Dear Kale and Max,
First of all, let me
say congratulations to both of you on your confirmation day. You’ve worked
hard, “done your time” as they say and after two years of videos,
worksheets, Bible readings and questions you’ve made it! I hope that you
remember this time in the way that I did and I’m sure many of the other
people here today remembered their confirmation day.
We’ve covered a lot of
ground in our time together—all the way from the beginning of creation right
up to today. We’ve met a lot of interesting people along the way—Jacob,
Rachael and Leah, Moses and Sipporah, and Miriam, Saul and David (thanks Max
for reminding us about the Saul and “that business” in the cave), Mary and
Joseph, the twelve disciples, Saul (later Paul) and of course Jesus. Their
stories were different but never the less they shared some common features.
They were human, just like all of us. They had their fears and joys, they
had their gifts and their demons. There were times when God led them to do
great things, but there were also times when they blew it and not just a
little bit, but a whole lot.
Through it all though,
God was with them. God kept right on being their God, everyone except Jesus
of course because He was God, but that’s a whole other thing completely.
When things were going well, God was there to remind them that none of what
they were experiencing was the result of what they had done, because they
were so smart, or because they had it all together, or because they were
somehow “more special” than everyone else. Whatever good they had it was
God’s doing and the minute they started to forget that they found themselves
in big trouble. But when things weren’t so good, God was there too. Of
course, it might not have seemed like it, at least not to them. When things
were bad, really bad it may have felt like God was asleep at the wheel, on
vacation, completely absent. But despite whatever they were feeling, God
was right there. How do I know that? Well, do you remember when Jesus,
God’s own Son was hanging on the cross? Before he died there, one of the
last things he said, or rather cried out was this. “My God, my God why have
you forsaken me?” Now that’s pretty amazing when you think about it—Jesus
was God’s very own son, that like the Father, he too was God. It shows us a
couple of things. The first point is that the whole business of crucifixion
wasn’t some kind of a put up job. It was real, as real as it gets. Like a
criminal, a complete and total outcast, Jesus suffered died and was buried
not because he deserved it, but because people just like you and me didn’t
get it. They couldn’t handle the message he preached—forgiveness, love and
mercy and the call for true repentance—all a part of the kingdom of God now
at hand. But the death of Jesus shows us something else too. It shows us
that finally there is no place so dark, so forsaken, so broken that God
isn’t right there with us. He’s there because in Jesus, He’s already been
there.
But, Jesus’ story
doesn’t end there in death, in failure, in defeat. The tale of Jesus isn’t
just another account of a well intentioned person who paid the ultimate
price because something else happened. After three days in the tomb,
something happened, something beyond our ability to fully comprehend and to
explain. He appeared to his disciples, a group that was a lot bigger than
twelve and included a bunch of women by the way. And they recognized him,
not as a ghost or as figment of their grief struck imagination, but as one
who came to them real and in the flesh, scars and all, as one who made
himself known to them in the hearing of the word and the breaking of bread.
Something happened and from that moment on they simply couldn’t stop talking
about it. The story was passed on through the ages, from one person to
another all the way to us, today in the story that gives us life and in the
words of Revelation makes everything new, our hearts and our lives, our
relationships with others, the whole creation. That’s a pretty amazing
stuff.
It seems to me that we
see the signs of God at work not so much in the big stuff, though He’s
surely there too, but in the small, the everyday and the ordinary stuff of
life—as we experience the gift of forgiveness in our lives, as we see God’s
love happening to us and through us in our daily lives, as we are lifted up
to know the kind of joy and peace that is God’s will for us all. I remember
a time not too long ago right here in our own little congregation, maybe you
remember it too, a time when we went through a season of deep conflict when
a lot of hurtful things were said and done, there was a lot of
misunderstanding and many people, myself included wondered if our community
would even survive. To say it was a hard time is an understatement. As the
two of you know, people left. The scars were deep. But, you know even
then, God was with us bringing healing and hope and new life again, even
when we doubted such a thing could ever happen. And yet, when a God who is
in the business of making all things new is dealing with you that is exactly
the kind of thing that is going to happen.
I’ve been thinking and
praying for you two a lot lately think about the two of you today. Not that
I haven’t, of course, but I think you know what I mean. Kale, you’re a
really great young man. You’ve grown up a lot in the six years that I’ve
been your pastor here at Ascension. You’ve been a willing participant in
our ministry for as long as I’ve known you—serving as acolyte, usher,
greeter and other unsung roles, I’m sure. In so many ways I have come to
appreciate your wonderfully dry sense of humor and delightfully deadpan
delivery. That’s an important gift considering since one of the biggest
problems we have in the church these days is the way we take things, take
ourselves far too seriously. I’m thankful for the way you’ve helped to keep
us on track in that way. I also like the way you help us to think. More
than a few times, when we’ve been talking about something in class, you’ll
interrupt saying something like, “Yeah, but what about this or that!” I
hope you never lose your sense of curiosity and wonder about life, about the
world around you and about your faith. You’re a good friend, not only to
the other guys in middle school Sunday School class, but to the rest of your
faith family here at Ascension and to the other young people at school.
Speaking of that, I’m so pleased that you and Max have a connection outside
of church, at school and in band together. That’s something I never had and
I’m envious of that. Kale, you’ve got a mom, a dad, brother and other
family who love you deeply, who have a lot of hope and dreams for you in
your life. I thank God today that you have them and they have you. I
imagine great things in your life, my friend.
Max, oh Max. What can
I say? Holding you in my arms fourteen years ago at St. David’s hospital, I
could never have imagined the adventures we’d have. Like your friend Kale,
your wit is about as sharp as it gets. Between the two of you, you can just
about cut me to my knees sometimes. Your intensity and focus is one of your
great gifts. I’m so delighted to see you bring that gift to the way you
view your relationships with other, to the way you look at the world and the
way you look at your faith. You’ve certainly helped me to see things
differently. You have a way of expressing yourself that is beyond your
fourteen years. Sometimes it leads me to scratch my head in wonder and
other times, most times it just leaves me to marvel at the amazing person
God has created in you. You have a strong sense of justice especially for
those who are denied it. I have to say that your mom and I are so blessed
that God has given you to us, to share this life together. Max, I know that
it isn’t always easy to be the son of a pastor, that somehow you might well
feel that people expect more of you just because you’re the preacher’s kid
when you just want to be a kid like any other. You’ve taught me far more
about God’s grace and mercy than you’ll ever know, of what it means to be
real, to live right here and now, in the moment. In some small way, I hope
my meager, imperfect words can express to you how very, very proud of you I
am and how very, very much I love you.
Well, guys, I guess I’ve gone on much longer than I had
anticipated. I guess I had a lot to say. In parting, I just want to remind
you of what God has done for you in your baptism. He’s made you his own and
nothing, I repeat nothing will ever change that, nothing you ever do or
don’t do, nothing you ever say or don’t say, no place you can ever go that
God won’t be right there with you. Even when it seems like he isn’t and
trust me, there will be times like that, he’ll still be right there. And
there will always, always be a place for you, in this congregation where
there are a lot of people who care about you, in the wider family of faith
of which we are all a part, not to mention a place in the world to come, a
place that even now Christ is preparing for you, where at the end of your
days, he’ll be waiting for you with open and loving arms, ready to receive
you. In the meantime, if God is for you, then for goodness sakes you’re
free, free to use the gifts God has given to you. That’s not a license to
do as you please, but to do and to live as God calls you through the promise
He’s made with you, “to live among God’s faithful people, to hear God’s word
and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of Christ through
word and deed, to serve all people following the example of Jesus, and to
strive for peace and justice in all the earth.” With God’s help and
guidance I have no doubt that wonderful things are going to happen.
Be generous, pray constantly and in all things give thanks. God’s
peace be with you and with us all.
Your Pastor and
Brother in Christ,
Brian
Confirmation Statements
of Faith
Confirmation
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