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Who We Are - Sermon, Sunday, June 8th, 2003
The Festival of Pentecost & Confirmation
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Sermon text: John 6:60-69
Just about everyone has heard the one about the husband who'd been married for a long time. Although he had been a pretty good husband, his wife did complain that in those 30-some years since their wedding day, not once had he ever told her that he loved her. His answer was, "I told you I loved you when we got married. If I ever change my mind, you'll be the first to know."
We may not say it often enough to our loved ones, but I think we know that it's important to do so. It's important to say what's in your heart, to express your love for or commitment to the other person. It's good for the one who hears it, and it's good for the one who says it. There's something about verbally expressing what we feel or what we intend to do, that has a positive impact on that relationship.
Our Lutheran tradition of Confirmation is about a relationship. It's about a Christian's relationship with the church — with the body of Christ and with this group of people who are united by shared beliefs. But more than that, it's about the believer's relationship with Christ, our Lord and Savior. Confirmation is an outstanding opportunity to make some very public statements about that relationship. It's a time for us to answer some serious questions about our faith, in the presence of God and of our fellow Christians.
It is a formal ceremony with very structured questions and answers, but we could think of it in simpler terms. For each of us, it's one opportunity to say we'll stay. That's what Jesus gave his disciples at a critical moment in his ministry, and really, that's what Confirmation is. So let's approach it with this thought in mind: HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO SAY YOU'LL STAY. (And by the way, it's one of many such opporunities!)
That critical moment in Jesus' ministry was a turning point, not for him but for many who had been following him. And there were many, then, right after the feeding of the five thousand. But when those followers heard what he had to say, quite a few of them weren't so eager to follow any more. There in the synagogue in Capernaum, you see, he taught them very plainly about himself.
And what he said repelled them. They said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" What they heard from this man whom they wanted to be their miracle-working king, was not hard to understand. No, they just could not accept it. He told them that he is the Bread that came down from heaven to give life to the world, and that you must "eat" this Bread if you want to live. He told them that he would give his flesh, his body, for the life of the world. He insisted that if you don't believe in him you don't have life in you; rather, believing in him is the only way to have eternal life.
Hearing all that, they grumbled, and Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he talked to them further about spiritual life and how to have it. "The Spirit gives life. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." He said more, but it made no difference: "Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."
A lot of people simply quit following Jesus, but their defecting actually provided an opportunity. It gave Jesus the perfect occasion to ask the Twelve, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" He assumed that the answer was "No," but he wanted each one to search his heart, to examine his relationship with Jesus, to evaluate his personal reasons for following Jesus, to assess his own commitment to Jesus. Also, it was an opportunity for them to verbalize what was in their hearts, to openly confess their faith.
In the Rite of Confirmation the pastor asks, on behalf of the congregation, some questions about our faith — what we believe, and about our commitment — what we intend to do. Not one of us intends to ever "leave" our Lord, and on that day we are given a chance to say so out loud and in public. This morning our confirmands will be asked to profess what they believe and promise they won't leave. It's their chance to say they'll stay.
When Jesus gave the Twelve the chance to do that, they jumped on it. Peter answered for them all: "Leave you, Lord? To go where? To follow whom? Why would we want to do that? You, you alone have the words of eternal life!" How totally foolish it would be for them to go away from Jesus, whose words give eternal life. There's no one else who can give that. There is no other way to have that than by believing in him, the Bread who gives life to the world.
First they voiced their commitment: "Lord, we are going to stay!" Then came their reason for staying: "We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Obviously, the Holy Spirit had done his work, through the words Jesus had spoken. It's like he said "the Spirit gives life. Like he said, his words "are spirit and life." These disciples had heard those words, and the Spirit had worked faith in their hearts. They trusted Jesus as the Holy One sent from God to save them.
That is what our confirmands will confess today. It's what many of us confessed at our confirmations. It's what we all confess every time we gather here. We believe and know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We believe and know that the God the Father sent God the Son at a specific moment in history, and that he is also the human Son of Mary, conceived by the Spirit and born without sin.
We believe and know that he came to stand in for each of us, came to live the loving and holy life that we owe our Creator. He came to be the perfectly obedient child of God we were meant to be. We believe and know that this sinless Man also took our place as the accused and condemned One, that he suffered hell in our place and gave up his life to redeem us. We believe and know that he rose from death, guaranteeing forgiveness, and that he returned to heaven, assuring us a place there.
All this is not because we chose to believe; it's due to God's gracious work in our hearts. As Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." We take no credit for believing; our faith is "the gift of God," as Scripture says. But having been brought to Jesus, we are able to respond. We now can not only publicly profess that we are Christians, but also make some far-reaching promises.
We can confirm our relationship with our Savior. We can publicly express our faith in Jesus and his life-giving words. We can dedicate ourselves to the God of our salvation. We can stand up and say that we will be loyal to our Lord and that we will not leave him, no matter what. Will we be tempted to leave our Lord? Will we be pressured to separate ourselves from him? Will we find some of his teachings hard to accept, and not be sure we wish to stay? Will we let the worries, riches or pleasures of this life choke off our spiritual life? Will we trade what's eternal for what's temporary? Will we neglect God's Word and Sacrament, the means by which the Spirit keeps our faith alive? There will be all kinds of temptations and tests, and that's why we also say that "with God's help and by God's grace," we will stay!
It's good for us to hear such things from each other. It's good for us to come out and say those things. But our confirmation day is not the only chance we have to do that. Here's your chance to say you'll stay — I mean, right now and every time we meet here. Every week we have the chance to say we'll stay. And when we come and do what we do here, we're not only saying it — we're also doing what it takes to stay with our Savior, to make sure we never leave!
That's another promise our confirmands will make today — that they will do what it takes to stay. They'll promise to make faithful use of the Means of Grace, because that's how the Holy Spirit will strengthen and preserve their faith. They'll promise to read, hear and learn God's Word for the rest of their lives. They'll promise to receive the Sacrament of Jesus' body and blood regularly and often for the rest of their lives, so he can comfort them and strengthen them by it. So you see, it doesn't just happen on the day we're confirmed. Every week you have the opportunity. This is it — here's your chance to say you'll stay! And here's your chance to do what it takes to make sure you never leave!