Confessing and Absolution is something the Christians church has done for more than a thousand years. God’s people gather together as a body of believers to corporately (corporate mean body) confess their sins. Think about the visitor that wanders into a church using the Western Rite including the confession of sins. They are surrounded by people who say in unison that they are “poor, miserable sinners”. That might be a good sign that it’s time to leave. What a terrible bunch of people! I don’t want to sugar coat the wrongs committed by Christians around the world. These are sins of thought, word, and deed. The terrible truth is that ALL people EVERYWHERE are guilty of these sins. All of us sin daily. It does no good to try and hide these sins. God knows all things, including the sins that you hide in your heart.
What are we to do?! Confess them. When you confess them know that your God doesn’t turn his back on you because of your sin. He is merciful toward you. He forgives your sins. This is where the absolution comes in. This word means that we are free from our guilt and shame. Jesus takes our sins and leave us his perfection, his righteousness.
That brings us to the ancient cry of the church called the Kyrie. This is a Greek word that means Lord. The phrase, Kyrie Eleison, is Greek for “Lord, have mercy!” We call on our God to have mercy because before him we are beggars. That’s not a bad place to be. Normally we don’t want to be at someone’s mercy, but when it comes to being at the mercy of our God we are safe, loved, and forgiven. In face there was a time when the church moved the Kyrie away from the Confession to the end of the worship service. This was the cry of God’s people as they left the safety of the church and entered the world of temptation, sin, and evil.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s lesson – Confession and Absolution from our study, Worship Windows.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.
Please click HERE for the other lessons from our series Worship Windows.