Baptizing in the Name

June 4, 2023

            I disagree with Shakespeare with a bit of trepidation and a strong measure of humility.  I doubt people will be reading my sermons as long as we have been reading Shakespeare’s soliloquies.  He has Juliet say to Romeo, “What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  In other words, what we name something doesn’t matter.  If it is a rose, it would still smell just as sweet regardless of the name we give it.  Juliet was well aware of the blood feud between her and Romeo’s  families, the Montagues and the Capulets.  Since Romeo was a Montague and she a Capulet, they could not pursue their love for one another.  If he had had any other name, their love could have blossomed.  So, she argues, what’s in a name? Their love for each other was far stronger than any bad blood between their families.

            Much earlier than Shakespeare, in the days of the Bible, names were very important, so important one’s name sometimes changed to reflect a change in his or her life.  I wouldn’t have been just David.  I would have been David son of Joseph.  My name and my family name would have been more than a mere label of identification.  Names were an expression of the essential nature of the person.  A name said something about one’s character.  In the creation story from Genesis, creation was not complete until everything had a name.  Only then was it deemed “very good.”

            In the book of Revelation, the names of believers are said to be recorded in the Book of Life.  Not your Social Security number or your Driver’s License number.  Not your PIN number.  Your name.  You.  The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Joshua, which means Deliverer or Savior.  Just as Joshua in the Old Testament delivered the people of Israel from slavery, so Jesus would deliver the people from a slavery to sin and death.  Saul of Tarsus was on a zealous mission against the Church and the followers of Jesus.  On the way to Damascus to capture and imprison Christians, he had a profound, humbling conversion experience.  He became a zealous missionary for the Church, and his name changed to reflect his new identity.  He became Paul, which means “small” or “humble.”  The proud Saul of Tarsus was humbled on the road to Damascus, and he became a humble, usable servant of Jesus.

            The Bible invites us to pray in the name of Jesus.  This means more than attaching a tag line at the end of our prayer.  It means to pray in accordance with the character of Jesus.  What do we know about the character of Jesus?  That is the standard by which we measure our prayers. 

            I love the baptismal formula we are given at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.  The eleven disciples, the twelve minus Judas of course, are gathered with Jesus.  He gives them what we now call the Great Commission:

Go therefore and make disciple of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

            So, that’s what we do here when someone is baptized.  In fact, the whole congregation participates in the baptismal blessing.  Family members of the candidate are invited to stand.  The candidate’s teachers here in the church are invited to stand.  Then, since we are strongly committed to the priesthood of every believer, we all say in unison, “We baptize you in the name of God our Creator, the Son of God our Redeemer, and the Spirit of God our Sustainer.”  Then the candidate is plunged beneath the waters of baptism.  Now, think for a moment what that means.  We are plunging someone into the Name, the essence of, the triune God: God the Parent, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We are drenching them in the character of God with the hope and prayer that they will emerge more Godlike.  More loving.  More grace filled.  More devoted to acts of kindness and generosity.  More forgiving.  More of all those qualities that make up God our Creator, the Son of God our Redeemer, and the Spirit of God our Sustainer.  We baptize them in the Name.  Actually, the Greek text says “into the name.”

            Before we come to this table of remembrance, I’ve got a simple question for you, you who are on YouTube and you who are here in the sanctuary.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re watching us live or days or weeks later.  Is anyone ready to be baptized in the Name?  It might be something you’ve been pondering for months or even years, and now you are ready to say yes.  If you’re watching on YouTube, give me a call this week.  If you’re here, let me know.  Because there really is a lot in a name.