ἐν

Elijah, thank you for sharing your paper on why we call the gathering of believers the Holy Christian Church.  I heard you say that you are excited to publicly declare yourself to be part of the Holy Christian Church and a confirmed member of Messiah, but before we proceed with the rite of confirmation, I want to say just a few words about your confirmation verse.

It has always been my practice to have my students pick out their own confirmation verse.  I know it is an intimidating assignment for a young bible student but I want them to struggle with it a bit, really think about which verse from God’s Holy Word speaks to them as individuals.  I tell my students to spend some time praying about it, I tell them to ask for advice from their parents, grandparents, and other godly people, but, in the end, this should be a verse that they themselves own. 

In my mind I am hoping, and, in my heart, I am praying this will help them pick a verse they remember and use throughout their lives.  But let me tell you what actually happens in the Lewis house.  Michelle picks the verses.  She has told all three of her sons what their confirmation verse will be.  You see, Michelle is old school Lutheran, and I suspect she doesn’t approve of my hippy-dippy approach to confirmation verses.  I think she believes the pastor should assign the verses and if her pastor won’t do it, by George, she will. 

For her last son she picked Philippians 4:13, “13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  That is such a mom verse.  Doesn’t that sound like something an overly optimistic mom might say to their child?  It sounds like the biblical equivalent to a mom telling their child, ‘you can do anything you put your mind to’.  My mom used to tell me that, ‘you can do anything you put your mind to’.  That woman had me convinced when I grew up, I was going to cure cancer on the weekends, while governing the free world by day, and winning the world series at night.  Elijah’s mom is a little more realistic, but still you can see Michelle’s mom-ness on display in the verse she assigned to Elijah. “Son, you can do everything…”

But I am here to tell you that Elijah’s mom and your moms were and are lying to you.  The truth is you can’t do everything you put your mind to, and I can prove it.  Everyone in this room has sinned, yes?  Romans 3:23 tells us we have, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We curse, swear, lie, deceive, we are full of jealousy, greed, lust, anger... and that is just the tip of the iceberg, peak beneath the surface (examine your thoughts and feelings) and you will see just how depraved we can be.  But, because I have the privilege of speaking to believers this morning, I know you don’t want to do those things.  Which is why when you do them you pray God, ‘I am so sorry that I did that sin, God forgive me and I will… never do it again’.  But it doesn’t take long before you, and here is where I prove the overly optimistic mothers wrong, it doesn’t take long before you again do that thing you just told God you would never do.  The truth is even if you put your mind to it, you can’t do everything.  You can’t meet God’s standards for holiness and perfection.  Which is a problem for all of us, but today is especially a problem for you Elijah because in just a few moments you are going to declare that you desire to remain faithful to your Lord and live a life that pleases God.

But what about Elijah’s confirmation verse?  It might sound like something an overly optimistic mom might say but it is in the Bible which means it is God’s Word, which means it is true.  But it is only true when you read all of it and in context.  You see every word of God’s Word is important even if that word only has two letters, like the Greek word “ἐν” that I put in your bulletins.  A good translation of “ἐν is “through”, but I am not sure it captures the full meaning of the word.  The word speaks of a connection, a relationship, an association.  The word “ἐν” joins two things together.  Here in Elijah’s verse, it connects the “I” to the “him”, it connects us sinners to our savior, and it connects a confirmand like Elijah to Jesus. 

Philippians 4:13 is, as I said, a mom verse, but not because it sounds like something an overly optimistic mom might say.  This verse, when assigned by a mother to her child, is, in its truest form, a prayer.  It is the prayer that all parents have for their children.  ‘Dear Lord, keep my son, keep my daughter connected to you.’  The reason why Elijah’s mom or any mother or father would pray such a prayer is because no matter how optimistic they are about their child’s earthly successes God’s law makes them realistic about their child’s spiritual failures and those parents know, without Jesus, their child, like all people, is, spiritually speaking, powerless to do anything.  You see, Elijah’s verse is not a prayer about his or our strength, it is a prayer about his and our weakness.  

The good news for a gathering of believers, such as ourselves, is Elijah’s verse is also about our Savior’s strength.  We could not meet God’s standards for holiness and perfection, but Jesus did.  As the Old Testament prophet predicted the promised Savior would “commit no sin”[1].  As the New Testament writer declared, Jesus fulfilled that prophecy as “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.”[2] Jesus remained faithful to His Father.  Jesus lived a life that pleased God. 

Which is why that two-letter word “ἐν” is so important to us.  It tells us we have been connected to holiness and perfection, we have been connected to a life of faithfulness and a life that pleases God, it tells us we have been connected to Jesus. For many of us that connection began at our baptisms.  As the preacher poured water on our heads and spoke the words ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ God connected us to Jesus.  God continued to reinforce that connection as the gospel was proclaimed from the pulpit and taught in the classroom.  And, after we have been taught what it is and how we are to receive it, God gives us personal assurance of that connection through a supper that gives us the true body and blood of our Savior in with and under the bread and wine.  Through Word and Sacrament God connected and keeps us connected to Jesus who has already done everything that is required of us which is why Elijah’s verse says we can do everything “through him who gives me strength.”

This is good news for all of us, but today it is especially good news for you, Elijah.  When you were just a baby you were connected to Jesus in the water and word of baptism.  For the past 14 years that connection has been reinforced as you heard the gospel proclaimed from pulpit and in classroom.  Now personal assurance of your connection to Jesus is offered to you through the sacrament of this supper.  Elijah, as long as you stay connected to Jesus in Word and Sacrament you will be able to do what you are about to promise you will do.  Connected to Jesus, you will be able to remain faithful to your Lord.  Connected to Jesus you will be able live a life that pleases your God.

I think perhaps I was a little harsh when I said Elijah’s mom and our moms were lying to us.  Maybe if I had done a better job of listening to Luther’s explanation of the 8th commandment which tells us to take our neighbor’s words and action in the kindest possible way, I would have realized this verse was not assigned by an overly optimistic mom, it was assigned by a mom who is praying for her son to forever and always stay connected to Jesus.  Elijah, even if you were allowed to choose for yourself, I don’t think you could have chosen a better confirmation verse than Philippians 4:13, “13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  Amen.

[1] 1 Peter 2:22 & Isaiah 53:9

[2] Hebrews 4:15