Confirmed

 

Romans 8:1-11

Confirmation Sunday is a wonderful day when our youth confirm the faith their family has given them. We say that part of their confirmation is deciding to make their faith their own. It's a rite of passage acknowledging their maturity and the calling God gives to us all. And confirmation has a long-standing tradition in some churches. I'm still reflecting on something I learned about our Methodist association with confirmation. Did you know early Methodists did not have confirmation? Oh, they had young people, to be sure. But they hadn't incorporated this practice. Confirmation was something other established churches did. The Methodists had no need for it. Methodists confirmed their faith every week! Their desire to "flee the wrath to come" centered their conversations around God's grace. They knew their sin kept them experiencing new life in Christ. So, they confessed their sin to one another. Prayer wasn't a task best left to some clergy person. Worship and mission was central to who the Methodists were. There was little room for ceremony. Then we got rich. That may sound harsh and dismissive. So, I'll say we got comfortable. Our denomination grew and become a status symbol for people. Long story short, we had to keep up with the spiritual Joneses. Those other established churches, with other comfortable people, had confirmation. And we wanted it, too. Yes, confirmation in the Methodist tradition stemmed from a bit of denominational jealousy. Covetousness, perhaps. Now, borrowing the practice would have been one thing. But confirmation also made sense because our church had smothered that first great desire. We needed a ceremony to give us a sense we were on the right track. Again, I love Confirmation Sunday--you know how much I thank God for our young people. But guess how many youth I've known who "completed" confirmation only to never be seen in church again. I'm using confirmation as an example to connect with Romans 8. Paul speaks of freedom from sin and death, submission and pleasing God. He affirms life in Christ, living according to the Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Is that what we're teaching our young people? Are those priorities for our churches today? We don't want to rely on our ceremonies to motivate us through life. We want the power of God. We need the power of God. Stay blessed...john