“Baptism works for the forgiveness of sins, and as such it brings about a change of lords. Rather the Christian hears in the word spoken a new reality being declared. Baptism is not an empty religious ritual, an invisible force field that protects the sinful man by the mere performance of the rite. ![]() Pless seeks to reclaim the understanding of the present tense reality of baptism. In baptism God is not out to make religious people, but rather He creates new creations by water and Word. In order to pray in God’s Name, one must first be given His Name, and that is precisely what God gives in baptism. The instituting words are the gift and the gift is embedded in the words. Not to be missed in this chapter is how Pless cuts through every false theology of prayer, demonstrating that all prayer is prayed under the crucible of the cross: “The Lord’s Prayer is a cry wrung from the crucible, an exposition of the shape of life lived under the sign of the cross in the hope of the resurrection” (53).Īfter the Lord’s Prayer, Pless moves to consider Baptism. ![]() Not only is it our Father’s words, but they are words placed into the mouth of the Christian that he might pray aright, according to the will and desire of his heavenly Father. Pless shows how the first three chief parts of the Small Catechism come together in command, promise, and petition. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that governs all Christian prayer. Pless then turns his attention to the Lord’s Prayer. Pless helps the reader to see how Luther understood everything which is contained in the Creed is pure gift, “without any merit or worthiness in me.” “Luther’s whole exposition of the Creed proceeds in terms of divine giving” (50). Drawing upon Oswald Bayer, Pless concretely expresses the reality of the relationship of faith, giver, gift, and response, showing the reader how he should rightly confess, pray, and give thanks to God for such marvelous gifts. The Creed instructs the Christian over what kind of God he has, what He has done, and what He will do, for God has bound Himself graciously to His own promise and gift of creating, redeeming, and sanctifying the sinful creature. This formula helps the reader to see that Luther’s Small Catechism is not just one book, but a “school text, song book, penitential book, and prayer book” (16).Ĭhapter 3 turns to the Apostles’ Creed. The question however, as Pless aptly points out, is to what god are your prayers addressed? Is it a voice searching and hoping that a divine ear will hear? Or is it the voice of faith that our heavenly Father always listens to with joy and thanksgiving? Drawing on Luther’s “Simple Way to Pray,” Pless shows the reader how to pray through the formula of instruction, thanksgiving, Confession, and prayer. The voice of prayer lies in every throat. These simple words, Pless says, “are not too difficult for the young pupil yet they contain abyssal mysteries into which the mature Christian sinks” (2).Ĭhapter 2 is devoted to the Ten Commandments. It is a book to be prayed and digested for a lifetime, confessed before the world, and uttered incessantly against the devil. It is especially desired that your own praying of the catechism will be enlivened and enlarged” (ix).Ĭhapter 1 begins by emphasizing that Luther’s Catechism is more than an adolescent text used for a short period of instruction. “Readers will be drawn into a deeper and lasting appreciation of this handbook for doctrine, vocation, and prayer. ![]() In the preface, Pless sets the tone that there is always more to learn and receive in this exemplary reformational and catechetical text. In a day and age where there is a great famine of God’s Word and a culture beset on removing all voices of a distinctly Christian worldview, Pless’s Praying Luther’s Small Catechism must find a space on your bookshelf.
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