This week, we continue our meditation on the Apostles’ Creed examining the foundation of our Faith as expressed by the apostles. At the heart of our Christian Faith is a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Word become flesh, “the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” Jesus comes to us as “the way, and the truth, and the life,” and Christian living consists in following him. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has said, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

“He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” God becomes man not as a full-grown adult descending from the clouds; nor as an infant. Jesus Christ is conceived as a tiny embryo because that is how human life begins. Jesus Christ is not part God and part man, or some mixture of the two. The Son became truly man while remaining truly God; two natures united in one person, true God and true man. He is born among us, as one of us, to die for us as our saving sacrifice.

“Born of the virgin Mary, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” Holy Mary of Nazareth and Governor Pontius Pilate of Judea stand for the two types of people in this world in regard to Jesus: those who receive Him, love Him, and serve Him like Mary, and those like Pilate who would prefer to ignore Him, but who will reject and destroy the Christ if He stands in the way of their desires. But Mary who bore Him and Pilate who killed Him are not merely types, symbols, or metaphors – they are real people who ground Jesus’ life in real history. Jesus’ public ministry, His Passion, death, and Resurrection were not “once upon a time,” but in the early 30’s AD. As the 2nd Letter of St. Peter testifies: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, ‘This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.”

Brothers and sisters, we must take God seriously, but we need not be afraid. “Perfect love drives out fear.” The Word became flesh so that we might know God’s love. As Scripture says: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” – “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” – “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – And “if God is for us, who can be against us?” If the Father has given us His Son, “how will he not also give us everything else along with him?” Jesus Christ, who died and was raised, sits at God’s right hand and intercedes for us.

 During this Lent, cultivate your personal relationship with Jesus, which is so very important. Yes, He is your Lord God and King, but you can personally relate to Him in other true ways as well. He is your brother, for you share the same heavenly Father and blessed mother. He is your friend, for “no one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” and He has laid down His life for you. He is your teacher who said, “You call me ‘teacher’… and rightly so, for indeed I am.” He is your hero, champion, and star who by His excellence wins glory throughout the world. And He is your bridegroom, in whom His beloved bride and His best man rejoice. At the heart of our Christian Faith is a Person, Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh who died for you, and Christian life consists in knowing, and loving, and following Him.

– Fr. Eric