What’s In a Name?
By Deborah Schoenfelder
“I have called you by name: You are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
For most of us, names are important. Who we name our children after (or who we don’t name them after) can be downright agonizing, with some parents struggling to make that decision right up until they are about to leave the hospital with their newborn. In our family, some of the names not selected for my children were then bestowed upon the beloved cats we adopted and also given to a favorite doll or stuffed animal.
Names can conjure up various feelings and images, ranging from warmth and a sense of belonging to strength and power. From an early age, I was acutely aware I did not have a middle name. Although I asked my parents, all I recall is they had no particular reason for not giving me a middle name. I remember being a bit disappointed and annoyed at the time that I was deprived of this moniker, but those feelings didn’t last. And with time, I decided to embrace the name I had been given, and then when I married and took my husband’s last name, I was able to make the choice to use my family name as my middle name, something to this day I am glad I was able to do. I like my middle name and that I am part of the southwest Iowa Perry clan. So, thank you Mom and Dad for my name!
In my professional life, I worked diligently to learn student’s names early on, making it a priority to call them by what they preferred. I felt that calling them by name helped put students at least somewhat at ease in a demanding academic program. I also told students on Day One how to address me: “My name is Deborah or Deb, not Debbie. If you call me Debbie, you might as well call me Mary or some other name. I’m just not Debbie.” (Usually that brought on head nods and some laughter). It wasn’t unusual for example, for Andy to tell me that the only time he was called Andrew was when he was in trouble. Or Jennifer would explain that she has always been Jennifer, not Jenny. So we would have some good discussions about names as we broke the ice and got to know each other. That then led to me working with these same students in clinical settings about how they should address people to whom we provided care and services, making no assumptions, but rather asking their preference. To this day I remember my maternal grandmother being distressed about being called Vesta rather than Mrs. Reed when she was in a nursing home for a short stay at the end of her life. For my grandmother, it seemed disrespectful to call her by her first name. On the other hand, other folks bristle at the thought of being addressed so formally: “I’m not Mr. Perry, that’s my father. Call me Glen!”
A recent song by Francesca Battistelli proclaims that God knows each and every one of us by name. How reassuring! Here’s the refrain:
“I don’t need my name in lights; I’m famous in my Father’s eyes, Make no mistake: He knows my name. I’m not living for applause; I’m already so adored; It’s all His stage: He knows my name!”
(“He Knows My Name”; Songwriters: Mia Fieldes, Seth Mosley, Francesca Battistelli, 2014)
And then there’s that most precious of names: JESUS. When it is said with love, it is sweet, tender, and comforting. It speaks of a relationship that sustains us as only an all-encompassing and enduring friendship can. Take pause and think about how you address Jesus. What feelings does it elicit for you? I would suspect those emotions are a bit different for each of us, but also quite wonderful for all of us who have invited Him into our hearts.
When thinking about “What’s in a Name?”, two hymns come to mind for me. The first is “Precious Name”, written in 1870. It not only attests to the importance of Jesus’ name, the words also urge us to take that name with us wherever we go in life:
Take the name of Jesus with you, Child of sorrow and of woe; It will joy and comfort give you, Take it then where’er you go. Take the name of Jesus ever, As a shield from every snare. If temptations round you gather, Breathe that holy name in prayer. Oh, the precious name of Jesus, How it thrills our souls with joy; All the favor of the Father In this name we may enjoy. At the name of Jesus bowing, Falling prostrate at His feet, Claim His vict’ry over evil And the enemy defeat.
REFRAIN
Precious name! Oh, how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heav’n; Precious name! Oh, how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heav’n.
(Lydia O. Baxter, W. Howard Doane, Robert Lowry, 1870)
Exactly 100 years later in 1970, Gloria and Bill Gaither wrote “That Name”, a song which beautifully and simply declares the amazing wonder of His name:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There’s just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away
But there’s something about that name.
(Gloria Gaither and Bill Gaither, 1970)
So the next time you say someone’s name, be it someone you’ve just met, maybe a dear friend or family member you’ve known for a long time, or our beloved Christ Jesus; I hope it offers you an opportunity. The opportunity might be to make the moment count with a chance encounter, it might be to speak with love and affection to someone you’ve known for a lifetime, and the greatest opportunity is to rekindle or deepen our relationship with Christ. There really is something about that name!
Prayer: Loving God, as Isaiah proclaimed in the Old Testament-I am yours and you know me by my name. I feel cared for each and every day because of your unconditional love. When I pray and when I go about my day-to-day living-I will work to call you by your most precious name in a tone that conveys the joy that is mine-if I only choose to open the door and invite you in. AMEN.
Additional selected songs:
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, Edward Perronet, 1779
Blessed Be Your Name, Matt Redman, 2002
At Your Name, Phil Wickham, 2011
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