Christianity was NEVER my idea

“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)

Hi Fighter,

When I read these words from Saint Paul I’m reminded of a story I was told about an Orthodox Bishop who was giving a lecture on the history of the church’s creeds, and the bishop was stressing the importance of learning the creeds off by heart so as always to be ready to confess your faith.

One of the students asked the bishop, “but what if I can’t bring myself to say everything that’s in those creeds?” The bishop told him that this simply required practice. “Keep repeating the words”, he said, “and soon you will have no problem.”

“But what if I don’t believe everything that is in those creeds?”, the student replied. “I understand,” said the Bishop, “but they are not your creeds. How old are you – twenty-five or thirty perhaps? You can’t be expected to know all that much at your age. Just keep repeating the words. Understanding will come.”

I’m never quite sure how I feel about that story. In any spiritual community there will be people holding a variety of different views on just about every aspect of the faith, and I think we want to encourage freedom of both thought and expression. Even so, as our reading today reminds us, the Christian faith was never our idea.

We didn’t create this faith, and it’s not our role to try and fashion it in our own image. Yes, every experience of Christ will be unique and, yes, we want to encourage everyone to think creatively and speak freely. Even so, there are some fundamental pillars that define us as a Christian community.

Paul mentions a series of such pillars in the verses:

• that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures
• that He was buried and raised in accordance with the scriptures
• that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. 

In the verses that follow, Paul adds a couple more resurrection appearances as ‘fundamentals’, including Christ’s appearance to him personally, though whether Paul intended his own encounter with Christ to become an article of faith is open to debate. Either way, in the centuries that followed, the church codified these fundamental beliefs into a series of creeds – The Apostle’s Creed, The Nicaean Creed and The Athanasian Creed

It’s interesting to follow the development of these creeds. Each successive creed is about double the length of its predecessor, and while the list of things that you have to believe grows longer and longer, the importance of believing all those things, without question or doubt, became increasingly strict, as reflected in the opening words of the Athanasian Creed:

“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith unless every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.”

Personally, I think we started to veer off-track early in the fourth century. We would probably do best to return to Paul’s list of fundamentals, all of which, notably, are simple statements of historical fact. This, in itself, is worth reflecting on. When it comes to the fundamentals of the faith, think of all the things that are NOT listed:

• That God is love
• That love lasts forever
• That we need to look after one another

So many of the things that are fundamental to my faith seem to be peripheral to the basic doctrines of the church. Even so, this reminds us that, at a dogmatic level, the Christian faith is basically just a reading of history. Our Scriptures are a story that take us from a garden (Eden) to a city (the New Jerusalem). It is the truth of that story that is fundamental, and not our experience of the journey.

Within this Gospel story, we find ourselves. We join the journey. We meet Christ on our journey, and we discover His love and mercy and all the things that make our faith meaningful to us. Even so, the journey is bigger than us. We do not own it.

Forgive the length of today’s reflection but I want to finish with one more story. 😉

Garrison Keillor told of an experience he had as a teenager. Walking down the sidewalk, he saw an unbelievably beautiful woman coming toward him. What could he do? He saw a large, white Cadillac parked next to the sidewalk, so he strolled over to it, pulled out a coin, put it in the parking meter, and leaned confidently against the Cadillac, smiling at the approaching woman. To his delight, she returned the smile and said, “Thank you”. Then she got into the Cadillac and drove off.

The church is not our Cadillac, and the church’s creeds are not our creeds. Yes, faith is a very personal thing, but THE FAITH is bigger (and better) than all of us!  Thanks be to God.😊

Our Sunday Eucharist

It was great to be back in Australia and celebrate the Sunday Eucharist with you all last weekend. Unfortunately, David Baldwin was not able to join Tom Toby and myself on the panel, but our dear brother, Rev. John Jegasothy, stepped in to complete the team. 😊

As is inevitable when Tom and I get together, much of our discussion was focused on Gaza and the broader tragedies taking place across the Middle-East. You’ll see that reflected in the shorts I’ve been uploading this week, two of which you’ll find below. If you want to see the full collection from last Sunday, check out the Sunday Eucharist Instagram page or visit our full video archive on my YouTube channel.

This Sunday I’m looking forward to having Father Mark Battison back with us, along with dear brother, Robert Gilland. I expect that Mark will be able to further update us on the situation in Palestine. I’m hoping he’ll be able to point us to the light still shining in the darkness.

Please join us at midday on Sunday via TheSundayEucharist.com or Facebook , YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard. I do look forward to being back and sharing this Eucharist with you. 😊

Let me work your corner

If you’d like to see my work continue, please click here to make a one-off donation. I you can afford a monthly contribution, sign up at Patreon.com.and choose either:

Middleweight – $10/month (community mentoring)

• Enrol in the Fighting Fit training program
• Access member-only training videos
• Engage in the members-only forum

Super-Middleweight $50/month (remote mentoring)

• All of the above +
• One-on-one mentoring via email, phone, or Skype

Heavyweight – $100/month (in-person mentoring)

• All of the above +
• Training with Father Dave’s Old School Boxing Academy

Superheavyweight – $200/month (intensive in-person mentoring)

• All of the above +
• One weekend per month at Binacrombi Bush Camp.

Every dollar helps keep the wheels turning – the websites, the newsletters, the broadcasts, the boxing club and the bush camp. Sign up at Patreon.com.

What’s On?

• Sunday, February 9 – Our Eucharist @midday via thesundayeucharist.com and Facebook,  YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard.
• Tuesday, February 11 – Boxing @ The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
• Thursday, February 13 – Boxing @ The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
• Friday to Sunday, February 14 to 16 – @Binacrombi. Please join me.

It is good to be back in Oz, though I’m still living in the afterglow of my week in Iran. Every time I visit there, my love and respect for the Persian people grows. Of course, this will never displace my love for the people of Syria, but, at the moment, that love is so enveloped in grief that I still find it hard to hold back the tears.

Next week is my birthday, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so uncertain about the future during my sixty-three years on this planet. I keep praying – for Syria, for Palestine, for Binacrombi, for our Fight Club, and for our online church community. Quite frankly, I have no idea whether any of these will still be functioning in six months’ time. In each case, the obstacles are enormous and seem insurmountable.

It’s at times like these that we need to be reminded that the future of our world is not dependent on us getting things right. The future belongs to God, as does the church, as does the faith. It’s all in God’s hands. Thanks be to God!

Last Sunday we concluded our online Eucharist with Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress if our God”. The final lines still resonate with me:

And though they take our life,
goods, honour, children, wife,
yet is their profit small;
these things shall vanish all:
the city of God remaineth.

Your brother in the Good Fight,

www.softwareresales.com

P.S. For my birthday next week, I’ve decided to hold another open dinner a The Public House in Petersham. If you are free on Monday, February 17th, and you’re in the area, you are welcome to join me. Just let me know. I’ll be there from 6 pm.