Creed

What is it that we Christians believe?

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. - The Apostle's Creed

If you follow the Daily Office of morning, noonday and evening prayers, you are familiar with this Creed, prayed three times a day. But I would venture to say that other than the most religious, the monks and some clergy, most Christians do not spend time in guided prayer an a daily basis.

Most of us pray when we need help, and we probably don't think of reciting the Creed, either the Apostle's Creed or the Nicene Creed, which we find in our Sunday Eucharist.

Reciting the creed is like repeating an oath, reminding ourselves of the things we profess to believe, and it is important to say, especially if some of the statements in the creed are hard to believe completely.

For some, the creed says, this is who I am, while for others it is more like this is who I desire to be.

We could spend our whole lives struggling to nail down each tenet to be able to say, yes, I believe everything said here.  But that doesn't mean we cannot or should not come together to worship and call ourselves Christian. 

In our church, the Episcopal Church, all are welcome, regardless of where they fall on the belief spectrum, from zero to one hundred percent.  It is our common goal to work toward our greater understanding of our faith, not to judge who is better or worse.

Jesus told his followers that he came not for the healthy but for the sick, not for the found, but for the lost.  So it is with church.  We, the body of Christ, as complete when all members come together, not just the ones like us.

So, as we approach Lent, a time of reflection and focus on our faith, let us start a daily exercise of reciting the creed.  Let us do it to strengthen and reinforce the faith we have, and to call out those things we find difficult to accept.

Throughout Lent in our weekly Bible Study, we will be focusing on the prayers and readings of the Daily Office, paying particular attention to the Creed and its meaning in our lives.  I will let you know how it goes.

More to come...