Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
September 20, 2009

Psalms 1:1-6 (NRSV)
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; 2but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. 3They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. 4The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Mark 9:30-37 (NRSV)
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. 33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

What’s in a Name?

Unusual baby names are becoming much more commonplace than they used to be. Celebrities top the list for choosing strange names. Listen to a few: Nicole Richie named her son Sparrow James Midnight Madden; Steven Spielberg’s child is Destry; Sean Penn – Hopper; Frank Zappa – Moon Unit; Mia Farrow – Lark Song; and Sylvester Stallone – Sage Moonblood (maybe some of you can guess the gender of these poor children. I’m not sure…) A couple other strange names that were among the thousands of unusual baby names on the internet are: Izanimi, Evereesha, Zevlin, and Qualin. Too bad you can’t use proper names in the game of Scrabble…but are some of these even proper??
            The very fact that the word “name” occurs more than a thousand times in the Bible attests to the theological importance of names. In the ancient world, a name was not merely a label but was virtually equivalent to whomever or whatever bore it. A good example can be found in 1 Samuel 25:25: “Don't dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool.” .
            Throughout the Bible, giving a name to anyone or anything was tantamount to owning or controlling it. the first example of this is found in Genesis: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” God’s naming of both day and night confirms that God has control over both.
Changing a name signified a change of status. God said to Father Abraham: “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.”
On the other hand, blotting out or cutting off the name of a person or thing meant destroying that person or thing. “I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the Lord.”
The most important and revered name used for God in the Old Testament occurs more than 6,800 times. It is the 4 letter tetragrammaton YHWH which is pronounced “Yahweh” and means “Lord.” Because of the holiness, awe, and respect attached to Yahweh, the Jews were fearful of misusing God’s title. So they pronounded “Adonai” – a Hebrew word which means “My Great Lord” – wherever YHWH was written. In many of our English Bibles, when you find the name LORD in all caps, that is where YHWH would have been used.
We begin to understand the power that a name wields when we move to the New Testament and encounter Jesus. Jesus was named before He was even conceived. Remember the story: “The angel said to Mary, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.’”
When we speak “Jesus Christ” we are joining both name and title. “Jesus,” the name given by God through the angel Gabriel is combined with the title “Christ,” which in Greek means anointed. Jesus Christ, the anointed One, the Son of God. Knowing the power of this name, we are told that believing in Jesus’ name is the same as believing in Jesus himself. John 3:18 validates this: “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” This dramatically impacts our understanding of praying in the name of Jesus. Prayers lifted in the name of Jesus are not just using a mystical reliance on a traditional formula but are prayed in accord with Jesus’ character – His mind and His purpose. Jesus – a name that for us means Lord and Savior – is a name that is above every [other] name!
Today, in our reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus comments on the power of His name. [Jesus] sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (35-37)
Jesus took a child and set him in the midst of the disciples and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” A child had no influence at all; a child could not advance someone’s career nor enhance a person’s prestige; a child could not give the poeple things. It was the other way around. A child needed things; a child had to have things done for him or her. So Jesus was ultimately saying: "Whoever welcomes poor, ordinary people – people who have no influence, no wealth and no power, people who need things done for them – is welcoming Me. More than that, this person is welcoming God." Indeed, when we welcome anyone in the name of Jesus, we are welcoming Jesus Christ Himself.
"Hey, Tony!" one of the boys called out to the new kid whose family had recently moved into the neighborhood. But the new kid didn't respond immediately; in fact, he just stared at the caller as though he hadn't heard. "Hey, Tony, what's the matter? Are you deaf?" the first boy called, walking closer to the new kid on the block. He wasn't trying to be a smart aleck, but was hoping to be casual in trying to become better acquainted with the new boy.
"My name is Antonio," the new boy responded firmly but without any hostility.
"Well, so what? Antonio, schmonio, what's the difference?" the first lad replied with a shrug.
Antonio and his family, who were Hispanic, had moved into the neighborhood from the Rio Grande Valley. Prior to living there they had lived across the border in Mexico. But though they were now U.S. citizens, they held firmly to some of the customs of their Mexican heritage. For Antonio's family, one of these customs was the importance of names.
Antonio started to explain, "I was named after my grandfather, and he was named after St. Anthony, who was a great saint in the church."
"So ..." responded the boy, who didn't get the point of it all. Antonio was patient in his response, "So, my grandfather was a very wonderful man. He lived with us for many years and taught us many good things. He died last year, and I try to keep his memory strong by remembering that my name, Antonio, is the same as his name."
But the questioner wasn't satisfied yet. "But in this neighborhood we all have nicknames. They call me Joe, and my real name is Joseph. And some of the guys have nicknames that don't even sound like their real names."
Antonio shrugged and said, "That's fine if you want to do things that way, but I like my real name to be used."
"But Antonio ... Antonio ... it sounds so stiff. Why can't we just call you Tony?" the neighborhood veteran insisted.
Antonio didn't want to antagonize the other boy, nor spoil his own chances for getting acquainted with others in the neighborhood. "I don't like a nickname for myself," he said with some hesitation. "It doesn't have the same meaning for me."
"What does Antonio mean for you?" the other asked. Antonio paused before he answered. "I guess ..." he looked for the right words to help his neighbor understand his feelings. "I guess it reminds me of someone, someone who was very close to me and who meant a lot to our family. I'll always remember my grandfather as Antonio."
The other boy shook his head in a bit of bewilderment, but then extended his hand and said, "Welcome to the neighborhood, Antonio."
Think back to those crazy baby names: Destry and Hopper, Moon Unit and Lark Song, Izanimi, Evereesha, Zevlin, and Qualin – how will these children feel about their names when they are grown? Maybe we no longer believe that a person’s essence is found in his or her name.
But, friends, we do believe in the powerful name of Jesus. When we call on the name of Jesus, we are reminded of Someone, Someone who is very close to us and who means a lot to us. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (37) Call on the name of Jesus; pray in the name of Jesus; believe in the name of Jesus. For when we have the name of Jesus on our lips, we have Jesus!
Amen and amen!