“What’s in a name?” I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before. Actually, it is taken from the very well known drama Romeo and Juliet by English playwright, Shakespeare. The quote goes, spoken by Juliet to her love Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Beautiful line, but don’t get all weepy on me now. As you know, Romeo and Juliet were from warring families and so in this question, Juliet reminds Romeo that a name is just a name. What matters for her is that she loves the person named Montague (Romeo) not Montague because it is a family name with a certain status. Good for you, Juliet.
In today’s first reading for Mass (Acts 11: 19-26) we hear, “. . . it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” It was a nickname of sorts, where the Christian community in Antioch took the title of “Christ” as a proper name as in, Jesus Christ. But, unlike the star crossed lovers of Shakespeare, this name does mean something. In fact, it means quite a lot and it does matter when we proclaim ourselves as Christians, followers of Christus.
The reading from Acts relates, “Those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews . . .” But some, came directly to Antioch to preach to the Greeks, the Gentiles, to proclaim, “the Lord Jesus.” As we have seen before among the gentiles, “. . . a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” Paul and Barnabas eventually joined these early Christians at the new community in Antioch, where the name “Christian” was adopted by them. As you read, you can sense the excitement and joy of this new found community in Antioch which embraced their new identity.
The effort it took for these early missionaries to move around the ancient world never ceases to amaze me. Everything was done by brute force and physical sweat. If one wanted to move from place to place you had a few choices: walk, ride a horse or chariot, or take a ship and hope for the best. Nothing in the world moved faster than a horse. Communication was either face to face, by letter or word of mouth. In a relatively short amount of time what these early missionaries accomplished was extraordinary and a convincing sign of the Holy Spirit’s work in planting the seeds of Christianity. I find it a great inspiration to know what our family ancestors sacrificed for our family name of Christian.
Christian is our family name and we must wear it proudly for it came at such a great price. Catholic describes our character – universal and inclusive. Time and time again it seems that Paul, Peter, Barnabas were surprised by the acceptance of the faith among the Gentile world. This was more than just a stretch for them, in particular Peter. They needed to challenge their entire world view and the Jewish traditions they had been formed in. They eventually saw this as God’s very intent. The saving Lord came for all humankind. This is a God without borders. So too is our “catholic” faith. We are those sheep who hear the voice of Christ our shepherd in today’s Gospel John 10: 22-30. But many voices continue to speak around us and it is our lot to be a discerning people as seekers of the truth. We are at times confused and challenged.
I recently ran across an open letter written by the controversial theologian Hans Kung, now in his 80’s. Apparently Kung and Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, were the youngest theologians at the Second Vatican Council back in the 1960’s. They know each other so Kung has written an open letter to “all Catholic Bishops of the world” expressing what he feels, from his personal vantage point, needs to be done about the Catholic Church today and in particular what the world’s Bishop’s need to do. It strikes me as a bit over the top in its presumption but he is critical of Pope Benedict and the Roman Curia as he ticks off his (the Pope’s) failures in the area of ecumenism particularly.
Kung states, “When it comes to facing the major challenges of our time, his pontificate has increasingly passed up more opportunities than it has taken . . .” Kung then lists his grievances as failed opportunities with the Jews, Muslims, indigenous peoples of Latin America, those in Africa with aids, modern scientists, reforms in the church determined by Vatican II, welcoming back the bishops of the St. Pius X society, the Anglicans, and “reactionary forces in Rome.” He goes on to list other disappointments and what the Bishops of the world need to do to, “Give your faithful signs of hope and encouragement and give our church a perspective for the future.”
It’s a tough letter and would need to be digested by parts but I suspect it may not be universally embraced by the world’s Bishops. Should it be and who decides what “reform” means? You get the impression that Kung feels everything about the Catholic Church is wrong. While I think he over generalizes and stretches to make a consistent point it may bear some discussion nonetheless. Yet, we hear the opposite of Kung's concerns about Pope Benedict and courageous Bishops from other quarters. Voices speak from all corners and that is why we need to have a discerning and humble heart.
Carry your name with courage and conviction. Listen to the voice of the shepherd and trust that the Holy Spirit remains with his Church.
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