6. Learning in the School of Ezra through Public Confession
- Learning in the School of Ezra through Public Confession.
“Each day of the Feast, from the first day to the last one, Ezra read from Torah, God’s Book of Instructions The Israelites celebrated the Feast of Shelters for seven days; on the eighth day, as instructed in the Book, they held a solemn assembly. The Israelites assembled for a fast in sackcloth and with dust on their heads. Then those who had severed relations with all foreigners stood up and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. Standing, each man in his place, they read from the Book of the Law of Yahweh their God for one quarter of the day; for another quarter they confessed their sins and worshipped Yahweh their God by prostrating themselves, flat on the ground.” (Nehemiah 8:18-9:3).
About a week after the Feast of Shelters, the people assembled once again, this time to participate in public confession of their sins, as well as the sin of their fathers. For about three hours during this sacred assembly, Ezra led the people in the continued reading from the Teachings of Moses in Torah, and then for another three hours all the Israelites engaged in public confession and community worship of Yahweh their God. They were unafraid to share their confessions with their neighbors. They confessed in the presence of other believers, and of course this pointed to what became commonplace in early Christian life.
“In view of all this, we are making a binding covenant, putting it in writing and having it sealed by all our leaders, the Levites and the priests… We will live by God’s Torah, given by Moses the servant of God, and will perform and obey all the commands, rulings and laws of Yahweh our Lord.” (Nehemiah 10:1.30).
After the mass confession and community worship, the people listened to an astounding and lengthy prayer by the elders. Their prayer referred to their history with God, recounted their spiritual heritage, and confirmed God’s faithfulness throughout. The prayer had much to say about the all-important Covenant that was established between them and their God Yahweh. At the conclusion of the prayer, the people sealed the Covenant, and they bound themselves to an oath… In the spirit of their renewed covenant, the people promised “to do all the commandments of Yahweh.”
Thoughts on Confession:
Confess: to acknowledge openly and out loud; to freely admit to wrongdoing; to announce one’s shortcomings to another and to God; to admit one’s responsibility in making a false step or doing something offensive to another; to agree with God that the wrongdoing was indeed wrong; to genuinely say to someone “I’m sorry,” which means “What I have done has given me sorrow, and I apologize for my mistake.” James is saying that a personal apology to someone will go far in healing that relationship, and in healing that part of you that made that mistake. And that a public confession will heal one’s relationship to that person’s community.
Mutual Confession in Christian Community. The research of the Orthodox Church states that the ancient Christian custom was to confess sins mutually, to one another, as an act of repentance. As the church grew, though, this practice became more difficult as they had to consider confessing to strangers. So the priest of the Body would represent the people of the Church and hear the confession. The Orthodox Church believes that a mere private confession to God alone was not supported in scripture. We need to somehow acknowledge our sin to the community, whether privately or publicly. Early Christians believed that 1 John 1:9 is in the context of mutual confession, in community: “If we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
“Confess and acknowledge how you have offended one another, and then pray for one another to be instantly restored, for tremendous power is released through the passionate heartfelt prayer of a godly believer… Confess to one another therefore your faults, your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16, TPT and Amplified).
Repent: (Greek, “metanoia”); to change your mind; to reverse direction in one’s thinking; to quit what you’re doing and live another way. John the Baptist is telling the people in this passage to prove you have changed by deciding to live in another way; talk is cheap, but changing one’s behavior is much more valuable. “Produce fruit that is worthy of repentance, fruit that is consistent with your repentance.” (Matthew 3:8).
Confess to each other. James 5:16 simply says, “Confess your sins to one another.” When you confess to each other, you acknowledge your mistake openly with a brother or sister. It’s when one believer freely admits the wrongdoing to the other. To confess to your trusted friend in Christ is to privately announce one’s guilt, one’s shortcoming or failure of character. When you concede your wrongdoing, you are humbly agreeing that the mistake you made was indeed a mistake. Your wrongdoing may not have been intentional or conscious, but it probably still needs to be confessed. One will no doubt feel somewhat vulnerable when confessing a wrongdoing. But once again trust kicks into gear here. If a fellow believer is confessing to you, listen with love and understanding, not judgment. Scripture repeatedly warns us about the dangers of concealing an offense, of keeping a wrongdoing a secret. Confession is good for the soul, and it is good for a personal relationship as well as life in community. It keeps one from self-deception, clears the conscience, provides peace in the spirit. Confession renews your innocence.
The Virtue of Confession. Don’t keep your sins a secret, the early Christians seem to say to us. When we are hiding our wrongdoings from one another, there’s a good chance we are keeping our sin from God, and even from ourselves. Confession is good for the soul, it clears the conscience and gives us peace, it strengthens our emotions, and stabilizes the mind. If our sin has harmed the community in some way, we need to consider a more public confession. If we have sinfully offended an individual, we need to seek out that person and confess privately. If we are on intimate terms with a small group and want them to support us as we seek to overcome a troublesome sin, confess to the small group. If we have a spiritual director or a deep friend who understands our life journey, confess to him/her. If we want a spiritual authority to represent us to God, and who thus will reassure us of God’s forgiveness and mercy, confess to our priest, pastor, or other minister. Confess our sins to one another, and be forgiven by the Lord of Love. “People who conceal their sins will not prosper; but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, NLT).
“Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.” (James 5:16, Message).
Self-Examination. Generally, a private time with God for self-examination and acknowledgement of sins is helpful before confession. The following is an excerpt from the “Exhortation” before Communion in the Book of Common Prayer: “Examine your lives and conduct by the rule of God’s commandments, that you may perceive wherein you have offended in what you have done or left undone, whether in thought, word, or deed. And acknowledge your sins before Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life, being ready to make restitution for all injuries and wrongs done by you to others.”
“As the open confession of my sins to a brother insures me against self-deception, so, too, the assurance of forgiveness becomes fully certain to me only when it is spoken by a brother in the name of God.” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together).
Public General Confession: “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us and forgive us, that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.” And the Priest’s Response: “Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.” (BCP).
“Where there is deep anxiety and trouble over one’s own sins, where the certainty of forgiveness is sought, there comes the invitation in the Name of Jesus to come to brotherly confession.” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together).
A private confession of particular sins before a brother or sister in the Lord: (Confession of sins) … “Therefore, O Lord, from these and all other sins I cannot now remember, I turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Receive me again into the arms of your mercy, and restore me to the blessed company of your faithful people, through Him in whom you have redeemed the world, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (BCP).
“The open confession of my wrongdoing to a brother insures me against self-deception, and he who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. In confession the break-through to community takes place. Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. The sin must be brought into the light. The sin concealed separated him from the fellowship; the sin confessed has helped him to find true fellowship in Jesus Christ.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together; a note: since his book was written to the community of men living in his charge, he refers solely to the masculine gender).