What’s in a Name?

William Shakespeare wrote in his famous play, Romeo and Juliet, the equally famous line, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” His point was that a name is just a name, and does not change the actual nature of what it denotes or describes. It is used in the play to lament the fact that the star-crossed lovers respectively bore last names that belonged to warring families, preventing them from what could have been a wonderful life together.

Those who study languages know this all too well, as different languages use different words to refer to the same item. Pointing to a frog, for example, various speakers might call it a frog, a Frosch, a grenouille, a rana, a kikker (my favorite) or  a sammakko. And that’s just in Europe! Even though people have come up with different names for the same animal, the nature of that animal does not change. That which we call a frog by any other name would smell as . . . I mean, hop as far. Well, you get the idea.

But when it comes to the names people call themselves and each other, the matter is not so simple. Especially when it comes to grouping people into different categories, the name or title used can be happily embraced, angrily denounced, or changed daily according to fashion. Thus, people in our society have insisted on being called certain things, some of which are brand new names. And those preferred names can and do change. For example, people who were once called idiots (not an insult at the time) were then called retarded (meaning slower to develop, again not an insult), then special education students (or “speds” which did become an insult), then  “developmentally challenged,” “people with cognitive disabilities,” and most recently, “differently capable.” But the people so-described or so-named didn’t change.

People are lumped into generational categories, racial and ethnic groups, and self-described gender identities. It’s hard to keep track of the name-du-jour, if one wants to be politically correct.

Not decrying such efforts, I embrace them in today’s blog, as I suggest to you some names with which you may group Karen and me. We will not be offended by any of the following, but fully endorse your usage of them when it comes to describing us:

We are biennials. As we begin a new year, Karen and I stand across two different years, 2018 and 2019. We have no regrets from the outgoing year, but look forward to the incoming year with anticipation. We will not, however, celebrate it by watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. We will be lucky to watch the ball drop in Times Square . . . on TV . . . at 9:00 pm Pacific Time.

We are perennials. Like flowers that are planted once and keep coming back, so do we. Year after year after year. Even if you don’t want us to, we are there. Like weeds. Twenty-four years so far in California, which was originally planned as a one-year internship. Yep, perennials.

We are bi-centennials. Not only did we live during America’s Bicentennial celebration (1976-1981 for you youngsters out there), our lives have spanned two centuries (so far). We were there at Valley Forge on July the 4th, 1976, and at the Battle of Yorktown – the reenactment in 1981, of course – we’re not quadri-centennials, after all, regardless of my hair color!

We are trans-millennials. Spanning two centuries is cool, but spanning two millennia is just plain awesome! How many people in all history can say they lived during two millennia? Okay, maybe billions of people, but it’s still awesome.

I am a batrachophile, Karen is a bactrachophobe. Considering the Greek word for frog is batrachos, you can figure out where we stand in relation to my pet frog, Romeo (not to be confused with Shakespeare’s character of the same name. Actually, I suspect the frog may be a Juliet instead . . . as the Bard said, “What’s in a name? . . . “).

We are sexagenarians. Don’t assume you know what this means. Look it up.

We are uniterrestrials. Not to be confused with members of a church bearing a similar name. We live on one planet, the same as everyone else, except the few who at any one time are orbiting the same planet in a space station. By the way, that space station isn’t that far away; it’s closer to us than Bakersfield, CA. So wave, the next time it goes by. And be thankful you’re down here and not up there.

We are bibliophiles. Yep, book lovers. Karen reads all her books now in e-reader format, and that way can carry hundreds of them on her at a time. Which is about right for a weekend’s reading for her. I, on the other hand, require thousands of hard- and soft-cover books weighing at least a ton, books that I can actually hold in my hand – before going to the computer and reading them in digital format. At least I know that when the world runs out of electricity, I’ll be the one with the library. And library cards will not be cheap.

I am an omnivore. We have a nephew who as a little child loved dinosaurs. Each day he would announce to his parents whether he was a carnivore or an herbivore, so they could choose his food appropriately. Eschewing those names, I chew as an omnivore, meaning I will eat anything that is edible and not moving, though I could waive the last part if I get hungry enough. Then, I may turn from a batrachophile to a batrachovore.

We are Christians. Ah, now we’re on to something important! What could be more vital than to bear the name and title of our Savior? In the Old Testament, God spoke of those who were called by his name. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 he said, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Then, in Isaiah 43:6-7 he said, “Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Then in the New Testament, Philippians 2:9-11 proclaims triumphantly, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should 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.” To be associated with Jesus Christ, to be found in him, to be called by his name, is the greatest title we ever could have. The title will outlast all fashions of political correctness, and will be with us forever. Because of Christ.

We are trans-peccatoris. We are sinners who have “crossed over,” that is, been made righteous by the grace of God through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. In the words of Martin Luther, we are “simul justis et peccator” (“at the same time, saint and sinner”), whereas without faith we are just peccatoris.  In the words of John Newton’s great hymn, Amazing Grace, “[We] once were lost, but now are found, [were] blind but now [we] see.” There is a basic change in our very nature, in which the righteousness of Jesus Christ was imputed, that is reckoned to us by faith. We retain the old nature in part, but we now have the new nature as well. We are “trans” in the highest use of the term.

We are eternalists. If we thought spanning centuries and millennia was something special, just wait until we span eons and ages without number. When we have, according to a verse added to Amazing Grace by another lyricist:

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We’ll have no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.”

That’s one of the best descriptions of eternity’s duration, though not of course, of all its glory. That we’ll just have to wait to see for ourselves!

So then, what’s in a name? Either nothing, or everything. It depends on what the name is, and why we have it. We can choose any name or title for ourselves, and find that it is only temporary, or we can take on the Name of Christ through faith in him, and be conformed to him forever. Interestingly, the Book of Revelation speaks of new names that Christ will one day give us. Revelation 2:17 says, “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

So what’s in a name? Plenty, if it is the Name which is above every name: the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. May his name be found in you now and forever!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Philippians 2:5-11, Acts 2, Acts 15:6-21