Monday, April 20, 2009

Who? Why? Where? How?

Who? Why? Where? How?

What is this thing we call Confirmation? Confirmation is officially the process by which youth join the church in full membership. Alita and Clairissa have been going to Confirmation classes every week since September. For 8 months they have learned about the history of the Christian Church, history of the Methodists, the hymnal, the social creeds and a variety of belief topics. It has been a long journey for them and today is right-of-passage. But, confirmation is not the end of the class it is the beginning of a process.

 

How long have you been a member of a church? How long have you claimed the name Christian or Methodist? How long have you been a part of Christ Church? Tuesday, I received a letter from my home congregation, the church where I was baptized, confirmed. It is an amazing thing to receive this week of all weeks saying, congratulations on being a member of Aldersgate UMC for 17 years. I remember my confirmation experience; it was so boring. We talked about every important Methodist historical figure, we don’t even do that in Seminary. I remember the pastor putting a transparency on the wall that had these heads of historical men. It was in black and white and said what they were known for. Who cares!! We never talked about what we believed, we just answered the questions without thought or critical reflection.

 

Today, Confirmation is very different at Christ Church, be thankful. Our youth are asked to struggle with the process, with their beliefs and with their decisions. The Confirmands asked lots of questions but these Who, Why, Where and How ones are the most pertinent.

1)   Who am I?

2)   Why am I joining the church?

3)   Where is Christ in my life?

4)   How will I change if I claim to be a Christian?

 

Who am I?

Confirmation begins with an understanding of the self, a search for the inner you. We must be on the quest to find ourselves, to understand what makes us unique and unrepeatable as a people of God.

 

The youth wrote creeds, you will find in your bulletin.  In contemporary language, who God is to them, how they understand Jesus Christ. They have answered how they will support the church with their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. These creeds embody who they are inside as believers. But, do these creeds define them forever? Maybe, but they might change too, you might be different a year from now, twenty years from now.

 

Thomas has sometimes been given a bad reputation in history. He is held as an example of what not to do as a Christian but I think we all agree, doubting is important to belief. Thomas was just allowing himself to be honest. It would have been very easy for Thomas to agree with the disciples. Yea, I saw Jesus. But, Thomas was honest; he stood alone and said, “I won’t believe until I see”. Thomas doubted and he was honest with himself and his friends. Thomas knew who he was and wasn’t willing to compromise to fit into the crowd. 

 

Why am I joining the church?

Confirmation is a choice. It is not a given that these youth will join. We do not begin the class by saying, you will join the church and you will believe these things. Do you have enough faith in the church to join it?

 

Each week in class, the confirmands were invited to ask questions. They had some really tough one. How do we know Jesus was white? If the Bible was written by humans, how do we know it is true? What is the holy spirit? Why do we base our religion off a book written thousands of years ago? If God is so good and powerful why is there suffering in the world? Those are some BIG questions, with no easy answers and maybe some of them are even unanswerable. Do you have enough faith in the church to join it? 

 

Mona was a member of my youth group and she was a doubter. She viewed Christianity as having often forced itself on others, she doubted Jesus had even existed but was created by humanity and she doubted anything that spoke of spirituality. But, she loved the church. During her confirmation process all she could say about religion was this: there is a creative force in the universe. That was it. Yet, this unbeliever chose to attend church, she yearned to belong. How could someone who doubts the mission and tenants of an organization want to attend it? Mona knew something others do not. She knew she needed the church because it was the one place that accepted her, that allowed her to be her unique self. She had faith in the church being a place for her. Remember your faith in the church and why you are here each Sunday, why some days you struggle through snow and wind or sacrifice sun and warmth. There is something we need from this place.

 

Thomas was not just a doubter, he was also a believer. Prior to the scripture that tells us about Thomas and questions, Thomas, in John 11, is the only disciple to believe in what Jesus has said. It is the story of Lazarus: the man who died before Jesus could reach him. Jesus says Lazarus is not dead and the other disciples are like, but Martha said he was dead. Yet, Thomas is the believer. Thomas the doubter is the only one who believed that Lazarus would be alive. Even when Thomas was asking to see the physical risen Christ, I have no doubt, he also believed. He believed in Jesus’ teaching, he believed something wonderful and scary was happening. He believed in the presence of Christ, he just needed a little proof before he would believe it all.

 

Where is Christ?

Winter Storm Advisory. The minute these words are uttered the anxiety of this town rises. People start asking questions, Where? How much? Weird…its April ( Ok, maybe that is just me). And then there is the disappointment, we only got 4 inches. Have you ever noticed how many people go to the grocery store when there is a Winter Storm Advisory. I’ve only lived here 2 years but I am skeptical of the weather forecasters ability to accurately predict the weather, especially when I heard snow ranges from 9-24 inches. I always tell Amy, “we are going to get snow, and this is going to be a big one, going to really get us stuck inside”. Her response, “I’ll believe it when I see it”.

 

Where do we see the risen Christ in our world?

 

Thomas waited to see the risen Christ, he would not believe until he witnessed it. Thomas and the disciples are in a locked room and I have a sense this room was full of fear. It was not locked to keep Jesus out; it was locked to keep the angry mobs out. The disciples were a rebellious sect, their leader had been crucified and now his body was missing. These were not ideal conditions for encountering Jesus yet this is where Jesus enters; this is when Jesus walks through the door.

 

Even though we don’t see the Jesus Thomas saw, we have everyday reminders of the risen Christ. We have each other here, we have nature out there and we have our daily encounters with the world. See it and believe it, the risen Christ is all around you.

 

How will I change if I claim to be a Christian?

The symbol of the butterfly has often been associated with Christianity and the resurrection. It is a symbol of new birth, change from an old self to a new self, metamorphosis on the journey of life. That you are not the same person you were when you began the confirmation experience or when you joined the church.

 

You will change; you will be different because you claim to be a Christian. Richard Rohr says, “Jesus keeps us on the necessary search”. We search for the risen Christ. We are searching for answers to our questions. Along this journey we are transformed, where we are today is not the place we began. God leads us not to certainty or superior faith but allows us to experience our journey, wherever it leads us.

 

The monarch butterfly descends every year on an epic journey. The monarchs rise form their cocoons and start to fly from Canada, across the U.S. to a small patch of Mexican forest they have never seen. 1800 miles. They get there by using the sun at a specific time of day to get directions. This journey of the butterfly is beyond comprehension, how does an animal with a brain the size of a spec of sand know to go to a forest, which is only 60 miles in total size out of hundreds and thousands miles in the North American continent.

 

Thomas went on an epic journey. He was a disciple of Jesus, and led a radically different life. Tradition tells us Thomas went and evangelized in India. I doubt we really know what happened to Thomas, but we know Thomas has a place in our faith, an important place. Thomas questioned. Thomas doubted but he kept going on the journey. He was changed inside and outside. He left his job as a fisherman to follow Jesus. His doubt was replaced with belief by seeing the risen Christ.

 

The butterfly cloth is a symbol of the change of life. Alita and Clairissa you will spend the rest of your life trying to make sense of this God and the risen Christ you encounter. Your quest for identity, your journey of life is like a monarch butterfly heading towards Mexico. It is epic.

 

In a few minutes you will kneel here, you will answer questions and we will pray over you and you will join this community of both believers and doubters.

AMEN.  

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