There is power in a name, and enormous amounts of power can be exercised by the one who bestows a name. The very act of naming is in and of itself a performance of authority.

We give names in order to give recognition and even to prove ownership, such as when we name a boat or a child, or even give a pet name to our loved ones. And we also give names in order to protect ourselves from having to understand a person, a people, or a thing. Giving a name, in this way, is actually giving the one who names the ability to control what appears to be uncontrollable, and offers a pardon from having to know more about that which he or she has named. It is a way to dismiss someone or something without having to grow or learn. This kind of naming is the fodder that empowers racism, homophobia, and grudges.

We have all used this naming power many times. When we disagree with someone, the temptation to put a name on them is immediate. If I can give this person a name, I can box them in without having to listen. I might give them a political title or refer to their generation, nationality, or hometown.

Jesus was called a glutton and a drunk, when the authorities wanted to box him in (s. Mat 11:19 NIV).

There are Christians who assume the power to brand other Christians with titles like “Emergent”, so that those who don’t assume the “orthodox” beliefs can all be rolled into a convenient ball and targeted as one, neat group to be discussed by those who wield the naming power.

Sometimes names are given as a reminder of who someone claims to be, but isn’t exemplifying. Jesus used this when reminding those who knew how to live like God, but weren’t. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’” (Mat 15:7-9).

Christians! Christianity is about Christ; it’s not about Bible translations, doctrines, or buildings. When we make Christianity about something other than Jesus, we assume the power to give it the name that we want it to have. And anyone who doesn’t believe that it’s about what we believe it is about also is given a name, such as “heretic”.

Keeping Christianity safely in our box keeps us from having to know what being like Jesus really is. Instead, we can simply learn what our denomination or personal belief system is about, and then we only have to know what that is.

Learning to really be like Jesus is a lot messier. And we have learned that messes must be contained, whether they are what we see as messy people, messy things, or messy beliefs.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

when the bus came to Capernaum, the thrill of walking on the ground where Jesus considered home was truly exhilarating. This was another place that had taken up much of my personal study time back home. I knew of the basalt rock that was prevalent in this area. And I also knew that the olive presses and other tools used for processing food were made in Capernaum and used throughout Israel. And I was there, gazing and walking upon  Jesus’ old stomping grounds. And it was really happening. I was really in Jesus’ hometown.

As we walked through the town of Capernaum, I looked around at the many millstones and olive presses that I had only seen in videos and pictures, and I wanted to take so many pictures, while, at the same time, I wanted to put away the camera and simply enjoy the moments. But I continued to take pictures so that I and others could enjoy them in the future. And there were moments when I handed the camera to my wife so that I could look at everything with my naked eyes. It was an awesome experience. One of the tools that I wanted to see for myself was the Γεθσημανὶ (Eng. Gethsemane meaning “olive press”), a large, heavy, stone pillar that was placed upon bags of broken, ripe olives and used to squeeze out the precious olive oil.

When we came up to a gethsemane in Capernaum, our guide pointed it out, but I was surprised that he was unaware of its significance in the story of Jesus. It is in the gospels of Matthew and Mark that the story of Jesus going to a place called “Olive Press” is told. And it is in the garden of the Olive Press where Jesus feels the heavy burden of our sins placed upon him like a giant gethsemane, and has his very precious blood squeezed from his body as his sweat was laced with drops of blood due to the stress of his impending Passion.

It was in the garden of the olive press where the priceless oil of our Savior was literally pressed from his body by the weight of our sins, which he bore for us all. How could that have been missed by our guide? I was saddened that more of us were not privileged to the metaphor of Jesus’ night in the garden of the Olive Press. I continued to look around at all of the ancient millstones and seas used by those who processed olives in Capernaum during the time of Jesus. Perhaps Jesus himself had used or even built some of the olive presses that were found in this ancient place. After all, Jesus was a τέκτων (Eng. Tekton), a construction worker. And though tekton is usually translated as “carpenter” in the New Testament, it actually means “construction worker”, which could also refer to a stone worker. Looking around at Capernaum, and all of its stone work, along with the fact that Capernaum was “the” city where these important tools were purchased, helped me to see that it is very possible that Jesus probably did much more work with stone than he did with wood.

This was indeed a life-changing, eye-opening occasion, even more than I had hoped for. It was here in Capernaum that the story of Matthew 17:24ff speaks of Jesus teaching his disciples a powerful message about humility and “littleness”. While they are in Capernaum, Jesus has children come to him, and he tells those who want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that they must be like little children. And he goes on to tell them that if anyone causes a child to sin, then that person would be better off having a millstone hung around his neck and then be thrown into the sea. That story became so vivid as I stood there in Capernaum looking at the many millstones which must have been there as Jesus told this story. And then to look over my shoulder at the sea of Galilee, which was believed to be the Abyss, where the power of evil lurked beneath the waves, brings the entire teaching moment into full perspective. Jesus used that which was around him to teach a powerful message to those who were listening to him. With a child on his knee, a millstone beside him and the sea of Galilee in full view, his message must have left a significant picture on the minds of all who heard.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved