Creeds

Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3 NIV)

There is a lot to be said about liturgical worship. Many who were not brought up in a liturgical traditon or just don't understand it, criticize it saying that repeating the same words every time we worship makes them meaningless. But liturgy, more than anything is about community. Take the creeds, for example.

Each and every week during worship we recite a creed. In our early worship it is usually the Apostles' Creed. At the traditional service we often recite the Nicene Creed. Both are summations of what we, as Christians, believe. If I close my eyes and just listen to my church family recite the creed, it bouys my own faith. When I hear 80-some people that I have come to know and love say, "I believe," it helps my unbelief. I, also, believe because they believe.

Now, if everyone were to close their eyes and listen while others recite the creed, there would be no one speaking. So it is important that each of us as individuals speak so that we may lift the faith of our brothers and sisters. And THAT is what Christian community is all about. It is not simply about what "I" need or what "I" expect to get out of a church family, although that is indeed a part of it. But it is also about what "I" can give to others. It is about helping my brothers and sisters in their own faith walks.

Jesus said that when two or more are gathered in his name, he is there. And in 1 Corinthians we are told that it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can believe. So, we must gather as community to experience that Holy Spirit that stirs up our faith.

The Apostles' Creed says "'I' believe." Said together it becomes a more powerful "we" believe, because when we say "I" we speak only for ourselves and it is only as we gather together as individual "I"s confessing the same faith that we become "we." It is not some corporate standard to aspire to, it is what we each profess individually and that is what makes it so powerful to me when I listen with closed eyes. If all of these wonderful people have faith in these statements, then I can too.

If all of these wonderful people can reach out to the least of these, then I can too. If all of these wonderful people can help someone in need, then I can too. If all of these wonderful people can tell others about Jesus, then I can too. If all of these wonderful people can forgive terrible hurts, then I can too.

I guess we can have faith without community, but it has to be awfully difficult. We all struggle with faith from time to time and have periods of doubt. We all have times when we just want to wallow in selfishness. Who pulls us out of these periods if not our faith community? How do we keep on believing if we cannot close our eyes and hear the larger Church saying "I believe?"

Father,
I believe. Thankk you for community that is always there to help my unbelief. Guide me in my efforts to help others in their own ubelief. Amen.

Joys: a furry friend to spend the week with us; Daniel and Kevin having a little "hang out" time together; Christian community