Accountability for Our Actions

When I was young a comedian named Flip Wilson became famous with routines that included the declaration, “The Devil made me do it!” Wilson avoided personal responsibility by claiming that his sins resulted not from his personal mistakes or poor judgment but from an evil force that took control of him. Some compare that with Paul’s confession, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19). Paul, however, does not offer an excuse. His confession leads to the question, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) and the response, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25). When we confess our sins, we claim accountability for the mistakes we have made. We honestly admit that we did something wrong and turn to the grace and forgiveness of God for a new beginning.

            No religious tradition lacks skeletons in its closet. Our tradition often has denied and rejected the grace and will of God. Awareness of that calls for humility and honest confession of our sins. I say that to preface my admission that the recent report from the Roman Catholic Church that attempts to provide a definitive response to the priest sexual abuse crisis deeply saddens me. The report attributes the abuse of minors by those under holy orders to poor preparation, poor monitoring, and the sexual turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. That sounds a great deal like, “The devil made me do it.” The report even lowers the age of a minor to children under 10 years old from the American Psychiatric Association’s definition of children under 13 years old as minors. Rather than pick nits and ignore the ways the hierarchy chose to protect its priests rather than its children, why not honestly confess: “We’re sorry. Our priests and bishops made poor decisions and took actions that harmed innocent children”? Why not honestly confess what went wrong and, like Paul, appeal to God for rescue.

            I live in a glass house and cannot throw stones. I sin daily. I make poor decisions and take actions contrary to the way and will of God. Outside influences affect me, but my way forward comes not through attributing my sins to external forces but through honest confession. Honest confession makes room for repentance and reception of God’s forgiveness. I have no desire to single out the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Why can’t Bill Clinton confess that he sinned instead of hiding behind technicalities and professing, “I did not have sex with that woman”? Why can’t Newt Gingrich confess that he sinned instead of claiming that he committed adultery because of his love of this country? Why can’t we all accept accountability for our actions and confess our sins? Without honest confession, how can we expect to repent, receive the forgiveness God graciously offers, and begin anew?

            Explicitly in our traditional worship services and implicitly in our ConnXions and Morning Glory services, we confess our sins. We do not blame others or offer excuses. We confess that we sin. That is not the most popular part of our worship. Many people want to minimize confession of sin. Yet, minimizing our complicit contributions to the brokenness of the world distances us from the wholeness God offers. May we all confess our sins – not to bend beneath the weight of our wrongdoings, but to receive and enter the wholeness to which God calls us.

Happy Easter!

LP