A few weeks ago I heard a song coming out of my son John‘s room that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place the group. So, I went and asked John who he was listening to. He looked kind of sheepish and hesitantly said “the New Pornographers.” “That’s awesome,” I replied. They are one of my favorite bands. In fact, I’ve become kind of obsessed with them, but I’ll save that for another blog.
I understand why John was hesitant to tell me the name of the band. It’s not easy to tell your pastor father that you’re listening to a group with the word ‘Pornographers’ in the name. However, their name is a little misleading. They are not pornographers. And they’re not really new (anymore). They’re a Canadian alt-rock supergroup. The best story I’ve read about the origin of their name is that it came in response to televangelist Jimmy Swaggert saying that rock music was the new pornography. That may or not be true, but I like it and I’m going with it.
At any rate, names are important because they often give us insight into the nature of things. Though not always. Like the New Pornographers, you can’t learn much about me from my name. Yes, Ekstrom is a Swedish name and my forebears did come from Sweden, but Ekstrom is not really our name. It was changed by someone when my family arrived in America. Our real name is Larsson, which is much more descriptive. At least this name tells you that one of my ancestors was named Lars, and that he had a son: Lars-son. Larsson.
Still, names are important. We learn about God’s nature through the many names God is given in scripture: ‘I am’, shepherd, king, counselor, comforter, father, mother, prince of peace, savior, servant. All these names form a description of God.
But I would like to focus on one name in particular: Christ. I’m guessing there are people who think that Christ is Jesus’ last name. No, Jesus actual name would have been Yeshua bar Yosef (Joshua son of Joseph. Kind of like Lars-son). Christ is a title. Christ comes to English from the Greek word christos, by way of the Latin Christus.
The word Christ has to do with anointing with oil, or being anointed. In Jesus’ case it means that he is the ‘anointed one,’ or Messiah. Jesus the Christ might be more accurate. And it wasn’t long after his death that those who followed this ‘anointed one’ were referred to as Christians.
So, what does it mean to be called ‘Christian?” What does it say about us?
It depends on who you ask. Fundamentally, to be a Christian means that you believe that Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity. But there are many for whom the name ‘Christian’ denotes someone who is hypocritical and judgmental.
It’s not hard to see why. I know some wonderfully humble Christians. I also know some wonderfully arrogant and judgmental Christians. Some days I’m in the first group; some days I’m in the second; and most days I’m somewhere in between.
Living a Christian life is a day to day process. I have to be reminded daily that it’s not about me, that I am called to love and serve everyone. That’s why Martin Luther thought it was so important to remember your baptism on a daily basis.
To be a Christian means to reflect the love that God has for God’s people. It means to care about those who are different, who might be hard to love, who might even be enemies. To be a Christian means that there are no boundaries between us, that all are God’s children and should be treated accordingly.
So, those of us who carry the name Christian also carry a responsibility. Like it or not, our behavior will be judged by others. They will not only judge us, but also our faith by how closely we follow Jesus’ example. That doesn’t mean we have to obsess over everything we do. It’s actually very simple. As it says in the song, “they will know we are Christians by our love.”
God bless. Stay well.
Divine Overtones 