In the recent Pastor Ponderings, I wrote about gathering and centering ourselves and hearing the proclamation of the word through scripture and sermon and taking time to reflect on the word. Last week I wrote about the role of music in worship. Today I want to talk about confession, pardon and peace.
When we have a prayer of confession, we join together in saying out loud ways in which we have departed from what God intends for us. We say, in general terms, how we have missed the mark, fallen short, ignored God’s call or failed to be obedient. On those Sundays when we do not have a particular prayer of confession, there is still the recognition that we wish to draw closer to God and pull ourselves away from those things that are not of God.
It is usual–some might even say peculiar –to talk about our own failures and flaws in the church. We do this because maybe here before God, we can have the courage to be fully honest. Here we can admit that we don’t have it all together. Therefore, we can turn to God for acceptance, for forgiveness, for mercy and for love.
Every prayer of confession is followed by an announcement of the forgiveness and pardon that God offers to each of us. It may be that we already know this to be true. However, it is good to hear the words spoken aloud and addressed to us. Then, once we have been told the good news of our forgiveness and acceptance by God, we can offer one another signs of reconciliation and love. When we find peace from God, we can offer peace to one another. So, it makes sense that we stand to hug, to shake hands, to greet one another with a word of peace.
Confession, pardon and the passing of the peace are elements of worship that help us to see ourselves in a new and fresh way as a result of what God is doing. These things remind us that our spiritual life is a continuing process and we a striving to become more and more like Christ in what we say and do.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Steve