Anyway, I was fortunate enough to sponsor Ashley as she took this major step, and this allowed me to see the sacrament from a unique perspective. This wasn't the first time I've been to a Confirmation since my own (I sponsored my sister Mimi three years ago) but it was my first Confirmation since I've been at college.
Anybody who knew me in high school knows that I went through a bit of spiritual awakening right around the end of sophomore year (so, right around the time Mimi was getting confirmed). That transformation, though, was nothing compared to what I've experienced in the last eight or so months. Not to mention I understand the sacrament a lot more because of FireStarters (and, well, "Br. Dave's Awesome Powerpoint"). So, even though this wasn't my first time sponsoring a confirmandi, I saw the sacrament from a fresh point of view.
So I think for this post (and for those of you who kept checking even though I haven't been able to post recently, thank you) I'm going to "go deeper" with what exactly Confirmation is all about.
In the meantime, enjoy a picture of my lovely family with some clergy (or, as my mom would say, "the bishopness")
Does anybody else remember that acute anxiety that came during the homily of your Confirmation? The bishop paced the pews like a drill sergeant doing inspections, ready to call you out with a question. The one everybody dreaded most was, of course "Can you name the gifts of the Holy Spirit?"
Well, now that I'm an adult in the Church, I can name them (and definitely not just Google them): knowledge, understanding, wisdom, counsel/right judgment, courage/fortitude, piety and wonder and awe/fear of the Lord. I could (and actually was, to start off) go through all of these from a theological perspective. But when you really look at it, Confirmation is about much more than that. It's about "leaving the locked room."
If Confirmation is the descent of the Holy Spirit, it's important to look at the first "Confirmation" - Pentecost.
"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as they Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?...Yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God"
They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another "What does this mean?"
But others said, scoffing, "They have had too much new wine."
-Acts 2:1-13
Pentecost is the story of the first time followers of Christ received the Holy Spirit in its fullness. That's what Confirmation is. But it's not like God is going to only do that for the first handful of Christians. Everything that happened that first Pentecost will happen with every Confirmation. It happened Tuesday just as it happens every time the Spirit descends on somebody. That's the most important thing to understand. God loves you just as much as he loved the disciples. He's going to do the same things for you. God's work in the Bible wasn't just for them. It wasn't just for two thousand years ago. It happens every day.
Now that we've got that sorted, duc in altum.
First, let's set the scene. The disciples (or what remains of them, anyway - pretty much just the apostles) were all "in one place together." Why? Why were they together. They were scared. Jesus, their leader, had been killed. Sure, he got raised from the dead, but then at the ascension went back to Heaven. So, once again, they were without Jesus and still being hunted by the Romans. "If they killed the Messiah, what will they do to us!?" So, they were hiding.
Then, a noise "like a strong, driving wind." We've seen this image of God before.
After that, "tongues as of fire". Again, we've seen this.
What's the first thing they did once they received the Spirit? They went out of the locked room. They weren't scared anymore. They went out and proclaimed the Good News - not just to their friends and families, but to all people.
How did they do that? They were given everything they needed - in this case, the gift of tongues. God sent them to teach all nations. All people. And we know that God gives us the same task. So now it's our job to preach to all nations of the glory of God.
Does that mean it was all easy from that point? The disciples got the Holy Spirit, now everything's fine? No. If anything, it was more difficult. They may not have been afraid, but that didn't make the Romans any less stabby-stabby. The difference wasn't the situation - it was their reaction. That's what God promises us. Not that he will change our circumstances, but that we will have the strength to overcome them.
So what can we do with all this in light of our Confirmations? What can this passage tell us today?
1. It will not be easy. It wasn't easy for the first-century Christians and it won't be easy for us either. We should expect to face trials just as they did - if not literal swords then certainly derisive comments. Just as some of those gathered pretty much said they were all drunk ("too much new wine") they still kept going. Likewise, expect persecution. Expect comments. Expect to be made fun of.
2. Despite the challenges, you will triumph. What other organization can boast a two-thousand year run (and counting)? Especially in the face of all the challenges that have come against it in that time. Nevertheless, we will be given "everything we need" - the strength, the courage, and the faith. We will be given those gifts of the Spirit and we will use them as our weapons against the darkness of the world.
3. Our gifts will work together. Just as the apostles used tongues to reach out to the crowd, we are given gifts to reach out to those around us. They aren't just isolated gifts, though. They aren't a 7 piece collectors set. They work together. Knowledge leads to Understanding, which develops into Wisdom. That Wisdom promotes Right Judgment to know the Will of God. Once we know God's Will, we are given the Courage to complete it, the Piety to complete it well, and the Wonder and Awe to complete it with love.
So, to all Confirmandi - even those of us whose Confirmations were some time ago - you are stepping out with us into a dark world, but a world that cannot overcome you. You will be persecuted, but never abandoned. Struck down, but never destroyed. You will face hardship and evil but your light will always triumph. We are one Body, crucified with Christ but also rising with Christ.
And that, my brothers and sisters.....that is our triumph.
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