As we near the end of the Easter season, Jesus reminds us that he does not, will not abandon his followers. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to abide with his disciples of every generation. We receive this Spirit in baptism and pray that in our gathering around the Lord’s table the Spirit will transform us to be the body of the risen Christ in the world. This Sunday, as our 5 Confirmands affirm their baptismal promises, the liturgy reminds them (and us) that we do not make these promises alone. The Holy Spirit empowers us, and Jesus, who is God-with-us, helps us make and live our baptismal calling as the people of God.
Throughout the season of Lent we have reflected on God’s Costly Grace, guided by the work of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who coined the phrases “costly grace” and “cheap grace,” encouraging Christians to a life of costly discipleship in response to the great cost of Christ’s death on Good Friday. “Above all, this grace is costly because it cost God the life of his Son… and it is grace because it gives us the only true life” (Bonhoeffer). We live in the fulness of this life of grace throughout the fifty days of the Easter Season.