Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Bearing witness, making confession, keeping the faith, living the faith, which phrase would you like to use? They all work to describe that relationship, that most blessed relationship in which we live with our Lord Jesus. How goes keeping the faith, living the faith in the midst of COVID, not to mention the struggle for racial equity, and of course you can add in worries about the economy? How goes your confessing these days? 

You of course know the truth that it is easier to confess, to live out the faith given to us when we are living in that blessed gift of community. We can share the stories. We can give words of encouragement. We can tell of the struggles faced. We can tell of the ways Jesus has been active and working to support and uphold and keep on giving us that gift of faith. I think that is the greatest loss for me as we navigate this crisis. There is not the opportunity to be together. Yeah, of course phone calls can be and are being made. You can check in with others through online tools. They serve and actually they serve pretty darn well. Still they fall short. It is just not the same and that is hard. I am eager for the day when we can safely gather in person. 

I wonder how hard it was for Peter when Jesus asked him that question which we read today. Jesus has been healing people, feeding people. He has delivered people from demons including the daughter of the woman we heard about last week, the Caananite woman. When Jesus asks the question I wonder how long it took for Peter to give an answer? I suspect it did not take him very long. Notice what Jesus says though as he blesses him. Not flesh and blood have given you this answer. Father in heaven has revealed this to you. It is a gift Peter which you have received, this knowing who I am. It is not because of who you are or any special quality or characteristic of yours, but it is given to you by Father in heaven. 

This was one of Luther's favorite parts of the Bible. Faith comes not from me, but it comes to me as a gift. It is a gift of God. Apostles' Creed, third article, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” Then comes Luther's explanation. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or understanding believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.” I love that line. I know you have heard it many times over the years that I have been here at Trinity because I do so love that line. It is not me who does the believing, or maybe I do the believing but it is because God the Holy Spirit is at work in me. “The Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith.” Faith is the work of God's Spirit in me. Just like that confession of Peter was the work of God in him. 

We respond to the working, the calling of God's Spirit and we live as God's people. We live the life of faith. We live the life of confessors. It is the same thing, being faithful is confession. Our very actions as we live and move and breath in Jesus confess who he is. Do you think that is why Paul says what he says about being conformed to this world? What happens when we are conformed to this world? 

We could list things, many things no doubt. We could probably make a good list from personal experience. At least I know I could. How about we just sum it up to say we don't live the way of Jesus. The values and priorities are not as they should be. The church, the body of Christ is God's plan for working out salvation, for spreading the good new of Jesus throughout the world, for engaging in the ministry of reconciliation. The church is the body of Christ carrying on the ministry of Christ in the world. God's saving work has been entrusted to the church. As we also know all too well the church can be the main problem, the big stumbling block in bringing salvation to the world. 

Conformed to this world, worrying too much about the things of this world robs the church of so much of its power, of its ability to carry on the work of our servant king Jesus. Our best confession is made when we live the life of service which Jesus lived. Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. With our lives of service we confess who Jesus is. With our using what has been entrusted to us to bless and care for others we confess who Jesus is. When we do what we can to bind up the broken, to heal the wounded, to make sure the dimly burning wick does not go out, to help the soul feel its worth, we confess who Jesus is. We live out the faith which is given to us. We live out of the grace showered upon us. 

Grace upon grace is showered upon you each and every day. You know this, how so very well you know this. There are so many blessings, so many blessed things for which to be thankful each and every day even when we are in the midst of all the craziness which 2020 seems to keep throwing at us. Our faith, your faith, the faith which God has given to you will see you through. That is God's promise. That is God's word. 

Today we are using some old words and a little bit of water to make our confession, to say who Jesus is one more time. In the water and the word, in this beautiful and powerful sacrament of baptism God is at work. A little water, some old words, what power is there in that? It is an easy question to ask from the outside. It is a strange thing we do, and a powerful thing we do or better yet, a powerful thing God does. 

It is our God who is at work in the waters of baptism. It is our God who is at work as those words of promise are spoken. God is at work and sins are washed away. God is at work and life is made new. God is at work and a relationship not to be broken is forged. The mark of the cross is made and the Holy Spirit seals the deal. From last week's lesson, that great verse from Romans 11, the gift and the call of God are irrevocable. Baptism is God's gift to you, a promise which is always yours never to be taken away. It is a promise which carries you through those rough days and dark nights. It is a promise for times of crisis and unrest. It is a promise, God's promise to you. No wonder Luther advised that we should remember our baptism, remember that you are loved and named and claimed by God each time you wash your face. Every morning as you rise, every night as you go to sleep, remember. You are baptized. I am baptized and so I confess. I am baptized and so I know that when I do not confess as well as I should I am forgiven and loved and still God's child, always God's child.