Named for Their Father

My oldest daughter Abby got her name because it was the only thing on which my husband and I agreed. We told her the name right when she was born, before we told anyone else.

Abby seemed like a nice name that could be Sister Mary Abby, CEO Abby, Artist Abby, Teacher Abby, Doctor Abby or Mommy Abby. Later, we learned the longer form of the name, Abigail, means, “Father’s joy.” And it turns out, she was born on her father’s birthday and the birthday of Saint John Bosco, my spiritual father. I guess we named her well!

My youngest, Hannah, was named because the Lord (and Abby) kept insisting I should have another child. I was pretty scared to have another, as Abby had been through a number of medical issues, including surgery and chemotherapy. I spent so much time in prayer before the tabernacle about this child that the name “Hannah” seemed more than fitting, recalling the biblical Hannah who also prayed.

The girls have these names because my husband and I had the right to name them as their earthly parents. But I was thinking this weekend about how we have another name.

The first reading from Sunday says: “The Lord called me from birth; from my mother’s womb, he gave me my name (Isaiah 49:1).” It was certainly appropriate to have this as the reading for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, as his father was instructed to give the name John from the message of an angel.

But the idea of the Lord giving a name is not limited to just a few persons in scripture. Your being given a special name is alluded to in other places. In Revelation 2:17, He says, “I will give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name.” And according to Isaiah 62:2, “You shall be called a new name, bestowed by the mouth of the Lord.”

I was thinking about how the name the Lord gives in scripture often has something to do with the future mission the person has or something the person did. The Archangel Gabriel told Mary the Messiah would be named “Jesus,” and that name means, “God saves.” The Archangel Michael kicked out those who dared to compare themselves to God, and his name means, “Who is like God?” Jacob wrestled God, and his name was changed to “Israel,” or God wrestler. Simon’s name was changed to Peter, which means Rock, and the church was founded on his God-given authority.

The Lord has a name for you, perhaps signaling the thing for which He made you or something you have already done. Is it exciting to think of that? I love to think of how well the Father makes everything He imagined and how deeply we are known.

What is your name? I’m not sure whether God intends to tell you while you are still on earth. You could ask. I have a friend who doesn’t want to know until he arrives in Heaven. But the Lord has told others when it was prudent for His plans. The Lord has already told me my name. And it was so nice, I didn’t believe Him for two years until He confirmed it through someone else in prayer. It’s very interesting to consider that I have an identity in God that He imagined before He formed me. It has been a journey to realize that He has plans for me that have far more dignity and beauty that I could have ever thought.

I was telling my girls in the car before Mass, God will one day call them by name. It won’t be the name that their mother and father called them on earth. It will be the name of their true Father, the one who imagined them, has a purpose for them and loves them more than earthly parents ever could.

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I dedicated you.” -Jeremiah 1:5

#name #JohntheBaptist #identity