Sermon at First Presbyterian Church Lockhart
"What’s In A
Name?”
by James Greene
In
our current culture we don’t pay much attention to the symbolism and the impact of the use of names, but we should.
The readings today
reflect the theme and the focus of the importance and the symbolism
in assigning names. It is all about “What’s In A Name”.
Names have always fascinated me,
- especially the symbolism and the history behind names. Have you
ever
noticed how names have an identifying purpose for their significance,
for places, things and people?
We keep hearing in
the news these days, how we are no longer a Christian nation. Yet, if
you look close enough, you will find in
Streets names reflect their purpose:
Commerce, Church,
People’s last names are linked to
a craft: Smith, Cooper, Wheeler, Boatwright. Symbolic first names: James: “Successor”,
The Name, in the Old
Testament, was related to the personality
or characteristic of the
child, or the parent’s response
in gratitude to God, or their aspirations for the child. The name describes
the circumstances at the time of
the child’s birth, or, God gives the name for a divine
established role that the child will
play in history. In the Old
Testament, when they name something
it gives them power over it,
and for a child is to take responsibility
for the child, or animal.
The Lord names the prophet’s children in
Hosea.
This is done,
along with the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophesy. His first
son Jesreel which means “God sows”, reflects the destruction of the Northern
Kingdom of
Yet, even in the
midst of all of this rejection there is the prophesy, that God, will not totally abandon His people. “In the place where it was said to
them “You are not my people”, they will be called “Sons of the living God”. They
will still be a part of God’s
family. Even in their rebellion, the God of Israel still cares
for them.
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In Psalm 85 we see the call
upon God to show his unfailing love and extend His
forgiveness, and restore His
People. We see a call that reminds
God to remember his Righteousness and
to offer salvation to the people that bear his name.
II What is in the Name of God?
The Jewish idea
of the divine nature, and the relationship of God
to the Jewish people and to
the world, is demonstrated in the sacredness of
the names of God. This was the means of showing respect and reverence for the sacredness
of God.
In Hebrew the name spelled
out is YHWH (called the Tetragrammaton –
the 4 letters/symbols) is found 6,828 times in the Hebrew
Bible. It is in the archaic third
person singular imperfect
of the verb "to be",
meaning, therefore, "He is". When God
is speaking it is used in the first
person — "I am". In the Hebrew text we see it translated as “O Lord”, or “Lord”, or “The One”
This is to express that, God exists by himself (for himself) and is the
uncreated Creator that is independent of any concept, force, or entity;
therefore as we read and we understand in Deuteronomy "I am that I am".
This four-letter name of
God, YHWH, is forbidden
to be uttered except by the High Priest
in the Holy Temple on the day of atonement Yom Kippur. The name consists of four vowels that are unpronounceable
together. In the Old English this is translated as Jehovah. But for Christians to pronounce the name
is considered an offense to
the Jews. The reason behind this (to pronounce the name) limits and defines God! With the unpronounceable
name: the concept of God is unlimited. The key element in all of this,
is that the name
of God is and should remain unpronounceable.
III Titles of God
Adoni
(master) we use “Lord” in
English translations,
El (mighty one),
El-Shaddi ( mighty
one, almighty) Elyon (most
high), Elohim (mighty one of
authority), Avinu (our father), Shekhinah (presence, manifestation,
glory, dwelling among humanity), Kadosh
Israel (the Holy One of Israel), and the Rock of Israel,
Other titles that we have heard
and know in English - The
Ancient of Days, The Eternal One, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The God of Israel, the Shepherd of Israel, The Lord
that heals, The Lord our
Righteousness. These pronounceable titles describe the actions and attributes of
God. These all reflect the divine aspects,
which are attributed to Him, but they do not fully define God.
The
title and the term Father, identifies
that he is the origin of things subject
to him. He is a supreme and powerful, authority and protector. Fatherhood
is inherent to God's nature, and his eternal relationship with the creation and his people.
In Judaism, God is called "Father" in a unique
sense of familiarity.
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In Colossians we see the fullness of God in Jesus the Christ. It is Jesus
alone who can provide us with the divine assistance and is the key to our salvation. We belong to Christ and Christ is
sufficient to save us. He is the Son
of the living God, and he points us to God for our redemption.
Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua – “God saves”, “God helps”,
“salvation”. His name is divinely
symbolic and reflects his divine
purpose not only for God’s
people but also for all
people and all creation. His title “The
Christ” means “The anointed One”.
He comes to show us The Way to God. It is
through him, that we have access to the father. In Luke
he teaches the apostles and
us “how to pray” to God the Father. It is with that same familiarity of a Hebrew father. It is also through him that we are grafted
onto the root of
V
What is In A Name?”
We
see that God’s name is unpronounceable. It cannot define or confine him because
he is the creator of all. Yet God
does hear our prayers. He does hear
us even when we call upon him
in
our human condition. He still fulfills
the roles of his titles. He still
is a Father to us, and
our highest goal is to glorify
his name.
In
contrast to this, the name of
Jesus, the Son of God, can be
pronounce. He is our
access, our way, to the father.
He helps us to understand
the power and authority that we have through him when we pray to
the father “in
his name”. It must be with the sincerity, integrity, and the righteousness that is in
alignment with God’s Will.
It
is to God, and “in his name”
that calls upon his power and
authority that we can pray to God.
What
is in a name? The unpronounceable
love of God towards His Creation. That is why
we can call upon that love….
In the name of… The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Spirit. A-men
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