Catechetical Prerequisite or Pervasive Context
June 30th, 2008 | by Christopher Gillespie |
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thinking-out-loud: First Communion Redux: Catechetical Prerequisite or Pervasive Context
Rev. Stuckwisch has an excellent post on his pastoral practice in regards to communion age, examination, and catechesis. There is a particular irony that we bemoan connection of confirmation to graduation, the disappearance of the late-teenage members, and the temporary catechesis that the communicant receives in their 1-2 yr. factory-style cram method of teaching. Yet, with all these compelling reasons to reconsider our practice, we instead sit back and complain with the status quo. It’s reassuring that a few have considered the implications and become truly introspective upon their own catechesis, pastoral care, and exercise of the Office of the Keys. Especially useful is the following quotation:
So, back to the questions at hand. I’ve operated with the Six Chief Parts as the basic foundation for catechesis in the Christian faith and life, and as the functional pre-requisite for participation in the Holy Communion. I’ve done so on the basis of the Large Catechism and the historic precedent and practice of the Lutheran Church. And I have no doubts as to the fundamental importance and benefits of those key texts: the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Our Father, and the three evangelical Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Holy Communion. Of these, the first three are clearly central, a succinct teaching and confession of the Law and the Gospel and faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. It is likewise clear that catechesis in the means of grace should accompany their administration. These Six Chief Parts are not simply (nor primarily) a minimum quantity of information, but a definitive pattern of faith and life and prayer. That is the basis on which I have operated, and I believe that to be sound.
But where do we find this particular measure of catechesis in the Holy Scriptures? How exactly is it to be connected to the process of admission to the Holy Communion? How thoroughly are the Six Chief Parts to be known? And what does it mean, what does it look like or sound like, for someone to “know” these things?
I’m a big believer in memorization, but is memorization equivalent to, or even necessary for, the knowledge and faith of the Six Chief Parts? Certainly, it is possible to memorize something without comprehending it (if that is what knowledge is supposed to mean). It is also quite possible to know and practice something without having it memorized (though a functional memorization will occur with time). Memorization is certainly a fine outward (and inward) training, but that person is truly worthy and well-prepared who has faith in the Words of Christ.
Should it really be the case that each communicant must be capable of confessing the faith with an identical level and sort of competence? Of course, such a thing is preposterous and impossible, but it seems to me that we, as a church collectively in recent centuries, have striven and contrived for precisely that. It doesn’t work. Not only that, but it simultaneously makes admission to the Sacrament a human achievement, and yet reduces catechesis (and discipleship) to a short-lived self-contained program, akin to the factory line of the public school system.
I’ve heard it said that pastors who advocate and practice “early” Communion are really just trying to avoid the hard work of catechesis. Perhaps that has been true in some cases, but as a generalization it is patently false nonsense. To the contrary, it is those pastors who withhold and deny catechesis (and First Communion) until fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth grade — and who then conclude that process of catechesis upon the man-made rite of confirmation, as though it were all said and done — who neglect and short-change the pastoral responsibility and ongoing pastoral care of catechesis.
In my experience and observation, a greater emphasis on catechesis goes hand-in-hand with an earlier admittance to the Holy Communion. As for my own proclivities and pastoral practice, I’m not in favor of less catechesis, but far more. It ought to start earlier than it typically has — much, much earlier — and it ought to continue far longer — until death. It ought to involve the active participation of both parents and pastor, as much as possible along the way. And it ought to be a way of life for the entire congregation, no matter how young or old.
The key, in my opinion, is to focus on the character, the content and continuation of the catechesis, and less so on the confession of the catechumen, as far as a basis for First Communion is concerned. That is not to undermine the importance of confessing the faith, nor is it in any way to suggest or advocate open communion (far from it). It is rather to point out that both faith and confession are dependent upon the preaching and teaching of the Word of Christ; and that, where such catechesis is faithfully happening, then, apart from a denial or rejection of the faith, those who are baptized and being catechized should be communed.
