Introduction

This article is the October 2010 installment of my monthly message in the parish newsletter for Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb.

Message

Walk in His Ways

If you take your dog for a walk along the same route each morning, you can grow blind, after a while, to the details along the way. Soon you do not see the really unusual way that a tree has grown up through a fence, the spot where birds like to gather after a rain to splash themselves clean in a puddle, and the dappling of the sun filtered through breeze-shaken leaves. Familiarity makes our vision grow fuzzy.

Our liturgy is our part of our walk through the Christian life. And after a time, we can begin to miss the wealth of wonder and wisdom hidden in plain sight in the words we exchange with our Lord in worship. For example, once we have asked God’s forgiveness, renewal, and leading, we pray to him that these gifts may come to us, so that we may walk in [his] ways. (Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 56)

That’s one of those little, familiar phrases we can come to ignore. But if you’ve ever taken the same old walk in your neighborhood with a little child who explores everything, you know that you can regain your vision and see what you were in the habit of missing. It’s the same with walking in God’s ways.

This month, we will be blessed on our walk of faith by the youth who will make their public affirmation of Holy Baptism, their Confirmation. They will help us all to see with fresh vision how God calls and empowers us to walk in his ways.

Continue in His Covenant

As we make our way through our service of Confirmation on Sunday, Oct. 31, Reformation Sunday, we will come to a place where we hear the following words:
You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in Holy Baptism:
+ to live among God’s faithful people,
+ to hear his Word and share in his supper,

+ to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
+ to serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus,
+ and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth? (Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 201)

Three youth—Dillon Rinne, Kyler Robertson, and Cutter Singleton—will stand in the midst of our gathering, responding to God by saying, “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.” What they are really saying they will endeavor to do, with God’s help, is to walk in God’s ways.

This is truly what it means for each of us to make an affirmation of his or her Holy Baptism. We respond to God’s gift of adoption, where he made us his sons and daughters through the washing with water and his Word. We say we are ready, with his help, to claim the responsibilities he lays upon us as members of his family, the Church. We commit ourselves to these tasks, these ministries, not on our own, but guided by his Holy Spirit and performed together with others in the Church.

While our three confirmands will make their first public affirmation of Holy Baptism, we all renew weekly the commitments we made at our confirmations when we pray for the strength to walk in God’s ways, when we ask him to help and guide us to continue in his covenant. In truth, any of us could say, “I would like to make a public, formal affirmation of Holy Baptism.” Then we could come before God in the presence of our congregation and renew our commitment to the same vows the confirmands will make.

In our prayers, let us ask God our Father to bless with his Holy Spirit Dillon, Kyler, and Cutter, along with all who make and renew their commitments, to walk with Christ in his ways.