Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...

Confirmation Sunday. Such an important day in the church year - and such a potentially profound one for those being confirmed. I say potentially because I don't know if the youth involved fully grasp what it means. Now, this is not a dig to the youth, I'm not sure if I even completely understood what it meant. It's pretty easy to get wrapped up into the glitz of the day, with the confirmands in their robes, thoughts of open houses with friends and family coming to give their best wishes. And a sort of graduation feeling - it seems that very few confirmed youth remain in the church unless they already have strong connections developed.

But, confirmation is far from an ending - it is in fact a beginning. It is the "Affirmation of Faith" - an acknowledgement of the understanding of their Baptism and of their place as a child of God. It is committment coming full circle - from the promise of the parents at baptism passed on to the promises made by the confirmands - and then branching off in all directions. But, as I mentioned earlier, I don't know how many confirmation youth see it as much more than a day where they pick out a Bible verse and have to stand in front of the church and be recognized.

I think all to often, it's hard to see what's going on when we're in the midst of things. We get too wrapped up in all of the hooplah, the excitement of the moment to really put much thought into it, or at least much thought into what it's doing to us. This is true in any situation like this though - graduation, getting a new job, getting married, starting over in a new area - anything where there is a lot of excitement going on around the situation. Now, I'm not saying that we go into a sort of stupor or anything, but I would say that we are often able to see things only on a purely academic level - we know that there is something big going on, we even know that this big thing means a big change for us - but I don't think the full emotional and spiritual brunt hits us until later. It is not until we make our way through it and are able to look back on the situation that we are able to understand and put all of the pieces together.

What happens when we don't take that time to step back? Some situations force it, at least to some degree - marriage, starting a new job - things that produce very evident changes that require us to live our lives differently than before. But, with things like confirmation and graduation, we aren't necessarily forced to make those realizations immediately. What are we missing if we don't make them until later, or at all?

Okay, slight change in direction. Today also happens to be Reformation Sunday. A day marking a VERY big change - the reforming of the Roman Catholic church. Luther, his 95 Theses - someone who had taken a step back to realized that some of the changes he saw occurring were not right. He took action - spoke out -- and began the process that would eventually create a whole other different church. Changes had been made in the Catholic Church that he didn't agree with...and Martin Luther took the time to see, to understand, and then act out against what he saw happening.

Okay, so, Reformation - real big change for the church - Confirmation - ? Well, though it might not seem like as big a deal, it truly is. It marks becoming an adult in the church - and marks a proclaimed affirmation of the adoption by God that took place at their baptism. Now, like I asked before, what happens if these kids don't step back and take time to understand what their Confirmation means? To me, it means that the opportunity for them to act with that new understanding is taken away. By encouraging them, by finding out from them what it means for them to be confirmed, we are forcing them to act with that new experience under their belt. We are forcing them to act in different circumstances. And, we are helping them to act in a way that is shaped by their faith. It is a big deal - let's help them understand. After all, it's only the beginning.