Full Text for Confessions 1- Volume 37 - Is there any way we can introduce private confession and absolution again? (Video)

ROUGHLY EDITED COPY CONFESSIONS 1 CON1-Q037 JANUARY 2005 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: CAPTION FIRST, INC. P.O. BOX 1924 LOMBARD, IL 60148 * * * * * This text is being provided in a rough-draft format. Communications Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. * * * * >> NICK: I have noticed in most LCMS congregations that members don't confess their sins privately as Lutherans once did in the 16th century. In fact, my father speaks of every member having to visit privately with the pastor prior to Communion when he was growing up. Melanchthon insists that we should maintain private confession. Is there any way we can introduce private confession and absolution again? If what I am saying is impractical, particularly in view of our frequency of the celebration of the Eucharist, how might I as a pastor help my parishioners value more highly corporate confession and absolution when it occurs in the liturgy of worship? >> DR. KLAUS DETLEV SHULTZ: Well, Nick, here you see a certain disparity between today's Lutheran Church and its context to that of the 16th century and of that of your father himself. I think what is necessary to be said here is that we all treasure confession and absolution because that is understood as a place where we treasure very highly the forgiveness of God being bestowed to us. The keys are in practice there. We confess our sins, and we are given that forgiveness. We are declared righteous before God. This is particularly important when one looks at the church of the 16th century. There was a custom, at that time, that did not play out in its full capacity the understanding of the keys; namely, that forgiveness that needs to be bestowed to people. There were many practices that drew attention to the satisfaction, rather than the forgiveness. That satisfaction needs to be done for one�s sins, and thereupon only receive that forgiveness. It detracted away from Christ and the words of absolution Himself that gives us that unconditional forgiveness Private confession played a very important role at the time of the church then. As I have said just now, there were so many abuses that the reformers changed a number of things there. They believed that the enumeration was not necessary as much as the Roman Catholic believed it was. Also, the idea of satisfaction was not needed because Christ had already done everything. But, at the same time, private confession and absolution was something that had to be retained, they say, in Article 11 of the Augsburg Confession. Why? Because it brought to full clarity the state of your condition before God. Speaking to the pastor and being reminded whether we have done everything that we should have done will tell us that we are sinful, and that we there have the means to receive forgiveness, namely, that of absolution of our sins. Now why was private confession and absolution connected to Holy Communion? I think it was very important that, while one receives absolution through the words of the pastor, it was also understood that such forgiveness can also be given through Holy Communion. Yes. That our faith relied very much on that visible forgiveness; namely, that that is given in our mouths and spoken to us, take and eat for the forgiveness of your sins. So it does not detract anything from the fact that absolution itself is also understood as a means of grace. But it highlights, also, that we, today, always seek something visible. And Holy Communion underscores that forgiveness. So at the time of your father and also at the time of the settlers into the United States of America, the first Missourians, we should say, such as *Walthar, we know that private confession was still very important. In fact, it was seen as a condition that was necessary before one entered into Holy Communion. Thereby, the practice brought forth this connection between both confession and absolution and Holy Communion. It is necessary to understand that at the time when this practice of private confession was maintained, that one believed that one comes to the pastor and speaks of all those things that concern you. And the pastor himself would also speak to you about things that he was concerned about you. And upon that, he would also give his blessings so that you attend Holy Communion. It is very important that this private confession has played such a good role in the life of the church. And you ask the question whether it has lost its significance. Sadly, it has. Whether one could revive it again, I don't know. But at least, we could do this. I think we should clearly tell all members that they, once aging, have to go back to Article 2 of the Augsburg Confession and understand themselves as those who still have that concupiscence, that evil inclination, and that sin is still part of their life. And we as pastors should remind them of the positive things the church does through word and sacrament, that private confession helps us to understand, again, this depravity that we have, this evil inclination, but then also remind them that we have this absolution. Yes, this corporate absolution spoken at the first words of the service. And then we have also Holy Communion where such forgiveness is being given. Yes. Private confession has lost its place in many ways. Whether we can revive it, I do not know, but I surely hope we can. But at least we have this corporate confession that if we come together and confess our sins, that we all will go together also to Holy Communion to receive that visible affirmation of our forgiveness.