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"THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES"
EPISTLE SCRIPTURE TEXT:
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
PALM SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 28, 2010

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
PRAYER: Lord, open our eyes, that we may see - and our ears, that we may hear the good news of your Son, Jesus the Christ! Amen.

MESSAGE: What's in a name? William Shakespeare first penned that now famous line. Recently I talked with a young couple who are expecting their first child this summer. So they're currently struggling with what to name their baby. I recall that same struggle, one which Fran and I went through in choosing a name for our second child, son Jonathan. Our first son, Dave, was an easy choice. We simply named him after me - and my father and grandfather and great grandfather before me. When you've got a chain going that long, there's little reason to break it. But with our second child, we didn't have such an easy precedent. We even bought several of those paperback books that are marketed for expectant couples who are trying to choose names for children. Thousands of names are listed, and each name has an underlying meaning. For example, Diana is the name of a beautiful goddess in the ancient Roman religion. My own name, David, derives from the Bible, as do many of the names we commonly use today. "David," in its original Hebrew language, means "beloved of God" and, of course, King David of ancient Israel was a man much beloved of God.

We don't concentrate much upon the underlying meanings of names in our contemporary American culture, but in many lands and cultures, even today, names are selected with specific meanings and purposes attached to them. You are probably somewhat familiar with the practice of certain tribes of Native Americans in such naming - a boy might be called "Running Antelope" in hopes that he would develop swift, strong legs; a girl "White Dove" in order to ensure her purity of character.
As with the Hebrew name "David," which was explained earlier, the Jews of old - and still today - were and are very concerned with the meanings of the names which they select, one for another. In the Bible almost every name has a special meaning. Often, a name is chosen as a prediction of the future of someone's life. Thus Abraham, originally Abram and the first of God's chosen people, bears a name which literally means "father of the nation." Adam, the first human, was named with a word which means "ground" - because Adam was, according to the scriptures, made by God from the ground itself. Do you recall the Biblical incident in which Jesus changed the name of his chief disciple, Simon, to that of Peter, which means "rock?" Jesus sought to change him by changing his name. If he altered wish-washy Simon's name to Peter, a rock, perhaps some rocklike characteristics would begin to develop in the man.

Names in the Bible are not simply "handles" for identification, as we often employ names, but they are descriptive titles which provide insight into a person's character. William Shakespeare famously queried, "What's in a name?" A lot more than meets the ear, especially in the Bible.
And what of the name "Jesus?" According to Luke 1:31, the mother of Jesus, in the sixth month of her pregnancy, was given specific instructions by the angel Gabriel, who came directly from God to tell Mary, "You shall call his name Jesus." The name Jesus, pronounced "Y'shua" in the Hebrew language, is a form of a verb - the same verb from which is derived the term "Hosanna" so frequently voiced on Palm Sunday. Y'shua, or Jesus, literally means "He shall save." Hosanna means "Save us." Thus, as chronicled in Matthew 1:21, the angel tells Mary, "You are to give him the name "Jesus" because he shall save his people from their sins."

The name of Jesus, chosen by God before His actual birth, carries very special, very specific meaning and purpose. That name, and that name only, has the very power and presence of God behind it. In Acts 4:12, we are clearly told: "There is salvation in no other name." Men and woman have healed sickness, rebuked death, and cast out demonic forces in the name of Jesus. Kingdoms have risen and fallen by the speaking of that name - the entire course of earthly history has been radically altered, time and again, through the utterance of that unique name - Jesus. Our scripture text today terms it "the name that is above every name." And ultimately, in God's good time, "at the name of Jesus every knee (shall) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Now some of you might be thinking, in typical Los Alamos fashion, "Our preacher's speaking figuratively today. There's no inherent magic in the word Jesus. We can't literally claim the power of God simply by calling on that name, can we? After all, God doesn't really care by what name we seek him - as long as we do sincerely seek him - isn't that right? Isn't that what you really mean, Pastor?"

Strange to say, this 21st century, well-educated, business-like former-engineer-turned-preacher must answer, in all honesty, "No. I really mean just what I've said." The very name of Jesus is special unto God, in and of itself. When spoken by a believer in him, the name of Jesus can be supernaturally powerful, even miraculous, in its ability to command the attention and affect the will of Almighty God. I can't explain it rationally - but I'm not spinning fairy tales. The name of Jesus really is special, sacred, important to God above every other name ever spoken among humankind.

Yes, I'm well-aware that it sounds "narrow-minded" in the present day to place such importance upon a specific name for God. Why, after all, shouldn't God be accessible by any and all names - or no name whatsoever? Perhaps - but consider for a moment the importance we attach to names. Whenever I come to be the pastor of a church new to me, I know one thing I must do that's of absolutely primary importance. I must learn people's names, and the quicker the better. If you introduce yourself to me six weeks in a row on the way out of church, and each time you tell me your name, by about the seventh or eighth time we meet you're going to expect me to know your name. If I haven't learned your name by then, you're going to be disappointed, frustrated, and eventually angry with me that I don't care enough about you to learn your name.
Is God unreasonable to expect us to call him by name when we repeatedly seek his attention and aid? I think not. "Hey you, higher power out there, whomever you may be" might be OK to gain God's notice the first or second time you ever address God, but it's no way to develop a continuing relationship with the Lord of the universe.

Then, moving one step further, it's also not sufficient to simply remain on a "last name basis" with God. If someone I've known for an extended period of time continues to always address me as "Mr. Ring," I eventually realize that their intention is to keep our relationship formal and businesslike. They're not interested in becoming personal with me. So, too, it is in our contacts with God. If we always address God formally as "God with a capital G" - or with lots of titles of respect like Lord, Almighty, Creator, and so forth - we're really saying that we want to keep any relationship with God on a "last name basis" - structured, businesslike, comfortably distant.
My first name is Dave. If you want to become my friend, to develop a personal relationship with me - I invite you to call me by my first name. Similarly, if you want God's personal attention, his first name, lovingly revealed to men and women everywhere, is Jesus.

Jesus said to his very earliest followers, "I no longer call you servants, but friends." If you want to become a friend of God, to dare to get "personal" with the Almighty, to be on a "first name basis" with your Lord and Savior, the Holy Word of God invites you to call him "Jesus." There's friendship, power, glory, and unlimited possibility in the name above all other names - the blessed name, Jesus. Get to know Jesus, the personal, first-name God.
"What's in a name?" asked William Shakespeare. Everything - if it's the name of Jesus. Amen.

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