I hope you were in worship last week when we began our exploration of the Apostle’s Creed. We talked about the origins of the Creed: how it began as a series of questions posed to persons seeking baptism and membership in the church in about the third century after Christ’s death and resurrection (Sometimes known as A.D., sometimes known as C.E. or “in the Common Era”). In that time, and for a number of centuries, the creed was a kind of “test” of faith – an examination to be sure people understood what they were signing up for in becoming a part of Christ’s body, the church.
In our time it is more a tool for shaping our faith: for reminding us what is most important and who and whose we are. We say it in solidarity with Christians everywhere, even when we struggle to believe every word; even when our intellect wants to argue with some of the concepts expressed. We say it together, each holding faith for the other when those struggles threaten to undo us.
The first phrase of the creed is densely packed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
We affirm many things when we say those words:
- In a world that disdains belief and dependence, a world that values many things that are not God, we believe in and depend upon and value ONE God at the center of all things
- Our God is not a clockmaker God, a distant deity who created a universe and then stepped back to allow it to unfold without interference, but an intimate family member, a good Father, who cares about everything in each of our lives
- Our God is able -nothing is impossible for the One who can cause a 90+ year old couple to have a birth child!
- Our God made everything that is, and can be seen in the majesty and beauty of creation; in the vastness of the universe; in the precise complexity of the smallest creatures on earth.
I hope you are living every day as if you believed that thrilling declaration: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
It can change your life.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Deborah