Category: Catechesis

By Monica Berndt

Since the beginning of the Reformation, the Lutheran Church around the world has consistently allotted a portion of time during the Divine Service to the singing of hymns. Why? What is the reason for singing hymns as a congregation instead of letting a choir sing all the music, or why not just take hymns out altogether? After all, people can be self-conscience about singing in public, and, it takes time out of the service where we should be listening to a pastor speak the Word of God, right? Hymns do take up a large portion of our services, and we should understand why it is good for us to sing them.

When most of you were in grade school, you had to memorize the 50 U.S states and/or the names of all the U.S Presidents. To help you, your teachers probably had you memorize a song that included these names which you could sing with a CD, and have running through your head during the day. This helped you easily remember all the information the teacher wanted you to memorize by singing that song. Combining words with music helps our brains remember important facts and information better than just reciting them, which is why schools use music to teach us the presidents, and VBS and Sunday School use tunes to help us memorize Bible passages. But learning information this way is not just a tool for children, it is also one of the reasons we sing hymns.

Hymns are not just praise songs. Like the rest of the Divine Service, hymns remind us about Jesus, the redemption He won for us on the cross, and the gifts He continues to give us. Before church, look at the words to the hymns you will sing. Almost all of them will mention something about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to create faith. Communion hymns tend to talk about the forgiveness of sins given to us in the Lord’s Supper. Hymns sung at during a baptism not only speak of the baptism taking place that day, but also remind all of us of our own baptisms and the assurance of forgiveness we received there. Hymns sung before the sermon have words that tie into the points your pastors want to emphasize during their sermons. Hymns always tie into what is said during the Divine Service and point us to Christ.

In this capacity, hymns are a bit like memory songs for the church. Many people have difficulty remembering long Bible passages and parts of the catechism, but most people can sing their favorite hymn from memory. They can then quote those hymns, recalling all the promises of Jesus who died and rose for them. The more often you sing a hymn in church, the more likely you are to remember it outside of church where you can sing it at home or while you go about your daily tasks. This will remind you of the words and works of God that are spoken every Sunday during the rest of the service. So why should we sing hymns? Because they help us remember what Jesus has done for us!

Monica Berndt is a member at Messiah Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA and serves as the music director there. She is studying music and history at the University of Washington and loves to talk about Medieval History and why she loves hymnals. She can be reached at acinomtdnreb@gmail.com.

Being Instructed by the Ten Commandments

The Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

The LORD God gives us the gift of a tongue. With a tongue, we can speak, talking with God and with each other. With the tongue, we are given to bless God and one another. As baptized children of God, we are called to use our tongue for good. We use it properly when we use it to speak the truth. As the Lord puts His Word in our mouths and upon our lips, we are being instructed in the use of our tongues for the benefit of others. The Holy Spirit teaches us, “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice” (Psalm 37:30).

Christ is the Wisdom of God, and His Word make us wise. He teaches us to speak up for those who do not have a voice. He call us to give true testimony about our littlest neighbors in the womb (the unborn babies who cannot speak for themselves). We are learning to pray on behalf of others. We are learning to explain the words and actions of others in the kindest way. We are learning to defend others. We are learning to speak well of others who are not present to speak for themselves.

But we are tempted to transgress with the tongue. The evil spirits seduce and trick us to use our tongues for falsehood and foolishness. The devil deceives and entices us to “tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation” (Small Catechism, The Eighth Commandment). Satan is the father of lies. It is his nature to speak lies to us, betray us, slander us, and hurt our reputations. He wants us to be like him, dwelling in darkness and deception. His desire is to lead us to speak with the tongue of a serpent and mislead others. As he accuses us of sin, he trains us to accuse others of sin. The old evil foe would like us to give false testimony against our neighbor. In fact, the devil convinced the chief priests and the religious leaders to look for people who would give false testimony against Jesus. Why? They wanted to stop Jesus from speaking the truth. They desired to judge Jesus, condemn Him, and kill Him.

The Apostle Peter describes the false testimony against Jesus in this way: “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:23–24). With these words, we see two things.

First, we see Jesus as the example of the perfect man who was not overcome by the temptation to transgress with his tongue. He was like a mute man who did not open His mouth to quarrel with those who rebuked Him. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth….and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7, 9).

Second, we see Jesus as the silent sacrificial lamb. He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins (John 1:29). He bears our sins in His body, including the sins committed and omitted by our tongues. By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). We are beginning to die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

But in our day to day lives the tongue is not easy to tame. We have teeth to trap the tongue and lips to seal our mouths, but the tongue still manages to escape. We need Jesus to speak up for us. Through the Gospel, we are assured that He is our Advocate with the Father. As the resurrected and ascended Lord, Jesus continues to use His tongue for our good. He is the High Priest who blesses us before the Father. He makes intercession for transgressors. He defends us, speaks well of us, and explains everything in the kindest way.

He also pours out His Spirit upon us as we hear His voice in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit enlightens us to pray: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:13). The Holy Spirit even teaches us by giving our tongues this prayer: “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3). He also teaches: “I said, ‘I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle’” (Psalm 39:1).

We are learning to bite our lips and resist the temptation to transgress with our tongues. The Holy Spirit calls and guides us to use our tongues to confess our sins and proclaim the praise of Christ our Savior. Through the power of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is renewing us and restoring us into the image of Christ, the perfect man who uses His tongue for the benefit of others.

We pray.

Father, You have given us the gift of our tongues. Keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit. Keep watch over the door of our lips and set a guard over our mouths. Put Your Word in our mouths that our tongues may declare Your praise; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM

by Kathy Strauch

Do we have to go through the confession this week? It makes me uncomfortable and I’d much rather skip it. And, why do we begin the Divine Service in this way? 

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:8–9

We begin the Divine Service confessing that we have sinned. We confess the problem actually runs much deeper than sins we commit outwardly. We have not only sinned but we are, at the root, sinners. We are sinners because we are sinful. Outside Baptism, sin is all that defines us.

That’s the reason why I would rather skip this part of the Divine Service. It reveals my Old Adam. My sinful nature would rather run than be confronted with the truth. 

God’s Law is a mirror that shows me who I really am—I am by nature sinful and unclean. I have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I have not loved God with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I justly deserve His present and eternal punishment. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, says John. The truth is that we are dead in our transgressions. The power of sin that rules over us means that we are by nature enemies of God. 

That’s why, as Dr. Norman Nagel writes: “Confession is facing up to God with no fudging. Confessing is as He says it is: “You sinner.” Yes, me — sinner.”

God’s Divine Service gifts flow from the beginning to the end of the service. Although my Old Adam may fight against and despise it, my new nature in Christ sees confession only as a gift of faith. It is faith that hears the Word of God declaring us sinful and confesses the same. Yes, we are sinners, but more importantly, we are forgiven sinners. This is the dynamic of repentance. Sinners confessing their sin because they yearn for comforting absolution.

As the Augsburg Confession [XII:2-6] affirms: “repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. “

Repentance consists of two parts, confession and absolution. Just as the processional was all about Jesus, so repentance, confession and absolution, is all about Jesus. 

Confession is all about Jesus who became our sin for us. When confess, we place our sins on Christ. Our sins have been given to Christ and done away with. We no longer carry the guilt, shame, and death sin once rightly held over us. 

We are, like the Israelites, placing our sins on the One who can take that sin away. As it is written: “He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites — all their sins — and put them on the goat’s head.” (Leviticus 16:21)

 We place our sins on the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world in His death. The goat spoken of in Leviticus is a shadow of Christ. It was Christ who carried our sins to His death. 

The gifts of grace and peace from absolution flow;
The pastor’s words are Christ’s for us to trust and know,
Forgiveness that we need is granted to us there;
The Lord of mercy sends us forth in His blest care.
(The Gifts Christ Freely Gives, LSB 602)

The Divine Service begins with forgiveness. Sinners cannot enter or stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God. We do not have a God who is only holy and righteous, we have a God filled with compassion and mercy for sinners. 

Absolution is peace gifted in forgiveness. Absolution brings us life when we are dead in sin. This gift is delivered to us in the words of our pastor who speaks the words of Christ to us. The absolution are life-filled Gospel words. 

We are free to confess because we no longer bear the punishment for our sins. That punishment was placed on Jesus. He took responsibility for the wrong we have done and the good we have left undone. Jesus has freed us from working for our salvation. We are given the gift of faith to believe the words of absolution from our pastor. Because we are forgiven, we have peace to live a life of thankfulness in service to our neighbor. 

We are forgiven. It’s who we are. We are redeemed, forgiven, baptized children of our God. The absolution is a promise — you are forgiven for Christ’s sake.

Kathy Strauch is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan and is a graphic designer.

by Kathy Strauch

It’s all about Jesus. That’s what we heard at Higher Things conferences this summer and that is what we confess. The Scriptures are about Jesus. The apostle Paul writes, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) From beginning to end it’s all about Jesus crucified and risen for you and me.

We heard this message proclaimed to us through daily worship, breakouts, plenaries, and in the bookends of the conference—the Divine Service. 

Have you ever had questions about the Divine Service or asked your pastor about it? Why do we follow the historic liturgy? What is all the sitting, standing, singing, confessing, and preaching about? What is going on during the Divine Service?

The Divine Service is a gift. Here God gives us life and salvation by delivering the work of Christ to us through the Word and sacraments. 

“For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.” 

We confess these words. We do not enter into the Divine Service with our own works. The Divine Service is not a transaction with God. Rather, we come confessing our sin and asking for forgiveness and a renewed heart that only God can create in us. 

The Divine Service was familiar to me, the processional, however, was not. So, what is the processional all about?

It’s all about Jesus. 

While I was not familiar with this part of the liturgy, I was familiar with the imagery. As the processional made its way forward with the crucifix lifted high and leading the procession through the congregation, I was reminded of a reflection of this in the Old Testament. 

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:8–9)

The Israelites had grumbled against God and Moses and, as a result, God sent fiery serpents to visit His people. But, God had also attached a promise to the sign of the bronze serpent. “And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” 

Just as Jesus opened up the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus takes Nicodemus back to this story to demonstrate that all Scripture testifies to Himself.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14–15)

The serpent in the desert is an image of Christ. It was Jesus who was lifted up on the cross for us. When the poisonous fangs of our sin, death, and the devil sink into us, it is Christ and Him crucified we look to for eternal life. 

The processional is all about Jesus. The work of Christ is literally held up and placed before our eyes as we entered into the Divine Service. The gifts given in the Divine Service flow from His cross. He gives Himself to us. The processional, just like the entirety of the Divine Service has its focus on Christ crucified for you.

Kathy Strauch is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan and is a graphic designer.

Being Instructed by the Ten Commandments

The Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal.

God is the True Philanthropist, that is, the lover of humanity who generously gives gifts. Every morning God gives the gift of a new day. Throughout the day, we receive the gifts of God that sustain us in both body and soul. These gifts include such things as the rising sun, the air that we breath, and the land where we live. The Lord is the source and fountain of all that is good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). So, as the people of God we are being taught to receive every good and gracious gift from God with thanksgiving. We are learning to pray each and every day that our Father would look upon us in mercy for the sake of His Son, our Savior, Jesus, and renew us by His Holy Spirit.

Jesus teaches us saying, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). By nature, we are evil and not good. God alone is good. Yet it is common knowledge that a child needs parents to provide good gifts such as house and home, food and drink, clothing and shoes. Thus, we understand that earthly fathers give the needed gifts to help their earthly children live in their bodies.

Now, we can easily apply this basic physical need to our soul. Our Heavenly Father gives the needed gifts to help His heavenly children, that is, those who have been adopted by grace in the water and the Word of Holy Baptism. Jesus invites us to petition the Father and ask Him to constantly give to us the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of intercession and adoption. As God’s children, we ask that the Holy Spirit would continually be given to us so that we may acknowledge the Father’s merciful goodness, serve Him in willing obedience, and give thanks for all His gifts.

In the First Commandment, we are taught about the gift of God Himself. In the Second Commandment, we are taught about the gift of God’s Holy Name. In the Third Commandment, we are taught about the gift of God’s Holy Word. In the Fourth Commandment, we are taught about the gift of our parents and other authorities. In the Fifth Commandment, we are taught about the gift of our lives. In the Sixth Commandment, we are taught about the gift of possessions.

Now in the Seventh Commandment, there is a striking reversal in themes. In Commandments 1–6, we learn that God is the Giver of gifts. Now in the Seventh Commandment, we are warned about the temptation to take away these gifts from others. We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions. Satan tempts us to take possession of the gifts that others have received from God’s hand. He tricks us to be like him to live in darkness and work by deception. When we steal, it is as if we are deciding that God made a mistake in giving the gift to somebody else. To steal is to take things into our own hands and seize what we think should belong to us, and so we end up clinging to fallen creation rather than to the Creator. When we steal, we try and possess the possessions of others. In the end, the possessions take possession of us. The old evil foe deceives us to become captured by the things that captivate us.

Christ comes to free us from our captivity. He opens His hand to grab hold of us. Then He teaches us to let go of the things we cling to in this creation. Now we are free to cling to Christ. God the Father loved us and gave the gift of His Only-begotten Son so that we would not be condemned with the corrupted creation.

The Holy Spirit is also enlightening us and leading us to have open hands that receive gifts from God and give gifts to others. When the hand is closed, it does not receive and it does not give. This is why St. Peter instructs the baptized as adopted children saying, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” (1 Peter 4:10)

In the old way of walking, we see our neighbor and ponder, “How can my neighbor serve me? How can I hurt my neighbor? How can I take gifts from him or her? How can I get his or her possessions by deception?” Now in the new way of walking, we see our neighbor and ponder, “How can I serve my neighbor? How can I help my neighbor? How can I give gifts to him or her? How can I help my neighbor keep his or her possessions?”

In Christ, we are a new creation and there is no condemnation. In Christ, we are growing and learning to be philanthropists, that is, lovers of humanity who give gifts. In Christ, we lack no gift. We have all that we need in Him.

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM

Being Instructed by the Ten Commandments

The Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery.

In the 6th Commandment, we are taught to protect God’s gift of marriage. We are learning to regard the gift of marriage and life as holy. Thus, we are struggling against a culture that does not believe in the sanctity of life or the sanctity of marriage. Here we see the clear connection between the 4th, 5th, and 6th Commandments. From the gift of a father and a mother, we obtain the gift of life. From the gift of the marital union, we obtain the gift of life. Our own consciences bear witness that it is wrong in God’s sight to despise our parents and other authorities, to murder the unborn, and to commit sexual sin outside of God’s institution of marriage. However, the corrupted culture tries to silence our troubled consciences by speaking louder and crying out against the authorities established by God, conception given by God, and sexual intimacy in marriage ordered by God. Thus, the wisdom of the world yells, “Rebellion! Abortion! Same Sex Marriage!” The devil hates the institutions and gifts of God. The world tries to catechize us through the media, movies, and music.

The Apostle Paul warns the baptized saying, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God” (1 Corinthians 15:33–34). Now to us who have been given the knowledge of God in Christ, we are growing in our understanding of our salvation from sin and death. Christ is our Catechist.

As sheep of the Good Shepherd who laid down His life to save us and make us His Holy People, we know His voice. Through the mouth of the Apostle Paul we hear Jesus’ voice instructing us: “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:13–14). Instead of walking in the flesh, we are called to walk in the Spirit.

In Holy Baptism, we are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit who continues to be poured out on us through the Word of God. Our heavenly Father “gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives” (Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: 2nd Petition). We are learning to keep God’s Name holy in our bodies by fleeing from sexual immorality, “which profanes the name of God among us” (Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: 1st Petition). By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are starting to desire to do God’s will. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5). As those who know God, we are learning to mortify the desires of the flesh, that is, put to death our sinful passions of our fallen flesh. Such sinful passions are made manifest in misusing our bodies in sexual sin.

In the 6th chapter of Paul’s first letter to the baptized in Corinth we are instructed on how to keep the 6th commandment. The Apostle warns us that the sexually immoral, the idolaters, adulterers, and those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). It is true that sin will remain in the baptized, but it must not reign in the baptized who have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:11). Our bodies have been redeemed by Christ. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Thus, we should flee sexual immorality which is the sin one commits against his or her own body. Our bodies belong to Christ who purchased it with His own blood. The body of the baptized is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should glorify God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). The Holy Spirit is instructing us to walk in newness of life in which we fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do.

But most profoundly, when it comes to God’s gift of marriage, we are given a picture of Christ, who is the Bridegroom, and the Church, who is His Bride. Jesus loves the Church and gave Himself up for her so that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water and the word, that is, Holy Baptism (Ephesians 5:25–27)

Through Holy Baptism Jesus makes each of us presentable to Himself, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. He cleanses us from all our sins, even those against the 6th Commandment, and He enlivens us to live lives of faith in Him and of true love (not what the world peddles as love) toward our neighbor.

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM

Salvation – FOR YOU

Historically Lutherans don’t mess around with the Liturgy much. We don’t really have a “Lutheran” liturgy – we have what has been passed down through the ages. Yes, Luther made some alterations and removed the theologically objectionable elements – but for the most part, we Lutherans have kept what has been handed down to us.

Except in this one case – the Nunc Dimittis.

This is a Lutheran contribution to the Liturgy. We sing the Nunc Dimittis after having received the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. But why? Why add it at all? And why do we sing it there and then in the Liturgy? It’s important to know what we do and why we do it. The Liturgy teaches us so much. It forms us. It delivers to us the gifts from Jesus. However, if we don’t understand the “Whys” of what we do – what we do loses its significance. So, what’s up with the Nunc Dimittis?

Joseph and Mary go to the Temple for the purification 40 days after Jesus was born (Luke 2:22-39). When Simeon is given the 40-day old Jesus – he speaks these words:

“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.”

Simeon had been waiting for the promised Saviour. After seeing him and holding him in his hands he spoke these words. With Spirit-wrought faith he knew he had seen Jesus, the promised One. In his hands, in this 40-day old baby boy, was the salvation of all people. Therefore, Simeon knew he could depart in peace for he had seen and held his salvation.

This is why this canticle fits so well for us to sing after receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, comes to us. His Body put into our hands and mouth, His blood poured down our throat. With the same Spirit-wrought faith that Simeon had we too can say that we have seen Jesus, the promised One. We too have received the salvation of all people. And therefore, just as Simeon did, so we can depart in peace for we have seen and held salvation.

We can depart from the altar after having received the Body and Blood of Jesus knowing that in Jesus our sins are forgiven. And there is no room for doubt here – the Body of Jesus was put into your mouth, the blood of Jesus was poured down your throat. Not someone else’s. Yours. For you. The Body and Blood of Jesus – FOR YOU. The forgiveness of sins – FOR YOU. Salvation – FOR YOU. Life – FOR YOU. Not the next guy… FOR YOU. So, why can you leave the altar in peace? Because you know that from Jesus forgiveness, life, and salvation has been given to YOU. Personally. Individually. FOR YOU.

We Lutherans don’t mess with the Liturgy that has been handed down. This small Lutheran contribution, however, is a beautiful confession of faith and trust in Jesus. It is a strong and powerful “Amen” to what Jesus has promised with His Body and Blood in this sacrament. That is why we sing the Nunc Dimittis when and where we do.

His gifts – FOR YOU. Depart in peace.

Rev. Michael Keith serves as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and SML Christian Academy in Stony Plain, AB Canada.

Honor Your Father and Mother

The Fourth Commandment is something we learn at a very early age. But have we really heard what God expects out of us? Sure everyone knows that we should honor our father and mother, but what application does this have in our everyday life? Does it apply to more than just our mothers and fathers?

To start let’s take a look at what Dr. Luther says in his small catechism:

Honor your father and your mother.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Without a doubt you have seen the trend in modern society to “challenge authority”. We can see it in politics, civil government, and even in our own homes. Even young children find ways to defy their parents by throwing temper tantrums or downright disobedience. In the family application the use of the Fourth Commandment seems obvious. This is not only so they learn good discipline, but also for their safety.

But is this really a Godly or right attitude to have towards our civil government or law enforcement officers? The Bible tells us that all earthly authority is established and ordained by God. In John 19, Jesus had been arrested and brought before Pontius Pilate. Jesus, despite all his power, obeys the Father and submits himself the authority of Pilate. Pilate at one point, sensing that Jesus is an innocent man and not defending himself, tells Jesus that he has the power to preserve his life or kill him. Jesus rightly informs Pilate that he would not have authority if the Father had not given it to him. Obeying and respecting our governing authorities is also giving honor to God who established these earthly positions. God, in His love for us, has established all earthly authority. Our civil authorities are God’s servants, whose vocation is one of governance. They are not only God’s servants to rule us, and maintain good order, but also protect us, and punish wrongdoers (Rom. 13:5-7, Titus 3:1, and 1 Peter 2:13-14).

Sin stalks us relentlessly and the old Adam wants to defy authority. We unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, cannot keep this commandment or any other. Often we are overcome with feelings of disrespect to our boss, teacher, or parent, or we are tempted to disobey them. We want to do what we want to do! God has even attached a promise that we may live long and good lives to the command to honor our father and mother (Ephesians 6:2-3). But how can we avail ourselves of this promise when this commandment is so hard to keep?

Jesus, who was the perfect child, honored his earthly mother and father. Jesus also honored His Heavenly Father and went to the cross for you and for me, including the times we did not honor our parents or other authorities. It is because of Christ Jesus; who obeyed his Heavenly Father, and subjected Himself to earthly authority, who was unjustly crucified on the cross for your sins, that you may have eternal life! We may falter in keeping the law that God has given us to honor, love and cherish our parents and authorities, but God has forgiven these sins because of the crucified Jesus who fulfilled the law for us.

Paul Norris worked for 10 years as a police officer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. He now works as the administrative assistant at Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas.

Being Instructed by the Ten Commandments

The Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.

When I was a wee little child, I was given a gift of a small die-cast metal toy construction crane. This present was given to me by my parents. With a little imagination, I could pretend to excavate dirt and dig a deep hole in the earth. The crane was shiny green, with a red bucket, and orange strings. With the swipe of a dial the boom of the crane would either lift or lower. With the swipe of another dial the red bucket would either open and drop down or close and raise up. I would push the crane along the ground and the miniature rubber tank treads would move. Now this was a special toy to me. I treasured it. I valued it. It was unlike all other toys that I threw in a box or a drawer. I carefully kept this toy in a leather pouch made for a camera. In fact, I still have my small die-cast metal toy construction crane to this day. I still cherish it.

We all have certain gifts that we cherish. One of those gifts should be our parents. That’s right. Our father and our mother are gifts from God. They are given to us, and through them we receive even more gifts from God. Through our parents, God gives to us all that we need to sustain our bodies. Through our parents, God gives to us the gift of house and home, food and drink, clothing and shoes, and many more blessings. Thus, God teaches us to honor our father and our mother. We should treasure them and value them. We should love them and cherish them. We should honor them.

In the Fourth Commandment, the focus is shifted from our love of God to our love of neighbor. This Commandment is foundational for our understanding of serving one another in our vocations, that is, the places in life where God has placed us to love others. Our very existence came into being through the union of our father and our mother. They are the closest people to us. They are the first people that we ever knew in our lives. As we receive love from our parents, we begin to see a picture of God’s love for us. However, this picture is not complete. It is in the Gospel that God reveals His love for us in that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) giving us forgiveness of sins, salvation, and newness of life.

In the First Table of the Commandments, we are instructed that God is the One who makes us holy. He Himself does this for us. He alone is holy, and He alone makes us to be His holy people. He gives to us the gift of His Holy Name. In our Baptism, we are made holy and receive the gift of His name, that is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We now have access to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. As He calls us out of darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9), He continues to speak to us through His Word. He is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.

In the Second Table of the Commandments, we are instructed in how we are to live as God’s holy people in an unholy and unclean world. In this life, the devil will continue to try to deceive us. The tempter will tempt us to become defiled and desecrate God’s Holy Name. The ancient serpent tries to teach us that it is acceptable to despise and anger our parents and other authorities. The evil foe entices us to walk in the old way of rebellion against God and His representatives on earth. In fact, Satan wants us to be lovers of pleasure and the things of this fallen world instead of being lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4).

However, the Holy Spirit is at work in us through the power of the Gospel. The Lord dresses us in the armor of light (Romans 13:12), gives us the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and invites us to pray. And if we tie the Forth Commandment with the Fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we see that we are asking God to give us our daily bread and to lead us to realize that He gives everything that we need to support our bodies through the masks of our parents and other authorities. God’s giving hand is seen in their extended hands to give us gifts from God. We are to receive these gifts with thanksgiving in serving and obeying them as God’s representatives on earth. In the Fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that God would deliver us from every evil of body and soul. The Son of God came to destroy the works of the evil one who incites us to bite the hand that feeds us.

God is love. As God has loved us, we are learning to love one another. This love begins with our parents. “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” (Small Catechism, The Fourth Commandment) Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are beginning to see things differently. We are being renewed in our thinking, speaking, and acting. We are learning to walk in newness of life loving others as God has loved us. We love because He has first loved us.

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM