“What does this mean?”
It’s one of the most Lutheran questions one can ask.
Almost 500 years ago, Martin Luther was looking for a way for families to explain and learn the basics of the Christian faith.
He created a resource called the Small Catechism* – a resource that’s still in use today. Though we now have it in pocket booklet form, the earliest versions were created as posters for the wall. Martin knew that young and inquisitive learners (of any age) might ask “but why?” (perhaps several thousand times) and utilized a simple question and answer format for the Catechism with this sort of curious spirit in mind.
He welcomed – expected – questions.
This Lenten guide is created with that same spirit in mind.
There are many words, phrases and concepts that we may hear often but take for granted what they actually mean. Or, we might know the definitions but perhaps haven’t considered what the words might mean for us.
For each day of the forty days of Lent, this guide features a word that you might have heard before and provides you with a definition, a place it can be explained within scripture and some additional reflections about what this word could mean in your daily life.
May your wisdom and faith (and vocabulary!) increase together we ask what these words mean for us and how they might shape the ways we live our lives.
*What does Catechism mean? Find out during week two!
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Resurrection
Resurrection A rising to life from death. The concept of resurrection is derived from Jewish apocalyptic literature and is to be distinguished from the Greek concept of the immortality of…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Sanctification
Sanctification “Making holy” or “consecrating” a place, thing, or person to God. Since holiness is primarily the attribute of God, what is “sanctified” is removed from “profane” or “secular” use…
-
40 Word in 40 Days: Glory
Glory An important theological term in both the OT and the NT. The most important Hebrew word for glory, kabod, means “weight” or “importance.” Thus, to have glory is to…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Mercy
Mercy An attribute of God and a virtue commended for human beings. In the OT mercy is associated with the covenant obligation between God and humans. In the NT God’s…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Kenosis
Kenosis A Greek term which means “emptying.” It appears in the Christological hymn of Phil 2:6-11, where it means the giving up of divine glory by the eternal Son of…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Theology of the Cross
Theology of the Cross/Glory “A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls a thing what it actually is.” ― Martin Luther, Heidelberg…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Hypostatic
Hypostatic (Fully God/Fully Man) The idea that “Jesus Christ is true God and true man” is also referred to as the hypostatic union and is a central tenet of orthodox…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Sorrowful Rejoicing
Sorrowful/Rejoicing A contrast highlighted in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Simul Justus et Peccator
Simul Justus et Peccator Latin phrase meaning “at once justified and a sinner.” It is associated with Martin Luther and Protestant thought concerning salvation. (Via An Episcopal Dictonary of the…
-
40 Words in 40 Days: Already Not Yet
Already/Not Yet The phrase “Already but Not Yet” describes a central tension in biblical teaching. This tension-that believers already experience spiritual realities but still await their ultimate completion-shapes how we…
“Words matter. Words are necessary for communication and community. They transform and refresh. They convey meaning and they convey God. Since words have the power both to create and destroy, we attend to them carefully.”
-L. DeAne Lagerquist
Professor at St. Olaf College