“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name . . .” (Romans 15.8-9; quote within text: Psalm 18.49) 

In ‘church language’, a broad understanding of a ‘confession’ is a formal statement of religious belief. Examples of such confessions throughout the history of the Christian faith include: The Apostle’s Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Athanasian Creed, Luther’s 95 Theses, The Augsburg Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Westminster Confession of Faith, and the United Church of Christ Statement of Faith (just to name a very few). Most recently, as a response to one of the actions of the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, a new confession has appeared entitled, [The] Lexington Confession. This confession, as do most confessions, speaks to what is not believed as much as to what is believed. In many ways, formal confessions seek to correct what are perceived to be inerrant or troublesome teachings or practices in the church. After reading and re-reading the Lexington Confession and spending a great deal of time praying about the state of the Church (universal) and the United Church of Christ (specifically), it seems the right time to come to terms with my own personal confession as an ordained Pastor & Teacher in the United Church of Christ. For how can we ever hope to be a part of ‘church renewal’ (as the Lexington Confession movement suggests is necessary for the United Church of Christ) if the need for such a renewal is rooted only in the shallowness of a reaction to a particular issue? Where is the passion for the fullness and wonder of our faith experience as children of a Living God if ‘renewal’ is only about meeting the criteria of our own particular agenda or issue?

It is time to say, before God and humankind, what it is I believe, what it is I hold dear, and what I have come to know as true and trusted in my faith in God, through Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit (a confession in itself). Mostly, I am tired of the negativity – from others and in myself – and am seeking the language of faith in my own life which is not ‘a reaction to’, but ‘a claiming for’. I pray in these simple words of a simple pastor you find the language, the courage, and the Spirit, to confess your own faith, joining the historical stream of witnesses that, like the Apostle Paul, invites others to faith in the One who causes all creation to sing praises. Then, just maybe, true renewal in the universal Church can occur – in my heart and in yours – in the power of the Spirit for the sake of all humankind. 

Pastor Don’s Confession of Faith – January 16, 2006 

I believe in God who is made known to us by God’s own good and gracious will, as each has the capacity to understand.

W          This is the God of creation, of Adam and Eve, of original sin, of confession and repentance, of forgiveness, and of mercy and grace.

W          This is the God of Garden exits and life-saving entrances, such as Noah and God’s call to save a remnant.

W          This is the God of Abrahamic covenant and Sarah’s laughter, who tests with Isaac, and expands the line in Jacob.

W          This is the God of Joseph’s dream-filled experiences in Egypt and the God of Moses’ nightmarish departure from the same.

W          This is the God of wilderness trials, of golden calf anger and of manna and quails love. This is the God of Jordan crossings and Jericho shakings, of land establishing and kingdom building, of prophetic warnings and of exilic re-memberings.

W          This is the God of unending mercies, whose compassion brings people home and re-establishes God’s home in their hearts.

W          This is the God on whose lips is the name of Jesus, before ever Mary drew a breath or Adam and Eve took their bite of the apple.

W          This is the God whose commandments, spoken first on Mt. Sinai, find life, breath and meaning in the birthing cries of a virgin in Bethlehem.

W          This is the God whose Levitical laws of relational love and understanding, of reconciliation and atonement, are mediated in heavenly courts by a judge whose seat is upon a rough-hewn cross, and whose judgment of ‘Life!’ is rendered in the voice of an empty tomb. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, present with God from the beginning and with humanity forever, as each has the capacity to receive.

W          This is the Jesus of shepherd’s joy and Herod’s hatred, the Jesus of angel’s songs and Rachel’s lament.

W          This is the Jesus who is ‘at home in his Father’s house’, and whose life is spent in his Father’s house in the temple of the people, apart from the building.

W          This is the Jesus who challenged the traditions by defining their meanings – and respected the traditions by restoring their grace.

W          This is the Jesus who touches lepers and welcomes outcasts, who is touched by the human condition and turns away from the powerful.

W          This is the Jesus of disciples who knew him not and of demons who knew him all too well.

W          This is the Jesus who is a pillar of cloud by day leading the children out of the enslavement of law  and this is the Jesus who is a pillar of fire by night offering strength and consolation to the Nicodemus’ of each age who dare to come and be reborn in him.

W          This is the Jesus who dares to dive into the waters of baptism for the repentance of sins and transform them into the waters which separate like the Red Sea in God’s Spirit, revealing God’s unending grace and salvation.

W          This is the Jesus of whom prophets spoke and generations awaited, and this is the Jesus the world could not stand and the temple would not tolerate.

W          This is the Jesus of impassioned lament over the hard-heartedness of God’s people and this is the Jesus who cries out from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

W          This is the Jesus the deaf hear, the blind see, to whom the lame walk, and the mute speak.

W          This is the Jesus whose very word is power and authority unheard of before and this is the Jesus who stands silent before the Pilates of this world, allowing their babbling to condemn themselves for what they have become.

W          This is the Jesus of Passover lambs, of broken bread and of poured out wine, and this is the Jesus, the angel of life, whose blood over the doorpost of the heart brings life as the firstborn in his love.

W          This is the Jesus who transforms gardens, from Eden to Gethsemane, and welcomes those who come to meet him there – and this is the Jesus who breathes a Spirit and says, “Peace be with you” when peace is the furthest thing from your mind in your hiding away from all your sin.

W          This is the Jesus of Judas’ misunderstanding and the Jesus of Peter’s redemption.

W          This is the Jesus of profound commission, of harvest time labor, and of vineyard worker’s payments. This is the Jesus the crowds welcome into Jerusalem waving the palms and shouting ‘Hosanna!’, and this is the Jesus whose road home is the Via Dolorosa, the way of tears, the way of solitude: Few dare to walk in his footsteps, few dare to love with his heart – for in this Jesus is revealed the heart of God and the meaning of covenant-keeping with our God. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit of God, the intimate breath of God in the soul of wayward humanity, whose strong and compassionate voice calls all people home, making all things known to the ones who pause to listen.

W          This is the Holy Spirit, the Ruah of God, whose breath formed the earth and all there is within and this is the Holy Spirit who blew into a closed room and began the re-formation of creation beginning with those whom Jesus had chosen.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of Abraham’s visitors declaring new life in the impossibility of barrenness and this is the Holy Spirit of Peter’s preaching of new life in the midst of trembling Jerusalem and an unbelieving community.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of Ruth’s faith and Esther’s strength and this is the Holy Spirit of Mary’s pondering and Pricilla’s service.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of Sarah’s amazement, Elizabeth’s surprise and Mary’s humility, and this is the Holy Spirit of pregnant new beginnings and life for every age and Lordship born in humble settings.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of Samuel’s calling, whose voice opened his eyes and moved him to speak in shaping the faith community, and this is the Holy Spirit of Paul’s calling, whose voice opened his eyes anew and moved him to speak in the birthing of the church.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of God leading the Israelites out of slavery of every kind and this is the Holy Spirit of God welcoming all people to freedom of faith from oppressions of every kind.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of God giving voice to words, hard to hear, on the lips of prophets whose messages couldn’t be ignored and this is the Holy Spirit of God revealing the Living Word, whose life was hard to hear, and whose message couldn’t be silenced, even when nailed to a tree.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of exilic lamentations and dispersion tears, whose Presence causes Psalms to be written and lips of praise to regain their songs and this is the Holy Spirit of blind men’s recognition and poverty’s wailing, whose Joy in the Morning reveals unexpected visions of the Kingdom and abundant life for all who follow.

W          This is the Holy Spirit of God who brings to mind all that God has done, is doing, and has yet to reveal, and this is the Holy Spirit of God who invites all to stand on holy ground as God’s ongoing history permeates the very air which is breathed by the life of all humanity. 

I believe in the Church of Jesus Christ, birthed in the Holy Spirit of God, whose birth-waters still wash over the lives of those who come to God in faith and repentance, whose life is a witness to the presence of Christ in the world.

W          This is the Church into which God breathed the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost while Jesus’ disciples tried in vain to save their lives by hiding away, and this is the Church into which God still breathes God’s own Holy Spirit bringing life to those whom the world still vainly tries to push away.

W          This is the Church that speaks in every tongue that Good News might be heard by all who listen, and this is the Church where every voice has a Holy Ear who hears their every word.

W          This is the Church of God’s own people, all people from everywhere, the Church of the poor and the hungry, the Church of the fallen and the grieving, the Church of the thirsty and the naked, the Church of the imprisoned and the sick.

W          This is the Church of God’s own people who practice daily what Jesus preaches eternally, and this is the Church who speaks of the coming Kingdom with the personal conviction of ones already experiencing it intimately.

W          This is the Church living out the ‘already’ of the Kingdom in the living presence of the Christ in whose name it dares to serve, and this is the Church in constant prayer for the ‘not yet’ of the Kingdom where light has not pierced the darkness and law has not given way to grace.

W          This is the Church whose doors are open for a murderer to become ‘an Apostle untimely born’ just as this is the Church whose heart is open to receive all those who, even today, are considered ‘sinfully born.’

W          This is the Church of unusual Table manners, welcoming everyone to come in from the streets and take a seat at the wedding feast, to be fed by Christ with the manna and quails of mercy and grace, and to drink of his resurrection Joy from the cup of his blood poured out, like the stone broken in the Wilderness of Sin.

W          This is the Church of Jesus Christ who ‘suffers the little ones to come unto him’, and this is the Church of Jesus Christ who suffers for the ones who keep them away.

W          This is the Church which is built, not upon powers and principalities – and not with brick and mortar, but with those who are the poor in spirit, the ones who mourn, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and those reviled and persecuted on Jesus’ account: this is the Church which rejoices and is glad to be the Body of Christ, for in the same way the world persecuted the prophets who came before it.

W          This is the Church which is a peculiar family, a faith family, whose brothers and sisters are of all types and shapes and sizes, whose inheritance in naming comes to them as a gift in baptism and whose unity in faith is forged in the blood and sacrifice of an Innocent Lamb.

W          This is the Church, with Jesus Christ as its’ sole Head and Authority, whose place is not in judgment of others, but in service to all people with a bowl of water for their feet and towel of tenderness in their hands. 

W          This is the Church, not needed by God to bring salvation to the world, but afforded the opportunity to live as servants of Christ doing the Will of God in reconciling all people unto God, therein discovering what it means to live in the Kingdom yet to come.

W          This is the Church which is not of its’ own making, but is the servant of the One by whom all things are made whole. 

I believe that the Bible is the Holy Word of God, a glimpse into God’s thinking, a window into God’s faith, the voice of God’s hope, and the siren of God’s love.

W          The Bible is God’s story, still being written in the hearts and souls of humanity, whose authority is in the Spirit that breathes it and in the hearts of those who listen to it.

W          The Bible is the ongoing history of God’s call to all of humanity, to all of creation, to meet God, like Moses, barefooted and humble on the sacred ground of everyday living.

W          The Bible is an instrument of grace, like the harp in David’s hand, whose voice rings out with Joy when played in the worship and service of God.

W          The Bible, with all of the frailties and foibles of human imagination listed for the world to read, is not about the frailties and foibles, but of the Vision which sees beyond weakness to the goodness that lies within.

W          The Bible is the telling of God’s covenant, God’s covenant with humankind and our attempt to live responsively to what God is already doing.

W          The Bible and its’ interpretations, like the God of whom it speaks, will not be owned by any human authority, but will continue to break the chains of slavery and lead to freedom all the generations of those who worship the One whose children are as numerous as the sands on the shore and the stars in the sky – for the Bible is a gift of God for all or it is not of God at all. 

I believe God creates humanity for relationship, with God and with each other, and that the God who creates humanity so wonderfully diverse does not make mistakes.

W          Humanity best reflects the nature of God when the rainbow of promise is seen in the nature of all people, when the chaos of world events are divided by the staff of faith in the hand of Christ, and when judgment is left to the One who has power for eternal life.

W          Humanity best reflects the nature of Christ when the hungry are fed, the thirsty are given drink, the stranger is welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick are cared for, and the imprisoned are visited.

W          Humanity best lives in the power of the Holy Spirit when pulpits for preaching Good News are in the midst of God’s people who are the marginalized and forgotten: there are no third world people in God’s creation.

W          Humanity best lives in God’s vision for the world when the resources of the earth are stewarded and shared as a matter of faith - and the integrity of creation is considered as a gift to be passed on to generations yet to come.

W          Humanity best lives in response to the covenant God makes with Abraham, the covenant God defines in Jesus, and the covenant God embodies in the Holy Spirit, when humanity values each other as God values all, when humanity respects the integrity of differences between each other as an unfolding of God’s presence in each other, and when humanity values the least among us with the same passion as is given the greatest among us.

W          Humanity best embodies the sacraments when the waters of baptism are understood to be the waters of grace given by God and available to all once and for all, and when the Table of Christ’s sacrifice and victory is seen as just that, Christ’s sacrifice and victory, a place of welcome for all those whom Christ calls as he says, ‘Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

W          Humanity is not created to be divine, but humanity is divinely created to fully human, is gifted to be fully faithful, and is blessed to be fully God’s. 

This is my confession of faith in this moment of time. May God bless all of us with a deeper rooting in faith each day – and with a heart unafraid of challenging, and being challenged, in what has yet to be discovered in the time God allots for us on this earth and in our common calling as God’s people.