| We begin today where we
ended last Sunday, holding those tiny doves, symbols of the Holy Spirit,
gently in our hands. And just as we broke open the Holy Ghost shells
to find the circle of Spirit doves, so, too, the Holy Spirit broke into life
on Pentecost, fulfilling Jesus’ promise that he would send the Spirit to
be with us forever. According to tradition, the descent of the Holy Spirit inaugurated the church and to this day we often sing “Happy Birthday” to the church on Pentecost. It is this very act of the Holy Spirit breaking into life that makes the existence of the Christian church possible. At Confirmation, youth or adults confess their faith and take their membership vows in the church of their choice. And, with the laying on of hands, these words are spoken: May God defend you with grace and by the Holy Spirit confirm you in the faith and fellowship of all true disciples of Jesus Christ. Confirmation has been called the ordination of the laity. It welcomes newcomers to the priesthood of all believers. In any community of faith, I believe that its members are the real ministers and that the ordained clergy is merely the spiritual leader. Don’t ever forget that you are the ministers of this church. As I pondered the meaning of the final articles of the Apostles Creed, I began to see that each of the beliefs define and explicate the purpose of the church. And that’s how I would like to frame each of these important phrases. We begin with the “holy catholic church.” Many object to this line in the creed out of pure misunderstanding. People who fear that they are pledging their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church are always relieved to know that this phrase refers to the “universal” Christian church. Catholic with a little “c” is the Greek equivalent of the word universal. Catholic with a capital “c” does indeed refer to the Roman Catholic Church. Personally, I always get hung up on the word “holy” because my experience is that the church is far from being holy! We need not rehearse the (dirty) laundry list. Rather, let us acknowledge that the church is not perfect. Some, in fact, have called it a “hospital for sinners.” If it were perfect, there would be no room for mistakes nor for being open to God’s ongoing revelation. Writes Chittister, “Perfection sets out to control the world; holiness sets out to be a blessing to it.” (p. 173, In Search of Belief) To be holy is to recognize the sacred in all things, to watch for Jesus to come again and again and again into the ordinary, every day activities of life. A church that is holy makes decisions and sets policy and writes a mission statement and creates a vision that embrace Christ-like values and truths. How are we doing as a body of Christ? Are we “holy”? What phrase in our mission statement encourages or inspires you as a member or friend of the Lexington United Methodist Church? Let’s look at the final four statements of the creed. I contend that each one represents a significant aspect of the holy catholic church. The “communion of saints” suggests the importance of the church as community, as fellowship, in Greek, as koinonia; “forgiveness of sins” highlights the sacramental nature of the church, made real for us through the sacraments of baptism and holy communion; “the resurrection of the body” calls the church to be a herald, an evangelist of the Good News; and “life everlasting” calls the servant church to acts of reconciliation, justice, peace, and healing in the world so that all might have abundant life here, now, and forevermore. Let’s look briefly at each of these. I believe “in the communion of saints.” Like Timothy whose faith was “lived first in his grandmother Lois and then in his mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5), we too receive the heritage of the faithful saints who have gone before us and who live among us. We have rehearsed the meaning of saints many times before, and you know that saints are not only those who are canonized but are those who point the way to God for us. Let me pause for a moment and invite you to remember a saint in your life. This can be someone who is still living or someone who has passed on to be united with God. If you are able and willing, close your eyes and visualize that saint. Thank that person for blessing your life and then allow that saint to bless you yet again with a word or a sign or a touch. Feel the empowerment of that blessing and again give thanks to God for the influence and inspiration that this saint has had on your faith. When we reflect on the “communion of saints” we realize that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. To be confirmed in the church is to accept the responsibility of being a living saint for Jesus Christ. And we cannot do it alone; we need each other. Just as God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit model community for us in the Trinity, we mirror their interrelatedness as we live and work, pray and act together as church. Koinonia – the church as community, as fellowship, as many differing parts of the body of Christ. “We are the church; yes, we are the church; we are the church together. All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the church together.” ( UM Hymnal, #558,We Are the Church) Then there is the church as sacrament. Baptism and holy communion are the two sacraments that we honor as United Methodists and both involve the “forgiveness of sins.” In baptism, we are claimed by God as a beloved Child of God. In the early church, baptism by immersion was practiced and the believer was symbolically drowned to the old life of sin and raised into a new and forgiven life in Christ. Similarly, at the communion table, we drink from the cup of blessing recalling Jesus’ words that whenever we drink from the cup we are to recall that we are forgiven people, restored to the fullness of life through the grace and unconditional love of Jesus Christ. It is these sacraments that differentiate the church from every secular organization and “forgiveness” is at the heart of our identity. To forgive is to be like God. “Forgive them,” Jesus cries out from the cross, “because they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23: 34) I think that Chittister is right when she claims that “perhaps forgiveness is the last thing mentioned in the creed because it is the last thing learned in life.” (p. 187, In Search of Belief) When we are able to forgive, both as individuals and as the church community, then we are truly holy. I believe “in the resurrection of the body.” This is the Good News that the church is called to proclaim. The Word made flesh, both before and after death. Life claims the victory. Love prevails. Evangelism, the sharing of this Good News, is the purpose of the church as herald. None of us knows what happens after death. Neither do we know what form Jesus’ resurrected body took when he was seen by beloved friends and disciples during those Easter days. What we do know is that resurrection does not mean a return to earthly life. It is not about the revival of corpses. It is somehow the continuation of life after death. For me, resurrection is the fulfillment of God’s promise that whether we live or whether we die we are in God’s loving care. Resurrection is more about life than it is about death. It is what we are promised when we are willing to die to that which separates us from God – be it economic privilege, misuse of power, racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, or corruption. To say that we believe in the “resurrection of the body” requires that we not merely speak the words but that we practice resurrection, that we incarnate resurrection as bold disciples of Jesus Christ. Which leads to the final phrase in the Apostles Creed where we proclaim that we believe in “life everlasting.” To trust that I will be everlastingly united with God after I die is not hard to believe: it is much more challenging to commit to working for life – abundant life – for all of God’s creatures and creation here in this life, but this is what I believe that creed calls the church to be and to do. “I came that you might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10) spoke Jesus. As the living body of Christ, infused with the Holy Spirit, the church is called to be peace maker, justice bearer, system changer in a Good Friday world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his early works placed a heavy emphasis on the nature of the church as communion and fellowship. Later in his Ethics he moved toward envisioning the church as herald, called to witness the works of reconciliation accomplished by Jesus Christ. But in his final years, Bonhoeffer called for a humble, servant church. “The church is the church only when it exists for others” he wrote from his prison cell. (p. 100, Avery Dulles in Models of the Church) With this notion I concur. The church is called to partner with God, bringing about God’s reign, God’s commonwealth, “life everlasting” here on earth. I hope that in the next few weeks you will work on your own creed and write down what it is you believe so that on Easter, when we shout Amen! Alleluia! Amen! you will affirm in your head and your heart why it is that you are a Christian, a devoted disciple to Jesus Christ. And I give thanks to God for this Lenten season that has gifted us with the opportunity to examine our faith and to reclaim the Apostles Creed for the 21st century! |