Creekside Church Sermon of February 8, 2004 "Changing Your Name" Matthew 16:13-20	Rev. David Bibbee
Send this sermon to a friend

I got off easy compared to the names some people bear, as evidenced by the fact that under the category "name change" on the Internet, there are seventeen million entries! I empathize with people who were stuck with a name that seemed cute at the time, but later became a royal embarrassment. Today there is an organization dedicated to saving children from receiving ill-advised names. "The Institute for Naming Children Humanly."

Its too bad such help wasn't around when these people were named: Nick L. Nadine (nickel and dime), Rick O'Shea (ricochet), Carrie D. Koffin (carry the coffin), Ann B. Dexterous (ambidextrous), and Hal E. Luyah (hallelujah). These names are like the ones Click and Clack put into the credits of their radio program, "CAR TALK." Their Russian chauffeur is, "PEQUEOPH and DROPOPH," (pick up and drop off), and they are represented by the law form of, "DUTY, CHEAT'EM, and HOW," (Do he cheat them and how!).

The friends of my mother-in-law have very distinctive names. There is "Undone" who everyone calls "Diner". There is, "Adeetha" who is called, "Dieter." There is "Pugget" and "Whisle," and my favorite, "Mercel" and her husband "Alpheus" who everyone affectionately called, "Pus."

Imagine you are in the waiting room of a clinic reading the staff directory. Here are the actual names of doctor's and their areas of practice. In pain management is Dr. Ow. In optometry, Dr. See. In gastroenterology, Dr. Heine. In dermatology, Dr. Rash. In anesthesia is Dr. Ether. In dentistry. Dr. Yankum and Dr. Dekay, and my favorite, the surgery practice of Drs. Slaughter, Butcher, and Gutman.

Your name and identity are linked, telling you and others who you are. Your name was given to you, and unless you legally change it, the name will accompany you for ever.

Mary and Joseph didn't get to name their first child. An angel told them the baby already had a name… Jesus, which means, he will save his people. When Jesus grew up he invited people to join the new thing that God was up to in the world. Those who accepted, set off in a new direction with a new name and identity.

Jesus was preaching to a big crowd in Galilee on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. The people began pushing and pressing to get closer. Jesus saw some fishing boats tied up, so he climbed into one belonging to Simon and told him to take it out a little from shore. From this floating pulpit he taught the crowd. When he finished, the next lesson was about to begin.

"Head for deep water and put down your nets for a catch, " Jesus said. "A catch of what?" Simon said sarcastically. "We fished all night and didn't even catch a minnow." But Jesus insisted, so Simon did as he was told. In no time, the nets were hoisted, flopping fish were cascading over the net's brim. Another boat was needed, and when the nets were emptied, both were so full of fish the water was lapping over the gunwales.

Simon couldn't handle it. He had never seen such a catch. He had just been out-fished by a carpenter! He fell before Jesus and said, "Please leave, Master. I'm a lousy fisherman." Simon couldn't cope with the moment. No one had ever seen anything like it.

Let's ask a question. What is the miracle in this story? Was it Jesus' knowledge of fish location? Was it the net-buster catch? It was amazing, but was this the real miracle? In the margin of Evelyn Miller's Bible beside one of Jesus' miracle stories she wrote: "We make the mistake of getting so wrapped up in the miracle itself that we can't hear the bigger truth Jesus is making."

The theologian Paul Tillich said a miracle is a sign that points to something greater. For example, driving down the road you see a curve sign. You don't turn where the sign is posted. The sign is not the curve. The sign tells you there is a curve ahead.

The MIRACLE is what happens "after" the catch. Jesus told Simon and his buddies they would start a new fishing business. At the end of the day they would no longer smell of mackerel. There was no longer a need for boats and nets. They would fish with words and wonders instead. Jesus said, "From now on you'll fish for people. All of your catches combined won't equal the number of lives that will be gathered in the net of my love." With that, they pulled their boats to shore, told their fellow fishermen, "Get what you can for them," and walked away.

They had to be crazy. I have a tee shirt that says, "I Fish, Therefore I Am." For Simon, James and John fishing was life. It was the only thing they knew. They walked away from Fisherman's Wharf and never looked back, all because of an invitation from an itinerant preacher. It was so irrational, so irresponsible, so reckless, and so, so..... EXCITING.

How many times have you entertained a fantasy of walking away from the office, the class room, the hospital, the firehouse, or where ever you work, never to go back, but instead do something totally different? We daydream about it, but very, very few of us ever do it. We are rational, responsible, and cautious people.

Jesus told Simon, "You're coming with me." Soon after, Jesus changed Simon's name. "I don't care if your birth certificate says 'Simon.' From now on, you are Peter, the Rock." Jesus told his unlikely band of followers they would do miracles. They weren't the cream of the crop, but he told them they were the light of the world. They became what Jesus called them. This is not just the call story of Peter and his fishing buddies. It is our call story, too, and what Jesus calls us, we become.

How do you know who you are? The names we received from our parents, aren't the only ones we are given. They gave us affectionate nicknames. On the envelope of Lisa's birthday card I always write, "Peanut." On John's I write, "Fud." Later, our friends nickname us, and sometimes the name sticks. My father's name was Lewis. When the boxer Joe Lewis was at the height of his career, one of Dad's friends started calling him "Joe." Years later most people assumed that Joe was his given name.

There are other ways we are named. We are identified by what we do. David is a preacher. Jan is a teacher. Bruce is a contractor. Gary is a web master. Walt is an insurance underwriter. Bertha is a doctor. These titles identify what we do, BUT NOT WHO WE ARE.

The world deluges us with voices telling us what we are not. "There is nothing special about you. You're just another mouth to feed. You're just another brick in the wall. You're one little person among six billion riding on an insignificant little planet inside a spinning galaxy that is one of billions flung throughout a dark, silent universe.

Henri Nouwen said that as we listen to these voices, we become insecure, fearful, and self-depreciating people, who can most easily be used and manipulated by the powers around us. We succumb to externals. If you want to be somebody, DRIVE this car, WEAR this wardrobe, BUY this house, USE this computer, DRINK this brand of beer, JOIN this club, VOTE with the majority.

I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of Gallup and CNN polls. "73.424 % of Americans think that, feel that, believe that...." Polls are based on an assumption that whatever the issue, the majority knows best. Has it occurred to anyone that the majority might be wrong? The polls would show what the majority believes, but the Christian view is seldom the majority view. If we don't go with the majority, they say we are either crazy, naive, or hopelessly out of touch with reality.

We need to be clear about our identity. We are the beloved children of God. Our worth doesn't come from what we do but by accepting the fact that we are accepted by God. Henri Nouwen said: "I BEG you, do not surrender the word 'chosen' to the world. Dare to claim it as your own…"

How do we know who we are? By trusting that we are chosen. How do we know who we are? By accepting the name Jesus has given us.

When people of the Bible encountered God they sometimes walked away with a new name. Remember Jacob, the conniver, the cheat, the deceiver? On the eve of meeting his brother Esau, who, twenty years earlier had been swindled out of his birthright, Jacob wrestled all night with an angel and refused to let go unless he was blessed. After the struggle, Jacob's hip was popped out of the socket, and he limped the rest of his life like Marshall Dillon's deputy, Chester. Then the angel said, "You'll no longer be called Jacob. The old Jacob is dead. Now your name is ISRAEL."

Jesus has given each of us a new name. We are "disciples." We are leaven, salt, and light. We practice grace, forgiveness, mercy, humility, love and service to others. It makes no sense to the world. It doesn't get us anywhere. To disciples this way of life makes absolute sense.

Next Sunday the subject will be reality-- something that our detractors say we have lost. "Get real!" we're told, as though the only version of reality is the one that Washington, Wall Street, and Hollywood give us. Who gets to define reality? The only version we have been given is the one Jesus gave us.

Before long we will choose a new name for our church. It will be an interesting process that will take care, creativity, imagination, and discernment, and we want everyone to offer suggestions. We won't want to choose a name that will convey the wrong impression like the names of these United Methodist churches I came across:

Mole Hill United Methodist Church
Petty United Methodist
Finger United Methodist
Gasaway United Methodist

We need a name that describes WHO we are, what we believe, and how we live. Friday afternoon I got a call from a woman who asked if we were approved for the variance on our new property. She lives in the Stone Gate development and was curious about the outcome. I said it was approved and she replied, "Good! I would like to come when you build. When will you break ground?" I answered, "When the time is right."

The people who live around County Road 113 want to know about their future neighbors. They will want to know our name and our names. Maybe the song we are about to sing will be a good introduction: (I Will Change Your Name).

Our names are no longer called, wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid. We have given new names-- confidence, joyfulness, overcoming ones, faithfulness, friends of God, ones who seek God's face.

All of the sermons that have appeared in text form on our Web Site since August 1996 are available here in the On-Line version. Use the search engine below to find the sermon you want. You may search by date, sermon title, or content. The sermons are full-text searchable.

Sermon Search:



Exact phrase    All words (AND)    Any word (OR)