Statements of Faith ~ Week 2

 

We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.  New Creed from the United Church of Canada. 

 

Yesterday, we talked about God’s job description; today, the New Creed says you have a role and responsibility too.  But not just you as an isolated individual. Rather, this is for all of us who gather as the church.  We are called to celebrate, live with respect, love, serve, seek justice, resist evil, and proclaim Christ.  Eek, that is a lot.  Sometimes, like the church in Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 12) that loved to rate and rank spiritual gifts, we can end up emphasizing one of the above verbs over/at the expense of the others.  Or we are drawn to one of the above verbs and think it better than the others.  For example, I know folks who are so passionate about seeking justice that they can’t understand why everyone doesn’t pour every ounce of energy into this verb.  How can some people plan a party or go for a hike when there is so much suffering in the world?  Others believe that there is only one “right” way to serve and you must follow that path.  Make no mistake, there can be fundamentalism in the most progressive congregations.  Often, we proclaim our love of diversity only to offer a narrow path of how we can show/display/preach that love.  I wonder which of the above verbs leaps off the page for you?  As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, there are many gifts but the same spirit…all gifts are for the building up of the body of Christ.  We need people who bring the gift of celebration, stewardship, love, justice, preaching, praying, and pulling weeds out in the Memorial Garden.  No gift is better; no one way of serving should be honored more than others. You live your baptismal claim uniquely and in unity with others.  This has been and will continue to be the greatest invitation and challenge of the church from the beginning to this 8^th day of October.  Find the verb you feel pulled toward, and talk to someone about which verb s/he/they are drawn toward.  Do this with openness and curiosity; see how the Spirit can awaken someone who loves to make coffee for fellowship as a way of welcoming others, or how someone offers a gift of holding a friend's hand as vital for the vibrant church of Jesus, just as someone else sees signing a petition as important.  All gifts are welcome, and the call is to not just say this, but live, breathe, and embody this truth each day with God’s grace.  Finally, if you’d like, take the above list of verbs and compare to the United Church of Christ’s Statement of Faith.  Last Tuesday, we studied how our denomination says God calls, creates, sets, seeks, saves, judges.  Those are the six verbs used above to describe and define God’s activity ~ who God is and what God is up to in the world.  How might that list of verbs interact, intersect, or contradict/complicate each other?  May our pondering be moved to living our faith this day.  Amen.