What I Didn’t Say in the Confessional

Same old words, lovely words, to be sure, but still, the same old words that I’m used to. And it’s not that I take Pastor’s words for granted. Nevertheless, sometimes an awareness of those words dawns afresh on a person.

Earlier today, when I went to private Confession, I asked the pastor to forgive me for the sake of my dear Lord, Jesus, who died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of all my sins. Pastor spoke back the blessing,“God be gracious to you and strengthen your faith in His word of absolution.” “Amen.”

Pastor asked, “Do you believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?” “Yes, I do.”

Then Pastor placed his hand on my head, and tracing the sign of the cross on my forehead, he declared, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” I actually do believe the “Yes, yes, it shall be so” that was implicit in my “Amen,” but I must admit the main reason I said “Amen” is because that’s what the liturgy tells me to say.

This morning, following my “Amen,” it took my father confessor a while before he arrived at the place he wanted in his Bible. I don’t know if he was simply being slow about finding the page, or if it took some deliberation before he decided what passage of comfort he wanted to preach on. Regardless of the reason for the long pause, I had a few moments for the words of the Absolution to soak in before Pastor began further expounding God’s words of love and forgiveness to me with regard to my particular need.

And rather than a properly pious “Amen,” my mind thought, “Wow! He just forgave my sin. All my sin. Wow! He can say that. He has the power to make it happen.” I wanted to tug on the sleeve of his vestments, like a little girl tugs on her daddy’s sleeve to get his attention. In amazement, I wanted to ask him, “Do you know what just happened here? Do you understand how big this is? Do you realize that what you just said has ramifications in heaven itself? Do you get it—that what you just said changes everything?”

But I didn’t say it. It wasn’t my turn to talk. It was Jesus’ turn to talk to me, to tell me how He had trusted in the Lord perfectly for me, how He had had no other gods for me, how His heart had rejoiced in God’s steadfast love, and how that, too, counts for me. Besides, like a little girl talking to her older and wiser father, I didn’t need to point out to the pastor what was happening in the Absolution. Of course, he knows what’s going on there. He confesses that “this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.”

But our eyes deceive us, and we too often believe our eyes instead of what the Word says. There he stood—a skinny, short, bald sinner with his hand on the head of a kneeling penitent, saying the same old words. It probably would look pretty goofy and useless to most people, even to most Christians. Nevertheless, there he stood—touching a sinner just as Jesus had touched sinners and lepers, speaking peace and forgiveness to one transgressor just as Jesus had often done. But it’s not just some old pastor saying the same old words of forgiveness. “He who hears you, hears Me,” said our Lord. So when the pastor speaks the Absolution, it’s Jesus Himself speaking to us audibly.

All these thoughts whirled through my head in the moments that Pastor was hunting for an appropriate Bible verse. But I didn’t say anything. I was waiting to listen to Jesus. And while I waited, I marveled at the wonder of it all. Sometimes, though, these things are too awesome to keep to yourself.

Susan Gehlbach is a wife and mother and has, for nine years, been overjoyed to be the recipient of Holy Absolution. She can be reached by e-mail at gehlbach@sharontelephone.com.

Who Does the Pastor Think He Is?!

“I forgive you all of your sins.” Those seven short words, spoken by the pastor as part of Holy Absolution, have often been misunderstood. Taking offense, people have asked “Who is the pastor to forgive sins? Only God can do that!” Sometimes, people accuse pastors of something called sacerdotalism (pronounced SAW-ser-DOH-tal-ism), which is the false doctrine that pastors have special, supernatural powers to forgive sins.

So we’ll ask too, “Who is the pastor to say he forgives you all of your sins?”

The answer surrounds those words in the Absolution. For instance on page 16 of The Lutheran Hymnal, the pastor says he is forgiving sins, “by virtue of [his] office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word” and that he is forgiving sins “in the stead and by the command” of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, he forgives your sins “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”

Those words make clear that the pastor isn’t the one forgiving your sins. He doesn’t say, “I’m Bert, and I forgive you in the name of Bert. If anybody says you’re not forgiven, tell ‘em Bert forgave you.” Effectively the words say, “I’m no one, but I’ve been called to the office of pastor. I’m here to tell you what Jesus says. And Jesus says to you, ‘I forgive you all of your sins.’ That’s why I tell you that you’re forgiven in God’s name, not mine.”

Imagine that you’re living in a medieval village way back when, and a man shows up and cries out, “Here ye, here ye! I call upon you to each give me 5 percent of your earnings for the year.” The crowd around you laughs derisively, and somebody mockingly shouts, “And who are you to ask us for money?” The man smiles and says, “I’m the king’s tax collector. I’m telling you what the king sent me to say.” It doesn’t matter who that man is as an individual. What matters is that he’s been sent by the king.

When the pastor speaks the Absolution, he does so as the king’s messenger. It doesn’t matter if he’s short or tall, cheerful or cranky, and it doesn’t matter if you especially like him or not. What matters is that God has put him there to tell you His Word. He doesn’t have any special power; he’s only saying what he’s been called to say. He’s there to tell you what Jesus says—that for His sake and by His Word, you’re forgiven for all of your sins.

-- The Editors