Context

     Recently I had to complete paperwork initiated by my Medical Insurer to determine the state of my health and the degree to which I may or may not be impacted by my condition. When I examined the questions on these insurance forms it was immediately clear that they were written under the assumption that my condition would be orthopedic in nature. But, I have Parkinson’s disease, a neurological and systemic disease. These questions were not addressed to me, yet I had to find ways to answer nonetheless.

     I feel that in some ways, opening up Luther’s Small Catechism or any catechism from that era, or dare I say it, opening up the Bible is just as frustrating. All are documents written at completely different times, places, and contexts, and in completely different languages than our 21^st century context. 

     Thus far in this Lenten devotional we’ve gathered a few digging tools and then we’ve quickly dug down through centuries of topsoil and arrived at the Roots of Faith as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed. This creed which has its origin in the 2^nd century always shows up in Catechisms of the Church. The Apostles’ Creed was written to address contextual concerns of the early church. Catechisms were written to address the contextual concerns of the church in their own time.  For one example, Martin Luther’s chief concern was “What must I do to be saved (attain heaven)?”  In writing his catechism, he approached the Apostles’ Creed and sought to understand God by looking for answers to his specific concern. It’s my hypothesis that the assumptions made by those catechisms and the questions they raise are frankly not our assumptions and questions. 

     For the most part I think our 21^st century questions are oriented toward whether or not God exists and if so, whether God can be trusted to be with us and sustain us in the midst of whatever crisis we are facing. Additionally, I think many people are concerned about whether or not we will have a future of peace, where people can heal, grow, and make a difference in the world. And finally, I think many people in this age are hungry for belonging and to be beloved.

     As we continue over the next few days and weeks, we’ll seek to approach the Creed and to understand God from the perspective of our context, assumptions, expectations and questions. We may get a little frustrated along the way, but I trust that we will nonetheless find The Way to address our contemporary concerns. 

     Just a reminder, along the way, let me hear from you if you have specific questions you wish for us to address.  You can email me at emurray247@gmail.com