LOGIA A JOURNAL OF LUTHERAN THEOLOGY REfORMATION/OCTOBER 1994 VOLUME III, NUMBER4 CONTENTS ARTICLES Caechesis for Life in he Royal Prieshood By John T. Pless... 3 Preaching and Teaching he Creed: The Srucures ofhe SmaU Caechism's Explanaions as Guides By Alan Ludwig...11 Johann Michael Reu's Concepion ofhe Sunday School By Paull. Johnson....25 Preaching on Preaching: Posi/S, he Predigam, and he People in he Luheran Reformaion, 1546-1600 By Parick T. Ferry... 35 A Call for Manuscrips...,... 44 Law-Gospel Preaching: Giving he Gifs By Timohy Quill... 45 COLLOQUIUM FRATRUM...~...51 Ken Schurb: Church and Minisry-Issues a he Meeing Poin REVIEWS...53 Review Essay: "Church Growh" as Mission Paradigm, a Luheran Assessmen. By Kur Marquar Ashamed ofhe Gospel: When he Church Becomes Like he World. By John MacArhur Jr. Courageous Churches: Refusing Decline, Inviing Growh. By Paul T. Heinecke, Ken R. Huner, David S. Luecke Proclamaion: Adven/Chrismas. By William H. W.llimon Speaking he Truh in Love o Mormons. By Mark J. Cares Luheran Worship: Hisory and Pracice. Ed. Fred L. Prech Keeping he Sabbah Wholly and The Hilariy ofcommuniy. By Marva J. Dawn Raising Up a Faihful Pries: Communiy and Prieshood in Biblical Theology. By Richard D. Nelson BRlEHY NOTED LOGIA FORUM...67 The Year Luher Qui Preaching A Missionary Caechism Prefacing he Caechisms Toppling Saan's Bulwarks Confirmaion: A Coa ofmany Colors Minisry's Office From Luher's Pulpi Confessional Luherans in Kenya Wha Is an Evangelical Luheran? I's Time o Celebrae! Real Life Worship Readers Psychology and he Spiriual A Minoriy on Minoriies Wha Is Caechesis?
Caechesis for Life in he Royal Prieshood JOHN T. PLESS NOV 221994 I n spie of numerous adamic aemps o pu he Lord Jesus Chris in he unemploymen office and ake over his work wih blueprins for he building of he church according o our own schemes and ools of our making, he Lord Jesus Chris alone remains he archiec and builder of his church. In hose regal words ofs. Mahew 16:18 he says, "I will build my church, and he gaes of hell shall no prevail agains ie' This same Lord, now crucified and raised from he dead, speaks wih all auhoriy on he day ofhis Ascension, giving o his disciples he mandae o make disciples ofall naions by bapizing hem in he name ofhe Faher and ofhe Son and ofhe Holy Spiri and eaching hem o keep all ha he has given us. Disciples are made by bapizing and eaching. Jesus builds his church wih hese ools. This eaching ha flows from Holy Bapism and leads o Holy Bapism is caechesis. Caechesis is he way in which he word of God is spoken and hen echoes back in confession o he glory of he Faher, Son, and Holy Spiri. Caechesis is concerned wih "faih developmen:' bu in a way ha is fundamenally opposed o he heory offaih developmen se forh by James Fowler in his books Sages offaih and Becoming Adul, Becoming Chrisian. l Fowler posis a movemen hrough seven sages of faih, beginning wih wha he calls "primal faih" moving oward he ulimae "universalizing faih:' The sages of faih according o Fowler evolve from a lower o higher form wih very few individuals ever achieving "universalizing faih:' which would be represened in such figures as Ghandi and Marin Luher King sanding as examples of oleran indusiviy. The faih developmen heoriss work wih he assumpion ha faih is brough o mauriy by moving people beyond he communiy, enabling hem o sand as auonomous selves over agains any paricular narraive. Luheran caechesis, however, proceeds from an alogeher differen orienaion. The goal of our caechesis is o shape he bapized o live in Chris as members ofhe Royal Prieshood. Caechesis does no resul in he formaion of he auonomous spiriual ego, bu in a pries living in he company of fellow priess under a JOHN T. PLESS is pasor of Universiy Luheran Chapel in Minneapolis, Minnesoa, and Book Review Edior of LOGJA. This paper was originally presened a pasoral conferences in he Iowa Disric Eas and he Souhern Illinois Disric (LCMS) in April of 1994. 3 common High Pries and sharing in a common culus. Fowler's "sages offaih model" is a secularized form ofpieism. Caechesis is he process of ransmiing he word of God so ha he mind and life ofhe one who receives i grows up in every way ino Jesus Chris, living in faih oward hiffi and in love oward he neighbor. While caechesis does lead from he fon o he alar, culminaing in he exolling of he Lord's gifs, and he confession of his name in ha churchly rie called Confrrmaion, caechesis iself is from he womb o he omb. Caechesis has a ex and a conex. The ex is he Small Caechism and he conex is he Royal Prieshood, he holy church. We um firs o he ex. Beginning in 1518, Luher frequenly preached series of sermons on he caechism, ha is, he basic componens of Chrisian docrine as hey had been arranged and handed down from earlier generaions of Chrisians. As early as 1525, Luher had expressed his concern ha a good caechism be prepared for he insrucion of he young in he evangelical faih. In a leer addressed o Nicholas Hausmann on February 2,1525, Luher noes ha Agricola and Jonas had been given he ask of preparing such a caechism. This caechism, however, never maerialized The Saxon Visiaions of 1528 revealed such spiriual disorder in he congregaions ha Luher himself was compelled o prepare boh ofhe Caechisms, Small and Large. Commening on he visiaions, Luher wries in he Preface o he Small Caechism: The deplorable condiions ha I repeaedly encounered when I was a visior consrained me o prepare his brief and simple caechism or saemen of Chrisian eaching. Good God, wha wrechedness I beheld! The common people, especially hose who live in he counry, have no knowledge whaever of Chrisian eaching, and unforunaely many pasors are quie incompeen and unfied for eaching. Alhough he people are supposed o be Chrisian, are bapized, and receive he holy sacramen, hey do no know he Lord's Prayer, he Creed, or he Ten Commandmens, hey live as hough hey were pigs and irraional beass, and now ha he gospel has been resored hey have masered he fine ar ofabusing libery (SC Preface, 1-3). Luher inended his caechisms as a remedy o his crisis in he church.
4 LOGIA In Luher's mind, he Small Caechism was a ex for use no so much in he classroom as in he home. TIlls is revealed in he heading ha sands over each ofhe chief pars: "in he plain form in which he head of he family shall each hem o his household:' Hisorically, i was he Small Caechism ha was crysallized from he Large Caechism. H. Bornkamm noes, "Wihou he prepara ory condensaion ofhe caecheical sermons ino he Large Caechism, here would have been no crysallizaion of he enire subsance ino he Small Caechism:'2 The Large Caechism is an exposiion of he Small Caechism for pasors, eachers, and oher adul Chrisians o assis hem in eaching he Small Caechism. l' v l i i l Jus as he bes, mos experienced alchemis draws forh he quinessence, ha is, he core, power, sap, and pich ofa hillg, so God ill his grea mercy has prepared in he precious Caechism an exrac, an excerp, a brief summary and epiome of he enire Holy Scripure for people who are hirsy and hungry for grace. In he Caechism he has brough ogeher in clear and disinc words which everyone can undersand everyhing a Chrisian needs o know and o believe for his salvaion. If a eaching agrees wih he precious Caechism, every Chrisian may accep i in good conscience. 4 The Formula ofconcord speaks ofhe Small Caechism as he "layman's Bible." We would do well o remember ha he Preface o he Small Caechism is also par of he confessional corpus. In i we see Luher's heory of caechesis. In he Preface, Luher makes hree major poins ha are crucial o evangelical caechesis. Firs, here should be a sandard and fixed ex. Luher wries, "In he firs place, he preacher should ake he umos care o avoid changes or variaions in he ex and he wording ofhe Ten Commandmens, he Creed, he Lord's Prayer, he sacramens, ec. On he conrary, he should adop one form, adhere o i, and use i repeaedly year afer year. Young and inexperienced people mus be insruced on he basis of a uniform, fixed ex and form. They are easily confused ifa eacher employs one form now and anoher form--perhaps wih he inenion of making improvemens--iaer on... when you are eaching he young, adhere o a fixed and unchanging form and mehod. Begin by eaching hem he Ten Commandmens, he Creed, he Lord's Prayer, ec., following he ex word for word so ha he young may repea hese hings afer you and reain hem in heir memory" (SC, Preface, 7, <rio). Second, Luher argues ha he caechis should move from ex o meaning. Luher commens, ''Afer he people have become familiar wih he ex, each hem wha i means" (SC, Preface, 14). Third, he ex of he Caechism is never exhaused. There is always more o learn, so Luher advises ha "afer you have hus augh his brief caechism, ake up a larger caechism so ha he people may have a richer and fuller undersanding" (SC, Preface, 17). From Luher's Preface o he Small Caechism, i is apparen ha he envisioned his book o be far more han a miniaure exbook in sysemaic heology. For Luher, he Caechism is he handbook of docrine, prayer, and life. As a handbook of Chrisian docrine, he Small Caechism is confession, ha is, a repeaing back o God wha he has said o us in he Holy Scripures. James Voelz calculaes ha approximaely one-fourh ofhe Small Caechism is direc quoaion from he Scripures, anoher one-hird is direc exposiion of he biblical ex, while he remainder is applicaion of scripural eachillg o life} The Caechism summarizes Scripure and leads us back ino Scripure. A sixeenh-cenury Luheran by he name ofchrisopher Fischer declared, The Formula of Concord speaks of he Small Caechism as he "layman's Bible;' confessing ha i "conaills everyhing ha Holy Scripure discusses a greaer lengh and which a Chrisian mus know for his salvaion" (FC, Ep., 5). The Small Caechism is no a subsiue for he Scripures, bu, o use he imagery of Charles Arand, "a map for he sudy of Scripure:'5 Occasionally one hears he complain ha Luherans replace he Bible wih he Caechism or ha Luherans know he Caechism bu don' know he Bible. These criicisms, i seems o me, miss he poin. The Bible is a big book, and ifone resolves o read he Scripures, he is launching ou on a journey ha is bese wih poenial dangers. Winess how many sincere Bible readers misread he holy ex and are led away from Jesus Chris. We are Evangelical Luherans, no Fundamenaliss. Among oher hings, ha means i is no he presence of he Bible ha locaes he church and brings people o faih, bu raher "he church is he assembly of sains in which he gospel is augh purely and he sacramens are adminisered righly" (AC VII, 1-2). The emphasis is on he preaching ofhe pure gospel and he righ adminisraion ofhe sacramens. Luherans ofhe old Synodical Conference have spen a lo of ime and energy defending he inerrancy of he Scripures, and I do no deny ha his was a necessary bale. Bu could i be ha in he bale over he Bible we have forgoen ha i is no enough o alk abou characerisics of he Bible-inerran, infallible, and inspired? The quesion sill remains: how will he Holy Scripures be read and proclaimed? Will he law be properly disinguished from he gospel? Will he Scripures be inerpreed in accordance wih he milld of he Spiri who inspired hem, or will biblical inerpreaion move according o he impulse ofhe inerpreer? Here he Small Caechism proves iself o be a reliable road map ha our youh need o learn ifhey are o char heir course in he Scripures in such a way ha always leads o he morning sar, Jesus Chris (2 P 1:19). The Caechism, hen, may be described as ha "paern of sound words" which Timohy is exhored o follow ill 2 Timohy 1:13. Therefore, he Small Caechism is o be undersood no merely as a collecion of essenial docrines, bu as he very paern or shape of Chrisian docrine. As a handbook of Chrisian docrine, he Small Caechism has a paricular heological srucure ha moves from law o gospel. The ordering of he six chief pars is no accidenal bu expresses he dynamics ofbiblical eaching. The srucure ofhe Small Caechism' he sequence of is chief pars, is crucial o a righ undersanding of Luher's heological inen in caechesis, as Rober Schulz has demonsraed. 6 i
CATECHESIS FOR LIFE IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD 5 A reordering or rearrangemen ofhe chiefpars ofhe Small Caechism signals a change in heological focus. Agricola would have us begin wih he Creed, ha is, he gospel. Here we may recall he Aninomian conroversy and he impeus ha i provided oward he "Aricles of Visiaion" of 1528. Some conemporary recasings of he Small Caechism would have he caechesis begin wih Holy Bapism. Ohers, under Barhian influence, would place a grea deal ofweigh on he prologue o he Ten Commandmens ofexodus 20:2, "I am he Lord your God, who brough you ou of he land ofegyp, ou ofhe house ofbondage;' as a "gospel" preface o he law. We are no Jews. The Ten Commandmens were no given o us, bu we are no wihou he law. Luher omis he biblical prologue and saes he brue fac of God's law, spoken o Jew and Genile alike (e.g., Romans 1): "You shall have no oher gods before me:' This law exposes and execues he sinner, who lacks he fear, love, and rus in God above all hings. The cener of graviy for Luher's caechesis ofhe lawis locaed in he Firs Commandmen, as is demonsraed in he Large Caechism. The Aposles' Creed follows he Decalogue as he gospel follows he law. Breaking from medieval radiion, Luher undersood he Creed as a Triniarian confession ofhe gospel o be inerpreed Chrisologically. Boh he Faher and his gifs in creaion and he Spiri and his gifs ha creae and susain faih are confessed in heir relaionship o he Son. The Our Faher is prayed in response o he Creed-i is he prayer offaih. The gifs of redempion confessed in he Second Aricle of he Creed are concreely given in Holy Bapism, Holy Absoluion, and he Sacramen ofhe Alar. The prayers and he able ofduies form appendices o he six chiefpars of he Chrisian docrine, bu ha does no mean ha hey are excluded from he heological srucure ofhe Small Caechism. On he conrary, hey demonsrae how he Caechism's docrine shapes he believer's life--a life of doxology ha prays wihin he rhyhm of ime (morning, evening, and a meals) and works wihin he srucures of his world (congregaion, civil realm, family, and occupaion). Caechesis has a conex, he royal prieshood of believers. Debaes regarding "church and minisry" in he nineeenh cenury have perhaps clouded he fac ha he primary disincion in 1 Peer 2:1-10 is no an aniclerical disincion beween hose who are called and ordained ino he office ofhe holy minisry and he res of he bapized, bu beween faih and unfaih. The church is a prieshood, and wihin ha prieshood here is an office esablished by God himself o provide oversigh for he spiriual house ha God has buil. All believers are priess, bu no all priess are minisers. 1 Peer 2:1-10 is descripive ofhe ideniy and aciviy of he royal prieshood. The 1 Peer ex has ofen been used as a polemic agains he Roman Caholic concepion ofhe prieshood-ha is, since Jesus Chris is our High Pries we do no need a human pries as a mediaor beween God and he Chrisian. As each believer is a pries, he or she may go direcly o God. Such a use of he ex misses he poin ha he holy aposle makes. We are no a collecion ofisolaed priess, each doing our own hing before God. Raher Peer says ha we are "buil ino a spiriual house, o be a holy prieshood" (1 Peer 2:5) and ha we are "a chosen race, a royal prieshood, a holy naion, God's own people" (1 Peer 2:9). George Wollenburgwries, A race is more han a collecion ofindividuals. A race has ideniy ha is derived from a common ancesry. You canno join a race, you are born ino i. The chosen race has a Faher in heaven and a moher on earh-holy Church. Her members are born of waer and he Spiri (John 3:5). Their moher is he.holy and pure bride of Chris, he Church (Gal 4=26; Eph 5:25-27; Rev 12:1,5-6; Is 66:8-9). This race is a spiriual house (l Peer 2:5) in he sense ofhe royal 'house' or lineage"7 Priess in his prieshood ge heir ideniy from he name pu upon hem in Holy Bapism: Faher, Son, and Holy Spiri. In Holy Bapism, God makes us priess in his prieshood F. L. Cross, among ohers, has suggesed ha 1 Peer is a bapismal documen originally associaed wih Easer bapisms in he early Church. 8 Wheher or no his hypohesis is correc, 1 Peer was surely wrien wih Holy Bapism in view. No only does 1 Peer provide us wih one of he key bapismal exs in he New Tesamen in 3:21 ("Bapism now saves you"); he whole episle is, in fac, derived from he Faher's mercy by which "we have been born anew o a living hope hrough he resurrecion of Jesus Chris from he dead" (1:13). This new birh was brough abou no by "perishable seed bu of imperishable, hrough he living and abiding word of God" (1:23). Bapism ses us apar as "aliens and exiles" o live as members ofgod's holy prieshood. Caechesis has a conex, he royal prieshood ofbelievers. Priess in his prieshood do hree hings: (1) Priess offer sacrifices; (2) priess speak o oher people on behalf ofgod; and (3) priess speak o God on behalf of oher people. Caechesis is he raining ha Chrisians are given for his priesly life and work. Priess offer sacrifices. Wha are hese sacrifices? As Aricle XXIV of he Apology reminds us, here is a singular propiiaory sacrifice, and ha is he deah ofour High Pries, Jesus Chris. The Apology goes on o confess ha all oher sacrifices are eucharisic sacrifices. "The res are eucharisic sacrifices, called 'sacrifices of praise': he proclamaion ofhe gospel, faih, prayer, hanksgiving, confession, he aflicion of he sains, yes, all good works of he sains... The sacrifices ofhe New Tesamen are oflris ype, as Peer eaches in 1 Peer 2:5, 'A holy prieshood, o offer spiriual sacrifices: Spiriual sacrifices are conrased no only wih he sacrifices of cale bu also wih human works offered ex opere operao, for 'spiriual' refers o he operaion of he Holy Spiri wihin us" (AP XXIv, 25-26). Priess offer he daily sacrifice of repenance. Indeed, David ells us in Psalm 51 ha "he sacrifices of God are a broken spiri, a broken and conrie hear:' In he royal prieshood, repenance is no a religious exercise ha one engages in only o move on o some oher aspec ofhe Chrisian life. Repenance is he Chrisian life. Or as Luher said in he firs ofhis Niney-Five Theses, "When our Lord and Maser Jesus Chris said 'repen' (M 4:17), he willed
6 LOGIA l' "Ii he enire life ofbelievers o be one of repenance:'9 The caechesis embodied in he Small Caechism ses he life of he Chrisian in he rhyhm of repenance, daily dying o sin and being made alive o walk in he newness oflife. The sacrifice of repenance is he sacrifice ofone's own life. In Romans 12:1-2, S Paul wries, "I beseech you herefore, brehren, by he mercies ofgod, ha you presen your bodies as a living sac rifice, holy, accepable o God, which is your reasonable service. And do no be conformed o his world, bu be ransformed by he renewing ofyour mind, ha you may prove wha is ha good and accepable and perfec will ofgod" (Rom 12:1-2 NKN). Here he aposle pus wo words ogeher in a way ha mus have jarred his original readers: sacrifice and living. Everybody in he ancien world knew ha sacrifices were dead! Goas and bulls were slaughered in a emple ha resembled a mea packing house more han a church, by a pries who could pass for a bucher. Wheher you were Jewish or pagan, you knew ha sacrifices were killed Bu in he vocabulary of he Holy Spiri, "living sacrifice" is no oxymoron. Romans 3 noes ha he deah ofjesus Chris is he aoning sacrifice for sin. In Romans 6, Paul mainains ha we were joined o ha deah in our bapism, and sharing in he Lord's deah we are also made parakers ofhis resurrecion. Hence in Romans 12 he Aposle beseeches us o presen our bodies as a living sacrifice. Luher and he Luheran Confessions removed sacrifice from he chancel and relocaed i in he world, as he whole life of he believer becomes a living sacrifice. This is "he liurgy afer he liurgy:' o borrow a phrase from Carer Lindberg.O Served wih he gifs of he gospel in he Divine Service, he life ofworship is lived ou in he concree places of our various callings. The Small Caechism connecs sancificaion-he life of he living sacrifice-wih vocaion. Priess speak o people on behalf of God. The life of he royal prieshood is doxological in word and deed. Noice he descripion in Hebrews 13: "Therefore by him le us coninually offer he sacrifice ofpraise o God, ha is he frui ofour lips, giving hanks o his name. Bu do no forge o do good and o sliare, for wih such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Heb 13=15-16 NKJV). The language here is no unlike he language of1 Peer 2:9-10 where God's people declare he wonderful deeds of he God who called us ou of darkness ino his marvelous ligh The language of he Old TesanIen culus has shaped hese passages. Sinners brough ino he presence ofa Holy God by his grace now render hanks o him by confessing wha God has done. Confession is doxology. Again caechesis uors us in such doxology. The Aposles' Creed recies "he wonderful deeds of God who called us ou of darkness ino his marvelous ligh:' The Creed is he yardsick for measuring our speech abou God. Ifone is going o alk abou God as a member ofhis prieshood and no as a gossip, his language abou him mus square wih hese words. Priess speak o God on behalf ofpeople. This is he priesly work of inercession. "Le my prayer be se before you as incense; he lifing up of my hands as he evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2). Praying priess come before he Faher in faih, and in love hey lif he needs of he neighbor o him in whose name alone here is help. Here he Small Caechism funcions as our prayerbook. I was Wilhelm Loehe who noed ha ofall he ca- echisms wihin Chrisendom, he Small Caechism alone was capable of being prayed,u We have oulined raher broadly he ideniy and life of he royal prieshood ha is gahered by he High Pries, Jesus Chris, by his word and sacramens. We now um o he caechesis ha goes on wihin his royal prieshood. Somehing is wrong. We have all heard he saisics of he number of youh who drop ou of he church afer confirmaion. We know ha confirmaion is o be seen in ligh of Holy Bapism and no vice versa. We know ha confirmaion is no graduaion from caechesis. Ye wha pasor has no experienced some degree of frusraion and disappoinmen when i comes o he insrucion ofhe youh and heir subsequen confirmaion? Luher and he Luheran Confessions removed sacrifice from he chancel and relocaed i in he world. In 1966, a pan-luheran commission was assembled o sudy he heology and pracice of confirmaion. Afer having colleced daa from 86,000 paricipans, he Join Commission prepared a sudy eniled A Repor on he Sudy ofconfirmaion and Firs Communion in 1969. Among oher hings, his sudy suggesed ha confirmaion be separaed from firs communion, wih firs communion aking place around he fifh grade. The recommendaions of he repor were widely acceped and implemened in he ALC and LCA, bu much less so in he LCMS. While i is beyond he scope of his paper o assess he iner-luheran repor, a few observaions are in order. Firs, early communion wih confirmaion coming laer does no appear o reverse he rend of adolescens falling away from acive paricipaion in congregaional life in he ELCA. Second, he repor coninued o view caechesis as primarily an educaional process raher han raining for life in he royal prieshood. Third, he repor ended o downplay he sigriificance of he Small Caechism in caechesis. This final rend effeced boh caecheical curriculum and recasings ofhe Rie ofconfirmaion. Waler Carlson ofhe former LCA, wriing in he Winer 1982 issue of dialog in an aricle "LCA Caechesis--The Reformaion Los;' criiques his church body's caecheical curriculum, Caecherics For Today, concluding, "I eniled he essay 'LCA Caechesis--The Reformaion Los' because I failed o recognize in his maerial he fundamenal insighs of he Reformaion. While fanllliar erms from Luheran heology and caecheical radiion are employed, he mehodology and heological conen are foreign o anyhing I have come o undersand as Luheran:'12 Virgil Thompson makes similar observaions abou more recen caecheical pracices in he ELCA in "The Promise of Caechesis" in he Auumn 1990 issue of he Luheran Quarerly, lamening ha In he place ofhe classical service ofcaechesis as indocrinaion o he dogma ofhe church and inroducion o he discipline of heological reflecion, one hears of he
I iwas I CATECHESIS FOR LIFE IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD 7 pasor who ushers his confirmaion class ino he darkened sancuary, insrucs he sudens o close heir eyes, and ge in ouch wih heir spiriualiy. While such a silly approach o eaching he faih may be an isolaed incidence, he aversion o caechesis as indocrinaion o dogma, which lies behind i, is no isolaed. This undersanding of caechesis is widely abandoned hroughou he church. In his sense he church seems o be inen on chasing he episemological rain which jus lef he saion and wrecked a few miles down he rack. 13 The rie eniled "Affirmaion of Bapism" in he Luheran Book ofworship has no menion of insrucion in he Small Caechism or of a confession of he Chrisian faih normed by his documen. Frusraion over confirmaion insrucion has led o a lo of inkering wih programs, echniques, and in he case of he Luheran Book ofworship, he very srucure of he Rie of Confirmaion iself, bu we are sill lef wih an inadequae view of caechesis. I have no sure-fire programs o sugges or echniques o each ha would sop he pos -confirmaion exodus. I am only urging ha we reclaim he Small Caechism as he handbook for our caechesis and he royal prieshood as he conex for he caechesis. The royal prieshood as he conex for caechesis has hree dimensions: (1) The royal prieshood lives under he oversigh of he Pasoral Office, and ha office is primarily a eaching office; (2) caechesis is more han he classroom; (3) caechesis canno be divorced from he Divine Service. The royal prieshood lives under he oversigh of he Pasoral Office, and ha office is primarily a eaching office. I do no ake he reference in Ephesians 4=11 o "pasors and eachers" o be a reference o wo separae offices bu o one office. As Beril Gaerner has poined ou in his paper "Didaskolos: Men, Women, and he Office in he New Tesamen;' he pasor shepherds he congregaion by his auhoriaive eaching. 14 The pasor is he eacher. There may be oher caechiss in he congregaion, bu hey serve under he supervision of he pasor, who is given responsibiliy for he eaching ha goes on wi11in he congregaion. Under he impac of moderniy here are significan pressures brough o bear on he pasoral office ha would make he office somehing oher han he eaching office of he church. Alisar MacInyre has argued ha moderniy has produced a world view ha is managerial and herapeuic. Os Guiness in his excellen book Dining Wih he Devil: The Megachurch Movemen Flirs Wih Moderniy mainains ha he managerial and herapeuic approaches spawned by moderniy have subjeced he gospel o he pragmaism of "whaever works" and o he subjeciviy of whaever herapy brings relie l5 Thus he pasor is seen as a CEO, a shopkeeper caering o ill-defined spiriual needs, or a rancher. In The Parish Paper Lyle Schaller wries, "The mos difficul and cerainly he mos demanding change is for he miniser o move from he sance of pasor, eacher, shepherd, o becoming a skilled and effecive agen of inenional change:'16 The managerial model would subordinae he pasor as shepherd/eacher o he pasor as adminisraor. The ascendancy of he herapeuic model is raced by E. Brooks Holifield in his book From Salvaion o SelfRealiza ion: The Hisory ofpasoral Care in America. I7 Acually, he ile says i all. Brooks chars he evoluion of pasoral care ha was cenered in he language of prayer and Scripure in he early American Purians o he conemporary paradigm embodied in he Clinical Pasoral Care Movemen. The caechesis of he Small Caechism canno be susained by eiher of hese models. Yes, here are budges o be managed and broken lives o be mended. There are ohers in he congregaion who can aend o many of hese hings. Recall ha he aposles appoined seven men o ake care of he food disribuion program so ha he aposles could devoe hemselves "o prayer and o he minisry of he word" (Acs 6:4). In he presen-day church we ofen do jus he opposie, as pasors urn over "prayer and... he minisry of he word" o he laiy and insead busy hemselves wih he muliplicaion of programs and adminisraion ofparish business. Caechesis is no confined o he classroom. Le he pasors each. Especially le he pasor each he aduls. James Smar was fond ofsaying ha our Lord blessed he children and augh he aduls and ha we have urned i around so ha we each he children and bless he aduls. The caechesis envisioned by Luher, following he lead of Deueronomy 6, would have he "head ofhe household" eaching he Small Caechism o his family. Ifparens are going o be he primary caechiss, hen hey will need o be augh by he pasor in adul Bible classes, rereas, and oher formal seings, bu also in informal seings as he pasor visis in he home or counsels wih couples preparing for marriage or awaiing he birh ofa child. Tha leads o he second dimension: Caechesis is no confined o he classroom. In a very provocaive aricle under he ile "Caechesis: The Quie Crisis;' William Thompson observes: For Luher, he Caechism is a prayer-book, no merely a book of docrine. The Caechism is an enchiridion, a handbook for living he bapismal life. Caechesis is he raining in living as a bapized child of God, no jus he accumulaion of facs. The cenral error ha we have made in caechesis is o rea i as an academic process raher han our paerning of living in our bapism. We have reaed he Caechism as a exbook raher han a prayerbook. Consequenly, many aduls, including pasors, view he Caechism as a book for children and no for us, as if i were a book like oher school bookssomehing o be oleraed unil graduaion and hen discarded. This problem is furher compounded 'when pasors who do seek o use he Caechism concenrae on explanaions of he Caechism raher han on he Caechism iself.i8 As we have already noed, caechesis is from he womb o he omb, and he Small Caechism is o be he Chrisian's handbook
8 LOGIA no merely for a couple ofyears bu for a lifeime. Such caechesis can be fleshed ou in he congregaion in a number ofways. Pasors will need o coninue o sudy and pray he Caechism. Lisen o he admoniion ofluher in he Preface o he Large Caechism: To our regre we see ha even many pasors are neglecful of he Caechism, despising boh heir office and he Caechism iself.... As for myself, le me say his: I, oo, am a docor and pasor. In fac, I am as educaed and experienced as any of hose who have all ha nerve and brazen self-confidence. Ye I coninue o do as a child does ha is being augh he Caechism. Mornings and whenever I have ime I recie word for word and pray he Ten Commandmens, he creed, ec. I mus sill sudy and pray he caechism daily, ye I canno maser i as I would like, bu mus remain a child and suden ofhe caechism. This I do gladly. Bu hose who hink hey have masered i in one reading need no anicipae failing; hey have already failed. Wha hey need o do is o become children again and sar learning heir ABC's, which hey falsely imagine hey long ago had under heir bels (LC, Marin Luher's Preface, 1,7-8). The liurgy provides a deep srucure for caechesis as i embraces us in he Lord's name. Pasors will need o use a variey ofmeans o help heir people make use of he Small Caechism. When a child is bapized, presen he parens wih a copy ofhe Small Caechism inscribed for he child wih words somehing like his: "Today God washed your sin away in he waers of Holy Bapism and made you a pries in his holy and royal prieshood. This Caechism is your handbook for life in God's prieshood. Your parens will use his book o help you undersand wha God did for you oday in your bapism and how you are o live as his child:' Encourage he parens o use he Small Caechism as a prayerbook in family devoions and o help heir children learn he six chief pars by hear long before hey come o caecheical insrucion in he sevenh grade. Pasors are no marriage counselors bu shepherds of Chris's flock. The Small Caechism used in conjuncion wih he marriage liurgy from he Luheran Worship Agenda are biblical and churchly means for helping engaged couples look a marriage as an esae formed by God for heir good and blessing. Preach caecheical sermons. The six midweek sefvices in he Lenen Season provide an excellen opporuniy o preach sermons on he six chief pars of he Small Caechism. The lecionary ofen is direcly linked o one of he chief pars of he Small Caechism, hus providing ye anoher opporuniy for caecheical preaching. The hird dimension of caechesis has o do wih he Divine Service. Philip Lee wries: "The liurgy of he church, afer all, served as he raining ground for Chrisians for cenuries before he Proesan Sunday School was invened:'19 The Divine Service (subjecive geniive) is he Lord's service o us. Luke 22:24-30 is an excellen ex o use o each he Divine Service, for here in he conex ofhe insiuion of he Sacramen of he Alar our Lord says, "I am among you as one who serves" (Lk 22:27). The Lord ofheaven and earh clohed in our flesh and blood becomes our Hos and Servan. The liurgy is no a service we render o God, bu his service o us by means ofhis saving word and blessed sacramen. In his Divine Service here is ongoing caechesis, week afer week and year afer year. There is buil ino he liurgy a blessed sameness. As C. S. Lewis says, a good liurgy is like a well-worn pair of shoes: "A good shoe is a shoe you don' noice. Good reading becomes possible when you need no consciously hink abou eyes, or ligh, or prin, or spelling. The perfec church service would be one we were almos unaware of, our aenion would have been on God:'20 By repeiion of he Kyrie, he Gloria, he Creed, he Our Faher, he Sancus, and he Agnus Dei we commi hese reasures drawn from God's Word o hear. We become a home wih hem and ye never exhaus heir riches. The liurgy provides a deep srucure for caechesis as i embraces us in he Lord's name. The proclamaion of he Lord's name in he invocaion locaes us in Holy Bapism. Bapism is no a pas even bu a presen realiy, as he Lord ino whose name we have been bapized says: "Lo, I am wih you always" (M 28:20). Bapism plunges us ino a daily deah of conriion and repenance. This is liurgically indicaed by he placemen of Confession and Absoluion immediaely afer he bapismal name of God. Absolved of our sins, we come ino he cours of he Lord's house wih words of praise and hanks ha we have received from him in he Inroi. The Lord's word is read and preached. On he basis of he Lord's speaking o us we speak o him in prayer. The Lord serves us wih his body and blood. Wih his name pu on us in he Benedicion, we are sen back ino he world o live as his people, holy and precious in his sigh. The Inroducion o Luheran Worship is a classic saemen ofhe caecheical value ofhe Divine Service: Our Lord speaks and we lisen. His Word besows wha i says. Faih ha is born from wha is heard acknowledges he gifs received wih eager hankfulness and praise. Music is drawn ino his hankfulness and praise, enlarging and elevaing he adoraion of our gracious giver God. Saying back o him wha he has said o us, we repea wha is mos rue and sure. Mos rue and sure is his name, which he pu upon us wih he waer ofour Bapism. We are his. This we acknowledge a he beginning of he Divine Service. Where his name is, here is he. Before him we acknowledge ha we are sinners, and we plead for forgiveness. His forgiveness is given us, and we, freed and forgiven, acclaim him as our grea and gracious God as we apply o ourselves he words he had used o make himself known o us.
CATECHESIS FOR LIFE IN THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD 9 The rhyhm of our worship is from him o us, and hen from us back o him. He gives his gifs, and ogeher we receive and exol hem. We build one anoher up as we speak o one anoher in psalms, hynms, and spiriual songs. Our Lord gives us his body o ea and his blood o drink. Finally his blessing moves us ou ino our calling, where his gifs have heir fruiion. How bes o do his we may learn from his Word and from he way his Word has promped his worship hrough he cenuries. We are heirs ofan asonishingly rich radiion. Each generaion receives from hose who wen before and, in making ha radiion ofhe Divine Service is own, adds wha bes may serve in is own day-he living heriage and somehing new. 21 The Divine Service akes place wihin he conex ofhe Chrisian year. The church year so clearly and consisenly unfolds he life ofhe Holy Triniy in is various seasons and days. The church year has a "riniarian shape" ha is cenered in he deah and resurrecion of our Lord Jesus Chris (Good Friday and Easer) and expressed in he Time of Chrismas (Faher), he Time of Easer (Son), and he Time ofhe Church (Holy Spiri). All of he church year eiher leads ino Good Friday-Easer or flows from Good Friday-Easer. The hisoric Gospel for he Firs Sunday in Adven is Luke 19:29-38, he Palm Sunday narraive. Why has he Palm Sunday accoun been read on he firs Sunday of he church year for over a housand years? Why Palm Sunday, when he world is geing ready for Chrismas? The Blessed King who comes in he name of he Lord comes o suffer and die. The firs half of he church year is geared o move oward Good Friday and Easer. This movemen coninues hrough Chrismas as he Son of God is born in he lowliness of Behlehem. He becomes incarnae in order o be he sacrifice for sin. Epiphany makes manifes boh his person and his work. The Transfiguraion serves as somehing of a bridge beween Chrismas and Calvary, beween Epiphany and Easer. Transfiguraion conains echoes of he Lord's bapism in he Faher's voice from he cloud while a he same ime poining forward o his deah and showing forh he glory of his resurrecion. The Sundays of Len draw us ever closer o Calvary wih lie Gradual based on Hebrews 12:2, "Oh, come, le us fix our eyes on Jesus, he auhor and perfecor of our faih, who for he joy se before him endured he cross, scorning is shame, and sa down a he righ hand ofhe hrone of God." Hisorically, Holy Week is a he cener of he Chrisian year, as he church year developed ou of Easer, which, in urn, grew ou ofsunday, he Lord's Day. I is ofen said ha every Sunday is a lile Easer. I is in fac more hisorically accurae o say ha every Easer is a big Sunday. The radiional Episle for he Feas of he Resurrecion, I Corinhians 5:7-8, demonsraes he heological cenraliy of Good Friday-Easer o he whole of he church year: "Therefore purge ou he old leaven, ha you may be a new lump, since you ruly are unleavened. For indeed Chris, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore le us keep he feas, no wih old leaven nor wih he leaven ofmalice and wickedness, bu wih he unleavened bread of sinceriy and ruh:' The remainder of he church year flows ou of Good Friday Easer, as can be seen from examining he Gospels appoined for he Sundays of Easer. In he Holy Gospel for he Second Sunday of Easer (John 20:19-31), he risen Lord comes o his disciples, speaking words of peace and showing hem he okens ofhis passion, his wounds. Wih his words and wounds, he Lord besows on his disciples his Spiri and he aposolic office. The risen Lord is he source of life o his church jus as he vine gives life o he branches in John 15:1-8, he Holy Gospel for Easer 3. Easer 4 is called Good Shepherd Sunday, since his Sunday's Gospel is John 10:11-16. The Gospels appoined for Easer 5 and 6 are from our Lord's farewell discourse on Maunday Thursday (John 16:4b-15 and 16:23b-33), and boh connec he passion and resurrecion wih Ascension and Penecos. The Holy Gospel for Penecos (John 15=26-16:4) shows us ha he gif of Penecos is a realiy because of he Lord's "going o he Faher:' The Sundays afer Penecos reflec he life ofhe crucified and risen Lord in he mids of his church as he enlivens and susains his people by he gospel. The las Sundays of he church year poin us o he consuolffiaion ofeaser in he Lord's reurn o judge and he gif ofhe marriage supper of he Lamb in his kingdom. The church year is a many-splendored realiy. I has an inegriy or a wholeness o i ha ceners in he work of he Liurgis of our salyaion, Jesus Chris. This inegriy provides a vehicle for an on-going caechesis ha is someimes suble bu noneheless real and poen. I is a shame, herefore, ha we have allowed he church year o be replaced by he Synodical Year wih is programmaic emphasis on he Chrisian's work raher han he work ofhe Triniy. This rejecion of he church year signals a slippage away from grace o works. Our programs are deemed more beneficial o he life of he church han he sory of salvaion delivered sysemaically in he Chrisian year. SOME CONCWDING OBSERVATIONS (1) Each generaion is "unwell in a new way;' wries he poe John Berryman. In his book The Conemplaive Pasor, Eugene Peerson argues ha he presen generaion is "unwell" in ha i is addiced o "episodes ofadolescence:' In oher words, now he sins of he sons are being visied upon he fahers. Peerson wries, "There was a ime when ideas and living syles were iniiaed in he adul world and filered down o youh. Now he movemen goes he oher way: lifesyles are generaed a he youh level and pushed upward. Dress fashions, hair syles, music, and morals ha are adoped by youh are evangelically pushed on an adul world, which in urn seems eager o be convered:'22 A major characerisic of he culure of adolescence is hisorical anmesia, he absence of a sense of he pas. Tha which is old is hough o be obsolee. There is a empaion for he church o jeison is heriage in order o be relevan and in doing so capiulae o he idols ofhis presen age. We need o ake he warning ofcarl Braaen wih umos seriousness as he says, "The church ha wans o be relevan has already sown he seeds of is own irrelevance:'23 If our children are o have faih, we mus firs of all be ourselves faihful o wha we have been given. Simone Wei! has said, "Ifyou wan o be relevan, you mus always say hings ha are eernai:'24 Ours is no a culural caechesis of pop psychology disguised as "relaional Bible sudies" and self-help books, ofshallow songs ha ell us more abou he singer han hey do abou he Triune God, of enerainmen evangelisms ha ry o convince he pagans ha we are jus like hem afer all. Ours is a caechesis ha is forever rele
10 LOGIA van because i is speaking eernal hings, words ofhim who is he Alpha and he Omega, in Scripure, caechism, and liurgy. We are indeed o be counerculural in our minisry. Our caechesis will rain boh youh and aduls o live as "residen aliens"25 wihin a narcissisic religious culure. (2) In our work wih youh we would do well o heed he remark of T. S. Elio ha "I is no enhusiasm bu dogma ha differeniaes a Chrisian from a pagan:'w In our desire "o make church fun" we have, in fac, rivialized he realiies ha we seek o pass on o our youh. Insead we are lef wih youh services ha urn he Lord's Supper ino a MacDonald's Happy Meal and encourage our young people o have conemp for he allegedly boring and dull hings ha ranspire in heir home congregaions a en 0 clock on Sunday morning. (3) I is emping o ake shorcus. Bu ifwe are o be abou he ask offeeding our Lord's sheep and caring for his lambs, hen we bes use he equipmen ha he has bequeahed us: his word and sacramens. I is no given o us o enerain or excie, bu faihfully o pass on he word ha we have been given. And ha word does have impressive power-power o creae and preserve faih for he long haul, for see, he goal of caechesis is finally he resurrecion ofhe body and life everlasing. I1\'1III 1. See James Fowler, Sages offaih (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981) and Becoming Adul, Becoming Chrisian (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984). Fowler's approach has been widely used by a variey of heoriss in Chrisian educaion. For an example see Thomas Groome, Chrisian Religious Educaion (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980). 2. Heinrich Bornkamm, Luher in Mid-Career, rans. E. Theodore Bachmann (Philadelphia: Forress Press, 1983), p. 601. On he genesis of he Caechisms also see Marin Brech, Marin Luher: Shaping and Defining he Refowlaion 1521-1532, rans. James Schaaf (Minneapolis: Forress Press, 1990), pp. 273-279; J. M. Reu, Dr. Marin Luher's Small Caechism: A Hisory ofis Origin, Is Disribuion, and Is Use (Chicago: Warburg Press, 1929), pp. 7-24; Timohy J. Wenger, "Wienberg's Earlies Caechism;' Luheran Quarerly (Auumn 1993), pp. 247-260. 3. James Voelz, "Luher's Use of Scripure in he Small Caechism;' in Luher's Caechisms-450 Years, eds. Rober Preus and David Scaer (For Wayne: Concordia Theological Seminary, 1979), p. 55 4 Quoed by Rober Kolb, "The Laymen's Bible: The Use of Luher's Caechisms in he German Lae Reformaion;' in Preus and Scaer, p. 16. 5. Charles P. Arand, "Luher's Caechisms: Maps for he Sudy of Scripure;' Issues in Chrisian Educaion (Summer 1990), p. 22. In his connecion also see Paul I. Johnson, "Reu's Undersanding of he Small Caechism;' Luheran Quarerly (Wmer 1993), pp. 425-450. 6. Rober Schulz, "The Theological Significance of he Order of he Chief Pars in Luher's Caechism;' in Teaching he Faih, ed. Carl Volz (River Fores: Luheran Educaion Associaion, 1967), pp. 45-46. 7. George Wollenburg in an unpublished essay "The Prieshood of Believers as i Relaes o he Divine Service:' Also see Erling Teigen, "The Universal Prieshood in he Luheran Confessions;' Logia (Reformaion 1992), pp. 9-16. 8. See Frank Cross, 1 Peer: A Paschal Liurgy (London: SPCK,1954). 9. AE 31:25 10. Carer Lindberg, Beyond Chariy (Minneapolis: Forress Press, 1993), p. 169. Also see Rober Kolb, Teaching God's Children His Teaching: A Guide for he Sudy of Luher's Caechism (Huchinson, MN: Crown Publishing, 1992), pp. 8:1-8:14; Harold NOTES Senkbeil, Sancificaion: Chris in Acion (Milwaukee: Norhwesern Publishing House, 1989), pp. 111-148. 11. Wilhelm Loehe, Three Books Abou he Church, rans. James Schaaf (Philadelphia: Forress Press, 1969), p. 170. 12. Waler Carlson, "LCA Caechesis--The Reformaion Los;' dialog (Winer 1982), p. 13. 13. Virgil Thompson, "The Promise of Caechesis;' Luheran Quarerly (Auumn 1990), p. 264 14. Beril Gaerner, "Didaskolos: The Office, Man and Woman in he New Tesamen;' Concordia Journal (March 1982), P 52-60. 15. See Os Guinness, Dining Wih he Devil: The Megachurch Movemen Flirs Wih Moderniy (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993). 16. Lyle Schaller, The Parish Paper (April 1988), p.l. 17. See E. Brooks Holifield, From Salvaion o Self-Realizaion: The Hisory of Pasoral Care in America (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1983). 18. William Thompson, "Caechesis: The Quie Crisis;' The Bride ofchris (Adven 1990), p. 22. 19 Philip Lee, Agains he Proesan Gnosics (New York: Oxford, 1987), p. 228. 20. C. S. Lewis, Leers o Malcolm Chiefly on Prayer (New York: Harcour Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1963), p. 4. 21. Luheran Worship (S. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982), p. 6. For an exposiion of Goesdienssee Luheran Worship; Hisory and Pracice, ed. Fred Prech (S1. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1993), pp. 44-45; Norman Nagel, "Whose Liurgy Is I?" Logia (Easer 1993), pp. 4-8; Harold Senkbeil, Dying o Live: The Power ofhe Forgiveness ofsins (S. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1994), pp. 115-136; John T. Pless, ed., Real Life Worship Reader (S. Louis: LCMS Commission on Worship, 1994). 22. Eugene Peerson, The Conemplaive Pasor (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989), pp.128-129. 23. Carl Braaen in a speech a S. Olaf College, Norhfield, Minnesoa on April 27, 1993. 24. Guinness, p. 6. 25. See Sanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, Residen Aliens; Life in he Chrisian Colony (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989). 26. Quoed by Rober Wilken, "No Oher Gods;' Firs Things (November 1993), p. 14.