Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The rumor has it that my mom and dad hadn't settled on a name for me when they headed off to the hospital for my mom to give birth. Back then, prospective father's weren't allowed in the delivery room so he was resigned to the waiting room. Apparently, my mom told my dad to grab a copy of a "baby name" book and to try to come up with something agreeable.
At some point, my dad came in and said, "Charlotte, what do you think of the name 'Brent?' It means 'proud.'" Apparently she liked it since that is indeed my name. What's funny is that he also brought up the fact that since both of them were called by their middle names that they shouldn't give their new baby a middle name. Just plain old first name and then a last name. Apparently, she liked that idea, too...since I don't have a middle name...which is always a discussion starter and never believed.
What is so funny about that process is that, if you knew my father at all, you'd know that he was good at two things: "Getting by" in life and manipulating my mother. He was not very ambitious and really just wanted to enjoy a good ball game either in person or on TV, and he exhibited both of those traits in choosing my name.
When he told the story about choosing the name it was decidedly different than to hear my mom's more romantic view of it. He said something like, "Charlotte gave me this baby name book and wanted me to pick a name for the kid while I was waiting. I was already tired of just sitting there reading names by the time I got into the "b's" pretty good and finally came across Brent. I could live with that after I said it with the last name and it sounded okay...and I wasn't about to go through that process again with a stinkin' MIDDLE name. So, I just went in, told her how excited I was about the name Brent with no middle name, and she was thrilled that I'd made a decision on it, so she went with it since she kind of liked the name, too."
It really was that simple.
But names in first century culture meant something. Think about it. Jacob, in the Old Testament, was so-named because he was a "heel grabber" or "a deciever." His name was later changed to Israel after his heavenly wrestling match as "Israel" means "one who fights and persists with God." Jesus' was to be called "Immanuel" which means "God with us." So, in that culture, to know someone's name was to know their very nature...everything about them, so to speak.
Which makes Jesus' words in vv. 6-12 so much more detailed:
"I manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You did send Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask but on behalf of the world but of those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled."
Notice right off the bat that Jesus mentions that He manifested the Name of the Father to the disciples. It means that Jesus was showing them the true nature and character of God while they were observing Him.
What is interesting is when you think about what transpired over those three years. Jesus showed them all sorts of things than confused them, gave them hope, made them rub their eyes...they scanned the whole gamut of emotions and experience. They saw water turned to wine. They saw a man raised from the dead. They saw a nation rise up to make Jesus king, and then turn on him in an instant to kill him. They saw Him walk on water, and then alienate the watching crowd only hours later. Jesus manifested God to them...showed them Who He was and is.
And they "got it," too. Jesus said they truly understood it, too. Can you imagine? They saw all the data, and figured out that Jesus was indeed the Messiah the son of God, come to to save the world. (keep in mind these Jewish believers would've had a distinctly different idea of what that "looked like")
Others didn't have that reaction. They saw the miracles...and then didn't deny that the miracle took place, but rather had issues with the fact it took place on the Sabbath. They were fed in the wilderness sermon, but when he didn't provide more food the next day and in fact, suggested that they'd have to eat His flesh and drink His blood to take part in the Kingdom, they were disgusted and left. Some people, even when they see the undeniable, still deny it.
And Jesus looked at his disciples and asked, "What about you? Are you leaving too?"
To which Peter responded, "Where else are we going to go? We've left everything and we know that you hold the keys to eternity?" They had the same information as the masses, they simply responded to it differently.
And Jesus is praying for the 11 (Judas was the son of perdition mentioned in v. 12) that now that He is leaving them in the world, that the Father would keep them in His Name...His very nature and character.
And because they have the same name keeping them, they should be unified in v. 11. They should be one family, with the same father. And Jesus knew they would need the Father soon because things were going to get very rough in a matter of minutes...and we all need encouragement and support when life's storms hit.
So, for today, think about what it means to have His name. How do you view Jesus and His saving, miraculous work in your life? How does that affect you in the right here and right now? What about being unified with others into one family? It's very interesting to view others as true brothers and sisters in the faith...and is there some other believer you need to straighten things up with?
What's in a name? In this case, everything.
Brent 4:13 AM
Comments:
Usually, they'd observed something in the child's character by the 8th day, when they had to go to the Temple for naming. It could also change as they got older (like Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, etc.).
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