JOHN 1:40-42 OWNERSHIP TRANSFER

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

The practice of naming children in various cultures makes for an informative study. It is made all the more interesting because it is such a contrast to our present “system” that depends more upon the parent’s celebrity interest or attraction to the sound of the name than any meaning the name might have. As anyone who works with children can attest, in our culture names come in batches according to the fade existing when a child was born. However, even in prior generations American parents tended to name their children using family names and in that way connected them with their history.

Other communities thought that names were prophetic. A child would be given a name that the parents thought he would grow into. Another practice was naming a child based on an event or portent occurring on or near the date of birth. A name was understood to have power and was much more than an identifying label to be borne by the child.

The power of naming is seen in the biblical record of Creation where man’s dominion over the animals was established by God giving him the role of naming them (Genesis 2:19-20). We also see it in the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel. Jacob demands to know the angel’s name (to “over power” the angel) while the result is that the angel (God) ends up naming Jacob Israel (Genesis 32:24-30).

St. Paul tells us that when be believe in Jesus we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). When Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, Jesus saw that he had come to follow him and renamed him as a sign of his new life. In this case, Jesus renamed him Peter (the Rock) as a prophecy of what Simon would become in the faith. But he also renamed Simon in order to identify to the transfer of metaphysical ownership. Simon was known as the Son of John, but from now on he would be known as the Rock of Faith in Jesus, that is Peter son of God.

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the 20th century, when an adolescent came before the bishop to profess his personal faith in Jesus Christ (Confirmation), the bishop would lay his hands on the individual and call her by her new Confirmation name. The symbolism was again that of a transfer of ownership. With the public profession the believer is no longer owned by his parents or himself, but belongs to God. To be a believer is to become a child of God and dedicate yourself to living up to that designation. It is a matter both of who you belong to and what you one day will actually become.

Thank you, Father for owning me. May I ever take the light yoke of your loving kindness upon myself and grow day by day into the child of the kingdom you have named me to be. Amen.