Names
Genesis 12:1-7
This first encounter between God and Abraham--still Abram, at this point--serves well as we continue to walk through Lent.
Spend some time with the name-change. Biblically, names were important. In the Hebrew tradition, a name was more than a name, but a definition of character. Eve was named "morning" because she was the dawn of a new era in humanity. Jacob is named Israel because he wrestled with God, as would the generations of his descendants. Jesus is named Yeshua because he will be the Savior. Peter is named because he will be the stone on which the Church is built. To get your name changed meant something existential occurred in your life. Saul becomes Paul because he is no longer who he was before the Damascus Road experience, for example. Abram will not remain Abram, for he now has begun a walk with God.
Beware! Faith will change us.
The more deeply we walk with God, we will change. The world will not look the same nor be the same. We will view one another differently. We will view those whom we meet along the way with different eyes. Walking with Christ changes everything. Love becomes the foundation of our words and deeds.
But it takes time to grow into a new name.
Abram is still Abram here. God has just started working on him.
Perhaps that gives us more room to treat the Church with grace and compassion. The steadfast critique of the Church has always been its hypocrisy. Sitting in a sanctuary during a Presbytery meeting can be a disheartening experience. Quite often one of the items of business is dealing with conflicted congregations or dealing with conflicted constituents within the Church institution itself. And, yes, these are extremely human conflicts. Folks say things they probably ought not to say. The conflict comes because someone did something they probably ought not to have done. The body of Christ--one Lord, one faith, one baptism--becomes a laughable parody of itself. Well, maybe we are still growing into our name as followers of Christ. Maybe we haven't gotten there yet. Maybe we haven't yet matured in our faith.
Does that last though sound condescending? The storyteller makes sure we know how old Abram is when God comes calling--75. Most of us would agree that such an age should be an age of maturity.
But not in this story.
It will be another 25 years--TWENTY FIVE YEARS--before the promise begins to come to be in the birth of Isaac. Old Abram will be 100 years old before he begins to grow into the promise of God.
Recently, the sports news told the story of Fauja Singh, the world oldest marathoner, who ran his last competitive race in February--he is 101 years old. He did not start running until he was 89.
It is never too late to grow into something.
Give yourself space and time. As we practice patience with ourselves, we grow more deeply into Christ; we grow into our new identity as people of Christ.
It never stops. It never has to. Faith is a practice. The joy is in the work.
Keep walking.
This first encounter between God and Abraham--still Abram, at this point--serves well as we continue to walk through Lent.
Spend some time with the name-change. Biblically, names were important. In the Hebrew tradition, a name was more than a name, but a definition of character. Eve was named "morning" because she was the dawn of a new era in humanity. Jacob is named Israel because he wrestled with God, as would the generations of his descendants. Jesus is named Yeshua because he will be the Savior. Peter is named because he will be the stone on which the Church is built. To get your name changed meant something existential occurred in your life. Saul becomes Paul because he is no longer who he was before the Damascus Road experience, for example. Abram will not remain Abram, for he now has begun a walk with God.
Beware! Faith will change us.
The more deeply we walk with God, we will change. The world will not look the same nor be the same. We will view one another differently. We will view those whom we meet along the way with different eyes. Walking with Christ changes everything. Love becomes the foundation of our words and deeds.
But it takes time to grow into a new name.
Abram is still Abram here. God has just started working on him.
Perhaps that gives us more room to treat the Church with grace and compassion. The steadfast critique of the Church has always been its hypocrisy. Sitting in a sanctuary during a Presbytery meeting can be a disheartening experience. Quite often one of the items of business is dealing with conflicted congregations or dealing with conflicted constituents within the Church institution itself. And, yes, these are extremely human conflicts. Folks say things they probably ought not to say. The conflict comes because someone did something they probably ought not to have done. The body of Christ--one Lord, one faith, one baptism--becomes a laughable parody of itself. Well, maybe we are still growing into our name as followers of Christ. Maybe we haven't gotten there yet. Maybe we haven't yet matured in our faith.
Does that last though sound condescending? The storyteller makes sure we know how old Abram is when God comes calling--75. Most of us would agree that such an age should be an age of maturity.
But not in this story.
It will be another 25 years--TWENTY FIVE YEARS--before the promise begins to come to be in the birth of Isaac. Old Abram will be 100 years old before he begins to grow into the promise of God.
Recently, the sports news told the story of Fauja Singh, the world oldest marathoner, who ran his last competitive race in February--he is 101 years old. He did not start running until he was 89.
It is never too late to grow into something.
Give yourself space and time. As we practice patience with ourselves, we grow more deeply into Christ; we grow into our new identity as people of Christ.
It never stops. It never has to. Faith is a practice. The joy is in the work.
Keep walking.
Comments
Post a Comment