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The Apostles' Creed |
| Article I |
Article II |
Article III |
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
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I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord,
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
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I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
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What does this mean?
[Robert E. Smith translation, 1994]
I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own intelligence or power. But the Holy Spirit called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with her gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as she calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true faith. In this Church, she generously forgives each day every sin committed by me and by every believer. On the last day, she will raise me and all the dead from the grave. She will give eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true!
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, who and whatever you are and enlighten us with the manifold gifts of grace granted to your faithful people, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary by Pastor David G. Mullen
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Remember the image Jesus gave in the liturgy just a couple of weeks back? Jesus as the mother hen, longing to gather her chicks. This is what God is like. Loving, gathering, compassionate and anxious over our well being.
So why this fuss about gender in today’s ponderings? Be careful of being glib and trite about God. Mindlessness regarding holy things is never cool. The main thing is that we know the living God and experience the gift of being drawn in, in faith, drawn together, in the church. And that God is beyond our definitions, but come near to us via experience: the Spirit, clucking, “brooding” like a hen over the creation. Amen, come Holy Spirit! Let us be gathered!