USGN Article - October 2002
Terry & Barbi Franklin
By: Terry Franklin

Windows In The Confessional
 

Members of the Catholic Church have long adhered to the practice of going to confessional – the most devoted making this a weekly pilgrimage. Usually they will come to the church, sit in a small wood-paneled box with no windows, and make their confession to the priest. Typically, the parishioner does not see the priest…but only makes the confession. Perhaps because of recent sexual scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church, some parishes are now putting floor-to-ceiling windows in the confessional. Both the confessor and the confessee can now see each other.

I am not Catholic, but I have a number of good friends who are. While we may disagree on a number of theological points (I believe in the reformation doctrine of the universal priesthood of believers), there's no doubt in my mind that some of these friends love Jesus very much.

But, as I pondered this idea of a see-through confessional, I wondered about my relationship with my High Priest, Jesus Christ. How "transparent" am I when I pray to my Lord.

Of course, He sees me perfectly -- even the motives of my heart are known to Him fully. Could it be that on my side of the box that there is a lack of disclosure, a secrecy…or a hiding? Could it be that I've become accustomed to being this impersonal? Am I like the alcoholic who blurts out while in a drunken stupor, "I could quit anytime I want to," knowing full well he has no intention of quitting? … I'm stuck in a dark walnut-paneled box…alone with my sin. Maybe I've held on to my sin for so long, not wanting to see His face …and ashamed of what He’d say or do, that it has now masked His presence in my life?

The good news is that He is LONGING for us to come to Him in honesty. And there is no one on the face of the earth more gracious and merciful and long-suffering than the Lord Jesus.

But we must be honest.

Lord, help me to be open and transparent before You. As an Omnipresent and Omniscience God, You see all things and know all things. Help me to be open and transparent before You. And may I lay down every sin and every falsehood that masks your presence. Let there always be crystal-clear transparency between us.

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