07-07-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 7, 2023
What’s in a name? I remember an episode of the old sitcom, Laverne and Shirley, where Lenny Kosnowski explained that his last name meant, "Help!  There’s a pig in my kitchen." Though I don’t believe he quite had the correct translation of the Polish name, it does make me wonder how we relate to the names given to us. How do they shape and form us? In Acts 4, an apostle by the name of Joseph was given a new name, Barnabas. The name means "son of encouragement." Almost immediately upon receiving the name, Barnabas began to live into his new name in some pretty profound ways. I’m not too sure what Bruce exactly means (I know it was the surname of Scottish royalty, though clearly I am a bit more of a commoner), but my other name, Christian, is always calling me to a higher goal: to be Christ-like.

Call me again, O Lord, to the ways of the one whose name I have taken. Amen.