“Because the word that God speaks to us is always an incarnate word—a word spelled out to us not alphabetically, in syllables, but enigmatically, in events, even in the books we read and the movies we see—the chances are we will never get it just right. We are so used to hearing what we want to hear and remaining deaf to what it would be well for us to hear that it is hard to break the habit. But if we keep our hearts and minds open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear him, he is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, his word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling. In that sense autobiography becomes a way of praying, and a book like this, if it matters at all, matters mostly as a call to prayer.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Where do we go to find Martin Luther’s explanation to the Apostle’s Creed, and the Small and Large Catechism?  Martin Luther, Martin Chemnitz, Phillip Melanchthon and others compiled the important documents that form the Confessions of the Lutheran Church – the writings that make up the Book of Concord (1580). What are confessions?  We have creeds and confessions in the church. Creeds are “I Believe” statements, and as such we have three in the church: The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. These statements actually begin (except the Athanasian Creed) with “I Believe…”.  These Creedal statements are used in the worship service as a confession, or a “profession” of what we believe.

Frederick Buechner writes: “We are so used to hearing what we want to hear and remaining deaf to what it would be well for us to hear that it is hard to break the habit. But if we keep our hearts and minds open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear him, he is indeed speaking to us.”

The Book of Concord helps us understand exactly what it is we Lutherans are supposed to believe – about the Word of G-d Jesus Christ, about Grace, about the Holy Spirit, and many other areas of faith. Throughout these devotions, as I find the time, I will address the different writings in the Book of Concord.  If we do not familiarize ourselves with the writings of the Lutheran Church that state our convictions, then we will be the lesser for it – as Christians who call ourselves Lutherans.

Pastor Dave