It’s my tradition after the prayer of the day to bring a message to all of God’s children. And I want to continue today talking about what we started a few weeks ago – a look at the Nicene Creed! We began imagining this creed as a rule – describing what we say about God, church, worship, and life in our world. The Creed came out of a conversation a bunch of people had 1700 years ago about how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were united together. There was a time when someone thought that God the Father/Creator was on-top and with Jesus – and the Holy Spirit – below – like a ladder. But the supporters of the Creed said no – Jesus, the Father, the Holy SPirit – all are together because there’s no part of God that hasn’t experienced what our life is like. If you look at the Creed, you’ll notice it’s split into 3 parts – just like the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We talked about the first part – God as Creator – who is always creating, involved, and being a part of our lives. The part about Jesus is long – and full of big words – but reminds us how Jesus’ story is God’s story. God experienced what we do – the need to be born, to grow up, to be cared for, and even what it’s like to feel sad, hurt, disappointed, bullied, pushed around, and what it’s like to have friends who need to be cared for too.
And so – we’re going to wrap up out conversation on the creed by focusing on the last 3rd of the Creed. But before we do that – I want to ask you – when you’re going down the slide while on the playground, and you’re having fun, is there something that you say or do? We might laugh. We might smile. We might cheer. And we might say “weeee!” When we’re having fun, we might say weeee. I have no idea why we do that. I don’t know where it comes from. But it’s something we’ve watched our friends do – our parents do – etc. When we’re having fun, we say “wee.”
And I’ll admit that there are times when playing or being by ourselves is fun – but I tend to have more fun when I’m with others. When I’m with my family, my wife, friends, or playing games against others – I have more fun when others are there too. It’s easier to say “weee” when there’s a “we” – when we’re with others too. Those others, though, need to be on the same page. We have to be kind to each other, helpful to each other, and take care of each other. Making fun of each other or bullying or trying to act like we’re better than others – that isn’t very fun for everyone. But when we’re all having fun, all taking care of each other, all being for each other – then we can all say “weee” in exciting ways.
And that – I think – is what the last part of the Nicene Creed is about. It shows how God has more fun by being a community too. It wonders how does God interact with us and God does that through God’s power – God’s presence – God’s energy and vibe and force – that we call the Holy Spirit. And the core of that energy – of the Holy Spirit – is love. It’s about what God’s love does – how God’s love interacts and makes itself real in our life too. It’s about where we, right now, might notice God at work. We hear it in God’s story – recorded in the words of the prophets in our Bible and also those prophets in our here and now who remind of our responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable around us. We acknowledge how the Holy Spirit – God’s power and God’s movement and God’s energy is why we are here now – in church and connected to a faith community that connects us to all Christians, of all time. We’re always part of something bigger than ourselves. We acknowledge how we, through baptism, were proclaimed as part of God’s holy family – and how the ways we separate each other or hurt each other or even death itself – won’t keep us from our God. And we also look forward, together, for God’s continued work in our world and in our lives to make GOd’s kingdom real. God doesn’t want us to do this faith thing on our own. God knows that we need each other to become who God knows we can be. It’s why the version of the creed we share in worship begins with a “we.” It’s not focused on fun – but it is focused on how we get to pray with each other, for each other, listen to God’s story together, and grow into who God knows we can be. We need each other – and everyone out there needs your prayers and presence and care and words too. And maybe we, as we follow Jesus together, might – occasionally – have a little fun together too.