churches have abandoned the corporate prayer of confession in favor of a service that is more positive and "up-beat."
Why Confess?
Both the biblical witness and the history of Christian thought provide ample evidence that confession of sin is an integral part of worship. To come into the presence of the Holy One is to be made aware of our own sinfulness. What elsewhere can be denied and hidden (even from ourselves) is now exposed. A sense of the ultimate worth of God is accompanied by an overwhelming sense of our own unworthiness.
Isaiah's vision of God in the temple moves him to cry: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (Isa. 6:5, NRSV). Peter responds to Jesus' miracle with the confession: "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8).
Luther held that the confession of praise (confessio laudis) and the confession of sin (confessio peccati) were necessarily connected. The worshiper must renounce his or her own glory in order to glorify God. The praise of a worshiper who fails to acknowledge sinfulness will remain an empty show.
Calvin, too, noted the connection between worship and confession:
For since in every sacred assembly we stand before the sight of God and the angels, what other beginning of our action will there be than the recognition of our own unworthiness? (Institutes, III. 4.11.)
The worshiping congregation's corporate confession of sin, then, is not merely a narrow focus on their own guilt; it is as much a concomitant expression of their awareness of the presence and holiness of God.
When to Confess?
Calvin, following the line of reasoning above, argued that confession was the proper beginning of worship and was a key by which "a gate to prayer is opened" (Institutes III. 4.11.). Most churches continue that practice, making corporate confession early in the service, often after the opening hymn and before the lessons.
But there may be occasions when it is appropriate to place the confession at a different point in the service, such as immediately preceding the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Zwingli placed the confession of sin near the very end of the service, arguing that genuine confession could be made only after the sermon, in response to the Word that teaches us to recognize our need and assures us of forgiveness.
Wherever the confession occurs in the service, it will require some kind of introduction. The introduction or call to confession should be brief and to the point. Since no one is moved to confession unless there is hope of forgiveness, it is most appropriate to include in this introduction words from Scripture reminding us of God's readiness to forgive.
Corporate, Not Private
A congregation in Washington, D.C. regularly precedes the prayer of confession with a reading from the daily newspaper. The pastor will read a news story about inadequate housing for the poor, or corruption in a government agency, or some example of injustice in the community. The reading concludes with a call to confession: "Brothers and sisters, this is a sin, and we need to confess it." In this way the congregation is reminded that it participates in the inequality and injustice of society. In the prayer of confession the people acknowledge not only their own sins, but the sin of the world.
Since the prayer of confession is a corporate prayer, the language of the prayer will normally be more general than specific. This is not a time to enumerate particular sins, but to express our contrition in language that, while concrete, is inclusive. To allow time for personal confession, the worship leader may include a period of silence following or within a unison prayer.
Facilitate—Don't Manipulate
Those who compose written prayers of confession for congregations bear a heavy responsibility. Since we are literally putting words into people's mouths, such prayers ought to be composed with great care and thought and prayer. We must resist the temptation to manipulate people into confessing sins they aren't ready to confess, or to acknowledge guilt of which they are unaware. The aim of such a prayer is the same as that of any other part of the service: namely, to serve as a vehicle to bring people into the presence of God—or more precisely, to help us become aware of the God who is already present. That is something beyond the control of the worship leader.
What Calvin said of the sacraments is also true of prayers of confession: "They profit not a whit without the power of the Holy Spirit..." (Institutes, TV 14.9) Who can know ahead of time what will serve as the vehicle for the Spirit's ministry? It may be fresh language, a piece of music, a particular turn of phrase, or an often-repeated prayer that suddenly takes on new meaning because of circumstances in a worshiper's life. Let it be a continuing source of wonder to worship planners, liturgists, and preachers that the Spirit is able to use our feeble and faulty efforts as vehicles for God's grace.
Singing the Confession
Calvin, complaining that the "prayers of the faithful are so cold," recommended singing as a way "to incite us to lift up our hearts to God and move us to zeal... "A spoken prayer of confession might conclude with a musical setting of the Kyrie Eleison ("Lord, have mercy") or the Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God") or some other musical response. As an option to a spoken prayer the congregation may sing one of the penitential psalms or an appropriate hymn.
On some occasions a choir anthem may serve as the congregational prayer of confession, but since the prayer belongs to all the people, it is normally best to allow for the direct and full participation of the entire congregation.
Declaring Forgiveness
The prayer of confession itself may conclude with an affirmation of trust in God's grace and mercy. In addition, the prayer should be followed by a declaration of forgiveness or absolution. With conviction and joy the minister announces God's promise to pardon all those who come hi repentance and faith.
Calvin held to a high view of ordination at this point, calling ministers "ordained witnesses and sponsors of [God's mercy to assure our consciences of forgiveness of sins, to the extent that they are said to forgive sins and to lose souls" (Institutes III. 4.12). Therefore, the Strassburg Liturgy included a forthright absolution: "In Christ's name I proclaim unto you the forgiveness of all your sins, and declare you to be loosed of them on earth, that you be loosed of them also in heaven, in eternity." The congregation in Geneva, however, objected to this practice ("Who can forgive sins except God alone?") and showed their hostility by standing to sing in order to forestall the absolution!
There is power in an absolution that is forthright, direct, and personal. "You are forgiven" conveys much more than "Sins are forgiven." But pastors must be sensitive to how the congregation will receive such an announcement of forgiveness. Will they hear it as a word from God? If the pastor proclaims forgiveness in words similar to those of the Strassburg Liturgy it would be wise to preface them with the words from Scripture that assure us of God's forgiving grace through Jesus Christ.
Confession without absolution is incomplete—a case of arrested development in the Christian life. The confession concludes not with an acknowledgement of sin, but with an acceptance of grace. In the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, true repentance involves not only genuine sorrow for our sin but also "wholehearted joy in God through Christ." In confession, absolution, and response we rehearse the gospel in miniature. Week after week after week we give liturgical expression to what is at the heart of the Christian's life: the death of the old self and the birth of the new, a journey from grief to joy, from slavery to freedom, from life in the far country to a home close to our Father's heart.
For example services of confession that are loosely based on the Revised Common Lectionary texts for the Sundays in Lent, Year C, see the following: Lent 1, Lent 2, Lent 3, Lent 4, Lent 5, Palm/Passion Sunday.
