Greetings to you! How are you doing on this fine day? I hope that you are well. The topic of focus for this eNewsletter is about “The Lord.” Certainly from a Judeo-Christian perspective this title can be a significant declaration of faith about the identity of God. In the realm of popular culture it is interesting to note that there are various instances wherein someone or something is referred to as the Lord and it is not necessarily with religious connotations.
The movie series that originated as a series of novels by J.R.R. Tolkien - himself a devout Catholic - of The Lord of the Rings is a noted example. Another example is the Irish musical and dancing phenomenon of The Lord of the Dance. (This is not to be confused with the hymn of “I Danced in the Morning” that has a refrain referring to Jesus as the Lord of the Dance.) As it turns out, on this date of September 17th back in 1954 there was a book published by author William Goulding entitled The Lord of the Flies.
Perhaps at some point in your life you’ve picked up that story about the group of kids that got stranded on an island and had to fend for themselves. There have been various adaptations throughout the years that were made for TV and movie theaters. In some ways it is a troubling depiction of life absent of religion, order, and responsible authority figures. Ultimately, for us as Catholic Christians we believe that the one who can help us to practice true religion, to experience the fullness of order, and to be a responsible authority figure is Jesus Christ who can be referred to as Lord.
Within the Old Testament there are thousands of references to God as Lord or even as “LORD” in all caps to emphasize that He alone is the Sovereign Being over everything. In the New Testament there are multiple references from the friends of Jesus naming him as Lord. For instance, Simon Peter, after the huge haul of fish dropped to his knees in humble astonishment and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:7). Upon seeing Jesus after his Resurrection in the Upper Room we have the striking words from Thomas who said, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). The Beloved Disciple John saw Jesus on the shoreline of Galilee and told Peter, “It is the Lord” (John 21:7).
While it is true that in English an older form of respect towards a teacher or authority figure would be to use the term ‘lord’ in lower case. However, from a faith perspective, we can unite our voices of gratitude to Peter, Thomas, John, and countless other men, women, and children throughout the ages who have recognized that Jesus Christ is indeed the Divine Lord.
