We still have three weeks left in our catechesis class, and I wanted to invite you all to join us this Sunday at 4 in the Parish Hall. We've been focusing on the Apostles' Creed, so I wanted to give you a sense of the things we've been talking about.

From very early on, the Church has used the Apostles' Creed, and other statements like it, as a way to teach the Christian faith. But the creed is much more than the basics, much more than Christianity 101. It's not something we "get" and then move beyond. We are continually invited to move deeper and deeper into its truths.

The creed invites us to immerse ourselves in the realities it speaks to. What do I mean? Well, take the first statement, for example--"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth." It is one thing to say we believe that God created everything, but it is another matter entirely to mediate on that reality. For instance, it is not simply that God created everything, it is God the Father who created everything and declared it good. So when we confess this we are confessing the goodness of creation. We are saying that the world, though fallen, is good. When we confess that God is Father, we are confessing at the same time the reality of His Son. We are saying that the Father and Son work in concert with each other, never against each other. So in the Incarnation, Jesus takes on flesh and becomes part of the created order, the world created by God, our Father. Jesus comes into the world to restore the goodness of creation and to show us the heart of the Father. The creed, in other words, tells the story of creation and redemption, and when we say the creed we are saying that the story it tells is our story. We are saying that the reality is speaks to is reality itself.

This week we will discuss these statements from the creed:

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.

Please make plans to join us!

Chris+