Dear Saints,

Sharing our faith

About a week ago, I received an interesting question from a young university student. A straightforward question indeed until one tries to answer it without the regular theological jargon. She wanted to know why people take communion.

After struggling for a while, I sent her the following response:

The short answer is we take communion because our Lord Jesus Christ asked/commanded us to do so at the last supper he had with his disciples before he was crucified/executed and died. At that supper, a once-a-year event in Jesus' tradition (Jewish tradition), they celebrated their liberation from oppression as a people from their oppressors (the Exodus story).

I then promised that I would send a more detailed response. Some hours later, I continued in the following manner;

Because Jesus knew he would be executed, he prepared his disciples for a future without his physical presence. So, during their last dinner, he interrupted their conversations; he then took a piece of bread, broke it, and gave it to each of his disciples. He said the bread represents his body, broken for them, meaning he will be killed. So they should remember that he is killed because he brought into being a new way of life. They continued their supper, and at the end of the supper, he took a cup of wine and said the wine is a symbol of his blood, which is being spilt when he dies, and that should remind them that his blood seals a new covenant (sort of a contract) between the disciples and God. This reminds us that what we do as people and for each other should be sealed in a commitment to life and not death. Below are the actual words Jesus used according to Christian records (Bible):

"… in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave God thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: 'Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'" "In the same way, after supper, he took the cup and gave God thanks; he gave it to them, saying: 'Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'"

When we take communion, we, the Christian family, remember Jesus' offering of himself and proclaim his resurrection. We look forward to fulfilling God's intentions for human beings, which is for us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

The student's question triggered more questions in me, for example, "How do we share our faith with others, in a secular society, especially with young people, in plain ordinary day-to-day language? My question to you is, how would you answer the student's question? Please share your response with me, and maybe we can find a way to reflect on our respective responses.

The Nicene Creed

The title of our five-week Lenten course, which commences on Saturday 8th March at 10h00 in the Hut, is Celebrating Nicaea: seeing afresh the faith that holds us together.

This course aims to help us in three ways:

• To learn more about the Nicene Creed and the place of creeds in the church's life and liturgy.

• To understand the meaning of the Nicene Creed. The words of the Creed are not straightforward.

• To be inspired by the Nicene Creed. A deeper understanding of our faith is never for our sake only but so that we may serve God more faithfully in worship and mission.

The course consists of 5 Sessions, one each following Saturday morning at 10h00 in the Hut:

Session 1 - Why Creeds?

An introduction to the creeds generally in the church's life and a first look at the early version of the Creed under discussion emerged in 325. We'll call this the Creed of Nicaea, which we'll compare to the Nicene Creed.

Session 2 - Which God?

We'll look in detail at the first part of the Nicene Creed concerning 'one God' and how this description is significant for Jews and Christians. We'll then start to consider the views of two theologians present at the Council, Arius and Athanasius, with respect to the Person of Christ.

Session 3 - One Lord: Definitely Divine

We turn to the longest section of the Creed, beginning with 'one Lord, Jesus Christ', which looks at both his divinity and humanity. Because of the length and significance of this section, we'll look at it in two parts, taking up two sessions. In this session, we'll consider Christ's divinity.

Session 4 - One Lord: Wholly Human

We then consider Christ's humanity and the parts of the Creed that tell of his life and death. We'll draw together these two parts of the Creed - on Christ's divinity and humanity - and look for their deepest significance.

Session 5 - The Spirit & The Church

In the final session, we think about the last two parts of the Creed, the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, and the Church, and how the decisions made at the Council of Nicaea are fundamental to its worship and mission.

Looking forward to your responses to the student's question and seeing you at the Lenten Course.

Yours in Christ as always,

Revd Jacque

NOTE: Previous editions of "The Chaplain Writes" are available in the Church Magazines