Skip to main content

What's in a name?

Today I'm wearing special socks: lavender and black with my name at the ankle (Julia) and the words "clever and kind" on the arch. They make me smile to wear them. How anyone knew me well enough to mass produce socks that describe me perfectly to be sold in a store in England... I'll never know. Are all Julias clever and kind?

When I put on my socks this morning, I thought, "My socks say I am Julia", which lead to the thought, "Who do you say that I am?" Now you can see where this is going- right?

In the gospel story (Matt. 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21), Jesus asks his disciples about the word on the street about him, "Who do people say that I am?" The disciples tell him that some people think he might be John the Baptist or Elijah or possibly another historic prophet- returned from the dead. When Jesus asks his followers who they believe he is, Peter blurts out, "You are the Messiah (or the Christ)." For once Peter had the right answer, though Jesus urged him and the others not to tell anyone.

In the coming church seasons (Advent and Christmas), we will hear many names for Jesus. There are the names one of the writers of Isaiah wrote with a savior in mind, "Wonderful, Counselor, ... Prince of Peace." These are combined with other names we have for Jesus: the Vine, the Potter, Bread of Life, Light of the World, etc.

We do not use all the names, all the time- but certain names seem more fitting at certain times. We do not necessarily think of Bread of Heaven when we are praying for healing. This Sunday is Christ the King- when we think of Christ very differently than we will four weeks from now.

At a time when we are hearing Christ's name in a variety of ways, celebrating his coming and anticipating his return- I encourage you to ponder in your heart the names of God and who you say that God is. I know I will.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Religious Holidays in Anchorage

You may have read in the Anchorage Daily News about a new policy regarding certain religious holidays and the scheduling of school activities. If not, a link to the article is here . The new rules do not mean that school will be out on these new holiday inclusions, but that the Anchorage School District will avoid scheduling activities, like sporting events, on these days. The new list includes Passover, Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , Eid al - Fitr and Eid al - Adha . They are added to a list which includes New Year's, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The new holidays may be unfamiliar to some: Passover is a Jewish celebration, in the springtime, that commemorates the events in Egypt that led up to the Exodus. The name of the holiday comes specifically from the fact that the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the plague which killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians. Passover is a holiday

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the

A Litany for Mother's Day

A: Loving God, You are everywhere the Lord and Giver of life. We praise You for the gift of mothers through whom You give us life. C: We thank You for their willingness to nurture life, for their trust in You to guide them through the labor of childbirth, the uncertainties of youth, the letting go of young adulthood. A: We thank You for all those women, who did not give us birth, but through whom You give us abundant life: C: We thank You for school teachers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, pastors, elders, Sunday School teachers, supervisors, co-workers, neighbors and friends who share wisdom. A: We ask Your tender mercies on all those whose mothers now sing with the heavenly chorus, especially for those whose tears are not yet dry. C: Grant them Your peace, which passes all our understanding. A: We ask Your comforting presence on those mothers who have buried sons and daughters. C: Comfort them with the knowledge of their children in Your eternal care. A: We pray for those w