What Are You Looking For? Part 1: The Nicene Creed

I Believe

Before we begin today's blog, I need to apologize to anyone who was looking for this yesterday.  I'm on vacation this week and apparently my brain decided to go on vacation as well.  So I forgot Wednesday was, well, Wednesday!  So sorry!

I Believe

            We’ve come again to another statement of belief.  So far we have looked at the necessity of belief in general and of knowing what we believe.  We have also looked at where we can go to find out what we should believe.  We have discovered that within the Catholic Church there exists the Deposit of Faith, which consists of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.  But belief requires more than just this.  To truly believe, demands more than just an acknowledgement that God exists.  As St. James wrote, “You believe that God is one.  You do well.  Even the demons believe that and tremble.” (James 2:19)  To truly believe requires one thing that, I, at least, really don’t like.  It requires obedience.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it “the obedience of faith.”

            “To obey (from the Latin ob-audire, to ‘hear or listen to’) in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself.” (CCC 144)  It’s important to note here that we are asked to “submit freely”.  God isn’t going to force us to be obedient.  He will ask.  He will request.  He will always respect our right to say “no”. 

            Throughout the Bible, we are given many examples of this obedience of faith.  Abraham was asked to leave the land of his fathers and travel to a new land.  He was asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on the altar to God, pre-figuring the sacrifice of God’s only Son on the altar of Calvary.  His obedience of faith is praised by St. Paul in Chapter 11 of his letter to the Hebrews.

            Another example of the obedience of faith is the Blessed Virgin Mary.  When the angel Gabriel came to her, she didn’t doubt what was told her.  She asked for a few details, but she didn’t doubt and she didn’t say “no, thank you”.  She believed and she walked in that obedience of faith always.

            Today we are all asked by God to do things.  He will lay something on our heart and we are given a choice.  Will we believe?  Will we trust him?  Will we walk where he’s asking us to walk?  Will we have the obedience of faith?  Do we believe Him enough to trust that even if the way is dark and lonely he is with us?  Do we keep believing and being obedient even when we don’t feel his presence or hear his voice?

            Obedience is tough.  Like I said, I don’t like the word.  I don’t like the concept.  I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it.  But…I know that gets me into trouble.  See, I don’t always really know what it is I’m supposed to do.  I need someone to tell me.  I can’t see the end from the beginning, the way God does.  I would take path “A”, because it seems like the logical path God wants me on, while all the while he’s challenging me to take path “B” instead.  If I am obedient and take path “B”, I will go places I never dreamed I’d go.  I will do things I never dreamed I’d do.  That’s why, as Catholics, we study the Saints.  They were all path “B” people.  They were believed God and were obedient even when it didn’t make sense.  Because of this, God used them mightily to impact both their world at the time, and our world still today.

            When we are challenged to say “I believe” and to live it through obedience, God doesn’t promise us an easy road.  In fact, he promises us just the opposite.  He promises us the cross.  He promises us we will suffer.  Just as he did.  But he also promises us that he will walk with us.  He will help us carry our cross, just as Simon of Cyrene helped him carry his.  And at the end of it all, we will be able to say with St. Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4: 7-8 NIV)