Devotion - Wednesday, April 20

Some misunderstand confession. They think of it as being beaten down or brought low by God. It is anything but. Confession is the opportunity to come clean, it is a chance to be honest - with God, but also with ourselves. There is an art to confession, and as with most art it takes dedication and diligence.

We began our Lenten Season with an elongated confession on Ash Wednesday. You should already be thinking, "Elongated confession, but no absolution!" Maundy Thursday (tomorrow) is the opportunity to hear that word of forgiveness. And you will hear it. Before moving to that absolution, there will be one more opportunity for confession. Shorter than Ash Wednesday, this confession is one in which we provide the instances of transgressions. After all, we have had thirty-eight days to identify our sins.

This morning's reading in my devotional guide prompted me to consider additional areas where sin might be hiding in my life. I share it with you as a way of aiding you in your continued efforts to be honest with yourself, with your companions, with your God.

It is from Ditlev Gothard Monrad, a 19th century Danish Statesman and writer.

"It is very important that we are without pretense when we come before God's countenance. All adornment, all excuses, must be cast aside. We must not give ourselves out as anything other than we are. Wares often pass in trade under false names in order to win easier sale; but it is still more common that the human heart houses cravings to which it gives false names in order to justify love for the. Deceit is called cleverness; greed is called concern for spouse and children; hatred and anger are called zeal for truth and justice. No sinful desire is found in the human heart that does not sail under a false flag and steal a name that does not belong to it. It is a great step forward when we are able to give the right name to all that lives within us. It is one of the blessings of prayer that it calls upon us for serious self-examination and brings into the light of God's countenance that which steals around in our souls, half conscious, part truth, part falsehood. Everything that lives within us should be laid bare in prayer."