Year of the Catechism
Did you know that as one who practices their faith in the Lutheran tradition, you have at your disposal a simple, practical, and yet, all-encompassing summary of the Christian Faith? Known as the Small Catechism, this short document was written by Martin Luther to address the lack of Biblical knowledge the church had inherited before the Reformation. In it he uses a simple question and answer format to unfold the 10 Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Absolution, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper and in doing so gives us a summary of the entire Bible. As our Lutheran Confessions declare, in the Small Catechism, “everything is summarized that is treated in detail in Holy Scripture and that is necessary for a Christian to know for salvation” (FC Ep5).
Now, some of you life-long Lutheran’s may be thinking, “Wait, isn’t this what I learned and memorized in Confirmation 50 years ago, what’s this have to do with me?” Well, I’ll let Luther give you the answer: “I must still read and study the catechism daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but remain a child and pupil of the catechism—and I also do so gladly” (LC Preface 7-9). What we need, as Luther continues, “is to become children and again begin to learn the ABCs, which they [we] think they [we] have long since outgrown” (Ibid 380-81).
Because of the enduring relevance of the Small Catechism for our Christian walks, we’re going to make the Fall, Winter, and Spring of this year and next the “Year of the Catechism.” To do this, we’ll be going through the whole of the Small Catechism at Coffee Talk on Sunday Mornings and will further unpack Apostle’s Creed during Wednesday Evening Advent Services and Absolution and the Sacraments during our Wednesday Evening Lent Services. In doing this, it is my hope that we’ll be further equipped as Disciples of Christ to embark on our mission of celebrating, declaring, and demonstration the love of God in Christ Jesus to Sarver and the World.
Having said this, let me encourage you to participate in the various venues we will be exploring the Small Catechism in the coming year. It will not be time wasted. Rather, to paraphrase the 19th Century Lutheran Pastor George Gerberding, our little Catechism will meet us in our perplexity, take us by the hand, and lead us, “through the labyrinth of the wonders of grace.” He continues:
“It tells me what I am, what I need, and where and how to get what I need. It takes me to the wells of salvation. It draws from them living water. It holds it to my parched lips. It gathers the precious manna of the Word, and feeds me when I am faint and weary. Such is Luther’s Small Catechism. Is it any wonder that we love it?”