Confession

Psalm 19

Confession can be a terrifying and shame-filled word for Christians.  Thus, having an entire week devoted to the spiritual discipline of Confession might make you consider skipping out on this week’s Lenten Journey. Confession is painful and messy work, but the destination of this discipline is always to guide us to sites of peace, redemption, and most significantly a deeper love for God.  The paradox of Confession, as simultaneously messy and beautiful work, is one of the reasons many Christian faith traditions participate in weekly liturgical practices of Confession.

 

When you think of the word “Confession” what images, thoughts, or feelings arise?

 

This is a great starting place as we enter into this week’s spiritual discipline. You will be hindered in going deeper into this Lenten journey and this discipline until you confess the baggage (whether good, bad, or neutral) to the discipline of Confession.

 

I think the images of God that show up when you take time today to think about Confession are particularly significant and insightful as we move through this week.

 

When you think of the word “Confession” what images, thoughts, or feelings about God arise?

 

Challenge yourself to sit with these two questions today. Let them swirl around in your mind and be aware of the images that arise, especially if these images are rooted and grounded in specific memories or experiences in your life. Confession always happens within a certain context. This means everyone’s experience with Confession will be different depending on the images, memories, and experiences they’re bringing to the table. Therefore, today’s two questions are helping us answer the overarching question that we should always ask ourselves when we are talking about spiritual disciplines, theology, or Scripture—What is my context?

~ Heidi Johnson