The General Confession and the Assurance of Pardon (Absolution) provide us with biblical and true answers to both sides of this equation. As we kneel to confess each week, let us do so with a sober examination of our lives and a grateful heart for Christ’s saving work of redemption.
Like Lost Sheep: Reflections on the General Confession
We easily fall into two ditches during our times of confession: we think that we have to grovel long enough for God to accept our repentance, or we skim over our confession and ignore our sins. The General Confession at the opening of the Office provides us the boundaries we need.
Chasing After Earnest Confession
Years ago, after an evening of moral failure, I attempted to reconcile with God while on a run, wrestling with whether I meant my recitation of the common confession. A Run with the Confession I woke up with a moral hangover. I tried to fall back asleep to avoid the guilt and shame swirling in my…
Confession of Sin: Things Left Undone
There is something in the Anglican service that really makes me uncomfortable. It is not something I encountered often before I experienced the classic Christian liturgy. At the Confession of Sin, we pray: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, But…
On Hearing Confessions
Today, many Anglican priests receive little training in hearing confessions. Many attended seminaries rooted in evangelical or Reformed traditions, where the practice is unfamiliar. Others entered Anglicanism through churches that never emphasized it, so they have never really considered it. After my last article, I realized that it was perhaps a bit premature, for these…
