WITH A SMALL "c"
I was thinking… in school we were taught that if a country or government had “republic” in the title then most likely they were not a republic at all or even a true democracy in most cases. You think about the “People’s Republic of China” or the “United Socialist Soviet Republic.” These are examples of this point.
It seems like this might have a parallel with being “Catholic.” If you were to stand up in a crowd and yell, “I’m Catholic,” the majority of the people would understand that to mean you are a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The word has a broader meaning than that. To be “catholic” has long meant to be ecumenical or part of the whole body of believers in Jesus Christ. The irony is that the Roman Catholic Church is not catholic with a “small c.” To be Catholic is to be under the authority of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. It is a very narrow definition that leaves little or no room for other believers and followers of Jesus Christ. That is antithetical to being catholic “with a small c.”
We worship the same God, Son, and Holy Spirit and we should be able to commune at the same communion table. We should accept each other’s baptisms. We should pray with and for one another. There are substantive differences between Protestants and the Roman church. I am not attacking or condemning. I’m happy to continue to dialogue about how to understand scripture and what it means to be Christ’s Church. All the while, I’m not saying we should roll over and act as if there are not problems that must be addressed between the two branches of the Church. There are problems and errors. Where we are in error, we protestants must repent just as we call for continued repentance and faithfulness from our Roman catholic brothers/sisters. This must be done within the parameters of Christ’s Church, though.
I do consider my Roman brothers and sisters just that, Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We need more catholicity that is holy and true. After all, Protestants and Roman Catholics are part of that “holy catholic and apostolic church.” This can happen and it means that we must sharpen each other so that we can do the kingdom work that we both labor in daily. We don’t want it to be said that we are sectarian, nor do we want it to be said that we don’t stand on biblical principles either. We must better strive to find the balance that is being catholic “with a small c.”
Super interesting!! We do say “holy catholic and apastolic church” during church on Sunday… My mom always explained that be “catholic” meant- to be a part of the universal church. I never knew the difference between “Catholic” and “catholic.” I really enjoyed your post!