After the confession of sin and the pronouncement of absolution, the Anglican liturgy includes a unique and beloved feature known as The Comfortable Words. The celebrant may read one or more short passages of Scripture, each carefully chosen to reassure God’s people of his mercy and grace.

These verses were first included by Thomas Cranmer in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer and have remained a treasured part of Anglican worship ever since. Their purpose is simple but profound: they provide a scriptural confirmation of the forgiveness that has just been declared.

Modern readers often hear the word comfortable and think of ease, convenience, or physical comfort. In Cranmer’s day, however, the word meant something closer to strengthening, encouraging, or giving courage. These verses are called the Comfortable Words because they strengthen the hearts of God’s people with the promises of the Gospel.

Following absolution, the celebrant says:

Hear the Word of God to all who truly turn to him.

The emphasis is important. The priest has pronounced God’s forgiveness according to Christ’s command and the Church’s authority, but the congregation is then invited to hear God’s own promises from Holy Scripture. The forgiveness declared in the absolution is immediately reinforced by the voice of God himself.

Why Did Thomas Cranmer Include the Comfortable Words?

Cranmer selected these passages because together they summarize the heart of the Gospel and provide assurance to those who have confessed their sins. Following confession and absolution, worshippers are invited to hear God’s promises directly from Scripture.

The Comfortable Words remind us that forgiveness is not based upon our feelings or our performance. Our confidence rests in the promises of God revealed through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel in Four Sentences

Although each sentence may be read independently, together they form a beautiful summary of the Gospel.

1. Jesus Invites the Burdened

The first Comfortable Word comes from our Lord’s invitation:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Humanity was not created for guilt, anxiety, and separation from God. Yet through sin we have become burdened and weary. We carry the weight of our failures, our fears, and our attempts to live life apart from God.

Jesus begins with an invitation. He does not condemn the weary; he calls them to himself.

2. God Loves the World

The second sentence reminds us why Christ extends this invitation:

God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The Gospel begins not with our love for God but with God’s love for us. The Father does not abandon his creation. He sends his Son because he desires that the world might be saved and restored.

3. Christ Came to Save Sinners

The third Comfortable Word makes the purpose of Christ’s mission unmistakably clear:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)

This verse strips away every illusion that we can save ourselves. Jesus did not come merely to inspire us or improve us. He came to rescue sinners. The good news of the Gospel is not that we have found our way to God, but that God has come seeking us in Christ.

4. Jesus Is Our Advocate

The final sentence points us to Christ’s continuing work on our behalf:

If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1–2)

Even after receiving forgiveness, Christians still struggle with sin. Yet we are not left to stand alone before God.

Jesus is our Advocate. Having offered himself once for all upon the Cross, he continually intercedes for his people before the Father. Through him, reconciliation with God is restored and maintained.

Taken together, these four sentences proclaim the entire Gospel

Why the Comfortable Words Follow Absolution

One tradition I learned while serving at a parish in Pittsburgh PA was to walk down the center aisle while reading the Comfortable Words. This mirrors the practice of processing into the congregation during the reading of the Gospel.

There is a fitting symbolism here. The Gospel is never static. The good news of Jesus Christ is always moving outward toward those who need to hear it.

When the Comfortable Words are read, we are reminded that the Gospel is not merely information to be believed. It is an announcement to be proclaimed. The same Christ who invites the weary, loves the world, saves sinners, and intercedes for his people continues to call men and women to himself today.

Week after week, the Church places these words on our lips and in our ears so that we might leave confession not merely hoping we are forgiven, but hearing God’s own promise that in Christ we truly are.