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Jesus Prays for Confirmands
Seventh Sunday of Easter/Confirmation at Our Saviours
John 17:6-19
May 17th, 2015
Dear friends in Christ,
If you’ve been able to be in church during the Easter season, which concludes this
morning, you may have noticed we’ve been reading a lot from the Gospel of John. And in
particular, we’ve been reading from what is commonly called the farewell discourse of
Jesus, which are his final words of instruction to his disciples before he is arrested,
crucified, and risen from the dead. The farewell discourse begins after Judas is revealed as
our Lord’s betrayer at the Passover meal in John 13 and continues all the way through
Jesus’ final prayer for his disciples in John 17, which is this morning’s gospel. So it’s a
pretty good chunk of teaching material, not always easy to unpack, but significant in its
content.
Which got me to thinking as I went to St. Matthew’s last Sunday to confirm two of
their students, could we call the farewell dicouse Jesus’s confirmation instruction to his
disciples? Were the disciples actually the very first confirmation class? Well, Biblical
scholars would probably disagree, saying things like the practice of confirmation did not
start until much later in the history of the church. But, I didn’t see any of those scholars in
Taylorsville, UT., last week, and I don’t expect they are here at Our Saviour’s this week,
so I’m not going to worry about what they might say, and I’m going with this idea. Which
means that the prayer we read today in John 17, is like a final prayer for the first
confirmands of Jesus. And it’s not just a prayer for the first disciples, it’s a prayer for all
that will follow, which means all of us. Since today at the 11AM service we have Lila
Entzel’s confirmation, I thought I’d speak about this prayer of Jesus as a confirmation
prayer and see what it says about God’s relationship with us and God’s hope for us as
God’s followers.
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The prayer begins with a reminder of God’s role and activity in choosing the first
disciples. It was really God who prepared the first disciples to be called by Jesus, who
then taught them and brought them to faith. It echoes the words from last week’s lesson in
John 15 where Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” It was the Lord’s
initiative that led them to follow, not their own. The Lord called them, and they responded
and changed their lives to follow him.
One of the areas we cover in our catechism class is the Apostle’s Creed. We did that
2 years ago, when Lila was a 7th grader. The third article of the Creed begins, “I believe in
the Holy Spirit.” We talked about what Martin Luther wrote in explaining the Third
Article in the Small Catechism. I didn’t make Lila memorize this, but some of you
probably did years ago. Luther writes, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding
or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called
me through the gospel.” The Holy Spirit is the one at work who calls us to faith.
Now there’s a certain mystery about how the Spirit does this. But it is clear it is
through the witness of others that the gospel is shared. I asked Lila to write a final faith
paper, and one of the things I asked her to write about was who has been an influence on
her in her life of faith. Lila wrote, “I was baptized in Las Vegas at First Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church to be with my grandparents. My godparents are my aunt and uncle on
my mother’s side, Janie and Marty Sorochuk. I have been going to Our Saviour’s since I
was about 2 or 3. I have always been to Sunday school. Some of the great teachers I had
were Jenny Tempfer, Bill Cazer, Dawn Hoffman, and Lisa Mensinger. I had many great
leaders; these were just a few that influenced me. They all had fun, interesting ways to
learn. Last year I went on a retreat called the, “Souper Bowl of Caring,” with Lisa at Zion
Lutheran Church. We had a light fast while we stayed. I took my friend, Presley, and we
enjoyed our stay. We went many places to do challenges while we were there. It was a
fun learning experience and I’m glad I participated.” It is through the witness of others
that God by the Spirit brings us to faith. In his prayer Jesus reminds his disciples that God
has brought them to this place, through what Jesus taught.
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A second thing I see in this prayer is the love Jesus had for his disciples. This was
an emotional prayer, like a parent would pray for a child or one friend would pray for
another. And what that means is that the relationship we have with God reflected in this
prayer is now one of friendship and love. In class we often talked about friendship, which
is very important our whole lives, but especially important for youth in their teenage years.
The relationship we can now have with God is not a hierarchy, God over us, like a master
over a slave. Rather, it is one of friendship, equal partners in this relationship. That still
blows me away. God, who made the universe and gives life to planet earth, has made it
possible for us to be friends with our Creator.
How is this possible? Through Jesus laying down his life for us and all the world.
Last week in John 15 Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life
for his friends.” That’s what God in Christ has done, making this friendship possible by
his death on the cross. Listen to what Lila wrote about how she understands God. “I
believe God is a motivator for people. They believe in God and that belief makes them
feel like they are in a set place. It seems as if the reason people go to church is for the
uplifting, hopeful feeling they wish to seek. I think people see Jesus in the same way. He
was a caring, loving, helpful person and others want to feel inspired by the great person he
was.” And I think Lila is right. In some ways God and Jesus are like our coach, who is
providing direction and motivation in our lives. And this is relational. We trust our coach,
who also cares about us. This relationship of love is very much reflected in this emotional
prayer Jesus prays for his disciples.
The prayer itself is a prayer for the future of the disciples. Jesus would soon be
departing from them. The cross, the resurrection, and the ascension were all on the
horizon. The time was coming when Jesus would no longer be physically with them. So
this was one of those rites of passage for the disciples, a coming of age, if you will, when
they would have to become more independent and in a sense, venture out on their own in
their journey of faith.
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At this critical time, Jesus prays for his disciples. They’ve learned a great deal, but
there is so much more to come. Jesus prays for their protection in the midst of a world that
will often be hostile to the Word Jesus has taught and the values he has exhibited. He
prays for their unity, that they may be united in purpose, even as Jesus is united with the
Father. And he prays for their continued growth, “Sanctify them in truth,” he says. In
other words, make them holy in God’s truth, even as Jesus is holy.
Today Lila is being confirmed. Much like with the disciples, this is a rite of passage
for her and her family as she enters into a new phase of her faith journey. I asked Lila to
write what being confirmed meant to her. She wrote, “Being confirmed means it gave me
and others a good foundation of the Lutheran religion and where my spiritual life will lead
later on. I learned the basics of the Lutheran religion and that can take me wherever I
would like to take my spiritual life. The church has given many fun service opportunities,
and fun events I’ve been able to participate in. I am glad I’ve gone to Our Saviour’s
Lutheran Church for my early years, leading up to confirmation.”
Lila is right. Confirmation does mean she has received a good foundation in the
Lutheran church. It’s kind of like the disciples received a good foundation in the teachings
of Jesus. But there is so much more to come. I told Lila, as well as Jaydon and Dallas last
week that this is one special opportunity to affirm your faith, but it’s not the last time they
will need to do so. We all need to regularly affirm our Baptisms and commit to remaining
in God’s love. It doesn’t just happen when you’re 13 or 14 years old. There’s a lifetime
ahead, so ongoing prayers for protection, unity, and growth are always welcome.
And finally, Jesus prays for the mission of the disciples. He prays to his Father, “As
you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” He has been
teaching them all these things for a purpose, so that they may go out to love and serve the
world. That’s their mission. That’s our mission, too. It is to take the love we have
received from God, and share it with the world in whatever ways we can.
I asked Lila about her gifts and talents and how they might be used in service to God
after she is confirmed. She wrote, “I am a very social, friendly girl. I am on Dance
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Company at Evergreen Jr. High, and at Performing Dance Center. I made cheer and
journalism for ninth grade so I am very excited about my full, stressful ninth grade year at
Evergreen Jr. High….I’ve always loved English class, reading, and writing. That’s why
I’m so excited for journalism. All of my social, friendliness skills could be a way to serve
many people. I am a leader and so I am an example for others who want to follow similar
footsteps. These great skills could lead me to helping people, such as the homeless or
needy.” Lila is right on with that. God gives us all different gifts, and then sends us out to
use those gifts for the good of the world and one another. I think Lila is well on her way to
doing so.
So, there you have it, the prayer of Jesus for his first confirmands, so to speak. It is
a reminder that God chooses us and leads us to faith, through the faithful witness of others.
The emotion in his prayer speaks of the loving relationship he wants with us, like loving
friends. He prays for our future, regardless of age, knowing we always need protection,
unity, and growth in our spiritual lives. And he prays for our mission as we are sent out
into the world. That’s a rather good prayer, don’t you think, for the disciples, for
confirmands, and for all of us who follow the Lord. Amen
Before we have Lila’s confirmation, I’d like to introduce the entire confirmation
class, Jaydon Larson, Dallas May, confirmed last week. Gracey Nosack, Connor Bishop
Lila join me at the font….Proceed with service
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