Daily Devotions
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Corinthians 14:26
As I learned to recite the creeds in church, I noticed that no matter how hard I tried to be ready, more than half the time I couldn’t pick up on the right cue and missed the first two words: I believe. I also realized, in my confirmand wisdom, that if I didn’t say, “I believe,” the rest of the creed became just a recitation of fact. Almost anyone could say it. The whole point, it seemed to me, was “I believe.” BELIEVE.
I am happy to be a member of a church where I no longer have to fret about the timing of my creedal confession. My pastor has a solution to the dilemma: Before we recite the creed he says, “Together…” and we all know when to start. It’s a beautiful introduction to the creed and recognizes its importance in the church throughout history. Together we are the church. Together, worldwide, we confess our faith in God our Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Together we worship our saving Lord. Together we go forth to share the Good News.
Together is a beautiful word for the church, because it is the sum and substance of our worship: unity. We may have different jobs, family life, backgrounds, tastes, cultures. But on this day, at this time, in this place we are together.
Together, this Lent, we turn our eyes to the cross and Christ’s sacrifice. Together we believe.
Prayer: As we gather together today, dearest Father, unite us as Your children. Amen
Response: Say the Nicene Creed every morning this week.
(Devotions from “Cross of Ashes” by Christine Weerts, a Lenten devotional provided by Lutheran Hour Ministries. Copyright 2005, Int’l LLL. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend.)