Sermon "Walking and Talking.”
To walk and talk not only rhymes but also really does go hand in hand in real life.
It is not just poetic, but practical.
Let us go for a walk…. Sometimes that is what we truly need. To get out in the fresh air, walk on the trails, in the hills, along the ocean, or on the busy city streets.
I need to go for a walk…. Sometimes we walk alone to clear our minds, maybe to cool down and not say the first thing on our minds, and maybe to be alone with our thoughts and troubles. Then the walking and talking is internal and a conversation with myself.
But often we need to go for a walk… with others. Maybe we need to go for a walk with somebody to clear our thoughts together, to have a conservation, to be confronted or consoled, but differently to be heard and seen. We need to walk and talk to make good choices, to face challenges and to find the right path to choose.
The two disciples in the Gospel are two of my favorite persons in the Gospel – as they are walking and talking. They are walking the heavy and long road from Jerusalem to Emmaus – but they are also walking the heavy and long road leaving something behind them and trying to find their way. They are walking and talking. About everything that had happened to them, to their master and leader Jesus who had been crucified, about the betrayal and fear among all the disciples. They really didn’t know where they were going….
And then someone came near them and walked with them. Someone who joined their talk and walk, asking what troubled them. And they told him all about Jesus – how they had believed in him with all their hearts and souls, how they had followed him, cared for him, and hope he was the one. And now he is dead. Crucified and condemned and laid in a grave. But their story didn’t end with the grave and darkness, because they told the amazing story about the women who came to the tomb and found it empty and had a vision with an angel.
The two friends were confused. Sad. Troubled. Disoriented. What should they believe? Where should they go?
The man who had walked with them talked to the about the Scriptures and the promises – and all that walk and talk led to a table and a meal. They asked the man to stay for a meal, - and as they sat down and as he took the bread and broke it…. They recognized him: their friend, their savior Jesus.
Very briefly they saw, heard, and understood that Jesus was indeed present among them, around them, when they walked, as they talked, and as they broke the bread. And they were filled with emotions, with faith and hope – and a deep deep love for the road ahead of them, as they knew they were never going to walk alone.
Whenever I read this Gospel about the walk and talk to Emmaus, a beautiful song rings in my ears:
When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high.
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky.
And the sweet, silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
And you’ll never walk alone!
You’ll never walk alone.
The beautiful song You’ll never walk alone by Rodgers and Hammerstein is an inspirational song that could accompany the walk of the disciples back then, and our walks wherever we are going.
Today you have walked to this church and to this celebration of confirmed faith and committed choice by four wonderful youngsters on their way… not from Jerusalem to Emmaus, but from childhood to adulthood, from a protected place of family to an endless place of opportunity and choices. That road can be scary. The choices are many and it can be hard to find the balance.
It is important to listen. To listen to the voices that are leading you on the right path. The voices that encourage you to believe and dream and hope and love, mot the voices of fear, distrust and hatred.
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart.
And you’ll never walk alone.
The two disciples were walking and talking that day from Jerusalem to Emmaus, from disorientation to hope.
The four confirmands and all of us are walking and talking from yesterday to tomorrow, from disorientation to hope, as we believe that we never walk alone and if we listen, if we see deeper, - we will look up to find a way with God’s light shining bright as a day.
Because there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it and be it. Amen.
Speech to Confirmands.
Dear fantastic four! Dear Confirmands: Bella, Bjork, Linus and Katelyn.
Today is the day! Today is your day. Seated in the red chairs of honor, we greet you with the utmost love and care. You look beautiful – more beautiful than I can recall seeing you before. You look a little bit nervous too. So, relax. Enjoy the day and this moment.
You walked into the church and to confirmation classes in November – and we have walked and talked ever since. Even longer distance we have conquered as Bjork from Scottsdale zoomed in and came here for the Conf. Camp in March.
You are the fantastic four. Four different young individuals, walking your path, making your choices, coming from different backgrounds and families, with different personalities, - but still, you have so much in common.
You are gradually leaving childhood behind, and trying to embrace adolescence and adulthood.
And at the same time, your parents are also gradually leaving behind the time of your childhood – and trying their very best to embrace the new reality with teenagers, independence, debates, and conflicts. A fascinating time of change, but also challenging. Don’t be too hard on your parents – they are doing their best. So, for a moment, look at your parents. Not with a sigh and rolling eyes, but with tenderness and love – they brought you into this world, they cared for you, carried you, walked with you, protected you… but most importantly they loved you and still do. Whisper a grateful thank you today for those who carried and loved you. Remember this day and that they were here with you.
Don’t be too hard on your parents, - and don’t be too hard on yourselves either.
Life is a tough balance act. Life as a teenager is a wonderful time of change but also a scary time of change. So, don’t be too hard on yourselves. Believe in yourself. Believe that you are loved and worthy. Believe that you have a voice, a place, and a time.
Life can be a tough balance act. Trying to walk the line, find the right path and do the right thing.
Last Sunday we had a wonderful Spring Sing-along with Rasmus Skov Borring, and we sang Linedancer/tightrope Walker, which is a beautiful song written for a confirmand on his way.
Life, my dear, is like a tightrope
Stretched before your feet.
Life will ift you. It’s a gift you must climb up to meet.
You will have to venture out upon your own life’s rope.
The first step is the hardest one
Trust and love and hope!
Leave what drags you down behind you. look upwards, and one fine day from afar
You’ll find you can dance with a shooting star.
This is not just a song to the confirmands but to all of us regardless of age, gender, nationality, religion, or political observations.
Life is about choosing, what to do and what not. Life is about daring to walk the line, daring to be present in the moment, daring to take chances, meet challenges and most importantly believe that life is good, relationships are fundamental and faith in tomorrow, in each other and in God is what give you balance on the the line of life.
The song ends:
Though you may not quite believe me,
I know that.
Your light shines bright as the day.
And if you look it up you can find a way.
Life is a journey that may take you places and to situation you had not planned. But what you can plan is what you build your choices on, which values you meet the world with.
You have all chosen to be here today.
You have chosen to confirm your faith.
You have chosen a Confirmation Word to be your word on your way forward. As a light. As a beacon. As a guide:
1. So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
2. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
3. For nothing will be impossible with God
4. You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good words and give gory to your father who is in heaven.
These are the finest beacons and leading stars for your lives and paths ahead.
So, here is a small gift to you. To always let you light shine and always let light lead your way.
Always believe in light, laughter and love.
Always dare to see the light and be the light in a world that needs all the light we can be.
Dear Fantastic Four – I enjoyed our time together. I enjoyed our walks and talks. I have enjoyed giving you a time and a place to ponder and wonder upon this amazing life of ours embraced by a loving God.
Today you confirm your faith. Today God confirms his faith in you as his beloved children.
So be brave, humble, kind and courageous.
Be good and be a good neighbor.
Embrace life. Extend grace and love without fear.
Always let your light shine in a world that too often is filled with darkness.
Put your imprint on this church, this time and this world. Go and be the light of the world.
Congratulations. Tillykke. You fantastic 4 young ones, we wish you long and strong lives!
Disse fire smukke unge mennesker, gid I laenge leve maa!
Amen