It has been an exciting time in the office. Two of our teachers and our very own
Mr. Kevin Pilon are set to welcome babies into the world in the next month or
so. It has been fun playing the
guessing games—date of birth, gender, weight—as staff.
It
has been cool seeing how seriously these couples have been discussing what to
name their child. And what an
important task! To name a child is
to give a new person the name they will have for all eternity. Rather than some in Hollywood—who have
named children Apple, Ocean, Jermajesty or Moon Unit—I am happy to see our own
find meaningful names to give their children.
Our
readings show the weight names carry in the Bible. In forging a covenant with Abraham, God says, “My covenant with you is this: you
are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram; your
name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a
host of nations.” God
stamps His covenant in the very being of Abraham through this name change.
And
perhaps the greatest illustration of a name’s power comes in John 8: “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to
you, before
Abraham came to be, I AM.’” Jesus takes the very name of God (revealed to Moses in the
burning bush) for himself. YHWH
could only be uttered in the first person. It was so sacred Jews did not read or speak this name (save
once a year by the high priest) and speaking this name was equivalent to a
claim to be God. And this is why
the Jews were about to stone Jesus—they called him a blasphemer (and this is
why Jesus was eventually crucified).
Some
critics question the divinity of Christ.
They will say, “Jesus never claims to be God!” Any such critic should read John 8. Jesus clearly manifests his divinity,
and we believe.
Abraham’s
new name, and Jesus’ use of the Divine name carries great weight for salvation
history. Praise God!
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