By the Way: To ignore or to confess
By Rev. Pastor Shane Hein on July 20, 2019.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9Â If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:8-9 [ESV]. One of my family’s first priorities upon me receiving the call as pastor of St. Peter Lutheran was to find a place to live here in Medicine Hat. At that time, just over four years ago, there actually wasn’t that many houses in our price range available to choose from. However, during our fourth house-hunting trip from Warman, Sask. to Medicine Hat our real estate agent found us a house that matched nearly everything that we were looking for. And, although it was a smidge more than what we originally budgeted for (when isn’t it?) we decided to take it. After we moved in we did a few minor renovations on the main floor, but we didn’t need to do anything in the basement since it had been recently finished by the previous owner. So, with everything being relatively new on the inside I thought that it would be at least five, or maybe even 10 years before I would need to do any major interior repairs or replacements. It was about a year and a half in when I first noticed it. I was pouring myself a glass of water at the sink in the basement bathroom when I glanced down into the corner where the shower meets the wall and I noticed that the paint was looking a little wrinkly. At first I tried to tell myself that it must have always been like that, and that I had just not noticed it when we first looked at the house. But, as the months went by the wrinkly spot grew, while at the same time a new spot was developing in the corner at the opposite side of the shower. A wise man once told me that there are two ways to handle a problem: One, ignore it, enjoy life now, but pay big for it later. Or, two, tackle it immediately, be a little bit inconvenienced in the here and now, and pay very little. When it came to my shower in the basement bathroom, I went with the former – at least initially. Luckily, I was persuaded by someone much more knowledgeable about such things that if I didn’t deal with the problem now there would be a very real possibility that the entire shower would have to be removed, and all of the drywall surrounding it would have to be replaced. Obviously, this would be a much larger and more expensive prospect than to take the time to find the leak, fix it, and replace the comparatively small bits of wet drywall. In the same way that I was tempted to deceive myself about the reality of the water damage in my basement bathroom, I am constantly tempted to deceive myself to the reality of sin in my life. In both instances, continuing the self-deception does nothing but postpone the inevitable long-term, and expensive consequences. Anyone who is familiar with liturgical-style worship services (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, etc.) will immediately recognize the text with which I opened this article as one that is recited by the pastor to the congregation prior to partaking in Holy Communion. And, these words of John are said prior to Holy Communion because they serve as a reminder to the faithful just how easily we slip into self-deception; as if ignoring our sin is the same as it never having existed. To let ourselves continue to believe in the non-existence of our own human sinfulness is as irrational as my belief that the water damage in my bathroom wasn’t really there – as long as I could convince myself that it wasn’t really there. John also reminds us, though, that to confess our sins – that is, to recognize and to admit to ourselves, and between ourselves, that we are sinful beings – is to relieve ourselves of the burden of self-righteousness, and to give the glory to Jesus for doing what only Jesus can do: forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. God’s Richest Blessings, Rev. Pastor Shane Hein. Rev. Pastor Shane Hein is from St. Peter Lutheran Church. 13-12
