Our Name
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you’ve got.
Take a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Check is in the mail;
And your little angel hung the cat up by its tail
And your third fiancé didn’t show;
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
-
Gary Portnoy
You may recall those verses from the theme song of a popular television show from the early 1980s. The appeal was compelling; we all need a place where we can be unconditionally embraced and called by name. Portnoy wrote insightful words that are sometimes closely associated with the call of the Church, but the unsettling fact is these words introduced us to a bar named “Cheers”. It seems odd and uncomfortable for us to associate a dimly lit room of folks sipping brews with a gathering of Christians worshipping God, and yet we must admit we want to be known by name.
I live in a small town and
one of my favorite moments of the day is being recognized and remembered at the
places I frequent. When my banker, grocer, pharmacist and barber know me by
name it allows me to continue my story where I left off last time. I don’t have
to start over again with introductions. “Cheers”
was a place where folks were recognized and could start and continue their
stories.
Our biographies start with
our name. Beyond our given name, the Christian community shares many common
names: sinner, forgiven, and loved, to name a few. These names help us
communicate our stories. The stories we share have their own twists and turns
but the story is common for us all.
Another song also reaches
out with great promise.
“Come,
ye sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore.
Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity,
love and pow’r.
I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace
me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O, there are
ten thousand charms"
-
Joseph Hart
A part of our gathered worship
should be to tell our stories. We not only praise and worship God in unified
chorus, but sometimes go solo, as others listen. These shared moments are not
“spotlight moments”, but confessions of failure and success that are
courageously and humbly shared. Once
shared, these stories heighten and deepen the congregants chorus of worship.
In contrast to the bar, or
any other venue that brings us face to face, the proper posture when we gather for
worship is shoulder to shoulder. We should be aware of the crowd but focused
upon the Host. Worship happens when we hear our true name and answer. The embrace of God awaits us; the embrace of
the One who knows our name and is always glad we came.
the friar
