here’s one statement of faith

meditations of a versicle nature

I must confess that I approach Statements of Faith with “fear and trembling.” I’m aware of a comment by Abbot Pastor, one of the Desert Fathers: “If you have a chest full of clothing, and leave it for a long time, the clothing will rot inside it. It is the same with the thoughts in our heart. If we do not carry them out by physical action, after a long while they will spoil and turn bad.”* If I state my faith, the true measure is how much it is reflected in my life. So, having said that…

We can begin with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. We can toss in some 20th century documents, like the Barmen Declaration and A Brief Statement of Faith (PCUSA). Creeds arise when the people of God are being pressed to state what they believe, and even more, who they are.

So who is the triune God for me?

God is the Name and the Nameless.

[Note: the Jewish refusal to pronounce “YHWH” (“Yahweh”) preferring “ha-shem” — “the name” — is relevant.]

God is the utterly recognizable and the completely baffling!

God is love flowing through me and love unknown.

Jesus as Son of Man is the essential, true human.

Jesus as Son of God is the crucified and triumphant.

Jesus as the ascended one is the cosmic Christ, filling all things.

The Holy Spirit is the awareness who kindles within me the fire of the Word.

The Holy Spirit is courage for my cowardice, passion for my indifference.

The Holy Spirit is the divine energy binding together all of creation.

And what about the church, the body of Christ, the sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ?

There many biblical images of the church. I might add:

The church is where my faith — and our faith — becomes real, where it takes on flesh and blood.

The church is where I am — and we are — held accountable, and where I am — and we are — to hold others accountable. Borrowing from the apostle Paul, this is to be done in love.

The church is always on the way, but not yet reaching the goal in this life.

* Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert (New York: New Directions, 1960), Kindle edition, Chapter 2, section 1, paragraph 46.