Reflection on the 3rd Wednesday of Lent, March 7th, 2012: “Confession and Absolution: The Keys in Action (Matthew 16:13-20).”

We have the delightful blessing of participating in a Lenten pulpit-exchange with some other LC-MS congregations and pastors! This evening, March 7th, Rev. Brandon Jones of St. Paul’s, Long Beach led our worship. These are the other guest pastors we look forward to welcoming:

On March 14th: Pastor Paul Wilweber of Prince of Peace, San Diego.

On March 21st: Pastor Jeff Springer of Trinity, Whittier.

On March 28th: Pastor Daniel Harmelink of Redeemer, Huntingon Beach.

All of our mid-week services are held at my home, 21986 Mae Circle in Lake Forest. Soup suppers begin at 6 pm and then the service begins at 7 pm. Please come and invite a friend!

This past Wednesday, Pastor Jones preached on “The Paralysis of Sin/The Power of Forgiveness (Mark 2:1-12).”

My assignment in this exchange — which I preached on for the first time at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Huntington Beach on March 7th — is “Confession and Holy Absolution: The Keys in Action (Matthew 16:13-20).” This sermon is being made available on this website and I understand is also on the Redeemer website in audio form.

We must be aware that the evil one attacks the foundations of what delivers the saving Gospel to people. He attacks the Church. One of the enemies’ strategies is to try to convince people that the Church is the invention of men, derived from the imagination of men to serve the power and agendas of men. Wrong! Christ says clearly in Matthew 16: “I will build my church (verse 18).”

What is truly exciting is that the Lord Jesus Christ includes the blueprints for this building! He describes confession as that instrument for constructing the household of faith, His body, His people into a house of living stones. This happens in Church where we confess our sin and confess our faith. To truly get to the point of confessing as St. Peter did, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (verse 16),” — and to do so with the true meaning behind the words —  it is also necessary to confess our great need for this Anointed One, sent from the Father to save sinners!

The united voice of the Church uses the same words — a common confession — of the saving faith, and she also approaches the Lord in the same way: through the confession of sins. There is no other way to approach the Holy God! And when we do approach this way, He is eager to put upon us His Holy Absolution. This means of grace delivers the atoning blood of Christ to us poor sinners! When we receive God’s absolution in Church we receive His voice from heaven declaring us forgiven and released from the bondage of sin and death. It is the Lord’s heavenly voice and His divine authority which liberates us to live as His people here on earth!

This is that means of grace that is threatened by extinction. We have lost our appreciation for private confession and absolution and want to replace it with the mere discussion about the Gospel or “declarations” of the content of the Gospel. And while it is true that we may also receive God’s grace through preaching, teaching, and personal witness, we neglect God’s gifts when we exclude absolution. Furthermore, while the “general confessions” on Sunday mornings also serve an important purpose, we must be careful that such confessions do not lead us to gloss over our individual struggles and doubts, or tempt us to hide unrepentant attitudes. That is to say, private confession and absolution addresses all of these concerns.

As the Church we need to rediscover this invaluable asset. We are given pastors to be the Lord’s mouthpiece and compassionate hand upon our heads, etching the cross into our foreheads while applying the Lord’s direct and personal absolution so that all doubts about our forgiveness are destroyed. As Lutherans we know that such personal service is not mandatory, but we rejoice that the things of the Gospel are never viewed through the lens of legalism, but treated as what they actually are: gifts! These are things we love to receive, especially when we discover the power of such direct forgiveness upon our personal and specific sins which may plague our conscience. This is not about the enumeration of sins which is impossible, but about giving to God that sin or sins which burden our souls and raise doubts in even the most devout believers.

But we must remember that it is a gift. This is never a matter of twisting arms. Christ calls us to Himself, and then He appoints His spokesmen, His stewards, not to judge, not to condemn, but to heal the burdened child of God who needs the healing Gospel applied to them throughout their life. I can never put into words how much I have been helped and blessed through my pastor-confessors who have served me as the stewards of Jesus!

May the Lord bless us to return to the good things He has given to us. He has given His Church the power of His forgiveness. Let us seek it out regularly and frequently, because the battle that rages against us is very real, but nothing is stronger than His constant forgiveness through His blood shed on Calvary’s cross and His victorious resurrection. These are what come to the sinner who confesses their sin; and through such confession in the saving Gospel we know the power of the Gospel itself, that which the Lord works through to build His Church!

 

In Christ,

 

Dr. Espinosa

 

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