Athanasian Creed -- I Think They Make An Ointment For That

I was sitting here on a dreary March day having just put Bud and Li'l G down for naps/quiet time, and I decided to take a swing at some of the papers I've got to write for my Lay Ministry course. I pulled out my book for the Lutheran Identity course, entitled, "On Being Lutheran." (It's on my bookshelf to the right...) I had to respond to the questions for the chapter of my choice from the assigned reading, so I chose the chapter that I knew the least about, which was about the Athanasian Creed.

"The Atha-who?" you ask??? Precisely my thoughts. Apparently, the Lutheran Church confesses the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Check them out here if you aren't sure what I'm talking about. I have grown up in a family that has expressed their spirituality within the Lutheran denomination since the day I hit the skids. I had to memorize the Apostle's Creed for confirmation (although I had it down well before then), and after having dated a "good Catholic boy" for two years in high school, also was very familiar with the Nicene Creed, which is so beautifully worded. However, in all my 31 years (yipes! Did I just admit to being 31?!?), I have never even heard of this other one.

"GGG, why do we care about this?? Can't we just hear more about the birdie drama or something fun like that?!?" No! I promise I'm trying to get to a point here...

If you read through the Athanasian Creed, pop yourself some popcorn first and get a good, frosty Coke. It's long. (Which is very un-Lutheran, but then again, it was written well before Luther's time.) At any rate, here is the point that really struck me today (speaking on the true identity of Christ):

"...equal to the Father in divinity, subordinate to the Father in humanity..."

*Insert picture here of GGG's hair being blown straight back off her head... Am I the only person to whom this is a real revelation?!? OMG! Finally, someone has put something into words that I can understand with which I have wrestled for so many years.

Picture it: Texas, 1976-2008. A girl, born to a Christian, Lutheran family grows up, learning more about Jesus and God and growing her faith all her life, she struggles even as an adult to understand Jesus' relationship to the Father. What has perplexed me for years is the abstract concept of the Trinity, but especially the Father and the Son. When Jesus was here on earth, He prayed to the Father. The Father expressed being pleased with Him. He cried out to the Father on the cross. The Father turned His head during the fulfillment of the sacrifice of the the Perfect Lamb. How does this work if both are God??? That one phrase from the creed spelled it out for me so clearly: Yes, indeed, the Father and the Son share equal billing on the topic of divinity, but God the Son, through the state of His humanity, had to be subordinate to God the Father.

The word subordinate was very carefully chosen to create an accurate word picture for us to understand. If you click on that link to the FreeDictionary online, it gives several meanings for this word. One is that one person is under the control of another. Yet another is to make someone dependent or subservient. What I'm taking away here is the image of Jesus, praying in the garden that the cup would pass but still wanting God's will to prevail, put Himself in the position of giving God the Father control over Him. By being obedient, He was being subservient to God's will. And in our humanity, that is something that we must strive to do as well. Jesus modeled perfect submission so that we would humble ourselves to submit to God. And you little femi-nazis lurking in cyber-space who think, like our ol' friend Gloria Steinem, that submission means a woman in high heels and a dog collar chained to the stove or the washing machine to do every evil whim of that devil you call Husband, cool your jets a minute, please. Submission, when viewed in the light of the word "subservient," really means to surrender control. To trust. To get out of the way so God can do His thing. Not to be forced to eat rotten bananas for the rest of your life.

I really feel like I got to know a little more about Jesus today, even through that one little phrase. I sincerely hope you all don't think I'm telling you what to believe (hey, if you want that, just read the opening line to the creed! Ouch!!). I just had a personal revelation and I was giddy with anticipation to get to share it with everyone.