Trinity

  • Creed

    After the sermon comes one of the three creeds. Creed is a term derived from the Latin for "I believe." So it is no surprise that the two most common creeds we use begin with  "I believe..." These are the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. The third and least used of the three creeds is the Athanasian Creed.
     
    In some congregations, the Nicene Creed is used on Sundays when the Lord's Supper is celebrated. The Apostles' Creed is used on Sundays when the Lord's Supper is not celebrated. And the Athanasian Creed is used for Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost). 
     
    A somewhat recent movement to celebrate the Lord's Supper every Sunday has made the above a bit obsolete. Some congregations have adapted by simply alternating every other week between the Apostles' and Nicene Creed. Others use the Nicene Creed for the festival portion of the year (from Advent to Pentecost) and the Apostles' Creed for the Sundays after Pentecost.
     
    The Nicene Creed was formed over the course of more than 50 years. Beginning in 325 at the ecumenical Council of Nicea, the church sought to articulate a confession to provide clarity against heresies that had arisen. The Creed wasn't completed until 381 at the Council of Constantinople. 
     
    The Apostles' Creed is steeped in a bit more mystery. It was long held that each of the 12 Apostles constructed one line of this confession and it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. From what I can tell, the Apostles' Creed began as part of the baptism rite in one corner of the early church. It was morphed and edited along the way. Its earliest construction (we'll call it a rough draft) was probably in the second century, but its current form wasn't settled upon until the eighth century.
     
    Much like the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed is aimed at articulating the faith in the face of heresies. The main concern in this case was the Trinity. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are not parts or modes of the same God. All three persons are God. They are distinct from one another, yet united. 
     
    Within the worship service, the Creed stands as a moment of unity. Together the congregation confesses their faith in this Triune God. Christians throughout the world, in dozens of countries and thousands of languages confess their faith each week in one of these creeds. Despite denominational division, the Creed anchors us to unity. After all, it is in the Nicene Creed that we confess we believe in "one, holy, Christian/catholic, and Apostolic church." One. Not thousands. One.
     
    To me, the Creed is a moment to reflect upon one of my favorite moments in Scripture. In Mark 9, when a man brings his demon-possessed child to Jesus, eventually this man confesses, "I believe! Help my unbelief." 
     
    I believe each line of each of these creeds. I ascent to them with my mind, my heart, my soul. But I don't always live like I believe. Oftentimes I live in disbelief, in unbelief, even in anti-belief.
     
    Sometimes I act as if God's creation didn't matter. Sometimes I act as if Jesus' incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and return were nothing more than monotone facts of history, rather than the most important events to ever occur in the galaxy. Sometimes I act as if the Holy Spirit were nothing, and I seek to take credit for all of the ideas the Holy Spirit has given me.
     
    The Creed is a time to say "Jesus is Lord," even if it is spoken in monotone. It is a time to remember that God is God, and I am not. 

  • Invocation

    In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
     
    This is how worship services begin in our congregation: in the name of the Triune God without commas, with the sign of the cross.
     
    This is also the way Christian life begins as we are baptized into the name of that same Triune God without commas, with water and the Word of God.
     
    Some pastors, priests, or ministers add the words "We begin..." to this invocation. Personally, I choose not to do that. "We begin..." is not how you invoke a name. 
     
    In the days when kings and queens, emperors and pharaohs ruled the world, their names were invoked to show the authority by which a task was done.
     
    One place we see a true invocation in our contemporary culture is in George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Here are the words Ned Stark uses to execute the Night's Watch deserter, Will.
     
    "In the name of Robert of the House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, I, Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, sentence you to die."  
     
    As we come before the Lord of the universe in worship, we do so by His own authority and in His own name, a Triune name without commas. It is an official act, a formal act, a solemn act. It does not require the words "we begin..." for the words themselves are a beginning, a notice. They move us into a new time, a new act. 
     
    In this name many official acts occur. We are baptized in this name. We are forgiven in this name. We are blessed in this name. We are confirmed in this name. We are married in this name. We are sent on new adventures in this name. We are installed in various roles in our congregations in this name. We are commended to the Lord for death in this name. We are buried in this name.
     
    From first to last, beginning to end, the name of the Triune God is placed upon us again and again without commas but with authority. 
     
     
     
     

  • The Promised Holy Spirit

    Our Triune God is mysteriously three persons, but one God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together. As the church, we are one...even though sometimes it doesn't really look like it.
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