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Rhoda Schuler

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Nativity_and_adoration_of_the_Magi

Enlightenment during Advent: Joseph as Model of Faith

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In our continuing series exploring a catechumenal process during the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons, Kent’s blog last week reviewed the Gospel texts for Advent 2 and 3, both of which highlight John the Baptist, who comes “to prepare the way of the Lord (and) make his paths straight.” Today’s post concludes this series with a look at the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (year A), Matthew 1:18-25, where the Advent time of preparation gives way to the narrative of Mary’s pregnancy and Jesus’ birth from the perspective of the “righteous” Joseph.

Filled with catechetical and homiletical possibilities, this text offers three fitting themes for those preparing for baptism (or renewal of baptism).

  • Joseph’s story is one of a life turned upside down, filled with unexpected turns in this brief text. For many, the path of conversion to Christ can hold a similar pattern of unexpected turns.
  • In the midst of seeming betrayal by his betrothed, the angel who appeared to him in the dream turns that ugly, unwelcomed report into the astonishing good news that “God is with us.” For those seeking God, this text is a reminder that unwelcomed events and broken relationship will still be part of their lives, but God is with them.
  • Joseph responds with trust in the word of God delivered by the angel, a trust that led to obedience: “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took [Mary] as his wife” (Matt 1:24).

The Christian life is one of faith (trust) in the promises of God, a trust that calls forth obedience to God’s call, even when the path forward looks difficult and unpromising. In a culture where the message of Christmas has been obscured by our consumerist culture and reduced to pious platitudes of “peace” and “joy” in commercial Christmas card, Joseph’s narrative reveals both complexity of the Christian life and the simple and gracious promise—that God is with us—a promise that brings true joy and peace.

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Banner photo: Icon Nativity and adoration of the Magi, 19th century; public domain via Wiki Commons; NB: Joseph and the angel who appeared inhis dream are in the lower left of the icon.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nativity_and_adoration_of_the_Magi.jpg

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Enlightenment during Advent: Repentance and Healing

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A full and robust catechumenal process has four stages: inquiry, catechesis, enlightenment or final preparation (which culminates with the sacrament of baptism or a rite of remembrance/renewal for those already baptized) and mystagogy. Our current Advent Series is exploring an alternative timing of the catechumenal process. We are taking a close look at the lectionary readings leading up the festival of the Baptism of our Lord, as a suitable time for the final preparation or stage of Enlightenment. Last week Kent’s blog reviewed the final two weeks of the church year, noting the themes from the appointed gospel texts in the lectionary that correlate with themes of discipleship for this stage of the catechumenal process.

Today we flip the calendar (and lectionary year) to the first Sunday of Advent (Year A, with Matthean gospel texts). In the Roman Catholic catechumenal process, these Sundays include “the scrutinies,” which are “rites for self-searching and repentance … meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect” (Catholic Rites Today, 91-92). The corresponding ecumenical Journey to Baptismal Living rites of “Healing and Deliverance” have a similar purpose (and a more eponymous title). As Kent noted, our starting point is the LSB lectionary, which is closely aligned with the Revised Common Lectionary (RLC). For Advent 1, the two lectionaries are nearly identical, and themes appropriate for this third week in the stage of Enlightenment run as a golden thread through all the appointed texts.

The Advent 1 Old Testament reading, Isaiah 2:1-5, is filled with beautiful language of “all nations” that “stream to [the Lord’s house]” (2:1). The people of all nations are quoted: “Come … [so that the Lord] may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths” (3). The Lord’s house, the temple in Jerusalem, is located on “the highest of the mountains” and the verb “to stream” evokes the image of moving water. Contrary to the natural world, where water flows downhill, the nations (in Isaiah’s day the enemies of the people of God) are streaming uphill—going against the flow of worldly life—and are drawn to the ways and paths of God. The text lends itself to the stage of Enlightenment, to the movement away from sin that separates people from God and toward a repentance heart, ready to listen to “instruction … out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (3). God’s judgment has the power to “beat their swords in plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (4), to end conflict and war. The text concludes with an exhortation to the people of Israel to do the same as “the nations”: “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (verse 5).

That final phrase, “walk in the light,” is the image picked up in the epistle reading from Romans:

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:11-14

Quoting again from the RCIA explanatory notes for the scrutinties, this is a most suitable text “for self-searching and repentance … meant to uncover … all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect,” and to prepare them to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” in baptism.

The traditional gospel text from the one-year lectionary, Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem (Matt 21:1-11), is list as the first of two options for Advent 1 in the LSB lectionary; the alternate LSB gospel text is the text appointed in the RCL, Matthew 24:36-44. Contextually, this latter passage is part of the eschatological discourse of Jesus spoken to his disciples who “came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming of the end of the age?’’’ (Matt 24:3). The appointed text primarily answers the “when” question: “About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (24:36). It will be “as the days of Noah were,” unexpected to many people; and as Noah was saved, so will some be at the “coming of the Son of Man” (24:37): one of two working in the field; one of two women grinding meal together (24:40-41). “Keep awake,” Jesus warns, and “be ready” (24:42, 43), language that evokes the same theme Paul wrote to the Romans: “now [is] the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near” (11). These texts speak to the Elect in these weeks of final preparation, reminding them that baptism is not an end but a beginning, one that calls disciples to stay alert to the temptations of the world, to stay on the paths of the Lord, to hold fast to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, to “keep awake” so that they are prepared for his Second Coming.

Finally, we consider Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the question it evoked (Matt 21:10). “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’” The text has given clues, by quoting from Zechariah, “Look, your king is coming to you,” and by recording the shouts of the crowds: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” This text may evoke for the Elect how they felt during the first stage of the catechumenal process, inquiry; perhaps some were “in turmoil” and asking “Who is this” about Jesus. The Elect (and the whole assembly) can be reminded on this Sunday of who Jesus is, the Word made flesh who lives among us and whose birth is anticipated with hope in this season of Advent.

To complete the circle, we return to Isaiah 2, filled with the powerful symbolism of the city of Jerusalem, from which comes instruction, and with the “house of the Lord,” the dwelling place of God. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, it’s Passover, and Jews from all over the Roman Empire have streamed to the holy city; they long for a king who will bring the peace of the pruning hook and plowshare—of agricultural abundance, not of the Pax Romani, maintained by the sword. Enter Jesus, who comes as a gentle king, who, if one reads further in Matthew 21, is healing “the blind and the lame” in the temple (21:14). It is this Jesus who comes to the Elect on this day to “heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the [their] hearts.”

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Sources Referenced

Catholic Rites Today: Abridged Texts for Students, edited by Allan Bouley. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992.

https://journeytobaptism.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2021/04/Rites-Booklet-2024-07021745.pdf

Banner Photo

Christ Enthroned in the Heavenly Jerusalem: Christ is flanked by archangels, with an empty space representing Lucifer’s vacated position. From left to right, the five archangels are: Uriel holds the sun; Michael is a glorious figure in armour; Gabriel bears the lily of the Annunciation; Chemuel (Camael), the angel of the Sangreal, stands next him with the sacred cup; and Zophiel (Jophiel), to his left, holds the moon. Mosaic at the St Paul’s Within the Walls, an Episcopal church in Rome, Italy, 1885.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Enthroned_in_the_Heavenly_Jerusalem,_St_Paul%27s.jpg
http://romananglican.blogspot.com/2014/09/st-pauls-within-walls-episcopal-church.html

Advent_u_Čakovcu_2023.4cropped

Expanding the Seasons for Baptismal Preparation

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All four congregations where Kent and I did our research on adult faith formation followed a similar calendar, one inspired by many early church literary sources from the fourth and fifth centuries. Like the early church, these congregations shaped the stages of the adult catechumenate so that the stage of “final preparation” for baptism or for the renewal of baptism culminated with Easter Vigil. Thus, the language and imagery of the Lenten three-year lectionary served as inspiration for the public rituals associated with the stage of final preparation. The Roman Catholic Church paved the way in the 1970s with the development of the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults; various Protestant denominations have revised and adapted the RC rituals since then.

By the time Kent and I were in graduate school in the 1990s, liturgical scholars were critiquing the limitations of this annual process for pastoral and theological reasons. Pastorally, scholars noted that messy nature of adults seeking to connect (or reconnect) with Christ and the church. Offering a catechumenal process only once a year raises a host of complications and barriers. Theologically, scholars pointed out that while the Lent/Easter pattern was well suited to the baptismal imagery of Romans 6, the biblical language and imagery for baptism is multivalent and richer than this one image or metaphor.

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [Romans 6:1-4, 5-11]

Many of the scholars critiquing the Lent/Easter model proposed the season of Advent/Christmas as a suitable, alternate time for final preparation, with baptisms/renewal of baptisms taking place on the First Sunday after Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord. Two working groups associated with the North American Association for the Catechumenate (aka, Journey for Baptismal Living) are currently engaged in some preliminary work on catechetical and ritual materials that draw on the Advent lectionary for images and themes, and it’s been my privilege to be part of one these “conversations.”

As background for our upcoming blog series highlighting themes in the Advent lectionary appropriate for the stage of final preparation, I’m sharing a summary of the “western conversation” proposal and rationale. Those part of the “western conversation” agreed it was important to mirror the five weeks/Sundays of the Lenten season and came to consensus on two points. First, theologically, the lectionary readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent anticipate Christmas and the Incarnation and carry themes with more affinity to the birth and baptism of Jesus. Not only does the Advent 4 lectionary move away from the emphasis on the call to conversion and repentance in the first three Sunday of Advent, by Advent 4 many people are traveling. Thus, we agreed that Advent 4 does not lend itself to Sunday rituals involving candidates and sponsors in the stage of final preparation. Second, by extending back into the final Sundays of the previous church year (the readings appointed for November 13-19 and for November 20-26), we would have five Sundays to mirror Lent with appropriate lectionary themes.

Thus, the Season of Advent is imbedded in a five Sunday pattern of final preparation for baptism/renewal of baptism, with these lectionary themes (from the Gospels of the three-year lectionary):

  • The Gospel readings for the final two Sundays of the church year have common themes about the end times. Because the Gospel reading for Sundays between November 13-19 include some form of call to repentance and faith, this is a fitting Sunday for both rites inaugurating the stage of final preparation: the rite for Calling to Baptism or for the Call to Continuing Conversion.
  • The Gospel readings for the final Sunday (November 20-26) share the theme of Christ as king; our group agreed that this call to confess Christ as King and Lord lends itself to the ritual of handing on the creed of the church.
  • The Gospel readings for the First Sunday of Advent continue the end-time theme with Jesus teaching his disciples; the readings share themes of dread from the events in the world and include warnings to be awake or alert for the coming of the Son of man. This Sunday would feature the first of three rites for repentance, healing, and deliverance—the primary themes for the stage of final preparation.
  • The Gospel readings for the Second and Third Sundays of Advent introduce John the Baptist and his call to conversion and repentance. These texts also fit well with the rituals of repentance, healing, and deliverance.

In the coming weeks, Kent and I will examine in detail the appointed Gospel readings for these six Sundays—the last two Sundays (using Year C lectionary) and the four Sundays in Advent (using Year A lectionary), drawing out images and language from the biblical texts that can inform the accompanying rituals. Rather than focus on the current lectionary texts, we have chosen to write about the appointed lectionary for a year from now; perhaps our work will inspire a reader to inaugurate an adult faith formation process next year that will culminate with the core rituals on the Baptism of Our Lord. If so, it is our prayer that these posts may serve as a resource.

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Banner Photo: Snowy 2023 Advent in Čakovec, Medjimurie County, Croatia; Silverije, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Advent_u_%C4%8Cakovcu_2023.4.jpg

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Traits of an Effective Sponsor in the Adult Catechumenate

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Last week Kent introduced the topic of sponsors in the adult catechumenate, focusing on ways in which sponsors “are one of the direct links to the life of the congregation and all its members.” Sponsors are described as companions who mentor, coach, and guide those in the adult faith formation process.

This week we look at the essential traits of a sponsor, again drawing on the Roman Catholic resource Guide for Sponsors by Ronald J. Lewinski (4th edition; Liturgy Training Publications, 2008). Written for sponsors, the book uses second person discourse frequently, speaking directly to potential and actual sponsors. Chapter 4 lists six traits that a sponsor “should strive to develop,” describing each in a few paragraphs:

  • A sponsor prays. As first on the list, an active prayer life is implicitly lifted up as the most important trait of a sponsor. To be a sponsor may “inspire you to deepen your prayer life” (21). The guide lists “sources” of prayer, naming first Scripture, especially the Sunday lectionary (assumed to be the primary source of the catechetical teaching), and the psalms, steeped in “the very experiences of life.” Group prayer and developing a level of comfort with “spontaneous prayer” are also encouraged (21-23).
  • A sponsor listens. Sponsors are cautioned to rein in their excitement about their faith. Lewinski writes that it’s “imperative that we commit ourselves to listen with respect …” and help the catechumen or candidate feel comfortable asking questions (24).
  • A sponsor is respectful. Respecting the candidate or catechumen is a thread running through this chapter, but here Lewinski expands further, saying that sponsors need “also to honor what they hear” (25). To close this section he writes, “A sponsor’s understanding of and respect for a person’s ethic background, cultural heritage, values, and beliefs are the foundation for communication and productive relationship” (26).
  • A sponsor serves as a bridge. The sponsor is a bridge both to the people of the parish as well as its “customs and practices” (27). The author recommends accompanying the candidate or catechumen to liturgies and other parish activities and encouraging questions about their experiences.
  • A sponsor respects the candidate’s freedom. “A sponsor can hold on too tightly” writes the author to begin the discussion of this trait. The emphasis here is on the delicate balance between a warm, inviting welcome and allowing candidates the freedom “to depart without feeling they will offend us” (28). The balance is especially important in the early stage of inquiry and when a sponsor is a relative or close friend of the candidate or catechumen. Lewinski notes that this freedom “is easier to give when you are secure in your life as a Catholic” (29). The same would be true of any Christian tradition.
  • A sponsor lives in the world with hope. This “spiritual process,” say Lewinski, has as its goal “to prepare men and women for living in the world as disciples of Jesus,” as Christians “confident in their ability to live their faith in the modern world” (29). The abiding hope of the sponsor models for the candidate or catechumen ways of daily living in a world with values that are at odds with the Christian faith.

The chapter concludes: “Together with the one you sponsor, trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and walk confidently on the path of faith that lies before you” (30). Our goal with this two-part series is to introduce to our readers this Roman Catholic resource and its adaptability for adult faith formation in Lutheran and other Protestant congregations. We would not recommend that sponsors read the book with its many specific references to the Roman Catholic tradition, but it could be an excellent resource for pastors as you recruit and train sponsors.

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Banner image: The baptism of Jesus by John, northeast entrance to Chapel of the Holy Trinity, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photo by Rhoda Schuler (CUAA, ’75 [AA degree]), June 2024.

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A Conversation with the Co-Authors of “Lay Me in God’s Good Earth”

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This week Rhoda interviews Kent and his other research partner and co-author, Dr. Beth Hoeltke, about their book Lay me in God’s Good Earth. The authors discuss how they got drawn into the topic of natural burial, the Christian lens of the book, and the expansive approach of the book, which encourages pastors and lay Christians to think proactively about end-of-life decisions as well as funeral practices.

To view this four-minute video, you must be logged into a Google account.

In addition to seven chapters, the book includes numerous resources for those interested in exploring the various facets of natural burial:

  • A burial planning guide
  • Cost comparisons for natural burial, conventional burial, and cremation
  • Resources about caring for the body at home and for burying naturally
  • A list of state funeral boards and licensing agencies for the District of Columbia and 48 states; Alaska and Hawaii are listed with “No state funeral board.”

The book is published by IVP; click here to order the book!

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Banner image: Modern mosaic depicting Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and other women preparing Jesus’ body for burial as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus look on. Wall mounted inside the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

Photo by Rhoda Schuler, March 2023.

Bible

Formational Reading of Scripture Series

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Today we wrap up the Formational Reading of Scripture Series by reviewing briefly each of the three “methods” of Scripture study commonly used in adult faith formation settings—African, Luther’s Four Strand Garland, and Visualization. Drawing on Understanding Faith Formation: Theological, Congregational, and Global Dimensions by Maddix, Kim, and Estep, Kent introduced this series by highlighting key aspects of “formational reading” (95-96). These goals described in Understanding Faith Formation are worth repeating; such reading …

  • Allows the biblical text to master the reader
  • Forms a humble, receptive approach to the Scriptures
  • Expects an openness to mystery (especially of God) as encountered in the text

The African Method of Scripture Study

This method works particularly well in the first two stages of the catechumenal process, the stages of Inquiry and the Catechumenate. Kent wrote that the African method “exposes inquirers and catechumens to the Word of God in a non-threatening and inviting way. It facilitates an encounter with the Word in which becoming familiar with God’s self-revelation in Christ Jesus is at the center.”

The biblical text is read three times with a different question/prompt for reflection and sharing in the group. These prompts are designed to lead the participants to “ponder in their hearts” the words of Scripture; to hear God speaking to them through Scripture; and to see Jesus in light of their daily concerns and needs. Blog readers can review the method with the “prompts” for reflection and sharing here.

Luther’s Four-Strand Garland Method

Kent wrote: “In contrast with the African method, this method begins to expand more fully into the life of prayer and into the discipled life of the Christian.” Thus, it would be most fitting to use this method in the second or third stages of a catechumenal process, the states of the Catechumenate and Enlightenment (or intense preparation).

The four strands of the garland are instruction, thanksgiving, wholeness/confession, and presence. I wrote, “The first and fourth strands, instruction and presence, begin and end the study by listening for God’s voice and resting in the assurance of God’s presence. These strands anchor the entire method in God’s grace, God’s initiative toward us—God is speaking to us, calling to us; God is present with us always, whether we realize it or not. The inner strands call us to respond to God’s grace, first by inviting us to be thankful for what God has done, and then by training us to examine ourselves, identifying our ‘woundedness’ and ‘sinfulness’ brought forth by the biblical text; the confession … [draws] us toward wholeness and healing, toward dying to self and rising in Christ, and into a closer relationship with God. To review the complete description, click here.

The Visualization Method

As Go Make Disciples indicates, “The point of visualizing a passage is to help members of a group see the word of God as it is: lively, active, and speaking to their lives here and now. They might find themselves in a character of the story or in several characters. They might picture truths about their own lives that are illuminated by the acting out of the story” (141-2). Because this method works best when there is some knowledge and awareness of the Scriptures and a sense of community is taking shape in the catechumenal cohort, it functions particularly well in the stages of Enlightenment and Mystagogy.  This method recognizes that the creative process can make a deep impact on learning for many people. As the “riskiest” of the three methods, it calls for the leaders to trust the creative work of the Spirit through the power of the proclaimed Word. To review the steps in the visualization method, click here.

To close, consider these words of St. Paul, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). Each of the three methods is anchored in hearing the Scriptures and are designed so that the biblical text masters the reader (not vice versa), forms a humble, receptive approach to the Scriptures, and expects an openness to mystery (especially of God) as encountered in the text.

Caravaggio_-_The_Incredulity_of_Saint_Thomas

The Visualization Bible Study Method: More Confessions of a Doubting Thomas

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Last week Kent wrote: “Personally, I find this method the most fun and engaging,” a statement that highlights our differences. While we share a desire to spark interest into the possibilities of adult faith formation for congregational renewal, a love of graceful, Christocentric liturgy, and a loyalty to our respective baseball teams (neither of which made post-season play this year), unlike Kent, I am not a big fan of the visualization method. It is not my thing, and frankly, the last time I was at a conference where the speaker gave the small groups a similar kind of “hands on,” creative task, I was a non-compliant, onery, and passive aggressive participant. I’d rather read and analyze texts than work creatively with markers, colored pencils, and random craft items heaped on a central table. But I do know enough about different learning styles to appreciate the fact that the creative process can make a deep impact on learning for many people.

In a blog post last summer, this Doubting Thomas ‘fessed up to a change of heart and mind after witnessing the creative work of the Spirit within the participants in one of workshops on the adult catechumenate. (I will note that I was not myself a participant.) Anna, one of the participants, noted that the activity involves multiple learning styles, and that the creative process is the apex of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational goals.

 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Theologically, the creative process is associated most closely with the third Person of the Trinity, as expressed in this ancient hymn:

Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world’s foundations first were laid,
Come, visit ev’ry humble mind;
come, pour your joys on humankind;
From sin and sorrow set us free;
may we your living temples be.

O Source of uncreated light,
The bearer of God gracious might,
Thrice-holy fount, thrice-holy fire,
Our hearts with heav’nly love inspire;
Your sacred, healing message bring
To sanctify us as we sing.

Giver of grace, descend from high;
Your sevenfold gifts to us supply;
Help us eternal truths receive
and practice all that we believe;
Give us yourself that we see
the glory of the Trinity.

Immortal honor, endless fame,
attend th’almighty Father’s name;
the Savior-Son be glorified,
Who for all humankind has died;
To you, O Paraclete we raise
Unending songs of thanks and praise.

(LSB #500; text att. Rabanus Maurus, 776-856)

Yes, one can see in the creative efforts of participants at our 2023 workshop various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy at work to produce an “original work, use information in new situations, and draw connections among ideas.” But more importantly, one can see that the Spirit was at work in these examples. See also how the Spirit set these participants free to be living temples; inspired their hearts with heavenly love for all humanity; and has led them to practice the eternal truths they believe. And so, I too can join unending songs of thanks and praise for the diversity of learning styles and tools that deepen our faith in the Triune God.
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Banner Image: Oil on canvas; Doubting Thomas, Caravaggio (1571-1610) ca. 1600; This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio_Doubting_Thomas.jpg

font and fence

Luther’s Four-Strand Garland: Lessons in Baptismal Living

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Introducing Luther’s “Four-Strand Garland” method of Scripture study last week, Kent wrote: “In contrast with the African method, this method begins to expand more fully into the life of prayer and into the discipled life of the Christian.” While the African Method lends itself to the earliest of the four stages of the catechumenal process, the period of inquiry, Luther’s method is better suited to those participants further along in the journey toward discipleship. We see its greatest value in the second or third stage (the second as a period with more formal catechesis; the third as a period of “enlightenment” or intense preparation culminating with the rites of baptism and affirmation of faith/confirmation at the Vigil of Easter).

The first and fourth strands, instruction and presence, begin and end the study by listening for God’s voice and resting in the assurance of God’s presence. These strands anchor the entire method in God’s grace, God’s initiative toward us—God is speaking to us, calling to us; God is present with us always, whether we realize it or not. The inner strands call us to respond to God’s grace, first by inviting us to be thankful for what God has done, and then by training us to examine ourselves, identifying our “woundedness” and “sinfulness” brought forth by the biblical text. The invitation into thankfulness reorients participants’ prayer life away from a “sugar daddy” view of God (focused on asking God for what I want or think I need) toward recognizing that God is the source of all good gifts in our lives. Then the confession completes “the garland,” drawing us toward wholeness and healing, toward dying to self and rising in Christ, and into a closer relationship with God.

In contrast to metaphors of the Christian life as a journey (such as I used in the opening paragraph of this post!) or as following a pathway with a beginning and end or goal (Psalm 1), the image of a garland, “a circular or spiral arrangement of intertwined material,”[1] evokes the repetitive aspect of a life of discipleship. Our wholes lives are “a living from and returning to that holy font [of baptism].”[2]

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garland

[2] The phrase is from the closing portion of the diaconal litany of the Lutheran Diaconal Association.

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Image: Font in Notre Dame Cathedral, Riems, France; June 2024; photo by Rhoda Schuler

Bible and candle

African Method of Scripture Study: Encountering the Word

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As with the other two methods, the African study method meets the inquirer where they are at, not where the church wants them to be. In other words, the focus is not on discursive, propositional study of the Scriptures. It is not the downloading of all the catechetical and doctrinal knowledge that we believe the catechumen needs to have. With these methods we … have to let the Spirit lead through the Word in this encounter. But that doesn’t mean this approach isn’t catechetical. The catechesis arises from and out of the encounter with the Word.

Quote from last week’s post by Kent Burreson

Kent’s words are a challenge to our readers. Embracing the role of the Spirit in these methods of Scripture study can be difficult for church leaders trained in traditional forms of pedagogy that focus on delivering content about a subject. The lack of biblical literacy among inquirers also drives those of us who teach to address that lack with lesson plans about content. But, as Kent points out, the goal is not mastery of content but an “encounter” that comes “through the Word.” The Spirit not only leads “through the Word” (Scripture) but also leads to “the Word”—that is, to an encounter with the “Word made flesh,” Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth.

As a former skeptic of these methods of Scripture study, I offer this testimony from a woman who was part of the faith formation process at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church, one of our research congregations.[1] Betty, who was eager to start the process because she “had so many questions,” was surprised that rather than asking questions, the members of the group were directed to answer questions! At one point in our conversation, she said, “I don’t think I found St. Mary’s; I think St. Mary’s found me.” With these words, she is implicitly acknowledging the work of the Spirit in the congregation’s faith formation process; one that, by posing questions for reflection, drew her more deeply into a relationship with Christ.

As the sample questions provided by Kent in last week’s post show, the African study method meets the inquirers where they are at, asking what “word, phrase, or image” captured their attention; how “God is speaking to you in this story”; and, if possible, a question based on the particular text, such as “What burdens are you carrying now?” in response to Jesus’s words about his “yoke” that is “easy” and “burden is light” (Matt 11:25-30). The goal is to lead the participants to “ponder in their hearts” the words of Scripture; to hear God speaking to them through Scripture; and to see Jesus in light of their daily concerns and needs. As Martin Luther wrote in his Preface to the Old Testament (1523),

… think of the Scriptures as the loftiest and noblest of holy things, as the richest of mines which can never be sufficiently explored, in order that you may find that divine wisdom which God here lays before in such simple guise as to quench all pride. Here you will find the swaddling cloths and the manger in which Christ lies, and to which the angel points the shepherds [Luke 2:12]. Simple and lowly are these swaddling cloths, but dear is the treasure, Christ, who lies in them. (Luther’s Works, vol. 35, p. 236).

Luther’s words are a warning to those teachers of the faith (like me!) who are tempted to impart a plethora of knowledge about a given text and its context. The African study method sees Scripture as the swaddling cloths and manger that hold what is “dear … the treasure, Christ,” and aims to lead participants to encounter that most priceless treasure, Jesus.

[1] Both the person’s and congregation’s names are pseudonyms.

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New Book on Green Burial and “the Art of Dying” by Burreson & Hoeltke

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The package arrived a couple of weeks ago; clearly, it was a book, but I had no recollection of ordering a book from IVP. It was with great delight that I discovered I had received a pre-publication copy of Lay Me in God’s Good Earth: A Christian Approach to Death and Burial, by Kent Burreson and Beth Hoeltke. I took a photo and texted it to Kent, saying “It just arrived!!”

The authors write, “With this book, we hope you will consider the route of natural burial, which can provide intimate care of your body both before and after death” (3); they conclude the introduction lamenting that “the church has largely lost its ability to teach the art or theology of dying” (5). Both theological and practical, this book seeks to do both. Chapter 2 lays the theological foundation for natural burial by emphasizing the Christ’s resurrection as the foundation of Christian hope and linking the resurrection of the body to God’s promise to renew creation.

Kent and Beth critique both the commercialization of the funeral industry and the move toward “the spiritualization of Christian funerals and burials”; the antidote is recovering “a living eschatology and faith in the hope of the resurrection and eternal life” (61).

They provide a clear articulation of the four “core practices” of natural burial (21-22):

  • Elimination of embalming
  • Burial in a biodegradable casket or covering
  • No use of vault in the burial
  • Burial in ground that encourages natural decomposition and return to the earth

Most helpful are these encouraging words: “Engaging even just one of the four core practices … moves toward practices that reflect a Christian understanding of death and resurrection” (24).

Later chapters discuss appropriate Christian funeral practices, encourages family involvement with the body after death, and lays out options for “walking alongside our loved ones in the final journey that leads to death” (115). A lengthy appendix provides “A Burial Planning Guide” (161-179).

Lay Me in God’s Good Earth is accessible to lay readers and is written to break down the barriers in our culture that has made open discussions of death, dying, and funeral wishes verboten topics.

Banner Image:
Fresco depiction the resurrection of Christ, Sv. Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church

Photographer: Orjen, 16 June 2009

By Orjen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7085844

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Resurrection_Fresco_Saint_Sava.JPG

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