Hey folks! Our current unit in the kids curriculum is about the Church: what it is, what it does, and what it means to be a part of it.
Click here for a general overview of the unit.
This week we'll begin talking about the "Ecclesial" Sacraments, specifically the Sacrament of Confession.
We've been saying that the Church’s mission is to go and to gather. As it gathers, we are to be learning everything Jesus commanded us (cf. Matt. 28:20). One of those things he commanded us to do (through his Apostles) is to confess our sins to one another. The Sacrament of Confession is one way we learn to obey this commandment.
Now, traditionally, the Church acknowledges a minimum of two sacraments, a maximum of seven sacraments.
At All Souls we joyfully receive the Church’s maximal sacramental heritage and claim it for our own as we walk the “narrow way” of faith to our home in God.
Within the seven sacraments we acknowledge, there are two types: the “Dominical” sacraments, and the “Ecclesial” sacraments. The “Dominical” sacraments include Holy Baptism and Holy Communion (or Eucharist). They are so-called because they are directly commanded by our Lord (dominical meaning, “of a lord”).
The “Ecclesial” sacraments include Confession (or Reconciliation, or Absolution), Confirmation, Holy Matrimony (marriage), Holy Orders (Ordination), and Last Rites. The “Ecclesial” sacraments are a so-called because they are rites by which the Church observed a particular formative power for individuals, rooted in the Apostolic teaching, to help persons grow in holiness (ecclesial meaning “having to do with the church”).
It is hard to overstate how powerful the Sacrament of Confession can be for an individual who gives themselves to it. It is often a uniquely open and free time to say out loud and without qualification what wrong you have done (or what good you have left undone), often in the shadows.
It is, in a real sense, a “test” of what we believe: in it we ask, “Can this sin be forgiven? Can I still be received into the loving arms of God?” And the answer to the truly penitent is unequivocally, “Yes.”
In this way it is a profound source of healing for those who undertake it (James 5:16). One may, of course, confess their sins to their close friend (see James 5:16 again), but it is uniquely powerful to be absolved by presbyter (priest) of the Church, who has been ordained by apostolic succession to this very task (Matthew 18:18-20; see also the anointing of hands in the BCP Ordination Service p. 493).
It is a weighty responsibility, for the priest will have to answer for what he or she has done (James 3:1). But it is also perhaps the most joyful act of ministry any person can execute. It is the gospel in ritual form. And it is real.
*Last note: it is generally appropriate for someone to wait to go to Sacramental Confession until they are a bit older than the kids in our Sunday class (especially since it is not a requirement to come take Communion in our tradition). Until then, it's more appropriate for kids to confess to their parents.
Scripture to consider:
James 5:16
1 John 1:8-9
Matthew 18:18-20
Luke 15:11-32
Questions for your kids
Why do you think we're all tempted to hide the wrong things we do (or good things we fail to do)?
Why do you think it is such a relief to tell the truth after keeping a secret?
What does it tell us about how God feels about us that he loves to forgive and receive us back into a right relationship to him?
Holy Imagination
Learning the faith isn't just about memorizing facts. It's about seeing the world as it really is: "charged with the grandeur of God."
Read the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
Invite your kids to wonder about what the story says about how God (the Father in the story) receives his children who return to him after sinning (hint: he runs to them, restores them to peace and their place in the house, and throws a party!).
Peace,
Danny+