We Are Catholic

Catholic, Catholicity, and Catholicization

Hallig

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781498289443
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

What is a church? What makes a church a church? What is necessary to have a church? Is membership in a local church really that important? Might a group of people who claim to be Christians become so unlike what a church should be that they should no longer be called a church? Why are there so many churches of different traditions? What is tradition? Are the historical traditions of the church still relevant today? These and many others are questions related to the life and purpose of the church, which every Christian must wrestle with not only for themselves, as disciples of Jesus, but also for others to whom they are called to make disciples.One of the early confessions of the Christian church centers on the catholicity of the church--"we believe in the holy Catholic Church." It was Ignatius who first used the word catholic and rightly identified the church as the Catholic Church: "Where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." This book offers a fresh look at this important mark of the church from an evangelical perspective, and seeks to elucidate the life (being) and purpose (doing) of the church. The author believes that "catholicity is to the church as the Trinity is to God." "We are Catholic" is a confession of our faith in Christ, our commitment to the unity of the church (local and universal)--anchored in the Word and in the Spirit--and our passion for the mission to all the nations as a community of disciples of Jesus Christ.

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Introduction

Catholic, Catholicity, and Catholicization

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matt 4:18-20). Right at the outset of his ministry, Jesus began working on his mission that involved the calling of his disciples. This indicates mission necessity not only because the disciples form an essential element in many aspects of Jesus’s ministry to be described in the following chapters of the book of Matthew,1 but also because of the role the disciples of Jesus would later have in the proclamation of the kingdom of God, which Jesus inaugurated in and through his life and ministry. By the call, Christ demonstrated what the disciples would later do in their own ministries and missions to the world—the calling and making of disciples. Brunner points this when he writes,

Jesus did not just come, teach here and there, work miracles, die, and then rise. He came and made disciples. Jesus’ discipling work is important to Matthew’s understanding of the gospel. Consequently, right after focusing on Jesus’ own presence in his Word, Matthew turns our attention to Jesus’ use of his Word in calling the disciples to share his ministry.2

He adds,

In Matthew’s Gospel one of Jesus’ important services is to create a ministry of workers by which to shape his church to engage the world. Through Jesus’ way of making ministers and Christian workers then we can learn how to make ministers and Christian workers now.3

Christ already had the church in sight, and it was the call of the disciples that gave impetus to the life and mission of the church as catholic. The call was not just personal but also missional. They were called not only to follow him, that is, for them to be his disciples, but they were also called to make disciples, that is, to invite others into the kingdom of God. The mission of the disciples would not only be about their own personal salvation or their own walk with Jesus, but it would involve the redemption of the world, a whole course for humanity, for whom Jesus would give himself as a ransom. By calling the disciples and giving them the responsibility of making disciples, Christ has literally given the world in the hands of his disciples—a handful of unlearned men whom he had chosen and yet on their shoulders was placed the most holy but heavy task of making disciples of all nations. And as disciples of Jesus Christ, they carried, on the one hand, the weight of making the world submit to the universal lordship of Jesus Christ; and on the other hand, they had the burden of establishing the universal kingdom of God here on earth as it is heaven. What a privilege; what a task as well. The nature of the call reveals the catholic life and mission of the church—from Christ to the world. Catholicity defines the church—who we are and what we are—we are catholic. This should give us enough reason to consider the subject under consideration and to embrace our identity as “catholic.” To understand this catholic calling of the church, our discussion will focus on the three aspects of the call—catholic, catholicity, and catholicization.

Catholic

Jesus’s words to his first disciples in Matthew 4:18–20 unravel the twofold call of discipleship—becoming disciples (“Come, follow me,”) and making disciples (“and I will make you fishers of men”) of all nations, and they indeed define the catholic life of the church. The church is not about individuals or small groups or even organizations or denominations; it involves them, yes, but the church is greater than they are. Collectively, the church is a community of disciples. What word could better describe the life and mission of the church of Jesus Christ as a collective community of disciples than catholic? Was Ignatius naïve in using the word “catholic” with reference to the church? Or did he prophetically and theologically capture the life and mission of the church as catholic? By associating the word “catholic” with the church, Ignatius gave the church a gift of its identity—a naming of the church, that rightly captures the nature and function of the growing disciples of Jesus Christ in the context of their participation as a community of disciples in God’s redemptive plan for the world. Hence, the church is fittingly identified as a catholic community with a call that is likewise catholic. This book is intended to help us understand the catholicity of the church as disciples of Jesus Christ, and by understanding that “we are catholic,” we begin to live our lives and fulfill our calling as truly catholic. It is only in and through its catholicity that the church would fulfill its calling as Christ’s disciples and fulfill Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations. As such in relation to the church, catholicity, and discipleship are inseparable; one defines the other. The failure of catholicity is a failure of the church; and the failure of the church would mean a tragedy for the world.

In chapters 2 and 3, we will give attention to the historical and biblical understanding of the church as catholic. The church as catholic makes it a unique community—a catholic community. The church is the recipient of God’s revelation in history and also the one responsible for the task of its proclamation. As such the catholic identity of the church is a result of its dynamic relationship not only with the Word but also with the world. For this reason, the church cannot be defined on its own apart from its relations. The church is a communion of relationships—a relationship with God, a relationship with the world, and also a relationship within itself. These relationships that define the church are never static but ever dynamic. The relationship of the church with God, on the one hand, is an ever growing relationship. It is a relationship that is grounded on the Word of God. The church as catholic identifies itself with the Word of God: from the promise given to Abraham to its fulfillment in Christ. This is what Ignatius recognized when he said, “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.” In Christ, the church is truly catholic a priori. Chapter 2 traces this relationship of the church with Christ from its early beginning in the life of the early church to its world-wide growth today. The development of the identity of the church as catholic has dynamically grown with the history of the church from the incipient catholic of the early church to other forms of catholic that represented different epochs or vicissitudes in the life and history of the church. The vicissitudes in the history of the catholic church have shown not only the development of the identity of the church as catholic but also the distortions and deviations that had challenged and strengthened the catholic church toward growth and maturity.

On the other hand, the “catholic” concept is a pregnant word not only for its relationship with God but also for its relationship with the world. The church is from the world and is called to serve the world. Hence, it is an inclusive community that invites and welcomes all nations into its unique fellowship. This is seen clearly in the call of Abraham in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Christ—where in him there is no east or west, south or north, male or female (cf. Gal 3:28). Christ fulfilled the promise that was given to Abraham, and the promise came to being in the life and mission of the church as Christ’s witness to the world so that the church might become the world in relation to God. God’s love for the world is fulfilled in his relationship with the church. The world is redeemed by Christ in and through the church. This is the reason why the church cannot be identified with any nations, like what happened to Israel when it became like the nations with an identity of its own. Sadly, in its history, the church was again tempted to become a nation with structure that identified itself with the Roman Empire. Hence, the Reformation and Revivals in the church of Jesus Christ happened. Chapter 3 focuses on the biblical roots of the catholic church. The church as catholic had its beginning not during the church fathers, but as early as the history of Israel in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in the New Testament. The biblical church from its very beginning was catholic; Israel was supposed to be catholic—a chosen people, a light to the nations. Christ fulfilled the calling of Israel and he called and commissioned his disciples to be the catholic church.

Catholicity

The word “catholic” deals with the identity of the church in the context of its relations and mission; catholicity on the other hand deals with the theological tradition/traditions and marks of the catholic church. It is the living theological legacy of the church of Jesus Christ delivered and passed on from one generation to the next. A church is identified as catholic by its confessions (traditions) and commitments (marks). In and through the history of the church, the confessions and commitments of the church have grown and have become more mature in their expressions. Theological development of the traditions, however, does not mean deviations or cutting off from the biblical theological roots. The Reformation, for example, happened to stop deviations and distortions of the scriptural tradition of the church. Catholicity, however, is a dynamic historical and theological task of the church that gives contemporary and contextual expressions to the scriptural tradition. Hence, catholicity is both tradition (noun) and “traditioning” (verb). This places catholicity within the other three marks of the church—holiness, apostolicity, and unity.

In chapters 4 and 5, we will give consideration to the historical and theological development of the tradition/traditions and marks of the catholic church. The theological tradition of the church is rooted in God’s redemptive work in Christ revealed in the Holy Scriptures. By this the catholic tradition is not of human origin; it is given in and through divine revelation that had its fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. God’s revelation is fixated in the Holy Scriptures, and so, the Scripture as tradition is fixed. In chapter 4, we will trace the traditions of the catholic church in relation to the fixated tradition of the church. Therefore, we will begin our study with the tradition Christ himself delivered to the church. Christ fulfilled the promise God had given to Abraham—the “tradition” that was given and delivered in the form of a covenant. The tradition Christ handed over or delivered to or passed on to the church was the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has served as the canon of the traditions of the church. The succeeding historical and theological traditions of the church were measured on the standard of the kingdom of God as the tradition Christ handed over to his disciples and passed on to the church.

The kingdom of God tradition had its historical and theological evolution in the history of the church as Christianity grew to become the predominant religion in the world. There were victories and vicissitudes that had strengthened the life and mission of the church, but at the same time, there were challenges and controversies that shook and shaped the history of the development of the traditions of the church. The phenomenal growth of the church and its mission, the challenges of the heretics and their heretical teachings, the challenge of growing leaderships, the influences of the political and social developments, the rise of various philosophies and educational sciences, and others all contributed to the complex historical and theological development of the traditions of the church.

In chapter 5, our discussion will focus on the historical and theological development of the marks of the catholic church. Catholicity as a dynamic “traditioning” has evolved in its meaning, so that, what has been viewed as the universal connection of the churches of Jesus Christ in various places has developed wider and greater implications in relation to the catholicity of the church. As a result, catholicity is no longer limited to words like universal, general, or total. Catholicity has become a theological concept shaped by the church and its task of “traditioning.” The marks presented, however, are not comprehensive and exhaustive; rather ...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Catholic Story
• Chapter 3: The Catholic Root
• Chapter 4: The Catholic Faith/Tradition
• Chapter 5: The Catholic Church
• Chapter 6: The Catholic Challenge
• Chapter 7: The Catholic Life and Witness
• Chapter 8: Conclusion
• Bibliography