Reflections on Confirmation

“And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2.2-4, NRSV

Sunday, May 11 is Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day after Easter, the day we celebrate the birthing of the Church in the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit. The term ‘Pentecost’ is derived from the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks at the close of the grain harvest fifty days after Passover and Unleavened Bread. In the early church, Pentecost at first designated the whole period of fifty days from Easter; only later did it refer particularly to the fiftieth day, which became a feast in its own right in the last 4th and early 5th centuries.
In the faith family of St. Paul United Church of Christ, Pentecost Sunday is the day we celebrate the Rite of Confirmation in the lives of those who have completed a two-year period of study and have indicated a desire to affirm for themselves, before God and the gathered congregation, their sacramental vows of Baptism. This practice places our faith family in harmony with the practice of the early Church of bringing folks ready to receive the Sacrament of Baptism to the Vigil of Pentecost, baptizing them, then dressing them in white as they moved from the baptismal waters, which originated the English term, ‘Whitsunday’. The young folks who are affirming the vows of their Baptism on Sunday, May 11, 2008 are affirming more than their own personal spiritual journey in Christ, they are taking their place with sisters and brothers of the faith throughout every generation whose worship of God and openness to God’s Holy Spirit is the font from which innumerable blessings will flow. They are not only accepting the joy of shared Table fellowship, they are taking on the responsibility for Christian witness and stewardship in the midst of the world community. Confirmation on Pentecost Sunday is a prophetic statement concerning the coming Kingdom of God and our place as Christ’s disciples in articulating that vision in thought, word and deed. It is not a graduation ceremony.

If there is a pain in my heart regarding ministry, a pain that cannot be explained or simply fixed, it is the pain of those who regard Confirmation as a graduation and simply stop attending and participating in the Body of Christ until next they have need of it . . . or someone in the family ‘guilts’ them into making a guest appearance somewhere along the way. In my mind, it is one of the holy mysteries whose answers have lacked continuity throughout the ages. A myriad of jokes affirm that understanding, like the one, “How do you keep squirrels out of the bell tower of the church? Confirm them and they will only come around once or twice a year.”

Some have suggested that worship is not relevant to youth. Others have suggested that the local church just does not have enough youth programming to keep them here. Others point to the vast number of ‘outside interests’ with which the church daily and weekly competes, not the least of which is club sports programs. Some say that the increasing number of youth who have weekend jobs is making a difference. Others remind me that the church has abdicated its own calling regarding the holiness of Sabbath time together in worship and family by one of two ways: scheduling meetings on the very day there should be no business conducted; and/or in mute silence, and sometimes in active collaboration, granting legitimacy to others who schedule their activities on Sunday knowing that it will force people to make a choice about where they spend their time. Others, wizened by our culture’s fast paced lifestyle, acknowledge that, ‘Sunday is the only day I have left for myself. I can sleep late, get caught up on my ‘to-do list’, and spend a little time with my family.’

All of these explanations do little to find a balm in Gilead, for they are more about rationalizing behaviors at the expense of someone else than in accepting responsibility for the very vows being made in Baptism and/or Confirmation. “Do you promise . . . .” in the vows means nothing if the one answering, “I do, with the help of God” never really intends to call upon the help of God in living into their promises. The Church is a community experience, but faith is a personal choice. Faith well-lived incorporates both.

I have heard it said that, “Going to church no more makes you a Christian, than standing in a garage makes you a car”, and, given the current religious atmosphere of fundamental extremism and dogmatic lunacy, one might be moved to reject everything religious, rather than consider anything at all. Yet, it is precisely for a time such as this that Christ came for all of God’s people and stood in the midst of our conflicts and questions. Jesus is the answer to what is right, true and holy in God’s sight, regardless of the age, and it is to Jesus that we all must turn.

As God is community in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so, too, are we called to be birthed into and live out of that same community, exercising the gifts of the Spirit as each has ability, standing in solidarity with those who have no voice, responding in compassion with those who lives are in shambles, extending healing to the wounded, a cup of mercy to the thirsty, and the food of salvation to those who are hungry. The community of Christ’s Body, the Church, is not perfect, but it is being perfected by the One whose sacrifice upon the cross becomes the atonement for the personal choices we make which drive the nails only more deeply into His hands and feet. The stone rolled away from the tomb is sight and sound of God’s resounding answer of, “Life!” to those who would shut away Christ’s faithfulness in the harshness of death imposing choices.

To complain that the Church isn’t relevant, or that there isn’t enough youth programming, or that ‘outside interests’ are the issue, or that jobs take people away, or that the Church is its own worst enemy in keeping people involved, or that Sundays have become personal days . . . . are all complaints about God: God, you can’t keep my attention. God, you don’t deserve my time. God, I have better things to do. Such statements are also personal indictments before God: I will not be involved with You, God, unless it is on my terms. I will not work with You, God, unless I can see some sort of personal benefit. I will not worship You, God, unless I can personally approve of everything the Church says.

Christ does not call us to a conditional faith, nor does He offer His life for our half-hearted, self-centered response.

Absolutely, the Church in every age must seek to express and live the faith in ways which are contemporary with life’s experiences. As it was in Christ’s own ministry, so it is with the ministry of the Church today: The Christian life must be authentic and contiguous, for the crowds are ready and willing to point out the flaws and irregularities, and a few will even crucify that which is perfect. So, we continue our walk with Christ, and people continue to Confirm their Baptismal vows, and the Church will reflect the attitudes and values of those who attend and participate. No, you do not have to attend church to be a Christian but, if you truly believe the Church is the Body of Christ, why would you not want to be fully a part of it?

Pray for this year’s Confirmands, even as you pray for the Confirmation classes throughout every age, that all of us might live as we pray: in Jesus’ name.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don