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The Apostles' Creed -- The Second Article
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord....

In the days shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven, Christians quickly found themselves in the political doghouse. Jews hated them because Christians dared worship as Lord and master of human destiny a rabbi who had died on a cursed tree. Everyone else hated them because Christians had the treasonous idea that a Jew named Jesus was Lord instead of Emperor Caesar. Anyone who believed in Jesus ran great risks. He could lose his job. He could be shunned by others in the community. His family could disown him. This was especially true if a Christian came from a Jewish family. To this day, many Jewish families hold a funeral for anyone who converts to Christianity. But if a person was willing to say, "Jesus is cursed," he would be let back into the community. If he would say, "Caesar is Lord," he could get his job back, or be set free from prison.

"Jesus is Lord." These words still separate the world into two camps. One camp grinds its teeth in anger when it hears those words. "Jesus is not Lord," they cry. While they cannot agree among themselves who they think is Lord, they all agree that Jesus isn't. And most of them agree that anyone who says, "Jesus is Lord," is at least stupid and at worst dangerous. People in the "Jesus is not Lord" camp include those who ridicule Jesus in public or who chase Christians out of public life.

Their battle cry is summed up in the words, "Jesus is cursed." The founder of the Soviet empire declared that Jesus is a curse on the world. People like television producer Norman Lear consider Jesus to be a curse in our country. Modern enemies of Jesus have said that Jesus Christ and His ragtag band of bloodthirsty barbarians have been a curse on civilization, the root of most wars, and a blight on history. We should not be surprised that laws are being passed to limit the expression of Christian faith in public, starting with nativity scenes at the city hall to prayers at graduations.

One other camp rallies around the words, "Jesus is Lord." We are convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is also Lord Jehovah. We are convinced that the baby born in a Bethlehem barn to a virgin named Mary now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, as King of kings and Lord of lords. Burn us at the stake, chop off our heads, tax us, muzzle us, throw us out of society -- but we won't change our minds.

Are we crazy? Why should we believe the stories of the Bible? What makes the Bible different than the Koran, or the holy books of the Hindus or the Buddhists? Saint Paul reminds us why we believe Jesus is Lord. "No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus is cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have been eyewitnesses to the things the Bible says Peter, James, and John saw? Wouldn't it be nice to take Thomas' place, whom the Bible says was able to put his fingers in the holes made by the nails and spear? Wouldn't it be nice if we could see Jesus go nose to nose with these smart aleck news show anchors? It seems so unfair that we do not get to see Jesus, but have to rely on the words written in a book. But faith in Jesus is not based on experience or feelings. Many, many people saw Jesus, and did not believe in Him. Faith in Jesus is created in us by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has a big job cut out for Him if He is going to make us believe in Jesus. The only help we get in saying that Jesus is Lord comes from the Holy Spirit. That Spirit is poured out in baptism, Saint Paul tells us in His letter to Titus. The faith we need to believe in Jesus comes from hearing the words which the Holy Spirit inspired prophets and apostles to write down, Saint Peter tells us. Holy Communion, Saint Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians, is the message of Jesus acted out. Paper, ink, bread, wine, and water are taken up by God's Spirit and forged into tools of faith. So, if we are going to continue to be able to say, "Jesus is Lord," we must continue to be blown along by God's Spirit as He comes to us in the Word and sacraments God has given us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we regret that we must once again confess that we do not love Your Word and sacraments as we should. We are easily drawn away from them by other interests and by pressure our culture puts on us to renounce You. Give us faith to come closer to Your Word and sacraments so that we will not compromise with the world, or worse, slip into joining unbelievers in cursing You by our lips or by our deeds. Help us really believe that You are Lord so that we will not fear what the devil or the world around us can do to us. Stand us tall as witnesses of the power of Your Spirit to change lives. Amen.