This is what Christian catechesis does; it turns the knobs of the Scriptures and throws the doors of God’s word wide open to tell us the story of salvation.
This is an excerpt from the Introduction of Luther and the Lion: A Narnian Catechism by Sam Schuldheisz (1517 Publishing, 2026), p. xxvi - xxviii.
The next time you open God’s word, imagine yourself standing next to Lucy turning the knobs on the doors of the wardrobe and walking into that magical world for the first time.
This is what Christian catechesis does; it turns the knobs of the Scriptures and throws the doors of God’s word wide open to tell us the story of salvation. So, the next time you hear someone use the word, “catechesis,” think of Lucy and Luther. And ask the catechism question: What does this mean? Catechesis is simply an ancient word for teaching the Christian faith. But don’t let the fact that it’s an old word fool you. With a little help from Luther and Lewis, catechesis can be an adventure full of storytelling, imagination, beauty, truth, and good news.
In Narnia, Lewis teaches the faith through imagination and storytelling.
When Lucy Pevensie enters the wardrobe in the spare room for the first time, she is amazed to find entire world hidden behind its doors. “‘This must be a simply enormous wardrobe!’ thought Lucy.”
Like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag or Hermione Granger’s enchanted beaded bag, Lucy discovers that the ordinary wardrobe contains something rather extraordinary. Through the wooden doors of the wardrobe lies the woods of Narnia. There is a whole world within the wardrobe, a world that is bigger on the inside than it first appears on the outside.
This is a good way of picturing what happens in Christian catechesis. What is ordinary and humble often holds something extraordinary, and even holy. And what at first appears small and insignificant on the outside actually holds something far bigger on the inside.
When you read Luther’s Small Catechism a wardrobe door opens and you enter into the world of God’s life-giving promises. Like the Narnian wardrobe, God’s promises are far bigger than you can imagine. God hides his extraordinary promises – like a magical world hidden in a wardrobe – and gift wraps his grace in ordinary things.
How does God use ordinary things to give you his holy, extraordinary gifts? Let’s take a quick look.
Ordinary water is joined with God’s word and the extraordinary happens; you are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). There’s a whole new creation for you in your baptism (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus takes ordinary bread and wine and does the extraordinary for you. He gives you his body and his. The Lord’s Supper is bigger on the inside than it first appears. In these humble, ordinary gifts, Jesus gives you his extraordinary grace and forgiveness.
God’s word is like Lewis’s wardrobe in another way as well. Scripture is full of languages, words, and grammar; there are many authors, books, and genres; these writers use metaphors, similes, and rich imagery, immersing God’s word and our hearing his word with God’s gift of imagination. And yet, at the same time, it’s extraordinary. From Genesis to Revelation, you are told the grand story of God’s grace in Jesus. You are drawn into God’s word, not through a wardrobe, but through your ears, and your imagination.
Luther and Lewis both understood the power of catechesis and imagination in declaring and defending the Christian faith.
In Narnia, Lewis teaches the faith through imagination and storytelling. In his Small Catechism, Luther teaches the Christian faith using questions and answers that open God’s word. Together, Luther and Lewis help you understand the great story of the Gospel and its central character, the Lion.
With Luther’s catechism and Lewis’s, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in hand, you have the best of both worlds; the true story of Christian teaching, and a good story that points us to the gospel in many delightful ways.
And now, it’s time to enter the wardrobe and set out on our journey of catechesis together with our good friends, Luther and the Lion.
Luther and the Lion releases on June 23. Preorder your copy today.
