John 14:15-21 (The Message)
“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will
talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will
always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless
world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know
what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with
you, and will even be in you!
“I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a
little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me
because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know
absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.
“The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s
who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I
will love him and make myself plain to him.”
This morning is a special day in the life of Meridian Street
United Methodist Church.
Today 11 young people stand before you to affirm their
ongoing relationship with God and Meridian Street Church through the ritual we
call confirmation
I hope they will always remember this day --- I remember my
confirmation in 1971
And I remember it every time I have had the privilege to
stand before a new class --- memories of my experience
·
my fears
·
my uncertainties
·
my doubts
I know that none of you have it figured out yet --- but let
me tell you a little secret --- neither has anyone here --- we are all on a
journey of discovery together.
We are at many different places along that journey and
together we can help each other grow in our love for God and each other.
But today is not only a special day for those who are being
confirmed, it is also a special day for the parents, grandparents, godparents,
aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
And it should be a special day for each
of us who has gathered here today, and who call this community home.
Confirmation is a reminder that there is a new generation
--- a new generation who will experience God and the world differently than we
have
A new generation to lead the church --- to lead the
Christian community --- as it faces the challenges of this new day.
And I would be lying if I didn't recognize that this is a
challenging time in the life of the Church --- particularly the United
Methodist Church.
·
No doubt you have seen in the news of the
confirmation class from Omaha that chose NOT to join the UMC at this time
because of our dysfunction over the issue of human sexuality
·
some of you have raised this very same concern
To be honest --- it is not all that different than when I
stood up in front of the First United Methodist Church in Roselle IL, to be
confirmed.
We were still gripped in the midst of a war that was
splitting our nation and many of our churches.
·
Over 3 and a half million children of God died
during this war
·
Over 2 million of those deaths were civilians
(and many of them were children)
·
It was a confusing, conflicted and difficult
time and many churches were stuck in the middle of trying to be supportive of
our country and yet following the teachings of Jesus (which are not always
aligned with our countries values)
What I have appreciated about you --- is your desire to
wrestle with some of these perplexing questions --- that quite frankly many
adults want to avoid --- because you know they will not just go away if we just
ignore them
·
I am thankful for the brave persons in the
church who stood up in the past
*
over the issue of slavery
*
over unfair labor practices
*
over Jim Crow and segregation
*
over "evil and injustice in whatever form it presents itself"
·
And I am thankful for you --- and the voices
that you bring to the table. Voices that
you shared as you re-wrote the vows into a language that made sense and spoke
to you.
We believe that all persons have a choice and voice to choose the right
way --- God’s way --- and resist and stand up to the injustice we see all
around us. We will stand up and not just wait and watch others.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II in a college commencement speech
to the class of 2019 said:
“I’m here to tell you, if you
graduate and get up and get together and get involved, love can take on hate,
mercy can take on meanness, justice can take on injustice, truth can defeat lies.
You cannot merely get a job and a
car and quarantine your life. Your graduation is more than just getting another
slice of materialism. You must stand against injustice and be part of reviving
the heart of this nation.”
I hope all the "adults" here this morning follow
your lead and join with you in: "resisting evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves"
That they too will: We
will stand up and not just wait and watch others.
Earlier this year --- when I was leading the confirmation
class one Sunday morning I asked you as a group why you were going through
confirmation
Everyone who
was there answered the same way:
"because
my parents made me"
Last weekend, I asked that same question as I met with each
of you individually --- and the six of you that I personally met with all
answered the same way.
But this time
it was
Because I want to!
The choice is
yours --- it really always has been
But the other question that Matt and I asked was ---
"Now that confirmation is finished, what are YOU going to do to continue
your spiritual journey"
Your answers were amazing --- I am so proud of each of you
You understand something that even your parents might not
understand --- this is not the end of the journey --- this is only the
beginning.
You have not
graduated
Instead you
have said that you are willing to take responsibility for your journey
But you are not alone
You are never alone
You have all the tools that you need for this journey
·
You have a God who loves you
A
God who loves you for the person that you are --- right now
And God will never --- ever --- abandon you
--- even if you wander away
·
You have a community that loves you and will
support you as you wrestle with life's challenges.
Even if you make some poor choices --- may you know that this is ALWAYS a
safe haven
·
You have your mentors who have walked beside you
Matt
& I
Rick
Bethany,
Wendy, Lisa
·
You have each other --- you have come to
appreciate and respect each other. And
may you always celebrate what each of you brings to the table
As we studied spiritual gifts you saw that each of you has different
gifts --- but together, those gifts make the body whole.
We need each other!
Let me close with these thoughts from Paul when he wrote to
the church at Philippi
Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11 (The Message)
I thank my God every time I
remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of
you, . . . And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more
with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that
in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest
of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of
God.
Every time you cross my mind, I
break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to
prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that
you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message,
from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the
slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you
would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ
Jesus appears.
So this is my prayer: that your
love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love
appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your
love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life,
circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from
the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in
the glory and praise of God.
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