James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and praye for one another..."

"Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).

Comment:

The Letter of James is actually a sermon, written by an unknown author late in the first Christian century. It addresses the question of how to live in Christ consciousness in the midst of the distractions and temptations of mortal existence. Although it is brief, it contains nearly 60 specific directions in terms of making spiritual choices—with a particular emphasis on the power and importance of coming together in spiritual community. This passage reminds me of the adage commonly heard in Twelve Step meetings that "we are as sick as our secrets." We will all make mistakes and give way to negative energy from time to time in the course of our human lives. When we freely acknowledge our errors, their negative energy is dissolved in the prayer energy of shared spiritual support. We learn lessons, make better choices, and move forward in spiritual awareness. The problems occur when we either shamefully or defiantly refuse to acknowledge our mistakes; the secrecy magnifies the negative consequences of the original choices. Spiritual communities, therefore, are meant to be safe places—families, churches, support groups—where we can dissolve any negative energies we may have accumulated in the prayerful energy of love and support we feel.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed