Names

I found an old copy of The Virginian. For those of you who may only know it by the old TV western, The Virginian was written by Owen Wister and published in 1902. It had the iconic line in it, “When you call me that, smile.” Later it was adapted to “Smile when you say that.” It was not meant to be a funny line. It was a threatening line based on calling someone a name.

Names mean something. Parents will spend a lot of time deciding what to name their child. That name often gives an image to other people of who you are. Some of those images are true, others are far from it.

After my parents divorce, when my mother finally decided to trust men again, at least a little, she dated a man named Dex. Dex is a cool name. When she told me she was dating someone named Dex, I couldn’t wait to meet him. (I was off at college.) I imagined he was a trendy, modern type of guy. The kind who drove a pony car, never wore a tie, and was always ready with a great remark. I was home one weekend and ready to meet him. IM told mom I thought it was a cool name, Dex. She said, “Yeah, it is. It’s short for Poindexter.”

Poindexter! That changed  my image immediately. I now thought of someone with a pointed nose, oversized glasses, and a pocket-protector. He drove a four-door sedan that was 8 years old, and had no idea about rock ‘n roll music.

Turned out he was neither of the images I had. He was a good guy, treated my mother well, wasn’t super-cool but wasn’t a complete nerd. I know today people would think of Dexter, the TV show serial-killer-of-serial-killers.

Names mean something.

I’ve met a lot of Methodist ministers named John Wesley _____. Did those first two names lead them into ministry? Martin Luther King, Jr., named for his father, named for the great reformer. And what did Jr. become? The great societal reformer.

I’ve met lots of Joshuas, Davids, Matthews, Lukes, and Johns. I’ve yet to meet a person named Judas. Lots of Marys. No Rahabs.

Several times names were changed in the Bible. Abram, “Exalted Father”, became Abraham, “Father of Multitudes.” Hoshea, “Savior”, became Joshua, “God saves.” By the way, in Hebrew, the name Joshua and Jesus are the same. Simon, “One who listens,” was christened by Jesus with a new name, Peter, “Rock,” as in foundation.

My parents named me Michael Bernard. At first I thought I might have been named after an older cousin, but found that was not the case. It was just a popular name. As a matter of fact, for the first 45 years of my life Michael was the most popular boys name in America. That was more of a curse than a blessing. When I would be in a crowded place and someone would call out “Mike!” I would turn to see who it was. Usually it was someone calling another Mike. Michael means “Lover of God” and Bernard means “Bold as a bear.”

Frederick Buechner wrote that Moses asked voice at the burning bush, “Who are you?” and the voice gave the answer YHWH (Yahweh, or The Lord), thus giving a name to the One who was above all names. Buechner said God hasn’t had a quiet moment since.

The apostle John wrote in the Revelation that God will give us a new name. (Revelation 2:17) I wonder what mine will be. It really doesn’t matter though, as long as God smiles, a good smile,  when he says it.