What Does This Mean?

Fence, Mirror and Guide Book

Encore Post: “In the day you eat of it, you will surely die,” God warned Adam. (Genesis 2:17) And he did die and all of us with him. (1 Corinthians 15:22) The first sin disrupted everything. It set creation against itself, bringing decay, suffering, grief and disorder. The greatest disaster, however, is separation of God from his children. Now they were under sentence of death. Yet God did not destroy the world, nor damn Adam and Eve as they deserved. In his love and mercy, God promised instead to send his Son to crush the ancient snake (Genesis 3:15). With his judgment on their sin and the curses that followed, he began to reveal his law to Adam and Eve so that they might learn the consequences of their sin, cling to the promised Seed of Eve for salvation and learn to serve God and others once again.

To this day, the Law of God restrains our sin, drives us to the Gospel for salvation and show us how in faith we can serve God and our neighbors. The law does this in three ways.

First, it stops sin from running free in the world. Through human authorities — parents, governments, employers and others, the law praises and rewards good behavior and punishes evil deeds. It acts like a fence, to contain and restrain sin.

Second, the law tells us what God requires of us, threatens us with eternal death if we do not obey it in thought, word and deed. It reveals every one of our sins, evil motives and desires. It charges us with rebellion against God in his court. It shows us we are guilty and cannot free ourselves. It drives us to the Gospel and the sacrifice of God’s Son for our salvation. It acts like a mirror that shows us our sin.

Third, the law guides Christians, in whom the Holy Spirit has created faith in Christ. Because we love God and want to please him, the law reveals his God’s will for our lives and how he wants us to love him and our neighbors. It acts like a guide book or a manual that clears away the confusion of life in a sinful world.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

What is in the Small Catechism?

Encore Post: When a young confirmation student first gets his copy of the Small Catechism, his first thought is that it doesn’t look all that small! His shiny new book is hundreds of pages long, with hundreds of questions in it. He panics at the thought of memorizing it all — until he realizes that he only has to memorize the first two dozen or so pages. It still seems impossible — but a little less so!

So, what is in the Catechism? When Luther began his work, just three pieces — the Ten Commandments, The Apostles’s Creed and the Lord’s prayer. These three main parts are still the heart of the catechism. The Ten Commandments or Ten Words, tell us what we should do to be like God. God intended it exactly backwards from the way we learn it. It is at its base a guide book — the third use of the Law. When original sin comes into the picture, the first and second uses we first think of comes into play. The Apostles’ Creed tells us what God did to make us, redeem us and make us holy so that we can keep God’s law. The Lord’s Prayer tells us about our life of fellowship with God. Luther wrote simple explanations of these in everyday German.

Soon questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were added along with simple answers to them and the main Scriptures that teach them. These helped the students come to understand the treasures awaiting them in the divine service. A brief form of confession was also added to prepare students for confession and absolution before a pastor in private. After Luther’s death, information about the Office of the Keys rounded out the six main parts of the catechism.

In Luther’s day, when you bought a book, you bought just the pages — like you copied a whole book on a photocopier. You would go to a bookbinder, who would put a cover on it. The book was still so small that people added small tracts to fill it out a bit. Several have remained in most editions — Luther’s chart of duties — scriptures that talk about people with different roles in life should do, a marriage service, a baptism service, Christian questions and answers.

Over the centuries, the catechism became so popular teachers wanted more questions and answers that addressed the theological issues of the day. Thus many catechisms have explanation sections with bible stories, scriptures that support the points of these questions and many other things. That is how the book grew to what we know it today.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Church Year: Epiphany to Ascension

Moving out of the Christmas Season on January sixth, we enter into the season of Epiphany. These seasons all adjust around the moveable date of Easter. Epiphany means “revealing.” In this season we celebrate the revealing of Jesus beyond the Christmas activities. The day of Epiphany brings the magi into the picture. This is a kind of Gentile Christmas.

The season then moves through moments where Jesus and His ministry are revealed. It contains several major feasts/festivals. The Epiphany of our Lord, the Baptism of our Lord, the Transfiguration of our Lord, and a handful of minor festivals can all be within the season. Epiphany can be between 13 days, with only one Sunday, and 59 days, with seven Sundays! The common Sundays use green and the festivals use white paraments.

The three “gesima” or pre-Lent Sundays separate Transfiguration from Ash Wednesday. The Sundays are gently moving us from the mountaintop into the penitential season. Their strange names keep us counting towards Easter. Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima simply mean about seventy, sixty, and fifty. Those are the estimations of days until Easter.

There is irregular historical and current practice regarding the paraments and liturgy in the gesimas. Liturgical practices range from green paraments and unrestricted liturgy to violet paraments and Lenten austerity, and all points in between. At Mt. Calvary, we observe them with green and no restrictions. Other churches may use violet, veiled crucifixes, austere liturgy, and excluded Alleluia. In Christian freedom all of these things are good practices.

(Using the Vatican II inspired three-year lectionary, The Season of Epiphany retains the three Sundays of pre-Lent).

O Lord throughout These Forty (six) Days

The penitential season of Lent runs from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, covering six Sundays. Ash Wednesday can fall anywhere between February fifth and March ninth. It is always 46 days before Easter. The color of Ash Wednesday paraments are black or violet.

Generally, we say that the Sundays in Lent are not of Lent. That is to say that pious practice of Lenten fasting may exclude the Sundays. Lent is marked by austerity. The color is violet, which suggests sorrow and royalty. We exclude the Gloria in Excelsis (or hymn of praise) and alleluia throughout the season. Like the third Sunday of Advent, the forth Sunday of Lent sees a softening of our penitence. It is called Laetare, meaning rejoice. The color may shift to rose, reflecting this lighter mood.

Holy Week begins with Palm or Passion Sunday. The color is Scarlet from Sunday through Maundy or Holy Thursday. Often the altar and sanctuary are stripped at the conclusion of the Thursday service. This prepares the space for the great austerity of Good Friday. The altar remains bare and clergy may wear black. Holy Saturday remains black as well. But, the Saturday Easter Vigil begins with a bare altar and continues with white after the Easter proclamation.

The day of Easter is the moving target around which these other seasons adjust. Easter is fixed to the Sunday, after the first full moon, following the vernal equinox. This means Easter can fall anywhere from March 22^nd to April 25^th. This 33 day window was a solution between dissenting Early Christians celebrating on Passover, regardless of the day of the week, and those celebrating Easter on a fixed Sunday. This moveable schedule keeps us close to Passover and always on a Sunday.

The Easter Season is 40 days long, concluding with The Ascension of our Lord on the 40^th day. It’s always a Thursday. We generally treat the eight days after ascension as part of Easter, though they could also be considered the days of Ascension. White is the parament color and all of our liturgical celebration returns.

The 49^th day is the Eve of Pentecost. That moves us into Trinity, the season of the church.

Let us celebrate with contrition and great joy!

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
And
Mission Planting Pastoral team
Epiphany Lutheran Church, Bastrop, TX

Why is Luther’s Small Catechism so Popular?

“Mercy! Good God! what manifold misery I beheld! The common people, especially in the villages, have no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine, and, alas! many pastors are altogether incapable and incompetent to teach … Yet they [do not understand and] cannot [even] recite either the Lord’s Prayer, or the Creed, or the Ten Commandments”
— Martin Luther, “Preface” in The Small Catechism 0.1

Encore Post: Luther was shocked and dismayed. His prince had sent him and his friends on a mission to go throughout Saxony and see what needed to be done to reform the church. There was no bishop who came over to the Reformation to provide care for the people, so the prince had to act. Luther knew the everyday people were badly educated — but he didn’t know how bad it was. He had instructed his friends to write catechisms to help fathers and priests teach the people. He was not at all satisfied with their work and it clearly was not working. So he produced two Catechisms — the Large Catechism for pastors and fathers learn how to teach children and the Small Catechism for the children to memorize.

Luther produced two classics. The Small Catechism revolutionized Christian education of children — even beyond Lutheranism, resulting in basic catechisms for children appearing in all denominations. Wherever the Lutheran Church and its missions went in the world, the Small Catechism soon followed. As soon as the Bible appeared in a new language, the Catechism and the liturgy were sure to soon follow. It is among the most translated works in Western civilization. When the first Missouri Synod Lutherans emigrated to America, among the essential books packed in the trunks were the Bible, the Catechism, a prayer book, a hymnal and a book of sermons. Wherever the Missouri Synod organized congregations, they would immediately set up schools — sometimes multiple schools — where at first the pastors would teach, you guessed it — the Catechism, the Bible and then other subjects. As soon as a congregation could afford it, they would also call a school teacher.

The Small Catechism was so popular because it was so basic. It taught the bedrock doctrines needed to live a Christian life — the Ten Commandments and with it God’s law in its three uses; the Creed and with it the Gospel which saves us and gives us the power to live the Christian life and the Lord’s Prayer, and with it the building of a life centered around Jesus. He also translated these treasures into the child’s native language, so they could comprehend them. He then explained them carefully, sweetly in easily memoizable words. He did all this without using combative language. The result is that even non-Lutherans cherish the Small Catechism.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Why Memorize the Catechism?

Encore Post: The Catechism contains the chief parts of the faith. At the heart of it are the big 3 pieces: the 10 Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, and Lord’s Prayer. Dr. Luther also attached Confession, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Luther wanted his students to know the catechism by heart.

The Catechism ought to be learned out loud for memory’s sake. It should be memorized by the hearers as it is used in the divine service. Four pieces of the catechism are mainstays within the liturgy (Apostles Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Confession, and Sacrament of the Altar). The Ten Commandments are effectively understood to be in play as they are considered when confessing our sins to God. Luther gives us that instruction in his explanation when asking the question, “What sins should we confess?” The Sacrament of Baptism still occurs within the confines of the Divine Service as well, but unfortunately baptisms appear to be fewer and farther between. However, we should not down play baptisms as in every moment of the Divine Service we are reminded of the gifts that gives to us through our Baptisms into Christ Jesus.

We memorize the catechism because the catechism is really nothing other than the Words of Christ. The Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer are specifically taken right out of Scripture. The Creed is effectively the entire story of the bible distilled down to 3 articles of faith, the confession of Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification in and through the work of the blessed Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are granted faith as we hear the word of God revealed to us in the Catechism. The Catechism then is perhaps the greatest place to begin when teaching the faith to the littlest among us as well as the young in the faith.

The Word of God is important, and we ought be in the Word as often as possible. The Catechism ought to be memorized and used by the faithful so that it becomes embedded in our hearts. If it is not used in our daily devotional life the words of the catechism will quickly leave us. But if the words of the catechism are memorized or learned by heart, the vocabulary of the catechism informs our faith and entire life. It is after the words of our Lord for the instruction in the faith.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Child and Pupil of the Catechism

Encore Post: Martin Luther was troubled. On a formal visit to the churches in Saxony, he discovered that Christian education in the faith was almost non-existent. Even the pastors could not recall the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed. For this reason, he wrote his Large Catechism and Small Catechism. A catechism is a book that explains the basic truths of the Scripture, typically by asking and answering questions. In the preface to his Large Catechism, Luther answered the common objections to memorizing and meditating on the catechism in this way:

“I am also a doctor and preacher … yet I do as a child who is being taught the Catechism, and ever morning, and whenever I have time, I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, etc. And I must still read and study daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain a child and pupil of the Catechism, and am glad so to remain.” — Martin Luther, Large Catechism, Preface 7

If an athlete hopes to compete at the highest level and perform at the top of his game, he needs to work out daily. Most of his routines are basic skills performed over and over again. It is not that he has forgotten them or never learned them, but that they must be second nature to him and done in perfect form. Only then can he execute the most complicated of his moves well. The same thing is true for a musician. She will run through scales and warm up exercises to be sure that she will produce the notes perfectly when she attempts the most beautiful and complex pieces.

For Luther and for us, daily meditation on the catechism works the same way. As we review the basics of the faith, we are able to understand better what God wants us to believe and how he wants us to live. Building on these things helps us to face whatever challenges come are way each day and to enjoy the blessings he gives to us.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Benediction

Encore Post: With the Benediction, the service comes a close. It is the perfect closing to the Lord’s Service to His people. The Aaronic Benediction, the words given by the Lord to Aaron to speak over the assembly who waited at the services of the Tabernacle, is the bookend to the Invocation. There, the Name of the Lord was put upon the people. So now at the conclusion the Lord’s name is placed upon His people once again before they leave the sanctuary and enter into the the world to live out their daily lives in their various vocations. Not only does the congregation leave with His Name, but they also leave with His Peace.

The Aaronic Benediction used as the final words of the Liturgy is uniquely Lutheran. Note the Tri-fold blessing that the congregation receives. They are to be kept by Him, They are have His face shine upon them, and they are to receive peace. It is the perfect blessing to receive that reminds us of our baptisms as we leave the sanctuary. God goes with us into the world, just as He promised He would. For He shall never leave us but will remain with us until the end of the age.

It is a peace which is only known via Jesus Christ giving us this peace in Word and Sacrament. He serves us this peace by coming into the world to bear the burden of our sin and stand in our stead at the cross as our substitute. He acts as the great high priest who has atoned for our sin not via the blood of bull or goats but has obtained our salvation by pouring out His own blood as payment for sin. By Christ we have been reconciled to God. As the Gloria in Excelsis says, “Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” we have that peace granted to us. God’s goodwill is shining upon us. He is gracious to us on the account of Christ. And Christ our Lord speaks this peace to His faithful even now through His chosen mouth pieces, the pastors He has placed into your congregations, so that hear this good news and believe so that Christ’s peace be made your own.

And the congregation upon receiving this blessing sings the Triple Amen. Yes, yes, it shall be so. Yes, Lord let is be so, now and always.

I pray that this Walk Through the Liturgy has been a blessing to you. It certainly has been a joy to write this series as it has allowed me to see even more connections between the words of the Liturgy and Scripture. I pray that as you participate and receive God’s gifts for you in the Divine Service you are able to see how beautiful each piece of the Divine Service truly is and why we Lutherans do what we do in the Liturgy. It’s God serving us, and what a beautiful service He does. He serves us Jesus and the salvation won for us by Jesus all the way.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Benedicamus

Encore Post: Upon the post communion collect, the liturgy is coming to a close. The pastor repeats the Salutation that he said prior to the Collect of the Day, “The Lord be with You.” The congregation responds in kind, “And with thy spirit.” Then the pastor says the phrase, “Let us bless the Lord.” This is what we call the Benedicamus, which is Latin for the phrase “Let us bless.” The hymnal gives us Psalm 103 as a biblical reference. This is great! For Psalm 103 takes us back to the reasons we should sing praise and bless the Lord. He forgives our iniquities! He redeems our lives from the pit! He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy! The congregation responds singing “Thanks be to God!” It is a fitting way to end the Liturgy of the Divine Service.

Giving thanks for what our Lord has done for us is an every Sunday event– every time the Divine Liturgy is sung. While the hymnal references the Psalm, the phrase first appears in the Torah. Moses says to bless the Lord in Deuteronomy 8:10. There Moses is preaching to the Israelites who are just about to enter into the Promised Land.

In the Benedicamus, we hear the words of Moses and the Psalmist reminding us to bless the Lord, who is merciful and gracious to us, even when we fail to recognize it as such. Think through the Liturgy. We have been in gracious presence of God! We are hearing God’s Word of Law of Gospel.

Sometimes grace does not feel like grace to us, though. Being confronted with your sin and being brought to repentance hurts. But that is the grace of our Lord at work. He does not want people to die in their sin but wants to save sinners, so the Law is good for it shows you your sins and tells you the truth of your sinful state. While that does not look like a gracious thing on the surface, it is perhaps the most gracious thing our Lord can do. He loves you that much to discipline you that you might be saved and made alive again on account of Christ your Savior, who died on the cross to redeem you from the pit and forgive your iniquities and sins.

The entire Divine Service has been leading us to see how gracious our Lord is to us. He deals with our sins by sending His Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior. So yes, we shall “Bless the Lord” and also give thanks to our God.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Thanksgiving and Collect

Encore Post: Upon the completion of the beautiful Nunc Dimittis, the pastor or the assistant chants, “O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good,” and the congregation respond with the rest of verse one of Psalm 107, “and His mercy (ESV translates: steadfast love ; the Hebrew is חֶסֶד transliterated CHESED) endureth forever.” However, the hymnal committee could have easily put Psalm 136, 2 Chronicles 20:21, or even Jeremiah 33:11 as the biblical reference. These later two bible references, 2 Chronicles and Jeremiah 33, both imply worship taking place with the singing of this verse.

And in the same manner of the worship of the people of God in the Old Testament and those whom Jeremiah prophesies, we sing our thanks to our Lord who has manifested his mercy and steadfast love toward us in this Sacrament which we just received. It is as if each time we receive the Sacrament, we are participating in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word to Jeremiah: “For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first.” If you keep reading Jeremiah, we will learn that the fortunes are restored by the Righteous Branch, whose name is: The Lord is our righteousness.

The fortunes which we see restored is God’s mercy upon sinners. He forgives us for Christ’s sake. He has made abundantly clear to us by the giving of His Son at the cross for the sin of the world in order that the world might be saved through Him. So we give thanks to our gracious Lord, and then address Him with the prayer that follows.

The typical prayer said is Luther’s collect, which he penned for his German Mass. This prayer is beautiful in its simplicity as it gets to the point of the Sacrament we just received from Christ. However, it might serve the congregation well if the pastor expand the prayer for catechetical purposes, or if he take time in bible or confirmation class to explain the petitions embedded in this simple prayer.

The salutary gift for which we give thanks is the very body and blood of Jesus Christ. Then we literally ask the Lord, that having received into our bodies the body and blood of Christ, we be made to trust in the Triune God. In other words, we are praying that we be made holy, sanctified, by the eating and the drinking of Christ’s body and blood. We do not just ask that we fulfill the first table of the Law in this prayer but we also pray that by the same body and blood, we also love our neighbor in ways that are pleasing to our Lord.

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Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Nunc Dimittis

Encore Post: During the time of Distribution the congregation will more than likely sing hymns and spend time contemplating the tangible grace of their Lord Jesus Christ that they just received or will receive in the near future. Once the members of the congregation receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the pastor likely will consume whatever remains of the Sacrament. At that time, the congregation will rise to sing the beautiful song known as the Nunc Dimittis or the Song of Simeon.

St. Simeon originally sang these words when he saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple forty days after his birth. For the year 2020, the 40th day after Christmas fell on a Sunday, and the church celebrated the festival known as the Purification of Mary and Presentation of our Lord. The event is recorded for us by St. Luke and is the final canticle of the Divine Service.

We should not miss the richness of the event when Simeon first uttered these words which we now sing after receiving the Sacrament. Simeon had been promised he would see the Lord’s Christ before he would die. We don’t know how long he had to wait for this to happen, but if was anything like the Old Testament, Simeon had been expecting Jesus for a good long while. And finally, he finds Jesus right where He ought to be found, in His Father’s House! And it is with joy that Simeon sings, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

And with what joy you also can sing the same words! For you (in the congregation) have been waiting for this moment. In the Service of the Sacrament we are preparing for the coming of the Lord’s anointed. We sing of his coming in the Sanctus. “Blessed is He who comes!” We sing of seeing him at the altar, In His Father’s House, doing His Father’s Work, as the Lamb of God, in the Agnus Dei. And now we rejoice for we have not only seen Him and the salvation He brings for all people, but we have received and we are ready to depart in peace.

Luther does a masterful job in his hymn based off the Nunc Dimittis (938 In Peace and Joy I Now Depart). The Sacrament prepares us to die well. For in the Sacrament we have been granted forgiveness of our sins, which leads us to have confidence in Christ. “Serene and confident my heart; Stillness fills it. For the Lord has promised me That death is but a slumber.” There is also the tradition of singing this hymn at the deathbed, and if the saint dies, the verbs are then said in the past tense. Let us sing the Nunc Dimittis with confidence and joy upon receiving the Body and Blood of Christ as well as all our lives in Christ, for our salvation has been hand delivered by Christ Himself! Depart in peace!

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

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