will mark my final Wednesday Catechism session at the Synod's International Center. It's been such a joy tracking through the Catechism on those Wednesday mornings, as we passed from bitter winter into the warmth of summer. I can't help but think that's how the Catechism carries us along: from the coldness and deadness of our personal winters into which we are born into the full joys of of the warmth and shining light of our Lord's embrace. Not an accident, then, that it STARTS with the Ten Commandments and ENDS with the Sacrament of the Altar. I hope the catechetical review was a blessing to the participants - I know for certain it was a blessing for me.
[And yes, I AM looking forward to getting my Wednesday mornings back - so I can attend our local pericope study group in Maryville and also so I don't have to rush away from our TSP chapels, when Fall arrives.]
3 comments:
One of the highlights of the
Catechism is the 2nd article of the
Apostles Creed. This should be the
focus as we center our attention on
Christ and everything He has done for
us.
It seems that the theology of Christ
has been neglected because we think
the Apostles Creed is the easy part
of the Catechism.
The catechism is one of those books that seems so basic and easy, yet you have a bunch of experiences and read a bunch of stuff, then see how much is in there.
U think if I really soak in what's in the Catechism by the time I go to the great elder meeting in the sky, I'll be doing well.
Das sage ich aber für mich: Ich bin auch ein Doktor ... und muß ein Kind und Schüler des Katechismus bleiben, und bleib es auch gerne.
I fully believe that Martin Luther was a unique gift to the Church. To discover the Gospel that had been hidden for so long is truly a miracle, one impossible without God’s intervention. At the same time, with all due respect (I really mean it – when most people use this phrase it really means “without respect”) I also believe that nothing touched by human hands in this world is perfect. That is why we give thanks and glory to God, because He alone is perfect.
So I have to ask: For almost 500 years we have been studying the Small Catechism and referring to its 10 Commandments knowing that it contains only 9. Did God not mean what He had to say in the Second Commandment? Does our Lord’s comment about removing one iod from the Law and teaching others to do so not apply?
The explanation of the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer continues to be a puzzle for me. How can we be in the Kingdom of God (Col 1:13) while we ask for it “to come to us”? Moreover, why do we, in whom according to Scripture and our Confessions the Holy Spirit dwells since our Baptism, receive or ask for Him again and again each time we pray, “Your Kingdom come”?
Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart
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