In life, you discover that people are called by three names: One is the name that a person is given by their parents. One is the name people call the person and one is the name one acquires for oneself. — Anon
My granddaughter, Mary, lives in New Orleans. When the trolley cars finally started running up and down St. Charles her parents would say, “Yeah, the Trolleys are back!” Soon whenever Mary would see a trolley she would point with excitement and say, “Yeah.” She had not only give the Trolley a name — “Yeah!,” in her innocence she was greeting a symbol of the rebirth of New Orleans with a 1&1/2 year old shout of “Yeah!”
In the Bible we see many cases of God giving someone a name or a new name. Abram becomes Abraham; the Angel instructs Hagar to call her son Ishmael; Jacob wrestles and becomes Israel; and even Mary was instructed by Gabriel to name her child Jesus. In those ancient times the naming of someone was significant and often the name carried a special meaning. Often when God or an angel renamed someone it represented a new beginning and a blessing.At Baptism first we renounce and promise, then the child is presented by his/her parents by the words, “ I present” and the child’s name is given to the Priiest.
Through the process of spiritual renewal we acquire a new name for ourselves. During Lent we wrestle with our current life; we seek to acquire our own identity not what others want us to be; and like Jacob we refuse to quit until we are blessed. The good news is we will blessed by God with a renewed life. We will have a rebirth and shout with joy, “Yeah.”
Webb
P.S. The concept of naming I think has tremendous significance. What are your thoughts? W.
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