Easter 4 (4/13/08) “Called by His Name”

Text: John 10.1-10

Each summer Lois and I are very interested in the names of her incoming kindergartners. If you’ve ever studied naming patterns, you know that names that parents give their children go in and out of vogue. It’s really quite a fascinating study. By and large, the list of top ten boys’ names is somewhat more stable than that of girls. For example, of the top ten girls’ names during the 1990’s, only five are still among the top ten so far in this decade; but nine of the top ten boys’ in the 1990’s are still on the list in this decade, though their order is different.

Some social scientists have suggested that the entertainment industry is the most influential force in determining American names in our time, and I believe it. When I was in grade school, it seemed as if every fourth girl was named “Linda.” Turns out that in the late forties there was a popular song about a girl named Linda, and that name came out of nowhere in 1948 to be the single most popular girl’s name in the United States. It stayed in the top ten through the 1960’s, and then in the 1970’s plummeted to number 67.

Naming is important in every culture. In Alex Haley’s novel Roots there was a beautiful scene where the African-born slave Kunta Kinte is overcome by emotion at the birth of his first child, a daughter. Quite against the wishes of his American-born slave wife, Kunta takes the little girl outside in the dead of night and performs an ancient African naming ritual. He whispers in her ear, “Your name is Kizzy”—a name he has chosen and mentioned to no one, not even his wife, because he believes the child should be the first one to hear her name spoken aloud.

In Christian cultures, baptism has sometimes been seen as the ritual of naming. That’s really a mistaken understanding, although for centuries it was thought that the child didn’t really have a name until he or she was baptized. With a high infant mortality rate, of course, baptism was generally performed within the first twenty-four hours. Now, by the time a child is brought for baptism, her or his name has been chosen and bestowed long ago, and officially recorded by the state.

Several years ago, before Lois’s parents retired, they lived for a time in an apartment in New York City. Lois’s mom decided she was going to be friendly and speak to other people in the building even if no one else did that in New York, and as a result they became acquainted with a couple of African families—the fathers in each case worked at the United Nations, which was near this apartment building. Each family had a son, and the boys were named Mutale and Bright. The families were not Christian, but soon Dad and Mom were taking the boys to church with them, and their families didn’t seem to mind. After several months, the boys decided to be baptized. When the pastor, along with Mom and Dad, went to speak with the parents, the only concern one father raised was whether being baptized meant you had to change your name. The pastor assured them that African names were every bit as precious in God’s sight as any other names, and that Mutale and Bright would continue to have the names their parents had chosen.

It reminds me of the story about the Irish woman who took her daughter to be baptized, and the name she had chosen was rather unorthodox. “Madame,” said the priest, “you can’t use that name. That’s not a saint’s name.” The mother indignantly replied, “Not yet, it isn’t!”

Our wonderful gospel lesson this morning is about Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and it contains these words: “He calls his own sheep by name.” The idea I want to share with you today is that in baptism, and all through our Christian life, we are called by name. That is a precious and wonderful part of the love that Christ has for us. What does it mean?

It means, first, that Christ calls us. What a welcome word that is for people like us who need to feel wanted! Do you remember the Broadway hit, “A Chorus Line”? It’s about a group of dancers trying out for parts in a chorus line; and the fears, the anxieties, the nervousness they feel about whether or not they will get the part. It builds up to the moment when the casting director calls the name of those chosen. Those not chosen are disappointed, even crushed; while those whose names have been called are elated, excited, thrilled.

Our lives are often like those dancers; we sit around, waiting for our name to be called, hoping we’ll be chosen for this job or that benefit; sometimes we are, and sometimes we aren’t. But when we are baptized into the name of Christ, when we become his sheep, then we know that we are called. We are chosen. We know that we will never be left alone again, because he has made us part of his flock.

“He calls his sheep by name.” Now that also means that when we are Christ’s, he knows us personally, he knows our name. I saw a cartoon once that showed a big desk, with an “in” box and an “out” box, each filled with tiny people. One said to another, “Frankly, I never thought the Last Judgment would be like this.” Well, the cartoon, I thought, was funny, but also absolutely wrong! Sometimes we may wonder if God deals with us in the way we get dealt with here on earth: like a number! Case number 254389-G. Social Security number 830-85-4627. Driver’s license number Q3648718. If someone wanted to write Psalm 23 today, they’d likely begin, “The Lord is my computer, I am instantly retrievable.” That’s the way the world deals with us most of the time, it seems. Quickly, efficiently, impersonally.

But Christ isn’t like that! He is the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep by name. He loves us so much, and cares for us so personally, that He himself came to us and was called by our name, he came as a human being, like us—in order to show that his care for u s is infinite and patient and loving and very, very personal.

“He calls his own sheep by name.” Now the most precious part of that truth is that when we come to Christ, when we are baptized in his name, he is giving his name to us. Those who have been baptized are called “Christian,” which means “belonging to Christ.” The Bible often speaks of baptism as something like adoption. When we are baptized, we are being brought into Christ’s family. You see, in baptism, we do receive a new name. We don’t give up the old one—whether it is Mutale or Bright or Richard or Linda or any other name, it is precious in God’s sight. But we do take on a new name, a family name, the name of “Christian.” And from that time on, we know that we are Christ’s. We know that, no matter what we do, no matter how far we stray, how completely we fail, no matter what, we still belong to Christ. He is our Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep, who leads us in paths of righteousness, who walks with us even through the valley of the shadow of death. We are called by his name. We are called by his name, and we are his.