Today at St. Peter (in addition to the Cheesesteak Dinner & Silent Auction youth fundraiser at church), we’re celebrating Confirmation Sunday, with 7 of our students affirming their baptisms.
Today’s Scripture reading for the Third Sunday of Easter is from John 21:1-19, where the risen Jesus has a picnic on the beach with his disciples and calls Peter and us to feed his sheep.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Let me start by saying that it was the church council’s idea to celebrate confirmation today, not mine. In fact, I’m doing this under protest.
For at least five years, I’ve argued that confirmation should be in the fall, not the spring, because celebrating confirmation in the spring can feel like graduation, like we’re all done.
And of course, this is a graduation. You are done with confirmation classes. But this is not like school graduation. I really hope finishing confirmation doesn’t mean you’re done with church! The intention here is that this is a graduation into a new stage of living a life of faith.
The point is that you are affirming the faith promises your parents made on your behalf when you were baptized as a kid, and today you’re claiming those promises for yourself, and in response, the congregation is receiving you as adult members of this community, this church congregation.
In a few minutes, you’re going to promise to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism, to do things like participate in worship, share in communion at the Lord’s table, share your faith with others, and love and serve your neighbors.
Here’s the thing: I hope to see you next weekend, but after that, I won’t be here. Christin and I won’t have any idea if you’re coming to worship. I won’t know if you’re staying up late cranking out worship notes before a deadline (you know who you are!). You’re not accountable to me.
You’re making these promises, these commitments to God and to each other and to this community of faith.
You’re standing up here today to say, “I believe this matters. I believe Jesus means something for my life.”
It’s ok to have doubts and questions, and not remember every single thing we’ve talked about in class. This isn’t graduation. You’re not done learning about faith – in fact, I hope no one here thinks they’ve got it all figured out.
It’s ok if some weeks you believe some of the lines in the Apostle’s Creed more than others.
Did you hear Jesus’ instructions in the gospel reading from John? I love this story—I wish we’d have timed it a little better, since Sunday School did this story last weekend and had a “picnic on the beach”—but this is one of my favorite stories.
We don’t know exactly what day it is, but a few days after Easter, a few days or maybe weeks after Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples were out fishing, and I think it’s because they weren’t sure what to do next.
They’d been through this intense roller-coaster with Jesus triumphantly entering Jerusalem like a conquering hero, then arrested, put on trial in the middle of the night, and crucified. Then two days later, he’s alive, visiting with them in the house where they’re hiding.
But he doesn’t stay with them, and they’re not sure quite what to do next, so they go back to what they know. And then Peter— Peter’s such a fun character in this story, right? Remember, Peter was a fisherman before Jesus called him as a disciple. So he proposes a fishing trip.
If you know much about Peter, you might know he seems to be kind of impulsive. I don’t picture him as the sort of person who’d want to sit and meditate or whatever – he wants to go do something. Let’s go fishing.
And then when Jesus shows up on the beach, it’s the disciple whom Jesus loved—which is probably John, the one writing the story—John is the one to recognize him, but Peter’s the one who can’t wait to see him. So he put on some clothes, for he was naked (Thank you, by the way, for not choosing that verse for confirmation) He puts on some clothes, and jumps in. Which, by the way, leaves the others to drag the fish to shore, although Peter does go back to help carry the fish onto the shore.
On the shore, they eat the breakfast Jesus has cooked for them, and then Jesus says to Peter—and this is the heart of the story—Jesus says to Peter, “Do you love me?” And Peter says, “Well of course I love you!” Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.”
And Jesus asks him again, “Do you love me?” And Peter starts to get offended.
“Of course I love you, didn’t you see me jump out of the boat for you?” Jesus says, “Tend my sheep.”
One more time, “Do you love me?” “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Remember, this is the same Peter, the same supposedly brave leader of the disciples who on the night when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, had denied knowing who Jesus even was. Three times, he turned away, three times he denied Jesus.
And here, three times, Jesus gives him the opportunity to repent, gives him another chance. Another chance to affirm his faith, to say, “Yes, Lord, I love you.” Another chance to hear the instructions for how he is supposed to live: Caring for others, feeding sheep.
That’s Jesus instructions for our way of life as his followers. Jesus calls us to believe, to trust, and to feed his sheep.
It sounds pretty straightforward, right? Until you start thinking about how big that commandment really is. (You get that we’re not talking about actual sheep or livestock, right? This is about caring for people, loving neighbors.)
Jesus doesn’t just say to care for the people we like. Jesus doesn’t say to just do safe, little, manageable projects.
Listen to the wording of the last two baptismal promises: “Serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the world.” Your response is going to be “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.” Asking for God’s help is important, because none of us can live up to these promises on our own. None of us can follow Jesus’ call to feed his sheep on our own.
Kale, the Scripture verse you picked lays that out pretty clearly. It says, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
You are not God. There are things you cannot do, plenty of things. But God can do great things through you. God is doing and will continue to do great things through all of you.
Hayden, your verse from 2nd Chronicles says, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Basically, do the best you can. Persist.
Again, you’re not going to always succeed. When I met with Eli to get ready for his baptism, we talked about baptism as being washed clean from sin, and then I asked him, “So, once you’re baptized, does that mean you’re never going to sin again?”
No, it doesn’t. We don’t give up not because if we just work a little bit harder we’ll make it or we’ll get a bigger reward or something; we don’t give up, we persevere because God doesn’t give up on us, even when we give up on God.
God keeps pursuing us with grace, keeps forgiving us, keeps loving us. The good shepherd chases after the sheep when they wander away and brings them back to the flock. Again, Peter is an example of that. He denied even knowing who Jesus was, not once, but three times, and yet Jesus forgave him, and gave him a mission, a calling. Feed my sheep.
Laney, in your verse from Psalm 23, we hear this amazing promise about the Good Shepherd’s faithfulness. “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Your job and Derek’s job as Eli’s godparents is not to keep him from sinning again, but to make sure he knows that truth, to keep reminding him that God is walking with him.
Another version of that promise is in Isaiah 43:2-3, which Ryland, Kiera, and Sam all chose. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
I think it’s fascinating that all three of you picked the same passage, about God being with us through times of trouble and chaos. We’ve all needed that promise to cling to, especially these last few years.
And notice the promise is not that you won’t go through storms, but that God will be with you in them. As you enter high school and adulthood, hold onto that promise. God has claimed you and knows you by name, and God is with you no matter what comes your way in life.
Sam, you picked the same verse, but a slightly different translation that talks about not getting scorched. Growing up, my pastor used to say that when we love our neighbors, when we make the effort to feed Jesus’ sheep, we run the risk of getting burned.
I hear that language of not getting scorched by the flames of the world, and I pray for all of you that your hearts will not be hardened when you get burned, when you feed someone and they abuse what you’ve given them, or take advantage of you. That’s ok; the point is to share God’s love. You can control what you do, how you love, not how people respond. Feed my sheep.
Sawyer, your verse is from Proverbs 17, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” and you said you picked it because it reminds you that looking for the good in any situation is easier than letting life break you. I don’t know if it’s easier, but it’s certainly better.
There’s a lot of brokenness in this world. We all know that. Peter knew that. Jesus certainly knew that. Your call—and the call given to all of us as Christians—is to look for what God is doing in the world, and join in.
Feed my sheep, says Jesus. May God bless you with joy, strength, and perseverance in your life of faith, today and always.
And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen