“The Names We Wear”—October 28, 2019
[Jesus said:] “For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” [Mark 9:41]
There is a wise older sister in Christ I know who will not wear shirts with brand logos on them. She doesn’t get preachy or belligerent about it. She just will say, if you bring up the subject, that she doesn’t see the sense in paying a company for the “privilege” of advertising their brand on her person. You get to send one message with what you wear, even if that message is simply a non-verbal one when you wear stripes or solid colors (which still sends a message about the occasion you wear certain clothes for), and it doesn’t make any sense to her to waste your message shilling someone else’s brand and giving away your money for the chance. She has a point.
Most of us are not so picky—or even self-aware—with the labels we proudly wear. Hopefully we have gotten past that adolescent phase of wearing certain brands because they are the trendy brands, and the going out of our way to let people see the logo on our shirts or shoes. But quite often we do not realize that we are turning ourselves into walking billboards and that we cannot help but advertise something with the brands we buy and wear and consume. We are sending messages all the time about what matters to us, and about what things we will let ourselves be defined by. We send messages to the world simply through the names we wear, and how we wear them.
It is that realization that brings to mind the haunting line of a hymn of Fred Pratt Green’s, entitled, “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord.” The third stanza goes like this:
We mark your saints, how they became
in hindrances more sure,
whose joyful virtues put to shame
the casual way we wear your name,
and by our faults obscure
your power to cleanse and cure.
The lives of faithful disciples—those older and wiser sisters and brothers in Christ—do expose “the casual way we wear [Christ’s] name.” We are quick to wear the logos of favorite teams, brands, schools, and the life, and we do not think of the messages we are sending by wearing them. But even less do we think about what it means that we bear the name of Christ. We forget, perhaps because we are used to paying money for the chance to wear designer brands or the logo of our favorite pro football team, that we have been given the name of Jesus to wear as a free gift.
We are marked, we followers of Jesus, with the name of Christ. It is real, if invisible, in the watermark of the cross traced over our heads in baptism. We are set apart, and we can lay claim to belonging—truly belonging—in the family of God because of Christ Jesus. And yet, we treat it as if it means nothing. We act as if our identity is really derived from our bank accounts or our jobs or our political party or our children’s report cards. We act as if the brands we wear say more about us than the “brand” of that water-traced cross that says we are the beloved of God in Christ. We really do wear the name of Jesus casually.
And yet Jesus reminds us that wearing his name matters. It's an ordinary part of life, maybe, but it is still important--never confuse ordinary with unimportant. It’s not that Jesus is so worried about his reputation being sullied by sinners—after all, Jesus himself did plenty of associating with notorious sinners, outcasts, losers, sell-outs, and failures. It’s not that Jesus can’t stand to have his name used to identify us. It’s that he recognizes the power and preciousness of belonging to him—enough that even those who offer simply a cold cup of water because we bear the name of Christ are blessed!—and Jesus knows how easy it will be for us to take that name for granted.
There is great power in the names you and I allow to define us. We can let it be the brands we purchase from the store, or the money it costs to buy the high-end, name-brand, logo-emblazoned clothes, or the company letterhead we work for. Or we can resist that impulse to be defined by our stuff, our money, and our jobs, and instead to be defined by Christ. Today, what if you and I began to stop and consider just how we do wear the name of Jesus, and how we might let him define us completely and fully. How might we recognize the privilege we have that we can name the name of Jesus? And whose name will you wear today?
Lord Jesus, you have marked us as your own. Let us wear your name boldly and intentionally, finding our truest identity in you.
[Jesus said:] “For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” [Mark 9:41]
There is a wise older sister in Christ I know who will not wear shirts with brand logos on them. She doesn’t get preachy or belligerent about it. She just will say, if you bring up the subject, that she doesn’t see the sense in paying a company for the “privilege” of advertising their brand on her person. You get to send one message with what you wear, even if that message is simply a non-verbal one when you wear stripes or solid colors (which still sends a message about the occasion you wear certain clothes for), and it doesn’t make any sense to her to waste your message shilling someone else’s brand and giving away your money for the chance. She has a point.
Most of us are not so picky—or even self-aware—with the labels we proudly wear. Hopefully we have gotten past that adolescent phase of wearing certain brands because they are the trendy brands, and the going out of our way to let people see the logo on our shirts or shoes. But quite often we do not realize that we are turning ourselves into walking billboards and that we cannot help but advertise something with the brands we buy and wear and consume. We are sending messages all the time about what matters to us, and about what things we will let ourselves be defined by. We send messages to the world simply through the names we wear, and how we wear them.
It is that realization that brings to mind the haunting line of a hymn of Fred Pratt Green’s, entitled, “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord.” The third stanza goes like this:
We mark your saints, how they became
in hindrances more sure,
whose joyful virtues put to shame
the casual way we wear your name,
and by our faults obscure
your power to cleanse and cure.
The lives of faithful disciples—those older and wiser sisters and brothers in Christ—do expose “the casual way we wear [Christ’s] name.” We are quick to wear the logos of favorite teams, brands, schools, and the life, and we do not think of the messages we are sending by wearing them. But even less do we think about what it means that we bear the name of Christ. We forget, perhaps because we are used to paying money for the chance to wear designer brands or the logo of our favorite pro football team, that we have been given the name of Jesus to wear as a free gift.
We are marked, we followers of Jesus, with the name of Christ. It is real, if invisible, in the watermark of the cross traced over our heads in baptism. We are set apart, and we can lay claim to belonging—truly belonging—in the family of God because of Christ Jesus. And yet, we treat it as if it means nothing. We act as if our identity is really derived from our bank accounts or our jobs or our political party or our children’s report cards. We act as if the brands we wear say more about us than the “brand” of that water-traced cross that says we are the beloved of God in Christ. We really do wear the name of Jesus casually.
And yet Jesus reminds us that wearing his name matters. It's an ordinary part of life, maybe, but it is still important--never confuse ordinary with unimportant. It’s not that Jesus is so worried about his reputation being sullied by sinners—after all, Jesus himself did plenty of associating with notorious sinners, outcasts, losers, sell-outs, and failures. It’s not that Jesus can’t stand to have his name used to identify us. It’s that he recognizes the power and preciousness of belonging to him—enough that even those who offer simply a cold cup of water because we bear the name of Christ are blessed!—and Jesus knows how easy it will be for us to take that name for granted.
There is great power in the names you and I allow to define us. We can let it be the brands we purchase from the store, or the money it costs to buy the high-end, name-brand, logo-emblazoned clothes, or the company letterhead we work for. Or we can resist that impulse to be defined by our stuff, our money, and our jobs, and instead to be defined by Christ. Today, what if you and I began to stop and consider just how we do wear the name of Jesus, and how we might let him define us completely and fully. How might we recognize the privilege we have that we can name the name of Jesus? And whose name will you wear today?
Lord Jesus, you have marked us as your own. Let us wear your name boldly and intentionally, finding our truest identity in you.
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