I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, a sermon preached on July 19, 2026

A couple weeks ago, the Marietta Daily Journal called to ask how I’d be celebrating the 4th of July. Since I had volunteered to help with our parking lot fundraiser, I told them that I’d be spending the 4th sweating in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church selling parking spaces. They didn’t put that part in the paper. What I said that they did publish is that “the Fourth of July means a lot to Presbyterians because more Presbyterians signed the Declaration of Independence than any other religious group. Only one member of the clergy signed: He was a presbyterian minister named John Witherspoon. But I’m also thinking about how wonderful it was that 13 colonies compromised to form a nation at the signing of the Constitution. Let us celebrate, not only declared independence, but the moment when our nation compromised and composed the laws that define who we are, for what we need as a nation today is not more people declaring independence but for a divided people to come together for a common purpose through compromise and mutual respect.” I’ve been thinking about the way we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when maybe we should spend more time celebrating the signing of the Constitution because my friend Neale Martin planted that seed in my imagination over coffee several months ago, that there is value in celebrating independence. It’s a gift to shoot off fireworks and to remember the moment when the Founding Fathers of our nation broke away from the British Empire, but a nation was not born in that moment. No. The Declaration of Independence started a war. It did not found a new country. Our new country was born when the Constitution was signed, when a group compromised and determined the virtues upon which we would all stand. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Those are the standards on which our nation was built, so while independence is wonderful and while declaring independence is noteworthy, “War is easy. Governing’s harder.” Do you remember that line from Hamilton? My friends, we are a nation of people who love declaring independence. We do not like to be told what to do or how to think. We will not be pushed around by the British Empire or by World Cup referees, but what about compromise? What about justice and domestic tranquility? What about a more perfect union? I’m thinking about these things as we continue this sermon series on the Apostles’ Creed, now focused on possibly the most misunderstood line of the whole thing. I can’t tell you how many times someone has asked me, “Why do we say that we believe in the Roman Catholic Church?” We don’t say that. Look at the words of the Apostles’ Creed printed in your order of worship and notice with me that we say, “We believe in the holy catholic Church,” which means that while, like our nation, our church broke away and declared independence 600 years ago, we’re not so bold as to believe that our tradition is the only one that matters. I’m sure you all know that the Presbyterian Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church much the same way our nation declared independence from the British Empire. The Presbyterians, along with the Lutherans, declared independence from Rome, and a new tradition was born, yet there are truths that we, along with every other church in this community and across the globe, hold to be self-evident. My friends, we are not the only Christians in this town striving to follow Jesus Christ, and that’s what we say we believe when we affirm our faith using the Apostles’ Creed. Jesus is at work, not only here, but at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church up by the hospital. There are causes that we all hold in common. We are not the same, but we are a part of the same body. In one Spirit, we were all baptized, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, and non-denominational. Might Christians across this globe together serve the Lord by acting more like one body with many members rather than competing and condemning each other of heresy? My wife, Sara, and her sister were both raised Roman Catholic. Sara married me, a Presbyterian minister. Her sister married a Methodist minister. We arm wrestle to decide who will say the blessing at Thanksgiving, and I love my mother and father in-law all the more because rather than say, “There is only one church, the Roman Catholic Church,” they were bold to believe that the Spirit is at work in all churches who declare Jesus Christ as Lord. “I believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints.” Some people don’t say that line because they misunderstand it. Others say it without understanding what it means. The word “catholic” just means universal. That the “c” is lowercase means that we’re not talking about the Roman Catholic Church; it means we’re talking about the Church universal, the living witness to Jesus Christ, that has expanded so far that ours is the largest religion on earth. Can you believe that what started with just 12 disciples, and not all of them highly qualified, became a movement that now claims 1/3 of the global population? And it seems like the harder it is to be a Christian, the more Christians there are. There are one million Christians in Iran. There are between 70-100 million Christians in China, where it’s illegal to be a Chrisitan. I was reading about the energy shortage in Cuba last week, and do you know who’s the most worried about it? The pastors. The pastors of communist Cuba are frustrated about the energy shortages in Cuba. Did you know that Cuba even had pastors or churches? You and I need to know because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They follow the same Lord you do. The Spirit is at work in them as the Spirit is at work in us. They are not your enemies, but are part of the same body, the body of Christ. That’s what we mean when we say, “I believe in the holy catholic Church.” Christianity is spreading across the globe. Followers of Jesus Christ are multiplying. Today, there are more Presbyterians in Seoul, South Korea than in the entire United States. Even if we’re divided by borders, we are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord. Yet, there’s a story I love to tell about a man who was shipwrecked. For years, he was on this deserted island all by himself. Thanks be to God, one afternoon he was saved. A team of rescuers came to save him, but before he left the island, he wanted to show them around. There were three dwellings built on the island. “That first one is my home. That’s where I’ve lived,” he said, “and that second one is my church.” “What’s the third one?” the rescuers asked. “That’s my old church. I don’t go there anymore. I couldn’t stand those people.” Friends, I want you to know that it brings me joy when I go to lunch with my friend the Rev. Brandon Owen, the pastor at First Baptist Church. Every time we go out together, he’s in a golf shirt with a collar, while I always wear a jacket, so his members compliment my outfit, and then I get to hear them say, “Brandon, why can’t you dress more like Joe Evans?” I love that kind of stuff. I love a little competition between the churches, but we are one body, for there is one Spirit and one Lord. Jesus Christ is the One we all follow. While there may be a time to declare independence, while there are moments in life when we must set off on our own, and while there are divorces in marriages and within congregations that have benefitted individuals, when churches declare war with each other, communities crumble. Conflict is inevitable, yet the righteous work towards unity and compromise so that people are not left isolated, but are welcomed into families of faith. I believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints. I believe it is more important that the Gospel be proclaimed than whether the proclaimer has on a black robe, or whether the preacher is a man or a woman. I believe that while Christians are busy criticizing each other, the devil sits back laughing as we tear the Church of Jesus Christ apart. Did you notice in our second Scripture lesson that Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it?” That’s what Jesus said, and in his sermon on this line of the creed, Dr. James O. Speed calls attention to the reality that it is the Church that is marching right up to the very gates of Hades. The defensive gates of Hell are under attack because the Church of Jesus Christ is on the move. Stamping out injustice. Overthrowing tyranny. Bringing light to the darkness and hope to the afflicted. My friends, the hymn goes, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love,” not by our theological purity. Not by crosses we wear around our necks. Not by which church we attend on Sunday, but by the love that we have for one another. When we finally recognize our brothers and sisters in Christ as our brothers and sisters and not our enemies, nothing can stop us. Should the Church of Jesus Christ model unity to this divided nation, then perhaps our nation would follow our example. May it be so. Amen.