Every time we say the Apostles' Creed, or the Nicene or another of Christendom's historic creeds, we step into a long, steady river, the great two thousand year story of believers, missionaries, and martyrs.  When I say "I believe in God...," I become part of something bigger than myself.  My faith is something in me, my reaching out, my believing...  The Latin root of credo ("I believe") means "I give my heart to."  "I believe" is not merely saying "I feel" or "I want" or "I think," but rather, "God is" - and I fling myself upon God, I attach myself to God, I promise to live into God's story.  So faith is also outside myself.  Faith has content, and it is old, time-tested.  "Deep convictions are not hazarded, but grown into slowly" (Nicholas Lash). 

   Reciting the Creed in worship helps us grow into deep convictions.  To believe without the Creed would be like baking without a measuring cup, or building furniture without a ruler.  To believe with the Creed reminds me my faith is no solo act.  The Nicene Creed improved upon the Apostles' by changing "I believe" to "We believe."  We need each other, and faith ushers us into God's family, where we read the Bible, sing hymns, ask questions and reflect together on theology - but it is easy to miss the forest for the trees.  What is at the heart of what we believe?

   The Creed is a story - the Bible's story.  "What the Scriptures say at length, the Creed says briefly" (Lash).  The Apostles' Creed is a quick summary of the 66 books of the Bible, a bird's eye view of the high points of the story spanning thousands of years.  How easy it is to get mired in the 1,189 chapters and 31,000+ verses of the very long Bible!  The Creed helps us detect the plot, maneuver the crucial turning points in the narrative.

   Dorothy Sayers wrote a book whose title poses a choice:  Creed? Or Chaos?  Christians opt for the Creed, declaring there is such a thing as truth, and that truth matters.  So we repeat what is true every week, maybe perfunctorily - but perhaps with the solid substance that is manifest when a couple parts in the morning with a kiss that is little bit perfunctory, but bears witness to something deep and large.  That depth is the revealed love of God in Jesus.  Ancient Christian teaching is not a straitjacket, but a loving, tender, experienced tutor; it is "the job of doctrine to hold us still before Jesus" (Rowan Williams). 

James

james@mpumc.org

Coming up:

eWorship15 - How to Listen to Sermons

eWorship16 - Praying for others

eWorship17 - Repentance and Forgiveness

The complete eWorship series may be found on our web site.