Formed to live by the word of God
Isn’t it
enough for our community to be formed by the word of God, rather than bringing
in these old confessional documents which, to be honest, many of us are at best
only vaguely familiar with? We call them
(the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dort) “three forms of unity,” but don’t they often come between us rather than
binding us together? Why bother with
these difficult confessions, when we have the Bible to bring us together?
Fair
enough. Given the choice between the
Bible and the confessions as a lamp for my feet and a light for my path, I
would choose the Bible every time, and I would urge you to do the same. But what if the confessions could actually
lead us by the hand to the Bible, could place it in our hands and teach us how
to open it, how to hold it, how to read it? We may not love them for their own sakes, but they put
this marvelous treasure within our reach.
The
Heidelberg Catechism is a particularly good teacher, a trustworthy guide, in
our effort to be formed to live by the word of God. The last few
pages of this catechism are a leisurely, reflective meditation on one brief
passage of Scripture, the Lord’s Prayer. You can find the text here, on the website of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, one of the several church bodies that seek to live by this confession: http://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/heidelberg-catechism (You'll need to scroll down to the "Lord's Prayer" link at the bottom of the list.)
As
you
linger with this selection – maybe even reading it out loud with
someone else! – you might ask yourself:
- How does this help me to understand the Lord's Prayer more deeply?
- If I were to pray the Lord's Prayer every day with the Catechism's explanation of it in mind, how would my life be formed by it?
- If we prayed this prayer together with the Catechism's explanation of it in mind, how would our community be reshaped by it? How might we be formed in ways that are more responsive
to God, more hospitable, more connected?
