Preparing for the Lord's Supper: The power of the acknowledgment of guilt

The power of the acknowledgment of guilt

Daniel  9:7-8:  "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame....  because of our unfaithfulness to you. O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.”

Daniel does the unexpected by praying this. Israel is in exile and has lost many precious possessions – home, country, freedom, businesses and vineyards.  We would expect him to pray: "O Lord, give us back our temple and city, our dignity and freedom". But Daniel begins his prayer speaking about a much greater despair than the loss of assets and wealth.  Instead, he prays, "Have mercy on us who are in the misery of shame because of our unfaithfulness to you, o Lord”   To be covered with shame because of your sin is greater misery to Daniel than the hardships of exile, war and poverty.

Daniel does not try to blame others for Israel's misery. Listen to what he says:

(Dan 9:5) “We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.” And (Dan 9:7) “We are covered with shame. “

Shoulder to shoulder with the godless unbelievers and idol worshipers, Daniel admits, often stand the equally unfaithful, disobedient and ungodly people of the Lord.

We must realize that the people of God, even the members of the Church of Jesus Christ, are numbered among the guilty ones! If we refuse to do so, if our pride makes it impossible for us to be covered in shame for our sins, we will not be able to reconcile with God and in returning to him find the true purpose of our lives, namely to serve God and glorify him forever. 

As we prepare for the Lord's Supper, we must always begin by confessing our own sin.   As we prepare for the Lord's Supper we cannot try to minimize guilt and wrong. We must be willing to own up to them.

What really distinguishes the Christian from the world is that Christians since the time of the apostles are willing to say: We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What distinguishes us from unbelievers is that we confess our sins and shortcomings. What distinguishes us is that we run from sin, while the world runs after sin.

As we prepare for the Lord's Supper we need a shame that makes us sorry enough for our sins that we are willing to quit.  In expectation of true joy that we are welcome at the Table prepared at the cross and through resurrection, we need forgiveness that comes from our shame for our unfaithfulness.

We want to come to the Table to feast with our Lord and celebrate our forgiveness and enjoy our restored relationship with our God through the work of Jesus Christ, his Son and our Lord. Being covered with shame for our unfaithfulness and impurity has the power to lead us back to the Lord’s Table, where we are received by a forgiving Jesus and have fellowship with our loving Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives.