This series of devotions will reflect on the rich material contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW). Some of the texts will be familiar to those in the Lutheran tradition while others will be from infrequently used liturgies.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Brief Order for
Confession and Forgiveness
LBW, p. 56
This is the prayer that many Lutherans pray during penitential seasons such as Advent and Lent. One phrase stands out for me in this prayer: "God who is faithful and just". By using the word faithful we are saying that God is constant and that God's covenant of grace is with us always in baptism. By using the word just we are saying that God acts with equity and fairness to all people. …But if that were the case, how can God forgive us? For that matter, how can God forgive those who commit atrocities far worse (by our reckoning) than any act we could conceivably commit? Can we truly say that this reflects "justice"?
Connection: We are comfortable with God being faithful, but can we say the same thing about God being just? How would we feel about a judge who acquits a shoplifter, then the next day, an armed robber, and the next day, a mass murderer? We need to either deny that God is just (which then reverts us to the position of saying we have no sin, thus deceiving ourselves) or we need to accept that God is just, which forces us to reconstruct the entire concept of justice. How would this change the world? How would this change ourselves?
Prayer: Help us to sit before you and learn what justice means. Help us to live out your justice in a world where worth is measured by what we do rather than by who we are as children of God.
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