When Is Catechesis Finished?

Each new year brings new joys, challenges, and lessons. We are constantly confronted with decisions that will have far-reaching impact on the lives of those around us, a life-long battle.

While it's tempting to trust ourselves to battle through life, that's like watching a Navy Seals movie and saying, "I could do that!"

Winning a battle requires two things: a weapon and skill in that weapon's use. In life, your only reliable weapon is the "Sword of the Spirit," God's Word. If you don't have the sword with you, you can at least carry the "little dagger" crafted for us by Dr. Luther, the Small Catechism.

"I'm done with Confirmation Class," you may say, but how practiced are you with your "two-edged sword"? For that matter, what is Confirmation?

Lutheran Confirmation, as most Lutheran practices, is closely related to the Sacraments. It is not itself a sacrament, nor is it renewing of Baptismal vows, which we renew daily. In confirmation, we remember our vows and confess again what we confessed at our Baptism. It isn't preparation for the Lord's Supper, yet the instruction ("Catechesis") informs us not only how to receive it to our benefit, but what that benefit is.

But most of all, confirmation is a graduation, not an end, but a "change in a gradual manner," a step up to the next level. Having finished basic training, you're better able to fight. But since we continue to face new challenges, constant additional training will equip us to face those new challenges.

You're in the war whether you want to be or not, and because Jesus defeated your sin on the cross, you're on His side. "Onward, Christian soldiers marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before!"