WATCHWORD:
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:6
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, … Matthew 25:31-46
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:38-39
Meditation:
I Believe in the Holy Spirit
The whispered voice of the Holy Spirit, ever present, guiding, inspiring. The presence of God, i.e. Holy Spirit, has been with us, before Concepcion, and is with us still. Sacred voices, often in our heads, but sometimes they sound just like loved ones, or a person in authority, or a stranger. Sometimes not even a voice, perhaps an unexpected healing, a scene of intense beauty, creation calling us, granting us peace. Something Holy and Spiritual.
Adam Hamilton, in his book Creed: What Christians Believe and Why, makes this statement: “When we speak about the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God, we are speaking of God’s active work in our lives; of God’s way of leading us, guiding us, forming and shaping us; of God’s power and presence to comfort and encourage us and to make us the people God wants us to be…And in listening to this voice and being shaped by this power, we find that we become most fully and authentically human.”
Having said all that, then “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”, would seem to be the most understated line in the entire Creed. Think about that. In the second line of the Creed we have “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit…” It seems to me that everything that follows — the church, forgiveness, the Resurrection, His presence in our lives — is made possible by the work of the Spirit.
Wait just a minute! Let us not lose sight of an absolutely critical point. We are looking at the three major pieces of the Creed for purposes of deeper understanding. The reality is: The Creed is a whole, a singular piece, God in human words. Of course everything is made possible by the work of the Spirit — God.
Okay, having said that, again, let us look at this last, closing piece:
I believe in the Holy Spirit
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
Some people have a bit of difficulty with that second line, “the holy catholic Church”. The Lutheran Church I attend with some frequency uses the phrase, “the holy Christian Church”. That is not inaccurate, but it is limiting.
I found this explanation on one theological website — “The term “catholic” (with a lower case “c”) does not refer to any specific denomination or group of Christians. The term comes from two Greek words that together mean “throughout the whole.” This single word, “catholic,” means throughout all time and places and also points to the essential unity or wholeness of the church in Christ. So when the creed states, “I believe in the holy catholic church,” it refers to the unity of the whole church in all times and places rather than to any specific branch of Christianity.”
This may fall in the category of what did you learn as a child, or how was the Apostle’s Creed presented to you in worship over the years. What is ingrained in my mind and heart is the totality of the Creed, the idea of completeness in Christ, in God’s perfect plan. So I may speak the Creed using “Christian”, but in my heart and mind I will think wholeness, or catholic.
That brings us to three of the elements of our faith; forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection and life everlasting. In that first element, the emphasis is on forgiveness, on grace, on mercy, and not on sin. The Apostles learned that, and so should we.
The Creed ends where Easter begins, with the Resurrection. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, where the focus is on confession and acceptance of our own mortality. The season reaches its climax with Jesus’ Crucifixion, dying for our sins, and then the Resurrection, which sealed the covenant between God and man.
One final point. The Creed using the phrase, “resurrection of the body”. I am sure there have been many discussions on the meaning of this phrase. My take on that, for what its worth is this: We are created in God’s image, which I believe means we are strong and active in our soul and spirit which carries us throughout eternity. At our death, these physical bodies return to dust, while our spiritual bodies return to the Creator, and we live! So be it.
Closing Prayer:
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause His face shine to upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.
