Last week we celebrated all the babies born into our church family over the past year with a ritual of infant recognition. Following worship we held a very lively brunch for families with preschool age children. Forty-two people were in attendance and half were infants and toddlers! I inquired of one of the expectant couples whether they had a name picked out for their upcoming addition. The mom replied, “Well, we have some good ideas, but we’ll wait to see what the baby looks like when he was born.” Parents often wrestle with the whole naming process because it’s not just a description of outward appearance, but of a lifelong personal identity.

You can’t miss the fact that we’re in an election year. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television ads, talk shows, websites, bumper stickers, billboards, yard signs…all seek to get the names and faces of candidates before the voting public. Especially for lower offices, name recognition beyond political platform, credentials or competency is a leading criterion for electability. Many a promising candidate has been lost to public office because money and fame were insufficient to get their name known. Whether it’s the baby or the politician kissing the baby, names shape both personal identity and public perception.

Such was the case with Jesus in the opening chapter of John. For the gospel writer it was important to define at the outset, both Jesus’ personal identity and public perception. John the Baptist’s first words name Jesus with a distinctive title: “Lamb of God.” This name was surprising and uncommon. It carries associations with the sacrificial lamb of the Passover meal; a connection with the lamb from the Suffering Servant songs of the prophet Isaiah (chapter 53); a symbol of a willing sacrifice for God’s people; and a reference from Jewish apocalyptic literature which speaks of a conquering lamb destroying evil in the world.

In verse 34 John the Baptist testifies that while he baptizes with water, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit as the “Son of God.” Many scholars argue that this name for Jesus is more accurately rendered “the chosen one of God” (cf. NEB). Either way it implies an intimate relationship between human and divine.

John the Baptist had his own following of disciples. They were probably set apart from the rest of the crowds by special rules of discipline, fasting and prayers. It is to this special group that John the Baptist introduces Jesus who refers to him by yet another name, “Rabbi” or “Teacher”. To a first-century audience “rabbi” meant more than an educator, but literally and commonly “great one,” “lord” or “master.”

Finally, in the second to last verse of our passage, a fisherman named Andrew becomes convinced of Jesus’ identity and heralds him as the “Messiah” the “Anointed One, the Christ” (vs. 41). It’s a reference to the long awaited savior foretold in Hebrew scripture and tradition who would free the Jewish people from oppression. Thus John adds another title to Jesus’ expanding resume: He is Lamb, Son, Chosen One, Rabbi, Messiah, Anointed One, and Christ – described by all these names, yet more than any single name. Together these names drew people to follow Jesus.

Now an aside: the word Christian became a name for the followers of Christ. It’s a name; a noun. And it’s a great noun, but a poor adjective. Because Christians, like Christ, bear a name that communicates varied nuances and perspectives and connotations, it can be vary misleading to use this noun as an adjective. All who bear the name Christian wouldn’t describe themselves the same, yet we see Christian bookstore, Christian radio station, Christian values, Christian Coalition, Christian candidates… It seems especially prevalent in highly political years. While Christian as a name/noun is quite biblical, Christian as an adjective is quite suspect.

This spring I complete my ninth year of pastoral service here at Good Samaritan. Some of you are aware that I plan priorities for leadership above and beyond usual pastoral functions, in three year intervals. My first three years were spent working on membership, organizational and financial stability. The next three years addressed critical facility needs caring for significant deferred maintenance and code upgrades and preparing our building for future growth. During the past three years we’ve been focusing on nine strategic program initiatives to better meet the spiritual growth needs of our congregation and more effectively attract and assimilate new members. By this summer the last three of these nine initiatives should be launched.

So I’ve started to dream, what’s next? And our church name keeps coming back to me in prayer and reflection. What’s in our name, “Good Samaritan United Methodist Church?” First, the Good Samaritan part is an obvious reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10. You’ve probably heard the story on a number of occasions. In response to an expert in Jewish law Jesus tells a parable about a man who was traveling on foot and violently mugged by robbers. A couple of religious leaders pass him by, but a man of despised Samaritan heritage helped out and brought the injured person to an inn for treatment and rest. A commentary in The Life Application Bible observes, “To the lawyer, the wounded man was a subject to discuss. To the robbers the wounded man was someone to use and exploit. To the religious leaders, the wounded man was a problem to be avoided. To the innkeeper, the wounded man was a customer to serve for a fee. To the Samaritan, the wounded man was a human being worth being cared for and loved.” I could offer another entire sermon on all the connotations of what it means to be a Good Samaritan, but for now suffice it to say that it’s doing our best to love and care for others no matter who they are or what their lot in life.

The second part of our name is United Methodist Church. Now this could be another very long description. But at the very least, we are part of a movement called Methodist now nearly three centuries in the making. It’s a movement whose spiritual quest links head and heart; a movement whose witness evidences social action and personal holiness; a movement that has always been passionate for God and compassionate for God’s people.

So what would it look like if we more fully lived up to our name over our next three years? It’s appropriate on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to dream. I have a dream that we’ll become a center for housing and deploying mission teams. Our newly renovated facility with kitchen, gym, locker rooms and lounge areas is wonderful for hosting mission groups. Within a year’s time we will have opened our doors to half a dozen youth and adult mission groups ranging in size from 10 to 110! They’re staying with us and then seeking out their own mission projects in Minneapolis. What if we became not just a host site, but actually served as a mission “broker” to deploy people to prescreened projects that fit their time and talents. We could make a significant difference in our city and provide significant experiences for volunteers at the same time!

I have a dream that we’ll pair with an urban church to maintain and strengthen our witness in the city. Our United Methodist presence has been slowly eroding in the city. But at one time strong urban churches like Simpson and Wesley and Hennepin Ave. helped start churches in the suburbs like ours. What could ministry look like if we initiated an interdependent and mutually beneficial relationship with an urban congregation that could offer us diversity and allow us to share our energy and creativity in a new setting?
I have a dream that our visibility and presence as a safe and accepting harbor for the GLBT community will grow. Last week Randi and Phil Reitan from Eden Prairie spoke in our adult forum about the cultural and religious struggles of their son Jake who happens to be gay. The Reitan’s story is one of five American families featured in an award winning documentary entitled, For the Bible Tells Me So. The movie offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity. After that forum just last Sunday a small group of concerned individuals birthed a dream of getting a copy of this video into the hands of all 1,000 General Conference delegates who will be making decisions about our denomination’s ministry for and with the gay community. In just a week’s time our Church Council endorsed the measure, the Minnesota Reconciling Ministries network is on board with us and we’re on the radar screen at the National level as well. If you’d like to assist with the cost or the logistics of this mass mailing, please talk to Dandy Lewis or Marlys Rechkemmer. Here’s a few of my dreams for our church. What are yours?
Living up to our names is one of the toughest jobs we ever make for ourselves and living up to our name of Good Samaritan is perhaps even more challenging. Zan W. Holmes, Jr., tells the story of Dr. William McClain, Professor of Preaching and Worship at Wesley Theological Seminary, preaching at his church (St. Luke Community Church, Dallas). There McClain told of meeting a South Korean tailor in Itaewon, Seoul, named Smitty Lee. When Dr. McClain asked whether the name “Smitty” was Korean, the tailor told the story of his life being saved during the Korean War by an American soldier from Virginia who was called Smitty Ransom. The tailor further explained a rather familiar custom in that Asian culture, and summed it up in two simple sentences: “He saved my life. I took his name.” (Encountering Jesus, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992, 19-19) That is indeed what happens when we encounter Christ; he saves our lives, we take his name, and work to save others!