Comma

Over the years Pauline and I have included yoga in our fitness routine, usually by watching a yoga instructor as she or he guides us through the various yoga poses. What we’ve noticed is almost every yoga instructor refers to “the practice of yoga”. Some instructors even end the session by saying, “Thank you for showing up for your practice.” There’s nothing mentioned about being a beginner or expert or perfecting poses or having arrived — only “practicing”.

Somewhere along the way Christianity has forgotten that it is a faith that is practiced.  It is a way of life, a way of acting on or doing faith more than it is about believing certain intellectual ideas about the faith.

Looking at the second article of the Apostles’ Creed one can’t help but notice the absence of any reference to Jesus’ way of life or “practice”. For the authors of the Creed, a comma was all they needed to fill the gap where Jesus’ practice should have been conveyed.

Richard Rohr, the Franciscan Priest and Author calls this the “Great Comma,” saying:

the gap certainly invites some serious questions. Did all the things Jesus said and did in those years not count for much?…Was it only his birth and death that mattered? Does the gap in some way explain Christianity’s often dismal record of imitating Jesus’ life and teaching?

Rohr continues by noting:

The Apostles’ Creed does not once mention love, service, hope, the “least of the brothers and sisters,” or even forgiveness—anything that is remotely actionable. [This creed] The earliest formal declaration of Christian belief is a vision and philosophy statement with no mission statement, as it were…With its emphasis on theory and theology, but no emphasis on praxis (i.e., practice), the creed set Christianity on a course we are still following today. [1]

Now, I know, usually that kind of talk makes Lutherans more than a little nervous. After all, we Lutherans are so thoroughly schooled in the idea that we are justified by grace alone, that anything which sounds remotely like we are trying to justify ourselves by our actions or works just doesn’t sit well with us. And rightly so. There is no action we can take to make God love us more and there is no action we can take to make God love us less. God, not us, not our works, not our faith, God is the one who justifies each and every person. That justification comes about through God’s love for each and every person. It comes about because God has declared that ALL are beloved children of God.

When we show up for our practice we develop the spiritual flexibility and strength to continue to follow Jesus on the way.  And it is in following Jesus’ way and imitating him that we experience transformation and the abundant life all wrapped into one. No gap. No comma. Just life abundant.

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[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe (Convergent Books: 2019), 103-104.