Pentecost Sunday – Confirmation Sunday June 7, 2020
Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, John 14:8-17 Panzer Liturgical Service
If you ask people what the most important Christian holiday is, many will say Christmas, but you already know that I’m in the “Easter is the most important church holiday” camp. In addition, I’m a big believer that Pentecost, which was on the calendar for last Sunday but celebrating this week is second only to Easter in its significance to our understanding of what it means to be the church.
The celebration of Pentecost was built on the foundations of a Jewish celebration of the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai, which coincided with the end of the Spring harvest. It was a time of gathering in Jerusalem, and because the disciples were Jews, they would have undoubtedly prepared for that celebration, even in the midst of their resurrection experiences. The disciples’ celebration in the Upper Room started out small and intimate, but with the rush of wind (rhurach – the same word used in the creation stories in Genesis,) and tongues like fire, the disciples were driven into the streets. There, Peter preached to thousands, each enabled by the Holy Spirit to hear in their own language the saving message from God: "Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Some people call Pentecost the birthday of the Church. And I think that makes a great day to recognize the work of our confirmation youth and the support of their mentors and families at this celebration. We are here, not just to rejoice over what has happened in the past, but to look forward to the future faith of both these confirmands and ourselves as members of the body of Christ. Today is not the day these youth graduate from church; this is the start of something new and important. Confirmation marks a new beginning in their faith journey, a public profession of faith, the first of many to a life of faith in God and Jesus Christ.
For the last four months, these youth have gathered with their mentors to learn in two areas: about the beliefs and history of the universal church and what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We’ve talked about the different ways that people talk about and grow in their faith journeys. We’ve learned about how we are all called to follow and serve God in different ways.
In our epistle lesson from 1 Corinthians 12, Paul teaches the conflicted church in Corinth that while everyone has different gifts, they all come to us from God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we learn to use them for the benefit of others, ushering in the Kingdom of God. And while our baptisms occur in different denominations in various times and places, we are all baptized in the one body of Jesus Christ – that is what makes us one with him and one with each other.
Throughout the class, we have not talked so much about the “don’ts” of faith, but mostly about the “dos.” We pondered regularly on Jesus commandment to “Love God & love your neighbor,” even and especially if that neighbor is nothing like us. And we tried to think of the ways to live the gospel – the good news of Jesus – using words only when necessary.
The overarching theme of our time together has encompassed these two points:
++ First, that confirmation is about taking responsibility for your own faith journey. Traditions that baptize infants do so with the understanding that these children will be immersed in the faith and offered an opportunity to take on the responsibilities of their baptisms for themselves at an appropriate time. Now is the time when these youth are affirming the promises made at their baptisms. God said, “I do” to them in their baptisms. Now they respond with their own Yes to God. I had a confirmation student ask once, “But what if my faith is only at 1%?” My response: God can do wonders with that.
++ Second, confirmation is about responding to the opportunities for spiritual growth offered wherever we are – in church and in the world. Each of these young people is charged with the responsibility to continue the good work that they have started here. Not only do we encourage them to continue worshiping and learning about the life of faith, but ask them to serve God and their neighbors in the ways they see opening before them. We encourage them to practice spiritual disciplines, like prayer and studying their bibles. We ask them to stand strong and know that they are not alone, and to see in their neighbors the face of Christ, helping when they see a need that cries to be met. In short, we ask them to be the Church.
So, what does it mean to be the Church? That’s the question of the day. For the last three months, our faith has asked us to sacrifice our time together in to make our community physically safe, watching sermons on Facebook and having Confirmation conversations on Zoom. As we go forward, we will sacrifice our ability to go back to what used to be normal. One day, we will go back to worship inside, but we may be asked to wear masks or forgo singing until a vaccine or a treatment for the Coronavirus can be found. We may have to imagine new ways of fellowshipping together. And while this time away from one another has changed some aspects of our faith practices, it cannot diminish our call to love and serve God in everything we do.
In these last four months, our confirmation youth have just scratched the surface of belief and understanding in the power that God gives us to press forward in our personal faith journeys and to do God’s work in the world. The work of baptism and confirmation – the work of committing ourselves to God and Jesus – is not just about saving souls for Christ or assuring our place in heaven. It is about being raised to a new life in light of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is about receiving the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, which even today gives us the power and courage to love all the people, in spite of the roadblocks we encounter and even put up ourselves along the way.
I look at Jesus’ final words to his disciples in John’s gospel, often called his Final Discourse, and I see the charge that Jesus gives to our confirmands and to each of us. “Whoever believes in me will do the work I do…” Our task is simple and hard: To know in our hearts and minds that the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us and empowering us to greater things than we can ever accomplish on our own.
I have spent this time away cooking, knitting, and reading through the stacks of books the I have collected. During Eastertide, I read Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright, an Anglican bishop and New Testament scholar. Some of you are thinking, "What a snoozefest!” but I have to say it was the perfect book for this season of the church year and at this time in our lives. One of the important lessons I took away was a reminder that every single thing we do should be done to build up the Kingdom of God. And when we think that our work is too hard, or unappreciated by others, or not making a difference in the world, we need to be reminded of this:
Wright says:
You are – strange though it may seem – accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world. Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teach a child to read or walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one’s fellow human being and for that matter ones’ fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the Church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world – all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God one day will make.
That is the logic of the mission of God. God’s recreation of his wonderful world, which began with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God’s people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in the Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way into God’s new world.[i]
Watching the news these days is hard. I understand the temptation to ask, “Why bother?” I feel like most of the things I had to look forward to were stolen from me, and I’m unsure what I’m supposed to be looking toward right now – really rather selfish since my life is really pretty good. And then I saw this poem last week that reminded me that God is with me, no matter the circumstances.
What if 2020 isn’t cancelled?
What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for?
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw –
that it finally forces us to grow.
A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us from our ignorant slumber.
A year we finally accept the need for change.
Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.
A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other apart.
2020 isn’t canceled, but rather the most important year of all.[ii]
- Leslie Dwight
How do we take on that challenge, to make this year the one that changes everything? I close with this quote, which struck me as defining for our confirmation class and our congregation, not just for the students and staff at West Point, who received this letter from their superintendent, LG Darryl Williams, and shared with me by our former chaplain, Andrea Baker.
Consider how your words, actions, and attitudes impact other people. Are you building up others and making them feel valued? Are you strengthening trust within the team? Are you extending forgiveness, and actively listening to other points of view? Are you inspiring others to greatness? If so, encourage others to do the same. If not, then choose to improve-immediately. Muster the moral courage necessary to confront and solve problems with effective, honest, and empathetic dialogue that seeks solutions rather than sowing seeds of division and disunity.[iii]
As we celebrate these confirmands and remember our own baptisms and confirmations, let us go forward in the knowledge that these days – all of them – are the most important days of all. They are ours for the living, and truly a gift from God.
In the name of the Holy Trinity!
Amen.
[i] N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, pg 194, Harper Collins publishing, 2008.
[ii] Leslie Dwight, poem – background https://news.yahoo.com/2020-isnt-canceled-inspiring-poem-225400928.html
[iii] LG Darryl Williams, Superintendent, USMA, Letter to West Point community, June 4, 2020.
