II. La loi — Le 28e dimanche
The Fifth Commandment
The catechism introduces the fifth commandment as the beginning of the second table of the law.
The Fifth Commandment 185. M: Let’s come to the second table.1 C: “Honor your father and your mother. ”
Filial Duty and Divine Promise
The duty of children to honor their parents is linked to God's promise of a long life.
What it means to honor father and mother 186. Minister: What do you understand by honoring? Educand: That children should be humble and obedient to their parents, show them honor and reverence, help them, and be subject to their command, as they are bound to be. 187. M: Go on further. E: God adds a promise to this commandment, saying: "so that your days may be prolonged on the land that the Lord your God is giving you." 188. M: What does that mean? E: It means that God will grant a long life to those who give their father and mother the honor they are due.
Earthly Life and Divine Providence
Long life is a blessing of God's fatherly love, yet earthly promises are always subject to the priority of spiritual salvation.
Long life M: Since this life is so full of misery, why does God promise a long life to someone as a favor?2 E: Earthly life, however miserable it may be, is a blessing from God to the faithful—if only because God shows His fatherly love by sustaining them in it.3 190. M: Does it follow, on the contrary, that someone who dies young is cursed by God? Student: No. In fact, it sometimes happens that the Lord takes those he loves most from this world earlier. Earthly goods with a condition 191. Minister: When he does that, how does he keep his promise? E: Everything God promises us of earthly goods we must take with a condition: only insofar as it is expedient for our spiritual salvation. For it would be a poor thing if that did not always come first.4
The Weight of Rebellion
Rebellion against parents invites divine judgment both in this life and the next.
The punishment of disobedient children 192. M: And what about those who rebel against their father and mother? E: God won't just punish them on the day of judgment; he will also take vengeance on their bodies—whether by causing them to die before their time, or in a shameful way, or through some other means.5
The Scope of Authority
The commandment extends beyond the land of Canaan to all people, encompassing all forms of divinely ordained authority.
193. M: Is he talking specifically about the land of Canaan in this promise?✦ E: Yes indeed, as far as the children of Israel are concerned; but now we have to take this word more generally. For no matter what country we live in, since the earth is his, he provides our dwelling place there (Psalms 24:1; 89:12; 115:16). 194. Minister: Is that the whole commandment? Student: Even though only father and mother are mentioned, we still have to include all superiors, since the same logic applies. 195. M: And what is that? S: It is that God has given them a position of preeminence. For there is no authority held by fathers, princes, or any other superiors, except as God has ordained it (Romans 13:1).
Read the original Latin
Le cinquième commandement 185. M : Venons à la seconde table. E : « Honore ton père et ta mère. »
Que c'est qu'honorer père et mère 186. M : Qu'entends-tu par honorer? E : Que les enfants soient humbles et obéissants à leurs pères et mères, leur portent honneur et révérence, leur assistent et soient à leur commandement, comme ils y sont tenus.
187. M : Poursuis plus outre. E : Dieu ajoute une promesse à ce commandement, disant : « afin que tes jours soient prolongés sur la terre, laquelle le Seigneur ton Dieu te donne ».
188. M : Que veut dire cela? E : Que Dieu donnera longue vie à ceux qui rendront au père et à la mère l'honneur qui leur est dû.
Vie longue 189. M : Vu que cette vie est tant pleine de misères, comment est-ce que Dieu promet à l'homme, pour une grâce, qu'il le fera vivre longuement? E : La vie terrienne, quelque misérable qu'elle soit, est une bénédiction de Dieu à l'homme fidèle, et ne fût-ce sinon d'autant que Dieu lui testifie sa dilection paternelle, l'entretenant en icelle.
190. M : S'ensuit-il au contraire que l'homme qui meurt tôt soit maudit de Dieu? E : Non. Et même, il adviendra quelquefois que le Seigneur retirera plus tôt de ce monde ceux qu'il aimera le plus.
Biens terriens avec condition 191. M : En ce faisant, comment garde-t-il sa promesse? E : Tout ce que Dieu nous promet des biens terriens, il nous le faut prendre avec condition, en tant qu'il est expédient pour notre salut spirituel. Car ce serait pauvre chose, si cela n'allait toujours devant.
Punition des enfants désobéissants 192. M : Et de ceux qui seront rebelles à père et à mère? E : Non seulement Dieu les punira au jour du jugement, mais il en fera aussi la vengeance sur leurs corps, soit en les faisant mourir devant leurs jours, ou ignominieusement, ou en quelque autre sorte.
193. M : Parle-t-il nommément de la terre de Chanaan en cette promesse? E : Oui bien, quant aux enfants d'Israël, mais il nous faut maintenant prendre ce mot plus généralement. Car en quelque pays que nous demeurions, puisque la terre est sienne, il nous y donne notre habitation (Psaumes 24:1 ; 89:12 ; 115:16).
194. M : Est-ce cela tout le commandement? E : Combien qu'il ne soit parlé que de père et de mère, toutefois il faut entendre tous supérieurs, puisqu'il y a une même raison.
195. M : Et quelle? E : C'est que Dieu leur a ordonné la prééminence. Car il n'y a autorité ni de pères, ni de princes, ni de tous autres supérieurs, sinon comme Dieu l'a ordonné (Romains 13:1).
Scripture echoes
- ↩Exod.20.12;Deut.5.16 — Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Deut.5.16 — Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and so that it may go well with you on the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Notes
- 1 ↩In Reformed catechetical usage, the “second table” of the Decalogue is the set of commandments that govern duties toward neighbor (here beginning with the fifth).
- 2 ↩French « pour une grâce » is rendered as “as a favor” (a promised good), not as saving grace in the strict theological sense; the same root can mean both.
- 3 ↩« dilection paternelle » is rendered “fatherly love”; dilection names God’s electing/affectionate love rather than mere sentiment.
- 4 ↩cela points back to spiritual salvation (salut spirituel): earthly goods must remain subordinate to it.
- 5 ↩French «devant leurs jours» is the traditional idiom for a life cut short before its appointed span—the inverse of the commandment’s promise of length of days.
Catechism of the Church of Geneva (Le catéchisme de l'Église de Genève) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit