Confirmation: Faith Super-sized

Last Sunday afternoon, seventeen of our youth stood and professed their faith in Jesus Christ.  What a joy to celebrate the confirmation of their faith. 

Ruth Erikstrup, one of the confirmands, spoke. She had been chosen by her class to speak. In her remarks she referenced a joke I had told the students during our recent retreat at Camp Wapo. We were in one of the old camp buildings when a mouse raced past the students. That reminded me of the following joke, which Ruth repeated.

A Lutheran church was having problems with mice. The custodian had tried various mouse traps, poison and even a cat, with limited success. He asked the pastor what he should do. The pastor said, “You might try dressing them up in red robes and have them confirmed. Afterwards they will never be seen in church again.”

After the congregation finished laughing, Ruth went on to say that she did not feel this reflected her faith at this time. She felt the firm bond of friendship with her classmates and looked forward to seeing them in church and at That High School Thing on Wednesday nights. She wanted to continue the faith conversations that had started in confirmation. She wanted to keep growing in her faith.

Ruth was expressing the three goals of our confirmation program at Resurrection. The goals are.

• Provide basic instruction on what the Christian faith believes: to engage minds.
• Connect confirmands to a living faith in Jesus Christ: to engage hearts.
• Build relationship with their classmates as fellow Christians: to engage community.

I see this as fulfilling Jesus' basic instruction to his disciples. When asked what is the greatest commandment, he responded

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22: 36-40

Each year our staff prays that our confirmands will grow in love for God and each other. I think Ruth expressed that as did her fellow speaker Tim Dornfeld.

Of course their faith does not stop growing with confirmation. A very large pumpkin was placed on the altar and I referenced it during my sermon. God wants our faith and love of him to grow to super-size. We are not to be content with a small pumpkin faith, but rather a super-size faith.

A super-large pumpkin only grows under four conditions: the right seed, the right soil, the right weather, and the right space. The seed must come from a super-size pumpkin. The seed must be planted in the right soil with excellent fertilizer and top soil. The seed and soil must receive the proper amount of rain and sun for the pumpkin to grow. Finally, there must be space provided for the pumpkin to grow to its giant status.

As Christians we have been given the right seed, the seed of Jesus Christ in our baptism. The seed of Jesus Christ must be planted in the right soil of God’s word, the story of God’s work in Jesus Christ. The seed also needs the proper climate of prayer, worship and service. Finally the proper space is provided through the community of faith, that we are connected to each other and God.  Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15).

I am so proud of our 17 confirmands and their public affirmation of faith. I trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives, providing the energy and conditions needed to super-size their faith in Jesus Christ.

Pastor John Keller