Christians are Joyful Sinners
January 14, 2012
Excerpt from Isaiah 6:1-5
“Woe is me! I am
lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver
Does worship in your church include a prayer of
confession? If so, it is probably near
the beginning of the service. One reason
for this placement is that God’s presence reveals things to us. In God’s clarifying presence we see things
about our lives that we might not see otherwise. So when Isaiah had a dramatic encounter with
God in the temple, his first response was confession. And it can be the same for us in our worship.
Some congregations no longer include a prayer of confession
in their worship because the practice is considered too “negative.”
They contend that people have enough
difficulties in their lives without the church adding to the burden.
But confession is not about adding a
burden. Quite the opposite. It is about being unburdened. Ultimately,
there is no joy in denial. But there can be great joy in receiving
forgiveness.
As Christians we don’t need to traffic in denial. We can afford to
be realists. We are free to face the truth about
ourselves: good and bad are inextricably
intertwined within us. Sometimes we act
nobly, but even then our motivations can be mixed. This is not a
hopeless admission. We are free to be realists because our hope
is in God. In confession, we rely not on
our own goodness, but on God’s forgiveness.
The God in whose presence we see our lives with jarring clarity at the
same time shows us that we are loved, nonetheless.
Prayer
Dear God, when given a chance, I mess up. Sometimes, when not given a chance, I mess up
anyway. So I am grateful that I do not
have to rely on my own goodness, but rather on your forgiveness. Amen.
