|
“What’s in a name?” Juliet says to her love in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet may have wanted that to be true. But names do have importance.
Think of the pet names or nicknames that symbolize certain relationships. For example, no one had better call me “Becky”—but on the lips of my Dad and brother, it sounds right. Think of the discussions people have had about married names, professional names, hyphenated names, slave master names, Ellis Island changed names. Think of the long church history of taking baptismal names.
What’s in a name? At least, in the Biblical Universe—A LOT! And today, Abram and Sarai, get new names—a new identity!
In fact, God reveals a new name to Abram at the start of our lesson. “I am God Almighty (El Shaddai)” is the first time in Genesis that God uses this name. It is a new name for a new relationship. God, the All-Sufficient One. God, the Breasted-One. Yes, you heard me right. God taking on a very feminine image—the One who nurtures, suckles, infuses with life. A different way of talking about God Almighty, omnipotent, the strong one.
In this passage, God is renewing the promise made to Abram when he left Ur and wandered his way to this “Promised Land.” And God insists that a child of Abram and Sarai will be the means of blessing all the families of the earth—a child that has not yet appeared (and Abram and Sarai are growing old)—and there is another child, Ishmael, who has now almost attained manhood. But El Shaddai says Isaac, the child promised by God, will be born the next year. And to seal the deal, Abram is renamed Abraham. And Sarai is renamed Sarah. New names. A new identity. Good for them. But what does that have to do with us?
As we stop at this bend in the river we encounter a gospel text that we have heard many times. “If you want to become my followers, deny yourself and Take up your cross and follow me.”
What I think Jesus was saying was, you have to leave everything you know behind. You have to give up your social position, your job, maybe even your family, basically your identity—this is the “deny yourself” part. Take up your cross—not a symbolic one, not a pretty piece of jewelry that causes no shame—but be willing to lose your status, to be visible to all, to be marked by your choices, that is what it means to follow Jesus.
I think we often respond to God’s call like Abraham (or Sarah) did—with laughter. Yes, we believe but … Or maybe we hedge our bets. Yes, I know you promised but … Or maybe we are even a little fearful. Yes, I want to follow but …
We tell the Biblical story in hindsight. We know that Isaac is born the next spring. We know that the resurrection follows the cross. But along the river, at the bend, in the midst of life, it doesn’t seem so cut and dried—it doesn’t seem so easy. And maybe that is why we need to remember that we too have been given new identities.
As the Apostle Paul put it in 2 Corinthians “Anyone who is in Christ—NEW CREATION.” Maybe that is why we need to hear the water pour every week—to remind us that we are new! Maybe that is why we eat the bread and drink the cup, to take the food offered by God, El Shaddai (dare I say, our nursemaid) for the long journey. Maybe that is why we have a season of Lent, to be true to our lives of hardship and trial, even as we deepen our convictions, or start our spiritual life again.
Yet just because you get a new name, even a new identity, doesn’t mean that the messy, complicated, difficult job of living disappears. This new identity isn’t in the witness protection program! If anything, it makes us MORE visible. It marks us as God’s own. And it comes with a price. We have been blessed, as Abraham and Sarah were—to be a blessing to others—all others. We are followers of Christ, and that means we choose to be among the least of these, for that is where Christ leads us.
Last week we remembered that whether we are by the river or out in the wilderness, God has promised to be with us—to paint rainbows of possibilities in the sky—to help us start anew. This week as we continue our journey, we can be sure that God remembers God’s promises. That God will help them come true. And along with our new start at life, our new identities, we can claim new names. God-given names.
You each were given a fish today. Yes, you can use it to remind you to give to One Great Hour of Sharing. You can also use it as a symbol of what we are doing this Lent—following the river, learning new things at the bend in the stream. The Fish is an ancient Christian symbol, supposedly used to identify those “of the way”—for ICTHUS in Greek could “spell” Jesus (Iesous), Christ (Christos), God’s (Theou) Son ([h]uios), Savior (soter).
Make up your own connection, your own way of spelling your connection to God, your relationship. I want to claim FISH,
F—follower
I—in the
S—service of the
H—Holy One
Or maybe
F—for now
I--inhaling
S--slowly
H—hurrah
Hear the words of God: You have been blessed to be a blessing.
Hear the call of Christ: Take up your cross and follow me.
Hear the promise made bold by the Spirit:
If anyone is in Christ—NEW CREATION.
May it be so. Amen and Amen.
|
