When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offering; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
Exodus 32:1-8
Christ is Risen!
The First Ecumenical Council was held in Nicaea in the year 325 A.D. This was the first of seven Ecumenical Councils held between 325 A.D. and 787 A.D. This year is the 1,700 year anniversary of this historic Council, the only centennial celebration we will have of it in our lifetimes. The Sunday after Ascension, this year June 1, is the day we commemorate the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. One of the things that came out of this Council was the Nicene Creed (named after the location of the Council, in Nicaea, which is what today is Turkey), the statement of what we believe as Christians. In honor of this anniversary, the Prayer Team for the next several weeks will focus on the Nicene Creed, what it means, and why it is important for us as Orthodox Christians.
When we worship corporately in the Orthodox, especially in the Divine Liturgy, everything that is said and done is offered in the first person plural: Let us pray to the Lord, with the response of “Lord, have mercy” meaning on all of us. Let us lift up our hearts, let us bow our heads, Our Father, etc. Everything points to a celebration of worship in the context of community. There are two exceptions at the Divine Liturgy. These are the Creed and the prayers which precede Holy Communion. Both are offered in the first person, “I believe.” These prayers are personal to each believer.
The Nicene Creed is approximately 205 words in length and forms the statement of the basic beliefs of the Orthodox Christian. If someone were to ask you, “what do you believe,” the answer would be the words of the Creed. We do not believe in icons, or sacraments, or prayers or hymns. We don’t even believe in the Scriptures. We utilize all of these things to help us express, practice, learn about and share what it is we believe.
There will always be people who say that they don’t believe in God. An atheist does not believe in any gods. An agnostic doesn’t know if any gods exist or not. An agnostic does not have knowledge of gods. But there is no one who doesn’t believe in something. Everyone has a “creed” of some kind. The “creed” of a narcissist might be “I am the center of the universe,” while the “creed” of a criminal might be “I am above the law, the rules don’t apply to me.” Whether this “creed” is expressed or not, there is something internal to each of us that sets up what we believe which then leads the actions which follow. We all believe in something.
The Scripture that leads off this unit on the Creed comes from Exodus 32:1-8. The children of Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years. They probably believed that this was the life they would be consigned to. They had forgotten what freedom was like, because the last generation that had experienced it had long since passed on. Then God, through Moses, worked signs and plagues in Egypt, opening the path to freedom. When the call came for lambs to be sacrificed, and for their blood to be placed on the doorposts of the homes of the Israelites, the people obediently followed directions, believing that freedom was at hand. Having been released from Egypt the children of Israel found their path to freedom blocked at the Red Sea. It isn’t hard to imagine that the people’s belief that a better life was ahead was thwarted by this big obstacle. Then the power of God came down and parted the Red Sea. The people believed that the waters were being held back for them and they ventured across.
Three months after their exodus, they encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. It’s not hard to imagine that there must have been some confusion in the camp. Where are we going? How long is it going to take? How far do we have to walk? How long will we live like refugees? Even Moses must have had some questions and doubts. The people kept believing.
Moses went up the mountain, to receive direction from God. And stayed there for a while. Below, in the camp of the Israelites, there was doubt. Was Moses coming back? Were the people stuck now in the wilderness? Would they have been better off as slaves in Egypt, where at least there was some familiarity with how life would go? And worst of all, was God really real? They stopped believing.
The people demanded that Aaron do something, that he make some gods for them. Deep down, it is human nature to want to believe in something, and these people, now doubting the God of Moses, needed something else to believe in. Aaron, perhaps feeling pressure from the people, pressure from his own doubts, or a combination of these, acquiesced to the wishes of the people, and, taking their jewelry, melted it and fashioned a golden calf for them to worship.
And thus began a long period of fluctuation of the people between believing and not believing in God. This definitely contributed to the forty years it took the people to cross between Egypt and the Land of Canaan, which geographically wasn’t a very long distance. Eventually, it would be Joshua, and not Moses, who would lead the people into the Promised Land. This tension continued under his leadership. As Joshua was about to die, he gathered the people together, and in his farewell, he said “And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the god your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
The prayer today will be the Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried.
And He rose on the third day according to the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets.
In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church,
I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
And the life of the age to come. Amen.
We do according to what we believe. Everyone believes in something. The Creed is the statement of what we believe as Christians. It is supposed to set the tone for our actions as well.
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