The Small Catechism – part 62
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Luke 2:51–52
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Click for a recording of today's lesson.
From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother, (that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you).
What does this mean?
Answer: We should fear and love God so that we do not show contempt for our parents and others in authority, nor provoke them to anger, but respect, obey, serve, love, and honor them.
Pulling It Together: Of all people, Jesus might have insisted on being right when confronted with his parents’ demands upon him. Yet, he was obedient and submissive to them. Children sometimes demand that they are right, that their parents are not being fair, and belligerently rebel against their fathers and mothers. Society has even come to expect this to happen. This can, of course, turn into behavior later in life that worsens or even threatens the lives of others. The result is that maturity and wisdom seem lost on many adults. One begins their path when young, leading one direction or the other, to righteousness or pettiness, wisdom or foolishness, maturity or immaturity. Jesus honored his father and mother, and so, grew up to be wise and mature.
Prayer: Teach me, Holy Spirit, to be submissive to my parents. Amen.
Click here for resources to learn the Ten Commandments.
Share this post
Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
Click Here For Content Archives