What's in a Name?

Based on John 1:29-42
First delivered Jan. 19, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            “What name is given this child?” That’s the question a parent is asked when the minister takes the baby in their arms and prepares to baptize the child. It is a momentous question. The name parents give their children is a name they will carry the rest of their lives. Yes, there is a legal process by which a person can change their name. But most people will keep the name their parents gave them, a name they had no input in receiving. Try asking a baby what name they should have. You aren’t going to get much of an answer! Just as none of us asked to be born, none of us ask for our names. Our name, just as life itself, is a gift that is offered to us. And the gift of our names took a good deal of intention from our parents.

            Those of us who have had the privilege to choose names for our children understand how weighty that decision can be. I know for Kim and myself, when we knew we would be adopting a baby boy, we got ourselves a baby names book. It was thick. There were literally thousands of names in that book, each one with a brief definition of what that name means. We made our list of top names. We got advice, sometimes unsolicited, from family and friends. We went back and forth, slowly whittling down our list until we finally got to one that we both felt was right. That’s how it is, isn’t it? We choose a name because it feels right. Our gut tells us what the name should be.

            And this makes me wonder. Often, when we ask for divine direction regarding a choice we need to make, we often listen to our gut. Our brains help us list all the realistic possibilities, but it is our gut that often directs us to the choice we make. Could it be that God speaks to us through our gut? We understand our bodies to be temples of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us. Could the gut be where the Spirit dwells? Could it be that when the name we select for our children feels right, that is an instance where God is weighing in on what that name should be? I wonder if, intentionally or not, the names our parents gave us was influenced by God.

            There are many examples in scripture where God actively influences the selection of names for children. There are two examples in the gospels. When Elizabeth was pregnant, she and Zechariah were both told by an angel that the child’s name will be John. It was a bit peculiar when Elizabeth announced the child’s name. People said to her, “There’s no one in your family by that name. Are you sure you want to name the child John?” They ask Zechariah, who was still mute as a consequence of not believing the angel right away when told he would have a son. Zechariah writes, “His name is John.” And then, all of a sudden, his tongue is loosed and he begins to praise God.

            And then there is Mary and Joseph, who were told by an angel that the child in her womb will be named Jesus, or Yeshua which means “Yahweh saves.” Whether or not the parents of John and Jesus made their lists of names and whittled them down, we don’t know. But the story is that they were told directly by God through an angel what the names will be. They are divinely appointed names. And I think it is possible that, although we may not recognize an angel telling us what the names are to be for our children, that God does have an influence on the names we choose.

            What’s in a name? What impact does the name given to us have on us? Sometimes names point to our purpose in life. The name “Jesus” points to his purpose, to be the savior. Maybe the name given to us suggests something about what our character is to be. If you haven’t done it in a while, try to look up the meaning of your name. I looked “Kevin” and learned that it is an anglicized version of an old Irish word “Coemgein”. “Caohm” means “kind, gentle, or handsome” and “gin” means “birth.” So Coemgein means gentle birth. Or maybe “handsome birth.” I was a handsome baby at birth. Or it was a relatively gentle birth. Perhaps to live up to my name, my challenge is to be a kind and gentle person. This is the character trait that I am meant to have. What about you? I invite you to research the meaning of your name and reflect on what it might say to you.

            Throughout our lives, we often are called other names. None of us gets through childhood without being called mean names; certainly if we have siblings! What parents of children did not hear at least once, “Mommy, he’s calling me names!” Often that name calling we endure is in fun. But we also know that some of those names stick and they can hurt us. To be called “four eyes” or “fattie” or “dufus” as children, that can make a mark. Mean names have the potential to cut deep wounds that can fester for a long time and may never really heal.

            We also may pick up a nick name or two. In my college days I had a few friends who started calling me “Kev the rev.” Nick names can be silly. What does “Puddin’” mean? Or they could be a compliment, like “Steady Eddie”, he’s always dependable and nothing shakes him. Nick names you may pick up along the way may give some insight into how people see you.

            This morning in the scripture, I wouldn’t say we hear of some nick names given to Jesus or to Simon. But there are some names that are given. John calls Jesus “Lamb of God” and “Son of God.” Andrew calls Jesus “Rabbi” and “Messiah.” These are not exactly nick names, but they are names. They identify who Jesus is. John calls Jesus the Lamb of God because he takes away the sins of the world just as a sacrificial lamb covers the sin of the one who offers the sacrifice. He is called the Son of God because John saw the Spirit descend on him and God told him that whoever this happens to baptizes with the Holy Spirit. So, for John, that meant that Jesus is the Son of God. Andrew calls Jesus rabbi because that’s who he thinks he is, a teacher. And there is something about the place where Jesus took Andrew, and the connection he made with what John called Jesus, to conclude that Jesus is the messiah, the anointed one. These are names for Jesus that point to who he is and what his purpose is. He is a teacher and he is anointed by the Spirit, the Son of God and the one who offers himself as a sacrifice sufficient to cover all the sin of the whole world. What powerful names these are.

            Jesus calls Simon “Peter”, which means “rock.” That kind of sounds like a nick name. Jesus basically says to Simon, “You are a rock.” Simon the rock. Now that name can be taken a few ways, right? Maybe Jesus is calling Simon a block head. Nah. I can’t imagine Jesus making fun of anyone. Although he can be salty. More than once he called people a brood of vipers. Descriptive or not, there was some heat behind that name. But I don’t think Jesus is making fun of Simon. Surely, he was not implying that Simon is as dumb as a rock. That can’t be it. Maybe he called him a rock because he was strong and sturdy, like a rock. Jesus was acknowledging his physical appearance. Perhaps. But it seems likely that the reason Jesus called Simon a rock is because Jesus had insight into the role that Simon would play in the foundation of the church. Our minds carry us to that occasion when Jesus was asking his disciples what people are calling him. They say that some people are calling him John the Baptist. Others are calling him Elijah. Others are calling him the prophet. And then Jesus asks them who they say he is. It is Simon who says, “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus looks at Simon and says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” From the moment Jesus laid eyes on Simon he knew that Simon would get it, that he would confess the truth about who Jesus is, a confession upon which to build a church. Jesus gave Simon a name that pointed to his divinely appointed purpose. By the way, Simon is Hebrew for “hearken” or “listen intently.”

            If God were to give you a nick name, what would it be? What would you want it to be? Maybe God’s nick name for you is Faith, or Grace, or Mercy, or Gentle, or Hope, or Generous. Later today, as you are looking up what your name means, I invite you to also sit with that question and reflect for a few minutes. If God were to give you a nick name, what would it be?

            We are called a lot of names through the years. Some names are mean. Some are in good fun. Some are the names given to us by our parents. Some we take on through marriage or even, if we choose, we can legally change our names, particularly if someone transitions from one gender to another.  We are called by different names: father, mother, brother, sister, doctor, teacher, businessman, senator. We get called sweetie and hun, dude and sometimes, “hey you.”

            Of all the names we are called all throughout our lives, it is good to know that people do know our names. We are known. We are called by name. It is the teacher reading off the names on the role to take attendance. Or it is the reading of your name when you walk across the stage to get your high school diploma. Or it is mom calling your name for supper. Watch out if she calls you by your first and second name! Or it is a friend who sees you across the street that yells out your name to get your attention. It is good to be known by name.

            God knows your name. God calls you by name. Perhaps God even had an influence on the name you were given at birth. God may have a name for you that you don’t even know about yet, but will discover someday. In Revelation 2:17 we read, “To everyone who conquers …I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Whatever your names are, God knows them. God knows all the names throughout the entire universe, something impossible for us to fully comprehend and appreciate. We all know how frustrating it is to forget someone’s name. But God never forgets a name. For as we hear in Isaiah 43:1, “Do not be afraid, for I have saved you; I have called you by name. You are mine.”