Piety is not an ugly word. That should not be a provocative statement. Yet, to some, piety seems like an ugly word. Maybe it is simply a sense that the word is laden with connotations of a “holier than thou” attitude. For others, it is a word to avoid because it sounds an awful lot like a word that is ugly, pietism. Some might grant that it is not an ugly word, but to speak of ways to pursue piety leads to the ditches of self-righteousness and law motivation.
William Weedon undertakes the task of associating beauty and joy with the word “piety.” From the outset of his work, Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey: Recovering the Joys of Piety, he is clear what piety is: “I will seek to show that piety at its root is simply the cultivation of godly habits, habits which befit the household of God, the family of our heavenly Father. That is, piety grows from Baptism, grounded in the gracious adoption that God bestows on us with water and the name of the blessed Trinity. Piety flows from adoption” (viii). Throughout the book, Weedon displays a strong clarity that piety is a result of God’s gracious work in us, not something we offer to earn or deserve his grace. He avoids potential sanctification pitfalls by describing piety as our response since we have been brought into God’s family and now watch our Older Brother and our Heavenly Father.
Each chapter of the book is one “Godly Habit” that the author connects to our pursuit of piety. The eight habits are: faithful listening to the Word of God, the daily prayers, frequent and faithful reception of the Eucharist, confession of sins and absolution, sacrificial giving, confessing Christ, watching for the good works God has prepared for us to do, and remembering death and the day of judgment. In each chapter, one finds plenty of teaching and ideas for fostering the habit under consideration. I will not seek to fully summarize each chapter. Instead, I will offer some points of evaluation with examples connecting to each.
The foundational habit is faithful listening to the Word of God. It is noteworthy that where some might begin with personal devotion as the key step in pursuing piety, the bulk of his time with the Word focuses on corporate worship. He emphasizes worship that covers the life of Christ and one in which the listener is faithfully and actively attending to the words before touching upon personal devotion. He does not downplay an individual’s time in the Word but stresses the benefit of hearing the Word with the body of believers.
As Weedon addresses the habit of prayer, he offers encouragement for a consistent schedule of prayer in your day. Morning, evening, and at meals, both before and after eating. While one might be tempted to think piety is found in prayers above and beyond the routine, Weedon would argue a regular rhythm such as he presents is the starting place from which the vine of prayer will grow and spread out. To foster this growth, he provides several prayers that might easily be added to a Christian’s repertoire for preparation to receive the Sacrament, as well as post celebration. This sort of helpful but unobtrusive advice is found throughout the book.
In several places in the book, Weedon describes something familiar in a perspective that proves refreshing. As he discusses the habit of Confession and Absolution, he defines confession as our opportunity to declare that the Word of God is true in what it says about us. We are sinners. Much of the wording of our confessions cuts to the heart of the matter. I am a sinner who wants to take God’s place in my life. It certainly shows in particular outward sins, but the real issue is more than that. It is who I am. Having made confession and agreed with what God says about me, I am ready to hear the shocking words of absolution. This might happen corporately, which he addresses, but also privately and individually. An instructional piece of the work is a walkthrough of one way that private pastoral confession might be done.
His guiding metaphor for the habit of watching for the good works God has prepared for us to do is that of an Easter egg hunt. It provides him a great opportunity to paint good works as what they are: gracious opportunities from God rather than something we are creating for him. God has already hidden the eggs. Now we are simply looking for them. Our motivation is also correctly portrayed in this image. It is not a burden for us to do goodworks. We seek them out and delight in finding them, often right there in front of us. He directs his readers to the Table of Duties in the catechism as a helpful tool to discover some of the specific eggs God has hidden in each of our callings.
One more example of how Weedon’s writing gives us a fresh perspective is found in his discussion of death. What is death? We recognize there are several appropriate ways to answer that question. After showing clearly it is much more than when we stop breathing, he declares that death is when we wander away from our home and our Father. Thus, Christ’s work to conquer death for us is portrayed in the imagery of Hebrews, that is through his body and death a path home has been opened to us. Because of this, the Christian thinks of death daily, but also as a defeated foe; something from which we will be awakened by Jesus as easily as one wakes the sleeper. This appropriate facing of death daily sets one free to live a joyful and blessed life, a pious life.
In several places, Weedon helpfully digs into the motivation beneath the surface action. This shows especially when speaking of the habit of sacrificial giving and confessing Christ. We practice sacrificial giving with eyes on the Lord who will provide for us and with joy in response to his gracious blessings. We confess Christ in our life not because we have been brow beaten to do so but because we have enjoyed the surprising grace of God revealed to us in him. Our hymns of praise and confession are declarations of God’s awesome works and the good news of the Gospel.
One unfortunate omission is a chapter or habit devoted specifically to the remembrance of our baptism. While Weedon does an excellent job weaving in baptism from the introduction (see quote above) to the final chapter, I would have enjoyed some of the specific ideas that could be shared to foster the enjoyment of baptism in connection with our daily pious living.
Weedon succeeds in one of his stated goals that begin the book. He successfully and frequently makes connections with the Small and Large Catechisms of Luther. He desires the reader to recognize those writings as helpful tools to build up godly piety rather than a textbook for rote learning in a particular class for a particular age.
The best way to describe this book is a one-stop depository of many helpful ideas and practices that one might have heard from pastors, professors, and other mentors over the years. The reader will find many practices that are familiar, but a reminder of them will still be appreciated. Some of these practices might be new to you, or at least a variant of a practice you have found useful. One might also finish each chapter and yearn for a chance to chat with the author and say, “What about this idea that Professor so and so mentioned to us at the Seminary?” or “Have you ever tried this practice that my home pastor shared with me?” Still, this book contains familiar and newideas that will benefit the reader’s pursuit of the joy of piety. Their presentation in a gospel-focused context makes this book worth reading.