Dear Peace family,
Another Lent is almost upon us—good news, as far as I’m concerned, because I need the challenge and the discipline of Lent! It is one time of the year when I find myself drawn to thinking more seriously about my own spiritual life and the journey that is the Christian faith.
Recently Pastor Judith and I sat down to plan how we wanted to focus our Lenten observance this year, and we decided that we would like to take up a reflection on the "seven deadly sins." We did this once before here at Peace, perhaps 10 years ago. I found it to be one of the most interesting "Lenten series" that I have done through all my ministry, and I’m eager to do it again.
Most of us have heard of the "seven deadly sins," but probably few of us could rattle them off, and fewer of us know where the concept comes from. As early as the 4th century, Christian thinkers were developing lists of "sins" in an attempt to think systematically about "sin," and a list of "seven" became common by about the 8th century (though the specific sins on the list varied somewhat for a while). The concept is a powerful one; I have several books about the "seven deadly sins," and they are not all by Christians. It seems that Jews and even agnostics have found this a helpful way to think about the moral life.
They key to understanding the "seven deadlies" is to realize the term doesn’t mean "these are the worst things you can do"; indeed, some of these sins we even joke about. Sometimes they are called the "capital sins" because the idea is that most of our sinful behavior can be organized under these seven "headings (which is what "capital" means). Human beings struggle with pride, gluttony, sloth, envy, lust, greed, and anger—and if you think about your own struggle with sin, chances are you could fit them all under one of these seven categories.
But the list works best in the other direction. In examining my own life, I often use this list as a way of thinking about where I fall short. When I am preparing to confess my sins, I may not, off the top of my head, think about the angry word I spoke; but if I use "anger" as a lens through which to view my life, I am more likely to remember that word or thought.
So I encourage you to join us each week during Lent—beginning with Ash Wednesday, February 17, and then continuing on Thursday evenings from February 25 as we come together to pray and worship and reflect on these "capital sins" and what they mean in our lives. Of course on the Thursday evenings we’ll have a soup supper at 6 p.m. before the 7 p.m. service.
I pray that this Lent will be a time of growth and enrichment for all of us!
Peace to you,
Pastor Richard O. Johnson
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.
It should be noted that Lutherans have never entirely abandoned the practice of individual confession and absolution, where a person confesses his or her own sins individually to a pastor and receives the words of absolution personally. Lutheran service books such as Lutheran Book of Worship contain the rite (p. 196 in the LBW). This rite usually takes place in the church building, but with only the pastor and the penitent present. Your pastors are always available by appointment for individual confession and absolution.