Unfold: Claiming New Possibilities
Matthew 16:13-20
I think there is power in a name. In fantasy Author Ursula K. Leguin's novel "A Wizard of Earthsea," knowing someone's "true name" gave that person power over humans or dragons. To offer someone your true name was an act that demonstrated complete trust.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives Simon a new name "Peter" (or Cephas in Aramaic) when Peter answers Jesus' question to his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?"
Lately, we have been exploring the journey of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis as a worship theme. This week we are at a point where the butterfly has indeed emerged, but its wings are still rumpled and wrinkled from its confinement. It isn't fully “there” yet to fly and fully be a butterfly.
I never could anticipate how different my career would feel in the summer of 2015 when I stopped being the Director of Worship at the church I served in Dallas and became "Associate Pastor." That renaming of my job added a depth to my responsibility, affected how I saw the living of my own life, and connected me to the history of the church in a new way. Being named "pastor" meant that my vocation followed me wherever I went. You don't put the role "pastor" down at 5pm when you are heading home.
When Jesus gave Peter his name, I think Jesus changed the trajectory of Peter's life. Before he was Peter, he was simon, son of Jonah. A fisherman. Someone whose foot lived almost permanently in his mouth. He was foolhardy and made mistakes. He was beautifully human and complex. Kind of like that butterfly with wrinkled wings.
But then he became Peter, the rock. Later in scripture we see in the book of Acts how Peter was given a vision by God that completely changed the trajectory of the Christian movement (Acts 10), opening it up to Gentiles as well as Jews, making it a more world wide movement. We see Peter's leadership, even when he was at odds with Paul, in the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).
When a trans person finally adopts the name that fits more accurately who they are and reflects the gender closest to their identity despite what they might have been assigned at birth they experience healing from "gender dysphoria," a DSM-5-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision) identified experience of mental distress and trauma that can lead to destructive behavior and suicide.
When taking on the name that belongs and openly adopting the gender expression pertaining to who they are, it isn’t surprising that many in the trans community associate fully expressing their gender identity with the transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly.
When we get married, names can change. When I married Becky, we agreed that we didn't want her name to disappear into mine, since our families were joining together. Becky's maiden name is "David" so we combined her family name with mine to make a two-word last name: "David Hensley."
It has confused countless people who have met us ever since.
Names have power, and can help reveal perhaps who we might be called to become, rather than only reflecting who we are in a given moment. Think of our church, which has undergone many names since a group of people met as a Sunday School class in 1881. In Lakewood's church history published on the occasion of Lakewood's Centennial in 1981, we are referred to as a "Union Sunday School" in 1881.
In 1904, the “Presiding Elder” (District Superintendent) referred to our church as "Lakewood Methodist Episcopal Church." In 1928 our church, for just a year, became Lakewood Community Church (Independent) before rejoining the Methodist Episcopal Church the following year and being called Lakewood Community Methodist Episcopal Church, and then, in 1968 we became Lakewood United Methodist Church.
Our journey of names was a journey of a shifting identity. In over 142 years as a church we have had five names. And each time that name changed, it was accompanied with a story of transformation--either of our denomination or of the surrounding community of the church. This metaphor of a butterfly’s emergence also feels apropos for Lakewood UMC’s story!
What does your name mean to you? How does the name of your role in your family (father, brother, aunt, neice, nibling...), your work place, and your community affect how you perceive yourself? How does your name interact with the identity of the community in which you are a part?
I hope that the name or title or designation you have feels right. And I hope it is something that allows you room to fully live into who you are--who God made you to be and who God is calling you to become.
And if you don't feel like you are fully living into it yet, take heart--maybe you are like Peter and just need some time to grow.
