You may have noticed that the Confession – the part of the service where we collectively acknowledge that we make mistakes, that we hurt others, that we carry around guilt and doubt and regret, and then we receive God’s forgiveness and assurance of healing – is absent during the Easter season. For some, this will feel like a major omission. Human beings are adept at weighing down our lives with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy, anxiety for our shortcomings, gaping wounds of anger and hurt for how our relationships have been broken. This time in our worship to take stock, to lay down those burdens before God and to be reminded of God’s faithfulness to, and love for, us can help many to feel lighter, freer, refreshed.
However, it is the tradition of the ancient church that the Confession is omitted during the season of Easter. It is not that Christians miraculously become perfect people during the seven weeks of Easter and therefore have no need of repentance and absolution. Instead, it is perhaps more appropriate to think of Easter as a rehearsal, a practising of what a right relationship with God and one another actually looks like.
Whereas Lent is a time for honest and probing self reflection, intentionality and care in how we use our time and resources, spareness and restraint, Easter is a time for celebration, celebration of the fullness of God’s kingdom, of a reality in which each of us lives in the light and love of God and reflects that light and love in our relationships with one another. In the fullness of God’s Kingdom, we are free from the past brokenness and pain of our lives and our relationships are whole and life-giving. In the fullness of God’s Kingdom, talk of sin and forgiveness no longer have a place, because we are healed.
We are not there yet. Brokenness and fragility are part of our story. We still look forward to the time when the promises of new life and healing offered on that first Easter morning will be fully realized. And some of us might continue to bring heavy hearts to worship through Easter. Individuals are encouraged to offer before God in prayer any confessions, any needs, any worries, regardless of whether it is Easter or not. However, our collective prayer changes at Easter in order that we might, as a community, tell this part of our story: Christ is risen! And we have glimpsed the Kingdom of God, where every tear is wiped away, where all hearts are mended, where we join with all of creation in receiving and sharing the good gifts God gives us.