"John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins."   (Mark 1:4-5)

Sin is traditionally defined in the Orthodox Church as “missing the mark.”   The example of shooting a bow and arrow at a bull’s-eye is sometimes referred to and sin is compared to shooting the arrow to the right or left of the target.  While I think this example has some value, it is more proper to define sin as disobedience to the commandments of God.  Think of sin in a very legalistic manner and you’ll be getting closer.  Imagine a traffic signal:  the law says that you may not drive through the red light but that you have to stop behind the white line.  If you abide by this law then you are innocent of a traffic crime.  However, if you disregard this law – for whatever reason – then you will be guilty of committing a traffic crime.  If you are caught running a red light, then you can be punished with a ticket or a fine or even worse…traffic school!

The same holds true with God as the ultimate Law-Giver.  In the beginning, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’” (Gen. 2:17)  As long as Adam obeyed God’s one commandment, he was free to live in Paradise.  But, as we all know, once Adam disobeyed God’s commandment he was forced out of the garden into the world where Death would now have dominion over him.  Adam sinned against God by disobeying His commandment.  And true to his Word, God punished Adam by expulsion from the garden and ultimately. (Gen. 2:17)  It is clear from the very first instance that sin is equated with disobedience of God’s commandments.

So how then do we find our way back into that original state of Paradise?  How can we redeem ourselves from this disobedience to the commandments?  Well, our first realization must be that WE cannot do anything to redeem ourselves.  Only God can conquer Death.  And He did so in and through His Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The Cross of Christ is the means by which God puts Death to death, hence the Paschal troparion, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death…”  Jesus takes on humanity –he becomes a human being without ceasing to be God – putting all the sinful ways to death on the Cross that beautiful Friday some 2000 years ago.  On the third day we rejoice because He lifted up that dead body and made it new again.  He cleansed humanity as only God could:  He restored it to the way it was created, the way it was intended to be.

Now, for those of us who believe and “have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27).  We who “have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too might walk in the newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4)  And furthermore, “We know that our old self was crucified with him [in baptism] so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Rom 6:6)

The mystery becomes clear in our baptismal ceremony when the child is clothed in a white robe signifying the newness of his or her soul, that newness which only God can bring!  Our charge is to keep that baptismal robe white for the remainder of our lives.  And if we can keep the robe of our soul clean, then on the Lord’s terrible Day, we shall find life in the Kingdom of God!

The problem is, and now we return to the Baptist’s message from above, which of us keeps our robe clean by not sinning?  Which of us abides continually by the commandments of God thus showing ourselves to be truly free from sin?  The answer is obvious: none of us.  Hear the strong but astonishingly real words from the First Epistle of John:  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”  (1John 1:8-9)  How powerful are these words!  How fearful if we are found to be deceiving ourselves.

But if we look closely, we can clearly see that the words of the Baptist also resound through 1 John.  Hear verse 9 again:  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  If we confess our sins God will take them away.  He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (Which by the way is the definition of the state of sin.  If one sins, he is unrighteous.  The converse is also true, if one abides by the commandments of God he is righteous.  Cf. Deuteronomy 28)  In the Sacrament of Confession, the penitent comes forward, before the icon of Christ and confesses all his sins to God.  This verbal action of putting forth all of our sins allows us to totally give to God that which only He can take away.  We bring our baptismal robe which has become filthy through our sins and God completely heals and cleanses it.  It’s as if the Sacrament of Confession is Clorox bleach for the soul!  In the most real sense, the way for us to be restored to that state of grace in the Garden, the way for us to keep our baptismal robe white, is to be cleansed and healed by God through the Sacrament of Confession.

Some may wonder why we cannot confess our sins in private during our daily prayers.  I believe that this is wonderful and should definitely be done on a daily basis.  However, we do not have the power to administer the sacrament to ourselves.  Only the priest, through the grace of ordination, is permitted to deliver the healing power of God to those who repent.  In other words, the true cleansing comes through the sacrament –which is a mystery –given only by God.  The priest is charged to deliver that mystery through the pronunciation of the prayers of absolution.

Confessing our sins is an integral part of being prepared to receive the Lord when He comes again in glory.  When we repent and confess our sins, God is true to His Word, He forgives us all of our transgressions and makes us new again.  Great Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to make our confession so that when the Lord comes in glory on His Cross, we might be able to stand before Him, cleansed of our sins and with our baptismal robe white.