So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

While Confirmation is not a sacrament, it is a significant milestone for anyone who partakes of the life of the Church, which is life in the body of Christ, which is eternal life through the forgiveness of sins in His Name.

Confirmation is chiefly an affirmation that the individual Christian has been examined and has exercised the opportunity to confess out loud who God is and what He does. Of course the same thing happens often through Matins, Vespers, Divine Service, and any number of occasions where Christians gather together to hear the Word of God, to pray, and to encourage one another in good works.

Because eternal things are so easily despised, neglected, and forgotten, the Holy Spirit through St. Paul admonishes us to receive a "sound pattern of words," which in turn directs poor sinners to the Word made Flesh, so that our hope is in nothing and no one other than the One true God, who reveals Himself to be merciful not merely in abstract terms, but in Christ Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, and risen as our substitute before God the Father, and who makes intercession for us, having made children out of what, essentially, are stones; who distributes His righteousness and benefits concretely upon the living bodies of poor sinners who once were dead.

Because eternal things are so easily despised, neglected, and forgotten, the Holy Spirit continually impresses them upon Christians from their baptism until their departure from this life, using pastors, teachers, fathers, mothers, fellow Christians, and the gift of memory to encourage and admonish along the way.

The most difficult thing about this Faith is how it is a hidden treasure, despised and unrecognized by the world. This is no surprise, because this is exactly how it has been from the beginning. In due time, however, it will all come to light. For now it is a considerable mess, with many doubting, many falling, many weak, many sick, and many having the appearance of indifference. Since all things came into being out of nothing by virtue of the Word of the LORD, we should not despair when considering how the Church appears in these latter days, but take heart because it is the LORD who speaks and does these things. Amen.

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