Brigus Conception Bay, Newfoundland about 1914
“DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?”
Text: Isaiah 49: 15-16 The Lord Said,” I will not forget
you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My
hands”
John 15: 16, “You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you so that you might
go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—
and so that whatever you ask in my Name
the Father will give you.”
Never a Sunday morning passed without the challenge to me to answer the same question from the same person. As he mingled with the other congregants leaving morning worship, he thoughtfully asked, ” Do you know my name”?
Some in the group moved quickly away into the shelter of distance. Others bashfully attributed his query to the signs evidenced by his slower steps, his walking cane,and his thinning snow-colour hair.He persisted, his voice carrying the urgency of the question, ‘Do you know my name’?
The question has an increasing need for attention now, as then.
People of all ages, either in silence or demonstratively, are pleading a response, “Do you know my name”? A person’s name is the private hallmark of their humanity: the right to feel appreciated, to be valued and loved.
The question has haunted me ever since. How often, I wonder, is it on the minds of fellow worshippers as they leave the fellowship of prayer and praise? Some who arrive to worship, fearful, lonely, and longing to be loved leave as they arrive with the same question, unanswered still, “Does anyone know my name?”
We know how impersonal today’s society can be. Technology and Artificial Intelligence will never relieve human beings of their loneliness and the need for respect and love! Only the human heart and spirit can achieve that! The question, “Do you know my name?” begs a recognition of a person’s uniqueness and the spiritual attributes that identify one from all others, therefore someone else can never replace them.
There were times in the ongoing saga of Hebrew history when the vicissitudes of fortune caused social, political and religious unrest, resulting in a shaken trust in God to deliver. Frightening thoughts of God’s forgetfulness began to overshadow their treasured beliefs in the constancy of God’s deliverance.
And then came the effulgent rays of God’s love into the darkness, seeking to overcome their doubts and sorrows
” Can a mother forget the baby on her breast?
I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands”. (Isa. 49: 15-16
Generations passed, and then! The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory”!
The Word is still flesh”, and He continues to live in this world through us! Consequently, we must take every precaution, least unwittingly by words and actions, we cause another to conclude that they do not matter, or are not worthy to associate with the company of the faithful.
May every occasion reveal to your fellow travellers that your concern and actions confirm the undeniable truth that you, yourself, are engraved on Christ’s hands.
” Not only in the words you say,
Not only in the deeds confessed,
But in the most unconscious way is Christ expressed!
Is it a beatific smile?
A holy light upon your brow?Oh, no! I felt His Presence when you laughed just now.
For me ’twas not the truth you taught, to you so plain, to me so dim. But when you came to me, you brought a sense of Him.
So, from your heart, He beckons me; from your eyes, His love is shed
’til I lose sight of you, and see The Christ Instead! ” (2)
“Do YOU know My name”? I do not mean some superficial knowledge about me, but, know me with the intensity of God’s Own Wisdom, as when on that day, when newly minted by His hand, God inspects His new creation. He reviews the need on earth that prompted my creation, and assures that He has given me everything needed to complete my task! And then, as is written of the Creation story : GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.”
In Hebrew thought, for one person to speak another’s name was to qualify the presence of uniqueness within that person. The inquirer was then in the presence of gifts, talents, vision and preparedness granted by God for the forward movement of God’s Kingdom.
The question, “Do you know my Name?” offers a possibility of launching into the world, in Christ’s name, a uniqueness that fills some earth-bound vacuum that delays God’s plan for His Kingdom.
I end the meditation where I began, with my friend’s haunting inquisition: “Do you know my name?” supplemented with an entry from my diary.
” Firmly, he gripped my hand, and looking straight into my eyes, he asked:
“Do you know my name?”
Yes, I Sure do! Your Name! is ROBERT
Robert, I am delighted that you are here!
The resulting radiant smile assured me he knew
we are brothers !”
A PRAYER TO FOLLOW
Father,
Beyond all measures, we are the most blessed among all created things. You chose the human race to bear your image. Bless us now with Your wisdom to understand what that means.
In Your mercy,
guard against any mistaken and selfish thought of usurping Your place in the story of creation! Equip us with a renewed vision and dedicated efforts to bring Your Kingdom to the world around us.
Father, remind us daily that we are training under The Master Kingdom Builder, Jesus Christ. In Your mercy, Father, remind us to invest the whole self, body, mind, and spirit in our desire to increase the citizenship of Your Kingdom.
In Your Love, make us remember the critical need for the human touch. We will learn that artificial intelligence and technological parlance can never replace the conveyance of Empathy, Hope and Love. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray
Amen.
Hymn: Blest Be The Tie That BINDS https://youtu.be/I7aVOslgIAU?i=Vz6EL5uSzEP8pREVBinds
Text Notes
1. The Scriptures quoted in the foregoing text are from he NIV translation
2. Unknown Author.
3.The photo is from a collection of such by my late brother-in-law, Albert Buchan