Why We Call Ourselves Red-Letter Christians

At Christ Catholic Church, we often describe ourselves as Red-Letter Christians. That doesn’t mean we ignore the rest of Scripture, nor does it suggest that the Old Testament, the Epistles, or the Book of Revelation are somehow less inspired or less important. Quite the contrary. We treasure the whole of Holy Scripture and the rich tradition of the Church. We value the witness of the prophets, the wisdom of the apostles, the teachings of the Fathers and Mothers of the Church, the Ecumenical Councils, the sacraments, and the living tradition handed down through the centuries. Yet we believe that all of these are rightly understood only when they are read through the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is not simply one voice among many voices in Scripture. He is the Word made flesh. He is the fullest revelation of the Father’s heart. If we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus. If we wonder how we are to treat one another, we listen to Jesus. If we struggle to understand a difficult passage of Scripture or a challenging point of tradition, we return once again to Jesus. The red letters in our Bibles are not merely words printed in a different color. They are the clearest window into the character of God and the life of His Kingdom.

When Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves, to forgive without limit, to love our enemies, to welcome the stranger, to care for the poor, to feed the hungry, to seek first the Kingdom of God, and to become servants rather than masters, He is showing us what the Christian life is meant to look like. Those teachings become the lens through which we read everything else. We do not interpret Christ through Scripture or tradition. Rather, we interpret Scripture and tradition through Christ. Everything that came before Him points toward Him. Everything that follows bears witness to Him. The entirety of the Christian faith finds its center in Him.

This has always been the pattern of the Church at its best. On the road to Emmaus, the risen Christ opened the Scriptures to His disciples and showed them how they spoke of Him. He became the key that unlocked their understanding. We believe that remains true today. Every page of Scripture ultimately finds its fulfillment in Christ, and every authentic tradition of the Church should lead us closer to Him.

To be a Red-Letter Christian, then, is not to diminish the rest of the Bible. It is to confess that Jesus Christ is the measure by which everything else is understood. His words illuminate the prophets. His life gives meaning to the commandments. His cross reveals the depth of God’s love, and His resurrection proclaims the hope of the world. At Christ Catholic Church, we strive to keep Him at the center of our worship, our theology, our ministry, and our daily lives. For in the end, we are not called merely to believe ideas about Jesus. We are called to follow Jesus Himself.

Jesus Cares ✛ Christ is the Center ✛ The Gospel is the Way