Confirmation at Epiphany on May 4, 2008

Mark 8:27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" 28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

A Confirmed Confessor of Christ

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and a Professor of theology at the University of Berlin in Germany in 1930’s. At the time, German Christians were divided over Hitler. One group allied themselves with Hitler. They wanted a "pure" German nation. They formed an official German church that supported Hitler and banned Jews from holding official positions in the Church. Bonhoeffer was among those who could not go along with Hitler’s anti-Jewish, radically German vision. With others he set up an underground church that explicitly refused to ally itself to Hitler’s Third Reich vision. It was dangerous. In 1937 Bonhoeffer was sacked. He fled to London . Two years later Bonhoeffer’s was faced with a choice. He had been offered one of the most prestigious theology appointments in the world – lecturing at Union Seminary in New York or returning to Germany to head up an illegal, underground seminary for the churches who refused to go along with Hitler.

He decided his faith was meaningless if he took the easy option. He headed back to Germany and found Hitler so evil that he abandoned his commitment to non-violence and was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The plot failed and in 1943 Bonhoeffer was arrested. In prison he led worship services for his fellow prisoners, until he was hanged by the Nazis on April 9, 1945 .

Leading up to and during World War II, what distressed Bonhoeffer was the way so many Christians could sell out to Hitler’s evil vision. How could people who owned the name of Christ so betray Christ? How could they pray in a church that the human rights of others? It convinced Bonhoeffer that religion in and of itself was worthless. It didn’t matter how fervently a person believed in Jesus, how many times each day they prayed, how earnestly and sincerely they sang hymns on Sundays. In the end the measure of spirituality is not how we are in the church but how we are in the whole of life. Christians not only confess Christ with their words inside a church, but confess Christ with their actions in the world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, especially you confirmands, are you really willing to give up a cushy job or a comfortable life to stand up for your faith in Christ? Christianity is not about church pews, singing loudly or attending potlucks. It is about commitment to Christ, faithfulness to the faith, and carrying your cross.

You may not think that America is anything like Nazi Germany, but look at the reality. We live in a society where the American public will not elect an atheist president. There must be some form of spirituality there. At least a little bit. But if a candidate is too firm in his or her beliefs, too devoted to the Bible, too committed to his or her Christian convictions, and – heaven forbid – actually mentions the name of Jesus in public – then that person is criticized, denigrated, and maligned. Better to have a lukewarm, milquetoast spiritualist in office than a convinced, convicted, confirmed soldier of Christ.

If that’s how society views the faith of the President, it is just as bad in the workplace. Be religious, but not too religious. Be committed to God, but not too committed to any particular god. Be faithful to your faith, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your faithfulness to your job. 

This is the world we live in. This is the world you confirmands are entering. 

It is good to get together like this on a Sunday morning to hear and learn from God’s Word, to receive the taste of His love through His special supper, and to sing praises to our God. But it’s pretty easy to fall into the trap of playing the armchair Christian. Here’s what I mean. The setting here is not only beautiful. It’s also safe. You’re fairly comfortable in the padded pews. The temperature isn’t too bad. And even though you don’t know the names of all the members and guests here today, at least nobody’s going to put you down for being a Christian. It’s not threatening at all to confess together who Jesus is and what he means to us. The trick is to keep on track once we exit those doors. It’s one thing to sit here and say, “I believe!” It’s another thing altogether to put it into practice Monday through Saturday. Today I speak to all of you, but especially you confirmands, about becoming a confirmed confessor of Christ.

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” There were a lot of opinions about Jesus floating around. Some people thought Jesus was the resurrected Elijah, or another bold prophet, or even John the Baptist. These prophets of old had great courage. People admired these bold prophets of the Lord.

Then along came Jesus. He seemed to surpass them all. He stood in front of the religious teachers of that day and said, “You hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces [and] you yourselves will not enter it.” (Matthew 23:13) Many people were impressed with His outspokenness, courage, and gutsy approach. They admired Jesus, but their opinion of Him wasn’t accurate. He was not just another unique and powerful preacher.  So Jesus asked His disciples, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” Peter answered simply and sincerely, “You are the Christ. You are the One specifically appointed and anointed by God to do what we cannot do. You came to satisfy God’s demand for a holy life.”

When questioned by Jesus, Peter and the other disciples didn’t make the connection between who Jesus was and what He came to do. They needed to understand the reason for Jesus’ life and death. He then began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and then He must be killed and after three days rise again. From our vantage point we know that this is the heart of God’s message for keeping people from getting clobbered with the consequences of their sin. But at the time, the disciples didn’t understand such talk. Peter stepped up to deter Jesus’ plans, “Why all this talk about suffering and dying? Why not wave your hands and take control? You’ve got the power.” In saying this Peter was joining forces with the opposition. So Jesus cut Peter off sharply. He rebuked Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! ... You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter wanted Jesus to take the easy way out. Yet our salvation would not come about easily. It would cost Jesus His followers, His reputation, His dignity. But more than that, it cost Him His life. He would endure the cruelest form of torture known at the time – crucifixion. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus made a great exchange. He exchanged His death, so we might have life eternal. He endured hell on the cross, so we might be given heaven. He heard the mockery of sinners, so we might hear the songs of the saints and angels. He was forsaken by His heavenly Father, so we might be accepted into God’s family. He took our sins upon Himself so that we might be forgiven forever.

The way to the cross was not easy for Jesus. The way of following Jesus is not easy, either. Jesus doesn’t ask. He doesn’t invite. He demands: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Do you want to be a confessor of Jesus? Armchair Christians have a tendency to answer too quickly. “Sure! I’ll confess Jesus anywhere any time!” But don’t be too hasty. Count the cost. Peter gave a quick answer once, “Lord, I would even die for you,” but he had not grasped the reality of what that would really mean for his own life.

It isn’t easy being a confirmed confessor of Christ. You’ll want to worship the pillow god on Sunday mornings instead of the God who won you salvation. Society will tell you to sleep around and live together, no matter how many times you’ve studied the 6th commandment. You will be tempted to remain silent about your faith, while cursing, gossiping, and getting drunk in order to fit in with a world that hates Christ and abhors Christian morals.

Being a confirmed confessor of Christ means you boldly, openly, publicly reject the devil and all his lies and empty promises. You don’t just say you have believe in a god, you proudly proclaim your faith in the God who gave you life, who died so you might have eternal life, the God you brought you to faith in baptism, and comes to you personally in the Lord’s Supper. The God who will not separate from you, even in trouble, hardship, persecution or danger. (Romans 8:35) The God who has made you new creations in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Today you can renew your confirmation vows with our confirmands as they promise themselves, promise you, and promise God to continue steadfast in Christian teaching. Promise to endure all things, even death, rather than fall away from their faith. Promise to conform their lives to the teachings of God’s Word and be faithful in the use of God’s Word and Sacraments. Promise to remain true to God in worship, faith, and action as long as they live.

Being a confirmed confessor of Christ also involves “cross-bearing.” “Take up your cross,” Jesus said. It’s safe being a Christian in church. For some of you it is not so safe at work or at school or even at home. If you get mocked, ridiculed, hassled, or laughed at simply because you are connected to Christ Jesus, that’s your cross. If you say there is such a thing as right and wrong, and you get flack for being close-minded, that’s your cross. Peter learned this lesson. He wrote, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1Peter 4:12 -13) Jesus never said that confessing Him would be easy. What He did say is that He’ll put his hand under the crosses we bear to help us bear up. 

“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”  Did you understand that? Jesus is saying, “Develop the mind-set that says, ‘I will be ready to die for Jesus, and if I do, I will still be richer than anyone who ever lived. Jesus Christ is my priceless Treasure.” 

In 156 AD, an 86-year-old man was brought before a Roman official and asked to renounce his atheism. He was no atheist by our standards. Rather he was the devout Christian bishop, Polycarp. To the Romans, however, he was an atheist, because he refused to worship the emperor as a god along with the other gods of Rome .

Polycarp knew denial would mean a painful death – either being thrown into the coliseum with a wild animal or burned alive on a pyre. Three times he was questioned, three times invited to renounce his "atheism", but he would not renounce Christ. The Roman official insisted, "Renounce Him and I release you. Curse Christ!" To which Polycarp replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he has done me no wrong: how then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

Polycarp was not spared. A pyre was built and he was burned alive, but his words echo down through time to us: "Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he has done me no wrong: how then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

How could Polycarp die with such confidence? How could apostles and Christians be so bold to endure prison, persecution, death by fire, sword, wild animals, torn in two or beheaded? Why would they go through all this for Jesus? They were weak people like us, made strong by Christ. Sinners made into saints with the blood of Jesus. That’s the key. That’s how they could do it. And that’s why they did it. They confessed Christ Jesus in life and through death because they knew the reality of what His life and death did for them. You and I aren’t going to be armchair Christians any more. We are new people and renewed people of God. Today we become and will remain confirmed confessors of Christ. Amen.