Mark 8:34 - 38
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for th gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul. Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.'"
This past Sunday at St. Alban's, I had the priviledge to work with the Easter confirmands. We watched bits of video from the "End of the Spear" and talked about the seriousness of saying yes to following Jesus. It's not a call to take lightly and confirmation is not a coming of age ritual. At confirmation, a person dedicates him/herself to following Jesus. We talked about putting Jesus first in all our decisions and clarified that following Jesus does not mean that a person has to be perfect for the rest of his/her life. For, if this were so, then no one would need Jesus. We also talked about committing to follow Jesus is even more serious of a commitment than marriage.
In the "End of the Spear" the people were so committed to what the Lord called them to do, that even when the 5 men died trying to reach the indian tribe, their families still went to the tribe and eventually led them to Christ. We discussed the deep commitment to the Lord and the Lord's work in them gave them the grace to forgive the men who had killed their husbands/fathers/brothers and the compassion to love them as brothers. How we fall short every day to living as Jesus lived...forgiving without question the men who killed him. Oh how we all need a lifetime commitment to follow Jesus closely. I hope that confirmation is the start of this for the young people at St. Alban's.
