“Shaped by Trust”
Psalm 8, as rendered by the Iona Community
“A New Creed,” United Church of Canada
Let’s begin with some confessions:
Number 1: I’m not a big fan of the liturgical observance called Trinity Sunday.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the aspect of trinitarian theology that frames Creator, Redeemer and Spirit—which is to say, God—as inherently communal, that is—all about relationships. The Trinity concept emphasizes that the very nature of God is relational, and so, of course, the Parent longs to bless us and be with us—so much so that the Son became one of us and the Spirit lives within us and through us and all around us. I like the image of a circle dance—three figures holding hands and moving as one—as a delightful representation of the ever-moving Holy.
And I understand why leaders of the early church came up with the doctrine of the Trinity—as a way of arguing that Jesus was divine as well as human but that there is only one God.
But beyond the emphasis on relationship I don’t find the doctrine central to my life. Don’t get me wrong; I take great comfort in trusting that God made me, walks with me, and lives through me—but I don’t think of that in terms of doctrine. I do hope my life is grounded in a multi-dimensional sense of relationship with the Source of All Being, the Love that Holds Us All.
In addition to all that, I’m uncomfortable with anything that attempts to take the Mystery that is God and define it, box it up, and tie a pretty bow around it. That seems to me to have much more to do with the human need for control and black-and-white thinking than anything about God’s love.
So there. 😉
True confession #2: I’m inclined to stay away from “I believe” statements, especially when those statements are presented as gospel truth. In my experience, creeds and other “I believe” statements have the potential to make those of us who don’t or can’t believe feel left out, less than, and maybe even unworthy.
Not only that. An emphasis on creeds or beliefs can distort the life of faith. Creeds put the focus on things we can never fully know, and by pretending that we do know them, we’re tempted to put ourselves and our belief systems above God.
The life of faith is about trusting that God is good, that God is with us, and that, ultimately, all things work together for good. The life of creeds is about thinking that we’ve got everything all figured out, and that these beliefs will create order out of chaos and peace out of anxiety.
True confession #3: Everything I’ve just said comes from a place of privilege, from a lived experience in which the worldview I was taught was the dominant one. I’ve benefited from the luxuries of white skin, higher education, middle-class income and, as a result, maybe I had less need than some folks for religious or political absolutes that would give me an anchor in a scary world. Because of my privilege, it was easy to think that sophisticated reasoning, good choices, and hard work were more important than God’s grace.
Even with my own misgivings, I need to try to understand why creeds are important to others.
True confession #4: As Trinity Sunday rolled around this year, I realized that statements of belief can be more important and useful than what I had previously thought. As I come to you today, I have come to think that certain statements of trust and hope are critical to the times we are in.
It occurs to me that to say we believe anything at all about God, Jesus, Spirit, the power of Love, or the importance of community is a desperately needed counterpoint to the dispiriting climate we are living in, an overwhelming, non-stop onslaught of deception, distortion, disinformation, cynicism, and a refusal to accept certain outcomes as true.
To hold on to, and ground ourselves in, the truth of God’s ongoing grace, care, solidarity, and newness in that context is to welcome in life’s goodness and to resist the powers of evil.
What both we and the world need now is people and communities that are grounded in love, hope, trust. What we and the world need is love that sees the good, faith that resists resignation, trust that counters despair, hope that persists despite all the evidence, and a shared joy that is stronger than the lust for power and control.
Toward that end, I want to share with you this morning a statement of faith from the Iona Community. I commend it to you less for its theology (though I think it’s spot on) than for its steadfast trust in God’s providence.
As I read it to you, occasionally pausing for reflection or to emphasize something, I want to encourage you to resist getting hooked by the theology and, instead, to notice the beauty of it and how it makes you feel.
It begins like this:
We believe in God
who is older than eternity
and younger than our next breath;
who is beyond describing
yet knows us all by name;
who inspires faith
yet cannot be contained by religion.
It continues:
We believe in Jesus Christ,
flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone;
he came in the body
to give worth to every human life.
He touched the untouchable,
loved the unlovable
and endured slander, persecution and death.
The statement continues:
We believe that God’s kingdom comes on earth
through Christ’s suffering love.
Did you catch that? It’s a statement about God’s realm, not earthly empire, and it says God’s way comes not through military or political conquest, but by non-violent, sacrificial love. Do we believe that?
Christ, it says, rose from the grave as living proof
that what is laid down in faith
will be raised in glory.
Do you hear that? What is laid down in faith will be raised in glory. What is done in faith—whether, by earthly standards, it succeeds or fails, will be honored. Do we trust that?
The statement continues:
He ascended to heaven
to be present at times to all people.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who leads us into truth and freedom,
who gives good gifts to all God’s children,
who works through prayer and politics,
through justice, care of creation
and the healing of the nations.
And finally:
We celebrate the potential God has given:
the life in our bodies,
the yearning in our souls,
the promise of good things in store
for those who love and serve their maker.
I think there’s a lot to be said for a statement of faith that is aspirational, for affirmations that inspire us to put our trust in a power that is higher and purer than our own, for a perspective that encourages us to see that, as bad as things are and however much worse they might get, we are not alone, but rather are held and shaped and guided by a love-force that is working in and through and in spite of it all.
And because these are statements and affirmations that can shape us as people and as a church, I’m going to leave you with a few more, these by the Rev. Dr. Mary Luti. Listen for the gifts, the promises, and the hope that we have been given. Notice, too, that these are not “I” statements; rather, they all begin with the pronoun “we,” because we were made to live together, in community, as we believe so does the Divine.
Listen:
We believe in the God of Life, whose breath is in us
and whose mercy encircles the creation.
We believe in Jesus Christ, who loved us indestructibly
and who shared our pain.
He is with us now as he promised, even to the end of the age.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who welcomes us
into the household of faith, gives us gifts in abundance,
enlivens our hearts with joy, and urges us into the world
to testify without fear to God’s justice and grace.
Hoping against hope for the promised realm of peace,
we love one another while we live,
we honor every creature God has made,
we stand against the power of sin and death,
and we bless the earth and all that fills it.
Glory, thanks and praise be yours,
O Living God, now and forever!
Here’s another take:
We believe in the wideness of God’s mercy,
wider than the sea.
We believe that no one falls outside God’s care.
We believe that in Jesus Christ,
God embraced the human condition,
our shame and our glory.
Everyone is kin to us in him.
We believe that the Holy Spirit never rests,
but works in the world to gather every creature
and seat us together at the banquet of love.
We believe we are called to a ministry of grace,
a way of hospitality.
We believe that God’s mercy is ours, and ours to share.
We believe. Lord, help our unbelief.
What might we and the world look like if we lived as if we truly believed that all people are one and God’s mercy is for all?
May our faith be forward-looking, and may it inspire us to join the holy circle dance of love and healing:
May we trust that the day is coming
when God’s grace will change the human heart,
and we will live as one with every living thing.
May we trust that the day is coming
when Christ’s compassion will fill the earth,
and no one will do harm, be hurt, or feel alone.
May we trust that the day is coming
when the Spirit’s freedom will unbind our souls,
and we shall live generous lives for each other
with a joy no circumstance can alter.
May we trust that this day is coming,
and may we wait and work for it with steadfast hope,
for God has promised it, and God is faithful.
May it be so.
