Father Ron Rolheiser’s column in the April 4 issue about the distinction between “Jesus” and Christ” left me feeling uncomfortable. 

I’m not a theologian, but I think maybe Rolheiser has been listening too much to Evangelicals. 

The early Church used the title “Christ,” meaning the “Messiah,” to emphasize that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. The title “Christ,” then, focuses on his Divine Mission as the One everyone was waiting for: the King of the Jews. “The Moshiach,” the Messiah. 

Making a New Agey distinction between “Jesus” and “Christ” risks confusing people, in the same way that Evangelicals are confused. Jesus, God Incarnate, is the same Divine Person as the Person we call “The Christ.” 

— Marilyn Boussaid, St. James Parish, Redondo Beach