What is Your Name?

Holy Name; Phil 2:5-11; 1/1/2017

St. Paul’s Smithfield – Jim Melnyk: “What is Your Name?”

The story is told about a time when God decided to become visible to both a king and a peasant, and sent an angel to inform them of the blessed event.

“O King,” the angel announced. “God has deigned to be revealed to you in whatever manner you wish. In what form do you want God to appear?”

Seated on his throne and surrounded by awestruck subjects, the king proclaimed, “How else would I wish to see God, save in majesty and power? Show God to us in the full glory of power.”

God granted his wish and appeared as a bolt of lightning that instantly pulverized the king and his court. Nothing, not even a cinder, remained.

The angel then manifested herself to a peasant, saying: “God deigns to be revealed to you in whatever manner you desire. How do you wish to see God?” 

Scratching his head and puzzling a long while, the peasant finally said, “I am a poor man and not worthy to see God face to face. But if it is God’s will to be revealed to me, let it be in those things with which I am familiar. Let me see God in the earth I plough, the water I drink, the food I eat. Let me see God in the faces of my family and neighbors” (Synthesis, Paula Franck, 1/1/2017).  Considering the experiences of the king and the peasant, I guess being too sure of oneself doesn’t always pay.

The story of the King and the peasant reminds us how through the birth of Jesus God chooses to be revealed through intimate vulnerability rather than coercive power (ibid).  Salvation is made known to us in this particular act of humility – a child born far from the centers of power – far from the comfort of a settled home – amid animals and strangers because of the whim of Empire to solidify its tax base through a census taken among occupied people.

Jesus, the sacrament of God – the outward and visible face of God – born in obscurity, hunted by a king who is terrified of losing power – this same Jesus will eventually grow up to be an itinerate preacher whose life, death, and yes, whose resurrection, will topple empires and change a world.

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, gives us his version of what the Incarnation is all about: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”   And yet in our world today, it seems that too many people value power and authority over vulnerability and humility – the very antithesis of what Paul and the Gospels tell us what’s going on in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

The name Jesus, which means “God saves,” tells a lot about God, who is in the business of bringing salvation – that is, wholeness, to us all. But the name Jesus also tells us something about each of us.  The name Jesus tells us that we are the object of God’s love – it tells us that God loves us enough to take on the humility and vulnerability of human flesh to get our attention.

Just over two thousand later and we gather in this place bearing a rather special name as well – we bear the name of Christ.  And our decision to take on the name “Christian” should say a lot about us.  At the very moments of our baptisms we each are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as Christ’s own forever.  This deep baptismal truth finds its place at the very heart of why we gather Sunday after Sunday – attests to the claiming of the name of Christ at least on some level. We need to regularly decide what that name means for us – realizing that our understanding – that our belief – about who Jesus is, and why he is, shapes who we are – should shape whom it is we are becoming.

Bearing the name Christian means we are Jesus Followers – and more than that – it means we are called to be Jesus “Be-ers” and Jesus “Doers.” And those of us at St. Paul's are part of what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has dubbed “The Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.” 

To bear the name of Christ means we make a conscious decision to be Christ-like – or at least to strive to be Christ-like – even in light of our own human frailties.  And that’s the rub, isn’t it?  We seem to struggle, sometimes almost daily, with our own human frailty and the challenges against our identity in Christ – our challenge as Jesus followers to imitate Christ in our lives. 

And make no mistake about it – not every group or every person who claims the name of Christ seeks to be imitators of Christ.  There are certainly those who see their understanding of Christianity as a litmus test of faithfulness to God, and even as a weapon to be wielded against anyone who has the audacity to believe differently from them.

Sometimes it seems as if we have two very different realities struggling deep within us, seeking to be the name we will claim for ourselves – seeking to be the name by which those around us will know us – the name which will tell the world exactly who we are.

You may recall a story I’ve told before in different settings that comes to us from the ancient Cherokee tradition:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too." (As an aside, I have to think the grandfather knew something of Paul’s teachings about the fruit of the world versus the fruit of the Spirit)

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one we feed."  The one you feed – the one I feed. 

The same can be said of the names which we carry within.  Which name will identify us to family, to friends, and to neighbors?  Which name will identify us to the sojourner who lives and works side-by-side with us in our land?  Which name will identify us as we stand before God? 

In essence, it will be the name we honor the most in the ways we live out our lives.  It will be the name we feed by our words and deeds in our day-to-day living.”

Jesus did not see equality with God as something to be grasped, but rather much like the peasant in our earlier story, Jesus lived out his ministry with a deep sense of humility for his human nature.  Rather than seeking personal grandeur, Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31).  But it is a calling and a naming which we have the freedom to refuse or to accept.  We get to decide the name to which we will each answer.  What is your name?