A creed review.
We finished the creed. The creed is the black lines of a child’s coloring book, waiting for crayons to color in the spaces, to give life. The creed is the “Lord I believe”, waiting desperately for the answer to “Help my unbelief.” The creed is the recalibration of the navigation system to remember where north [...]
death and life
It was a gift, actually. Death is an expiration date for brutality. Once Adam and Eve knew they could defy God, it would do no good for them to live forever in bodies. Breaking the tab on the back that said “trained service technicians only” meant the created was trying to act as the creator. [...]
the resurrection of the body
Ted was 93. People who knew him for 40 years, 60 years, 20 years, talked about him. About his compassion, his encouragement, his hospitality. His leadership, his diligence, his career. His faith. We gathered for an hour and more. There were two hundred and fifty of us. Much of my professional life was in that room, a [...]
I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
As I sat down to write about the next part of the creed, I realized that I have talked about sin and forgiveness of sin a lot. I wrote about Jesus and a sinner, a woman from a different culture and life than Jesus. I wrote about the hard work of repenting, the process of [...]
I’m tired of long sentences and parentheses about church
(part of the Creed series) Every time I say “church”, I feel like I have to explain. By church, I never mean “church service” or “worship service” or “worship gathering” or “Sunday morning service” or even Saturday evening service. Those events are important. They allow us to listen, to sing together louder than we can [...]
I believe in the Holy Spirit
(Part of the Creed series) My friend messed up his marriage. He’s trying to clean things up. He wanted to help at church in a public way. His wife said it made her very uncomfortable. He wanted to know what to do, since helping at church is a good thing, right? I said, “Imagine you [...]
the one who decides.
(We are going back to the creed. Here’s what we’ve written so far.) Most of us think judgment should exist. We want an end to gang violence and justice for families wrecked by meth manufacturers. We want an end to child trafficking and justice for those who buy and sell children like property. We want [...]
Seated.
Andrew was home for Thanksgiving yesterday. He was in Florida last year, traveling as part of the crew with a band. He’s been traveling with them for more than two years: gone, home, gone, home. Last Saturday was his last concert. He retired from the road. He decided that part of life was done. A [...]
From Friday to Sunday is 36 hours.
Everyone who can do clock math reads the creed clause “The third day he rose from the dead” and thinks, “it’s only thirty-six hours from Friday night to Sunday morning” Why do we always talk about the three days? Why did Jesus say “that he must be killed and on the third day be raised [...]
ambivalent alliterative Pontius Pilate.
Of all the interactions Jesus has in his life, only two humans are mentioned in the creed. The first was his mother. The second is the Roman governor who granted permission and refused responsibility. Crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried. I read through John’s account of Pilate’s presence. Pilate interrogates and interviews Jesus, then implores [...]
