WATCHWORD:
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4
Meditation:
I Believe in…
In the course of our Christian walk, and, I suppose, depending on the Church that you attend on a regular basis, certain elements of worship become second nature. Those elements become an important part of how we approach our worship of God, whether it is music, specific and often repeated prayers (i.e. The Lord’s Prayer) or whether worship services follow a liturgy outline or is free-form. Whatever you have found in your walk with Christ, whatever brings you peace in the Lord, that has deepened in spiritual value.
Among those elements that we may hold in common, we probably would find a Creed. I could narrow that down to the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed, both professions of faith. My choice would be The Apostles Creed, probably because it’s the shorter of the two, and besides, I have memorized it, as have many of you.
Over the next three editions of Watchword I would like to examine this Creed that many of us recite, often with nary a thought to meaning. But, first of all, where did it come from?
Wikipedia is most helpful in researching the history of the Creed. From their various sources, we learn that early Christian belief was that the apostles, immediately following the Pentecost experience in the temple, gathered together and wrote the Creed before they left Jerusalem to preach and established churches.
Over the next 300 years there were some adjustments in wording, but generally, the three main articles of the Creed remained intact. Common usage of the Creed in worship started sometime around 390 AD, without any changes since. That’s your history lesson.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
That pretty much stands alone, doesn’t it? If you want a really short creed, there you are. I think there are times when we throw around the word believe when maybe we mean hope, or want, or something else that is not spiritual or theological. For example, I believe that by mid-summer this pandemic will go away. Oh? How about, I believe that Purdue will win the Rose Bowl next year.
Well, you get the point. We often use believe to express our preferences or opinions. That’s not the meaning of believe in the Creed. What the apostles were expressing was a deeply-held, life-affirming belief in the existence of God, the father Almighty. He Is. The entire Creed is rooted in that unshakable belief.
I pray that we all share that deep, grounded belief in the existence of God. Why do I believe? I believe because I am! Here, this flesh and blood. My very existence, and yours, and our abilities to reason, to love, to feel and to perceive. Look around you. Listen. All of that taken together points to something greater than we are.
But, there is something else, of profound importance, that is complex, intangible and hard to describe. That “something else” occurs in the thousands of moments in prayer, Scripture reading and reflection, when I felt something — even a person — offering me comfort, assurance, guidance, inspiration, and grace. That “something else” touches a core element of who I am that needs to trust, to give thanks, to praise and to worship One who is greater than I.
Yes, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God. 3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals! 4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. 5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. Psalm 90:1-5
Closing Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
