What's in a name?

From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

What’s in a name?: 1st January 2012: am: The Very Revd Frank Nelson

• Psalm 8
• Numbers 6: 22 - 27
• Galatians 4: 4 - 7
• Luke 2: 15 - 21

What’s in a name? Liam and Charlotte are listed as the favourite names for babies born in New Zealand in 2010 (the list for last year is not yet out), with Harry listed at number 41. Back in the year of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus in about 4BC, Jesus was one of the most common names given to Jewish boys by their parents. Interestingly, it is the naming of his cousin as John that creates some excitement in the Gospel narrative.

How well I remember the conversations Christine and I had over names for our children. A boy, at least the first one, was easy. Nelson family tradition has the eldest son take his father’s first name as his second. And it seemed an easy decision to give the name of the first Christian martyr, whose name day we celebrated on Boxing Day, as his first, Christian, name. There was something slightly triumphal too in naming our first born Stephen – the crown of victory! Our second was more difficult. We knew she was to be a girl. Every name Christine suggested seemed to be that of one of my former girl-friends. We’d also been challenged by an African friend to think carefully about the meaning of names. In the end we settled on Gillian. It seemed a fairly safe bet for a girl – the long-haired one. During her first 18 months or so she had just the shadow of whispy hair, not enough even to tie a pink ribbon in. By the time our third child came along we were quite expert at the name game, so taken aback, and then thrilled, when members of the congregation at St Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg gave her their own name. Although not on her birth certificate, Megan, the pearl, was baptised with an extra name, an African name, Imilongi – the song bird.

Today, eight days after celebrating the birth of Jesus, we remember the formal naming ceremony recorded by St Luke. “After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus.” Jesus – the shortened form of Joshua or Jeshua – means Yahweh, God, is salvation. It was a common enough name, perhaps reflecting the belief and longing that God would once again save His people. It is unlikely that any eyebrows were raised at the choice of name – at least, not yet. The significance of the name would not be fully recognised until very much later, long after the unremarkable first thirty years of his life, the action packed three years of itinerant teaching, challenging, and encouraging that Jesus embarked on and which forms the bulk of the Gospel stories; even well after the horrible death on a cross.

But then, sometime in the first thirty or so years after Jesus’s death, people began to use a most interesting, and treasonous, phrase. St Paul records its use in his 1st Letter to the Corinthians. 1 Cor 12: 3 reads “I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is Lord. How easily those three words trip off our tongues now, and all too often almost meaningless. Yet when Paul wrote them they could be treated as treasonable. Caesar, the Roman emperor, not Jesus, was Lord. Indeed, for the first three hundred years of Christianity the belief that Jesus, and not Caesar, was Lord could, and often did, cost people dearly – even their lives. A whole cult of martyrs grew up which would influence future generations of Christian parents in the choice of names for their children.

So now there was the name “Jesus” meaning “God is salvation” linked with the word “Lord”. Another title too was soon added by Christians when talking about this particular Jesus. Very early on the Greek translation of the Jewish word, Messiah – God’s anointed, God’s chosen – was added almost as a surname, Christ. “Lord Jesus Christ” is a long way away from the story recorded by St Luke which we know as part of the Christmas story. A rather poorly researched article appeared in our local newspaper on Christmas Eve pouring scorn on the Christmas stories. Yet logically there was no earthly reason for anyone to record the birth of Jesus. Unless you are known royalty, or the modern day equivalent, most birth stories are important only to the parents and immediate family. Nowadays digital cameras and phones mean that far better records are kept than previously, but who can tell what a new born baby will turn out to be? And who has the foresight to keep detailed records of who came, said what, gave what? Of course, once a person is famous, we want to know more about them, who their parents are, which school they went to, what they did in their formative years. Much later big poster boards may even appear along state highways in out of the way places: this is the birth place of Dan Carter, this is where Peter Snell went to school. But not at the time!

Today, in one short sentence, we read that this particular baby was called Jesus. Today, in a few minutes time, we will baptise one particular boy; he will be called by the names chosen by his parents - Harry Douglas. To Rachael and Andrew he is the most precious gift ever. Today he is to be baptised, named before God, welcomed into the Church, and encouraged, through the faith and life of his parents, family and church, to begin a journey. It is a journey that countless people have trod, and continue to tread. It is one we ourselves are on. It begins when we respond, in however hesitant a manner, to the call to follow him who is now called Lord and Christ, but was first given the name Jesus.

Not only is he part of Douglas and Rachael’s family, from today he is part of our family, the Church known as the Body of Christ. As such we believe he is a loved child of God, one who, in other words spoken by St Paul, is able to approach God as “Abba”, our Father, Daddy.

Sadly, as we are reminded by all too frequent stories of children abused and hurt, not all parents and communities seem able or willing to love their children. There is nothing new about child abuse. St Matthew records the horrific slaughter by King Herod of babies in his desire to hang on to power. Three years ago a number of people at Te Horo began to do something physical and tangible to show that all children are, and should be, loved. Hand-made quilts, like this colourful one, are given personally to each child born in the community. Along the bottom is a single word: LOVED. The idea is spreading and here, at Wellington Cathedral, we have begun doing the same. This quilt was made for Harry by the LOVED 4 LIFE team and is a gift to him, at his baptism, from the people of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul and the Thorndon Community. It’s a small enough thing to do – but carries an import far beyond the small piece of quilted material. http://www.loved4life.com/Loved_4_Life/Welcome.html

Perhaps that too is food for thought today, as we celebrate the naming of Jesus, a baby born to Mary and Joseph in an obscure part of the world, unknown and unnoticed to most – but loved by his parents, and loved by God.