| Chapter 8. A Creed for Today | ||||
Those who have read this far may find it helpful to have some of the main themes of the book drawn together in the form of a proclamation of faith in the language of today. The following is intended to be an experiential creed more than a dogmatic one. For this reason it begins with the Spirit who is at work in all ages, all cultures and all individuals and is, in this sense, the most accessible member of the Trinity. Next it goes on to Jesus, who entered our history about two thousand years ago but whom, by the power of the Spirit (I Cor 12:3) we experience as alive and as playing a central role in our lives today. Thirdly, it proclaims faith in the Mysterious One whom Jesus called 'Abba'. Finally, there is a paragraph, corresponding to the concluding sentences of the traditional creeds, about our communion with others and the world. | ||||
The verb 'believe' has been understood in such a variety of ways that it seems best not to begin each sentence of this creed with the phrase 'I believe'. There are many other verbs in which we can express our faith e.g. 'acknowledge', 'recognize', 'proclaim', 'experience', 'celebrate','be inspired (or energized or empowered) by', 'await in hope', etc. In this creed I feel it more appropriate to speak first of celebrating the presence of the Spirit, then and of recognizing and being energized and empowered by Jesus; and then of believing in the God made known to us by Jesus. | ||||
Needless to say, this creed does not set out to be either complete or definitive. It is a personal statement, coming out of my present situation and my present interests�and intended to recapitulate some of the themes of this book. So I could not venture to draft it in the form 'We believe ...'. When it is appropriate to say, 'We believe ...', I am very happy to join with the wider Christian community in reciting any of the more traditional creeds of our faith. The best I can hope for in sharing this personal creed is that it may inspire others to write their own version of a creed for today.{1} | ||||
| Credo | ||||
I celebrate the creative life-giving energy of the Divine Spirit: | ||||
* who from the beginning has moved over the Earth, shaping its development, guiding its history and renewing it as an unfailing source of life and energy; | ||||
* who breathes life into our spirits, touches our hearts and moves our bodies to dance to its music; | ||||
* who works through human cultures and religions to give meaning and purpose to our lives; | ||||
* who infuses us with a prophetic spirit which calls us to challenge the powerful and console the outcast and the downcast; | ||||
* who prays and dreams in the depths of the human spirit with sighs, hopes, and symbols too deep for words; | ||||
* who labours and hopes in the heart of the Earth in expectation of a liberation and fulfillment beyond our richest and wildest dreams. | ||||
By the power of the Spirit I recognize Jesus as the Human One who came in the fullness of time to be Emmanuel, God with us. | ||||
* I am energized by his sharing of our journey, our exploration, our joys, our wonder, our pain and our oppression. | ||||
* I am inspired by his call to follow him in choosing to be in solidarity with the vulnerable and the victimised. | ||||
* I am empowered by him to be authentically human: | ||||
- in reading 'the signs of the times'; | ||||
- in discerning my own personal vocation; | ||||
- in trusting my friends and forgiving those who wound me; | ||||
- in challenging oppressive structures and those who abuse their power; | ||||
- in bringing liberty to captives and hope to those who are broken in spirit; | ||||
- in stretching our healing and life-giving human powers beyond their conventional limits; | ||||
- in accepting pain, hostility and rejection. | ||||
* I am challenged by him to face the darkness of death with a hope that stretches human hope beyond its limits. | ||||
* I rejoice that he has unmasked the evil which scapegoats innocent victims. | ||||
* I see in him the Suffering Servant who overcomes the power of evil by the energy of his love flowing from his heart into our hearts and our world. | ||||
* I proclaim him as the one who has gone through death to bring us hope through the experience of a transformed life for ourselves and for the Earth. | ||||
In union with Jesus and by the power of his Spirit I believe in the One whom Jesus called, 'Abba'�his God who has become our God; personal and transpersonal; transcendent and beyond our control yet ever close and awaiting us with prodigal love: | ||||
* The God whose energy, creativity, beauty and mystery is mirrored in creation: in the universe which calls us to praise and thanks and wonder; and in the Earth and its inhabitants which sustain us and invite us to share in the joy of co-creation. | ||||
* The provident God experienced in the surprising grace-filled coincidences and encounters in which we feel ourselves protected and cared for with a parent's unconditional love. | ||||
* The generous God whom we find in high-points of our lives: in experiences of being healed or finding freedom of spirit, of forgiving and being forgiven, of falling in love and being loved, of liberation from oppression and of reaching out for political reconciliation. | ||||
* The One who feeds the birds of the air and who is more mindful of us than a mother of her baby; the One on whose hand our names have been carved. | ||||
* The One whom we now know has sent Jesus and the Spirit to bring us back into full communion with God, by changing our hearts and empowering us to transform our communities, our institutions, our cultures and our world. | ||||
I rejoice to be part of the community of Christian believers, in communion with all who are touched by the Spirit and are called into communion with the living God. | ||||
I place my hope in, and commit myself to, an all-embracing community of humankind, while respecting and honouring its rich diversity of culture, race, gender, gifts and limitations. | ||||
I experience myself also as part of the wider community of Nature and as an integral and unique part of the physical universe which I recognize as a spiritual cosmos, quickened by divine energy. | ||||
I look forward to a fulfillment which is personal, communal, and global�and which is pure gift from God, a sharing in the divine life, beyond all that I could ask or imagine. | ||||