Here’s a quick little rhyme—

But is confession enough?

According to John the Baptist, the answer is "No, confession (in the sense of confessing one’s sins) is not enough!" And the evidence for that assertion is found in today’s Gospel story.

In verses 5 and 6 of the passage we heard a few minutes ago it says this: "At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to [John] and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins."

In some versions of the Bible it says that they were baptized as they "confessed their sins." The meaning, of course, is exactly the same when the word "acknowledged" is used in the translation: those who came for John’s baptism publicly admitted their sins when they approached him in the Jordan River.

And you think you have it bad in the confessional?! Would you rather experience the sacrament of Reconciliation "John the Baptist style?" I doubt any of us would. As rough and as tough as Confession can sometimes be, we are blessed to be able to experience it in private.

Back now to the text: Enter the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In the New Testament, that’s normally a sign that "trouble" of some sort is on the way! And so it is here. We’re told that they came to John for the purpose of receiving his baptism. Consequently, we have every reason to believe that they did what everybody else did, namely, that they confessed their sins—or at least that they had the intention to confess their sins.

Sounds innocent enough.

And what was John’s response to their piety and confession (or intended confession)?

Did he say, "Good job, guys. Thanks a lot for confessing. I know how tough it is to acknowledge your sins. Have a nice day!"?

No! He says, "You brood of vipers!"

Ouch!

If confession were enough, my brothers and sisters, he definitely would NOT have said that!

So, what was the problem?

The answer is revealed in what John says next: "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" I suppose one possible paraphrase of that would be, "What are you guys doing here? Why are you coming to me for this baptism? To impress the people with your piety?" If so, then John’s implicit message was: "I’m not impressed, and neither should they be!!!"

He goes on, "Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’"

Take the reference to Abraham first. A common attitude among first century Jews was, "I’m a descendant of Abraham; I’m a member of God’s chosen people; I’ve been circumcised [obviously only the men would say that one!]; my salvation is assured: it’s a done deal." Here’s the contemporary Catholic version of that statement: "I’m a baptized, confirmed member of the one, true, Church that Jesus Christ founded; my salvation is assured: it’s a done deal." I don’t know about you, but I’ve met many Catholics over the years who have expressed that attitude to me in one way or another—usually as they attempt to justify their disobedience of one or more of the commandments.

The bottom line is that the Pharisees and Sadducees thought that repentance was optional—as some Catholics today seem to think it’s optional. So, yes, the Pharisees and Sadducees did confess, but they had no contrition as they confessed, and that’s why John confronted them as he did. Nor did they have any intention to change their attitudes or behavior in the future. That’s why John challenged them by saying, "Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance." In other words, "Okay, boys, if you’re really sorry, then demonstrate it. Make amends to those you’ve hurt; make a commitment to be better—and then keep the commitment!"

Now here’s the key question of the day for us: How can we avoid becoming like these Pharisees and Sadducees?

The answer is simple: By receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation as the Church instructs us to receive it!

Fundamentalists and evangelicals will sometimes ask us, "Where do you Catholics get your ideas about this sacrament? None of that is in the Bible!"

Oh yes it is! For example, the Catholic teaching on the necessary requirements for the proper reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation is found right here in this story from Matthew 3. That’s what I came to realize as I was preparing this homily!

John the Baptist taught that confession was not enough, and that’s exactly what the Catholic Church teaches about the sacrament of Reconciliation: the confession of sins is not enough. It’s necessary, but not sufficient!

As we just saw from looking at the text, John the Baptist criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees because they lacked repentance and good fruit. So, according to John, there were 3 requirements for the forgiveness of sins: repentance, confession and good fruit.

If you go to the new Catechism, and read paragraphs 1450-1460, you will see that the Church teaches that there are 3 requirements for the forgiveness of sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Not surprisingly, they are: contrition, confession and satisfaction. Contrition is repentance—sorrow—which includes a desire not to sin again. Confession is just that: the naming of the sin; and, in the case of mortal sin, an indication of how often it was committed. Obviously the priest needs to know if the penitent has killed 1 person or 1,000 people.

And finally, satisfaction: this is a desire to repair the harm our sins have caused; in other words—to quote John the Baptist—this is a commitment to produce "good fruit as evidence of our repentance." This good fruit can consist of (and here I quote the Catechism), "prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear." This is the purpose of the "penance" given by the priest in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

So, you see, contrary to what some of our fundamentalist friends believe, Catholic doctrine about the sacrament of Reconciliation is not something the Church made up in the Middle Ages! It’s solidly rooted in the teaching of God’s Word, as is evident from today’s Gospel story.

I began with a rhyme, and so I’ll end with one—an expanded version of the one I shared earlier: