Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the First Epistle of Peter, the third chapter:
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Thus far the text.
Dear Mackenzie and Kennedy, our Confirmands, and my friends in Christ,
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Today is a day of much rejoicing, especially for the families of our two Confirmands. They have worked hard over the past three years, they have studied the Scriptures, they have studied Luther’s Small Catechism, they have asked many questions, they have given many answers. This congregation has questioned them and it has been seen that the faith given to them in their baptisms is indeed their own. They claim it. And they have a desire to receive today, and every time it is offered, the Lord’s Supper, in which our Jesus comes to them, and to us, in His true body and blood, in, with, and under the bread and the wine.
Today, they shall receive with their lips this body and blood, and from their lips is drawn the hallelujah which confesses the true Christian faith. This is a glorious thing and is cause indeed for much rejoicing, not just by their families, but by their Christian family, the Church, for this morning, we have two more with us participating in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, receiving with us and with the whole communion of saints that which Christ promised when He said, “This is my body… this is my blood.”
But today is not just about Communion, though this is the great climax of each and every service. Today is also about baptism. You see, in Communion, we admit no person to the altar who has not been baptized. We today, in Confirmation, are publicly celebrating those baptisms.
You see, what Peter says today is true, baptism now saves you. For these two Confirmands, and for each of us, our baptism was an event in which the Holy Spirit descended upon us, bringing us the faith of Christ. And we are saved by grace through faith. We need this faith to get God’s grace in Christ. This faith is given to us, we are washed in the water as Christ has commanded in His Word, where He tells us to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. This is not as some washings do, when we shower or bathe, and dirt is removed from us. This has nothing to do with washing away dirt from our skin, but has everything to do with the washing that takes away our sin, drowning that Old Adam inside each one of us, and bringing to life within us the Christ who is the New Adam.
However, as Luther has said, that Old Adam is a darn good swimmer. This Old Adam, our sinful nature, seemingly brings himself back to life each day, and so we must drown him each day by remembering our baptisms. To remember that we are Christ’s child, to remember that we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. One of the ways we do this is by teaching. We teach the Scriptures. We teach our Confessions. We teach all according to God’s Holy Word.
It is only by the knowledge of God that we become more and more like Christ and less and less dependent upon ourselves. It is only by seeing how great of sinners we are that we see how great a Savior we need. And so we have Christ.
We have Christ this day who serves us. We have Christ this day who feeds us. We have Christ this day who washes us. We have Christ this day who forgives us.
For we have the Christ who suffered once for sins. He was righteous and He came for us, the unrighteous. We have the Christ who humbled Himself to come into our flesh, to bear our sin and be our Savior. We have the Christ, the holy priest who makes atonement for our sins upon the cross. We have the Christ who gives us hope beyond hope in the resurrection, for just as He was resurrected from the dead, so, too, shall we be.
And this is what today is about. It is a celebration of this faith, even this Christ, that Mackenzie and Kennedy confess this day. And it is a confession that is good, for it has brought them to their Jesus, and it will continue to help shape and mold them into good, respectful, gentle women of God, always ready to give a defense for the hope that they have. They are already of God, of Christ, even now, but the confession you take today, it is the confession that leads you to a joyful end, a joyful death.
Yes, I said a joyful death. Death in the Christian life is something indeed to be celebrated. It is a time where we see Christ’s promises as true, for He has come to take many of His saints to be with Himself. This week, Christ took from our congregation Vicky Butler and Eileen Nies from this mortal coil. But they did not go fearfully, they went to Jesus with the hope of the resurrection.
Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Confirmation even, are all about death. It seems strange, but think of it this way: in Baptism, we die to sin and live to Christ. In the Lord’s Supper, we eat and drink the once-dead-now-risen Jesus who strengthens us unto everlasting life. And in Confirmation, we confess the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, the faith that those who have died in the Lord have, the faith that all those raised in the Lord have.
Death, my friends, is nothing to fear. It is, for the Christian, to be looked forward to, in some sense, for we shall leave behind this vale of tears and sorrow, and we shall be with Him. Even Paul thinks this when he says, “To live is Christ, but to die is gain.” It’s not that he’s saying we should all just die now. What he actually says is that to live in the flesh, to keep on living today, is good for it is fruitful labor, labor which loves and serves our neighbor. This is God-pleasing, God-honoring. But to die is to be with Christ, and that is far better.
Today, ladies, your confession in front of this congregation will serve to remind us and you that there is a faith that is out there that is true, that is right, that is good. It will serve to remind us and you of our baptisms, in which Jesus saved us. It will serve to remind us and you that we should at all times and in all places desire the Lord’s body and blood in our mouths. It will serve to remind us and you that we should always be prepared to defend and explain the Holy Scriptures and all of its meaning. It will serve to remind us and you that there is nothing to fear in this life.
For this is true: Christ has subjected all authorities unto Himself. The Psalms say the authorities of this world are as the footstool of Jesus. It’s like He’s chilling on His throne and throws His feet unto the backs of all things in this life that we may have cause to fear. Persecution, martyrdom, bullying, sin, death, and the devil, all things we may fear, Christ has conquered them all in His resurrection. We may endure them in this life for the cause of our confession, but Christ has overcome them. We may fall under their sword, but we have one who has overcome the sword, spear, and cross.
And this one who has overcome, His name is Jesus. And He gives this resurrection to you. He gives His life to you. And you have it forever. For Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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