Confession
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Click to download sermon manuscript.
Scripture
2 Samuel 11 – 12
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Read more…
Psalm 51:1 – 17
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Do you enjoy apologizing? Probably not. Probably most of us don’t enjoy admitting our wrongs. There are so many ways we try to look like we’re apologizing – because that’s what we’re supposed to do – without actually apologizing. Here are a few popular ones:
I’m sorry if….
(What do you mean if? Either you did something to be sorry about or you didn’t!)
I’m sorry that you…
(Me?! Aren’t you the one who did something wrong? Why are you apologizing for me?)
I’m sorry but…
(But what? Are you really sorry, or do you have an excuse you think absolves you of your wrong?)
Of course we don’t enjoy apologizing. Apologizing means we not only have to admit to ourselves that we hurt someone or did something wrong, but we have to admit it in such a way that other people will hear about and maybe see the uglier, darker parts of us. The problem with the non-apology examples above is that they’re missing the crucial first step of actually acknowledging wrongdoing; they’re missing the confession part.
I think confessing is the hard part about apologizing. Because confessing that we’ve done something wrong or hurt someone requires that we give up our pride, that we let go of the image of ourselves we want the world to see in favour of them seeing who we really are, with all our broken, hateful bits on display. Maybe it’s not even about what the world sees; maybe it’s about what we see. Maybe it’s that we don’t want to know about ourselves that we have broken, hateful bits that are part of us.
Confession is a Spiritual Discipline. We’re going to talk about it on Sunday. But I’ve included it under the larger Spiritual Discipline heading of fasting, because fasting is about letting go or giving up something. And when we practice the discipline of confession, we are letting go of things like pride and our overly optimistic understandings of ourselves. As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time reflecting on your own experience of confession and apology. Have you experienced someone else’s confession before? Have you confessed to another person before? How might it be different or the same to think about confessing to God and confessing to people? Is one more appealing than the other to you? Why or why not?