Reflection - Names

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010420.cfm
1 John 3:7-10
John 1:35-42

His wavy hair earned him the nickname “curly” early in his life.

I’ve known more than a few people whose given names were essentially forgotten because of the prominence of their nicknames. Some still go by a nickname even late in their lives. On the other hand, some nicknames fade as their necessity fades. I once knew a fellow called “little” because his fraternal twin was so much bigger. (By the way, his fraternal twin was known as “big.”) Both nicknames disappeared as their lives took them in separate directions with age.

Then, of course, there have been people through the centuries who have had appellations attached to their names because of something notable. Lincoln was called the Great Emancipator because he freed the slaves. England’s Queen Elizabeth I was dubiously known as the Virgin Queen because she never married. Several historical figures have been called the Great because of conquests or other notable achievements.

In the Book of Genesis we read:

“So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19)

The assignment of names in Biblical Times was not a casual event. Adam gave creatures their names because knowing the creature’s name gave a measure of power over it. That’s at least one of the reasons why God refused to give Moses his name. Neither Moses nor the people were to think they had power over God. Rather, He was to be known as the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Then, of course, we come to the business of changing names. In the Scriptures we find it to be an ancient custom. Abram has his name changed to Abraham. The original name, meant "exalted father", God expands it to mean "father of a multitude", thereby anticipating Abraham’s destiny as the father of the nation to be known by his grandson’s name: Israel.

The last of the patriarchs was Jacob. His original name meant “heel” because of a circumstance of his birth. Of two twins, he was the second to be born, but he emerged from the womb grasping his brother’s heel. Jacob is the man whom we know in Scripture as the one who wrestled through the night with an angel. It is subsequent to that event that his name was changed. "Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28) So it was with Simon, whose name Jesus changed to Ce’phas, which in Aramaic means ‘rock’. When translated into Greek, the common language of the time it was rendered ‘Petrus.’ Peter is the Anglicized version. The change in his name signaled a change in both his mission and his destiny.

In the Advent/Christmas season we are frequently reminded that Jesus — the Messiah — had many names from the Old Testament. He is ‘Savior,’ ‘Redeemer,’ ‘King,’ ‘Priest,’ ‘Ruler,’ ‘Prophet,’ ‘Anointed One,’ ‘Christ.’ The various texts quoted from Isaiah are more poetic even while they are essentially correct. The Messiah is to be the ‘Wonderful Counselor,’ ‘The Mighty God,’ ‘The Everlasting Father,’ ‘The Prince of Peace.’ Further, we are called to remember the meaning of the very name Jesus. It was a fairly common name at the time probably because it was a constant reminder of the central truth of Judaism. The Greek name Iesous is equivalent to the Hebrew name Joshua (Yehoshua'), meaning "Yahweh saves".

My personal favorite of all the titles is one we seldom hear outside the season. Matthew quotes Isaiah when he records it in his Gospel. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"(which means, God with us).

God With Us! What a remarkable and wonderful thing to remember!

All this fascinating exploration of names was provoked by Jesus’ encounter with Simon. But the real thrust of my own reflection took a slightly different turn. As usual, it was in the form of a question: If God were to change my name, what would my new name be? How about you? What would your new name be?