Talk by Dawn Perry

“I AM WHO I AM.”  “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”

Well, what’s in a name?  Names are something familiar to all of us and they can be our identity, a description, how we address something or someone.  For most of us, our names are given to us, chosen by our parents and often with family connections – names that passed down and have meanings beyond just our own identity.

Dawn- my name means the first light of day. I was never keen on my name as a child but I loved telling people that I was the ‘morning sun’.

Moses – means drawn out of water and therefore describes how he was found.  But his name goes beyond just an identity – for us, Moses has a depth of meaning.

Matthew – means a gift of God – well, all our disciples are a gift indeed although I am not sure every Matthew I ever taught felt like a gift at the time!

So, what do our names say about us?

Let’s look at our Exodus reading from today – we see Moses at a time where he has run from Egypt, he is away from what he knew growing up and may be feeling unsure about what happens next, where he is in his life.  But God sees him.  God knows him.  God calls him – by name, “Moses, Moses”.  And Moses is given a task, an undertaking by God to go back to Egypt and free the people of Israel.   How does Moses know who is talking to him?  Moses cannot name God.  In Hebrew traditions, to name something or someone was to have ownership or authority over them – God stands apart from this and identifies himself to Moses – the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob – names with depths of meaning – towers of faith for the Israelite people that will give them assurance of a covenant made and still honoured.  God says that his name is “I AM WHO I AM, YAHWEY or YHWY” We struggle to identify this name but by giving Moses this task, linked the two names of the Israelite ancestors and giving a name the people will recognise, God sets Moses up to be a tower of faith in return.  Obvious to us now, knowing the story but for Moses at the time, not so clear.  For us, the actions that Moses took from this point gave a new meaning of a deliverer, a saviour for his people. We know exactly who he is – by his name, based on the actions of his life.

Let’s look now at our Gospel. This passage comes just after Jesus has been described as the Messiah. This is a name again that has a powerful meaning, a wealth of expectation attached to it. Just as Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt and slavery, so the name Messiah suggested that Jesus would be delivering the Jewish people from the Roman rule. Jesus is trying to explain that this is not the case – he is doing God’s work, he will be arrested, he will be killed and he will be raised again.  But the disciples are trapped in the moment and fail to see the whole picture. They miss the reference to Jesus being ‘raised’ and instead, see the disaster of Jesus being arrested and killed.  Look again at Jesus words when Peter tries to convince him to do things differently.  “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

Jesus cannot fall into temptation now.  Satan is a bad name to be called, as bad then as it would be now associated with evil and the temptation to avoid God’s plan.  Jesus has to stand firm and put this down.  Jesus is doing God’s work, there is only one way forward, the disciples are simply struggling to see the whole picture.

Our lives can also be like this can’t they?  We can be stuck in the day to day situation and fail to see the bigger picture that our decisions and actions are part of.  Names matter but the actions linked to them matter too.  They add the colour of our lives and the depth of who we are and what we stand for.

This week has been a particular week, hasn’t it? I was away in Norfolk and on Wednesday evening, I was standing looking out to sea in glorious sunshine when Wayne came out to tell me that it had just been announced that Dolly Parton had died.  It changed the feel of the day.  Dolly Parton – known to all of us, bright blonde hair, larger than life with amazing costumes and songs that filled our heads immediately.  But there is more the Dolly than just a few well know songs. A small child, hearing her father talking about Dolly having died, cried. “How do you know Dolly Parton?” he asked, “Dolly gives me books” She replied. Over 330 million children have been given books by the foundation she set up.  Over the last few days we have heard about the way she lived, how she worked and lived for others in so many ways.  Her name means so many things to so many people. Dolly can be a derivative of ‘Dorothy’ – which again, means a gift of God.  Well Dolly Parton was certainly that.

We may not see the whole picture of our lives, the meanings that will become attached to our names to those that know us but just like Moses, when we are unsure, God is beside us.  Just like Jesus, we need to avoid temptation to do things the easy way and we need to work to do God’s plan for us, working in God’s name to his Glory to be who we are called to be. 

What do you want to be remembered for?