The Large Catechism – part 129
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13
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.)
God knows very well the perverseness of the world. Therefore, he rebukes and insists through the commandments that everyone consider what their parents have done for them. They will discover that they have body and life from them, and been fed and raised when otherwise they would have perished a hundred times in their own filth. Therefore, the old saying of the wise is trustworthy. Deo, parentibus et magistris non potest satis gratiae rependi. That is, to God, to parents, and to teachers, we can never render sufficient gratitude and compensation. He who regards and considers this will bestow all honor on his parents, indeed, without compulsion, and regard them as those through whom God has done him all good.
Pulling It Together: These verses urge us to honor those who do the principal work of ministry in congregations. But it is good counsel to think of our parents along these lines too. Acknowledge your mother and father for the labors they perform for you, and for their leading you in the Lord, and for that matter, for every time they scold you. Give them the highest honor since they do these things because they love you.
Prayer: Give me the humility, Lord, to accept rebuke. Amen.
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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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