There’s a difference between knowing something exists and actually believing in it. Let me tell you a story.
There was a debate about infant baptism, and someone asked a guy: “Do you believe in infant baptism?” And he said, “Believe in it? Heck, I’ve seen it done.” He thought belief meant the same thing as knowledge. But it doesn’t.
When we say “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church” in the Apostles Creed, we’re not just saying we know it exists. We’re saying we trust it. We’re part of it. We’re committing to it. Belief is about relationship. It’s about being in.
And when we talk about something being holy—in the biblical sense—we’re talking about something set apart. Consecrated. Different from the everyday. Not in a holier-than-thou way. That’s just snooty piety and that’s not what holiness is about. Real holiness is being set apart to God. Being called to something other than the usual. That’s what the church is. That’s what we are, if we’re willing to be.
A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope