Credo

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth
And His Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
He was crucified, died, and was buried.
On the third day, He rose from the dead
And sits at the right hand of the Father,
From which He shall come to judge 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.

(from memory, forgive any misplaced words)

Was reading about this creed, last night, while thumbing through a short book I purchased a long time ago on the catechism. Something struck me this time. I mean, really made me pause and think, as if seeing those well-worn words for the very first time. I still don’t know why, but I’ve been thinking a bit about them last night (this was about ten minutes before Lights Out), and this morning, during various toddler wrangling and the Rushings to the Places of Work.

Thought experiment: what if … what if you really, truly, really believed this creed? Yeah, I know you do, me too. What I mean is, what if you lived like you really truly believed it? Reordered and reorganized your life to show belief. All your acts showed to the folks on the outside, the disbelievers and the lip-servicers? Actions louder than words type of stuff. What if? What would life be like?

Would the tenth line scare you, or comfort you? How ’bout the last two lines? How about the whole philosophy, living and practical to abstract and theological, that proceeds from it, logically, rationally, unstoppably – how would you live within that framework, that lattice of infinite interrelationships? Would you be terrified, or consoled?

Hmmm. To take the plunge. I inch up to the water’s edge, dip a toe in, gauge the temperature and scan the water line for dangers, hesitating, and then –