Then he (Jesus) said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:44–49 (RSV)
Hitterdal Lutheran Church completed its mission on August 16, 1998, closing as a congregation. Hitterdal was one of the three congregations of my first call. Our daughters, Beth and Sarah, were baptized there in 1977. I have the bell tower rope as a memento of our time there. (That is a story for another day)
I attended and shared in the leadership of the closing worship. It was a bittersweet day, full of memories and not a few tears. During the pot-luck that followed, Howie Gudvangen came up to me and said, 'Pastor, I want you to know that I think of what you taught me in confirmation nearly every day.'
The wonder of that statement is that had you asked me about Howie's time in confirmation, I would have lamented that I failed to connect with him. He didn't appear to be interested in either being in class or learning.
Luther reminds us in the Explanation of the Third Article of the Creed that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to create and sustain faith in those who hear the Word. As Jesus opened His disciples' minds to understand the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is at work today, creating faith.
Howie's witness to me about his confirmation classes, twenty years after he was confirmed, comforts me as it reminds me that I am called to preach and teach the Word. The Holy Spirit will use that Word when and where He pleases to create and sustain faith.