I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic*church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

(the Apostles’ creed: *signifies worldwide or universal)

I [therefore], a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(Eph 4.1-6)

In the last week, I have worshipped in three very different contexts – a’reformed’ presbyterian church, an Anglican cathedral, and an Anglican church plant in a primary school. Three very different styles of building, of music, of clerical clothing; and in each one I was welcomed, spiritually nourished and refreshed, and glad to lift my voice with my neighbours in praise and in prayer. And then today I had a conversation with a dear friend who was expressing the sense of unease she feels in attending a church belonging to a denomination that appears to embrace and endorse a very wide spectrum of belief about God’s word, and as a result includes people who believe very different things from what she feels to be true. I get it; I am in that same denomination! But we were reflecting on the fact that Jesus never mentioned denominations! They are a human construct, and as such deeply flawed, reflecting humanity’s narrowness, judgemental tendencies, and fondness for defining itself by excluding others. There is no such thing as the perfect church…..

So what are we called to be as members of these flawed institutions? Paul makes it clear that our goal should remain the same – pursuing unity around the completed work of Christ who is our peace with God and with one another through his saving work and the forgiveness which he has achieved for us. We are to unite around the truth revealed in Scripture – that we worship one Lord, and belong to one body; we are animated by one Spirit, and share one faith.

The Apostles’ creed, which I have included in full above, is a tremendous aid to focussing our minds on that one faith – it sets out the core beliefs of the church down the centuries, and reminds us what really matters, and what must be held fast. There will inevitably be things which believers disagree about, but Paul is exhorting his readers to concentrate on the important things, and to sit lightly to the lesser ones. If a church – whether a local one, or an entire denomination – denies these core beliefs, that is a different matter, and must be challenged.

So as a believer in a local church in a messy denomination, where boundaries are unclear, I give thanks that this creed remains core to our identity, and I want to work as a member of my local church to help my fellow believers to grow in confidence in these core truths, and to share them with those who do not yet know Jesus in all his saving love and power. It is not fitting that we should spend all our energies judging and condemning those in other churches for not being like us! Our society is already sick of, and disillusioned by, the multiple divisions which have marred the church down the years, and it is dishonouring to Christ as Lord, and to the unifying energies of the Spirit to promote further division.

God, our Father Almighty, your children confess their judgemental and critical spirit with shame and contrition. We have dishonoured you, and broken the bond of peace which our Lord Jesus, your Son, won for us by his death.

Grant us the humility and gentleness to bear with one another in love; let us be so eager to love our brothers and sisters that we sit lightly to those things which we disagree on, and rejoice in the shared foundations of our faith. May we be slow to judge, and quick to forgive, remembering how you forgive us.

May we walk in a manner worthy of those for whom Jesus died, and rose again, and who will be raised in turn to share his glory – how surprised we will be to meet some people there whom we have dismissed – and how surprised they may be to see us!! In the name of Jesus, to whom we owe it all, Amen.