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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: Preparing the Way of the Lord in the Catechumenate

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In our continuing series exploring a catechumenal process during the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons, last week Rhoda explored the lectionary readings for Advent 1 which correlate with the Scrutinies (Roman) or Rites of Healing and Deliverance (Journey to Baptismal Living). The final prayer in the Renunciation of Evil from Welcome to Christ captures well the intent of these traditional rites of exorcism, that is, to pray for deliverance from the powers of sin, evil, and satan that thwart the new life in Christ: “Lord God, you promised that the ancient evil of the serpent would be vanquished on the cross of your Son. We ask you: Crush the power of the devil. Protect your people from the evils of the world. Preserve us from sin and error, that with saints and angels we may live in the joy of your goodness and truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Welcome to Christ: Lutheran Rites for the Catechumenate, 28). The readings of the 2nd and 3rd Sundays in Advent focus on the ministry of John the Baptist who comes “to prepare the way of the Lord (and) make his paths straight.” The readings frame these rites of healing and deliverance that seek to uncover and remove sin and inclinations to evil in the lives of the catechumens and lead them to the day of baptismal enlightenment and entrance into the good, right, and saving rule and reign of God. In these rites the catechumens hear John’s call: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

2nd Sunday in Advent

On this Sunday John the Baptist appears in the wilderness preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” from the Gospel reading Matthew 3:1-12. The Rites of Healing and Deliverance are that voice addressed to the catechumens and the whole assembly. On the banks of the Jordan John is baptizing the people as they confess their sins. The preacher and catechist can frame this text for the catechumen so that they see themselves in the same place as those gathered around John at the Jordan. So, they are preparing to gather around the font of regeneration and so they are called to confess their sins and cast away the works of darkness. They are preparing for the baptism of repentance, the baptism that “frees them from being enslaved to the father of lies” (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, 99). But it is of course even more than that. It is the baptism of the one whose sandals John is not worthy to stoop down and untie. It is baptism into the kingdom of God and of his Christ: baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire. The catechumens are preparing to experience this baptism of the Lord. Entering into this kingdom, they are called to live faithfully as members of it, with righteousness and faithfulness permeating their lives (Isaiah 11:1-10). The God of the Word has and will continue to give them encouragement and hope to endure until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:4-13).

3rd Sunday in Advent

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” Jesus announces at the end of the Gospel reading for the 3rd Sunday in Advent. Throughout the catechumenate the elect have heard the voice of the Lord through His Word. The catechumenal journey has been, if nothing else, an immersion in the Word. On this final catechumenal Sunday prior to their baptisms on Epiphany/Baptism of Our Lord, the church calls the elect to a continual immersion in that Word. It is that Word that now proclaims to them that Elijah has come in the person of John the Baptist to prepare Christ’s way. And to prepare their way! What have the elect (and the entire assembly) come to see? A wiry reed in the desert? A prophet? Yes, but finally one who points to the Christ who brings the kingdom of God into this sin-sick, evil, and dying world. Here is the word that asks the elect what do you hear and see in this Jesus?: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matthew 11:5-6). This is the enlightenment that shines into the eyes and hearts of the elect. They truly see, they are cleansed, they hear, they are raised up and they have heard good news preached to them. Repenting of the darkness of sin and evil in their lives and praying for the light of the new life of God’s kingdom, as the Rites of Healing and Deliverance do, embody the very hearing of this gospel reading. With Isaiah (35:1-10) they can be encouraged to be strong and fear not because God is here now in Word and baptismal waters to save them. From now on they can patiently suffer and endure whatever challenges confront them in God’s kingdom (James 5:7-11).

Focus on the kingdom of God and preparing to enter into this kingdom fully through the waters of baptism is the nature of these texts on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays in Advent. While the prayers and rites for the Scrutinies would need to reflect these texts in their use in a catechumenate during Advent, the readings’ appropriately turn the elect away from the kingdom of evil and toward the kingdom of the Lord. The Word is preparing the way of the Lord for them. Follow me, He says!

 

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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

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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

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Enlightenment in Advent: End of the Church Year Readings

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If one were to utilize Advent as a season leading to the rites of initiation culminating in baptisms and incorporation into the Church’s life on Epiphany or the Baptism of our Lord, then, as Rhoda noted last week, the period of Enlightenment and Purification could begin on the second to last and last Sundays of the church year, the latter being Christ the King/Sunday of the Fulfillment. These Sundays are, as Rhoda also observed, appropriate times for Calling to Baptism or for the Call to Continuing Conversion (Baptismal Living) since the Gospel readings for these Sundays possess common themes about living faithfully as a disciple of the Lord Jesus in the End Times. Christ the King Sunday would serve particularly well for the ritual of handing on the creed to the Elect.

So, what are these themes on the final two Sundays in the Lukan year, series C, and how might the Elect and the entire church be shaped toward baptismal living by these texts? I will focus on the Gospel readings since they are determinative and for the sake of space. [We are following the texts in Lutheran Service Book. Generally, they are the same texts as the RCL and the Roman lectionary].

2nd to last Sunday in the Church Year

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is Luke 21:5-28 which attends to Jesus’ words about the coming of the Day of the Lord and the signs that will indicate its coming. While wars and rumors of wars abound throughout history, in Jesus’ words those are not signs of the end. Rather, it is the “signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (vv. 25-27) that will be the harbinger of the End. Then, Jesus says to his disciples, “But watch yourselves…stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (vv. 35, 37). Perseverance is a central character of the Christian disciple.

On this Sunday of Enrollment in the final period of baptismal preparation, the Elect would be called to repentance in light of the Days that are coming. The church would call them to trust in the Lord because their redemption is drawing near. Election into the period of final preparation for baptism entails an awareness of where earthly and human history is headed. Baptism into Christ means that the disciple lives with these coming days in view and with a trust in the Lord that impels them to persevere in hope and in witness of that hope to the world.

Last Sunday in the Church Year/Christ the King/Sunday of the Fulfillment

The Gospel reading for Christ the King Sunday is Luke 23:27-43 which is part of the Crucifixion account, including the mocking of Jesus and the conversation of the two criminals crucified with Jesus. At the center of this reading are the words of the penitent thief and Jesus’ response, “And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’” (vv. 42-43). Jesus reigns over the sinful and evil ways of His rebellious creatures on the throne of His cross, dispensing the good gifts of His kingdom—His mercy and grace. The kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God are like night and day.

The church calls the Elect to make the cry of the penitent thief their own: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Today, every day is the time of decision, the time to walk in the ways of the kingdom of the Lord. This final period of Enlightenment prepares them for baptism and baptismal discipleship, for living in the kingdom of the Lord. And the Lord will answer that cry, as he did for the penitent thief. At their baptisms the Elect will become participants in paradise, in the kingdom of God. As they receive the Apostles’ Creed from the church, they make that cry their own. They acknowledge the lordship of God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. The Elect live in the eternal today of God’s Kingdom. “It is on the cross that Christ has inaugurated his reign and opened the way to the kingdom. Henceforth, to everyone who turns to him and says: ‘Jesus, remember me,’ he will respond, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise’” [Days of the Lord, volume 6 (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), 325].

Thus, the Elect enter discipleship in the latter days as they are enrolled into the period of Enlightenment during Advent. Because Jesus reigns through His cross and resurrection, it is, in the words of the Roman preface for Christ the King, “a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.” That is the kingdom of the Lord into which the newly enrolled Elect begin to take their place.

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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

Baptismal font at Hippo

Awe-Inspiring: Insights from the Ancient Mystagogy of the Church

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Today we start a new series reflecting on the catechumenate of the 4th-5th century church. In 1971 Edward Yarnold published a collected edition of all the ancient mystagogical catecheses of the church fathers (The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation: The Origins of the R.C.I.A, Second Edition, Collegeveille, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1994; unfortunately no longer in print). While many church fathers comment on the ritual process of the catechumenate and on the catechetical teaching that accompanied it, four church fathers wrote their mystagogy (catechetical commentary on the rites, usually post-Baptism) and so they are available today. These four church fathers include: Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, John Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. (Although Augustine preached baptismal catechetical sermons, we don’t have a complete set of mystagogical lectures from him). Yarnold’s book provides an introductory overview of the catecheses, oriented toward grounding the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in the ancient catechumenate. Translations of the four mystagogues above follows his introduction.

Each of the mystagogues taught the significance of what happened in the rites of initiation in different ways, with different emphases, and in association with some rites that may have been unique to their context. We hope to introduce some of the unique and compelling ways in which the mystagogues teach what happened to the catechumens as the church incorporated them into the life of Christ through the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit. As with the mystagogues, our focus will be on aspects of the rite and the rich symbolism that envelops them.

Throughout the period of Lenten Enlightenment exorcisms were a common feature of the early catechumenate. Baptism entailed a move from the lordship of Satan, sin, evil, and death to the lordship of Christ Jesus and his life, holiness, and mercy. The exorcisms dramatically conveyed the shift in lordship for the catechumen. They now owed their life and allegiance to the Lord over all creation, life, and death and not to the powers and principalities of the Evil One. Chrysostom describes the exorcisms in this way,

So you need to know why it is that after the daily instruction we send you off to hear the words of the exorcists. This rite is neither a simple one nor a pointless. You are about to receive the heavenly King into your house. So those who are appointed for this task, just as if they were preparing a house for a royal visit, take you on one side after our sermon, and purify your minds by those fearful words, putting to flight all the tricks of the evil one, and so make the house fit for the presence of the King. For no demon, however, fierce and harsh, after these fearful words and the invocation of the universal Lord of all things, can refrain from flight with all speed. And, in addition, the rite imprints great reverence in the soul and leads it to great sorrow for sin (Yarnold, 156).

As Chrysostom notes, there is no difference of rank here. All—the wealthy, the powerful, the poor, the dispossessed—must be exorcised, for all fall under the power of the Evil One prior to baptism. Usually they came in bare feet with their outer garments removed and with hands outstretched pleading to the Lord for their removal from the kingdom of evil. In St. Augustine’s Hippo, this attitude of repentance toward and intentional rejection of the Evil One’s rule was reflected in the sack-cloth made of goat’s hair. As Yarnold indicates,

The symbolism of the goat’s fleece is fourfold:

  1. Sack-cloth is the traditional sign of penitence;
  2. It recalls the tunics of skin worn by Adam and Eve after the fall and so reminds the candidate of original sin;
  3. It is an acknowledgement of the candidate’s former slavery to the devil;
  4. The trampling of the goat’s hair shows that the candidate wishes to be numbered among the sheep rather than the goats at the Last Judgement (Yarold, 10-11).

The mystagogues are in dread earnest! This is life or death business. The catechumens can only embrace the true life when the Lord has exorcised them from the rule of the Great Liar and Deceiver.

Immanuel Valpo Baptismal Pool #3

Un-catechesis: Catechesis during the Period of Enlightenment

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Lutherans tend to approach catechesis in a one size fits all mode. Grounded in Luther’s Catechisms (which is, of course, a good place to be grounded), the approach is often fairly uniform across times and locations. It is very intellectually-focused, seeking to expose the catechumens to what Scripture and the church teach so that they might own it and confess it themselves. The pastor as pedagogue (hear: lecturer) has predominated. The catechumens become passive recipients of rich doctrinal content.

I am not suggesting that there is no place for this approach. Nor am I suggesting that the handing on (tradition) of doctrine is undesirable. But there are other ways in which catechesis can take place. And a prime opportunity for such a different approach to catechesis, or Un-catechesis, is during the period of purification and enlightenment. This period aims to facilitate the final steps in the process of the elect’s conversion, a process that most often culminates at the Triduum with the elect’s participation in their baptism, anointing, and the Lord’s Supper. Catechesis during this period focuses around reflection on the experiences the catechumens have had throughout the catechumenate and that they will have during the season of Lent. This intentional reflection intends to lead both the elect and the church into discernment. The elect should discern their readiness for baptism, for participation in the life of the body of Christ, and for the journey into a life lived by faith in the Triune God. The church should discern how ready they believe the elect are for those same things. Catechesis in this period aims to facilitate that reflection for the sake of discernment.

Central to are reflective questions and both corporate discussion and individual conversation about those questions. The questions should encourage the catechumens to reflect on the experiences of the catechumenate: hearing the Word in the Sunday divine service; anointings and blessings they experienced; the practice of prayer; discussion of the Word of God and the church’s teaching; and their conversations in the catechumenate group and personally with catechists and sponsors.

During the period of Enlightenment the elect will continue to break open the Word, but—as Dr. Schuler indicated last week—will consider the primary biblical narratives used throughout Lent that focus on the encounter with Jesus as Savior and Lord. They will reflect on the implications for them personally of meeting Jesus through these readings and their preaching. They will reflect on the significance of the scrutinies in which they renounce the devil, sin, end evil; their reception of the Lord’s Prayer as their own model of prayer and of the Creed as their personal confession within the church’s confession of the Triune God. The catechesis should prepare them for their 3-day journey into God’s life in Christ culminating at their experience of baptism, anointing and the Lord’s Supper at the Easter Vigil. The Un-Catechesis of this period should not primarily download doctrinal information to them—although there will certainly still be some of that—but it should unfold their experiences in and through the Word of God. Doctrinal unpacking will continue in the period of mystagogy after they are baptized. As Roman Catholic Timothy O’Malley says, “Lent is not the time for such explicit instruction of the catechumens. It is time to enter with the elect into the desert, to walk with them as they prepare to become sons and daughters of the living God through baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist (Divine Blessing: Liturgical Formation in the RCIA, 112). The catechesis in this period prepares them for the ongoing transformation of their identity. It is catechesis that directs them, in the words of Welcome to Christ, “to live in the covenant of their baptism . . . and lead godly lives until the day of Jesus Christ” (44).

Redeemer Post-Baptism Neophytes and Newly Confirmed 2019

Prepare to Be Baptized: The Rituals of the Period of Enlightenment

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The season of Lent ushers in a period of intentional preparation [Intense Preparation (Go Make Disciples) or Purification and Enlightenment (RCIA)] for those who are going to be baptized (the Elect) and those being confirmed and reaffirming their faith at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. This period focuses them on spiritual preparation for baptism and incorporation into the body of Christ. For the next four weeks leading to the First Sunday in Lent we will examine four primary elements of this preparation: ritual, prayer, reflection, and catechesis.

It is a period that seeks to purify desires and enlighten the elect toward the shape of the life of faith. Catechetical instruction in this period is intended to feed and support spiritual preparation. As Ronald Lewinski indicates in An Introduction to the RCIA,

The catechumens reflect on their faith and religious experience in a more intense manner. They take all that they have heard and seen, learned, prayed and shared, and they ponder it all in the depths of their hearts. Lent supports this process of interiorizing, giving it shape and direction through the Scriptures, prayers, and traditional Lenten disciplines of fasting, performing works of mercy, charity, and penance [confession and absolution for a Lutheran], and being committed to personal sacrifice (53).

Central to this spiritual preparation are the questions of faith and, through it, entry into the rule and reign of God. These questions are at the heart of the baptismal liturgy:

  • Do you desire to be baptized?
  • Do you renounce the devil, all his works, and all his ways?
  • Do you believe in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

This period prepares the elect to answer these questions with clarity and conviction.

There are a number of liturgical rites (as outlined by the RCIA) that facilitate this spiritual self-examination (We examined these in greater detail in a blog post series entitled, A Ritual Journey, which we posted from February 25-May 7, 2022. These are still available in our blog on FormingLutherans.org). These rites include (noting the dates of the 2022 blog posts):

  • The Rite of Election on the First Sunday in Lent (March 4)
  • The Scrutiny Rites including Exorcisms on the Third through Fifth Sundays in Lent (March 18, April 4, April 7)
  • The Presentations of the Creed (March 29) and the Lord’s Prayer to the Elect (April 18), usually at weekday celebrations of the Word following the First and Third Scrutinies
  • Penitential Rites for those already baptized who are preparing for Confirmation or Affirmation of Faith
  • Preparatory Rites on Holy Saturday which may include The Recitation of the Creed, the Ephphetha Rite (Opening of the Ears and Mouth for hearing and confessing the Word), and the Choosing of a Baptismal Name (April 29 and May 6)

Through these rites, as Lewinski observes, the Elect serve as “the primary symbol for Lent. We see in them what we ought to see happening in ourselves: a conversion that leaves us with a hunger for Eucharist and a thirst for building God’s kingdom” (54). Through these rites the Elect and the entire assembly are prepared to receive the gift of new life in Christ that comes through baptism. We hope that by examining the ritual, prayer, reflection, and catechesis that shape the period of Enlightenment we can provide guidance toward facilitating this kind of experience for your Elect during Lent.

Easter Vigil 2019 (25)

A Ritual Journey: Formation in Enlightenment

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This post, focusing on formation in the Period of Enlightenment and Purification, will be the last in this series on the ritual journey through that period of the catechumenate. Formation in this period is in a pronounced way liturgical. That means that the liturgical experience through the various rites that we have discussed over the previous weeks is the primary context in which formation and catechesis toward a life of faith takes place. For the elect the shape and knowledge of the Christian life that is taking shape should flow from and be referenced to the liturgical and ritual experiences they encounter. This ritual formation leads the elect into the Word; walking with the Lord in the church through the liturgical year; into hearing and praying what the church believes (the Creed); into being formed by what the church prays; into the nature of living the Christian Way of life; into catechesis embedded in ritual; and into an apprenticeship into the church’s mission. Let me provide a brief description for each of these.

Formed by the Word

The proclaimed and written Word permeates the liturgical celebration. Many of the rites are ritual enactments of or encounters with the Word. The elect encounter Christ, the personal Word, as these Word-laden rituals strike them. And those liturgical encounters inform and guide their ongoing reflection upon the Word.

Walking with the Lord through the Liturgical Year

The encounter with the Word occurs in the context of the liturgical year. So the biblical narrative focused upon the revelation of the One sent from the Father full of grace and truth and who as Lord will pour out His Spirit on all living things surrounds the rites of the period. Each Sunday’s Word within the year’s arc provides the primary point for catechetical reflection on the Christian faith.

Creedal Formation (praying what we believe)

The texts of the rites throughout this period are intended to inform Christian faith and belief. They convey the basic narrative of the rule of faith/creedal story. The ritual texts and actions bear this narrative and shape the Christian to live by faith according to it.

Formed by the Church’s Prayer

Prayer permeates all the rites in this period. It is prayer that reflects the biblical narrative and that prays for the elect to confess and live under the lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Living into the Body of Christ and the Christian Way of Life

The enlightenment journey leads the elect to experience the life of the Body of Christ and the reconciling way of Christian life. The rituals reveal Christian practices that are intended for daily Christian living and sharing in the church.

Catechesis embedded in Ritual

Catechesis doesn’t arise out of textbooks or curriculum. It springs forth from the liturgical experience within the gathered community. As Diana Macalintal says, “The Parish is the Curriculum.” The life of the parish ultimately forms the elect into living as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Apprenticeship in the Church’s Mission

Finally, the liturgical journey of the elect apprentices them into the church’s mission. When shaped with intentionality and purpose the rites of the entire catechumenate mold the newly baptized into being witnesses to the Word and as those who pursue God’s justice in their vocations and relationships.

Scrutines of Lent 2019 (9)

A Ritual Journey: The Third Scrutiny

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The Third Scrutiny follows the Second Scrutiny on the Fifth Sunday in Lent. As we saw with the first two scrutinies, the intent of the Third Scrutiny is for the elect to “renounce sin and evil and profess faith in the Triune God at their baptism” (Guide for Celebrating Christian Initiation with Adults, 58). The pattern is the same:

  • Readings from Series A (John 11: The Raising of Lazarus, pointing the elect to the new life received through their dying and rising with Christ in their baptisms)
  • Homily (which includes exploration of the meaning of the scrutiny)
  • Silent prayer by the presider, sponsors, elect, and the assembly
  • Intercessions for the elect
  • Exorcism Prayer
  • [Psalm/Hymn/Song]
  • Dismissal of the elect

The Third Scrutiny, through the Gospel text of the Raising of Lazarus, emphasizes that only in Jesus can they receive true “life in the face of death” (Guide, 60). Each of the scrutinies in the RCIA includes two sets of intercessions and two sets of excorcism prayers. Set “B” better highlights the Gospel reading of the raising of Lazarus and the theme of death and new life in Christ. This is reflected in the following texts among others: “acknowledge Christ as the resurrection and the life”; “become like Christ by baptism, dead to sin and alive for ever in God’s sight”; and “the Eucharistic food, which they are soon to receive, may make them one with Christ, the source of life and resurrection” (RCIA Study Edition, 105-106). The exorcism prayers further open up these themes. As one of them prays,

“Lord Jesus Christ, you commanded Lazarus to step forth alive from his tomb and by your own resurrection freed all people from death. We pray for these your servants, who eagerly approach the waters of new birth and hunger for the banquet of life. Do not let the power of death hold them back, for, by their faith, they will share in the triumph of your resurrection, for you live and reign forever and ever. Amen (RCIA Study Edition, 108).

Once again the presider calls the elect and the assembly to pray silently and so to examine their lives and repent in light of the authority of the Lord of death and life. Like the previous two scrutinies, the elect are focused on enlivened faith in the Triune God and are directed toward their liberation from sin, evil, and the power of satan through their enlightenment in their baptism into Christ Jesus.

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