有個人的工作很特別，人們會在臨終前雇用他在自己的葬禮上，向眾人吐露生前從未公開的秘密。這個人會打斷悼詞，當主領喪禮的人制止他時，這個人會要求他們坐下。他曾站在講台上，講述逝者中了樂透彩券但卻沒有告訴任何人，而且幾十年來都假裝成一位成功的商人。這個人也曾有幾次受僱，向逝者的配偶坦承逝者生前如何對婚姻不忠。可能有人會質疑，不知這樣的行為是另有所圖，還是出於善意。但無論如何，人們顯然渴望自己過去所犯的罪能得到赦免。

其實讓別人來替我們認罪（尤其是在我們死後）不僅無用，在處理私密事務上，還有很高的風險。但這些故事反映了一個深刻的事實：我們都需要認罪，以卸下自己的重擔，並除去那些被我們隱藏或任其惡化的罪。雅各說：「所以你們要彼此認罪，互相代求，使你們可以得醫治」（5章16節）。認罪能讓我們脫離那些綑綁我們的重擔，使我們能自由地與上帝交流，以敞開的心向祂禱告，也能坦然地與主內弟兄姐妹來往。認罪帶來醫治。

雅各呼籲我們要活得坦蕩，向上帝也向最親近的人承認我們試圖隱瞞的痛苦與失敗。我們大可不必獨自背負這些重擔，認罪是上帝所賜的恩典。上帝藉此潔淨我們的心，並使你我得自由！

There’s a man people hire as they’re dying, paying him to show up at their funerals and reveal secrets they never shared while they were alive. The man has interrupted eulogies. He’s asked stunned officiants to sit down when they started to object. He once stood to explain how the man in the casket had won the lotto but never told a soul and for decades pretended to be a successful businessman. Multiple times the hired man has confessed infidelity to a widowed spouse. One might question whether these actions were exploitative or enacted in good faith, but what’s obvious is people’s hunger to be absolved of past sins.

Having someone else confess for us (especially after we’re dead) is a futile and risky way to deal with secrets. These stories, however, reveal a deep truth: we have a need to confess, to unburden ourselves. Confession cleanses us of those things that we’ve hidden and allowed to fester. “Confess your sins to each other,” James says, “and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (5:16). Confession releases us from burdens that bind us, freeing us to commune with God—praying with a heart open to Him and to our faith community. Confession enacts healing.

James invites us to live an open life, confessing to God and those closest to us the pains and failings we’re tempted to bury. We don’t have to carry these burdens alone. Confession is a gift to us. God uses it to cleanse our heart and set us free.