Power in the Name
April 14, 2024 Third Sunday of Easter
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Isaiah 6:1-8 Acts 3:12-19
“Power in the Name”
Melissa K. Smith
What’s in a name? Shakespeare, in the words of Juliet, says there is not much.
Juliet famously says to Romeo,
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.”
Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers and what stands in their way? The power of a name. The Montagues and Capulets do not at all get along – so much so that these two young souls are forbidden to talk let alone allowed to fall in love. Juliet in her teenage angst argues that a name is silly – if Romeo just had another name then their love would be permitted.
But that is not the only problem, is it? The name is the label on a complicated family narrative and past, a complicated dynamic, a complicated reality.
Sure, you could name a rose something else and it would smell the same – because you would change its name, not its substance. The name matters because of all that it represents.
When I worked as a hospital chaplain, I was encouraged to help patients “name” their emotions. Are you scared? Lonely? Tired? Are you petrified? Are you relieved?
Often, I would walk in the room and ask, “how are you?” and the response I would get was either a standard, “Oh, I’m fine” even though I knew they weren’t, or they would try to explain to me all that was in their chart. No – how are you? By naming our emotions we collect the truth of the chaos around us and in us and name it for what it is – it’s a liberating feeling. There is power in a name.
The Apostle Peter would argue that names have power – that they mean something. In our text this morning we read one of his sermons. He is talking to a group of people who are confused about how a man was healed. Peter and John, on their way to temple saw this man at the Beautiful Gate.
They said to him, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And the man began to walk, jump, and leap, praising God because he was healed.
People were astonished –this feels like an appropriate reaction. The man they have seen for decades at the gate, who has never walked, now is doing a happy dance. Of course they are astonished. But Peter argues that their astonishment seems to be coming from what he and John did rather than what Jesus did through them – they are marveling at the wrong thing.
He says to them, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.
To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.”
Jesus’s death and resurrection is fresh. Throughout Lent we were all encouraged to remember and realize the reality of his death – that he was tortured and humiliated and crucified. But Peter is talking to men and women who were there. He is talking to people who said, “Crucify him!” He is talking to people who saw Jesus after he was raised from the dead. He is talking to people who witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He is talking to people who have heard him preach before about their role in Jesus’s death and the reality that death could not hold him.
He is preaching to a crowd who should know the Gospel, recognize the Gospel, and be changed by the Gospel. But here they are again, unaware of the power within the name of Jesus and unaware of the ways the Gospel is on display.
Peter might as well be talking to us. We participate in the crucifixion each time we sin. We participate in the crucifixion each time we deny, neglect, or ignore the Gospel. When we are unaware of the ways God is on the move in our lives we are participating in the crucifixion rather than proclaiming the resurrection.
There is power in the name of Jesus. What does the name “Jesus” mean? In the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream during Mary’s pregnancy. The Lord said, “Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The name Jesus comes from the Greek, Ιησούς, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Yeshua, which means “God saves”. Jesus’s name proclaims who he is and what he has done: He is our salvation. There is power in the name of Jesus.
When you proclaim the name of Jesus you are proclaiming Jesus’s life, his death, and his resurrection; you are proclaiming his saving acts of healing illnesses and injuries; you are proclaiming his healing words through the truth of the Gospel; you are proclaiming his saving death; you are proclaiming his victorious resurrection; you are proclaiming the Gospel.
The man at the Beautiful Gate was healed by the name of Jesus. By faith in his name, we are saying that we believe who Jesus is – that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into this world to save the world.
Peter continues to say, “And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” This is mercy, this is grace. Peter is looking out at a crowd who crucified his Lord, his friend, his brother – and saying, “I know you didn’t know better. You did not understand who Jesus is. But I forgive you. It’s hard to understand – even I denied him three times – but this is how it had to be, and Jesus’s suffering is proof that he is exactly who he says he is. That’s how God said it would be through the prophets.” He is looking out at them with sorrow and deep understanding, naming their ignorance as a turning point.
He continues his sermon, “Repent, therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out…” Repent. Turn away from your sins and back toward the God who loves you. Turn back toward the God who saves. Turn back toward the God you crucified. Out of God’s great love for us, he saved us through Jesus Christ. Did our sin nail him on the cross? Yes. Do we continue to sin? Yes. Do we lose the opportunity to repent? Never. Friends, there is power in the name of Jesus.
The man at the Beautiful Gate was not healed by Peter and John. Your sins are not forgiven because Courtney, Doug, or I proclaim you forgiven by us. The man at the gate was healed by the name of Jesus. You are forgiven not by Courtney, Doug, or I, but by Jesus Christ. “Through Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” So repent. Utilize the name of Jesus, know his name, and know that it has profound power.
We cannot be proud or arrogant with the salvation we receive. We must be humbled as we proclaim Jesus’s name.
Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “Christ Jesus: 6 who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name- that is above every other name, so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
At the name of Jesus our knees should bend – in other words, we should be worshiping God with our bodies, with our hearts, and with our minds. Fall down before him in worship, in praise, in adoration. At the name of Jesus our tongues should confess that Jesus is Lord! We will proclaim this passage as our affirmation of faith – let it be your confession, let your tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Brothers and sisters – are we going to participate in the crucifixion or proclaim the resurrection? How will you utilize the name of Jesus? To participate in the crucifixion? To get it wrong? To not understand? To not listen? To not see? Or will you use the name of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel? To share all that Jesus has done for us? To proclaim that God does save us?
If Juliet were to ask me, “what’s in a name?” my answer would be, “A history, a promise, and a testimony.” – a history of who they are and what they have done, a promise of who they will be and what they will do, and a testimony to the ways God has been on the move in their lives.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Isaiah 6:1-8 Acts 3:12-19
“Power in the Name”
Melissa K. Smith
What’s in a name? Shakespeare, in the words of Juliet, says there is not much.
Juliet famously says to Romeo,
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.”
Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers and what stands in their way? The power of a name. The Montagues and Capulets do not at all get along – so much so that these two young souls are forbidden to talk let alone allowed to fall in love. Juliet in her teenage angst argues that a name is silly – if Romeo just had another name then their love would be permitted.
But that is not the only problem, is it? The name is the label on a complicated family narrative and past, a complicated dynamic, a complicated reality.
Sure, you could name a rose something else and it would smell the same – because you would change its name, not its substance. The name matters because of all that it represents.
When I worked as a hospital chaplain, I was encouraged to help patients “name” their emotions. Are you scared? Lonely? Tired? Are you petrified? Are you relieved?
Often, I would walk in the room and ask, “how are you?” and the response I would get was either a standard, “Oh, I’m fine” even though I knew they weren’t, or they would try to explain to me all that was in their chart. No – how are you? By naming our emotions we collect the truth of the chaos around us and in us and name it for what it is – it’s a liberating feeling. There is power in a name.
The Apostle Peter would argue that names have power – that they mean something. In our text this morning we read one of his sermons. He is talking to a group of people who are confused about how a man was healed. Peter and John, on their way to temple saw this man at the Beautiful Gate.
They said to him, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And the man began to walk, jump, and leap, praising God because he was healed.
People were astonished –this feels like an appropriate reaction. The man they have seen for decades at the gate, who has never walked, now is doing a happy dance. Of course they are astonished. But Peter argues that their astonishment seems to be coming from what he and John did rather than what Jesus did through them – they are marveling at the wrong thing.
He says to them, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.
To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.”
Jesus’s death and resurrection is fresh. Throughout Lent we were all encouraged to remember and realize the reality of his death – that he was tortured and humiliated and crucified. But Peter is talking to men and women who were there. He is talking to people who said, “Crucify him!” He is talking to people who saw Jesus after he was raised from the dead. He is talking to people who witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He is talking to people who have heard him preach before about their role in Jesus’s death and the reality that death could not hold him.
He is preaching to a crowd who should know the Gospel, recognize the Gospel, and be changed by the Gospel. But here they are again, unaware of the power within the name of Jesus and unaware of the ways the Gospel is on display.
Peter might as well be talking to us. We participate in the crucifixion each time we sin. We participate in the crucifixion each time we deny, neglect, or ignore the Gospel. When we are unaware of the ways God is on the move in our lives we are participating in the crucifixion rather than proclaiming the resurrection.
There is power in the name of Jesus. What does the name “Jesus” mean? In the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream during Mary’s pregnancy. The Lord said, “Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The name Jesus comes from the Greek, Ιησούς, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Yeshua, which means “God saves”. Jesus’s name proclaims who he is and what he has done: He is our salvation. There is power in the name of Jesus.
When you proclaim the name of Jesus you are proclaiming Jesus’s life, his death, and his resurrection; you are proclaiming his saving acts of healing illnesses and injuries; you are proclaiming his healing words through the truth of the Gospel; you are proclaiming his saving death; you are proclaiming his victorious resurrection; you are proclaiming the Gospel.
The man at the Beautiful Gate was healed by the name of Jesus. By faith in his name, we are saying that we believe who Jesus is – that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into this world to save the world.
Peter continues to say, “And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” This is mercy, this is grace. Peter is looking out at a crowd who crucified his Lord, his friend, his brother – and saying, “I know you didn’t know better. You did not understand who Jesus is. But I forgive you. It’s hard to understand – even I denied him three times – but this is how it had to be, and Jesus’s suffering is proof that he is exactly who he says he is. That’s how God said it would be through the prophets.” He is looking out at them with sorrow and deep understanding, naming their ignorance as a turning point.
He continues his sermon, “Repent, therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out…” Repent. Turn away from your sins and back toward the God who loves you. Turn back toward the God who saves. Turn back toward the God you crucified. Out of God’s great love for us, he saved us through Jesus Christ. Did our sin nail him on the cross? Yes. Do we continue to sin? Yes. Do we lose the opportunity to repent? Never. Friends, there is power in the name of Jesus.
The man at the Beautiful Gate was not healed by Peter and John. Your sins are not forgiven because Courtney, Doug, or I proclaim you forgiven by us. The man at the gate was healed by the name of Jesus. You are forgiven not by Courtney, Doug, or I, but by Jesus Christ. “Through Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” So repent. Utilize the name of Jesus, know his name, and know that it has profound power.
We cannot be proud or arrogant with the salvation we receive. We must be humbled as we proclaim Jesus’s name.
Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “Christ Jesus: 6 who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name- that is above every other name, so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
At the name of Jesus our knees should bend – in other words, we should be worshiping God with our bodies, with our hearts, and with our minds. Fall down before him in worship, in praise, in adoration. At the name of Jesus our tongues should confess that Jesus is Lord! We will proclaim this passage as our affirmation of faith – let it be your confession, let your tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Brothers and sisters – are we going to participate in the crucifixion or proclaim the resurrection? How will you utilize the name of Jesus? To participate in the crucifixion? To get it wrong? To not understand? To not listen? To not see? Or will you use the name of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel? To share all that Jesus has done for us? To proclaim that God does save us?
If Juliet were to ask me, “what’s in a name?” my answer would be, “A history, a promise, and a testimony.” – a history of who they are and what they have done, a promise of who they will be and what they will do, and a testimony to the ways God has been on the move in their lives.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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