[Machine transcription]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father,
from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
Brothers and sisters, looking at that second reading today
from St. Peter’s first letter as a text, please be seated.
Maybe you remember your Confirmation Day,
those of you who’ve been confirmed in your faith.
I remember mine back in 1973.
I remember a lot of things about it,
but I remember most being so ready for it,
ready to move from the middle school confirmation class
into the high school youth group,
ready to start receiving the Lord’s Supper.
And I was ready.
I was just ready for confirmation to be done,
for the memorization to be done,
ready to be done with the small catechism,
ready for that every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon class to be done. I had to miss
the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner show for three years. I did get home in time for Johnny
Quest so that was okay but I was ready for that to be done and I was ready for
the examination to be done. Some of you remember that the examination where
perhaps you had to sit or stand in front of the congregation and the pastor asked
you questions that you were supposed to know in front of everybody who had to do
that do that you could admit it it’s all right again they’ll be counseling for
you later if you’re still if you’re still affected by that I’m just glad we
weren’t wearing white robes that day yeah that was a joke folks yeah I was
ready for that to be over and it was or so I thought look at that reading from
st. Peter today that first letter he says in the very first verse there verse
15 he says always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asked you for a
reason for the hope that is in you now in good Lutheran confirmation small
catechism fashion, we should ask what does this mean? Well, I’m sorry to say
what that means is the examination is not over. In life, people are probably
going to ask you at some time, ask you about your faith, your religion, your
beliefs or whatever, and Peter is encouraging us to be ready for that.
followers of Jesus are often afraid of such examinations they can be scary we
don’t know what to say sometimes when people ask us questions about our faith
we don’t know what to say or we’re afraid of giving a stupid answer or or
no answer at all and looking ignorant we may not have answers sometimes and
That’s somewhat normal, we’re not perfect, we often fail at things and actually it kind
of goes from there.
We don’t always do things that are right, we don’t always obey God’s law perfectly,
we don’t always treat people the way they should.
Our intentions in life are sometimes pretty self-centered, we’re all sinful and broken
people.
but followers of Jesus are also people who want mercy and want to be forgiven
of our sinfulness and our brokenness and that that is the hope that Peter is
speaking of here in the reading followers of Jesus have hope sure hope
not just some sort of I hope I hope I go to heaven or I hope some good things
have to be we have a sure hope in life that comes from knowing our sins and our
failures are forgiven and that hope has been given to us through Jesus as Peter
goes on to say in the reading that Christ suffered once for sins that he might
bring us to God. That’s the hope. That’s the hope that we’re to be ready to give
an answer for when people give us a faith examination, when people ask us
about our beliefs. Here’s the answer to give. Jesus Christ died for sins but now
is alive again alive again by the Spirit promising life after death Jesus died
and rose again to give us that to give us that hope not just a I hope that it
happens but a sure hope that it has happened for us justice and William yet
wake up I haven’t been going that long come on no Jesus did that for you he
brought you to that faith in baptism and now in confirmation you’re brought to
that forgiveness of your sins by his death and resurrection that’s why you’re
here that’s why any of us are here because of that hope that Jesus has done
for us and and for you your faith in that is being confirmed today be ready
to defend that be ready to tell others that the reason for that hope that is in
you and that you’re being confirmed in today the hope of Jesus that you’re
saying to all of these people here today you’re saying to them yes I believe
that. Yes, I have this hope in me. And that’s not just for them. It’s for all followers
of Jesus to be ready to defend that. Justice and William, I’m sorry, confirmation is just
not quite done. It will never be done. The examinations are not done. There’s probably
more coming for you and for everyone. And those examinations may not be too
pleasant. This is a world that is often opposed to and even hostile towards
Christianity. Peter even calls it suffering in the reading today. A
suffering that’s probably worse than confirmation, I have to say, okay? Even
worse than the examination. It’s a suffering of being slandered, of being
reviled, being called all kinds of things like hypocrite, hateful, intolerant, and a
slew of adjectives that people will probably throw at you. And I know that
can be hard. For goodness sake, I do ministry at University of Texas, the 40
acres of the bastion of blasphemy over there sometimes. That’s not always a safe
place to be a Christian there. Not the most welcoming place for Christians in
this world. But what’s happening here in America is nothing. Nothing compared to
what’s going on in some other countries in the world that are happening to
followers of Jesus there. In Iran, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, China, North Korea,
Churches there are often burned, people arrested, tortured, and murdered.
It’s not so bad here in the United States.
And when you hear about survivors,
when you hear about survivors in these countries of the persecution that they suffer,
they’re ready for it.
They welcome it.
They’re ready because they’re filled with hope.
They’re filled with this hope that Peter talks of,
the hope of the suffering Christ in His death and His resurrection
and the forgiveness and eternal life that that gives.
We hear their talk of courage and even peace in the face of persecution
and even being able to share that hope with those who are persecuting them.
It’s good to remember that this is what we’re to be ready to defend when people
ask us about it. Even when they ask us in hostile ways, remember that it’s good
news that we defend. It’s the good news of the hope of Christ that we want them
to know too. It’s hope that we want to give them. The people who give you that
examination who ask about your faith even if it’s hostile really they need to
hear that good news so let’s look how can we be ready to make a defense okay
Peter says be ready to make a defense for your faith how do we do that number
one be ready by being built up in the hope that you have what do I mean by
that. I mean growing in your hope, hearing and reading God’s Word often, regularly
receiving the Lord’s Supper, being in fellowship with other believers, or maybe
other defenders I should say, being in fellowship with them. William, in
justice, don’t be done with the Bible or the small catechism right now, okay?
Don’t be done with what you’ve been taught. Don’t be done with what you’re
saying here today. Don’t be done with all of that, but be ready to defend it. You
and everyone be ready, growing in faith by reading the Word, by receiving the Lord’s
Supper, being in fellowship with others. And number two, how do we make, how can
we be ready to make this defense. Number two, be ready with gentleness and
respect. Expect that people may examine your faith, ask you questions about your
faith in a hostile way. Oftentimes they’re going to ask you because they oppose it
and they want to hear your side of it but they really are being hostile to you.
be ready with gentleness and respect.
Be confident in your faith, in what you believe.
Be confident in that hope that you want them to hear,
that you want to defend, that you want to share with them.
You see, in that thinking, these examinations
that people give us, they shouldn’t be feared,
but welcomed.
They’re not examinations where we’re really under the gun,
where I’ve got to make a certain grade,
or I’ve got to say this, or I’d better do that.
No, these situations are more of an opportunity
where you get to do something.
You get to share with them the hope that is in you.
You get to share with them that good news of Jesus Christ
died and risen again for you, but also for them.
When you talk about those things,
you can’t help but do it with gentleness and respect because it’s such good news
we want them to hear and when they examine you this is your opportunity you
get to tell them that I don’t say these things today to scare you or to warn you
but to encourage you that you two guys but also everybody the examinations
aren’t over and that’s a good thing because we all have the opportunity to
give an answer of our hope in Jesus Christ for you two guys that’s the faith
that Bethany and mr. Newman have instructed you in your family has been
bringing you into worship and to into education of our church for so many
years and today you’re expressing some strong intentions of that as you’re being
confirmed in that faith?
When you’re up here, I’m going
to be asking you several
things, okay?
Some pretty hard stuff in
there, actually, about what
I’m going to be asking you.
And the final question I’ll
be asking you, and those of
you that have been
confirmed, maybe you
remember this, maybe you
don’t, it’s been too long
ago or that day was just
kind of a blur, kind of was
for me, but I’m going to
ask you this question and
it’s kind of strong.
I’m going to be asking you
this, do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and this church and
to suffer all even death rather than fall away from it?
Maybe you don’t know that that’s what they express their
intention in in that question in confirmation but yeah do you intend to
remain in this faith even to death rather than give it up strong words a
strong intention that’s the hope that we have see today what’s happening for you
two guys it’s no little thing and when you were confirmed it was no little thing
it was to help get you ready for the examinations that are coming later in
life so that you can give an answer for the hope that you have in Christ so that
you could defend that hope in gentleness and respect to others so that they too
might know that hope of Jesus. So may you guys and all of us continue in that
faith and be ready this day and every day to defend the hope that we have in
Christ and to be able to share it with others. Amen. Now may the peace of God
which passes all understanding.
Keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
