From the pastor: The World Is Small

Dear friends,

As I write this, Lois and I are about to depart for China, where our son Luke has been working for the past year. This is not a place that was high on our list of "Let’s go to . . .", but we’re pretty excited now. Everyone we know who has been to China (and we’re amazed how many people that is!) has said, "Oh, that was the most interesting trip we ever took!"

We’ll start in Beijing, and immediately join a tour that will end up in Shanghai. Then we’ll fly back to Beijing to spend a few more days with Luke. We’ll be home long before the Olympics officially begin—didn’t seem like that was going to be the best time to be there. We’ll watch the Olympics on television with the rest of you!

It’s amazing, isn’t it, what a small world we live in. I have found it nothing short of astonishing that I can pick up my telephone, punch in some numbers, and get Luke on the line. I tell my kids that when I went to college 150 miles from home, I had to phone home through an operator, and I could only call once a month because it was so expensive. (They roll their eyes—"there he goes again"!)

We’ll be back in church on July 13, and then exciting things will start to happen. As you will read elsewhere in this issue, on Sunday July 20 there will be an evening "dessert event" at Peace to give you the opportunity to meet the candidate which your Call Committee is recommending we call as our associate pastor. We’re not quite ready to tell you who that is, primarily because we need to be sure word doesn’t leak out to the candidate’s current congregation (again, it’s a small world!). But early in July you’ll receive a special mailing with full information about the proposed call.

Then on July 27 we will have a congregation meeting between services at 9:30 to consider the details of the letter of call. If the congregation approves the call and the candidate accepts, we would expect to have an installation service on September 7, just in time for the fall to begin.

But first things first. If, while we are in China, you have a pastoral need, please call the church office and Shirlee will connect you with someone who can help. We are surely blessed to have wonderful retired pastors Bill Roleder, David Baker and Bruce Lundberg who can help out in time of need, and also neighboring pastors who are willing to help if necessary.

Thanks for your faithfulness in prayer, in worship, in giving, and in being a vital part of our family here at Peace. We look forward to telling you about China when we return!

Peace to you,

Pastor Richard O. Johnson

Classic Prayers

Forgive us, Almighty God,

For camping on the periphery

And living on the border,

Never facing the central sins of our lives.

Made for Thy truth,

We are deceptive and untruthful.

Blessed with intelligence,

We seek Thy wisdom sporadically.

Capable of deep caring,

We want to be congratulated and cared for.

Created for fellowship,

We are too busy to pray.

Endowed with plenty,

We hoard the best part.

Intended for the deep,

We court the trivial.

These circles of folly

Surround our sin of rebellion against Thee;

What we were made to enjoy in abundance

We reject with pride.

Pardon us, we pray.

Sin confessed looses its grip on us.

Therefore strengthen us in Thy mighty hand

And center us through faith in Jesus Christ,

our Lord. Amen

--E. Lee Phillips, Baptist minister

Liturgy Notes: Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness

On most Sundays, the Lutheran liturgy begins with a rite called “The Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness.” During this time, we confess our sins and receive absolution from the pastor. For many Lutherans, this is a very important part of the service, and one that is very much missed when it is not present.

Like most parts of our liturgy, the Confession has a long and interesting history. In the early church, there is no evidence that a formal confession of sins was part of the liturgy, though the Didache, one of the earliest Christian writings, instructs Christians to “gather together on the Lord’s day, break the bread and give thanks, having acknowledged your sins.”

During the Middle Ages, there was an increasing emphasis on penitence and sinfulness. A part of that emphasis is seen in the inclusion in the mass of something often called the “Confiteor” (after the Latin text). This was a prayer of confession spoken by the priest as he approached the altar at the beginning of the liturgy: “I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever-virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, through my fault, through my own fault, through my own most grievous fault...” This prayer was understood to be the priest’s personal confession prior to celebrating the Eucharist. After the priest had prayed, the server or deacon assisting him would repeat the prayer. Thus it was not seen as a community prayer, but as a purification of the celebrant and server prior to leading the service. This prayer achieved its final form only in the 14th century.

The earliest Lutheran liturgies did away with the Confiteor, probably in large part because of its extensive invocation of the saints; but within a few years, a revised confession found its way back into Lutheran worship. In keeping with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, however, the Lutherans turned this into a congregational act. We don’t know exactly how or why the confession was restored. Luther was frustrated at how seldom people availed themselves of the opportunity to confess their sins (privately, to the pastor) and receive absolution, so perhaps he saw this as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of confession and absolution. (Luther saw confession and absolution as absolutely vital to the Christian life and faith, sometimes even referring to it as a third sacrament.)

It is interesting to note that in this, as in so many other cases, the Lutheran Reformers were ahead of their time. Since the Second Vatican

Council, the Roman Catholic Church has also transformed the Confiteor into a prayer, not of the priest alone, but of the people.

The words of the prayer of confession are general--that is, they speak in general terms of the sin that is common to us all. There is a time of silence prior to the prayer, in which each individual searches his or her heart and confesses to God those specific sins that are burdensome.

The words of absolution bring this “brief order” to a close. In these words, the pastor exercises the “office of the keys,” the “authority which Christ gave to his church to forgive the sins of those who repent.” When the pastor says, “I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins,” we believe that we are hearing those words as if they come from Christ himself. Thus assured that our sins have been forgiven, we can join in worshiping God with thankful and joyful hearts.