The Name of Jesus

At last night’s Presbytery Meeting, the new Moderator, Alan Falconer, began the evening’s proceedings with a message crafted to turn our thoughts towards unity and reconciliation after recent disagreements within the Presbytery.  His emphasis on the Body of Christ was a thoughtful gesture and his intentions good.  The Body of Christ is made up of many parts, and no part can rightly say to another, ‘I don’t need you.’  

I appreciated the sentiment behind his homily.  I really did.  Quite what effect it will have on a Presbytery where feelings now run very deep and where wounds have been inflicted, well, only time will tell.  Barring a miracle, I tend to think that some divisions cannot be healed, so fundamental are the differences.  This grieves me, but it is a reality that we must sometimes face.  In such circumstances, perhaps all that can be done is to agree on the rules for co-existence.  

For my part, I have always been impressed with the unity of the early believers, whom the Acts of the Apostles describe as having possessed  a unity of heart and mind.  A beautiful phrase.  I have always been inclined to understand that to mean a unity founded upon a shared doctrine and a shared belief – the mind bit – as well as a shared passion for Jesus Christ, the heart bit.  These are the two things in every place and time that will unite mature believers, irrespective of outward dissimilarities, or so it should be.

Which is precisely why I can’t understand how it is we so infrequently mention the name of Jesus Christ when we gather in Presbytery or General Assembly.  It has become almost an obsession with me to take notice, at any meeting I attend, of the frequency with which the name of the Lord is mentioned.  I even sit there counting the number of times Jesus’ name is used.  Usually I don’t need two hands.  The fingers on one normally suffice.  

Last night, I am sad to say that the Saviour’s name was barely spoken in the first ninety minutes of our Presbytery Meeting.  A whole hour and a half without very much use at all of the name that is above every other name, at which angels rejoice and demons tremble.  Lots of clapping, much smiling; the efforts of folk were publicly appreciated and applauded, rightly so; much mention of fund-raising and, to be fair, mention of a number of very worthy causes and efforts.  But hardly any use of the name of Jesus.

Now I’m old school about things like this.  I am inclined to judge how important something or someone is by the number of times he, she or it she is spoken about.  In any ninety minute period of conversation, I am pretty sure I will have spoken about my wife and family a good few times.  No one speaking to me for more than a few minutes will go away ignorant of the fact that I am married with offspring.  My family is important to me and so I talk about it, wherever I go.

I ask myself if a visitor would know that our Church, all we do and are, is all about Jesus, having attended one of our meetings?  It’s a challenging thought, isn’t it?  We can apply the test to ourselves.  How often is the Saviour’s name on our lips, never mind our Presbytery or General Assembly?

I hate to be always on the glass-half-empty side of things lately, but why don’t we speak about Jesus more at our meetings?  I have a sorrowful feeling that it is because many of us do not really know him, and have not really experienced the freedom and joy that his friendship brings.  If we did, nothing could prevent us from talking about him. His name would effortlessly be on our lips and to speak about him would be as natural as breathing.

My prayer is:

Holy Spirit, visit our Presbytery and Denomination today.  Bring us face to face with the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and grant us repentance and faith, so that nothing is ever the same again.  O Lord, open thou our lips, and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  Amen

Soli Deo Gloria