EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodical authorized minister. The journey together these past seven years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024.
This week's text: Psalm 23
The Divine Shepherd
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
The message:
Confirmands … I have something to share with you that I think is mind-blowing.
You are the very first confirmation class in which I have known you for half of your entire life. … Isn’t that astonishing?
I have been here for most of your Sunday school years. In fact, I taught you here in this very same pew when you were squirmy Sunday schoolers and you would start your mornings here.
I’ve seen you in the Christmas plays as farm animals and shepherds and angels and wise men. … Maybe even Mary or Joseph?
I’ve watched you grow from children to young adults … each with their very own unique personalities. And grow to young people I adore very much.
Boden … I am continually amazed by the depth and breadth of your knowledge and creativity. Your inquisitive mind has challenged this pastor at times … and I say that lovingly because it’s been good for me.
And let me just say … your debating skills … are on point, my friend. … I’ve never had a confirmation student who was as effective of a debater as you.
And you may have single-handedly bartered this class into more time for games and candy exchanges than any student ever will again. … Bravo!
Sincerely though … your gifts of academic prowess, and creativity and your willingness to take on hard tasks on behalf of those around you … are beautiful and special.
Hold tight to those gifts … even when the world doesn’t value them. … They are what make you uniquely a beloved child of God.
And Brooke … I’m not sure that I’ve ever had a student more excited to participate in the “Highs and Lows” segment of class than you. … Excited to the point of vibrating!
In fact, this year, when we missed class because of all the projects LYO has been working on … you may have been the only student who wanted to return to class … just so that you could share your “highs and lows!”
On a serious note though, I also knew that in the times that class would go off the rails, I could look toward your leadership to help us bring the discussion back to something productive. And I thank you for that.
Finally, the depth of your compassion and care for your class members and others around you always shined through during the times that you shared with the class.
You have demonstrated time and again that you have a tremendously big heart, and are deeply compassionate. … Please never lose those gifts, even when this tough world tries to take them away from you. … They are what make you uniquely a beloved child of God.
And finally, Darin … there is you.
I dare say with all my heart, that I never have … and never will have another confirmation student like you. … And I mean that in all the best of ways!
Early on, I knew that confirmation probably felt like torture to you! What in the world were we doing here every perfectly good Wednesday night when there were motorbikes and snowmobiles to be ridden or tractors to be fixed or driven. … Right?
What was this craziness?
And then maybe even worse, you had to share confirmation class together with your older sister.
And speaking with some experience, I dare say that older siblings can be the worst, can’t they? … And then to be expected to share confirmation class with them? … Sometimes the world is very, very cruel.
But then something happened somewhere in the second and third years of confirmation. … I saw a wonderful change in what you were taking out of confirmation class.
I saw a young man begin to open up and share his life and thoughts with me, and I will be forever grateful you did. … Because it allowed me to get to know a terrific young man.
A young man who has infinitely more knowledge about what makes machines work than I could ever begin to know.
But also, a young man who when he sets his mind to it … can show deep compassion for those around him. And a young man whose faith soars in his commitment to service to others. Actions speak volumes, Darin, and when it comes to serving others. Your actions are admirable, sir!
Well done, young man. … All of this is what makes you a uniquely beloved child of God.
To all of you, I say this from the bottom of my heart: I have been very lucky to have been your pastor for all of these years. …
But what a long, strange trip it’s been, hasn’t?
First, for each of you, I’ve had the privilege of teaching confirmation to at least one of your siblings too. … Another first for your confirmation class! No other class before you consisted of an entire class of students in which I’d also taught their siblings.
And that meant that I knew a little bit about all of you before you started class. So to see how each of you has grown since your Sunday school days is awe inspiring.
Second, you are one of the three classes to have experienced the 8-confirmation-student year! … How crazy was that one, right?
And then there was this year in which we adapted on the fly more than we’ve had to in any other year that I’ve taught class.
And there might have been times that each of you thought: “Hey, wait a minute, we’re not having class again? … Am I getting cheated?”
But the interesting thing is that while we haven’t been in class, I have been able to witness each of you grow as faithful people in your “mostly” volunteer service to this congregation and the acts of providing service and entertainment to your Faith Family around you.
No other class I’ve taught has been as engaged with the congregation, or has participated in worship or has gone into the community to serve … as much as you all have.
And I find that beautiful that more people than just I have gotten to see your wonderful faithful hearts as confirmation students.
So, yes, confirmands … you will forever have the distinction of being a trend-setting confirmation class in my pastoral memories. … Thank you for that!
But before you get out here, before I let you graduate from confirmation … we’re going to cover one … more … lesson! … Let’s call it my gift to you for all of the formal lessons you missed out on this year!
Confirmands … Today, I want to share some very important news with you: In the spirit of Good Shepherd Sunday, I want to remind you that … each of you … is a sheep.
Now, I don’t mean that in the way that word has unfortunately been politicized in this day and age. … I actually mean that in the most loving and faithful way I can.
Confirmands … you are sheep! … And do you know why that is Good News?
Because Jesus promises each of you … and every single other person sitting in these pews today … to be your shepherd. … And that that news should fill your heart with joy!
Why? … Well, because as your shepherd, Jesus makes us some very important promises. And we can learn a lot from listening to the familiar verses of Psalm 23.
For instance, the shepherd knew where to find the green pastures in this mountainous, desert region where they lived. And so the sheep had food. …. Because of the shepherd they had sustenance.
And the shepherds knew where the still waters were so that the sheep could satisfy their thirst. … Not a given for the landscape on which they lived. Water wasn’t always abundant. … But the shepherd knew where to go.
The shepherd kept the sheep on their right paths. … As you can imagine, in a mountainous landscape in which nearly everything looked the same, finding the right path wasn’t always easy. … But the shepherd knew.
And then there were those dark valleys … places where not only thieves and bandits hung out, but also wolves and other predators waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting sheep. … And so there was the shepherd, complete with a rod and staff to protect the sheep.
You see, a rod was a sturdy wooden stick used as a weapon to fight off wild animals seeking to make a meal out of the defenseless sheep.
And a staff was a long, slender stick, often hooked at the tip, used primarily to direct the flock. … Sheep are notorious wanderers, and once away from the shepherd’s watchful eye, they get into all sorts of trouble. … So the shepherd needed a tool to keep them on the right path.
So there was the shepherd, a rod in one hand, a staff in the other. … No wonder the shepherd comforted the sheep.
Confirmands, if you take nothing more with you from your past three years in confirmation, please know this. … You are a unique and beloved child of God.
One of his many flock, and yet so valuable that Jesus -- our shepherd -- is willing to leave the entire flock to go find just you if you get lost.
Plant this knowledge deep in your hearts today.
It may be the most important lesson each of us can know as believers.
One: each of us is uniquely loved by Jesus … our shepherd.
And two: we are never so lost that Jesus won’t come find us.
And that is the Good News on this Sunday, April 21, 2024 … both confirmation and Good Shepherd Sunday. Amen.