Something I’ve thought more about in recent years is the beauty of handing down a family name—to be named after a father or grandfather, or grandmother, or beloved aunt or uncle. Simply saying the name must invoke memories… And I’ve often wondered if being named after someone doesn’t draw out something of that person’s character in them.

There is power in a name. And also power in a nickname, which can be good or bad.

When I taught high school, some of my students, instead of calling me Mr. Albright, would call me Mr. Not-so-Bright! Which I guess I took a lot better than when I was a kid and wore glasses. Other kids would call me “four-eyes,” or “geek.” Those kinds of names can hurt.

Sometimes the names we are called, the labels we are given, can stick with us like glue: clumsy, stupid, hardheaded, fat, ugly. Other names can be defining and put us in a box: conservative, liberal; Republican, Yankee, Southerner; gay, straight; Black, white—or any negative derivative of those. And we might have other names we call ourselves, some good, some not so good.

Sometimes it is important to remember that those labels are not our primary name. They are not at the root of our identity. They don’t fully sum up who we are. And they don’t fully sum up who others are either.

I’m reminded that if we take the wrong name, or if we put the wrong name first, it changes everything. Those names influence and shape not only what we believe about ourselves and others, but they also can shape our worldviews.

And I’m reminded of our primary name, our primary calling.

Whenever I baptize a child, I carry the child through the sanctuary, and I quote 1 John, chapter 3, verse 1: “See what love the Father has for us, that we would be called children of God. And that is what we are.”

Let us pray: God of Grace, today we remember again the words spoken over the waters of baptism: “You are my son, my daughter, the beloved. With you, I am well pleased.” Help us never forget, O God, that before anything else, we are your child. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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