Ps 4 & Ja 5:13-20

30 April 2006

3rd Sunday of Easter 

“Easter People, part 1”

(“Confession is Good for the Soul”)

            Easter, like Christmas, is more than a single day.  It’s a season.  However, unlike Christmas, which only has twelve days, the Easter season continues for fifty days.  It runs all the way to Pentecost.

            I mention that, not to provide some liturgical note of interest.  Instead, I think it gets to the very meaning of Easter.  Someone has said that because Easter is “a season, not just a day, it gives us the opportunity to enter into the mystery of resurrection as a process, not a completed event.”[1]  Another way of looking at it is that…we don’t become Easter people once and for all; it’s something we continually do.

            That’s partly the reason why I decided to do this sermon series on the resurrection.  (Thus the name, “Easter People, part 1.”)  I’ve also been inspired by Patricia McCarthy’s absorbing little book, The Scent of Jasmine, which has plenty of bite-sized chapters!  (Understand, it’s not that I mind long books; I’m just not fond of going on for twenty pages without any break in the text!)

            As you may have already guessed from my subtitle, I’m starting my series with confession of sin.  In many ways, we don’t begin the journey of faith until we recognize that we’ve screwed up—that we are screwed up—and we need help.

            This year, for part of my morning prayer time, I’ve been going to the website, “Sacred Space.”  It’s at sacredspace.ie (the “ie” stands for Ireland, which is where it’s based).  I recommend it for anyone with internet access.  So visit it, and see if you like it.

            Earlier this month, I encountered a quote on the site that I really…resonated with.  It was attributed to St. Philip Neri, who lived during the 1500s.  He had a reputation of being both humble and of having a lively sense of humor.

            It’s been said of him:  “When one priest gave a beautiful sermon [no doubt then congratulating himself for it], Philip ordered him to give the same sermon six times in a row, so people would think he only had one…  The greater his reputation for holiness, the sillier he wanted to seem.  When some people came from Poland to see the great saint, they found him listening to another priest read to him from joke books.”[2]  No word on what kind of jokes they were!

            Anyway, as for the quote I mentioned.  This past Holy Week, in a reflection on Judas, the folks at Sacred Space posted this:  “St. Philip Neri used to pray:  Lord, beware of this Philip or he will betray you!  Lay your hand upon my head, for without you there is not a sin I may not commit this day.”

            Sitting there in front of the computer, I really made that my prayer.  Lord, beware of this James or he will betray you!  Lay your hand upon my head, for without you there is not a sin I may not commit this day.  And I know that it’s true.

            We like to think that there are some things we would never do.  “Maybe that dirt bag over there, but not me!”  I wonder how much of that is due to lack of opportunity.  Given the right circumstances, the right conditions—or should I say the wrong conditions?—we’re capable of almost anything.  And to those who think otherwise, I would remind you that Peter “vehemently” says to Jesus, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you” (Mk 14:31).  Famous last words!

            Without the hand of the Lord laid upon our heads, our protests become nothing more than empty bluster.  We become like the people in verse 2 of today’s psalm:  those who “love vain words, and seek after lies.”  Or as the New Jerusalem Bible puts it, those who “chase after illusions.”

            How do we avoid this trap?  The psalmist gives this advice to the people of his day:  “Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord” (v. 5).  We no longer offer slain animals as part of our worship.  (At least, the people who collect the plates have never told me that they’ve found such a thing in them!)

            For us today, offering “right sacrifices” would mean offering true worship—worship that changes us.  That’s where that bit about putting “your trust in the Lord” comes in.  It’s about letting our perspective be changed by God.

            In chapter 5 of his epistle, the apostle James has a good idea on changing our perspectives.  He instructs the church:  “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (v. 16).  Confess your sins to one another.  How does that sound?

To some extent, we do that with our weekly prayer of confession.  There would be a problem, though, if we simply mouth the words without really meaning them.  We’d be guilty of babbling those empty, vain words that the psalmist mentions.  And even if we do take our prayers of confession to heart, they still deal with us at a group level.  As important as that is, they can’t replace an individual confession of sin.

            A few months ago, if you recall, I mentioned in a sermon how one of the people at my Mom’s church in Tennessee did something similar to that.  This was the guy who got mad and just left the church, without first making it right.  After some time had gone by, he came back and apologized to everyone.  And he was warmly received.

            Still, I don’t think confessing our sins to one another necessarily means doing that before the entire congregation.  It’s usually more appropriate to do that with a small group of spiritually mature people.  (I’ll explain why in a moment.)  But maybe more to the point, we should just go right to the person, if there’s a particular individual that we have wronged.

            And clearly, some common sense needs to be exercised.  For example, for me to say to Bill, “You didn’t know this, and it hasn’t gotten beyond the planning stage, but I’ve been secretly plotting your demise, and thinking of ways to make it look like an accident!”—for me to say that does no good for anyone!

            I’m sure there are many reasons why we’re reluctant to heed the apostle’s words—why we don’t confess our sins to one another.  No doubt, one reason is that we don’t want to humble ourselves.  Did you know…one of the biggest hurdles in life is getting over yourself?

Another reason why we’re hesitant is that we’re afraid of gossip—which itself is a sin!  (That’s why I said to confess our sin to those who are spiritually mature.)

            At root here is the value of confidentiality—the value of keeping our big mouths shut!  Read the epistle of James.  I’m assigning that as your homework!  He has some good stuff on confidentiality.

            Confession of sin has value in itself, but it’s not enough.  James continues by saying, “and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”  We’re not supposed to re-enact an episode of Jerry Springer.

            Confession of sin is but the first part of the process of reconciliation.  In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul says that God “has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (v. 18).  And reconciliation, the making of peace, isn’t complete until healing has occurred.  (By the way, there’s some overlap with next week here.  That’s when my focus will be on healing.)

            If we pray for each other, we will experience healing—in many different ways.  And just as with our weekly prayers of confession, I’m talking about more than the weekly prayers of the people.  Easter people are people of prayer.  It’s part of who they are.

            Easter people are also honest—with themselves and with God.  Something Banu told me that my Mom told her is that she judges herself.  My Mom judges herself.  That’s not “judge” in the sense of “condemn”; rather, it’s “judge” in the sense of “examine.”  It’s important that we examine ourselves.

            The Sacred Space website I mentioned earlier takes you through several steps.  One of them is called “consciousness.”  Basically, it’s a step in which we’re invited to self-examination.  We’re reminded that God loves us unconditionally, behind all the masks we try to put on.

            All of the stuff I’ve spoken of can be misused:  confession of sin, prayer, and self-examination.  We can deceive ourselves, and we can impose unfair burdens on others.  We too quickly forget that, thanks to the risen Christ, “we are not consigned to the tomb of sin, and we should not keep others in the tomb of their mistakes.”[3]

            Our final hymn today is “Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak.”  As we sing it, I ask you to especially notice verses 1 and 4.  It will go a long way toward learning how to confess our sin and to pray for each other, so that healing may occur.  We can learn how to be vulnerable with each other.

            “Lord, speak to me, that I may speak / In living echoes of Thy tone; As Thou hast sought, so let me seek / Thine erring children lost and lone.

            “O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord, Until my very heart o’erflow / In kindling thought and glowing word, Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.”

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