“What does this have to do with my life?”
It’s a question that preachers get asked, on the one hand, very often and, on the other hand, not nearly often enough.
In the final part of his reflections on Confession and Absolution, Luther deals with some very practical matters when it comes to Confession.
His advice?
1) Begin with the Ten Commandments as a light.
2) Consider your call and vocation (mother, father, etc.).
3) Have you neglected your vocation (disobedient, unfaithful, lazy)?
4) Have you harmed anyone in word or deed?
5) Have you wasted (stolen, neglected, wasted, injured) anything?
Luther invites us to begin with what God has in mind (1) and who we are called to be as God’s creatures (2). This is not a bad way to begin: with theology and anthropology. Who is God? What does God desire for us? And then, given that, how are we called to live and who are we called to be as God’s covenant people?
Once these are established, we can begin to look at specifics: how we’ve neglected our creaturely calling (3), by hurting and harming others (4) and by hurting, harming and squandering God’s good creation. Look at your primary relationships and vocation, Luther invites, then your relationships with all other human beings, then your relationship to the wider creation.
Luther’s advice on confession moves us from an intense focus on self to a wide-eyed engagement with neighbor and creation.