Although Lutherans say that they have not abolished private confession and hold it in higher regard than their opponents, the history does not quite support that -- at least in practice. Oh, yes, in theory we are all about individual confession and absolution but much of that is talk and not much of it is practice. In the edition of the Small Catechism used when I was catechized as a youth, there was not even a rite for it and it was barely mentioned. While that has been rectified, the practice remains on the fringes of Lutheranism and an anachronism for most Lutherans.
The absolution is, as Luther maintained, the heart and gift of private confession. The focus is not even on penitence as precondition and certainly not on any kind of satisfaction. The core and center not only of the rite but of the sacrament (which Lutherans have called it) is in the absolution. Indeed, it is the reason why we confess. We come not as a people uncertain what God will do with our confession but because of His mercy we confess, knowing that He will forgive and restore us.
You can read of a recent effort to bring this sacrament to the mind of the faithful that they may avail themselves of its gift and blessing but it remains a hard nut to crack. The truth is that this was a hard sell long ago. Consider Luther's treatise Of Confession, where says, " I will let no one take away private confession and would not exchange it for all the wealth of the world, for I know what strength and comfort it has given me."' In his eighth sermon against Carlstadt (1522), who had abolished private confession in Wittenberg during Luther's absence, Luther preached "I know the devil well. If you had known him as well as I, you would not have thrown private confession so quickly to the wind." Also, in his Babylonian Captivity of the Church Luther writes, "Of private confession, which is now observed, I am heartily in favor, even though it [the requirement] cannot be proved from the Scriptures; it is useful and necessary, nor would I have it abolished; nay, I rejoice that it exists in the church of Christ, for it is a cure without equal for distressed conscience." Luther rejects the ecclesiastical rule
which requires confession in an absolute sense. It cannot be made a law, but it is, at one and the same time, an
indispensable form of the gospel. It is therefore not a requirement but
rather a gift which we cannot do without -- the law that cannot relieve the sinner compared to the unmerited mercy that can and does.
While Luther and the Reformers had much to say against what confession had become in Rome, the Lutheran doctrine confessed was not the creation of an opposing doctrine to Rome. It was, to be sure, a correction of abuses, not simply in theology but in the received practice of the day. It would be a false characterization of Luther and those who followed him that the adherents to the Augsburg Confession went about establishing a new doctrine and practice antithetical to Rome. The Lutheran doctrine placed confession, which is the work of man, over against absolution, which is the work of God. In his brief admonition to confession, Luther says, "Now mark well what I have said often, that confession consists of two parts. The first is our work and doing, that I lament my sins and desire comfort and renewal of my soul. The other is a work which God does, who absolves me from my sins through His word spoken by the mouth of man. This is the most important and precious part, as it also makes it lovely and comforting. Up till now the confession has all been our work without going any farther than recognizing a good confession, and the other most important part was not recognized nor preached, quite as if it all were a good work with which to pay God. And whenever the confession was not complete to the last detail, then absolution could not be effective nor sins be forgiven."'
However, the problem of restoring private confession lies, in part, with the identification of this sacrament's benefits as solely with the absolution. Is there a Lutheran pastor who has not been asked Do I need to confess my sins to a pastor for Confession, or can I simply say sorry to God in my head?
For our God, the God we have, is not so stingy that he has left us with only one comfort or strengthening for our conscience, or only one absolution, but we have many absolutions in the gospel and we are richly showered with many absolutions. For instance, we have this in the gospel: “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” [Matt. 6:14]. Another comfort we have in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses,” etc. [Matt. 6:12]. A third is our baptism, when I reason thus: See, my Lord, I have been baptized in thy name so that I may be assured of thy grace and mercy. Then we have private confession, when I go and receive a sure absolution as if God himself spoke it, so that I may be assured that my sins are forgiven. Finally, I take to myself the blessed sacrament, when I eat his body and drink his blood as a sign that I am rid of my sins and God has freed me from all my frailties; and in order to make me sure of this, he gives me his body to eat and his blood to drink, so that I shall not and cannot doubt that I have a gracious God. Thus you see that confession must not be despised, but that it is a comforting thing. (Sermon of 16 March 1522; LW, Vol. 51, 97-98)
The center of private confession is absolution but the benefit is the comfort of the troubled soul, the counsel given to those who struggle to recognize and confess their sins with excusing or justifying them, and the clear conscience to those who feel so deeply the shame of their sin. Again, Luther in the Smalcald Articles (VIII, 1): "Confession or absolution ought by no means to be abolished in the church, especially on account of [tender and] timid consciences and on account of the untrained [and
capricious] young people, in order that they may be examined, and instructed in the Christian doctrine." In other words, private confession is meant to be an essential instrument of pastoral care. It is here that the pastor knows his people and what lies upon their hearts -- all the while he hears their confession and is privileged to be the voice of our Savior in absolving them of their sins.
How foolish of us to presume that the preaching of the Gospel, the baptism into Christ, the general absolution in the liturgy (though much later), and the reception of the Sacrament of the Altar are all simply redundant means of grace that offer exactly the same thing and therefore offer the penitent a choice! How even more foolish of us to presume that the private prayer of the individual to God, while effective in both offering repentance and receiving God's mercy, is an exact substitute of the gift and blessing of all the means of grace in general and private confession in particular! We have an embarrassment of riches from God but they are all distinct and, though the forgiveness of sins is at the heart of each, they offer additional gifts and blessings particular to them. It has not helped us in any way to heighten the focus solely on the forgiveness of sins while neglecting the other benefits and blessings associated with each means of grace and, in the case of private confession, this has been an effective force in detracting from that which our forebearers considered essential. In reality, both in John 20 and in the ministry that proceeds from that Easter evening ordination, forgiveness and the pastoral care of the penitent and impenitent is at the heart of the Lutheran office of the ministry every bit as much as preaching and catechesis.
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