It was dark and foreboding as I knelt there in that claustrophobic little confessional booth.  I was feeling trapped both by the booth and the burden upon me.  Then the small door to the other side slid open.  I could see the dim outline of Father Missimi through the screen. 

That was the cue for this little 8-year-old to begin.  I said, “Bless me Father for I have sinned.  My last confession was 1 week ago.”  And then it was time to unload my sins. 

But what could I say?  For the most part, I was a good little boy.  I was obedient to my parents, and I got good grades in my Catholic school. This created a quandary for me. 

I feared my teacher, Sister Mary Cletus.  She was hovering outside the booth expecting me to confess my sins.  Father Missimi was on the other side patiently waiting to hear them. But I couldn’t think of any sins to confess. 

And if I went to confession without confessing a sin, would that not be a sin in and of itself?  So, I decided to cooperate.  I needed to fabricate a few sins. “Go with the ten commandments,” I thought.  “Father, I took the name of the Lord my God in vain, and I did not remember to keep the Sabbath day holy – oh and I coveted my neighbor’s goods.”

And then I thought, “Wait a minute – I am presently bearing false witness.  I am lying about sins I did not commit to a holy priest, but I can’t tell him about it because then he would never believe my confessions in the future, and I will therefore be forever unforgiven. 

So, I finished up with my false confession, and he uttered his words of absolution and then ordered me to pray 10 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Mary’s, 10 Glory Be’s and to light a candle and give some money to the poor.

Oh, and by the way, Father Missimi, this post is my official confession of my bogus confession. – Smiley Face!

Confession was so difficult and confusing back then but much simpler now. 

According to 1 John 1:9-10.  John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.”

When we violate the expectations of God, we put a kink our relationship with Him.  He does not cease to love us, nor does sin imperil our salvation.  But sin muddies our relationship with God. 

When I took my dad’s hatchet without asking, and then lost it, he was not happy with me, but He didn’t disown me.  My standing as His son was always firm.  I had wounded our relationship, however, and that needed to be addressed. 

Likewise, our forgiveness is founded on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  His blood washed us legally clean, but ongoing confession removes the spiritual, emotional distance that sin creates.  It cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

When we injure our relationship with God through sin, we need to confess it.  And we don’t need a booth to do it.  God is omniscient and knows where we are, what we’ve done and what we need to do about it. 

Neither do we need an intermediary in a dimly lit cubicle to assist.  We are to confess our sins to Him, the Lord Himself, according to John.  And the Father will promptly forgive us and restore the sweetness to our relationship with Him.

Silly me!  I once fabricated fictional sins to confess, yet John says, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:10. A really honest person doesn’t have to manufacture sins.

Well, I have left the dim booth for the light.  And the weekly chore, I once abhored has become a sweet time of reconnecting with the Father, whom I so deeply love.  He waits to hear from you as well. 

A PRAYER: Father, forgive us, for we have sinned!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible®