by Pastor Michael Stangeland
We are in the season of Easter celebrating with joy the victory God has won for us over our great enemies of sin, death and the power of the devil. During this Easter we are confronted by a world and a nation that is increasingly rejecting God. It is not just a withdrawal from the faith community but an active hostility to everything God represents. We have enjoyed a period of acceptance and even devotion to what has been known as a Judeo-Christian ethic. Many agnostics and atheists accepted these moral values of faith as essential to a society governed by the rule of law and a general agreement on justice. St Augustine said that society and the idea of community could not exist without common understanding of the difference between right and wrong.
Religion is now seen as oppressive and the sins or evil committed under the banner of religion or faith gain the spotlight. There is no question that many great and terrible sins have been committed through the centuries in the name of religion. What seems not as easily recognized is how much more terrible such sins have been outside religion and when all barriers or restraints to sinful behavior have been removed.
While young adults often have a renewed interest in religion as they raise their children, the most common religious practice in our time has been described as therapeutic, moralistic, deism. This critique suggests that the interest in religion is not an interest in God, but an interest in raising self-esteem, and learning basic values with an acknowledgment of a god who is distant and thus easy to ignore. People want some morals and ethics, as long it does not interfere with their own personal choices.
It is critical that we teach faith in Christ Jesus.
During Easter in the movement toward Pentecost, we understand that the church exists for the sake of sinners. By faith and through Baptism God makes of us a new creation so that we may live for the sake of others, for the sake of a world that is dying and in need of a savior. This year I have been teaching confirmation in Lamberton using a different curriculum. It has forced me to spend much time in preparation for each class. In the midst of limited time and building new relationships with some 18 students, I have also given closer scrutiny to lifting up the most important elements of the Christian faith. In doing so I have given more attention to the end and purpose of the confirmation program along while trying to convey the end and purpose of life.
Without God we are left in despair without any meaning or ultimate goal. While many try to survive by only looking at meeting the most immediate lust and desires such a life can only hope for the most fleeting and temporary moments of happiness. Christian faith looks forward to the goal of our life found in the presence of God and all His glory.
The message of Jesus and the cross speaks to the futility of the life that consumes most people. Christian faith knows God’s intervention in human history, not just a pipe dream. He has provided witnesses and evidence of Jesus life and death. His glorious resurrection proclaims God’s power and sovereignty. Death is not the end. The witness and growth of the church proclaims the life-changing impact of Easter. In Christ, we are priests, charged with proclaiming the wondrous deeds of him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We never know how God might lead us in our vocation, and while I welcome the end of this year of confirmation, I have also been blessed with the joy that comes from God upon those who live for His glory.
Rev. Michael Stangeland is pastor of Old Westbrook Lutheran Church, Westbrook, Minnesota, and Highwater Lutheran Church, Lamberton, Minnesota.