Pentecost Acts 2:1-21, 1Cor. 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23 5/15/05
“It’s Not Too Late”
Today’s sermon may seem to be directed to the confirmands, but since each of us is given the opportunity to affirm our baptismal vows each day, we are all in a sense confirmands.
~~~~~~~~~
It’s
not too late. You can still
change your minds.
At
some point, quite a number of years ago your parents and sponsors brought you
to church, probably as helpless infants.
They presented you to the pastor and congregation as candidate for
baptism. The pastor took you in
his or her arms, read the ritual words, splashed water on your head and
declared you a baptized child of God and “workers with us in the
You didn’t have anything to say about it, other than perhaps to cry. If you did cry no one understood what you were trying to communicate anyway and just patted and shushed you. You haven’t had much to say about what’s happened since then either. Knowing your parents, each of you has been coming to Sunday school since you were old enough to toddle in and you’ve been worshipping since even before you could sing the words of the liturgy or understand an adult sermon. In fact, I’ve been here long enough to have had you up here on the step with me during the children’s sermon.
This past year you’ve been paired with a mature Christian adult who has mentored you in applying Bible stories and catechism to your real lives. They have supported you (and from what I hear, fed you at various eateries) and established relationships with you which we hope will continue. We hope these relationships will keep you connected to the church. We thank each of them for giving, not only of their time, but more importantly of themselves.
Also, you were assigned various projects that were intended to give you experience in Christian living. And you were asked to help in the Sunday school and do other acts of service. This was intended to help you see that confirmation is not an end to your faith journey, but rather a marker as you continue on it.
In all of this, we hope that above all else, you’ve learned that when you were baptized, those many years ago, you entered into a life-long relationship with a God who loves you so much that He gave His only Son up to death for the forgiveness of your sins. Because of Jesus sacrifice God could offer you the most wondrous opportunity for a relationship that you will ever have. God will always be there for you. He will always love you. He will always forgive you.
You will be tempted to take this relationship for granted. The first temptation probably will come next Sunday when you’ll be tempted to say, “Now that I’m confirmed I don’t have to go to church anymore. Now, I can sleep in or go golfing or do some other activity that seems more pleasurable or important than coming to church.”
In a few years you’ll be tempted to pull away from the body of Christ either because of the influence of friends or because you move to a new place to attend college or start a job. Not having your old church to go to or people you know, it may be easier to withdraw. Or you may be exposed to beliefs that are contrary to what you’ve been taught and feel confused.
As the years progress the demands of life will try to lead you away from the faith in which you were baptized. It may be a job that is very demanding, that leaves you almost too tired to get out of bed on a Sunday morning. It may be a schedule that leaves you little time for recreation, a personal life or even work at home. Or it may be something else that will threaten to weaken your relationship with God that was established in baptism.
Each time you face temptation though, Jesus will lovingly hold out His hand to you, inviting you to follow Him.
This is why I’m giving you this last chance. It’s not too late to say you don’t want the responsibility of choosing whether you will listen to all those voices calling you away from church or you will listen to Jesus calling you into an ever deeper relationship with Him.
On the other hand, if you come up in a few minutes and affirm your baptisms you will be voluntarily inviting the Holy Spirit to continue being active in your life. The Spirit will be with you reminding you each day what God has done for you and how much He loves you. The Spirit will guide you (if you allow it), will strengthen you, will comfort you, will inspire you and fill you with a joy beyond any circumstances of your life.
The Spirit will also help you recognize the special gifts God has given each of you for ministry. Some of those gifts you may be aware of and use already now, your musical ability, your charisma with children and your intelligence. You will need the Spirit though to help you remember that these are gifts from God and to guide you in putting them to use in His service.
Just
as those disciples were called by Jesus and empowered with the Holy Spirit
fifty days after Jesus resurrection, so you are called and empowered in your
service. Make no mistake, the
Church needs each of you (and everyone of us) – today perhaps more than ever
before. All too many people find
the Gospel less exciting than the latest episode of Survivor.
The Christian Church has become mired in arguments over meaningless
trivia and has failed to seek ways to reach out to the many who, even in this
country, do not know Jesus Christ. We,
both
Those words from the prophet Joel, quoted by Peter on that first Pentecost ring out for you (and for us) today: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.”
Let the Spirit speak through you to lead us to a new vision. Let the Spirit inspire us through you with dreams of how we can be in ministry and mission in Jesus name. Let the Spirit guide you as you call even us adults to a deeper relationship with God.
This is a weighty responsibility we ask you to take on this day. But the Spirit will give you all you need to fulfill the mission to which you are called. And as you renew those vows your parents made for you all those years ago, you will hear Jesus say to you, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Your confirmation is your commissioning in Christ:
to live among God’s faithful people
to hear His Word and share in His supper
to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ through word and deed
to serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
Now,
is your chance to decide if these are vows you want to make.
It’s not too late for any of us to renew our baptismal promises, to
grow in relationship with God, to let the Spirit enliven us and to once again
accept Jesus’ commission to be his disciples.
What will be your response?
Amen