[Propertalk] The Holy Name of Jesus - Part 2

Fri Dec 30 16:04:45 EST 2016

And now Part 2.
Continuing blessings!
Bob

	A study published recently talked of research conducted over the
naming of people over more than the last hundred and twenty-five
years. 

	 “‘Names are at the core of our identity and are also related to
important legal identities, how we are identified by states and
governments,’ says Jane Pilcher, a sociologist at the University of
Leicester. ‘They are also part of our social cultural identity. They
mark who we are in gender terms, ethnic terms and other ways.’” 2
The writer stopped short of saying, specifically, religious identity
and practice. There may be good reason for that. A mother and father
give to their children, through the DNA shared, ethnic, racial and
gender meaning. It’s not always apparent immediately, however. As
children age, as their own genes start to work in specific way,
although some things stay the same, children do mature and come out in
ways that we may anticipate. Not that there’s anything wrong about
this. It simply happens, and once the act of procreation has been
begun. But there ARE things with which parents attempt to bless their
children, yet which remain firmly in the hands of the children,
regardless of what the parents may wish. Religious precepts and
practices are right up among these, something we ourselves know about.

	 We do the best we can. We take our own beliefs, and the reasons why
we put them into practice, and we draw our children along within them
as closely as we can. We talk about what values matter most to us. We
explain why we belong to certain groups and not to others. And we try
to ensure that children are aware of the values of respect, of the
dignity of humans, even of those with whom we may have disagreements.
And we encase these in names, starting with the names we give our
children and those whom we love.

	 In other words, we do our best to give a specific identity to our
children, but we have to pray that they’ll find these practices,
these beliefs, this way of life to be important enough that each child
will make it her or his own.

	 And so with Jesus. Things unfolded in such a strange way since
Gabriel and Mary first stared into each other’s eyes. This was not
to be an easy road – stress, physical exertion, mental ambiguities,
loneliness, questioning – they were all part of the road to the
birth of the boy whose name they were asked to speak. And they knew
that it wouldn’t stop there. Jesus’ Name was assurance of that.
God saves – so many people didn’t want that. So many people would
far rather put their trust in what they devise for themselves. Even
Jesus Himself wrestled with His Name. How could He save, especially if
people had so much trouble understanding Him. How could His Name, as
Paul wrote more than fifty years after the birth; how could Jesus’
Name be above every other Name? How could people hold on to Jesus’
Name when they saw that it led to violence, and flight to avoid
persecution and pain, and led to so much social disruption? Yet people
STILL find in the Name of Jesus, and to their own names given them as
sisters and brothers of Jesus; people STILL find hope and salvation in
Jesus, no matter what pressures and threats come.

	 Because of Jesus, because of His name, because of the promise that
Jesus’ Name brings today, “At several steps on their path to death
by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian
workers near Aleppo, Syria had the option to leave the area and live.
The 12-year-old son of a ministry team leader also could have spared
his life by denying Christ…” – they had the opportunity to
betray Jesus’ Name, but they could not. “‘I asked them to leave,
but I gave them the freedom to choose,’ said the ministry director,
his voice tremulous as he recalled their horrific deaths. ‘As their
leader, I should have insisted that they leave.’

	 “They stayed because they believed they were called to share
Christ with those caught in the crossfire, he said.” 3

	 This baby, this innocuous, indistinguishable-from-any-other-baby;
this Baby whom we tend to wrap in sentimentality, even in the way that
talk of His name – Jesus; this Baby now named “God comes to our
help” WILL take us places which may not always please us. This –
or should I say HE – HE is the photograph of God. And by our own
births and baptisms, we too are Photographs of God.

	 As the British researcher said, “Names are at the core of our
identity and are also related to important legal identities, how we
are identified by states and governments.”  Our Name is Christian
– with ALL that that implies, and is a blessing to us as much as to
the world. Jesus’ Name, our names, bring tremendous joy and
possibilities, and tremendous responsibilities. God bless us. God save
us. God deliver us from everything that would take from us our
God-given names.

	NOTES

	[1]  “Photograph God: Creating a Spiritual Blog of Your Life” by
Mel Alexenberg. CreateSpace, North Charleston, South Carolina. © 2015
PHOTOGRAPH GOD: Creating a Spiritual Blog of Your Life: MEL ... [1]
https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893
[2]

	2 _“I__n Depth / Psychology Why Millennials are choosing strange
baby names” _Unusual and truly unique names are becoming far more
common – and the trend reflects some profound shifts in our culture.

	By Tiffanie Wen 21 December 2016
http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=80705606da31caf643e835c621c7f04c6e261f5cc689d6090cfc7d2cf71f56c85d0e7facd530df85
[3]

	3 _CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION [4] “Christian missionaries in Aleppo
crucified and beheaded”  _October 16, 2016

	http://archbishopcranmer.com/christian-missionaries-aleppo-crucified-beheaded/
[5] 

Robert P. MorrisonSt Alban's Episcopal ChurchPO Box 1556Albany, OR.,
97321
541-921-1076

Links:
------
[1]
https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893
[2]
https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893
[3]
http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=80705606da31caf643e835c621c7f04c6e261f5cc689d6090cfc7d2cf71f56c85d0e7facd530df85
[4] http://archbishopcranmer.com/category/christian-persecution/
[5]
http://archbishopcranmer.com/christian-missionaries-aleppo-crucified-beheaded/

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