It has been a long time since I had time to think about the Apostles' Creed. We are quite familiar with the Lord's Prayer because we recite it at every Sunday worship service. But we do not recite the Apostles' Creed regularly because it is used for some special events such as Baptism. And the Nicene Creed, a longer version of the Apostles' Creed is recited at events such as the Ordination or Induction of ministers. As I reach the end of my journey as a candidate to become a minister, I have checked what I believed in through the Creed. I will share the Apostles' Creed here, hoping you to read and confess your faith again.
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen."
We live in the 21st century. Science and technology have developed beyond our imagination, and human intelligence wants to understand everything rationally. If we want to share this belief with others, they may mock us, saying “Do you still believe it?” However, this is what our faithful ancestors have kept for the last two thousand years. It was not that they confessed like this because they were more stupid and superstitious than we are. It is because this is what they really believed and what we believe now, which binds them and us and is our common denominator. The Apostles' Creed is like ‘red and yellow flags' to tell us where we need to swim. It is also like a compass to tell where we are and where is the beginning point. I hope you reiterate this prayer when your faith is challenged by the tide of the world. By the way, the word catholic here means 'universal ', not Roman catholic.
Now we are the ones who keep that belief.