Sermon Tone Analysis

Confirmation~/Easter 5

John 16:12-22

May 6, 2007

*“What is Enough?”*

Introduction: Enough already, I have had enough.

In other words I have been saturated with enough information, enough work, enough trial, and enough pleasure even…and I don’t want or think I need any more.

I am satisfied.

But what is enough?

I guess that depends on who you are and what you think.

Ones person’s enough may be considered too much for another person and not enough for someone else.

So today, this word, enough, enters into our consideration as we prepare to confirm our young men and women.

What do our young people need to be confirmed, how many years of instruction, how many sermon notes, how many tests, Elders’ examinations, confessions of faith and so on?

What is enough?

What is it that we demand?

But more importantly, what is enough for God and what does He demand of us?

First, perhaps, we need to understand the history of the Rite of Confirmation.

Confirmation as it was instituted in the apostolic church is very different from the form that it takes in Lutheranism today.

Over the centuries it evolved from the mere laying on of hands, to a Sacrament, and then it met its abolition, that is, it was discontinued by Martin Luther.

Yes, Martin Luther ended the practice of Confirmation.

Years later it was reinstated by Martin Chemnitz.

\\             A brief history of confirmation shows that it was originally connected to Baptism; in fact the rite was practiced immediately following the rite of Baptism.

Eventually the rite involved the laying on of hands and a blessing from the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.

It wasn’t long before Confirmation was considered a sacrament, implying that the confirmand received some extra special boost of the Holy Spirit upon being confirmed.

What was implied was that Baptism was somehow incomplete until a proper confirmation was performed.

\\             By Luther's day Confirmation's intent had been completely misunderstood, what was historically a blessing of a baptized child became a sacramental act necessary for salvation, hence Luther eliminated the rite altogether from his church.

\\             Over time within the Lutheran Church different perspectives on Confirmation have emerged, each with a different emphasis.

There is the Catechetical understanding of Confirmation.

This emphasizes teaching, training and education, that is teaching, in a systematic way, the basics of the faith.

The basis of this education was and is Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

Over time, more was required than simply memorizing the Catechism.

Thus we have the extensive questions and answers that are in our more modern catechisms.

The focus of all of this was that Confirmands would be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the Christian faith.

When they were able to do this they were confirmed.

Traces of this understanding of Confirmation are best seen in public examinations as with our Elders Examination.

\\             Another understanding of Confirmation emphasizes the confirmand's personal beliefs, and personal declaration of faith.

And so there is the focus on the student’s public confession of faith, expressing for themselves their baptismal vows.

This is further emphasized in the confirmand’s confession of their faith in the words of the Apostles creed as they will shortly do before us all.

[i]

            The many “traditions” of Lutheran confirmation such as gowns, flowers, parties, and questioning before elders, confessions of faith, all emerged in the last two hundred years or so.

Confirmation has become a “rite of passage” for Lutheran fourteen year-olds and is considered one of the most important moments of their lives.

Sadly, there is another understanding of Confirmation.

That is that Confirmation is graduation.

Once there was this Lutheran Church that called a new pastor.

The new pastor soon discovered that there were hundreds of bats in the bell tower of the Church building.

The pastor told one of the elders about this and the elder said:  /“Don’t worry about it, pastor.

Those bats have been there for many years.

We’ve done everything to get rid of them, but they refuse to leave.

So, I guess they’re here to stay.”/

The next week the elder came to the Church and noticed that all the bats in the bell tower were gone.

The elder then asked the pastor how he got rid of all the bats.

The pastor answered: /“Easy!

I baptized and confirmed them, and they haven’t been back since!”/

Instead of Confirmation being part of the continued process of Christian education, it is seen as graduation, educations end.

With this “graduation” mentality, we often see many newly confirmed members drift away soon after their vows because they believe they have “completed” their instruction.

It is unfortunately true that for most people, after Confirmation, and as they enter into their teen age years, when the need church most, they neglect to come to church as often as they did before they were Confirmed.

We must continually remind each other that Confirmation is a lifelong process of maturing in the Christian faith.

This process begins at baptism and continues until a person is called to be with God in heaven.

Confirmation is a church rite where a person makes a public affirmation of the faith to which they were baptized.

Confirmation doesn’t mean that a person has had enough, enough education, enough instruction, enough testing, rather Confirmation is the opportunity to personally confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation is the time to celebrate God’s relationship to us and us to each other as part of His church and this congregation.

It is the opportunity to celebrate God’s grace and His love given to us in His Son Jesus Christ, in His life, death and resurrection; a life, death and resurrection that we share with Him by faith.

Can we ever have enough of these things?

No.

In our Gospel text we hear these words of Jesus, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear /them /now, however, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own /authority, /but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

He will glorify Me…” Can you imagine the disciples looking at Jesus and saying, “Lord we have had enough.

We have been with you and listened to you for the last three years, isn’t that enough?” No, in the Christian life there is never enough.

It is a life long process that by God’s grace leads through life, leads through death, and leads to life with God in Heaven.

For the Diciples and for Christians of all times…there is never enough.

Can we hear God’s Word enough?

Can we receive the Lord’s Supper enough?

Can we ever have enough of God’s forgiveness?

No, we constantly need these things, and like the Disciples we need the Sprit of God to continue to teach us all things through God’s Word.

There is never enough.

Still, human beings continue to ask the question, what is enough?

So we seek satisfaction in meeting certain requirements.

To this end, most of these young men and women have memorized this book, over and over.

All of them have memorized the Small Catechism – twice.

I imagine they would say they have had enough of that.

Then they have gone through two years of Confirmation instruction, endured tests, pastors lectures about the Ten Commandments, Apostles Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, they endured a two hour testing by the Elders, Confessed their faith before this congregation.

They might say…enough…enough…enough already.

Is it enough?

Even if they completed all these requirements…perfectly, it is not enough.

In Confirmation we should not focus and celebrate what they have done or what we have done when we were confirmed.

We must always remember that we can never do enough.

It is not about what we have done or not done.

It is about God, and our Lord Jesus Christ who have done it all, and done it all for us.

God has given us His undeserved love.

We have all sinned and failed miserably, even in our feeble attempts to please God and do what He wants us to do.

Through Jesus death on the cross, God did more than enough to save us from our sin.

He did it all.

In Christ’s death on the cross sin and its curse have been wiped away from our lives.

In Confirmation we do not see the work of these young men and women; we see the work of God in them.

In Baptism He chooses them, they did not choose Him.

By God’s grace He has lead them to this moment where they reaffirm their God given faith.

For this we thank God the Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

For all of His blessings to us, we cannot thank Him enough.

Amen!

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[i] Stan Lemon