Day Thirteen: The Incarnation and the Names of Jesus, Part One

The twelfth day was the test. If everything goes right, I have the tests graded quickly, and I can give them back to the students the next class. Of course, there is almost always a student or two who cannot “make-up” the test for a while; I will not give tests back until all of the students have taken it. I guess I’m persnickety that way. (By the way, “persnickety” was not spell-checked for me! It must be a real word!)

The next unit goes deeper into the person of Jesus Christ: Christology. I start the lesson like I start so many others…with a Bellwork.

Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois. As we will discover in class, the very name of Jesus means something. The name itself is a prayer and a claim about who He is.

“What does your name mean? (First and/or last name)”  Sometimes my students have never really thought about or looked up what their name means, so I give them the option to look it up online if they need to. Mostly, we are going to talk about the purpose of names and how a name can provide insight into the history of a person and their family.

After about two minutes of students researching and thinking about this, we transition into prayer. I tell them a story about a student I had several years ago. For purposes on this blog and its public forum, I will not use the name of the student, but I will reveal the meaning behind his name.

This student of mine was a natural leader. Smart, athletic, Faithful, funny… occasionally a pain in the butt in the classroom, as most high school students can be, but overall he was one of the best people I have ever known. I met him his 10^th grade year, but it wasn’t until he was in 11^th grade that he really shone as a genuinely Loving and caring person. That was the year he went on the SEARCH retreat. Where I taught at the time, there was no huge school retreat that lasted more than a day; the entire diocese opened this three day retreat up for any junior or senior who wanted to go; this student of mine went, and it was powerful for him. I’m not going to go into the whole theology behind the retreat, but suffice it to say, for many teenagers, it is the first opportunity they have had where they actually felt Loved by God, by others, and by themselves. He came out of this retreat wanting others to experience that same kind of Love. He knew that everyone deserves to Love and to be Loved. So, the next year, as a senior, he was selected to be a Co-Director. He and another student of mine, whom I also Love very much, would lead a SEARCH retreat together.

SEARCH Co-Directors. Memphis, Tennessee (photo G. Call)

I don’t want to give away too many details, but there is a tradition of prayer associated with the retreat, especially with the adults and the students who give talks on these retreats. I have been lucky to pray for and to pray with several of my students as they prepared to speak…to share their lives… with several dozen other teenagers. Before my student was to give his talk late one evening (it was probably about 12:30 AM), I was able to be there with a dozen of his friends to pray with him. This is what I told him during prayer.

“Do you know what your name means?” I asked him. He had never really thought about it. “It’s an older French word that means ‘take the spear’, as in, take the weapon and lead others to victory.” I could see his face light up. He was about to be totally vulnerable in front of so many of his peers, but at that moment he seemed to let go of that anxiety. “I am so proud of you,” I continued, “because you have chosen to ‘take up the spear’ and lead others to Christ. You have chosen to be vulnerable like a warrior…like Jesus… and risk being rejected. But what will happen is you will be Loved and you will help others to experience Love. Your name is perfect for what you are doing now.”

Later that year, he was offered an ROTC scholarship at a nearby university, a goal he had had for several years. And when he suddenly died in his sleep just one semester into college, everyone was shocked. He was apparently healthy and made good decisions and he had a goal…a purpose. They later determined that he had cardiac dysrhythmia, and the day we all found out, we had a prayer service at the parish near the school where I taught him. There was not an empty spot in the pews. It seemed as if everyone who ever knew him was there, including high school classmates and teachers and college friends and ROTC comrades.

“Take the Spear” I said to everyone in that church. “Take the spear and lead. I am so proud of him. Look at how even  when he is not here, he is still leading us to Christ.”

I heard later on that his ROTC buddies all went and got tattoos of spears to remember him. I tell this story to my students now. He still is a leader. It is in his name.