WHAT'S IN A NAME? EX. 3:13-15; JN 8:48-59; MT 28:16-20 BV 10/3/99

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS STRUCK MYRLENE AND ME RECENTLY IS THAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE WE TALK TO SEEM TO HAVE DIVERGENT OPINIONS OF JUST WHO JESUS IS AND WHAT HE IS ALL ABOUT. THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY EVEN DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT OR UNIMPORTANT IT IS TO PLACE HIM AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES. IF WE ALL AGREED ON EVEN THAT ONE THING, WE COULD NOT BUILD A BUILDING BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD START COMING HERE.

AT ANY RATE, WE HAVE DECIDED THAT A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN TO ESTABLISH WHO JESUS REALLY IS, IS TO START BY LOOKING AT WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT HIMSELF. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PASSAGES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT ARE IDENTIFIED AS THE "I AM" SAYINGS OF JESUS. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK OF JOHN IS ONE THEM. IN ANOTHER PASSAGE JESUS SAYS, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE." IN OTHER PASSAGES HE SAYS "I AM THE GATE," AND "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD" AND SO ON.

WE CALL JESUS BY MANY NAMES, DON'T WE? JESUS IS ONE OF THEM, OF COURSE, THEN THERE IS THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, THE LORD, SAVIOR, THE MORNING STAR, EMMANUEL, WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, AND THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES. JUST LIKE I AM CALLED BY MANY NAMES. I PREFER SIMPLY TO BE CALLED "ED," BUT SOME PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH THAT AND WIND UP CALLING ME REVEREND, OR DOCTOR HAMILTON, OR MR. HAMILTON...JOHNNY SWIFT CALLS ME REVEE...MYRLENE HAS SEVERAL NAMES FOR ME DEPENDING ON WHAT I HAVE DONE. I ALSO GET LABELED BY SOME OF THE THINGS I DO AND THE ROLES I FULFILL...LIKE PREACHER OR CHAPLAIN OR COUNSELOR OR THERAPIST, ALONG WITH HUSBAND AND FATHER OR GRANDFATHER. I THINK YOU GET THE POINT.

NAMES ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT, AREN'T THEY? AND AS I THOUGHT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMES I WAS REMINDED OF THE GREAT STORY ABOUT TWO ELDERLY WOMEN WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THEY ENCOUNTERED AS THEY WERE GROWING OLDER.

ONE WOMAN SAID, "THE WORST THING ABOUT GROWING OLDER IS WHEN YOU BEGIN TO LOSE YOUR MEMORY. I'VE KNOWN YOU SINCE WE WERE CHILDREN, BUT NOW I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER YOUR NAME. WHAT IS IT?"

AFTER A SHORT PAUSE, THE SECOND WOMAN ANSWERED WITH HER OWN QUESTION: "DO YOU NEED AN ANSWER ON THAT RIGHT NOW?" (PAR)

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW OUR OWN NAME, OF COURSE, BUT IT IS ALSO VITALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE NAMES OF OTHERS. CERTAINLY MOSES FELT THAT WAY IN OUR BIBLE PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK OF EXODUS. LIKE SO MANY OF US WHO STRUGGLE AGAINST OBEYING GOD'S CALL INTO MINISTRY OR MISSION, MOSES WAS DESPERATELY COMING UP WITH EXCUSES AS TO WHY HE COULD NOT POSSIBLY DO WHAT GOD WAS TELLING HIM TO DO. ONE OF THOSE EXCUSES WAS THAT HE WAS NOT CAPABLE OF DOING THE JOB. THAT ONE NEVER WORKS, OF COURSE...I KNOW BECAUSE I USED IT MYSELF. GOD SIMPLY SAYS, "I WILL BE WITH YOU"...LIKE THAT SHOULD BE ALL YOU NEED...LITERALLY SCARES THE DEVIL OUT OF YOU.

THE SECOND EXCUSE THAT MOSES GAVE WAS THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW GOD'S NAME. SO WHAT WOULD HE TELL THE PEOPLE IF THEY ASKED THE NAME OF THE GOD HE CLAIMED TO REPRESENT? EVERY GOD IN THOSE ANCIENT TIMES HAD HIS OR HER OWN NAME. PEOPLE BELIEVED THEY NEEDED TO KNOW THE GOD'S NAME IN ORDER TO APPROACH THAT PARTICULAR GOD IN PRAYER OR FOR HELP. ALSO THE GOD'S NAME REVEALED SOMETHING ABOUT THE GOD'S CHARACTER. TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE GOD EVEN IMPLIED THAT A PRIVILEGED RELATIONSHIP EXISTED. IN ADDITION, MOSES' REQUEST SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT THE PEOPLE MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE GOD OF THEIR ANCESTORS DURING THEIR LONG CAPTIVITY BY THE EGYPTIANS AND WERE ACTUALLY WORSHIPPING THE EGYPTIAN GODS.

BUT THE ANSWER THAT GOD GIVES IS ENIGMATIC: "I AM WHO I AM." MOSES HAD TO BE AS TAKEN ABACK AT LEAST AS MUCH AS ACE ADVENTURA WAS WHEN AMANDA SAID "I AM...I AM THE EXPERT DETECTIVE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR." GOD SAID THAT MOSES WAS TO TELL THE PEOPLE THAT "I AM HAS SENT ME TO YOU."

IT IS A NAME THAT HAS OCCUPIED THE ATTENTION OF BIBLE SCHOLARS FOR CENTURIES. WHAT KIND OF NAME IS "I AM?"

I LIKE WHAT FREDERICK BUECHNER HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT. "GOD SAYS HIS NAME IS YHWH, WHICH IS APPARENTLY DERIVED FROM THE HEBREW VERB "TO BE" AND MEANS SOMETHING LIKE 'I AM WHAT I AM' OR 'I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.' (OR EVEN I WILL BE WHAT I CAUSE TO BE.) THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT DIDN'T INCLUDE VOWELS, SO YHWH IS ALL THAT APPEARS.

SINCE IT WAS BELIEVED THAT GOD'S NAME WAS TOO HOLY TO BE USED BY JUST ANYBODY, OVER THE YEARS IT CAME TO BE USED ONLY BY THE HIGH PRIEST ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. WHEN OTHER PEOPLE RAN ACROSS IT IN THEIR READING, THEY SIMPLY SUBSTITUTED FOR IT THE TITLE LORD. THE RESULT OF THIS PIOUS PRACTICE WAS THAT IN TIME NO ONE KNEW ANY LONGER WHAT VOWELS BELONGED IN BETWEEN THE FOUR CONSONANTS, AND THUS THE PROPER PRONUNCIATION OF GOD'S NAME WAS LOST. THE BEST GUESS IS THAT IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE YAHWEH, BUT THERE'S NO WAY OF BEING SURE.

LIKE THE BEAR IN THURBER'S FABLE, SOMETIMES THE PIOUS LEAN SO FAR OVER BACKWARD THEY FALL FLAT ON THEIR FACE." (WISHFUL)

IN THIS PUZZLING NAME, WE CAN CAPTURE SOMETHING OF THE AWESOME MYSTERY AND ETERNAL NATURE OF GOD. GOD SIMPLY HAS ALWAYS BEEN, CONTINUES TO BE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE. GOD IS THE ONLY CONSTANT IN EXISTENCE, UNCHANGING, UNSWERVING IN HIS LOVE AND PURPOSE, AND FREE FROM THE CONSTRAINTS OF TIME (UNLIKE OUR FRIEND ACE WITH HIS BROKEN TIME MACHINE). IN THE NAME OF GOD, WE COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE CHARACTER OF GOD.

THIS IS, IN PART, WHY THE JEWS ARE READY TO STONE JESUS IN OUR PASSAGE FROM JOHN FOR TODAY. THE JEWS CLAIM ABRAHAM AS THE FATHER OF THEIR RACE...BUT ABRAHAM WAS A MERE MORTAL AND HE DIED CENTURIES BEFORE. JESUS TELLS THE JEWS THAT WHOEVER KEEPS HIS WORD WILL NEVER SEE DEATH. THE JEWS CHALLENGE HIM WITH "ABRAHAM DIED...ARE YOU GREATER THAN ABRAHAM? WHO DO YOU CLAIM TO BE?" AND JESUS SAYS, "YOUR ANCESTOR ABRAHAM REJOICED THAT HE WOULD SEE MY DAY; HE SAW IT AND WAS GLAD." "GET REAL!" THE JEWS ANSWER. "DO YOU EXPECT US TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN ABRAHAM?"

THEN JESUS DROPS THE BOMBSHELL: "VERY TRULY, I TELL YOU, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM."

THERE IS THAT NAME AGAIN: "I AM." THE SAME SACRED NAME THAT MOSES HEARD AT THE BURNING BUSH. JESUS CONTRASTS HIS OWN ETERNAL EXISTENCE WITH THE FRAGILE HUMAN MORTALITY OF ABRAHAM. THERE IS NO CLEARER STATEMENT IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE AS TO THE DIVINITY OF JESUS. THE AWESOME TRUTH HAS BEEN SPOKEN: JESUS IS LORD...JESUS IS GOD. PRE-EXISTENT, ETERNAL, OMNIPOTENT IN BEING AND POWER. HIS IDENTITY IS MADE KNOWN AND IN HIM WE MEET GOD FACE TO FACE AND COME TO KNOW THE UNLIMITED SACRIFICIAL LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR EACH ONE OF US. GOD'S CHARACTER, GOD'S PERSONALITY, GOD'S AWESOME HOLINESS, AND GOD'S SAVING PLAN ARE REVEALED IN HIM. IN JESUS, WE DISCOVER FINALLY, THE PURPOSE AND MEANING OF THE LIFE GOD HAS GIVEN US...THE PURPOSE AND MEANING SO MANY OF US ARE SEARCHING TO FIND.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FOR US COMES FIRST OF ALL IN OUR DAY TO DAY STRUGGLES WITH LIFE. JESUS SAID HE WOULD BE WITH US TO THE END OF THE AGE. AND AS WE TURN AND BEGIN TO PLACE OUR HAND IN THE HAND OF CHRIST, WE FIND THAT DOORS START TO OPEN THAT WERE ALWAYS CLOSED BEFORE. OPPORTUNITIES OPEN TO REVEAL NEW WAYS TO GIVE OF OURSELVES AND THE GIFTS CHRIST IMPARTS TO US THAT RESULT IN A SOUL DEEP SATISFACTION THAT CAN ONLY BE CALLED CONTENTMENT. WE BEGIN TO LEARN, FINALLY, THAT SIGNIFICANCE IN LIFE COMES OUT OF GIVING...NOT IN GETTING. OUR WOUNDS BEGIN TO HEAL, OUR RELATIONSHIPS TAKE ON DEEPER MEANING, AND WE START ON A JOURNEY TO DISCOVERING OUR TRUE IDENTITY AS GOD HAS ORDAINED IT.

THE SECOND PLACE WHERE MEETING GOD IN CHRIST IS OF TREMENDOUS SIGNIFICANCE LIES IN THEIR ETERNAL NATURE.

IT WAS WOODY ALLEN WHO SAID, "SOMEONE ASKED ME IF MY DREAM WAS TO LIVE ON IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE. I SAID I WOULD PREFER TO LIVE ON IN MY APARTMENT. YOU DROP DEAD ONE DAY, AND IT MEANS LESS THAN NOTHING IF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE SINGING YOUR PRAISES EVERYDAY ALL DAY LONG." (PAR)

EVERY ONE OF US CREATED, MORTAL BEINGS WILL FACE DEATH SOME DAY. IT IS SIMPLY AN INESCAPABLE PART OF LIFE. BUT THE PROMISE OF GOD GIVEN US IN JESUS IS THAT IF WE KEEP HIS WORD WE WILL HAVE LIFE FOREVER. BY PLACING OUR FAITH IN JESUS AND PUTTING HIM AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIFE, WE ARE PROMISED LIFE WITH HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY. WE TOO ARE PROMISED THE SAME ETERNAL NATURE THAT HE HAS. WE ARE CLAIMED BY GOD AS THE CHILDREN OF GOD...IN ESSENCE AS THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF GOD'S SON JESUS...AND GIVEN THE NAME OF GOD. AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO REACH OUT AND TAKE HIS HAND. THE REAL QUESTIONS ARE "WHERE DOES HE STAND IN YOUR LIFE?" AND MAYBE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, "WHERE DOES HE STAND IN REGARD TO THE END OF YOUR TIME HERE ON EARTH?"