Confirmation Sunday 2013
May 5, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline
Acts
16:9-15 Revelation
21:9-14, 21-27 John 16:23-33
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “In
the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have
overcome the world.” Thus far our text.
Christ is
risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
Amen! Dear friends in Christ,
especially dear confirmands. It’s
finally confirmation. It’s finally
here! Years of study. Times of frustration both by you and by your
confirmations teachers! It’s all
over! You've passed, and this morning,
you receive your confirmation certificate, your verse, and this morning you
take your first communion! Finally,
you’re confirmation journey is complete!
But slow down
there, as we do with so many other things, we must ask that good Lutheran
question, What does this mean? What does
it mean that you are confirmed now? What
does it mean that you now can take the Lord’s Supper? What does it mean that you are now a full
fledged, confirmed member of this congregation and communion?
Dear friends, and
I speak to all, not just our confirmands, it is with a heavy heart that I tell
you exactly what this means. I pray that
you may not take these words lightly, for they are the truth as best as I can
put it. It means that the devil, the
world, and your sinful nature from here forward in your lives, will be doing
everything in their power to lead you away from the true faith. It means from here on out, your faith will be
under attack.
Satan will be in
your ear at all times, trying to make you doubt God’s promises, trying to get
you to despise God’s word. He will try
to get you to break the 10 commandments as you have learned them. He’ll start simply enough, trying to get you
to despise preaching and the word. To
get you to zone out during church, and to speak the words of the service
without thinking about what they really mean.
He’ll find ways for you to be too busy for Bible Study, or for LYF
meetings, after all there are sports events and jobs and other things that are
going on. Your sinful nature will hear
these words, and try to get you to act out upon them.
After that, Satan
will use worldly influence on you. He’ll
tempt you with adultery in all of its forms, and he’ll use the world’s attitude
to tell you its ok. He’ll want you to
steal even something small and seemingly innocent at first. He’ll make you to fight with you family, to
hate you parents when they tell you no, or your future spouse, or your brothers
or sisters. He’ll make you gossip, lie,
slander and cheat – and you’ll do it so often that it will become a habit.
The world will
begin to tell you lies, in your school classes, in your jobs, in your college
courses. Lies like this, “There is no
God. He didn’t create the world. It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you
make yourself happy.” And worst of all,
“Rely upon yourself to make it through the day.” And your sinful self will hear these things
and like it. You’ll want to believe
these words. You’ll want to be
self-sufficient, you’ll want to think you are the master of your life.
And so you, like
those who have gone before you will face a life time in a world that is chalk
full of sin. It’s a world that really
wants you to die, and for that death to be forever. It’s a world that does not want you to be
Christian, or to be loved by Christ. A world that does not want you to serve
the church, to listen to God’s word, or even to participate in anything
Christian at all. It’s a world that is
dying, and wants to take you with it.
That’s a big load
to carry. It’s a dreadful message for
people so young, to hear that confirmation means that you as a young Christian
are standing on the cusp of the valley of the shadow of death, about to be
pushed in. And Jesus knows exactly what
you will face in this world. He knows
your coming struggles. He knows about
your sin. He knows about Satan, and he
knows about this world. As he says, “In
the world you will have tribulation.”
But Christ’s message goes on, “But take heart; I have overcome the
world.” Take heart. Have courage dear confirmands. Christ has overcome the world. He has defeated sin. He has destroyed the power of Satan. He, as you know, has purchased and won you
from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or
silver, but with his holy precious blood, innocent suffering and death, so that
you, dear confirmands, may be His own, and live under him in his kingdom.
That means Jesus
went to the cross for you. That means
his suffering was with your lives in mind.
He knew what things you had to face, and so he came to this planet for
the soul purpose of saving you, to be with you forever. To make this world his footstool, subject not
to death, but to Christ the lord of all the living.
And now that you
have been instructed in this faith, you are free to partake in all the gifts of
Christ. He today, for the first time for
you three confirmands, gives you his own body to eat and blood to drink for
forgiveness of your sins. That connects
you to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Eating and Drinking Jesus feeds the faith that was born in you in the
waters of holy baptism. It gives you the
Holy Spirit to continually point and direct you to Jesus as you live your
life. Dear friend, you are not a slave
to sin. You are not bound to die,
instead you have been given life from your Lord Jesus, and it is a life that
this world cannot take from you despite all the tricks of the destroyed Satan.
And not only has
Christ overcome the world and its sin for you, but he gives it to you. He promises that you will be able live with
him in his kingdom, in righteousness, innocence and blessedness. You are promised heaven, and given a picture
of it in our epistle lesson today.
Twelve gates of pearl, where you will one day live as a baptized child of
God. Streets of Gold, in which you will
one day walk forgiven in the blood of the lamb.
A city that has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the
glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb of God who takes away
your sin.
Dear confirmands,
you face a difficult world, there is no doubt.
But take heart. Christ has
overcome the world, and promised you a world beyond imagining. He has placed you today in the ark of his
church. He has made you a full member. You may take refuge here within the church
where the gifts of God are given. I pray
that you may long live within her walls, that you will serve this church with
thanksgiving for the gifts you have received here. I pray that you one day will be married here,
have children here, and finally that you will receive Christian burial here –
with the knowledge that Christ has brought you safely through this world of
sin, to life everlasting.
Today you are
confirmed. What does this mean? It means the blessings of God on you life are
just beginning, and that for many years ahead, he will continue to pour them
out upon you, in the words preached in this place and in the sacraments
received in this place. God’s blessings
to you, dear friends. To him alone be
all glory, in your lives, and in the lives of all. Amen.
