In a few minutes, we will invite our confirmands forward to make formal affirmations before us and so join the church as full members in their own right.
If you have joined a church, and certainly this one, a bit later in life, you may remember that we Congregationalists do it with minimal fuss.
It’s quicker than a baptism and really only takes a moment.
For those who are welcoming a new member – for the audience, if you like – it offers a chance to put a face to a name, maybe read a little bit about them in the bulletin.
We don’t often go into much depth around their spiritual journey and how it’s led them here.
When I was growing up in Brooklyn, one of our neighborhood pizzerias got some new take out boxes that featured a cartoon guy throwing a pizza in the air. “You’ve tried all the rest. Now try the best,” it said.
Too often, churches can make joining sound sort of like that.
Of course, we know better.
For some, coming to our church comes only after a long process of taking leave from another.
Those of you who grew up Catholic will sometimes say things that are a little cryptic to those of us who didn’t, like “You can leave the Catholic church, but the Catholic church never leaves you.”
But somehow, you have gone in search, anyway.
Others find their way to our church, not because it’s different from another they once knew, but because, finally, this one seems to have something of the same powerful, joyful feel they remember —“you’ve tried all the rest,” after all – and this one feels like returning home.
So while our words of welcome may be brief and the handshake may be quick, there is often a lot going on for people as they stand up to say their part and to receive that welcome.
This is why Confirmation is so good for the church.
It is a process of discovery and decision for young people.
We are right to give that process the time and attention it needs.
It asks something important of us that is not so easy for us to offer: it requires that we slow down and make a point to listen to their stories, recognizing them no longer as adorable moppets, but as fellow pilgrims, grown up seekers, people trying to make their way in a complicated world with God’s help.
God willing, they remind us to see one another as fellow pilgrims, too, and to honor the searching and finding and searching that are the heartbeat of human life and the true vocation of being the church.
As part of Confirmation, after a school year of Sunday evening classes and active church attendance, we ask our confirmands to prepare faith statements and urge them to be honest.
It says something so powerful when you urge someone to be honest, and what they return to you is profoundly loving.
So much of what our confirmands had to say was loving.
As one wrote, “When others have talked about church as ‘a feeling of coming home,’ I never really understood what that meant until now. Church has given me so many memories throughout growing up. For example, every time I see the old attic on the top floor, I think of the life-sized Christmas puppets on stakes that used to be there, and the time my best friend and I were sent in as a sort of ritual hazing for Youth Group.”
Wonderfully, they go on to explain, “This is what it means to have faith. For me, having faith in God is like having faith that Bob Willett will always give me a big wave when he sees me. It is like having faith that when you give a glass of water to one particular kid in Sunday School, he will one hundred percent spill it on himself and somehow on everyone else…It means you will always trust in a dependable source of good.”
Another mentioned going to Pacific House with the church, and a moment when she saw a spontaneous act of kindness and connection between two people.
They write: “This made me realize that God creates certain people with the goodness of His spirit, and those people pass it on to others, making the world a better place. My ingrained wish to make the world safer and happier for those around me is actually a gift from God. God wants us to create laughter and kindness in place of the hurt that exists in the world. I believe God wants the best for us, even if that means letting us face hardships…I can thank 2CC for letting me find myself through even the most awkward and hard parts of my life so far.”
Another says, “In my opinion, worshipping God and sharing God’s love do not only happen at church. They can take place when praying, donating, or whenever a person puts someone before themselves.”
Along with many of this year’s confirmands, they also have eyes to see that many forms of “public Christianity” do not reflect Christian commitment as they have come to understand it.
They continue, “Christmas is not about the gifts. It is about Jesus’ birth. Also, if a person wears a cross to look cool or as fashion, the cross loses its meaning. It hurts me to know that someone is taking advantage of a sacred holiday or symbol and not understanding its meaning.”
It says in the Book of Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Similarly, another quotes the famous words of Ecclesiastes 3, “to everything there is a season,” to talk about the way that God’s love and forgiveness abide through all of life’s ups and downs.
“Jesus helps me solve problems that occur. He is the one I know will always listen to my problems, even when I feel I have no one else. When I do something I realize is sinful, I reach out to him for forgiveness.”
That faith, they go on to say, “can change people’s entire personality or mindset. It can turn some very bad people into new people, showing them forgiveness and hope. It brings people together all around the world, spreading kindness and joy. Without it, what would people believe in? Who would they look to for guidance in life?”
Another resonated with an important passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
“Stay awake,” Paul writes. “Stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Co 16: 13-14)
This is a tall order, as the one who picked it clearly sees.
On the standing firm side, they say, “It means proving to God that I can overcome adversity without being easily swayed. It does not mean that I cannot evolve in my beliefs, but rather that I will not base my faith in pleasing others.”
On the doing all things in love side, they say, “God gives us all love unconditionally, so it is most important for me to spread love to others and act with love in all I do. God’s greatest trait is love, exemplified by gifting us with the ability to love. When I act with love, I honor God’s most precious gift.”
In another few moments, we will ask the people who have written these things to come forward and join us officially as members in their own right of our gathered community.
The moment will not take long.
But now you have a sense of just how much these five people are bringing into that moment, and into the church.
They remind us, not only of how much they stand to offer us, but how much they stand to offer to world.
For me, they underscore the importance of learning to spread love to others and to act with love in all that we do, with sincere commitment and humility of spirit.
They remind us of what they have found here, and what it is our shared work to make sure that anyone…everyone…might find here – and to build from there.
Our Scripture this morning describes the Day of Pentecost as the Spirit’s arrival with a sudden rush of wind, as God’s people discovered God working through them to gather all people into the Kingdom.
The testimonies I’ve shared with you this morning suggest that the new voices and new understandings of Pentecost can also arrive slowly, with what we see and find so sudden to signify that something much deeper has been going on.
As the novelist Anne Michaels writes, “Truth grows gradually in us, like a musician who plays a piece again and again until suddenly he hears it for the first time.”[1]
May the truth of God’s great love continue to grow in these young people and in all of us, that we might hear it and respond, continually challenged and inspired.
Amen.
[1] Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces, 251.