What Else Can One Say?

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made:
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man;
And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
And rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures;
And ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;
And shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets;
In One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I Confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the Resurrection of the dead,
And the life of the age to come, Amen.

-The Nicene Creed

Even though we sing this every Sunday during Divine Liturgy...sometimes it is good to simply write it down...look at it...read it to myself...and ask myself, "Well, do you?"

Words are funny that way. The very same words can be strung together in an expression of faith or they can be woven around us like a cocoon. The former energizes our repentance while the latter insulates us from the need to repent. What I'm talking about is the difference between the "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." of the Publican with the "Lord, I thank Thee that I am not like other men..." of the Pharisee. Both were in Church...and both were praying. But thank God, words are living things somehow and one never quite has control of them. They tend to act up, break through our defenses, and penetrate us at the oddest times. I'm sure we'd be sunk if God hadn't designed them/us that way. No, that's not exactly right. Words have no real independent life...they must be enfleshed. The phrase, "Say what you mean or mean what you say" is a clever way of saying, "If you behave in a way that is inconsistent with your words, then your words are meaningless." Of course, St. James says it best in his Epistle:

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

James 2:20-24

I used to hate this book of the Bible - especially this passage. It is still quite difficult to hear, but at least I no longer hate it. I accept it as fact that my behavior is the best indicator as to what I actually believe at any given moment. Is it any wonder that the most common phrase in an Orthodox Church Service is, "Lord, have mercy"? What else can one say?