At the start of many a new year, often folks might make resolutions that are connected to weight loss or fitness or eating well or caring for oneself with more intentionality. I am sure you know this; perhaps you have participated in this yourself.
Well, in one of the pieces that I was reading as we get this new year rolling, I discovered a whole group of people who pay attention to taking 10,000 steps each day. A great habit to get into, of course, a little more movement than the sedentary life many of us get hooked into in this so-called modern world.
Anyway, I was looking at this and discovered a list of teams of people who regularly walk ten thousand steps. This was an Australian website, and I think Australians love to find witty and creative names for places, people or teams, and this list of teams of walkers was no exception. What’s in a name, you might ask, well some of the names were rather clever, if a little bit cheesy. Let me share a few with you… The Walking Dead, Cirque de Sore Legs, The Young and the Breathless, Scrambled Legs, Liar Liar Legs on Fire, No Ubers in Sight, Couch Potato Graduates, Walkaholics, A Walk in the Park. It went on with quite a few more. You get the idea. You could probably make up your own name if you were so inclined. Witty, creative, to the point, groan-worthy humour, I liked it.
I was thinking about this because our Gospel reading this morning seemed to dwell quite extensively on names and naming and the importance of names. What’s in a name, you might ask but it seems that throughout the Bible, the name of a person or place or event seems pretty significant.
If you remember the story from Luke’s gospel around the naming of John the Baptizer, you will remember that it was a long and drawn-out process. His father, Zechariah, had been struck dumb, and so when it was time to name the child, the assumption was, the tradition was, the expectation was that the child would be called Zechariah. The aunts and uncles had already written the baby announcement, it seems. But Zechariah, even without a voice, together with Elizabeth, was adamant that he was to be called John. For he had a role and a calling to live into. So what’s in a name?
In the advertising world, which is a strange and very influential aspect of modern life. But in the advertising world, the name of a product or company or concept can be incredibly influential in selling the item. According to Forbes magazine from a few years ago, “Naming a new product is one of the most challenging and important marketing decisions you will make. With all the products on the market today, how do you win the attention of the consumer? What will make them remember your product? It is important to find a name that has meaning to them.” (By Rhonda Kalis Taylor, April 6 2018). What’s in a name?
There was a long tradition, which is still held in many places, that a child is not named until they are baptized, or at least they are given a particular Christian name at baptism. The sense was to provide a link with the faith and a particular saint, prophet or guide who would direct when direction was needed. Perhaps it was just an old-fashioned idea. But I can’t help but wonder if there is some truth in it. Indigenous culture of what is now North America revealed very similar thinking as well. Naming was significant and described something about the person and what is most important.
And how about for you? Is there a particular meaning to your name that links you with family or culture or faith or purpose or direction or that speaks to who you truly are? Were you named after someone else or does your name carry a particular meaning for you? In my family, my mother’s brother and one of my father’s brothers were both named John. Somehow, my name, whether I lived up to that or not, was a link between two families. And many of us like to look up the meaning of our first or middle names, and also our family names. That link to the past is important as we try to determine more of our story and our genetics and our gifts and our calling. So what’s in a name?
The Gospel passage for this Sunday seems to dwell very much on the importance of names. Suggesting that names do indeed influence how we look at the world. Sometimes in good ways and sometimes not as much.
If you remember, the passage began with John the Baptizer scouting out Jesus and what he was doing in the neighbourhood. The same John whose name was controversial to the nosy neighbours at his birth, John was curious about what Jesus, the recently baptized Jesus, might be doing now. When he sees Jesus, he remembers how the Holy Spirit had descended upon him at the baptism. And notice what happens, suddenly he creates a new name for Jesus: the Chosen One. The Chosen One, who was recognized as beloved of God. Recognized, too, to be one who saw others as beloved of God as well… but I am getting ahead of myself.
For the passage we heard today carried on and the next day John calls Jesus the Lamb of God. A little later the disciples of John call Jesus rabbi. And later still as Jesus called a few of his disciples to come and follow him, one of the newly minted followers, Andrew, refers to Jesus as the Messiah. Four names for the one whose birth we recently celebrated in the space of a few lines of Scripture. It is intriguing. Perhaps it points out that trying to come up with one name for Jesus is impossible and far too limiting. Perhaps a range of names and descriptors and breadth of faith is needed. So what’s in a name?
For it is not long after in this same passage that Jesus also gets in on the renaming game. One who had been known as Simon for presumably his whole life save a few days, suddenly is being renamed as Cephas, usually we translate that as Peter. Cephas or Peter or the rock.
Now just to stay with that renaming of Peter for a little while. Jesus called him the rock, a solid, strong, decisive name. As we continue reading our Bible we know that Peter did not always live up to this. Sometimes as a rock he sunk, sometimes he got in the way, sometimes he would not move, sometimes he could not vision something beyond what he could grip in his hand. This Peter, Cephas, this rock was not perfect in his following, in many ways he was a bit of a letdown. He was to be the rock on which all else was to be built and yet he was not perfect or always solid or always on the same page as Jesus.
And I wonder if the same is true for us. Maybe we are not called to be rock-solid in our faith but rather open to the Spirit of God moving in our life, changing our name and changing our plans. Maybe our faith is not about rock solid memorized texts but rather texts influenced by wind and fire and wisdom and love and peace and grace and joy and grief and compassion for neighbour.
What’s in a name? Well it changes us doesn’t it if we pay attention to the name and what calling lies within it. We are not all called to be a rock on which other things are built… but we are all called to be builders. Builders looking to influence our world by following the words of Jesus that transform any and all conversations. Willing to offer food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, making peace when so much focus currently seems to be about war. Willing to stand with a woman named Renee Nicole Good who was killed for standing up for justice in hopes of building a better world and a better society. Willing to accept that love of God and love of neighbour is our calling and not violence or competition or hatred or fear of the immigrant.
In a little while Daniel will be presented by his full name to be confirmed. To confirm something that began at his baptism and has continued to mold and change him ever since. He is not changing his name to Peter or Cephas, at least as far as I know, but he is confirming that same calling of Jesus that was offered to Simon. To follow, to seek the will of the Spirit, to know God’s love, to know God’s grace, to know God’s forgiveness… and to live into all of that as Peter the Rock did. Not called to perfection but a willingness to know God walks with him always. Always. No matter what.
And the same is true for all of us. We too know that calling and that invitation. What’s in a name? Well, it all depends on how it influences us to see that we are beloved of God and are called to recognize that in others as well. May it be so.