This is Most Certainly True

By Mark Worthing

The Small Catechism is an excellent foundation for discussions with new members or so-called pastor's classes

for new members and inquirers. It not only contains basic documents like the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, but it also has Luther's basic explanation of these, along with explanations of Baptism,

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Australian Christian Resources
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780645594980

Book preview

This is

Most Certainly True

Learning Jesus Christ

Through Luther’s Small Catechism

File:Lutherrose.svg - Wikimedia Commons

Mark Worthing

Text © Mark Worthing 2022

Published Edition ©2023 Australian Christian Resources [ACR]

Dural, NSW, Australia.

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ACR P702568

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.

Author: Mark Worthing

Title: This is Most Certainly True   

ISBN: 978-06483805-9-7

Cover layout and internal typesetting: Ben Morton – Immortalise

Series Editor: Mark Worthing

Cover image: Paul Gaugin’s Green Jesus, public domain image repainted to digital watercolour by DataChef AI

‘The Catechism is the layperson’s Bible. It contains the whole of Christian teaching that every Christian needs to know for eternal joy … so we should love and value the Catechism … for in it is summarised the proper, true, ancient, pure, divine teaching of the holy Christian church.’

– Martin Luther (WA TR 5:581f.)

‘The Small Catechism is traditionally associated in the minds of Lutherans with a textbook of material to be memorised. … No wonder that, after confirmation, the book had been laid aside. The original purpose of the Catechism – to accompany and guide the Christian along the path of faith – has been all but lost.’

– Friedemann Hebart,

Luther’s Large Catechism, Anniversary translation, 1983

‘An interviewer asked me: House of all Sinners and Saints is a very edgy, post-modern, progressive congregation. What kind of material do you use to instruct new members? Have you produced your own material? Actually, I said, we have a great little study guide that works very well for us. You may have heard of it. It’s called Luther’s Small Catechism.’

– Nadia Bolz-Weber

(talk given at Faith Lutheran College, Tanunda SA, Sept 2014)

Introduction

‘I Still Read the Catechism Daily’

At a martial arts grading ceremony for advanced black belts the entire group was called out onto the floor by the master. Each had been preparing very hard to do a series of katas appropriate to their ranks. Most of the katas lasted several minutes, were complex, and had taken months to learn. The master asked all these experts, who already had their black belts, to perform the very basic and short katas they had learned when they were white belts. There was general panic as many of the students fumbled through simple katas they had not performed in years. The master then sat them all back down. ‘How can you do the advanced katas correctly when you have forgotten the basics?’ he asked. ‘If your foundation is weak, you cannot build on it.’ The lesson was not soon forgotten.

Many Christians approach the basics of the Christian faith in the same way. We take for granted what we learned as children or youth: The Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed. If we grew up within the Lutheran tradition, we very likely have a copy of the Small Catechism neatly packed away and not looked at since we stood before the congregation and recited its lines in our youth. We believe we have well and truly outgrown such basic teachings. But it is precisely these basics of the Christian faith that we must never stop learning.

Luther had little patience for those who thought that going over the basics of the Christian faith was only for children, as if it was something we could master and then put behind us. In the introduction to his Large Catechism, which was written for pastors, he confessed that even though he read and studied the elements of the Catechism every day, he still had not mastered it. And to the university lecturers in theology who thought the Catechism was well beneath them, he had this to say:

I beg those lazy-bellies and presumptuous saints, for God’s sake, to get it into their heads that they are not really and truly such learned and great doctors as they think. I urge them not to imagine that they have learned these parts of the Catechism perfectly. …And even if their knowledge of the Catechism were perfect (which is impossible in this life), it is very profitable and fruitful to read it daily, to meditate on it, and talk about it.’²

So what are some of the ways we might make better use of the Small Catechism today?

Firstly, the Catechism, used well and creatively, still has a vital role to play in confirmation instruction. It is still relevant and still relates to young people when taught well.

The Small Catechism is an excellent foundation for discussions with new members or so-called pastor’s classes for new members and inquirers. It not only contains basic documents like the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, but it also has Luther’s basic explanation of these, along with explanations of Baptism, confession of sins and the Lord’s Supper. The Small Catechism, therefore, serves as an introduction to basic Christianity.

The Small Catechism is an ideal vehicle for reviewing our Christian faith. Small groups can make use of it, as can families and individuals wishing to go over again the basics of their faith and to learn how Jesus Christ, and what he did for us, stands at the centre of our faith.

We can make use of the Small Catechism in worship. The explanations to the Apostles’ Creed can be used as confessions of faith. The explanations of baptism and the Lord’s Supper can be read in the context of a baptism or Holy Communion. The Ten Commandments and Lord’s Prayer might also be used as the basis of a sermon series. Both these sections of the Catechism are, after all, expositions of biblical texts.

Finally, the Small Catechism is an important devotional resource. We can read a section and meditate on its meaning. We can pray our way through the Catechism day by day. We can recite a portion of it before family or individual devotions or Bible reading. And in doing so, we find ourselves again being directed to reflect on what God had done for us in Jesus Christ.

The Small Catechism produced by Martin Luther five centuries ago remains a valuable tool in the life of the church and in the lives of individual Christians. It is biblically focused. It is easy to understand. It is practical in its application. It is Christ-centred and grace oriented.

If we wish to learn the basics of Christian faith and life, if we wish to gain a grounding in biblical thought, if we wish to learn the good news of Jesus Christ and how it transforms our lives – then this little book from the sixteenth century is an excellent place to begin.

Chapter One

‘Good God, What a Mess!’

The Origins of the Small Catechism

As a child I read Alice in Wonderland. It was a wonderful fantasy about talking animals and underground tea parties. It was only when I chanced to read the book again as an adult that I realised it was also a brilliant commentary on human nature and relationships! How could I have missed all of that when I first read it as an adolescent? Adults who have worked through Luther’s Small Catechism again years after their confirmation often share a similar experience. ‘How could we have missed all that?’ they ask. In the apparent simplicity of the Small Catechism some of the most profound observations are to be found about the human condition, God’s grace, and the Christian life. As a pastor I still find the Small Catechism full of surprises. It never fails to challenge me in my faith and in my Christian life and to point me in ever new and unexpected ways to Jesus. But just how did this amazing resource come to be?

What is a catechism?

The word ‘catechism’ comes from the Greek word ‘catechesis’ or ‘instruction.’ It was the word used in the early church for the instruction given to those who converted to Christianity as they prepared for baptism. As the centuries progressed, the majority of Christians were born into families who had already accepted the message of Jesus. The children of these Christian parents were baptised as infants and as they grew older, received instruction, or catechesis, in the Christian faith. Many teachers of the church produced booklets that guided pastors and other Christian teachers in what to teach. These booklets, which contained the material used to catechise or teach, were called catechisms.

Most of these catechisms included the Ten Commandments, which are about how God wants us to live, the Lord’s Prayer, which is about how and why we should pray, the Apostles’ Creed, which is about the basic things every Christian believes, and sacraments like baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are important gifts to every Christian. Many catechisms were written in question and answer form, as this was a common way of teaching.

Perhaps the most famous catechism of all is the one written by Martin Luther. He called it the Small Catechism to distinguish it from his Large Catechism, which he wrote to instruct pastors. Before taking a look at Luther’s Small Catechism, it is important to understand how and why it came to be written.

How the Small Catechism came to be written

In the days leading up to Christmas, in the year 1528, Martin Luther interrupted the work he was doing on a large instruction manual for pastors. He had learned that there was an even more pressing problem in the church than the poor state of knowledge among the clergy, and it needed urgent attention.

The initial years of the Reformation in Germany had been tumultuous. Whole regions and kingdoms had come under the influence of the