Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

When I was working for ELCA Global Mission in Germany, I lived in an apartment across the street from St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg which is known as the Mother Church of the Reformation.  It is the place where the first Lutheran hymns were sung, the first Lutheran communion celebrated, and Luther preached over the course of 34 years. Because of my proximity to the church, whenever an English-speaking pastor was needed for a special worship service, I was invited to play my part.  So when an American military family chose to spend their Presidents Day weekend in Wittenberg together with their infant daughter and to have her baptized there, I was asked to officiate. The baptism would be in the very same massive and ornate, bronze font from 1457 that Luther used to baptize his own six children. After the girl was baptized, and no, she never let out a peep, I strolled down the center aisle to introduce her to the congregation. The church caretaker who was both a historian and Wittenberg’s favorite Luther impersonator, was so deeply moved by the baptism, that he came to me afterward to tell me about Martin Luther’s own first baptism in that church. As a confirmed bachelor until the age of 41, when he married the former nun Katharina von Bora, Luther didn’t know anything about children. When he asked the caretaker at that time to fill the baptismal font with water, he simply noted that it should be clean, well water.  There is only one problem with that, however, well water can be freezing cold. As Luther poured the water over his first born son’s Hans’ head, he began to scream and cry loudly. Luther was so aghast at what he had done to his infant son, that he requested that the caretaker from that time forward should always warm the water for the baptism first. Five-centuries later, the church caretakers still recount that story.

Frankly, Martin Luther was much more concerned about the nurturing relationship he wanted with his son Hans, in contrast to the strained relationship he had endured with his own aging mother and father.  The reformer’s parents Hans and Margarette Luther were hardworking and pious peasants who were determined to see their son succeed in life. Although Martin’s father Hans began life as a farmer, he turned his back on the land and became a copper miner. He eventually became a successful copper smelter and the Luthers emerged as one of the region’s most respected families. It was, regretfully, a period in history when the rule for parenting in practice was “Spare the rod and spoil child.”  Luther recalled once, “(that) for the sake of stealing a nut, my mother once beat me until the blood flowed.”  His father too ruled with an iron fist, “My father once whipped me so hard I ran away – I hated him until he finally managed to win me back.” Hans the Elder had high hopes that Martin would become a lawyer which would enable their family to climb even higher up the social ladder. Martin followed his father’s wishes without protest until he entered the University at Erfurt.  Hans was devastated to discover that his son, without consulting him, had decided to study theology instead of law.  Martin was afraid that his decision would disappoint his parents, and it did.  They would be estranged from each other for two years, although they did come to see their son celebrate his first mass.  This uneasy relationship with his parents, haunted Martin until he became a father himself.  Mind you, if there is any poetic justice and humor to be found in Luther’s troubled family, it should be noted that Martin named his first son Hans after his father, and that Hans became the lawyer his grandfather always wanted.

Now as the founder of the Protestant movement, Luther recognized that he could create a new model for loving, respectful relationship between Christian parents and their children based on God’s grace and mercy instead of fear, obedience, discipline and punishment. Indeed, he envisioned something that was more noble and God-like- a divine calling or vocation for mothers and fathers.  After all, as Luther penned, “When God wants to speak with us, he does not avail himself of an angel but of parents.”  That is how important Luther believed families were in nurturing faith and it is what our 2024 Confirmation class is prepared to explore today.

The life and love in that first Protestant Family, as in every Christian home, flowed from the love and commitment of the marriage itself.  Luther, by his own admission, did not marry out of love, but rather out of pity for Katharina who at 25 years-old was considered an old maid, and his desire at last to please his cantankerous father, who liked the idea of grandchildren to spite the church and the pope. From the beginning, Luther believed that the Christian home was intended to be a safe place of grace and forgiveness for modeling faith.  Unfortunately, he recognized that not all parents were equally gifted for this task and that they often needed tools to be successful, so in 1529, he published his explanation to the chief parts of the Christian faith, 5the Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the two sacraments of the Baptism and Holy+ Communion in his Small Catechism for use in the home.

Luther began this work with the Ten Commandments.  Reading in between the lines, you can almost hear the challenges Luther experienced in his own family.

The Fourth Commandment.  Honor your father and your mother.  What does this mean?

We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey love and respect them.

Luther quoted the Old Testament to show Christian parents that this was not simply one direction. Parents should honor their children and act nobly, lovingly and respectfully.

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

My friends, you reap what you sow and what goes around, come around.  Your children see and hear what they will one day come to say and do.  You can make a difference – positively or negatively. Of course, there are other teachers as well.

Luther Park Bible Camp was very important for my faith. It was an amazing place to learn about God and to meet a bunch of people who were  really nice and friendly. With all the activities it was hard to be bored. My grandpa was really important too. With him being a pastor he would involve me and my family in a bunch of the church’s activities and events. My parents were also a big help. They have supported me my whole life.  You reap what we sow.

Let us turn now to the second section of the catechism, the Apostles’ Creed.  The noble nature of parental love and faithfully carrying out their task is embodied in Luther’s explanation to the first Article.  I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe that God created me, together with all that exists. He has given me and still preserves my body and soul, eyes and ears, and all limbs and senses, reasons and mental faculties.

In addition, God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and land, wife and children, fields, livestock and all property- All this he has done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all!  For all this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him This is most certainly true.

After over a year of studying, I would like to say for all of us that we have learned so much about the Bible and the Christian faith. I know now that I believe that God is the Creator of all things, who loves us unconditionally and desires a personal relationship with each of us. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are forgiven of our sins and offered eternal life. I lived in the Bay area in California, where from age 5-11, I attended an almost comically secular, school, which seemed to celebrate all holidays except for the main religious holiday of the majority of the school’s general population. I recall singing songs about everything from Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to hot chocolate but not a word about Christ. At age 12, I moved to that community’s polar opposite.  My home in Alabama, sometimes known as “The buckle of the Bible Belt”, is extremely religious. Once starting confirmation, I began a journey that has helped me understand that no matter where I am, God’s love is always with me. I’m thankful for the support of my church and family in bringing me to this day.

Let us turn now to the Luther’ explanation to the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, Our Father.

With these words God wants to attract us, so that we come to believe he is truly our Father and we re truly his children, in order that we may ask him boldly and with complete confidence, just as loving children ask their loving father,

When I first started confirmation, I didn’t have a very strong faith, I was plenty content to doodle in church rather than sing and for me standing was far too much work. God never asked anything from me more than me other than to listen, but I still couldn’t be bothered. Then came confirmation, where we had to listen. Honesty, that was my first time I really heard the story of Moses or learned the meaning behind the acts of Jesus. And I believe my biggest take-away was to be grateful. The Bible gives us the steps to live a wonderful life, the rest is up to us. Faith changes as we age, and I know I am still on the very first steps of my faith walk. I have a very long way to go, but by holding these values I believe I will go far. Before I leave, “thank you” to my family, this church and all my teachers who helped me get this far, I wouldn’t be here without you.

My friends, as Luther once penned, “When God wants to speak with us, he does not avail himself of an angel but of parents.”   The question is simply what lesson will you choose to share.  Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen