Mission Monthly – February 1997

“For just as a snake which is brought from its dark hole into the light makes every effort to escape and hide itself, so malicious thoughts [sin] that a person brings out into the open by sincere confession seek to depart from him.”

St. John Cassian

In my opinion there is no greater act of intimacy in the life of our Church than that of sincere confession. Where else in the whole of our existence can or does one reveal the depth of one’s heart, soul, being? It is a vulnerable place, to be sure, and it can be a scary place if one does not completely accept with joy the reason and possibility of this act, the reason and possibility of reconciliation of man with his Creator.

The need for confession is of course predicated on one’s faith in God and the acceptance of the separation that exists between Creator and creation resulting from the original sin of Adam. A world that denies this reality is also a world that would deny the need for such a prying interrogation. This is also a world which somehow teaches that the prompting of the conscience, that which helps people distinguish between good and evil, true and false, light and darkness, are just conspiracies hatched by the “religious” as a way to control and suppress the freedom of the human spirit, a freedom which proclaims no moral or ethical boundaries in the pursuit of self-fulfillment or expression. Just look around and you will see the result of a self-centered, unrestrained, shameless society.

I recently had an enlightening discussion with an Orthodox Christian friend about the hiddenness of our lives. My friend had been berated by an unbelieving friend who said, “You don’t wear your masks very well!” Such an interesting comment coming out of the experience of a person who denies God. When there is no recognition of sin what else can one do but add another mask to cover the inclinations of a conscience not conditioned by religious propaganda but inborn by the very image of God which each one of us was given at birth? “You see, whenever people have conversations outside confessions, especially at the present time, their aim is to hide their imperfections and display their often non-existent merits. The majority of people consider their enemies to be those who have accused them of something and even those who have found out something bad about them” (Metropolitan ANTHONY Khrapovitsky). This unbeliever was agitated because my friend, as an Orthodox Christian, not only would not, but could not play the game.

Those who were present at the Vesperal-Liturgy in honor of St. Herman of Alaska remember the homily which spoke of the transparent nature of those whom the Church calls “Saint” or “Holy.” There is nothing hidden in the lives of these blessed servants of God as grace has made it possible to see right into their hearts; and what we see is only the reflection of God! This, then, is our goal; to become transparent, to hide nothing, and God willing, to have nothing to hide. What do we do then when we sense the layering of masks, one upon another? Will we reject these sensibilities or will we listen to the whispering (sometimes screaming) of our conscience and come before the presence of God and seek His face, His grace, His forgiveness, His reconciliation?

“My soul, my soul arise. Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near and you will be confounded. Awake and be watchful that Christ our God may spare you. Who is everywhere present and fills all things” (Kontakion from the Canon of St. Andrew). The Mystery of Confession is exactly what our sleeping souls need. It is a wake-up call from the courtesy desk of Heaven. There is no question that the snake wants back into his “dark hole,” but our answer is “No!” to the hidden agenda of our “missing of the mark” as we, with sincerity of faith and humility, open the door to the secret corridors of our heart that the Light of Christ may burn away the residue of our sin and once again restore and reconcile us to the original purity and holiness of our divine calling. “The Savior Christ can be met anywhere, but especially in the Mystery of Repentance and Confession. Ah! The hour at which the sinner, repenting for the first time, kneels before his spiritual father and with a crushed heart confesses his sins! This hour is when his sins are remitted in the blood of the slaughtered Lamb and the most important hour of his life. It is a moment marked in the books of eternity. It is an unforgettable hour. ‘I confessed,’ once wrote a famous Russian author, ‘and immediately Paradise sprang up inside of me'” (Bishop ASTERIOS). Forgiveness is an amazing reality and THE gift with which God “so loved the world.” It is ours to receive… if only we are willing!