January 18, 2004
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Mindekirken, January 18, 2004 The Creed
The first, however, is totally false; not about women having souls, but that such a resolution was affirmed. There is no trace of that in the sources. The myth of this resolution is a lie that has been repeated to this day, but that doesn’t make it more true. The second, however, is concerned about something that is very true: the creed. The creed is the sum of the Christian faith. Every sentence is carefully brought out as a verbal strike against all enemies of the faith. The ones who first gave us the creed fought for their words under tough resistance, and they themselves had to be exposed to strikes. We may find symbols of this in the emblem of Mindekirken. There, the cross is surrounded by two axes, one for the fight of the faith, the other for the martyrdom. Our emblem doesn’t point back to Nikea, but to St. Olav, but it is the same matter. What really was important to the assembly of Nikea was to state the Biblical message in a clear way by a few sentences. They knew that only through words we could meet him who is the Word. (John 1:1) As we confess the faith in the service, we want to say that this is the God we know. And even more than that, the creed doesn’t only put words to something we regard as true. The word became flesh…and we have seen his glory…says John (1:14) We confess to each other, but we also confess to Jesus. The creed expresses the living fellowship with Jesus. I remember my mother saying sometimes that we could use the creed as a prayer. Of course, she was right. Christian faith will never be like shopping in a big religious supermarket where we pick from the shelves what we ourselves want to believe. If that were the case, we would end up with what Paul calls "another Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4) The creed we use every Sunday is called the Apostle’s Creed. The Nicene Creed is used on the special feast days. Both creeds are shared by churches world-wide. They have been made before the New Testament was written, as a result of the church’s fight for the right faith. The creed expresses central Biblical issues in some short sentences. The oldest Christian creed, however, we find in the New Testament: Jesus is Lord, or Jesus is Kyrios. As it would be in Greek (1 Cor., 12:3) This short sentence was the creed of the first Christians. But even though it was short, it could cost a lot to say it. The Jews used the word Kyrios only for God, and to them it was blasphemous to mention a man with the title that belonged to God. But this is the center of the Christian faith: Jesus is Kyrios, he is Lord and God. That is the basis of our worship. Jesus is Kyrios; this sentence is also a verbal strike against the Romans. Amongst them, no one doubted who was the Kyrios. It was the emperor. As the Christians rigidly kept Jesus is Kyrios, they had to take blows from the Roman power. It even happened that Christians were threatened with their life to say The emperor is Kyrios. But many chose martyrdom with the words; Jesus is Kyrios, Jesus is Lord. Why? Because Jesus says: Do not fear those who kill the body. They knew that a stroke that separated the head from the body never could separate them from the love of Christ. Such a stroke would bring them to heaven: Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven Matt 10.32 The creed is therefore more than words. It is fellowship with the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. It is an expression of our close friendship with him who has ransomed us with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19) The creed is a declaration of love to the triune God. Last Sunday, we heard the declaration of love from the Father to the Son: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I an well pleased. Luke 3.22. Today it’s the disciples turn. The flock with Jesus and the 12 had come all the way north to the beautiful, green landscape around Caesarea Philippi. But the love for waterfalls and blooming hills at the border of Lebanon was not on the agenda. Jesus wanted to know about their love for him. Who do you say that I am? It was not enough for Jesus to hear that people anticipated that he was a prophet, Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist or someone else. Who do you say that I am? Now the disciples are having their exam. They have been wandering with the Master for a long time. They have seen healings, eaten the bread which became enough for 5000, rowed on the sea that calmed at the word of Jesus and they have listened to his parables and beatitudes. But have they understood who he really is? I believe Jesus wants to hear also our opinion of who he is. We have got life from him, health, daily bread, the joy of family and friends. We have become a part of the church fellowship and we have received numerous blessings. But do we understand who this Jesus of Nazareth, giver of all good things is, after all? Peter’s answer was a clear confession of the faith. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Do you think Jesus rejoiced when he heard it? I the ears of Jesus, it must have sounded like a declaration of love. What do we say? You may sit in the pew and say in your heart: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. You are my king. You are my God. You are worthy all praise and worship. I’ll follow you. You are my hope in life and death. Jesus rejoices by the confession of our mouth ant the faith in our heart. The confession says who we are, and who he is. I mentioned that Peter had his exam. The rule says that you’re not allowed to cheat on an exam. The paper has to be you own. By Caesarea Philippi we don’t talk about cheating, but the answer was certainly not something Peter didn’t have from himself. My Father in heaven has revealed to you who I am, Jesus said. The revelation was given by God himself. Peter’s faith was not his own work, but a gift of God. When Peter is called the rock, on which I will build my church, it’s all based on the grace of God. And the confession to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, doesn’t crumble even though Peter later would deny Jesus. The church is not a testimony of people’s fantastic faith, but the one we believe in. The rock is the work of God. Maybe you have seen pictures of Peter with the keys in his hand. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus says. These are not words about the power of the pope, but the mission of the whole church to loosen and to bind. Bound is the one who rejects the words of forgiveness. Loosened is the one who believes the gospel. The words to Peter may also mean something very concrete. If you feel bound by guilt and bad conscience, the power to loosen might be used by what we call confession. It’s a conversation with the pastor or some other Christian where one names the sin. Afterwards, the pastor places his hand on the head of the one who has confessed and says: Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and the Son and The Holy Spirit. We are welcome to confession also here at Mindekirken. It might cost a lot to confess the faith. Peter, the church fathers at Nikea and thousands of Christians before us have experienced that. But the confession of our faith, and the creed, is a declaration of love to the one who has given us everything. And it is the testimony for the world about the one who is able to set people free. Glory be to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. |
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