May I speak in the name of the living God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
What does it mean for the Church to have a mission? In Bishop Robert's Epiphany letter, he has asked us to reflect on the importance of connecting belief and practice. This is a question about mission, that is, what the Church does in the world today. And he has connected this with the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which took place in AD 325 in Nicaea (İznik in modern day Turkey). This council is best known for the 'Creed' that the bishops produced there, 'the Nicene Creed'. This is the creed that we use almost every week to profess our faith. I find it amazing that we still use a document that was produced 1,700 years ago! But is it still relevant today in relation to today's theme of mission? We are not going to dissect the Nicene Creed line by line. Rather we will try to practice what Bishop Robert has asked us to do, which is to connect what we profess to believe with what we practice. And Missions Sunday gives us that opportunity.
Before we get started, I mention a few practical points. First, if you are interested in studying the Nicene Creed, you may want to consider joining the 'Celebrating Nicaea Lent Course' of our Diocese. Second, there are some helpful resources available, like this booklet 'The Nicene Creed and the Bible: A Workbook for Disciples' (by Grove Books). Third, during my sermon, I will be referring to the text of the Nicene Creed, which is conveniently available in the service booklet on page ___.3 I will also refer to today's Bible readings to illustrate the meaning of mission, because they are fundamental texts for this theme. Finally, to focus on practice, I will give a practical example of each of the three points related to mission and our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Some context about the Nicene Creed
The bishops in Nicaea produced a creed that responded to challenges to the Church from the outside but also from the inside. Almost three hundred years had passed since Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension, and there were attacks on the Church from non-Christians but also divisions within the Church due to differences in understanding God's character and his purposes for the world. So, when we look at the structure of the Creed, we notice that it follows three main parts: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Creed helps us to think of some of the main characteristics of our God. It is not an exhaustive list of all of God's qualities. The word 'trinity' is not mentioned in the Creed, but that is what the essence of the creed is. It is fully trinitarian, because God has manifested himself in this way: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We also notice that the main emphasis is on who the Son is, because the main concern of the Council of Nicaea was to clarify Jesus's nature, who he is and what he does. So, there are a few lines about the Father, much more on the Son, and then a few lines on the Holy Spirit.
Let's go to the text. The first lines get right to the point: 'We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen'. One of the things that we can draw from this statement about mission is that all of creation is the fruit of our God's hands. He has placed us here and asked us to take care of it as good stewards of God's good creation. The Church should be an example of how we treat this magnificent creation that God has entrusted to humanity. We are called to remind the Church and the world that this is God's world, and we play a crucial role in it.
A practical example of this is a charity that St Ursula's supports 'A Rocha', which is 'a global family of conservation organizations working together to live out God's calling to care for creation and equip others to do likewise'. It is good to have specialists in this area of the Church's mission, and we are happy to give them our support and participate in their initiatives. I'd also like to draw attention to the fact that some people who do not share our faith do share our value in taking care of our beautiful planet. So, this part of the Church's mission encourages us to collaborate with others, Christians and non-Christians, in projects that uphold God's creation.
We now come to the part of the Creed that speaks of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Much could be said here but let's think about a few of the lines. First, the line 'through him all things were made' links with the first point of the Creed, because the Father and the Son worked together to create everything. It also shows how important creation is to God, as we can see from the lines that talk about the reason why Jesus came into his creation.
We read, 'For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven' and 'For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate'. Notice the emphasis: 'for us and for our salvation'! The good news is that there is a God who created the world, cares for it, and offers a solution to the brokenness of our world. This is done by sending our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. In Bishop Robert's letter, he reminds us how the bishops in Nicaea arrived at these key points:
Over the course of the first four centuries of the Church's life, "orthodox" teachers of the faith were clear that since God created human life, only God could save human life, and that only by assuming human flesh himself could God save humanity. There was seen to be an intimate connection between the person and nature of Christ and the reality of human salvation.
This act of salvation comes through God's love. He wishes to restore fellowship with his creatures so that the whole of creation can be restored. A practical example of this part of the Creed is that when we come to the table to receive communion, we recognise our need to be restored, and we receive Christ's death for us. But it doesn't stop there. God's love for us encourages us (even urges us!(2 Cor 5:14)) to share his love for others. In other words, the phrase 'for us and for our salvation' doesn't mean 'only for us'. Christ's loving gift of himself is to be offered to all and it is their choice to receive his gift. In this sense, we see that part of the Church's mission is to proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world in every generation, from now until Jesus returns. We read this earlier in Paul's letter to the Romans, which reminds us that Christ came for his own people and for the whole world '...that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy' (v. 9). The Church is not meant to be a closed club for certain privileged people. This is why the apostle Paul applies the words of Isaiah (in our Old Testament reading) to the Church's mission in the world: 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth' (Acts 13:47; cf. 26:23).
In the 'Five Marks of Mission', which is a summary of the Church's mission, the very first mark is 'To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom'. It is a very practical step and one that you and I have benefitted from when we first heard about God's love for us. Whether we were children or adults, someone told us about this message. And this message doesn't have an expiration date or physical borders.
This point is made clear through the notion of 'kingdom' in the lines of the Creed: 'He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.' The kingdom of God (or the reign of God) is one without borders and beyond time, and it was at the heart of Jesus's message to people living under the oppression of the Roman Empire. God is always the ultimate ruler, not human rulers. And this same message applies to all generations. There is no moment when God ceases to rule over the world. His kingdom is made manifest through people who allow him to work in them and through them to bring God's presence into the world. The Creed reminds us that the kingdom of God will be complete when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. That is a matter for God. Our mission in relation to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is to proclaim his offer of reconciliation to all and to allow God's reign to work in us and through us.
We now turn to the short part of the Creed about the Holy Spirit: 'We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.' We don't have much material to work with here, especially about the Church's mission. But let's note the names given to the Holy Spirit: 'the Lord' and 'the giver of life'. Here, we understand that the Holy Spirit is not in second class. He is also called 'Lord', because he helps to look after creation and the Church, and he continues to give life. The Holy Spirit is united with the Father and the Son, and he is worshipped and glorified with them as God.
The Scriptures give us some practical examples of how the Holy Spirit inspires people to accomplish their mission. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah. The first line says, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me' (v. 18). The Holy Spirit was at work in Jesus's life to fulfil his mission as saviour. The Creed says that the Holy Spirit is 'the giver of life', and the following lines in the Gospel reading tells us what this means: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.' The Spirit makes things happen for the good of humanity. The Holy Spirit was working through Jesus in this way, and he is working in similar ways through the Church today. The people of the Church don't just keep 'this life-giving Spirit' for themselves but share it.
The creed also says that the Holy Spirit 'spoke through the prophets'. The Scriptures show many examples of how the prophets encouraged people to follow God and come back to the covenant with him. The gospels also show how the Holy Spirit continued to speak through Jesus and his followers. We also believe that he can help us to think clearly about important issues and to speak to people about our faith and how God can make a difference in their lives. God continues to speak to the Church and through the Church. But to hear God's voice through the Spirit, we need to listen carefully. This means listening together by reading the Scriptures and praying with one another. We are in absolute dependence on God's Spirit working in us. We must not think that we can make the Church's mission happen through our own ingenuity or clever marketing. It won't last. God's Spirit produces life and lasting fruit.
The Church's mission begins with God's nature. He has revealed himself to be one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of the divine nature, and the Nicene Creed attempts to provide a summary of this complex reality. God has also shown us his purposes and his actions in human history. He asks us to join him in touching the world with his love. In short, our mission flows out of God's mission.
For this reason, the Creed ends with some final notes of purpose and hope, despite the gloomy circumstances that might have surrounded the Council of Nicaea and might surround us. There are some important points that shed some light on the mission of the Church. First, God created a people in his service, 'We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.' We are a universal people ('catholic) and 'apostolic' in that we follow in the traditions of the apostles in faith and practice, and we ourselves are 'sent out' into the world. Second, 'We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.' What better way to show that God has provided reconciliation, than a tangible symbol of the washing away of our sins and our identification with Christ in his death and his resurrection. Finally, we are a people of hope: 'We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.' We are a people of hope who offer hope. We do this through our prayers, our actions, and our words. When we connect what we profess to believe to what we practice, we are not a passive people. We care for our Father's creation. We share our Saviour's reconciliation to all. We offer our Holy Spirit's life-making presence.
We are a people of hope who offer hope. This is our mission.
I end with a prayer for us, taken from the reading in Paul's letter to the Romans: 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit' (15:13). Amen.
On Sundays and Principal Holy Days an authorized translation of the Nicene Creed is used, or on occasion the Apostles' Creed or an authorized Affirmation of Faith may be used.
All We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
The Five Marks of Mission are an important statement on mission. They express the Anglican Communion's common commitment to, and understanding of, God's holistic and integral mission. The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ.
The first Mark of Mission, identified with personal evangelism at the Anglican Consultative Council in 1984 (ACC-6) is a summary of what all mission is about, because it is based on Jesus' own summary of his mission. This should be the key statement about everything we do in mission.
The Five Marks of Mission:
The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ
Some questions that you could explore:
On the sermon
On the Bible readings
..."he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."