The Park Road Pulpit

Shakespeare’s Macbeth enters at this invitation of the Second Witch and asks, “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?”

“A deed without a name.” It is but the wishful thinking of Shakespeare’s witches, and every other demon of evil-minded intent. For, as someone has whimsically noted, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Spoken humorously, this quip is also known to be universal truth. That no deed goes unnoticed is attested in scripture: Moses warned the children of Israel “Your sins will find you out.” (Numbers 32.23). And this universal law is equally tested in the world of science. Sir Isaac Newton defined this principle in his Third Law of Motion: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

There are no deeds without consequence. And the “perfect crime,” that dirty deed without a name, is virtually a fairy tale. In actual fact, our deeds make our names. Don’t they? “Actions speak louder than words.” Jesus says that as we live, we will be known, “by our fruit” (Matthew 7.16). And in his great parable of judgment Jesus proclaims as final truth that which we know to be practical truth as well, that what separates the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous, the “sheep and the goats,” is what they did and what they did not do (Matthew 25).

That is, unless you ask the late Alfred J. Parker, founder of Kabalarian Philosophy. The Canadian born Parker, who died in 1964, wasn’t completely satisfied with any of the great religions of either the East or the West – so he just started his own, the goal of which is for “human life… to merge with the Conscious plane.” In this philosophy, no truth is more profound than the proverbial wisdom we just read: A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches! (Proverbs 22.1), for, according to Parker’s disciples,

One's mental characteristics, state of well-being, and experiences in life are shown to be determined by one's name…[2]

If Alfred Parker is right, then all of those fights between expecting mothers and completely unsuspecting, almost-fathers, are for good reason – your child’s name will literally determine her life! With the permission of the parents of our very newest child, beautiful little 6-pound, 12-ounce, Lane Olivia Helt, who was born on Wednesday, I have asked the Kabalarians what the Helts can expect of their new little bundle of joy. Here’s what they say:

The name of Lane creates a restless, creative nature that takes you into many ventures, but does not allow you to see things through to a satisfactory completion. Yours is a versatile, musical, artistic, but independent nature and you must have the freedom to express your creative ideas and abilities to be happy. An urge for independence causes dissatisfaction and frustration in close relationships… The qualities of this name would find a more constructive outlet in work that involves high-pressure selling or promotional activities, possibly in community affairs, for [the name] contains a positive, driving power. It is difficult for you to merge with others; although you have quickness of mind, you lack tolerance and can give way to impatience at another's slowness or shortcomings… This name could take you into bitter experiences through impulsive action.[3]

Someone tell Cam and Gina that it’s not too late to start calling her, “Olivia!”

Jesus said to his disciples, if I may paraphrase a bit, “Tell me… what name have people given me?” Around that Judean countryside, this man was becoming known, but not by name. He was The One who had great power. The One who gave sight to the blind. Who opened the ears of the deaf. Who quickened the limbs of the lame. Stories were circulating that even the hem of his clothing had miraculous power. And was it true that even the dead came to life when he spoke? He was a man known by his deeds. But, who was he? Was this just a carpenter’s son? Was he only from Nazareth?

Simon, as usual, was quick to answer. “Some say your name is Elijah. Others, Jeremiah.”

But Jesus looked into Simon’s eyes and asked the only question that still matters for those who seek to follow in his Way, “What name have you given me?”

Our text says that Simon boldly named this man of Galilee. The simple carpenter who was his friend. Jesus of Nazareth, who was like Simon in every way. And, yet, somehow like him in no way… “You are ‘Messiah.’”

Naming Jesus “Messiah” – Anointed One, Son of God, Savior – still changes our world. So great is the power of that naming that another follower of Jesus would dare to proclaim that this name has the power to change everything…. “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow… in heaven and on earth” (Philippians 2.10).

But in our story today, there is another naming, equally important. Simon names Jesus, and in return, Jesus gives Simon a new moniker. We lose some of the power of this naming in the English because “Peter” is a common name. But no one was called “Peter” in the ancient world, not until this story began to circulate among the believers. What Jesus really said was, “You are “Stone,” and on you – this solid rock – I will build an entire church.”[4]

“Petra” -- Solid Rock, Peter. Quick-to-answer Peter. Strong-to-save Peter. His name is our foundation.

Peter. Solid Rock, Peter. Quick-to-speak-slow-to-think, Peter. First-to-deny, Peter. His name is also our great conflict.

Who will we be? We, the Church of Jesus, whom we have named the Christ.[5] Who will we be? Amid the turmoil of contemporary religious life our common name is determined by our common deeds.

We are those angry voices who gather to protest the removal of a monument, a rock to protect God’s honor, to honor God’s justice, while, night after night, the children of Alabama still sleep amid some of our nation’s greatest poverty, crime, and injustice.[6] We are those angry voices who wail and groan at the demise of our sacred Institution because of the appointment of a church leader, whose name has become only a sexual orientation (Bishop who?), while night after night, children across America sleep with no church, whether Episcopal or Baptist, having shown them the love of Jesus.[7] We are those angry voices who claim “peace through strength,” who use our “arms” best for killing and not caressing, who wage our own “Holy Wars” in our own God’s name, while night after night, children around the world… do not sleep at all.[8]

Little of what passes for Christianity these days has anything to do with the deeds of Jesus. Doctrine, even “good doctrine” cannot change the world. It never has. That is why Jesus never preached just about what we are to “believe.” Doctrine cannot change the world. Only love can do this. Love, in the hands of conservatives and liberals. Love, in the face of gay men and straight men. Love, in the action of rich women and poor women. Love, in the wisdom of Presidents and Preachers, Generals and Gen-Xers. Only love, love in action, will every really change anything.

But there is hope. (There is always hope!) In the midst of a very similar situation of economic uncertainty and military fear, of political hypocrisy and religious confusion, the prophets of the eighth century, before Christ, began to speak of a “faithful remnant.” That is, that amid the love-less drive for religious conformity and political domination, someone would rise to actually remember correctly, to love rightly, to proclaim the truth – against even the prevailing orthodoxy of the day – and to speak it always, in acts of love, and with words of bold and prophetic power.

Answer this question how you will. Answer this question how you will, the obvious truth is this: Park Road Baptist Church will be known by your deeds. Whether or not they are officially sanctioned by one of our committees, funded by a line item of our annual budget, approved by your paid staff – our church will be known in Charlotte, North Carolina by your deeds. Your deeds, done in the office. At the P.T.A. meeting. On the golf course. In the neighborhood. We will be known by your deeds. And those deeds will give us our name. Wow. That’s a little frightening! But it is a fear that cuts across pulpit and pew. (I guess you’ve heard of Jimmy Swaggart?)

I hope that something has been bothering you a little with the title of this sermon, and this focus we have chosen for the fall. A famous Rabbi named Hillel, who was a contemporary of Jesus, once observed, “A name made great is a name destroyed.”[9]

Seeking to make our name great will destroy Park Road Baptist Church. Seeking attention. Media coverage. Power. Acclaim in the city or among other churches. For greatness and power are always self-destructive. This is not the aim of our teaching. This is not our objective as your pastors.

Amy and I believe above all in community. And Making a Name – is about making a name – for Ourselves. Within the limits of our campus, our name must be good. It must be a name that assures you always of fidelity, integrity, and honesty – for the world will betray you at every turn. It must be a name that preaches always a theology of love – for in the world religious fear and superstition still reign supreme. It must be a name that seeks the truth, at all cost – for the world loves to conserve its past more than to liberate its future. It must be a name that dares to believe that God is love – for the world still clamors for a God of power. It must be a name that rightly names Jesus, “Lord” – that is, as the one who shapes our deeds – and not just “Savior of our Souls.”

If we will Make a Name for Ourselves, our future will all take care of itself.

For Jesus, there is no deed without a name. And he is right. So Park Road Baptist Church, “Be doers of Jesus’ Word and not hearers only” (James 1.22).

But Alfred J. Parker and the strange Kabalarians also have it right. Our names do, in large measure also determine our actions. So let us Make a Name for Ourselves – that we, and our children, will be shaped, molded, renewed, liberated by that good name.

[1] Macbeth, ii.3.

[2] I know nothing of Kabalarian Philosophy that I have not read at: http://www.kabalarians.com/! The italicized emphases are all added.

[3] I have not become a Kabalarian, but I was fascinated with the few name studies I ran on their website. There are many other websites with related name-power studies, and I was interested to learn the name for such study: “Recent studies by name societies disclosed that names influence character and do have a definite bearing upon one's life path. Letters carry their own energy patterns relating to personality traits and needs. Name analysis using letter qualities is called ACROPHONOLOGY. This analysis of your name is a brief summary of the hidden meanings found within the letters of your own name” (http://www.zodiacal.com/acro.mv?analyze).

[4] From The New Interpreter’s Bible, “Matthew,” Vol. 8.

[5] As I have emphasized in other sermons, I believe that what is most significant about the stories of scripture is not just that “Peter called Jesus, ‘Messiah,’” but that we are faced with the same choice. In what sense is Jesus “Messiah” for me?

[6] Just this week, conflict raged in Alabama over the removal of a 2.5 ton granite monument, which Chief Justice Roy Moore had erected in the Supreme Court of Alabama, and had refused to remove, against orders of the federal Supreme Court.

[7] The furor over the debate of homosexuality and the Church has once again reached fever-pitch, as Bishop Gene Robinson was elected Bishop in the Episcopal Church at their recent national conference – the first openly-gay man to hold such office.

[8] The word “quagmire” is commonly being spoken now, concerning the U.S. involvement in Iraq.

[9] Hillel, “The Elder” (70 BC – 10 AD?). Quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.