Series: Bless this Mess
April 13, 2025 | Rev. Terry Benedett-Farmer
Confession is one of those “loaded” words in the Christian lexicon along with repentance and sin. Some have said that in this age they are irrelevant. It follows, does it make a difference in how we live our lives? What are the signs it has made a difference? What is needed for confession to happen? What’s Love got to do with it?
We Protestant United Methodists do not have formal confessions with a priest as in the Roman Catholic Church. But I can share from my experience as a pastor that “confession happens” sometimes in a pastor’s office but more often in the safety of one’s home, in the midst of health challenges in a hospital room, on a sidewalk, in a coffee shop, a post office or even while pumping gas as literally happened to me while serving two congregations on the Eastern Plains of Colorado and especially in the sacred space of one whose earthly life is about to end. It is holy humble space wherever confession happens. Even now I feel deep humility to be trusted to listen to the depths of such an open heart.
Who in the Bible re-presents confession? What do Jonah, Mary Magdalene and Jesus show us about confession? Come Sunday and find out!Blessings can be found in the nitty gritty of everyday life--as we're making breakfast, commuting to work, running errands, or knee-deep in commitments.
Series Information
Life is messy. The world is very messy. Luckily, our faith gives us practices to help navigate the chaos with grace and intention. During Lent, we’ll be looking at how we can bless the messes around us, within us, beside us. Honoring our bodies as sacred, embracing Sabbath in a restless world, fighting and forgiving will help us release the burdens we carry. We will explore the wisdom of living with enough, confession that brings healing, and the role of routines to ground us in God’s love. We do not have to have everything together in order to be transformed by God’s presence.
