Catechism W
e’ve finished our series on the Our Father in reverse, and before I start something new and completely different, I thought I’d write a few things about the catechism in general. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about the catechism—or not so frequently asked, depending on who’s asking. What is a “catechism” anyway? A
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Q&A
catechism is a little instruction book in the form of questions and answers. The word catechism comes from a Greek word that means “to instruct by word of mouth” or literally to “echo back” what you have heard. Listen...now repeat. That’s still a good way to learn. Where did the catechism come from? It came from the pen of Martin Luther. That shouldn’t surprise you. What might surprise you is that Luther didn’t write the small catechism for kids to memorize but for their parents. You see, a lot of parents in Luther’s day could barely read and write. So Luther wrote a brief and memorable summary of the Christian faith for Christian parents, particularly the fathers, so that they could memorize it and teach their children phrase by phrase. Luther even had wall charts of the catechism printed up on the newlyinvented printing press so that fathers and mothers could decorate the walls of their homes with it. And he wrote hymns for each part of the catechism so that the family could sing their lessons together. This was before television and the internet, of course.
did luther invent the idea of a catechism? No. Catechisms were around for a long time before Luther came on the scene. They consisted mostly of lists—ten commandments, seven sacraments, seven virtues, etc. Luther took the basic catechism of his day, cleared out the clutter, and reshuffled the deck. He put the Ten Commandments first to show us our sin. He put the Creed second to show us who God is and what He does for us. And He put the Our Father third to show us how to pray out of faith. Repentance, faith, prayer. With that order, Christ is nicely in the middle of the catechism where He belongs. Luther also wrote brief explanations for each part expanding on “what does this mean?” He included questions and answers on Baptism, Confession, and the Lord’s Supper along with forms for daily prayer at morning, meal time, and in the evening, and a collection of Christian duties under the 4th commandment in the three orders of home, church, and state.
What’s the difference between the small and the large catechisms? Well, the large catechism is larger than the small catechism. Yeah, you saw that one coming, didn’t you? One misconception is that the small catechism is for kids and the large catechism is for adults. Another one that I learned, is that the small catechism is for lay people while the large catechism
