the two titles: Lord and Christian - 4th week easter tuesday

In our first reading today there are several titles used here that we must look into.  First is the title Lord.  The title is given to Jesus.  To say that Jesus is Lord is a profession of faith that Jesus is God.  To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Jesus is God and there he is to be worshiped as God.  This kind of worship is called latria and this is worship rendered to God alone.  To say that Jesus is Lord is to profess that Jesus is God.  It is good to note that there are other religious faiths that do not believe that Jesus is God.  Our brothers in the Iglesia ni Kristo is one and also the Mormons.  They believe that Jesus is an elevated being, higher than us, higher than the angels but he is not God equal to the Father.  But we Catholics, when we pray that Jesus is Lord, when we say Lord Jesus Christ, we proclaim that Jesus is God.

Secondly when we say Jesus is Lord we affirm that Jesus has dominion over all.  Kon tawgon naton si Jesus nga Ginoo, kon mangadi kita Ginoong Jesus ginabantala naton nga si Kristo may kagamhanan sa tanan nga yara sa kalibutan.  He has dominion over our world, he has dominion over our lives.  It might be good to examine how we fair in this regard.  Is Jesus the Lord of my life – does he have dominion over my decisions, does Jesus have dominion over my choices in life?  Is Jesus the Lord in our homes, is he Lord over my business, is he Lord in my office?  For when we affirm that Jesus is Lord he has dominion over my life, he has dominion over what I do with my life, and in how I do things, and when I do things in my life.

The early Christians in the act of the apostles do not take this title lightly.  The early Christians can be so brave, like the apostles they will not hesitate to speak to authorities about their convictions, they are not afraid to act contrary to what others would like to impose on them, they are not afraid to go against the tide, and the fad, of their times, they are not even afraid to die – why?  Because Jesus is Lord.  It is a simple assertion of the faith but when you come to think of its implication that statement can be life changing.

The second title I would like to focus on is our own title, the title Christian.  The designation Christian was first coined in Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman Empire to refer to those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Some born again Christians and evangelicals today however, would think that this is their title in contrast to our title which is Catholic.  So we often hear born again Christians saying that they are not Catholics that they are Christians, and they would say it as if being a catholic is unchristian.

The term catholic was first coined by St. Ignatius of Antioch around the year 180 AD.  During those times there already arose a lot of false beliefs on who Jesus was.  There were those who claim they were Christians but have different beliefs with what was originally taught by the apostles and by their successors, the bishops, especially the bishop of Rome.  So Ignatius who was a bishop himself, distinguished these other Christians by coining the word Catholic.  Catholics are Christians who are united with their bishops, the successors of the apostles, and especially with the bishop of Rome who is the successor of Peter.  Catholics are Christians who remain true to the teachings of Jesus as taught by the apostles and their successors.  So it is not true that we are Catholics and therefore we are not Christians.  No.  We are Christians, but we distinguish ourselves further by saying we are Catholics because we remain true to what the apostles taught about Jesus Christ.   And so the original Christians have to distinguish themselves by saying that they are Catholics because of their connection to the original roots of Christianity which is the teachings of the apostles.