The Large Catechism – part 128
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Isaiah 5:13
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Large Catechism, The Ten Commandments
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.)
We garner our initial knowledge of the Lord in the home. There, we learn how to honor our parents, and in so learning, we learn that we are not the center of all things. There are those of higher station who have responsibility for us. We are to respect them, and even esteem them because of their vocation. God has given them this standing for our good, so for our own good, we should honor them. Without them and our respect of them, we lose our truest selves by forgetting where we came from, disregarding the source of all our earthly welfare. Without this knowledge, this appreciation, we are hard-pressed to recognize God, let alone honor him, even when he reveals himself in preaching and Scripture.
Pulling It Together: We garner our initial knowledge of the Lord in the home. There, we learn how to honor our parents, and in so learning, we learn that we are not the center of all things. There are those of higher station who have responsibility for us. We are to respect them, and even esteem them because of their vocation. God has given them this standing for our good, so for our own good, we should honor them. Without them and our respect of them, we lose our truest selves by forgetting where we came from, forgetting the source of all our earthly welfare. Without this knowledge, this appreciation, we are hard-pressed to recognize God, let alone honor him, even when he reveals himself in preaching and Scripture.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, give me a trust in you that allows me to honor my parents. Amen.
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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.
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