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Some time ago, seminarians waited along the side of St. Mary's chapel to be shriven. In the warmer months the windows stood slightly open. To the untrained ear or the uninitiated, the sounds from within sounded like a muffled conversation. In fact, an old German priest sat hearing the confessions of the students and anyone else brave enough to turn up. Any misunderstanding about what was taking place inside the chapel, however, would be quickly resolved, for Father Kunkel's thick German accent interrupted the penitential whispers, "Oh that, that is not so bad, I do that sometimes myself." And on another occasion, "What? All that in one week!" Confessions with Father Kunkel are legendary at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, though only a few remain who knew him.
Many Episcopalians never attend Confession, or more formally the Rite of Reconciliation of a Penitent. Yet confession forms a traditional and integral part of the spiritual life, for repentance and amendment of life constitute the beginning of following Jesus. So, why do people resist the confessional? Perhaps many of us find the idea of confessing our sins to a priest uncomfortable. It seems better to keep our issues, problems, and struggles secret or at least between just us and Jesus. When we think of confession and repentance in this way, that is focused primarily upon our sins, we miss something important. Confession and repentance do not only mean that our sin is forgiven, but that we turn our hearts and minds to the life of God. Thus, the priest does not sit and hear confession to learn the salacious gossip of sinners, but to recall and manifest God's grace in Christ while directing the penitent toward a life defined by God.
The funny stories about Confessor Kunkel recall confession in its truest sense: ordinary sinners, that is Christians, desiring to grow in God's love and grace together. Confession is not magic, and no priest however good at listening, directing, prescribing penance, etc., can make you holy. However, the confessional provides a place where we encounter Christ together free from shame or embarrassment. If the confessional is a holy space where priests proclaim the absolution of sins in the name of the Triune God, then the confessional is also always a human space where ordinary lives meet God's grace.
Most every part of the Christian life includes or implicates the Christian community, the church, so why should repentance be any different? Repentance is a communal affair in the church, because as St. Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, sin impacts the whole community. In other words, sin is not merely wrong because it transgresses some commandment or law, rather sin means the transgression and failure of relationships. Sin is the result of disordered love and desire. When we sin, we do so because we love or desire some good in a wrong way. We put ourselves before God and our neighbor. For Christians, sin, then, means a failure to live rightly by God's grace in community with God and our neighbor. Sin is a communal and corporate problem. Likewise, God saves us from sin in community by healing our broken relationships. God saves us in and through a community we call the kingdom of God, the Church, the Body of Christ. Thus, we best practice confession, repentance, and amendment of life together. Confession might be done by solitary reflection and prayer in Jesus' name, and God never fails to forgive those whom he loves in Christ. Sometimes, though, we fail to recognize the love God has for us. We need someone with us, a representative of the wider Body of Christ to which we desire reconciliation. And, I would go further to say, a good confessor will always only benefit the penitent.
Also, Confessor Kunkel, in his idiosyncratic way, teaches us that confession works best as a regular practice. Confession, repentance, and amendment of life constitute the purgative way in the spiritual life. The purgative way marks the first of three modes that characterize the Christian life: the purgative way, the illuminative way, and the unitive way. The purgative way flows into the illuminative way wherein we become aware of God's presence and love in us and in the world. Then the unitive way describes the goal of the spiritual life as union with God and eternal divine friendship. Now, we would all like the purgative way to be merely a stage in our spiritual journey, but as Fr. Kunkel's quip, "What? All that in one week!" reminds us, the way of purgation is a lifelong endeavor.
In Lent, we Christians give special attention to confession, repentance, and amendment of life. This season marks a time of penitence in preparation of our special observance of Jesus' death and resurrection. As the purgative way leads into the illuminative and unitive ways in the spiritual life, so too the Season of Lent, defined by penitence, leads into Easter, which celebrates God's overcoming of all that separates us from him. In Easter, God heals our relationships and draws us to himself by the work of Christ on the cross. God makes it possible for our loves and desires to be reordered rightly, so that we love God single-mindedly and thereby love all else rightly in relation to God. Friends, confession and repentance mark the first step of our journey toward the cross where we assuredly encounter reconciliation and healing. So, this Lent, I encourage you to consider the practice of confession in your preparation for our annual celebration of Jesus' glorious resurrection.
The Rite of Reconciliation of a Penitent will be offered by Fr. Jonathan in the chapel at St. John's Church from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM on the Wednesday of Holy Week March 27, and on Holy Saturday March 30. Doors 1 and 4 will be unlocked. If necessary, you may wait your turn in chairs outside the chapel. Another announcement will be made closer to Holy Week.
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