"Do you plan to use the Heidelberg Catechism as a part of your confirmation instruction?" This was one of the questions I was asked during my interview with the search committee of Zion United Church of Christ in Decatur, Indiana. Although this event occurred many years ago, I recall the moment with great clarity. I paused for a brief moment before offering a one word response. "Yes," I replied. The reason for my initial hesitation? I knew very little about the Heidelberg Catechism. The catechism had not yet been a part of my faith journey, Thankfully, my one word response satisfied my inquirer.
The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957, the result of a merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church; the later deriving from an earlier merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (earlier known as German Reformed) and the Evangelical Synod of North America.
I had been raised on the Congregational Christian side of the United Church of Christ equation, and the Heidelberg Catechism had not played a major role among Congregationalists. Congregationalism. Thus. I had limited knowledge in regard to the catechism. The Catechism, however, was considered an important resource and instructional guide for many United Church of Christ congregations who had been originally founded as German Reformed congregations. I sensed that the Heidelberg Catechism was important for Zion Church, which had originally been named Zion German Reformed Church and then—through mergers—had been renamed Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church and now finally Zion United Church of Christ. And so my answer "Yes" in regard to using the Catechism was prudent.
A few weeks after meeting with its search committee I was asked to be the candidate for the pastoral position with Zion Church and shortly thereafter called to be its pastor. Remembering the promise I had made earlier with Zion's Search Committee, I immediately contacted a United Church of Christ colleague who had been raised in the German Reformed tradition who I knew would offer his take on the Heidelberg Catechism.
I quickly realized that it was not only a part of the German Reformed community, but that it continues to be highly valued in the Dutch Reformed traditions and by various Presbyterian groups. Thus, I refer to the Heidelberg Catechism as our "shared legacy" and as a gift passed down to us from our Reformed ancestors. Composed in 1563, the Heidelberg Catechism possesses similarities to Luther's Catechism. Having attended a Lutheran parochial elementary School, Luther's Catechism was a resource I was quite familiar with. I also discovered that the Heidelberg Catechism uses the "Socratic method" of learning, offering a series of questions followed by their answers. In so doing, it summarizes the tenets of the Reformed tradition, much like Luther's Catechism offers a similar primer for those who would come to be known as Lutherans.
Thus I began using the Heidelberg catechism with the confirmation class at Zion Church and continued to do so with each confirmation class that I taught until my retirement from full time pastoral ministry. Admittedly, some of the catechism's questions and answers seem more appropriate for the time in which the catechism was written. Nevertheless, I came to a great appreciation for much of its content. and I continue to regard its first question: "What is your only comfort in life and in death?" to be life's greatest inquiry; and its answer (offered in the catechism) to be of utmost importance:
That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1, Translation © 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources. Used by permission.
This is not only a reassuring answer to the catechism's first question, it may also be one of Christian history's greatest statements of faith. Thus, this first question and answer became a part of the memory work I assigned to each of my confirmation classes. This wonderful answer to the catechism's first question is derived from Romans 14:7–9:
"For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living."
—Romans 14:7–9 NRSVUE
Five years after I conducted the confirmation service for a confirmation class at Zwingli United Church of Christ in Monticello, Wisconsin, I attended the memorial service for a young man from a neighboring community. His death was the result of injuries suffered in a freak accident on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison. Arriving at the service a little later than I expected, I sat near the back of the sanctuary. I immediately noticed three young men from my confirmation class of five years earlier. They were friends of the one who died, so they attended his memorial service.
At one point during his funeral message, the officiating pastor elaborated on Romans 14:7–9 and then tied his remarks together by quoting the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism.
After the service was over, the fellas who I had confirmed saw me seated in a pew near the back of the St. John Church sanctuary. After conversing briefly with each other, one of the trio, Tyler, approached me and said: "Larry, we know now why you had us memorize that question and answer. It all makes sense now."
Needless to say, I was pleased that even though the catechism had been compiled nearly 450 years earlier, these three former confirmation class members had caught the ongoing relevance of the catechism's foundational question and answer for their own lives. And I rejoice that this fundamental truth that we belong—"body and soul, in life and in death"—not to ourselves but to the Lord, continues to be amplified in songs with lyrics such as:
When we are living, it is in Christ Jesus,
and when we're dying, it is in the Lord.
Both in our living and in our dying,
we belong to God, we belong to God.
—Anonymous, translated by Elise S. Eslinger. Trans. © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House, admin. by The Copyright Company
I remain grateful for that interview question offered by the search committee of Zion Church. I am quite sure the questioner would not have known the chain of events that were set in motion by her simple inquiry, and the impact the catechism continues to have not only upon my life, but also the lives of many who study it.
Additionally, I’ve found that the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism are appropriate for use in worship. The answer can be offered as a statement of faith; or divided into its component parts to serve as a responsive reading (see below). It may also be presented in conjunction with the benediction. Its use during Services of Confirmation and memorial or funeral services is especially fitting.
As a member of the United Church of Christ writing to people of various other Reformed traditions, I hope we will continue to cherish this shared legacy—the Heidelberg Catechism—passed on down to us from our faithful ancestors. May we share its wisdom and reassurances, knowing that its importance ought never be underestimated.
Responsive Reading of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1
What is your only comfort
in life and in death?
That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven.
In fact, all things must work together for my salvation
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
——Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1, Translation © 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources. Used by permission.
