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Sunday, October 07, 2007
Creed
The Gospel According to Mark
(A creed created from a reading of Mark's gospel)

By Jemila Kwon

We are the family of Jesus, God’s beloved, God’s anointed one.
Woven together in doing God’s will, we enact God’s kingdom here and now, serving and loving God and neighbor,
Spreading the good news
Including the outcasts,
Lifting up the least,
Healing the sick,
Making the unclean clean
Honoring the destitute
Bringing the dead to life
Freeing the oppressed and the demonized
Forgiving sinners
Exposing the power-hungry
And Empowering the powerless through parables, miracles and a new way of life. We are fishers of human beings and servants of all, for the last shall be first and the least shall be greatest.

God prepared the way through John the baptizer
For Jesus to bring us the Holy Spirit

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness,
Who calmed the storm
Who cast out demons
Raised the dead to life,
Healed the sick,
Was misunderstood by family
Mocked by acquaintances
Rejected by his own faith community
Betrayed by his friend Judas
Given capital punishment to appease the crowd
Crucified alone on the cross
Shed the Passover blood,
Died and Raised to life,

Our Lord Jesus Christ says:

Do not be afraid
Where is your faith?
Give Love Live
Receive!
All things are possible with God, only
Believe!

Abandon all but Love of God and Neighbor
Spread the good news that God is acting again!
God is here
God is now
The time is now to spread the good news

Before God’s kingdom is consummated in full
Before our generation passes away
Let the good news go out that God is acting again and his will is to forgive, heal, free the oppressed, make all things clean, serve the least, raise the dead to life and call all who have ears to a new way of life.

What is the new way of life?

The way of loving God and having faith
The way of loving neighbor and loving stranger
The way of standing for life, even to death
The way of believing God, and following God’s beloved son, God’s anointed one

We follow God’s beloved son, God's anointed one
We walk in the steps of Jesus Christ
We act in his name
We are the family of God, woven together in doing God’s will

We believe God is acting again!

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posted by Jemila Kwon at 9:19 PM ¤ Permalink ¤


10 Comments:


  • At 10/08/2007 08:14:00 AM, Blogger totall

    did you already know this blog?

    http://michellespells.blogspot.com/

     

  • At 10/08/2007 04:35:00 PM, Blogger Sally

    Thank you, I love this...

     

  • At 10/08/2007 07:03:00 PM, Blogger Mike Clawson

    Fantastic Jemila! Thanks for sharing this.

     

  • At 10/08/2007 07:36:00 PM, Blogger Dr. Laura Marie Grimes

    Wow, Jemila, this is gorgeous. Thank you so much.

     

  • At 10/08/2007 09:52:00 PM, Blogger Betsy Whaley

    I've been thinking a lot about creeds lately since I read Elaine Pagel's book "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas." (I have written some reflections on this book at: http://nexusjesus.blogspot.com)
    I learned from reading Pagel's book that the Nicene Creed, which established the foundation of orthodox belief in the early church came out of a power struggle which basically squashed any diversity of thought or disagreement about Jesus' equality with God. I have tended to be uncomfortable with creeds because they have seemed like a test...if you can agree to all of this you are one of us, if you can't then you are an outsider. As I read this beautiful piece, however, I was completely taken in by it's beauty, humility, compassion and truth. You have a real gift of expression. Thank you for sharing this.

     

  • At 10/08/2007 10:06:00 PM, Blogger Jemila Kwon

    Wow, thank you all for the encouragement. I wrote this piece as an assignment for class and our instructions were specifically to listen to the text and let the themes and substance of Mark's gospel guide our writing, rather than applying our presuppositions and agendas to a text. It was my first active engagement with scripture in a long time, on account of feeling alienated with the approach of trying to cram prefabbed theology into a text like Jeans that fit...someone else. It has been lifegiving for me to discover a way of listening to the text and learning from it and growing with God's spirit without forcing the bible to say one thing or another, but simply to listen as it speaks and then creatively engage.

     

  • At 10/09/2007 09:31:00 AM, Blogger W

    well, it was very creative, and very engaging. I'm linking it on my blog. thanks!!!

     

  • At 10/09/2007 12:34:00 PM, Blogger Bonny

    this is beautiful. thank you.

     

  • At 10/11/2007 10:43:00 AM, Blogger Michelle Van Loon

    This is more than a creed or a statement - it's a beautiful anthem. It made me want to pump my fist in the air.

    Amen and amen. God is acting again...God is moving among us still.

     

  • At 10/15/2007 07:54:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous

    This "creed" reminds me of the Phoenix Affirmations, which is quickly becoming a theological backbone of the progressive Christian movement. They are called "affirmations," not "creed," because they aren't intended to define who is, and is not, a Christian. The Phoenix Affirmations also have a version number on them (presently 3.8) to suggest that God is still speaking to this world and that the Phoenix Affirmations aren't meant to stay the same forever. Like your "creed," the emphasis is on Jesus' two great commandments, only the Phoenix Affirmations include love of God, neighbor and *self*, as Jesus called us to love our neighbor *as ourselves.*

    You can find the Phoenix Affirmations at wwww.crosswalkamerica.org. This organization walked the Phoenix Affirmation across America last summer and there's now an amazing book and film out about their adventure!

     
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