“On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…twelve drummers drumming.”
Scripture
Psalm 19; Colossians 2:6-17
The Apostles’ Creed
1) I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
2) And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord;
3) who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
4) suffered under Pontius Pilate,
5) was crucified dead, and buried;
6) He descended in to hell (or Hades, the place of death);
7) the third day He rose again from the dead;
8) He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
9) from there He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
10) I believe in the Holy Spirit,
11) the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
12) the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
For reflection
The final day of Christmas at last! Every day we have been keeping vigil at the manger. Every day we have been focusing on the Word become flesh. Every day we have been attempting learn what it means to be among the “ye faithful” who respond to the invitation to “come and adore him, born the king of angels.” And every day we have been opening and receiving the distinctive Christmas gifts, gifts that bring the full impact of this child home to our hearts and our world. And we have one more gift to open.
Tomorrow is a new celebration, a new festival. It is Epiphany. It recalls and celebrates the visit of the Magi, or wise men, who followed a star from distant places to find the one born King of the Jews. Epiphany, which means “appearing,” focuses on two things: 1) the Incarnation being announced to and made available to Gentiles, and 2) the fact that Jesus is not only born a Savior, he is born the King. I hope you will join me for one more set of readings and reflections for Epiphany. It will be something of a capstone and “sending” from this Christmastide journey.
Open today’s gift: the twelve points of the Apostles’ Creed. Reading through the Apostles’ Creed and realizing it is one of the twelve core gifts that have been included in this clandestine catechism, I make note of some personal responses.
First, I note that this and other summaries of essential Christian faith are very under-appreciated and under-used in the Free Church tradition in which I was reared and educated. Our near total emphasis on what the heart feels all but eclipsed a heart-felt reasoning of that on which faith is based. It is apparently difficult for some to hold these two in common. Based on the fuzzy theology and all-but-heretical notions I have encountered among my holiness tradition brethren, I have come appreciate and embrace such Biblically-rooted, time-tested declarations as the Apostles’ Creed.
Second, the Apostles’ Creed is, in itself, a catechism, a carefully constructed rehearsal of essential points of the Christian faith. It is a statement carefully worked out in early days of the church when the church faced not only external threats but internal divisions and factions. Every point of the Apostles’ Creed was fiercely tested for Scriptural validity, debated, and ultimately ratified. Perhaps another twelve days (or years) should be spent unpacking each point of the Apostles’ Creed (a number of resources for this can be found at a local library).
Finally, I note that the Apostles’ Creed helps me declare my simple and profound faith in the midst of world awash with relativism, syncretism, and despair. In a world that is constantly implying that there are no constants, nothing commonly authoritative for all, nothing that isn’t dispensable for the sake of practicality, convenience, or comfort, the Apostles’ Creed stands firm. But the Creed also is a beckon to all who have been washed ashore by the “every wind of teaching and cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” It is an invitation to God’s love for all who are overwhelmed, confused, despairing, shame-ridden, wounded, broken, and dying. As the song declares “Where cross the crowded ways of life…we hear Thy voice, O Son of man!”
Journaling/prayer possibilities
Read over the Apostles’ Creed several times. Stop and spend reflective or journaling time with each point. Is this what you believe? Spend a few moments with the words “I believe.” What does it mean to you to “believe?” In what ways is belief expressed in your life? What opportunities to express this belief lie before you today? Taking each point of the Creed, offer thanks for the faith, hope, and love that shines therein.
Song
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life” by Frank Mason North
Where cross the crowded ways of life,
Where sound the cries of race and clan,
Above the noise of selfish strife,
We hear Thy voice, O Son of man!
In haunts of wretchedness and need,
On shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
From paths where hid the lures of greed,
We catch the vision of Thy tears.
From tender childhood’s helplessness,
From woman’s grief, man’s burdened toil,
From famished souls, from sorrow’s stress,
Thy heart has never known recoil.
The cup of water giv’n for Thee
Still holds the freshness of Thy grace;
Yet long these multitudes to see
The sweet compassion of Thy face.
O Master, from the mountainside,
Make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
Among these restless thrones abide,
O tread the city’s streets again.
Till sons of men shall learn Thy love
And follow where Thy feet have trod;
Till glorious from Thy heav’n above,
Shall come the city of our God.
Benediction
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.” Amen (2 Corinthians 13:14)
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