April 7, 2022. St John Baptist de la Salle
Names are a very personal thing. We cling to our names because they identify us. Names can also connect us to our history, if we are named for a relative or a friend. Changing one’s name, or having it changed, is not done lightly. Today, in the reading from the book of Genesis, God changes Abram’s name to “Abraham”. His name goes from “Exalted Father” to “Father of Multitudes”. A subtle but important change, given the promise made to him by God that he would become the father of a great nation. In the Gospel from John, Jesus calls himself “I Am”. He goes from “God Saves” (the meaning in Hebrew for Jesus [= Joshua]) to “God”. Major change! All this got me thinking about my own name. I am named for two great grandmothers. I have a connection to my family tree through my given names. I did not choose my first and middle names, but I would not change them now. My family name was so much a part of me that I only added my husband’s name, not changing to his when I got married. I wanted to maintain that connection to my family. I wonder how Abram felt about getting a new name. It happens often in the Hebrew Scripture, that names are changed. There is always a reason for the change, as the etymology shows, but to change names as an adult meant that they had to leave a bit of themselves behind to follow God. I guess we are called to leave a bit of ourselves behind, too. Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus says we must leave our past behind to follow him. Still, I am not ready to start being called Susan, Mary, Elizabeth, or any other name. I need to search what I can change that will alter my heart and still be true to my family. After all, my family is the birthplace of my faith. I want to strengthen my faith, while remaining connected to my origins. My given names may not change, but above all I want to be called “Child of God”. That is a change worth striving for.