Linger in July with the history of the Creed

I listened intently to the sermon, nodding in agreement throughout.

I was taught that saying the ‘Creed’ before receiving Holy Communion was imperative in order to understand our baptismal covenant, understand what we believed before we received.

The more we understand the history behind the Creed, the better we understand how important it is that we believe every word.  The following discussion may be complex but it is important for us to dig deep into our roots in order to understand the importance of our continued growth in the Christian faith.  Discussion of passages in scripture with other Christians is a very important part of our growth in Christ.  We are not called to be alone in our quest to know Jesus and make Him known.  We are called to Ask, Seek, and Knock . . . in fellowship with others who are doing the same.  We will then find answers, grow in our faith and help to lead others into the kingdom of God.  Knowing, and articulating, what we believe is the first step.

I was reminded of Arius, a priest from Alexandria, Egypt, who was gifted in rhetoric, a showman of sorts.  He argued against the divinity of Christ and managed not only to

persuade priests but also bishops that Jesus was not divine, not begotten but created . . .  made!  This influence, of course, assimilated into the Christian culture of the day.

I’ll go into the history in a minute but, in fact, this Arian influence permeated translations of scripture.  Proverbs was written in Hebrew.  Yet, Proverbs was translated into the ‘language of the day’, Greek, when the Septuagint became the only source used for most translations.  The Greek mistook the word, ‘created’ [bara] in Genesis 1 to be the same word used in Proverbs 8:22a.  Wisdom, in Proverbs, was not ‘created’ [bara] but was already ‘with’ God, ‘begotten’ by God [qana].

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-23  [A book of Wisdom]

1   Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?

2  On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3  Beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

4a  "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.

22   The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.

23  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

Arians, not believing in the divinity of Jesus, insisted that Proverbs 8’s discussion of wisdom being ‘created’ by God was the same as Jesus being ‘created’ by God.

First, this Wisdom literature is about Wisdom and in no way refers to Jesus.

Wisdom was not ‘created’ but was already a part of creation . . . not a part of God but was ‘begotten’ by God to be part of creation.

According to the New Interpreter’s Bible [NIB], Vol. V, p.98-99, the Arian heresy stated that, “Christ, as wisdom, was the first creation of God. . . . Christ was not God in the same way that the Father was God.”   Orthodoxy through the centuries, fighting against the Arian heresy, translated the word “create” in Proverbs 8:22a as ‘possess’ which is evident in the New American Standard Bible translation.  However, scholars used the Greek translation instead of returning to the original Hebrew.  

The best translation, as in the Nicene Creed of 351 is ‘beget’ or ‘begotten.’   NIB states,  “To understand Christ is the hidden reality underlying and fulfilling the cosmic and personal imagery of Wisdom in Proverbs 8, without positing a direct one-to-one correspondence in all particulars.” 

By 313, the church had been given great liberty since Constantine had become emperor.  By 323 the Arian movement was in full swing.  Fortunately, Bishop Alexander of Alexandria demanded clarification of Arius’ views.   An overwhelming number of clergy called Arius a

heretic and demanded that he and eleven other like-minded priests and deacons be deposed.  This did not stop Arius.  He managed to flee to Caesarea where he was free to preach his heretical doctrine.  Amazingly, the Syrian bishops seemed to agree.

Emperor Constantine saw that this Arian heresy was dividing his vast Empire both politically and theologically so he called forth the first ecumenical council in church history in Nicea, in Asia minor, in 325.

The most famous definition to emerge from this council declared Jesus Christ to be HOMOOUSIOS, meaning he is CONSUBSTANTIAL and COETERNAL with God, the Father.  The council of Nicea declared formally what had always been the faith of the church.  Unfortunately, the Council of Nicea merely condemned the Arian heresy but could not stop it.  This powerful doctrine swirls in and out of different ‘Christian’ sects to this day.

The greatest development from the Nicene Council, besides defining homoousius, was the creation of a CREED, to be said before anyone received Holy Communion.  

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven

and earth,

    of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made,  of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.  With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.  [Book of Common Prayer p. 358]

Bishop Alexander of Alexandria brought his astute ‘secretary’

with him, Athanasius.  Having worked with Bishop Alexander for seven years, Athanasius was a well known scholar.  Born in 297, he was already well versed in legal studies, philosophy, theology rhetoric bringing him into the ranks of the highly esteemed.  In his late twenties, Athanasius became Bishop of Alexandria after Bishop Alexander’s death.  

Athanasius was determined not to be in communion with anyone who believed the Arian heresy.  This was dividing the empire.  He was neither diplomat nor scholar but a harsh “apologist.”  Arianism was so popular that Athanasius was exiled five times in his forty-six years as bishop.  However, in that time, he wrote the “Athanasiun Creed”, a longer, more complex version of the Creed we know today.  [Book of Common Prayer p. 864]   He was a great influence in his time, especially in the life of Augustine of Hippo in Africa.  Athanasius died during a peaceful era, May 2, 373.

Augustine, well versed in rhetoric, as was expected of leaders in that day, was so filled with grace that he was an even more convincing defender of the Christian faith. 

Heresies continued to this day.  However, great theologians like Alexander, Constantine, Athenasius, Augustine and so many more, not only stood firm in their Christian faith but were willing to be exiled or martyred to maintain right Christian doctrine.  We may choose not to learn about these great defenders of the faith but it is because of them that Christ Jesus still reigns in this world in spite of heresies that persist to this day.

OFF THE GRID

Of course it’s the last day of June and I have not lingered in my blog for the entire month.

I use to write daily.  

[I still offer a scripture or a small vignette of those who have helped shape Christian doctrine through the centuries.  Check out “Daily Graces from God”.]  

Then I settled on weekly notes on my ‘Linger Longer with Gail’ blog.

Now I can barely write monthly.

“What’s going on?” I ask myself.

My inner whispers . . .  those that gnaw at me daily . . .  tell me . . . 

“I’m staying off the grid.”

Incognito.

Absent.

Every excuse in the world filters through my soul.

We made our annual change from our southern abode to our northern abode.

That does not compute.  We came North in May.

“The garden died!”  Yes, my huge rose bush died and tops of others had to be cut back.  It took one week to clean up the garden but gorgeous weather with loads of rain made it BLOOM!

Perhaps the best reason for not lingering with words is that I have none?

I’m reading, digesting, swirling in new thought.

Yet, I have no words?

For years I have so filled my lists with ‘doing’ that I’ve taken little time for just ‘being.’

As my dear friend says, “We are human ‘beings’ not human ‘doings.’”

So, my grand excuse is that I simply was BEING . . .  for one solid month.

It is truly good to step off the grid of the ‘TO DO’ lists.

It’s good to linger with no thoughts in my head.

It’s good, at least for me, to forget my goals and linger in the garden, linger with a good book . . . and then another and another.

It’s good to watch my favorite movie on video even if I have seen it at least twenty times.

I just sit there, get totally nostalgic, allow a tear or two to overtake me, breathe deep and place myself in another world.

It’s good to enjoy friends who visit for a day or two and see friends I have not been able to enjoy for six months.

It’s good to GET OFF THE GRID once in awhile.

It’s good to become invisible and invite my imagination to replenish itself.

It’s good to step back from volunteering at various churches when other clergy need a break. 

 [I’m not completely ‘off the grid’ with this commitment but I’m doing far less.]

I’m learning to stop ‘work’ and create moments of renewal that bring bliss-filled JOY.

I’ve decided to take time for more prayer regarding a specific age group.

This takes loads of discipline but little more.

I’m praying for those in the next generation, those who may have been raised by the best parents but who seem so lost.

I’m praying for those who have never stepped into a place of worship . . . any worship.  

I’m finding renewed JOY in studying the ‘fathers and mothers’ of our faith.

These are the ones like Augustine and Aquinas and Teresa of Avila.  

I’m digesting a deeper understanding of ‘Covenant’ and what Jesus really meant when He said, “This is My body . . . This is My blood . . . at the last Passover meal He shared with his disciples.”

It’s good to be ‘off the grid’ once in awhile.

I pray I can share what I’m digesting in the coming months.

A Liminal Moment in May

A Liminal Time . . .  reflection on the Gospel of John 14:23-29

This passage in John continues Jesus’ last discourse to his disciples before he is crucified.  These words are

repeated in a similar way when Jesus finally leaves this earth, just before His ascension into heaven.  Jesus repeatedly reminds His followers that they will never be left without someone to lead them, someone to guide their thinking.  If we love the Lord, thy God with all our heart, we can continue the great commission of leading others to Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Once again, Jesus reminds His followers that the Father will send ‘Someone’ to help them remember.  These are affirming words that Jesus’ disciples would not fully comprehend until Pentecost.  And so, the disciples enter a place of wondering, of waiting.  They stand on a precipice or a threshold that is, for now, a safe place.  They have no clue what is ahead and can only live on memories of the past three years.

We might call this ‘threshold’ or holding place a liminal time.  Laeman is Latin for ‘threshold’.  This passage in John focuses on a very short ‘liminal’ time . . . about three days of unknowing.  Of course the Christ followers are greatly relieved to find that Jesus is ‘alive.’  Their liminal time, their time of wondering what is next, is over.  Jesus has returned.  

And then it happens again.  This time Jesus tells those who did not scatter that He will not return to them again.  At His ascension, Jesus reminds His followers to wait until they receive what the Father will send them.  Do not leave Jerusalem.  Wait.  Jesus never told his disciples to wait for him after his crucifixion. 

I wonder.  Would Jesus remind His disciples to wait because they will remain on this threshold, in this liminal period, for ten whole days?   Is Jesus, perhaps, encouraging His followers to hang on, to wait patiently and then keep waiting?

The disciples are filled with joy and anticipation of Jesus’ next return, and yet, after the ascension, Jesus will not return in their lifetime.  Yet, Jesus leaves His followers with hope.  Perhaps the disciples spent the ten days between Jesus’ ascension and the day of Pentecost

remembering their salvation history.  Perhaps they are remembering other times they were on the threshold of new life.  This hope has been the focus of the Hebrew people since they exited from Egypt into ... into a liminal space like wandering in the desert for forty years.

When God used Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, God dangled hope among them.  That hope led them through a wall of water.  That hope sustained them for decades as they wandered in circles.   These chosen people of God could have crossed into the promised land in two to three weeks but there were circumstances that prevented them from doing so.  God had other plans. 

God needed His people to wander, to remain in a liminal state until an entire generation died out.  God used this time to change a weak people, chained to slavery, into people strong enough to develop a new land and conquer

those who prevented them from worshipping the One God.  These people had forgotten how to think for themselves.  They forgot how to be creative.  They even forgot how to worship as they should.  Even worse, they had given up hope.  God needed to restore to His people a strong work ethic, the ability to solve difficult problems and the use of their creativity to move forward with eyes focused on God with renewed hope.

This history lesson was repeated every year about the time of Passover so that the Hebrew people would remember the HOPE God gave them.  They needed to remember that times of waiting for the next step were not empty times but times to regroup, reflect, receive fresh hope to anticipate a fruitful future.

Just like their ancestors, these disciples who waited in Jerusalem might have used this ‘liminal’ time, when Jesus left them, for the second time, to asses what they learned, assess their strengths and reflect on the HOPE

that was and is and is to come.  One can only imagine how the disciples felt on the fourth day . . . one day longer than Jesus had left them last time.  Were they becoming anxious?  Were they losing hope?  Or were they taking this time to reflect and plan their next steps so that they would be ready for what was to come next?  I wonder if Jesus, during his 40 day visit, reminded them that there would be a liminal time, a threshold time, a time of waiting that could be very productive.

I wonder.  Have we had liminal periods in our own lives?  Have we known the hope of God’s plan for us and then, either suddenly or slowly . . . silently . . . over a period of time we find ourselves on the threshold of . . . of what?  It’s like our world was going along just fine and then our life changes.  Perhaps the bottom dropped out from under us or life simply became hope-less.  We reached a point where we needed to wait, re-assess our conditions, renew our life purpose, re-direct our thinking, wait . . . and wait some more.

Perhaps you who are reading this is in a liminal space right now.  It’s not an empty time.  Far from it.  It’s a time to review goals and aspirations.  It’s a time to renew one’s commitment to God in Christ and to one another.  It’s a time to wait on the Lord’s leading but that also means taking time to listen. 

This is a time, more than ever, for us to gather weekly to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.  By acting on our love for God in Christ and coming into His presence with thanksgiving ... weekly ... the Holy Spirit continues to feed our soul.  That soul-feeding is essential in order for us to see beyond the threshold on which we might be standing. 

Before we realize what is happening, this ‘liminal’ time, this holding time, disappears.  There is so much hope, so much purpose, such a powerful sense of community with one another and with God that one can’t help but make the time to pray and seek God’s direction.  We all need those ‘liminal’ times in our lives to equip ourselves and each other for the next phase in our lives . . . in God’s life for us.

When the disciples experienced the power of the Holy

Spirit at Pentecost, they were ready to explode into the world.  

Keep praying.  

Continue to gather together as one body.  

Imagine.  

Affirm one another as each is called to step over their own personal threshold of liminal space into a new space.  

God  wants to prepare all of us to explode into the world in His time.  Together we all will discern God’s will.  Together we will explode with new life, with fresh purpose, with renewed hope that sustains us all as we journey with God in Christ into new places.  

Hang on to that hope that was and is and is to come as God moves each of us us through this liminal space.  AMEN

APRIL ADORATION

Here is a sermon given on the Monday of Holy Week.

              It's a very sacred week for Christians as we walk with Jesus from Bethany into Jerusalem, down the Via Dolorosa and out to his crucifixion.  Only then can we understand the divine glory of the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.
                         Life with Christ: Extravagant

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany. 

Imagine following Him there.

Imagine yourself among the ‘inner’  circle . . .  one of those who followed Jesus as often as possible, especially to this home in Bethany.  

Are you in awe that you are following this prophet, this priest, this King of the Jews, as some might call Him?  

Here we are, once again, at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, as we have been many times when we’ve heard that Jesus was staying with them.  

You’ve observed the resurrection miracle with Lazarus and the unbelievable administrative skills of Martha.  Mary is unique unto herself as she openly shares her story and her experience regarding the time Jesus miraculously healed her.  

Let’s linger a moment as we reflect on the times and ways Jesus is healing us . . . body, mind, and soul.  Has your healing been through scripture reading, Holy Eucharist, time with the prayer team or others who have walked with you and laid hands on you as Jesus did with His followers?

Now let’s picture this extravagant scene.  Food is piled on the table as men linger in conversation.  Lazarus and

Jesus and those in Jesus’ intimate circle are kibitzing back and forth as if they’d all grown up together.  The simplicity of it all seems so extravagant.  It’s like they mingle together in the same way the very poor gather around the fire to keep warm at night.

Yet, out of the corner of my eye I see Mary, the one who lived an extravagantly sin-filled life at one time.  I see her bringing an extra-ordinary alabaster jar into this intimate space. 

Let’s stop for a moment. 

Picture your life before you met Jesus. 

I mean, really met Him.  

Can you remember your turning point?  

Can you remember falling down in thanksgiving for discovering the Truth in Jesus Christ . . . the full presence of God working through you as you say ‘yes’ to Jesus, perhaps for the first time?  

Was there some ‘aha’ moment when you understood the extravagant gift of love and new life that Jesus gave you?  

Was your whole heart exploding with gratitude . . . I mean exploding . . .  like it was about to pound out of your chest?  

Can you think of at least one time that you mentally understood Jesus’ forgiveness but still cannot drop the feeling that you do not deserve this extravagant, unchallenged, intimate, go-for-broke love that Jesus wants to give us?   

It’s not a question of deserving.  

It’s a question of receiving and giving back to Jesus that same love He has given us.  . . . just like Mary did in this scene.  

Mary did not know how Jesus was going to die or even when.  

All she knew was that her heart was exploding in love for

the one who saved her from eternal torment. Jesus saved her from her demon-filled life and showed her pure, self-giving love that she’d not understood before.

Can you put yourself in Mary’s shoes?  

Can you simply say, “yes”, I receive your extravagant gift of Truth, love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, healing, understanding, His presence in the Holy Eucharist and so much more?  

Now, Picture your quiet time place.  

Where are you sitting?  

Where is Jesus in relation to where you are?  

Is He close?  

If not, why not?  

Jesus could squeeze right into that chair with you if you want.   

Talk to the Lord about this in your next quiet time.

Now think of Mary’s extravagant gift. 

Did she get close to Jesus, get into his intimate space?  

After all, this is like family sitting around the table.

It’s as if Mary knew she might not be with Jesus if he were cut down instantly by His foes and hauled away.   

All Mary knew was “it is time.”  

This expensive nard, imported from the Himalayas, was not needed for her brother.    

He was resurrected from the dead.

OK,  but we might ask ourselves, “Why so much nard . . . a whole pound?”  

That’s like us spending a fortune on a treasure and handing it right over to someone else.

Mary knows, deep in her spirit . . .  “This is the time, the place, the person . . . it’s time.”

Not on Jesus’ head but on His feet.

Mary rubbed this fragrant oil into the cracks and crevices of Jesus’ well trod feet, the places where nails

would all too soon pierce this tender area of his body.

Letting her long hair down, even in this intimate group, was unusual but this too was a sign. 

She was giving her ‘all’ to Jesus. 

“Here I am, I’m all yours, my hair is like my very clothing, given to wipe your wounds.”  

It’s like Mary is saying, “I give myself and all I have, all that means anything to me . . . I give it to you.”

 Can we say that?   

What is the most vulnerable part of yourself that you can hand over to Jesus?  

What treasure can we give in repayment for what Jesus has given us?

Jesus wants nothing but our entire life from us, just as He expected nothing more from Mary.

When Mary was chided by Judas, Jesus reminded him

that Mary is doing exactly as she should.

Mary’s heart of thanksgiving, eucharisto, was freely given to our Lord.

Can we give our heart, mind, will, emotion, all that we have, to God in Christ?

God has always blessed those who bestow upon him the fragrant perfume of sacrifice.

AMEN

MARCHING TOWARD HOLINESS

There is something to be said about obeying traditions that draw us more deeply into God’s presence.  

Regarding Ash Wednesday, ashes on the forehead, few dig into the theological reasoning behind receiving ashes that the whole world will see. 

Yet, those who are brave enough to receive ashes and not rub them off all day must have some reason for doing so.

On the very first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, we are tempted either to ‘forget it’ or to rub the ashes off before attending the meeting or event that evening.  Temptation begins the instant we step into a deeper commitment of faith.  Any time we partake of a tradition that brings us closer to God, who knows what will happen.  

So, how do we think we would do if we walked into the desert alone, only with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit beckoned us onto this empty space?  

Jesus was not beckoned by the Holy Spirit for his sake alone, but knew that his purpose was to be as human as his Father called him to be in the most extreme cases possible.  

The desert experience was at the very beginning of his ministry to the Jews, first, and then to the Gentiles.

And so it is for us.  

Are we ready to walk into empty space, unhindered by the clutter of our needy lives?  

Are we ready to wait upon the Lord?  

Are we ready to listen  only to God’s voice?  

Do we even know the voice that will direct our path as we walk more deeply into God’s presence? 

Only when we become comfortable with silence can we learn to listen.

Only when we choose to digest God’s Word can we know

the Shepherd’s voice.

Only when we know the Shepherd’s voice can we follow according to God’s will.

40 days of digesting God’s words of scripture will open our hearts to God’s voice.

40 days of waiting in silence for God to speak through those words will guide us deeper into God’s presence.

40 days of taking daily moments with God is powerful.

40 days seeking God’s best for us through His Son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit is a game changer.

Just 40 days, with Sundays off to celebrate resurrected life, will amaze us.

Journal through these 40 days asking yourself.

1. What did God’s voice say in my scripture reading today?
2. How do these words apply to my own life?
3. What can I ask of my Shepherd, Jesus, that will draw me more deeply into His presence?
4. What is blocking my progress or tempting me away from this daily desert time?
5. What are my next steps?

What possibly could be healing about walking into the desert?

I can see Jesus now, getting sun burned, beginning to have hunger pangs after at least the first day.  

Yet, was He?  

The Holy Spirit drew Jesus into a space Jesus would all too soon crave . . . a space to pray, to listen, to regroup, to drink in the task that His Father is setting before Him.

This desert time will be the only time, for the rest of his short life, that he won’t be pressed to minister to people, especially his disciples.