Dcn Tom Lindell

My Sisters and Brothers…

Today, the church commemorates early church father Athanasius (296-373 CE), who is remembered for his orthodoxy in standing up to Arius who denied the full divinity of the Second person of the Trinity. He played a seminal role at the Council of Nicaea for his articulation of a phrase in the Nicene Creed expressing the full Godhead of the Son, “…of one Being with the Father” (homoousios).

We have just been through the liturgical seasons that chronicled Jesus’ birth (Christmas) and his death/resurrection (Easter). These two events are prominently framed in the Nicene Creed as if these two celebrations are the sole substance of what Christianity is all about.

When the Easter season is over, we will enter the longest season of our liturgical year Pentecost, where we experience the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. We are confronted with whether we identify with the mythical depictions in the Creed or are we invited into emulating Jesus’ ministry of justice, compassion, and equality as our paradigm of Christian charity.

For me, there is no choice. While I have respect for the tradition of reciting the creed, it is not what sustains me as a Christian. The Nicene Creed is an articulation of the Christian myth circa 325 CE, yet we are invited to recite this historical document weekly. As Christianity has evolved, we have moved beyond simple repetition of ancient documents as fact. Jesus’ life and ministry is the paradigm of what Christianity is all about for my own life and ministry.

If the church is to survive into the future, our challenge is to adapt to our changing environment without being eternally trapped in the certainty of a mythological past. Life is not a script to be played out under the direction of a supernatural God, rather it is a journey into uncharted territory with the only assurance that we are unequivocally loved by God as our “guiding star”. Are we able to face the ambiguity of this simple paradigm as a faith statement? If we internalize this, then we must share our gifts and talents with others we meet on our path.

AMEN (So be it!)
Dcn. Tom Lindell