Who catechizes you?

by David Haberstock

You might say that to be catechized is to be taught, whereas to be discipled is to put teaching into practice. Both are important. Practice without reasons behind it is empty, but teaching without action can be equally empty. But you might not realize that both catechesis and discipleship are happening to you all the time, either by the world or by God and His Word.

Our world and technologies not only catechize us but disciple us constantly. They teach and train us in patterns of behaviour. This can be good or bad, but if you don’t realize it is happening, then you will be shaped and moulded by forces you don’t understand. Your smart phone disciples you. So too does Amazon, television, the fast food industry, and more. These technologies and industries train us to want and expect instant things.

Social media not only trains us to constantly go to it for entertainment and distraction from boredom, but also catechizes us into thinking that the world is headed to hell every day—that it will be a miracle if we make it out of whatever the latest crisis is. And this alarmism occurs on both sides of the aisle, no matter what your own social media echo chamber is.

In the last year and a half, we have been discipled by new technologies applied to things that we haven’t really dealt with before—namely, online worship. There have been moments where this may have been one of your only ways to connect with church. In that sense, it’s been good.

But one of the things online worship teaches us, especially after prolonged use, is that I can watch “church” whenever I want. Or that I can watch it how I want: just catch pieces here or there, treating it as entertainment, like anything else I would watch online. Maybe I watch it in my pajamas, with a cup of coffee in hand. Maybe I multitask while listening in. Online worship can become an opportunity to remain independent and not really connect with the church in person (a prospect which, let’s face it, can be enticing for some of us who are introverts).

But one of the things we miss when we approach church this way is the Body of Christ in its present, physical, necessary manifestation. For how else will you meet with one another (Hebrews 10:25) and carry each other’s burdens thus fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) without being face to face and side by side?

These things are sacrificed in when we approach online church within the context of personal autonomy. The pursuit of autonomy is all about me. We must be careful that in trying to “slow the spread” or “care for our neighbour” we do not fall into the trap of merely doing things in ways we already prefer. Personal autonomy is all about me, not about the neighbour.

This statement might tread on some toes. There has been a lot of reasonable fear and concern in the last year and a half which have compelled us to act in certain ways. But we must constantly check our own motivations, for we live in a society that worships personal autonomy. It is an idol.

Just notice how we talk about ourselves in our society. The world uses words like “independent, autonomous, free, my own person” to describe us. The Bible by contrast uses words like “child of God, redeemed, believer, fellowship, body of Christ” to describe us. This means that we do not belong to ourselves. We were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)! Certainly it is for freedom (from sin) that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1)! Freedom from the slavery of sin is a biblical value, but not autonomy in the way our world currently describes it. Martin Luther, in his treatise On Christian Liberty, says it this way: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all.”

Both are true. We need to be catechized again into these truths and discipled to live them out. If there are ways we can keep each other safe in this time, that is worth considering and acting upon. But we must also consider how we are discipling ourselves—by the things we do and through what our government prescribes—into our own idols and blind spots, for Christ disciples us to follow Him. To be part of the Body of Christ.

Christ has given what is necessary. He has catechized us with His Word, and discipled us by the weekly gathering together to receive His Grace, in one place in the Sacraments He gives, where heaven comes to earth to be with us. This is good. This is godly. This is salvation!

Rev. David Haberstock

Rev. David Haberstock is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)'s Central Regional Pastor.