For Sunday, December 7, 2014 – Mark 1:1-8
Have you found a place yet where you feel so very safe and loved that you want to confess your sins? Not list by rote a few lapses in behavior, some of your small regrets, but reveal your soul-wrenching heart of hearts and be loved anyway. Such places of compassion and trust are rare. Our world is dying for want of them, places where masks can be laid aside, where we can speak the truth of our wrongdoing and “go public” about our sin.
If we try, we sometimes hear, “Don’t be such a downer. Why not talk about all the good that people do? We need less negativity in our lives.” Yet there he is, still calling to us, Repent! Preparing us for fuller life, John cries out from the wilderness, proclaiming “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And what do the people do? Do they shun his message? Do they deny their deeds? No, they hurry on down to that river for the privilege of going public with their sin.
Would we have been among them? Acknowledging our sin is one of life’s great levelers and unifiers. When we confess our sin, we are saying we are human. We are “one of us” choosing sometimes to build up and sometimes to tear down. We want unity yet separate ourselves from each other. We are in process, which means we are no better, and no worse, than others. The moment we see the hurt we have caused, the wrong we have done, the good we have refused to do—we have the key that unlocks our cell and sets us free. To acknowledge our sin is to find our place again in the family. We are no longer pretending to be someone we are not; no more hiding out in our lonely towers of righteousness. Our liberation is at hand!
Knowing and confessing the truth about myself is to leave the wilderness of my isolation. I am a sinner! You are a sinner! Oh, the joy of humbling ourselves and being known for who we are. Grab a hand and come on down into the river of mercy. Feel the strong currents of grace that come when we go public with our sin.
