Confirmed in faith

“I’m not supposed to be here!”

Those were the opening words of a university commencement address

I heard this spring. The keynote speaker went on to say that he should not have been able to go to college, let alone graduate, based on the challenges of his growing up years. He spoke about his mother who gave birth to him while still a teenager and unprepared to be a parent, and how they struggled to make it. She embraced her life and encouraged him to grow beyond his circumstances. He also said he didn’t plan to be a basketball coach, but he did agree to be a “Big Brother” to a 12-year-old boy while in college.

Unbeknownst to the speaker, his “little brother” volunteered him to be his junior high coach. This unplanned, sneaky predicament changed the speaker’s life. He went on to be one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Minnesota history. He said, “I was not supposed to be here, but I am here. I stand here on the shoulders of my mother, my mentors, my little brother and all those who confirmed me on a path that I had not planned for. I am here by the grace of God. Whether we planned it or not … WE ARE HERE!”

Pentecost marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and sending them into mission. The early Apostles moved beyond Jerusalem in ways they had not planned for. I think of St. Phillip the deacon being forced to flee Jerusalem to escape persecution and finding himself unexpectedly in Samaria. Or, St. Peter being sent to the home of Cornelius, a gentile and Roman soldier. I can imagine them thinking, “I am not supposed to be here!” And yet their unplanned departures became part of God’s bigger plan to bring the Gospel to new places and faces. The Spirit went with St. Phillip and St. Peter and confirmed them in faith for the journey. The Spirit also went ahead of them preparing the hearts of those they would encounter. They were confirmed in the Spirit to embrace their predicament and give witness to Christ.

It has been said that life is what happens while we are busy making other plans. We can face trials in life we did not plan for. It can make us think, “I’m not supposed to be here.” We can have dreams and goals that turn out differently. The good news is that the Spirit of God accompanies us and confirms us in faith no matter our plans. God’s plan is big enough to give meaning to our life circumstances and transform them for God’s purpose. In fact, it may be where our plans end that God’s plan is able to begin and grow. Our faith is an apostolic faith. Our faith sends us forth into the world as witnesses of Christ. It is a faith born in and confirmed by the Spirit of God. We may not be able to plan the time and place for when we are called upon to give witness, but the Spirit of God accompanies us and leads us into the truth of the meaning of our lives. We cannot plan for everything that life has in store for us, but we are here now. We can live with a faith ready to give the reason for our hope. God’s plan gives meaning to our situation and the Spirit accompanies us to comfort and encourage, to direct and confirm us in Christ.

Let us be confirmed in faith, confirmed in the Spirit, confirmed in communion and ready to give the reason for our hope in Christ. We are the ones God has been waiting for to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.

ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL