Lent Day #17

Psalm 32:1-5 (MSG)
1 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be — you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean.
2 Count yourself lucky — God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him.
3 When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans.
4 The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up.
5 Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God."
Suddenly the pressure was gone — my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.

THOUGHTS:
You probably know that guilt eats away at us. We know that we did something wrong, and you get this feeling in the pit of your gut. It doesn't feel so good... Trying to ignore it, your mind keeps wandering back to it -- distracting you from whatever you try to think about...

With enough focus we hide our guilt from those around us ... we try to hide it from God ... and in time we may find that we hide it from ourselves ... yet it continues to eat away at us somewhere ...

My wife loves all those police investigator shows. How many times do they get the person to crack by making them feel the weight of their own guilt. "You hurt someone you loved -- how could you?"

Confession names our transgressions. It puts them out in the sun rather than festering in the dark places within us. When we confess, we have faith that what scripture tells us time and time again is true: God will forgive us. Talk about good news!

One of the traditional practices of Lent is to look deep within ourselves ... seeking out the tender spots where our guilt eats away at us. We look to name our sins and confess them to God, trusting in God's mercy. This isn't meaningless ritual. Confession allows God to lift our burdens from us. The weight is lifted from us so we don't carry it around anymore. We feel lighter, and can focus our energy on trying to really live!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
(From the Lutheran Book of Prayer, Concordia 1970)

It is hard for me, O God, to confess my sins and not merely repeat well-worn phrases with which I try to cover my real guilt.

I am a sinner. Why is it so difficult for me to see that, Lord? Why am I so bothered with a few things I do wrong while I think nothing of my lack of trust in You? Why do I feel guilty when I do not live up to my own standards but hardly blush when I fail You? Why do I imitate unholy men instead of following the Christ? I must confess it is because I follow my own desires, because I am weak in the face of temptations, and without You I am nothing.

All I can do is plead mercy, O God. I cannot even hold up the honesty and fullness of my confession. All I can do is trust Your love in Jesus Christ. I surely cannot trust my love for You or for Him. Hear me for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lived for me and died that in Him I might live.

Forgive me, Father! Forgive me even this, my poor confession. I need Your forgiveness for Christ's sake. Amen.