“Bearing the
Name, Not in Vain”
by Bruce J. Johnson
It was the picture of those folks in the cemetery that
caught my attention, but it was the explanation that moved me. (Hartford
Courant, pB1) The reason for their being there was so heartwarming- ordinary
folk, gathered at the unmarked headstones of more than 1600
Now for eight years running, the Reverend John Hall of the
First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC and other clergy in
What a powerfully symbolic and indeed, even redemptive
act--- bridging all that stuff that led to the reduction of those patients to
numbers by reading the names and offering prayers.
The names by which we are known are so important
All of us come here this morning with our names, names taken
because they were given to us by our parents. First, our first names, chosen
for a host of reasons but used primarily because they signify what it means to
have a more personal relationship. To be on a first name basis is to be in
familiar relationship.
Second, we come with our family names, the names again that
were given to us by the parents who birthed us or who adopted us or simply
raised us. The family names are even more significant because they bring with
them a sense of history and heritage, of race or nationality, of traditions and
memories. Sometimes all that can be a source of great pride and honor and
affection but sometimes, the opposite, of shame and pain.
And then on this Mother’s Day, of course, we are especially
aware of the name above all names----MOM --- sometimes it may seem like
the only name our kids know—day or night! The only one they know at
But I know you Moms would never have any other way, would
you? One thing is
for sure and it is something that Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the hit
television show “Grey’s Anatomy: said---- something she learned from her
mother:
“Mother
is a verb, not a noun!” (‘O Magazine,’ 3/2006, p218)
WE are all very grateful for that truth.
Today is a baptismal Sunday here at
John
Christian Hoffman and his little brother, Zachary Robert Hoffman
Zachary
Chad Brigham
Hannah
Elizabeth Case
By the way, did you know that Hannah is one of the most
popular names for 2006, #9 on the list for girls---as actually just reported on
Friday?
Isabella Jacob
Emma Michael
Emily Joshua
Olivia Ethan
Abigail Matthew
Samantha Daniel
Ashley Andrew
Hannah Christopher
Sophia Anthony
The significance, of course, is that we are not only known
and called by name but we are loved by name—individually and in such a Godly,
unique way. Moreover, whenever we baptize someone we do so in the name of Jesus
Christ--- meaning that in baptism we take an additional name, namely that of
Christ--- which when we add the suffix ‘ian,’ of course, we know what it
spells, --- Christian.
Indeed, when the suffix “ian” is used at the end of a word it
literally means “to be born in or to live in.”
I read on the net the other day the hottest housing market
in
In the same way, a Christian is someone who is born in or
lives in Christ. We bear the name of Christ--- with both its blessings and its
burdens--- the latter being the responsibility of living as one and the former
being the promise that it is not in vain that we take on the name!
Some weeks ago, after a Sunday on which we read the 10
Commandments, George Jacobi emailed me asking about the meaning of the third
commandment, the one we read this morning.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain;”
(Exodus 20: 7)
Of course, at first mention, we all know what it means- no
cussing! We’ve been taught it since childhood.
But George was somewhat bothered by that because it seemed so petty and
light weight when compared to the other commandments and right he was.
So, I went to work on an explanation and was moved by what I
discovered at my very first stop—the dictionary---
“Vain”—1. Having no real value or
significance, worthless, empty, idle, hollow
2. Without force or effect; futile,
fruitless.
As Memorial Day approaches, there are many a speech and many
a prayer being written that will use that word vain, most often in a phrase
with which we are all very familiar, --- “that they may not have died in
vain.”--- meaning of course, that there is real value or significance to
the death of those who died for freedom or that their deaths are not without
force or effect on all of us.
And here we are today on this baptismal Sunday pondering the
significance of taking on the name of Christ and hoping to resolve for
ourselves whether it has significance and worth or better yet, force and
effect…. in this case, for John and his little brother Zachary Robert, Hannah
and Zachary Chad.
It was anything but vain for the eunuch from
And isn’t that what its all about--- rejoicing in the name
of Jesus and what it means for our lives? There is nothing vain about the name
of Jesus, a name we take in our baptism. There is nothing empty or worthless,
nothing without force and effect. On the contrary, there is power in the
name—and it is the power of call and change and commitment, the power of right
and goodness, it is the power of forgiveness and compassion. It is the power of
faith, hope and love, with love being the greatest. … and ultimately, it is the
significance and force of the name in its greatest triumph--- over death.
I read in the paper the other day that a public memorial
service for William Sloane Coffin with be will be held at Battell Chapel on the
campus of
“…the
church cannot forget Jesus…. The church cannot help but keep his name in
circulation and where the name is remembered, there is hope.” (WSC, Credo, 139)
HE IS OUR GREATEST
HOPE FOR LIFE AND LIFE ETERNAL.
One last thing, yesterday afternoon, I stood in a cemetery
here in
Today we lift up and bear that name – not in vain but with a
song of praise…
“All hail the power the power of Jesus’ name!” Indeed!
Amen