Repentance and
Confession
Christ
established the sacrament of repentance and confession after His resurrection.
Directing Himself to His disciples, He said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If
you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any,
they are retained"(John 20:22-24).
The
words of Christ are very clear. They leave no room for doubt. His disciples,
and afterwards their successors, alone--no one else-- have the right to forgive
or not to forgive the sins of man. In essence they are instruments of Christ.
It is Christ Who forgives the sins of man. The contemporaries of
Christ--Pharisees, Sadducees, and others--doubted that Christ could forgive
sins, or that He had this authority. We see this in the healing of the
paralytic. Christ said to the paralytic: "Your sins are forgiven."
They doubted His authority. And replying to them, "that you may know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," He said to the
paralytic: "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet, and go home"(Mark
2:10-11). The healing of the paralytic was used as proof to those who opposed
Christ that He indeed had authority to forgive sins. Of course, this authority
arises from His divinity and His sacrifice on the Cross. He gave this authority
to the Apostles and to their successors, the Bishops and Priests. He did not
give this authority to anyone else, not even to the angels. Let no one say,
then, that he can confess to God Himself, or to a saint, or to an icon. No. It
can be done only to a Bishop or to a Priest, and to no one else.
Do
we need the sacrament of repentance and confession? It would not be necessary
if man did not sin. Man, however, sins even after baptism, and so this
sacrament is absolutely necessary for our cleansing from sin, our purification,
and for the washing of our spiritual selves. It is for this reason that it is
called a second baptism.
In
order to understand how the sacrament should be performed we need not look
further than the meaning of the words repentance and confession. Repentance
means a changing of the mind, of thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. It is a
recognition of the responsibility and the guilt for committed sins, but also of
man's sinful nature. This recognition must be followed by a willingness to
change our ways, yet even this is not enough. This attitude needs to be
accompanied by a continual will and effort not to remain in a state of sin, but
to continue in the sphere of grace, to live in a state of righteousness, and to
climb continually to the spiritual ladder that never ends. This is why
repentance is not a momentary matter. It is a way of life. It is a progressive
state. This element is totally necessary for the forgiveness of sins,
cleansing, purification, justification, sanctification, and glory.
Confession
means that what a man has in his heart, he reveals to the representative of
Christ, the Bishop or the Priest--whatever wrong he has done, whatever evil
thing he has thought--all this is a necessary element for the forgiveness of
sins. How can the Priest forgive if he does not know? And how can it be true
repentance without confession?
Many
people say, "I am embarrassed to speak about it." Naturally, sins are
shameful. But a person should be ashamed when he commits a sin, not when he is
confessing. Unfortunately, when we commit our sins not only are we not ashamed
but we enjoy it at the time. Later we realize that this is spiritual poison
coated with honey. Sin is the spiritual poison that withers the soul and brings
about spiritual death.
Repentance
and confession are not a trial or a court. It is a shelter for sinners, a
hospital. The one who confesses is not judged or condemned. He is surrounded
with love, comfort, sincere interest; he is taken care of, healed, assisted,
treated by the physician, instructed, and forgiven.
The
confessor is not a judge. He is a doctor, a loving father. He is not a warden,
but an angel of freedom and forgiveness.
When
there is true repentance and confession, remission is granted. The penance that
the confessor gives is not a ransom for sins, but rather a pedagogical means
for the learning of the one who confesses. It is the crutch of the paralytic,
until his feet strengthen and he is able to continue freely. No sin is
unforgivable except for the sin of unrepentance, which is, in essence,
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In other words, the one who will remain
unforgiven is the one who does not believe that God can forgive and save.
Christ, You Who were crucified for us and for all people, Who took on our
sins and were tortured, through Whose wounds we are healed, You Who are the
physician of our souls and bodies, Who are so lenient and understanding that
You established the sacrament of repentance and confession for us to take
refuge there, and to be healed at that clinic and in that bath to be washed and
cleansed every time we become spiritually unclean, how can we thank You
deservingly? The most appropriate way is to take advantage of this opportunity,
to repent for every sin and to confess, so that we may be forgiven. We understand
this Lord, but we do not do it. Help us to live in a constant state of
repentance, purification, and ascent.