Friday, July 25, 2008

“Bearing the Name” - Matthew 28:16-20

In the name of the Father and of Son and of Holy Spirit—Amen.

“In the name of the Father and of Son and of Holy Spirit.” This phrase that we hear so regularly—at least for me—often falls on deaf ears. It is something I have heard thousands of times and have become jaded and almost cold towards. It seldom carries much meaning with it when I hear it. Maybe, you find this to be true for yourself also.

So, what does this phrase even mean?—this phrase which finds itself in our text for today—this phrase that Matthew records as central to the final words of the resurrected Jesus. What does it mean that we baptize, that we carry out our worship, that we carry out our lives “in the name of the Father and of Son and of Holy Spirit?” “In the name of”? “What’s in a name?”

Most of you are probably familiar with this question which William Shakespeare wrote in “Romeo & Juliet”: “What’s in a name?” Is a name just a label or does it have to do with our very identity? Let’s recount part of the famous balcony scene where Juliet, who is from the Capulet family, declares her love for Romeo, who is from the Montague family—the dire enemy of the Capulets…

[Juliet speaks:] O Romeo, Romeo! why are you Romeo? Deny your father and refuse your name; Or, if you will not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. ‘Tis but your name that is my enemy;— You are yourself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is not hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owns Without that title:—Romeo, throw off your name; And in exchange for that name, which is no part of you, Take all myself.
[Romeo responds:] I take you at your word: Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized; From then on I will never be Romeo.

Strangely enough, here in these impassioned words of Romeo and Juliet we find something which can teach us to appreciate what Jesus says when he speaks of being baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here in this play, Romeo and Juliet see that their family names keep them apart. They come from two separate houses that are enemies with each other. In order to bridge this gap which stands between them, Juliet calls for Romeo to forsake his name, to forsake his father and his association with his family—and if he will not, then she will. For if he is to be a Montague and she is to be a Capulet, they cannot be together.

Romeo’s response to Juliet’s plea is remarkable. Even though Juliet, for the sake of her love, wants a name to be nothing but a superficial label, Romeo still recognizes the depth of what it means to carry his name. Romeo could cease to call himself “Montague” but if he still lived and associated with his family, he would still be a Montague, an enemy of Juliet, the Capulet. Therefore, Romeo responds by telling Juliet that if she would call him a new name, call him her “love”, he will be newly baptized—he will cease to be Romeo, he will cease to be a Montague—he will become a new man, he will become defined by his love and relationship with Juliet—he will take on a completely new identity. This transformation of identity would need to be far more than superficial. No longer could Romeo socialize in the same circles, no longer could he live as a Montague, he truly would have to deny his family. His entire life would need to be forsaken; his entire life would need to be changed.

So “What’s in a name?” Is a name just a label or does it have to do with our very identity? If we learn to understand bearing a name like Romeo we will see it is far more than a label—it is an identity which changes and shapes every part of our lives. Looking to the Scriptures and especially to Jesus we will see that Romeo was right.

In the Scriptures we see that names are changed when lives are changed.
· Think of Abram. His name was changed to Abraham—which means “father of a multitude”—after God promised him that he, a 100 year old childless man, would be the father of many nations.
· Think of Jacob. His name was changed to Israel—which means “wrestles with God”—after he wrestled with God and received a blessing that would alter the path of his life forever.
· Think of Simon. His name was changed to Peter—which means “rock”— after Jesus declared that he would build his Church on Peter’s bold confession of faith.
· And think of Saul. His name was changed to Paul after being called by Jesus while on the road to Damascus—Saul’s old life and identity was forever left behind so that he might follow Jesus, proclaiming the Gospel to the nations as Paul.

So it is with all the disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his disciples that they are to go to all the world making disciples by baptizing “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and teaching those to obey all that he has commanded. The disciples are called to go and change names and lives, to burst apart families—to change which family we belong to—to bring Capulets and Montagues out of their enemy families and into the family of God.

According to Jesus, this happens to us in two ways. The first is in our baptism. When we are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” we change families. Our old bonds to the world are left behind and they are replaced by our new bonds to the Church—to the Body of Christ—to this very community, to these people sitting right around you.

In the early church there was a common practice of changing the name of new disciples at their baptism. In the case of an infant baptism it was customary to wait till this time to give this child a name for the first time. This symbolic action of name giving was done in order to show that in your baptism your name and identity is forever changed in a real way—you now bear the name of God. You have left the family of the world and entered the family of the Church. You have left the world’s ways of greed, lust, anger, jealousy, and selfishness behind. No longer are you a Capulet or Montague who struggles through violence to obtain wealth and status. You are now a member of the Body of Christ, a child of God who patiently and non-violently looks to the Father in heaven for all things.

This transformation of identity and change of families also happens to us through teaching. Jesus specifically declared that disciples are made through baptizing and teaching. Teaching gives the disciples the content for their new life and identity. Teaching is not something that makes the disciples “smart” or allows them to simply “explain their faith.” Teaching has its goal, as Jesus says, in obedience, not some “intellectual understanding.” Teaching shows us that it is not enough to simply claim the name of God—we are called to live out the name of God.

Jesus teaches us this in the Sermon on the Mount when he says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

In these harsh words of Jesus we find out that to be a Christian “in name only” is deadly. Prophesying, casting out demons, and mighty works in Jesus’ name is not what makes us bearers of the “name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” What makes us bearers of that name to the world is the fact that we embody the teaching and life of Jesus that has been given to us in our baptism.

Jesus himself is the one in whom we see what it means to bear the name of God. In our baptism and through the teaching of the Church our life takes on the shape and image of Jesus Christ. Just think of the motion that is common when we say the words “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In that name our life takes on the shape and image of the cross and resurrection.

For us to bear the image of the cross means that we live in this world by walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We love our neighbors. We turn the other cheek. We go the extra mile. We bless those who curse us. We do good to those who hate us. We pray for those who abuse us. We love our enemies. We lay down our lives for our friends. We live with Jesus as the Lord of our entire life—not America, not money, not our family—Jesus alone is our Lord. And because we live as such, the world, our culture, and even our family may reject us. Jesus told his disciples this very thing: “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Matthew 10:21).

The world will hate you. You will suffer. The culture will reject you. Your family may betray you. And you may even be put to death. That is what it means bear the name of the crucified one, to live as one who has been baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

But we bear the name of the one who was not only crucified, we bear the name of the one who was also raised from the dead. Jesus doesn’t leave his disciples without hope, he says: “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).

On the other side of the cross is the resurrection. You will be raised to new life in Jesus Christ. You were baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and therefore you are no longer a Capulet or Montague who will die without hope. God has made you a part of His family; you have been made a child of God. You have the certain promise that because you have died with Christ in your baptism, you will also be raised to new life with him at the resurrection of the body.

Your name has changed, your identity has changed, and therefore your life has changed. You bear “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and that means that your life bears witness to the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Bearing this name before the world is not easy, but Jesus Christ, the one who conquered and defeated death for you, promised you in his last words of Matthew—“I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In the name of the Father and of Son and of Holy Spirit—Amen.

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Anonymous said...

Saul never changed his name to PAUL he had two names he had a Jewish Hebrew name SAUL and a ROMAN name PAUL saying he name was changed is NOT biblical