Today in the church calendar is Trinity Sunday, and the Trinity is one of the great mysteries of our faith. Whether you want to talk about the relationships between the Father, Son and Spirit or describe the actions of the Godhead as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, in the end there is an indescribable quality to the relationality of God that cannot be easily put into words. However, the Presbyterian tradition has been known to get pretty wordy. Not only are we a people of the book – meaning scripture – we are a people of the books – plural, being that our Constitution also includes the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order. Yes it’s one of our greatest gifts to be able to talk about our faith, but there are also times when it’s not a bad idea to find some space for quiet and meditation. We could talk ourselves silly about the doctrine of the Trinity, or instead we could listen to some of the more poetic side of our tradition that allows our hearts to open to God’s mysterious presence.
This morning, I want to engage you in a process of listening, not just to me, but to our tradition through the words that have been adopted in the Presbyterian Brief Statement of Faith, a document that was drafted for the church following the reunion of the northern and southern streams of the tradition in the mid-eighties. It is a reminder that our faith arises from a Trinitarian tradition. Though many churches seem to have a “favorite” aspect of the Godhead, it takes all three to offer balance. For example, it’s a great comfort to know that the God who created us and could destroy us just as easily instead decided to redeem us through the love shown through Jesus Christ. For centuries, faithful Christians have wondered about their purpose in relationship to God, and our creeds, this one included, remind us that we belong to God, we are created through the breath of the Spirit to be a joy and delight to our Creator.
As I read each section, take time to allow God to be revealed to you. Wonder about how this aspect of God touches the life of our church. Welcome any insights, old or new. In the silence, marvel at the mystery of God. As we conclude, I will gather up our thoughts and meditations in prayer. Let us hear God speak to us through this creed.
A Brief Statement of Faith
In life and death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God,
And the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ,
Fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God,
whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God's image
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring God's commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God's condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
to bless all families of the earth.
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of Israel
from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth,
praying, Come, Lord Jesus!
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Copyright © 1991 by the Office of the General Assembly,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
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