In this collection of writings from A More Profound Alleluia, we read from many theologians and worship experts. In our last reading, this author happens to be William A. Dyrness who wrote the previous book we read, A Primer on Christian Worship. From this chapter he addresses the effects of sin in worship and the role of confession.
First, he addresses what sin is and how it hinders worship. Basically, he came to the conclusion from many outside sources and definitions that sin is any offense to God’s holy, perfect, and good character. And, while we were made good and in the image of God, all of creation has been defiled and corrupted by sin. Because of this sinful nature, worshiping God goes against the desires of our flesh. Worship deeply satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts, our human calling, because it is the primary calling for all humans, but we now have a hard exterior shell that is sin that makes this desire seem unattractive.
Dynress explained from Church history and leaders that sin is a barrier for worship because sin is really rooted in pride, according to St. Augustine. This pride that lies at the heart of every human gives us a false desire to love ourselves rather than loving our Creator and Father. Sin distorts our hearts and our wills to no longer align with God’s but our shallow and cheap thrills that really are not for our good and our future. Similarly, contemporary leaders emphasize how sin creates a broken relationship between God and man. And, just like in any broken relationship with conflict and disconnection, we harden our hearts towards the other person and it is not really enjoyable to engage in the relationship. The enemy uses our sin to remind us that it breaks our relationship with God so we should just stay away. But the reality is, it’s not broken anymore for those who are in Christ Jesus! The blood of the Lamb makes us clean, and while we still sin, we are covered even in the “now, not yet,” reality we live in.
This is the importance of confession. Dyrness made a good point that I had not considered before, that we on our own cannot recognize sin and how it hinders. I thought this was interesting because it made me consider the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve, after they had sin, immediately recognized their nakedness and shame. So, I think there is some form of understanding we have, but I do think that sin blinds us to our own condition. So, we need the intercession of the Holy Spirit and The Body and that often comes through confession. We confess the reality of being a sinful people, but we also express that we have been and forever will be covered by the blood of the Lamb. We confess because it is a command from Jesus, from the Word. It reminds us that we are not forever broken and that God actually made a way for us to be close. It is the role of the Body corporately to encourage each other and purify our hearts collectively as the Bride, one Body.
This moment of confession corporately is sealed in what Dyrness and Church history call the “passing the peace of Christ.” In contemporary American churches, this has become the “greet your neighbors,” time, which maybe cheapens the history and beauty of this command. Passing the peace of Christ is a time to interact with those around you and remind them that their sins have been forgiven, they are made new in Christ. This feels like a wonderful time of encouragement and faith building, rather than casual greeting to the person you sit next to. The goal no longer becomes fellowship because we should know each other but fellowship because we want to, and are commanded to, love and build up one another and brothers and sisters in Christ.
I found it fruitful to really understand how sin affects us individually and corporately in worship. It is something I have found is not really recognized in services except during an altar call. And maybe it is not supposed to be highlighted during a service, maybe it is just good behind the scene knowledge for the church leaders to know, but maybe it is also good to confess and bless each other regularly in our church gatherings.
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