What's in a Name?

August 6, 2013

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

When it comes to naming children, no one is more creative than Filipinos.

That is the assessment of journalist Nury Vittachi, in a column for The Jakarta Post a few years ago.  In an effort to eschew both Spanish and American occupational influence over the last three hundred years and carve out a new cultural identity, parents started inventing new names for their babies.  “Whenever I visit Manila,” Vittachi writes, “I love asking people what their kids are called, and hearing, ‘Oh, meet Tingting, Popo, Testament, Peachy, Boris, and Dugong.’”  A favorite method for creating names is splicing words together, such as “Mari-Con” (Maria and Concepcion) and “Jejomat,” (Jesus, Joseph, and Mary).  [1]

I look to my own name as an example.  It is neither a common Filipino name nor a word with any native meaning.  It is, in fact, an invention by my parents, who took the first three letters of my father’s first name (Maghirang, also an invented name) and the first three letters of my father’s middle name (Reyes, my paternal grandmother’s maiden name.)  Squish them together, and Voila! (which may as well be a Filipino name, too.) 

My name is therefore unique to Filipinos, although once I did a search on Facebook to see if anyone else shared my name.  There were thirteen other Magreys.  All of them Hispanic women.  But none of them, at least as far as I could tell by their profile photo, could preach a sermon in rhyme. 

At any rate, I’m proud of my name, despite the fact that it gets butchered and mispronounced so often (Like the time someone spelled it Niagara.  For real.)  My name is not only distinctive, it is a reminder of my family heritage, connecting me both to my father and my grandmother’s lineage, linking me to two generations of Filipino ancestry.  No matter what I become, my name reminds me of where I have come from.

(In case your wondering, we practiced a little bit of presto-Filipino magic when it came to naming Madelyn.  Take the first two letters of my first name, the first two letters of my last name, and Jessica’s middle name (Lyn), and fuse them together.  She should be glad we didn’t name her Tingting or Dugong.)


LIVING UP TO OUR NAME

I thought about the origins of my name in preparation for this new sermon series. Generations ago, members of this congregation decided to practice some inventive renaming of this church.  In 1947, during the first full year of what would be Rev. J.E. Feller’s long pastoral tenure, the congregation considered renaming a church which had already been in existence for 89 years.  After a formal vote, the First Methodist Church of Cherokee, Iowa became the St. Paul’s Methodist Church.  And so it is today. 

So here’s the question:  What does it mean for us to be named after Paul?

None of us choose the names we are given.  The best we can do is remember the ones who gave them to us and honor the ones after whom we are named.  So consider what it would mean to live up to the name of the greatest apostle, the one whom biblical scholar James D. Tabor calls “the most influential person in human history,” even more impactful on the form and doctrine of the Christian faith than Jesus Christ himself:

Visit any church service, Roman Catholic, Protestant or Greek Orthodox, and it is the apostle Paul and his ideas that are central -- in the hymns, the creeds, the sermons, the invocation and benediction, and of course, the rituals of baptism and the Holy Communion or Mass. Whether birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage or death, it is predominantly Paul who is evoked to express meaning and significance.  [2]

So, over the next eight weeks, we will study our namesake, in a sermon series that will be the most comprehensive survey of his works that I have ever preached.  We’ll begin with Thessalonians, the first book written in the New Testament, and each week, we will connect Paul’s words to his overall life, ministry, and conviction.
  

Paul:  The Life and Ministry of the Greatest Apostle

August 4
Paul:  The Greatest Apostle*
Acts 9:1-19

August 11
Thessalonians:  Holiness and Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

August 18
Corinthians:  The Power of the Cross
1 Corinthians 1:18-31

August 25
Romans:  Sin and Grace
Romans 5:1-11

September 1
Philippians:  Living Like Jesus
Philippians 2:1-11

September 8
Galatians:  Freedom and Love
Galatians 5:16-26

September 15
Ephesians and Colossians:  The Life of Faith
Colossians 3:1-11

September 22
The Pastoral Epistles:  The Witness of the Church
2 Timothy 1:1-18

September 29
Paul for Today
2 Timothy 4:1-16

By the end of our time together, you will have a better appreciation for each of his epistles, and a deeper sense of how to live “in Christ,” Paul’s favorite theological phrase.  Along the way, you’ll want to join others in following the daily scripture readings that will prepare you for each upcoming sermon.  Bookmarks were given out last Sunday and are available in the narthex or the church office.  Scriptures for this week are also listed at the end of this message.

It will be a joy to take this journey with you, as we remember who we are and the one after whom we are named.

In Christ, Indeed,

Magrey 

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org


[1]  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/05/16/boris-dugong-and-200yearold-baby.html
[2]  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-d-tabor/christianity-before-paul_b_2200409.html
* manuscript and audio copies of last Sunday’s introductory sermon are available by request.


DAILY SCRIPTURE READING PLAN:  AUGUST 6-13

Tuesday, August 6:  1 Thess. 2
Wednesday, August 7: 1 Thess. 3
Thursday, August 8:  1 Thess. 4-5
Friday, August 9:  2 Thess. 1-2
Saturday, August 10:  2 Thess. 3
Sunday, August 11:  Sermon:  Thessalonians:  Holiness and Hope
Monday, August 12:  1 Cor. 1-3
Tuesday, August 13: 1 Cor. 11-13