His Name Is John

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birth, called from birth, graceful, Isaiah, knowing ourselves, Luke, name, the beloved of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zachariah

When my brother was born (finally, a boy!) there was some talk about what name he would be given. I recall hearing that my mother’s choices were Stephen or Victor but that my father (John) was clear that his name is John. Thinking of that always puts me in mind of the story of Zachariah who was also very clear about it – for a serious reason, of course. (LK 1:57-66,80) We think my brother is pretty special and although there was sometimes confusion about who my mother was calling to a task or to dinner, his name suits him as one called from birth (IS. 49:1). I find myself standing up straighter and feeling confident, just by saying the name “John.”

That phrase “called from birth” is worth attention from each of us since it is true, I think, of all of us. Sometimes it takes a very long time to figure out the specifics and depth of what that call means. These days it is rare for people to stay in one job or even one career for the extent of their work life. Coming to know our deeper identity as we look in the mirror and place ourselves in the presence of the Divine can be even more evolutionary, yet often daunting. Knowing ourselves as ‘the beloved of God” is a lifelong, graceful becoming.

Today might be a good day to consider our given name and how we inhabit it. Have we a special (maybe secret) chosen name by which we hear God call to us? Is it possible that those two names might be coming to a convergence? What might we do to encourage that unity to emerge?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s in a Name?

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Elizabeth, forerunner, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Luke, message, name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zachariah

I’ve heard there was talk when I was born that my mother wanted to name me Valerie. As I went through my early years fielding questions like, “Hey, Lois, where’s Superman?” I might have wished my mother’s choice had prevailed. I was, however, the only Lois I knew – not like some of the girls who shared their names with five or six other girls in my class at school. Whether I liked it or not, my name was Lois.

Today the Scripture readings celebrate John the Baptist, the “forerunner” of Jesus, the one who announced him to the world. The prophet Isaiah could have been speaking of John when he wrote, “The Lord called me from birth; from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. ‘You are my servant,’ he said to me.” (IS 49:1-6) You may remember that when John was actually born there was some dissension about what his name should be. Zachariah had been struck dumb when he was told his wife, Elizabeth, was pregnant since she was so old; he was to remain so until the baby was born. That message culminated in the instruction that the baby was to be called John. (Everyone thought he should be named after his father.) I can imagine Zachariah gesticulating wildly for something to write with to have his say. When someone got him a tablet, he simply wrote: “His name is John.” (LK: 1:57 ff)

Names are important. When someone I love says my name, it sounds different from the address of others. Children can tell when they’re in trouble for something by the way their parents call out their names. Some of us have secret names from childhood, shared only with imaginary friends. I remember in a conversation once being asked, “What is the name by which God calls you?” – surprising then, but something to ponder. I am grateful that now, as I have come to know myself, loving all of my life as a gift from God, I can respond wholeheartedly, “My name is Lois.”

Almost Here

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cosmos, dawn, Emmanuel, goodness of the Lord, Luke, Peace, praise God, psalm 89, shine, sing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Zachariah

I woke early this morning. It seems as if God were taking my determination for today seriously (see yesterday’s post). I’m still not quite “on tiptoe” as I need my second cup of coffee for that but today’s Scripture texts and Thomas Merton have started the process. From Thomas Merton’s A Book of Hours by Kathleen Deignan, I read:

Sunrise is an event that calls forth solemn music in the very depths of man’s nature, as if one’s whole being had to attune itself to the cosmos and praise God for the new day, praise Him in the name of all the creatures that ever were or ever will be.

That’s a perfect accompaniment, I think, to Psalm 89 whose refrain for the day is: Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord! There is a melody for that in my head which perhaps will last the day. The gospel that ends the long first chapter of Luke is another song, the Canticle of Zachariah, which is a beautiful expression of what today’s waiting is about. May the last verse be our companion through this, our vigil, to the brilliance of the coming of Emmanuel.

In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Fidelity Forever

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Characters of Supernatural, Christ, David, God, Mary, Messiah, Nathan, Saint Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, throne, Zachariah

The two major figures in this morning’s readings are King David and Zachariah, who got his voice back in yesterday’s gospel. They both have inspired messages for us on the same theme: the covenant with God lasts forever. Both of these men have reason to praise the faithfulness of God as second chances abound in their stories. David’s story reads like a novel, seesawing back and forth from favor to punishment back to favor as he makes horrible choices while growing in the knowledge and love of the God who continues to save him from himself. Finally, through Nathan the prophet, the message of God to David is a promise that was the proof of God’s fidelity through it all:

Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.

 Zachariah had doubted the promise God made to him and was struck dumb until his son was born and named. As we read today, he bursts forth at that moment with a song that is sung each morning by monks and others around the world. Zachariah’s Canticle is seen as a prophecy of the soon-to-be-birthed Messiah, a beautiful song that ends with a beautiful image for us:

In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

In God there is no linear time, only an eternal present. So today as we prepare for our celebration of the moment the promise was made to David and made to Zachariah and to Mary and Joseph and Paul and the “good thief” and all of the saints down through the ages in every land of every tradition, may we know deeply that this same promise is made to us. At every moment of our lives, God is faithful and God asks only recognition of that fierce, bonding love that is our saving grace.