From the Pastor: Working on Discipline

Dear Peace family,

Lois and I have been members of a local gym for several years now. This is not the first time we’ve joined a gym, but it is the first time we’ve actually stuck with it for more than a few months. The other day I was thinking about how typical that is of human beings. We take something on, some kind of discipline, and often we go at it fast and furious for a while; then, for whatever reason, our enthusiasm wanes and eventually we just drop it.

I know there are lots of days that I just don’t want to go to the gym. I have to drag myself there. There are so many things I’d rather do. When I miss a day or two, it becomes even easier to miss another, and then another. "What difference does it really make?" I start to think. And of course you know where that kind of thinking leads!

And yet I know that going to the gym is a good thing—I know it intellectually, and I know it physically as well. So I make it a priority, even when it is difficult, even when I don’t want to do it. That, after all, is what "discipline" means, isn’t it? It means, my dictionary says, "activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill." I do it, because I know that I will be stronger and healthier, and, in the long run, happier.

It’s not that different with the spiritual life. The Christian life is one of discipline—it’s no accident that there is a connection between that word and "disciple." The disciplines of Christian faith are not complicated—prayer, reading of Scripture, regular worship, receiving the sacrament, serving Christ in daily life, generous giving—but that is not to say they are easy.

Some who regard themselves as Christians take very little part in these disciplines. Perhaps they come to church now and then, or even often; but beyond that, their faith impacts their life very little. Truth be told, they often eventually stop even coming to church—a commitment that doesn’t make much sense if one simply regards it as an "activity" rather than as "discipline."

Others go through periods where they really attend to the disciplines of Christianity. Faithful in worship, they may throw themselves into other disciplines as well. But then the time comes when they become discouraged, or tired, or simply too busy, and the disciplines of faith fall away. I suppose most of us have experienced that at one time or another in our lives of faith.

But like that gym membership, it’s never too late to start anew. It’s a matter of making the choice to do it—of "taking up the cross" that is the Christian life, seeing it not as a burden but as a joy. And, in this Pentecost season, perhaps we should say it is also a matter of opening one’s heart to the Holy Spirit, who is ever calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying those whom Christ has claimed in Holy Baptism.

If your discipline has been flagging a bit—if your discipleship has been faltering—now’s a good time to get back on track. Open the Scripture, take time to pray, make worship a priority each week. You’ll be healthier, and happier as well.

Peace to you,

Pastor Richard O. Johnson

Classic Prayers

Let not thy Word, O Lord, become a judgment upon us, that we hear it and do it not, that we know it and love it not, that we believe it and obey it not: O Thou, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

--Thomas á Kempis

(1380-1471)

Liturgy Notes: Creeds

One regular element in our Lutheran liturgy is the recitation of one of the creeds of the church. In our service, the creed comes shortly after the sermon, at the conclusion of the “liturgy of the Word.” Its function in the service is as a response to what we have heard from God’s Word, both Scripture readings and sermon. It is our affirmation that we believe and will try to live according to the gospel that we have heard.

The two creeds that are usually used are known as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. They come out of different backgrounds, have different histories, and both names are somewhat misleading!

The Apostles’ Creed was not actually written by the apostles, but by unknown persons in the early church whose intention was to write a summary of the faith of the apostles. It was originally developed in the church at Rome, and used as a baptismal creed—in other words, those who were to be baptized would recite the creed as a summary of their faith. That is why the Apostles’ Creed is used today in the service of baptism. By about the 7th century, this Creed was used regularly in worship in the churches of Western Europe—though it is interesting to note that the Eastern Orthodox Churches have never adopted or used the Apostles’ Creed at all.

The Nicene Creed is named after the Council of Nicea, though it was not really adopted at that Council. The Council of Nicea, meeting in the fourth century, brought together bishops and theologians from all over the world to combat the heresy known as Arianism. (In a nutshell, the Arians denied that Jesus Christ was really God.) A Creed was developed and approved by that Council, but it was somewhat revised and finally approved at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. It is this final revision that is known popularly today as the “Nicene Creed.” Because it embodied the faith of the whole church (both Western and Eastern churches), it gradually began to be used in the service of Holy Communion as a way of expressing the unity of the church.

In traditional practice, the Nicene Creed was always used during the Communion service. In the Lutheran Book of Worship, provision has been made to use the Apostles’ Creed during the ordinary Sundays of the year, and the Nicene Creed on festivals and during the festivals seasons. In this way, we continue to be familiar with both of these important historic expressions.

There are interesting differences between the two Creeds. The Apostles’ Creed, because it is a baptismal creed, is written in the singular (“I believe...”), while the Nicene Creed, expressing the unity of the church, is written in first person plural (“We believe...”). The Apostles’ Creed is very simple and to the point, while the Nicene Creed goes into considerable detail, particularly about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ—understandable, since it was written to refute those who claimed Christ was not divine.

When we recite the Creed in worship, we are not just mumbling words. These words, to quote Luther Reed, are “the church’s reply to God’s Word, the public acceptance and confession in summary form of the faith of the whole church. Every use of the creed is in a sense a renewal of our baptismal covenant...It witnesses to the perpetuity, unity, and universality of the Christian faith; it binds Christians to one another and to the faithful of all centuries...It is a corporate expression of praise and thanks, reciting what God has done for our salvation.”