And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-28
Years ago when my dad was dying, we had a very memorable conversation. He said to me “My whole life, I have been afraid to die. Will you help me not to be afraid?” As many people do, my dad never talked about death or dying. Anytime someone would bring it up, he would change the subject. Now, undeniably confronted with impending death, he finally wanted to talk about it because he was scared. I told him “I’ll have this conversation with you, but I would prefer to have it as a priest, rather than as your son, so I can keep my emotions out of it.” He was okay with that.
I asked my dad a simple question: “Do you believe in God?” He answered, “Yes, I believe in God.” Then I asked “What do you believe about God?” And he answered, “I’m not sure.”
This was a “light-bulb goes off” moment in my life. My dad, who went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir until a few weeks before he died, had a prayer book that the pages had worn thin on, and who could quote large sections of the Bible from memory, now at the moment where there should be joyful anticipation of the eternal life, was anything but joyful. This scene unfolded about a month before summer camp, and our theme for that year was the Creed. So I told my dad, “You are in luck, I’m writing a curriculum on the Creed and we can start there.” We went through the Creed, line by line, and when we got to the end, “I look to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come,” he asked me “How do I prepare for that?” That evening my dad had his first and only confession of his life, and by the end of the night, he had made peace with his impending death. In fact, he asked me to pray for him to die, because he finally was able to articulate what he believed, he finally understood the meaning of the Creed, especially the end, that there is a “life of the age to come.” It was the most memorable conversation I ever had with my dad, and it brings me a lot of comfort still, as I remember it.
I’m sharing this with you because there are probably a lot of people who are like my dad out there. There are lots of people who believe in God, or in Christ, but that can’t articulate what they believe. Maybe they don’t understand what they believe. Maybe they go to church every Sunday, recite the Creed, and still don’t understand what they believe. In a world where it seems like Christianity is constantly being challenged, it is important to understand what we believe and be able to defend our faith. And increasingly there are people who are flocking to the Orthodox Church because they are searching for the historical and theological truth that we have preserved. We want to be able to welcome and encourage them by being able to articulate what we believe and what it means, not simply that we believe.
The fastest growing group of people are the “spiritual, non-religious,” sometimes referred to as the “nones.” These are people who define their own beliefs. These beliefs are subject to constant change and reforming. If one believes anything, or everything, or changes belief frequently, in reality, they believe nothing.
What we believe, as Orthodox Christians, hasn’t changed in 1,700 years. There were subsequent Ecumenical Councils where the Creed was debated but affirmed. There have been challenges to theology over the years, but the Creed remains the same. Our theology on the Trinity, creation, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and eschatology (eternity) are summarized in the two hundred words of the Creed. This Spirit-inspired composition is something that not only needs frequent recitation but frequent study. Because the simple answer to the question “What do you believe?” is to offer the Creed, both with understanding and conviction.
Today’s Scripture quote is from the beginning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer questioned Jesus about what was needed to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him for his interpretation of the Law. The man was able to articulate the two great commandments, to love God and to love neighbor, but then admitted he didn’t understand the meaning of “who is my neighbor?” and then Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. Some of us may answer the question “how do you read” (articulating what we believe) poorly, and some of us may be like the lawyer in the Parable, we know how to answer but we don’t understand our answer. The answer is the Creed. Understanding the Creed is bolstered by reading the Bible, reading Orthodox theology, prayer, worship, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which comes through all of them.
Make me to know Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day long. Be mindful of Thy mercy, O Lord, and of Thy steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions; according to Thy steadfast love remember me, for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His ways. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Psalm 25:4-10
It is important to both know the words of the Creed as well as their meaning, because the Creed is the answer to the question “What is it that we believe?”
