Though I'd attended my grandparents' 50th anniversary party as a child, I was too young to be aware of what was happening. The first big anniversary I remember celebrating was the US Bicentennial in 1976. I remember celebrating the 200th anniversary of the
Methodist church in America in 1984. The 500th anniversary of the Rev. Richard start of the Reformation in 201 7 seemed muted to me, but I still put out my own 95 Theses.
 
This year's celebration of the 1 700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is upon us. In 325 leaders from across the Christian world met to discuss just what it was we believed about Jesus' identity vis-å-vis God the Father. Rejecting what came to be known as the Arian position - that Jesus is some sort of secondary god ("there was a time when he was not") - the church confessed:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.

The identity of Jesus has been important to Christians since the very beginning. Jesus himself asked his disciples, "Who do you say I am?" eliciting Peter's reply, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." Others had other thoughts, some accusatory as in the Sanhedrin, "false prophet," "Blasphemer;" some ironic, like Pilate's "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

Who Jesus is, is foundational to our take on what Jesus does. His taking our sin upon himself, dying for us on the cross, rising from the dead, and ascension to rule at the right hand of the Father, is effective for us because he is the eternally begotten Son of the God become human.

Since the Council of Nicaea met in 325, the church has had to deal with other important issues (including the Council of Constantinople in 381 that tweaked the creed of 325), but we never get past the basic confession of Jesus' identity. This same Jesus invites us to become willing participants in what he's doing, fully allegiant citizens of his kingdom.

Because of the anniversary, we'll be using the Nicene Creed more often. We'll also start using a version of the Apostles' Creed that uses contemporary English. This is partly because we are speakers of contemporary English and partly to bring us in line with official GMC doctrinal practice.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Rev. Richard Heyduck