Praying On Confirmation Day for Young People in their Journey of Following Jesus

Dear Members and Friends of St. John,

 

There is an old joke, a sad old joke, about Confirmation.  The joke goes like this: “How did the pastor get rid of the bats under the church building?  He ‘confirmed’ them and he never saw them again.” 

 

Confirmation day in the Lutheran Church, and in many churches, is a day when young people approaching adulthood share with others their faith in Jesus. This Sunday, April 14, is Confirmation Day at St. John. Eleven young people will share their faith in essays from their pens, from their mouths, and from their hearts, in which they state what they believe about God’s love for them.  Eleven young people will also answer questions and make vows to serve God with their lives.  The purpose of these vows is, “Since I believe God has loved me in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, therefore, I ask God to help me to live for Him.”

 

Unfortunately, though Confirmation Day is meant to be a life defining moment, it is often seen more as an end than a beginning.  Confirmation Day can be seen as a graduation from 3 years of education, rather than as the beginning of a life of mature Christian discipleship.  I just recently heard someone talk about Confirmation Day as “the graduation that is coming.”  That attitude concerning “graduation” may be the reason that, once our students are confirmed, we sometimes see less of them.  In fact, we sometimes do not see them again.

 

However, this year we celebrate Confirmation Day on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  Palm Sunday has often been one of the traditional days for the Confirmation Day festivities.  After all, we hear in the Palm Sunday Gospel that even children sang the praises of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem that day.  What a good day, therefore, for young people to confess their faith and to commit their lives to Jesus.

 

In fact, as I consider the sad reality of Confirmation Day, that sometimes it is an end, that sometimes we don’t see students after this day, I am thankful that this important day is observed at the beginning of Holy Week.  During Holy Week we again get to watch and experience Jesus entering Jerusalem to the praises of His disciples and the people of the city.  This week, Holy Week, we remember and join in Jesus’ celebration of the Passover in the upper room with His disciples.  We are moved by Jesus’ agony and prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, His arrest and sham trial, for us.  This week we again see Jesus brutally nailed to the cross, knowing that as He hangs bleeding, suffocating, and dying, Jesus is suffering and dying for us.  And, then, next Sunday on Easter, knowing that our sins helped put the Son of God Himself on the cross and into the grave, we will joyfully celebrate as Jesus rises from the dead, overcoming our sin and death, and offering God’s people eternal life in heaven with Him.  The celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas is a major holiday.  But, what Jesus accomplished during Holy Week, His suffering and dying and rising, changes the world forever! 

 

On Confirmation Day, on Palm Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week, our class will be able to share with you how in the events of Holy Week, Jesus changes their lives and our lives forever.

 

In 1981 I was a young pastor who had a special opportunity.  I attended a Pastor’s Conference in Jefferson City, MO, with 2 other pastors from my area of St. Louis.  Also attending the conference was our new denominational president, Dr. Ralph Bohlmannn.  His earned doctorate was from Yale University.  Dr. Bohlmann was highly respected throughout the world as a theologian and a leader. I had known Dr. Bohlmann from his days at the seminary, when I attended.  Dr. Bohlmann needed a ride home to St. Louis where we lived, so he rode home with us, and then I took him to his house.  As we rode together, we discussed the opportunities and challenges of being pastors.  Another pastor, younger even than my late 20’s of that trip, asked Dr. Bohlmann about faithfully serving the Lord’s Supper.  Discussion moved to the meaning of 1 Corinthians 11:26, which says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”  There are many applications of what this verse means to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  But, Dr. Bohlmann put our minds at ease with a simple explanation.  “When I receive the Lord’s Supper I am proclaiming to others, and saying to myself, ‘Jesus died FOR ME.’”  I cherished the opportunity to spend time with this respected leader on that trip.  And, since that trip, my own celebration of Holy Communion has been one of thankfully knowing even more that “Jesus died FOR ME.”

 

This year, Confirmation Day at St. John is held on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  Eleven young people will confess their faith with essays and vows.  Listen to hear if they say, “Jesus died FOR ME.”  Eleven young people will say they want to follow Jesus. But we also know they will be tempted to forget him, now that classes are complete.

 

Therefore, I ask you to pray for this year’s class.  Please pray for Sawyer Christiansen, Jake Colberg, Payten Ewart, Jacob Hartman, Nathaniel Lawton, Adrienne Martin, Savannah Martin, Arthur Merritt, Hannah Nelsen, Lilly Nichols, and Sarah Walton.  Pray that Confirmation Day may not be an end of their Christian education, and may not be the end of their growth in faith.  Pray that, instead, this is a day that they say from the heart, “Jesus died FOR ME,” and begin, with God’s help, the difficult journey of following Jesus as committed disciples.

 

A Child of God, Praying On Confirmation Day for Young People in Their Journey of Following Jesus,

Pastor Jonathan   

 

P.S.  Here are some pictures from Confirmation Classes, 4-3-2019.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/1ySUzi5ZvkX4ZPpD6

 

P.P.S. Here are some pictures from last week’s Lenten Meal, on 4-3-2019.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2P15Mv82KfCRybqG8

 

P.P.P.S.  Here is a picture from a group of St. John leaders on April 2, planning the position of a new pavilion on our east property.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wc7BqheJFaDDLNMe6

 

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am regularly adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you do not want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.

 

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