Their life in Christ is not concluding - it is just the beginning
(May 16, 2010)
By Rev. Steve Bagnall

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Have you ever considered today’s first reading from the perspective of Matthias? Think about it. When he woke up that morning he had no idea how much his life would be changed by the time he lay down his head.

Now the days following Jesus’ ascension weren’t “normal” for any of the Christians, but Matthias surely couldn’t have anticipated that he would be chosen to take Judas’ place. But God had plans for Matthias that were different from Matthias’ plans – God had great things for him to do.

It’s not as though Matthias hadn’t already received a lot from Christ. Since he had been with the Apostles from the beginning that means that he had seen the Lord with his own eyes. He’d heard the teaching, observed the miracles and, according to Church tradition, he’d been one of the seventy preachers Jesus sent out. Matthias had felt the crushing blow of Jesus’ death and the life-changing, life-giving joy of Jesus’ resurrection.

Matthias’ life had been changed eternally by the Holy Spirit. But on that fateful day God upped the stakes considerably – on that day God would make Matthias an Apostle!

At the 10:30 service today, St. Luke will celebrate with 15 Matthiases. Our youth confirmands have already received so much from God. The Holy Spirit has given them faith. He has strengthened them and taught them His Word; Jesus has claimed them in Baptism and written His name on them. These young men and women have been carried in the arms of the Savior and today they stand on the brink of spiritual adulthood, ready to pledge their lives for the Faith, ready to swear that they would even give up their lives for the truth that God has given them. Today marks the conclusion of their catechesis – their preparation for the life of faith.

But they come to this rail today like Matthias. Their life in Christ is not concluding – it is just beginning. Today our Lord Jesus calls these men and women to places and tasks they cannot imagine. Some may live their entire lives here in Detroit, as members of St. Luke. Others may end up in others states, or even other countries. Probably most will get married and become parents. Maybe one of them will invite me to the White House for their inauguration as President. Others may come to this altar in the uniform of our military. And maybe one or two will become Lutheran school teachers, or be called as pastors. Butchers, bakers, candlestick makers the future is wide open.

But that’s the way this Christian life goes – you can never predict where it will take you. And that’s true of all of us. Today may be the day you meet the person you will marry or the day you discover oil in your back yard. No one knows. And the people who end up in the emergency room this evening did not expect to be there today, either.

Great wonders are part of the Christian life. As one of the Apostles, Matthias preached in many towns and, I’m sure, was blessed to see many people come to faith through his words. But Matthias could not have predicted his end either, stoned by unbelievers who then beheaded him.

I don’t know what today and tomorrow will bring for our confirmands, and I don’t know what they have in store for you – or even for me! There will be happiness and sorrow, pain and unexpected joys. At times it will seem like life makes no sense and we can begin to think nothing is certain – that there is nothing we can count on.

But some things are always secure and sure. In the White House and in prison, in school and on the job and even in the hospital God is God. The Father will provide for your needs, the Son will forgive your sins and the Holy Spirit will give and strengthen and sustain you faith. And that holy Triune God always hears your prayers when you lift them in faith. In rain and in sunshine your Baptism is true, God’s Name is engraved upon your forehead and you are His child.

Whenever you break His unchanging Word, your loving Father waits anxiously for you to return in sorrow and repentance. He is always ready with absolution to forgive your sin and restore you to your place as His son, His daughter. And He is always ready to celebrate your repentance – and mine – with the feast of heaven, the body and blood of Jesus in the Holy Supper.

These things are certain and true – Jesus Christ is your loving Savior Whose shed blood covers your sins and forgives them, whose shed blood washes you in baptism, cleanses you in absolution and feeds your soul in Holy Communion. This Jesus, the Son of God sits on the Throne of the Universe and from that seat of all power and all authority He speaks the Word that cannot be broken – He sees you, and all your sin and He declares, “I forgive you, you are mine.”

O my dear Matthiases, who knows where your Christian life will take you? Who knows? Christ knows. And He will lead you there under His protection and care. Jesus prayed this prayer about you, but it is my prayer also for my catechumens, and for all my family in Christ:

Jesus prayed, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Wherever your life leads you when you walk out those doors, they lead you right back here again, to this pulpit, this altar. And when your days are done, your Lord leads you to eternal heaven, where you and I and all the faithful will eat of the tree of life.

Washed and fed and strengthened, God prepares you to face whatever the days ahead will bring. And following Him, you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.