For Various Holy Orders

Now we come to the section in Luther’s Small Catechism that teaches the DOCTRINE OF VOCATION. Namely, The Table of Duties.

This part of the catechism has been shamefully neglected, in my opinion, and thus the doctrine of vocation has faded out of even Lutheran churches, in many cases. The previous hymnbook, “Lutheran Worship,” included the catechism, which was good, but totally left out the Table of Duties!

I have been linking to the translation of the catechism used by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), but that version inexplicably leaves out the headnote to the Table of Duties, which is key to its meaning. In the words of the headnote, the Table of Duties consists of

Certain passages of scripture for various holy orders and positions,
admonishing them about their duties and responsibilities.

“Holy orders.” That is the exact language used to refer to the Roman Catholic religious orders of priests, nuns, and monks. But here the “holy orders” are husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and workers.

Notice how the Table of Duties organizes these different holy orders into dyads; that is, pairs of callings that relate to each other. This teaches that vocation has to do with relationships. Each vocation given here is paired up with the particular neighbor in that calling who is to be loved and served.

Note too how Biblical the doctrine of vocation is. The Table of Duties, unlike the other parts of the Catechism, consists of nothing but Bible verses.

Part of the purpose of the Cranach Institute and this Cranach blog is to bring back the doctrine of vocation, so in the days ahead, we’ll look at the Table of Duties in detail, taking each vocational pair and catechizing each other as to its implications.