Greetings in the name of Jesus, especially you the members of our first Confirmation Class, and you, their family and friends.  Confirmation Sunday always brings me joy, not just because the classes are over, but because I can see the result of teaching young people the precious Word of God.  And I must say this class was a fine one.  The first few weeks were absolutely wonderful, all lessons done well, everyone present at one time and listening intently.  But then reality returned after a few weeks, and they became normal once again.

          Some people say teenagers today have an attitude problem.  If so, I think that's true of adults too.  We all have an attitude, some Christ-like, some anti-Christ-like, and most of us in between.  Today's text speaks of an attitude of humility, something we all should cultivate.  As a Christian man striving to become more Christ-like, I should consider humility and obedience as blessings from God.

          "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."  Scripture tells us Jesus obeyed the law for us, with an attitude of humility.  We live in a permissive society that is more proud than humble, more disobedient than obedient.  We have a tendency to obey things we agree with, often ignoring laws we find disagreeable.  Recently, I saw they had installed a red left arrow at an intersection I often travel that didn't make sense.  So I stopped, saw no one was coming, and drove through it.  That's disobedience due to an attitude.  It hasn't gotten me in trouble yet, but one day it may.

          Let me tell you a story:  Ronny was in the bank on a very special day handing money to a bank clerk for the final payment of a loan.  He was 21, an intelligent young man, though he'd not yet enrolled in college.  It was all due to a decision he'd made one night three years before, the night he took his father's new motor home out onto a frozen lake.  His father had told him never to drive the motor home without permission.  But after all, he was a High School Senior and he knew what he was doing, and he was also bored.  So he took two friends ice fishing one Friday night in March in his dad's new motor home.  They caught a few fish, drank a lot of beer, ate some spaghetti and slept until noon the next day.  When he awoke the sun was high in the sky.  And looking out the windows he noticed they were alone -- there were no ice houses on the lake like he'd thought.  But it was the open water about 200 feet away that really woke him up. The motor home could sink any minute!

          Ronny started the engine and eased it carefully toward shore.  After a few hundred feet, he realized this huge machine might break through the ice any moment, so he gunned the engine and raced toward the nearest shore.  Flying through a large patch of open water, the motor home slammed hard against the shore and up onto the bank.  His friends screamed as spaghetti and beer bottles flew everywhere.  They'd escaped falling through the ice, but had hit the shore so hard the motor home was in shambles.  The frame was bent, wheels fell off and everything inside was ripped loose from the walls.  The fan had gone through the radiator, the engine broke loose from the transmission, and the whole thing was ruined.

          That's a story about the consequences of disobedience.  You and I live in an age of growing disobedience to authority.  Whether young or old, rich or poor, whether at school or at work or in church or especially on our highways, people today seem bent on doing their own thing, regardless of the outcome.  And then we expect others to pick up the tab and fix our mistakes.  If you think about it, most of our tax dollars are spent on programs to fix things caused by human disobedience.  Whether social programs, military spending or a multitude of congressional laws, it all comes down to protecting ourselves from the results of disobedience.

          Jesus had an attitude of humility, an attitude of gratitude.  He lived a life of daily thanks to His Father.  Now that's something we can imitate!  I can't think of anything better than to imitate the attitude of Jesus.  He was loving and humble.  He was patient and kind.  He was obedient, even going to the cross for our disobedience.  Our text says, "And being found in human form, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

          We may rebel against God and act foolishly towards each other, doing things our own way, but Jesus did things God's way.  He became human, lived a sinless life, and took the place of imperfect people.  He was punished for our foolish and rebellious attitudes.  He humbled Himself all the way to Calvary's cross and was executed for things He didn't do.  If that doesn't seem fair, it's not, but then life is rarely fair.  If Jesus hadn't taken our place, we'd all be in perdition, fair and square!

          Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem.  On the Jewish calendar, it was lamb selection day, when people chose the lamb to be given at the time and sacrificed for their sins.  On that day people brought into Jerusalem the special flock that had been nurtured and fed on the hills of Bethlehem.  The priests would then select the best lamb for sacrifice.  On that same day God sent into Jerusalem His spotless Lamb, His only Son who would be sacrificed for the sins of all, Jesus the Rabbi from Nazareth, riding on a donkey to cries of honor and glory.  Not long later that Lamb wept for the city He came to redeem.  Jesus came with an attitude of humility and obedience.

          To obey means to hear God's voice and do what He says.  Obedience isn't merely conforming to a moral code or listening to some inner voice.  It is responding in gratitude to our Father.  Young Ronny wrecked the motor home because he didn't listen to his father.  Young people are often accused of not listening to their elders, that I suspect that's true.  But I'm not sure many of us really listen to God.  We may read the Bible, but we don't really hear what He's saying.

          Disobedience causes big problems.  It short-circuits our relationships, with God and people.  Disobedience produces consequences often involving pain and suffering.  Like Ronny paying for the motor home, you and I will pay for the results of our disobedience.  But thanks be to God He does not abandon us to drown in the lake of foolishness.  Rather, He rescues us.

          But whatever happened to our friend Ronny?  After the wreck a passerby took Ronny's friends home and sent word to his father who came very quickly.  "Are you okay?" he asked.  "Yeah," said Ronny, "just shaken up a bit.  Sorry about the motor home."  Then his father said something that changed his life.  "I suppose you think I have insurance for this.  I only insure it in the summer when we use it.  It cost me $35,000 and there's no insurance."  Pondering this a few moments, Ronny said, "I'll pay you back everything -- I promise."  That was three years ago, and in those three years he'd worked two full-time jobs, using every available dollar to pay off the bank loan for the mistakes of that night.  Now the final payment was made.  While his friends were off getting a college education, Ronny was getting a different education, a more valuable one, learning the consequences of your actions and what it's like to fulfill your obligations.

          God loves His children.  He proves His love every day by forgiving us and using our decisions to humble us and to depend on Him.  God doesn't just slap us around to punish us.  He forgives us, shows us a better way, and empowers us to do it right the next time.  He teaches us godly lessons that help us develop an attitude of gratitude.

          Ronny's Dad forgave him, but the boy still had to live with the consequences.  The best part of this story is that Ronny actually repaid his debt.  It's so easy today to walk away from debts, whether financial or moral.  It's so easy to get someone else to pay for them, like our parents.  Some people stay angry and never get over the debt others owe them.  Or they know they've hurt someone and never try to make amends.  You see, an attitude of gratitude involves repentance, and repentance is changing how we live.  It's being forgiven, but then trying to be more Christ-like.  An attitude of gratitude means making some big changes.

          In one of our liturgies we sing, "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51)  You and I need a new heart because so often we wreck the old one.  We do what we shouldn't, and life falls apart.  We smash into the embankment of stupidity and need a total overhaul.  When it happens, God is right there to help us.  He is there to fix what is broken and replace what can't be fixed.  And if we've wrecked our life completely, He'll give us a new one in His heavenly home.  But it takes faith and obedience.  Because of His wonderful love for us, you and I can only respond with an attitude of gratitude.

          This is a memorable day for our congregation.  You four young people represent the future of this church.  You've been taught God's Word and the basics of the Christian faith.  Our future may not depend on whether you can recall the books of the New Testament in exact order or define the three uses of the Law.  But it will depend on whether you trust your Lord Jesus and let Him lead you.  And it will depend on whether you willingly serve Him in church and love His people through service in your community.

          The future of the Lutheran Church depends on people who love God above all and love their neighbors as themselves.  We need more servants and fewer watchdogs.  May none of us so crash our lives that we need a complete overhaul.  And may God give us great joy and hope as we hear four fine young people testify to their faith in the Son of God.  Amen

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.