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Named Series:
The Born Identity John
1:29-42; Isaiah 49:1-7 2nd
Sunday after Epiphany, Year A A sermon preached at First UMC, De Queen, AR on January
20, 2008 by the Revd David S Williams Jason Bourne You may recall in the
Bourne series, when Jason Bourne realizes he suffers from amnesia, like a
maze in the middle of the city, he begins to try to retrace his steps to find
out the truth of his identity. He finds his passports in a safety deposit box
that have numerous names listed in them- one for each of his conspicuous
identities. He is called Jason Bourne throughout the series, until one good
soul reveals his real name, his real identity – the ordinary name of a
Midwestern boy, David Webb. This
truth gives him hope, the powerful promise of a new start, a new beginning in
life to free him from his painful past and groping in the dark. John the Baptist In our gospel story
today, we learn about Jesus through the testimony of several witnesses. It is
a story about the declaration of identities, revealing the nature of the names of these characters in the story. We learn who Jesus is
from other witnesses. And we also discover the transformed identities of
those who give witness to him and about him. The first to give witness is John the Baptist. Unlike the other
gospel stories concerning Jesus’ baptism, we don’t hear a heavenly voice or
see a dove light on Jesus. We only hear John’s testimony about what he saw and what he experienced. “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world!” This is he of whom I
said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before
me.’” Here is the one on whom I saw
the Spirit descend like a dove. Here is the one who will baptize with the
Holy Spirit. “And I myself have seen
and testified that this is the Son
of God.” John is the first eye-witness of Jesus. He points
to the Savior of the world. Now, follow him. John’s Two Disciples Following John’s
testimony, the second witnesses
enter the story. These are John’s disciples, those who have been following
John’s leadership and ministry for some time. Now, John tells them it is time
to follow Jesus. So they follow. Jesus asks them, “What are you seeking, what are you
looking for?” At one level, Jesus is simply initiating small talk. At another level, Jesus is asking, probing, at the deepest level
of the human soul. “What in life is most important to you? What are you
seeking in life for meaning and fulfillment?” The fountain of youth?
The finer things in life? What are you
looking for? They simply want to know Jesus’ address and zip
code. “Where do you live, where are
you staying?” They ask a very appropriate
question of discipleship. They are seeking Jesus, to be with him, to know
him, to follow him. So they need his residence. Not simply, his physical
address. The word for “staying” is the same word translated in other places
in the gospel, “abide.” In other words, “How can we get to know who you are
and what you are like and discern your way in the world, without spending
time with you, build a relationship with you, live with you and you with us?” So Jesus invites them
to, “Come and see.” In one sense, Jesus is inviting them
to his house. “I live on the corner of This is an interesting invitation. Look at the order of the
words, “Come and see.” Often, when
I have thought of the nature of being a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, I
have thought that we must “believe” the right
things about Jesus, by knowing who he is (“see” Jesus) before we can
actually follow Jesus (“come” to Jesus). For John, the order is reversed. Rather we first follow Jesus along the way of becoming
a disciple (come), then along the way
of being with Jesus, we then come
to a more fuller understanding of
and belief in who Jesus is (see). So they respond to Jesus
invitation to, “Come and see.” Andrew and Simon Peter And as they do,
something begins to happen in their lives. In a similar way to John the
Baptist, these disciples become witnesses of Jesus. And the circle of
testimony widens as Andrew shares the news with his brother Simon. “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew introduces Simon
to Jesus and when he does, something happens in this encounter between Jesus
and Simon. John only records a snapshot. Jesus gives Simon a name. He is known as Simon, but Jesus sees more in Simon than Simon may see
in himself. He sees Cephas
or Peter, meaning “Rock.” In other words, you are the one on whom the
testimony and witness of the Christian faith rests, the foundation, the Rock
of our faith in Jesus. You know Simon, don’t
you? Ø
He’s the guy
who was a cranky fisherman and after a long days work with no catch of fish,
he hesitantly casts out one more time at Jesus’ invitation, then his luck
begins to change. Ø
He’s the guy
who always spoke up for his friends – sticking his foot in his mouth, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and right after the confession of
the Christ, Jesus rebukes Peter like the devil. Ø
He’s the guy
in the boat with his frightened friends and since he wants to be the first to
walk on water, he steps his big bold foot into the stormy sea and begins to
sink. Ø
He’s the guy
so sure of his footing that he would not
deny Jesus, no matter what and at the most distressing point in his life old
Simon slips and falls, slurring words, “I never knew him.” Simon, that’s his name.
He may not perceive himself as rock solid, but Jesus sees something
in Simon that begins to change, to transform his identity. Jesus gives Simon a
new name. A new name expresses
a change in purpose, a new identity, a new way of being in the world. Simon
is Peter – The Rock. As William Barclay
writes, “Jesus does not only see what a man is; he also sees what a man can
become. He sees not only the actualities in a man; he also sees the
possibilities.” Name Calling We all know the stories
of people who have experienced the abuse of name calling. The old saying,
“sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,” is
simply not true to the person who
is the victim of name-calling. We know that hurtful names can crush people and break spirits. These experiences lead
us to the cheapening of our names.
We succumb to the demonic suggestion that “we are” the name we “make” for
ourselves in this world. “He really turned out to be somebody, didn’t he!” or
that “we are” by how much “we make” a year. “We are” our “total assets.” “We
are” whom we “belong to,” a personal appendage and no more; and, when “they”
are gone, or if we don’t happen to find “that special someone” to whom we can
attach who “we are,” then we turn out to be nobody, or at least no one who
has much success in “interpersonal relationships.” “We are” “the success”
we manage to accomplish, “the million” we manage to win, earn or steal (is
there really a difference in a world where millions starve daily?); and, of
course, if “we are” none of these things, as most of the people of this world
happen to be, then we are nobody because we don’t count in the view of the
rich and the powerful and the arrogant (Thanks to Barry Robinson for these
insights). Jacob Names are powerful.
According to The Bible is big on names.
For instance, Jabob’s name literally means, “heal
grabber, Trickster or Deceiver.” His name tells us something that is true
about his character throughout the story. Jacob is a conniving, sneaky,
back-stabbing, it-it-for-himself kind of guy, and when we come to the end of
Jacob’s story, when he has to confront his past, he is broken down as he
wrestles with a man by the Maybe rock-solid Peter, while his name
implies strength, fortitude, steady loyalty, will always remember who he once
was, the Simon who slipped, slurred and sank. I think that
is why the Christian song writer, Michael Card, calls Simon Peter, “the
fragile stone.” Christening When you bring your baby
to the font to be baptized, often you call it, “Christening.” “Christening,”
quite literally means, “giving the child a “Christ-name” – “the name
Christian.” This practice of
“christening” is very ancient in the church. When the church was preparing
new converts for the waters of baptism, they were pared up with other
Christian disciples, witnesses of the faith. These disciples were mentors,
living witnesses and testimonies to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. These
disciples mentored by their way of life, their living example of the way of
Jesus. And when the newly baptized candidate entered the waters they were
given new names, like Saul, later became, Paul in the Book of Acts. When I was at Saint Paul
School of Theology, I had the privilege of taking a class with an Orthodox
nun named Dr. Verna Harris. However, when Dr. Harris introduced herself to the class, she shared her Christian testimony.
She introduced herself to us by her Christian name, Sister Nona. She was named after a sister saint in the church. That was her new name forging a new
identity in Christ, her new born
identity. I’m fascinated by this early church practice that still goes on in
other Christian traditions. The naming of our children, the names we call
people, your names are given their power, pain or demise. Names Reveal Our Purpose What is the point of all
this naming? “Today, the way this
story continues to be told is through our lives and witness as the baptized
children of God. We are the ones who have received a new name, a new
identity. We are now the community
called to follow Jesus and invite others to “come and see.” God is depending
on us to make Jesus known to the world through our life and witness. Our name, Christian, reveals our
God-empowered purpose. We are not given any way to prove who Jesus is – no voices from
heaven. Rather, just as God depended on John to speak the reality of Jesus
into the world, so God depends on us, like Andrew, to make Jesus known to
others. In the power of the
Spirit, which the resurrected Jesus has breathed upon us, we offer our
fragile and vulnerable testimony to Jesus, backed up by the faithfulness and
integrity of our Christian lives (John 20:22). Ø
Do our words
and deeds bear witness to Jesus? Ø
And when we
invite people to “come,” will they be able to “see” Jesus in our church? Ø
Will they be
able to say, “Yes, Jesus stays here; yes, the Spirit that rested on Jesus is
at work in this place?” (Thanks to C. Campbell in Roger E. Van Harn’s, The
Lectionary Commentary: The Third Invitation: Come and See My name is David Shelton
Williams. That name means a lot to me. And someday I’ll share a little bit
about the origins of my name. But
for now, I simply want to say, I’m also a Christian, through the waters of my
baptism and the imprint of the life-giving spirit. My name is written down in
blood, written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life. So, what’s your name?
Jesus gives us new names today. Brother and Sister, “Come and see…” That
makes all the difference in the world of who you will become and what you are
called to do in this life. In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
