Penance and the Forgiveness of Sins

While my church does not recognize the act of penance as a sacrament, I do believe that we need the act of penance if we are truly going to proclaim the tittle of being a Christian.  For me and others of my faith denomination, it is at the Lord's Table where we profess our sins to God.  I make a point of making the plea that all who participate should confess to God their sins and ask for His forgiveness, for it is written that Jesus said while they were eating, “Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’" (Matt. 26:27-28 NIV).  It is here at the table that we privately profess our sins to God. It is here at the table that we are reminded what Jesus did for us to make salvation possible, for our sins to be forgiven, for those who have penitent hearts.  It is also through the saying of the Lord's Prayer that we ask for penance.

Modern Version

However, I believe we miss something in my faith tradition by not having the sacrament of penance.  While I do not believe that a priest or cleric has the special right to forgive sins, I am more in line with Martin Luther who wrote that, “As to the…practice of private confession, I am heartily in favor of it, even if it cannot be proved from the Scriptures.  It is useful, even necessary…for it is a cure without equal for distressed consciences” (Johnson 280).  In our church order of service, we do have the Prayer of Confession taken from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979 and the assurance of pardon that is said by the pastor, that comes from the The Common Form of Absolution in the Roman Ritual (Johnson 282), which says, “May Almighty god have mercy on you, forgive you of your sins, and bring you to life everlasting.  Amen.” (Johnson 282).

Penance and forgiveness are so intertwined, like two tree branches that grow up and wrap around each other.  However, for penance to happen we have to be aware of our own sins.  In so doing, we need to be humble, and we need to be reminded of the condition of being non-judgmental.  Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:41-42 NIV).  Isn’t judgement towards another without self-examination a sin?  Isn’t that something we do on a regularly basis that calls for penance?

1619 painting by Domenico Fetti entitled The Parable of the Mote and the Beam.

The Mote and the Beam 

We are all sinners, those who miss the mark repeatedly, and having a form or penance, whether it be sacramental in regards to the Church or sacramental in relation to one’ heart, it is in the image of the  our Lord, our Messiah, Jesus Christ, that we repeatedly and unrelentingly humble ourselves and ask for God's forgiveness.

Casting Crowns-Jesus Friend of Sinners