Communionity via Confession

The Lord's Supper was the last supper Jesus would have with his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection. It's a meal where he will be betrayed by Judas while he is explaining how his sacrificial death will atone for the sins of the world.

It's a Passover meal where he embraces the role of the lamb that will be slain, the blood of his body smeared over the doorposts of the universe to shield us from death and open the way forward to life with God.

It's a Last Supper where he takes the bread and reminds them to share it generously, like he used to do.

It's a Last Supper where he takes the cup of wine and reminds Judas, Peter, and the other disciples how he has poured out his life for the forgiveness of sins - for any who will drink of it and join him in his kingdom of peace. That's what Communion is all about.

Communion with Jesus is with a Christ who came to the common man and common woman in the community - to be united with them, to reconcile them to God and one another, to redeem them from evil and rescue them from their pit.

Communion with Jesus ought to build unity with our community - for that is where Christ is at - in the community building unity with him and one another. Either the church can be part of this kingdom work of God, or it can be left behind.

The spiritual practice of confession and self-examination has long been a part of the church's understanding of communion. When Christians partake of the Lord's Supper, there is usually a moment of reflection and repentance for sin.

But it's mostly just a moment of penitence.

Confession, however, takes practice, it takes work, and it requires time to let the Spirit speak and convict and heal. If confession is to be a source of unity for the community, if self-examination is to further communionity, it will need more practice.

What if there was a way for a church to practice Communion so that the time spent in confession to the Lord and to one another taught us how to confess sin during the week as well? What if the Sanctuary became a safe place for self-examination - a practice that we could then be taught to do in the world where we eat and drink and work and live?

When we remember Jesus and what he did in the Last Supper - and through it - it's a memory that should shape not just a moment, but many moments throughout the week of our life.

When we eat and drink in memory of Jesus, we are eating bread by which we remember how he shared his life and bread with the hungry and the lost. We are sharing the cup by which we remember how Jesus poured out his life for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

When we eat that bread, we remember how much he has shared with us - and it prompts us to share with those at the table with us and those in the community not yet at our table. When we drink from the cup we remember how much we have been forgiven, and are prompted to forgive those who have sinned against us, to be reconciled with those we have wronged, and help those in our community who want to learn how to forgive and be forgiven.

What is the spiritual practice of confession and self-examination?

• To surrender my weaknesses and faults to the forgiving love of Christ and intentionally desire and embrace practices that lead to transformation
• Self-examination is a process whereby the Holy Spirit opens my heart to what is true about me, in love, to seek transformation with Christ for renewal and change.
• Admitting to God my propensity to rationalize, deny, blame and self-obsess
• Examine the “sin-network” in your life as evidenced in presumptuous sins, besetting weaknesses, self-centered habits and broken relationships
• Replace sinful habits with healthy ones, Seek God’s grace to change
• Confess sins by examining your life in light of the 7 Deadly Sins, 10 Commandments, Beatitudes, Fruit of the Spirit
• Keep company with Jesus as you respond to conviction of sins and confess them to God
• Have compassion towards others in their faults
• Think of yourself with sober judgment, aware of your blindspots

Other practices include:

• Ask some of your close friends or trusted family members to help you see your blind spots. Ask them questions like: "What do I do that hurts you?" or "How could I better love you?" or "What is it like to be with me?" or "Do I show interest in other or talk mostly about myself?" Let their answers guide you in a time of confession.
• Imagine the kind of person you would like to be in your old age. Look at your life now and consider what would need to change in order to prepare now for what you would like to be then.
• How in touch do you feel with our own sin? 
• Begin to notice your strong emotions.
• Use Psalm 51 as a guide to confess sins you are convicted of. 
• Seek out a pastor to pray with you and guide you forward in accepting forgiveness and God's love.

Jesus was able to redeem both Peter and Judas, though only one of them was willing to say "I'm sorry" and to hear the words, "I forgive you."

Which one are you?


For more guidance on spiritual practices, see the very helpful resource by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook