MARCH | TPC ASF Playlist

"Naked Spirituality – A Life with God in 12 Simple Words"

Lent - Sorry

We have entered the season of Lent, which invites us to reflect on the difference between who we are and who God calls us to be. Traditionally, Lent is a time for self-examination and confession. Our Playlist during Lent will focus on the word “Sorry” from Brian McLaren’s “Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words.”

Brian recounts a story author C.S Lewis would tell. He’d ask, “What is the most significant conversation you have every day?” People would respond piously, “Your conversation with God, of course.” “No,” Lewis would reply. “It’s the conversation you have with yourself before you speak to God, because in that conversation with yourself, you decide whether you are going to be honest and authentic with God, or whether you are going to meet God with a false face, a mask, an act, a pretense.”

Pause for a moment and think through this question…how challenging is it for me to be honest and authentic when I speak to God?

Brian says that when we confess, we are making a decision to not hide anything from God, which God already knows anyway. Confession is a way to be who we truly are in the presence of God.

Let's watch this short video from Rachel Held Evans.

Rachel equates confession to “telling the truth.” I like that. She takes the act of confession and saying "I'm sorry," which can be intimidating, and reframes it as an invitation to be honest and authentic before God.

Rachel includes 3 aspects of confession/truth telling: 1) Naming our sins 2) Naming sins that have been committed against us and 3) Naming things that just aren’t right within us at the moment. This third aspect is helpful, as it broadens and expands what it means to be honest and authentic before God.

Let’s pause for a moment and practice “telling the truth.” Brian says part of his practice of confession is to name his wrongs before God with a single, specific word, such as: pride, resentment, unkindness, bitterness, greed, revenge, passive aggression, avoidance, and so on.

Find a quiet space where you can be alone for a couple minutes. After a moment of silence, begin with this prayer: “I am here, Lord. You are here. We are here together.” Next, name single and specific words to God that are honest and authentic for you, and describe ways in which you are not who you want to be. After each word, follow it with this phrase: “Lord, have mercy.”

Spiritual Practice Throughout Lent

Once a week throughout Lent (6 times), find a few minutes by yourself for the spiritual practice of confession/telling the truth. With a pen and paper, write down a few of the single, specific words that you are currently sorry for, or regret. This is difficult, but it’s also at the heart of “naked spirituality” – standing before God just as we are. Next, breathe out your wrong as your exhale, but breathe in the word mercy as you inhale. Breathe out regret and breathe in God’s ever-present and unconditional mercy.