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| THE HOLY NAME 1 January, 2006 The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt |
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I don’t think today is a day for a long discourse, or anything very heavy! So how about
a little light Shakespeare?
“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”
Along with, “To be or not to be…” that may well be the best-known line in English-
language literature – as well as the most misunderstood!
Some of us remember that Tennessee Ernie Ford used to do a comic bit where he
answered Juliet’s “Wherefore art thou Romeo,” in his inimitable Tennessee drawl,
“Rah-cheer on the pea vine!”
But, of course, “wherefore art though” doesn’t mean, “where are you,” at all – but
“Why are you Romeo?”
Romeo, you see, was the name of the heir of the Montague family – a family involved
in a long-time feud with the Capulet clan, of which Juliet was a member. So in asking
“why are you Romeo?”, that is, “why is your name That-Romeo-who-is-a-Capulet?”,
Juliet is asking, “why are you a Montague”. That is, why are you a member of that
detestable family? And she goes on,
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell
as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear
perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo doff thy name, and for that
name which is no part of thee, take all myself.
“What’s in a name?”, she asks. “That which we call a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet!”
Well, the sentiment may suit roses – but not human beings.
In fact, most of the world, through most of human history, has thought names were
Very important – have believed, in fact, that a person’s Real name was very much a
part of who the person was – a part of the essence of the person!
In virtually all tribal cultures, a child would be given a name at birth. But that name
was just a “use name,” – that is, a name that anyone could use, a convenience; but
Not the person’s real name. The Real name would not actually be known until the
young person was about to come of age. Then, and only then, would the person’s real
name be revealed, either to the person or to an elder – often the Shaman or the
Priest – either in a dream or in the context of the coming-of-age ceremony, or both!
But the person, even after being given the real name, would still go by the “use
name,” publicly. The Real name would be kept a secret and revealed only to the
closest, most trusted of friends and relatives. It was protected and never publicly
revealed because it was a real and central part of the person’s reality, and to know
the person’s name was actually to have power over the person!
You may, for instance, have seen, in movies like The Exorcist, that in the process of
exorcising a demon, one of the techniques employed is to try to learn the demon’s
name – which then gives the exorcist power over the demon to cast it out!
In our society, generally, though, one of the last vestiges of the old practice of
naming of youths as they come of age is the Roman Catholic custom of young people
choosing a new name at the time of their Confirmation!
More germane to the topic of this day, though, is the revelation of, and the customs
about the Name of God! On Mount Sinai, the Lord God showed himself to be unique
among the gods in that he revealed to Moses his REAL name – marking one of the
unique hallmarks of the Hebrew/Jewish faith: it’s perception of the Personal
relationship between God and God’s people! God revealed his name – and then
forbade it’s use in any but sacred contexts! It was an act of great love and trust,
because in the belief of the day, to know the name even of a god was to have power
over the god; and the Name of God had, in itself, great power!
And today we celebrate another name: the giving of Jesus’ name to him.
Now I do not know how close the Jews of Palestine in the First Century were to those
ancient customs of keeping a person’s real name secret and of not using it. That
practice may have been long forgotten, by then – except in the case of the Name of
God – which, by then, was Never spoken aloud! What I Do know is, at least in our
scriptures as they exist, today, Jesus is referred to, not by the name he would have
been given at his circumcision, but by what is, in effect, a shortened version, or
even a nick-name – Jesus –instead of his full name, Jehoshua, i.e., Joshua!
And it is “Joshua” – Jehoshua, that means “YHWH saves!”
And now, as Paul Harvey says, “now you know the rest of the story!” The rest of the
story of the Name of Jesus, at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
him, King of glory! The rest of the story of the great Name of Power in which we still,
two thousand years later pray for healing, pray for forgiveness, pray for peace. The
Name in the power of which we pray for each other and pray for the world.
And it is in this Name, in the Power of this Name, that on this day I pray and wish that
all of you, and all those whom you love, may have a Holy, Blessed, and, indeed, a
Happy year – and that you and we all, live it in the power of His Name! Amen.
a little light Shakespeare?
“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”
Along with, “To be or not to be…” that may well be the best-known line in English-
language literature – as well as the most misunderstood!
Some of us remember that Tennessee Ernie Ford used to do a comic bit where he
answered Juliet’s “Wherefore art thou Romeo,” in his inimitable Tennessee drawl,
“Rah-cheer on the pea vine!”
But, of course, “wherefore art though” doesn’t mean, “where are you,” at all – but
“Why are you Romeo?”
Romeo, you see, was the name of the heir of the Montague family – a family involved
in a long-time feud with the Capulet clan, of which Juliet was a member. So in asking
“why are you Romeo?”, that is, “why is your name That-Romeo-who-is-a-Capulet?”,
Juliet is asking, “why are you a Montague”. That is, why are you a member of that
detestable family? And she goes on,
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell
as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, retain that dear
perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo doff thy name, and for that
name which is no part of thee, take all myself.
“What’s in a name?”, she asks. “That which we call a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet!”
Well, the sentiment may suit roses – but not human beings.
In fact, most of the world, through most of human history, has thought names were
Very important – have believed, in fact, that a person’s Real name was very much a
part of who the person was – a part of the essence of the person!
In virtually all tribal cultures, a child would be given a name at birth. But that name
was just a “use name,” – that is, a name that anyone could use, a convenience; but
Not the person’s real name. The Real name would not actually be known until the
young person was about to come of age. Then, and only then, would the person’s real
name be revealed, either to the person or to an elder – often the Shaman or the
Priest – either in a dream or in the context of the coming-of-age ceremony, or both!
But the person, even after being given the real name, would still go by the “use
name,” publicly. The Real name would be kept a secret and revealed only to the
closest, most trusted of friends and relatives. It was protected and never publicly
revealed because it was a real and central part of the person’s reality, and to know
the person’s name was actually to have power over the person!
You may, for instance, have seen, in movies like The Exorcist, that in the process of
exorcising a demon, one of the techniques employed is to try to learn the demon’s
name – which then gives the exorcist power over the demon to cast it out!
In our society, generally, though, one of the last vestiges of the old practice of
naming of youths as they come of age is the Roman Catholic custom of young people
choosing a new name at the time of their Confirmation!
More germane to the topic of this day, though, is the revelation of, and the customs
about the Name of God! On Mount Sinai, the Lord God showed himself to be unique
among the gods in that he revealed to Moses his REAL name – marking one of the
unique hallmarks of the Hebrew/Jewish faith: it’s perception of the Personal
relationship between God and God’s people! God revealed his name – and then
forbade it’s use in any but sacred contexts! It was an act of great love and trust,
because in the belief of the day, to know the name even of a god was to have power
over the god; and the Name of God had, in itself, great power!
And today we celebrate another name: the giving of Jesus’ name to him.
Now I do not know how close the Jews of Palestine in the First Century were to those
ancient customs of keeping a person’s real name secret and of not using it. That
practice may have been long forgotten, by then – except in the case of the Name of
God – which, by then, was Never spoken aloud! What I Do know is, at least in our
scriptures as they exist, today, Jesus is referred to, not by the name he would have
been given at his circumcision, but by what is, in effect, a shortened version, or
even a nick-name – Jesus –instead of his full name, Jehoshua, i.e., Joshua!
And it is “Joshua” – Jehoshua, that means “YHWH saves!”
And now, as Paul Harvey says, “now you know the rest of the story!” The rest of the
story of the Name of Jesus, at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
him, King of glory! The rest of the story of the great Name of Power in which we still,
two thousand years later pray for healing, pray for forgiveness, pray for peace. The
Name in the power of which we pray for each other and pray for the world.
And it is in this Name, in the Power of this Name, that on this day I pray and wish that
all of you, and all those whom you love, may have a Holy, Blessed, and, indeed, a
Happy year – and that you and we all, live it in the power of His Name! Amen.
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| Calvary Episcopal Church, Rockdale |
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