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Confirmation: All of Jesus’ Gifts and Then Some!
By Rev. George F. Borghardt
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Baptize. Teach. That’s how our Lord Jesus makes disciples. He doesn’t just baptize. He doesn’t just teach. But where there’s baptizing, there’s also teaching. And where there’s teaching, there’s eventually a baptism. The two participles are so closely tied together that the Lord doesn’t even use an “and” in Greek to separate them!
You have been baptized. Now, it’s time to be taught. And you aren’t taught just a few things or just what you want to learn. The Lord is going to put it all—everything that He has taught—right into you.
To do that, the Lord gave you parents. Yes, Mom and Dad are given to teach you the Faith of Jesus. They put the Scriptures and the Small Catechism into your hands. This little instruction book contains the chief parts of the Christian faith as drawn from the sacred Scriptures. Your parents don’t just teach you your ABCs. They also teach you about Jesus.
And, Mom and Dad, if you aren’t teaching your kids to memorize the Small Catechism before Confirmation, you are falling down on the job! Help your pastor help you! Teach your kids the Faith!
The Gospel is always more. So, the Lord gave Confirmation. Confirmation is a rite, not a right. You don’t have to be confirmed…you get to be confirmed. Yes, those sometimes long, boring classes with your pastor are a gift from God. There, you learn not “some” of what our Lord has commanded but “everything” He has mandated.
It all starts with the Ten Commandments.
These are not just the “don’ts” of God’s Words. No! The Lord has more than just what you are supposed to do and not do. He’s given the Ten Commandments as gift to you! All ten—oh, and a conclusion! You want that, too! He’s got good news that will last to a thousand generations of those who love Him and cherish His commandments.
Then there’s the Apostles’ Creed.
One God in three persons, confessed in three articles: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There’s the Father who created you, the Son who redeemed you “not with gold or silver but with His Holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death,” and the Spirit who delivers Jesus’ salvation to you through His gifts.
Next stop, the Lord’s Prayer.
“Lord, teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1). God is our Father. He hears our prayers. His kingdom comes to us.
His will is good and gracious to us. He gives daily bread and forgives us our trespasses—all gifts, all freely given to us from the God who gave up His Son for us on the Cross. Faith, which flows from His gifts, says, “Amen” or “Yes, yes, it shall be so!”
And what are these gifts?
Since the Cross does no good without the Holy Spirit delivering Jesus’ forgiveness to us in His gifts, we confess Holy Baptism. His Baptism washes us with water and the Word. It isn’t just a moment in our Christian life—Baptism is our Christian life. Daily, we die to our sins, drowning them in the baptismal flood flowing from Christ’s pierced side. And daily, we are raised again with Jesus to new life.
Most people think Confession and Absolution isn’t Lutheran. But in Confirmation you’ll hear about it right from the Small Catechism! You can’t get any more Lutheran than that! Jesus takes His forgiveness and delivers it to us in the Words of our pastor. When God’s ministers deal with us by His divine command, that is, forgiving and retaining sins, that gift is certain even in heaven itself.
All of these gifts have prepared us for the Sacrament of the Altar. Under the bread and wine, Jesus gives to us His Body and Blood for the remission of all our sins. Into our mouths is put heaven itself! “For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”
There’s still more in the Catechism to learn:
What a gift! There are Daily Prayers for morning, meals, and bed time. There is instruction on how to prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper and the Table of Duties: verses about the various stations in our life. It’s all there at the end of the Catechism.
If this seems like a bit much, well, it’s given by the Lord to be too much! You can’t learn “all that the Lord has commanded” in just a few years. That’ll take a lifetime! But Mom and Dad can start, your pastor can confirm you, and you can even keep learning when you are old. You are never too old for the Small Catechism.
Don’t worry. The Lord has promised to be with you. He’s where His baptizing and teaching is going on. Where there’s baptizing, there’s teaching. And where there’s teaching, there’s baptizing. They’re so connected that there isn’t an “and” between them. The command is for all nations— that means you and me, too!
Rev. George F. Borghardt is the Senior Pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinios. He also serves as the president of Higher Things.