NOTES for Jo1 1:5-2:2

How familiar some of us are with the feeling of fear and the reluctance to acknowledge our sin and take it to confession... It seems that, having fallen yet again, you will not be able to rise and that the Lord is thoroughly tired of it all. Perhaps the priest to whom you confess is tired of it too... It is precisely for such moments, when it is hard to look ahead and upward, toward His face, that the words we read today were spoken: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). These words are meant to restore to us, or keep us from losing, that precious gift of God—the peace of heart with which He endows His children when we ask Him for it. Peace is a state of soul and spirit in which communion with God does not require a deliberate effort; we do not have to force ourselves to sit down to pray or to do good deeds “against ourselves.” In this peace we constantly feel God’s presence, entrusting our lives to His caring hands. And in precisely such a state, Jesus’ words, “...the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37), will never be forgotten, helping us rise again and follow Him, warmed by His light.