A NEW NAME

TEXT: Gen. 32:22-32; John 1:40-42

During these summer Sundays, we're taking a look at Biblical characters who have left
home for one reason or another, since leaving home seems to be a common thread in the lives of
those who would call themselves God's people. Last week we talked about Abraham, who left
home at the call of God to live life in a new way in a new place. This morning we'll take a look
at Abraham's grandson, Jacob, a very different sort of character.
In short, Jacob is not the guy you want as a role model for your kids. Here's his story in a
nutshell. Jacob is a twin. His twin brother Esau is technically the oldest, having been born first.
But Jacob was born seconds later, holding onto Esau's heel, which is why his name is Jacob,
which means "heel-grabber."
Their father is Abraham's miracle baby, Isaac, and Isaac's inheritance should have gone to Esau
as the first-born. But Jacob is interested in grabbing more than just heels and, with his mother's
help, manages to swindle his brother out of both his inheritance and the formal blessing given by
fathers to their first-born sons.
When Esau realizes what his brother has done, he vows to kill him, and Jacob leaves home for
the first time as basically a thief on the run, heading north to stay with some relatives until Esau
can cool down a bit. On the way, Jacob spends a night under the stars and has the famous dream
we now call "Jacob's ladder," where he sees angels coming and going from earth to heaven. God
also speaks to Jacob that night and affirms that Jacob will carry the promise that God made to
Abraham. An odd choice, but God does it anyway.

In the north country, Jacob takes two wives and manages to get tricked himself by his uncle
Laban, who is looking for cheap labor. Finally Jacob has had enough, pulls some tricks of his
own, and after 14 years takes his wives and children away from their home to head back to his
father's house.
Esau hears that Jacob is headed back and decides to go to meet himwith 400 armed men.
Apparently Esau knows how to hold a grudge. Jacob has one last plan to avoid being
slaughtered by his brother. He sends his wives and his children on ahead of him in small groups,
each group separated by several miles, each group bearing gifts for Esau from the considerable
wealth Jacob has taken from Laban.
And that is where the Scripture lesson for today opens. The others have all gone on ahead across
the river, and we find Jacob alone on the other side, wondering if he has just sent his family to
their doom, but apparently willing to take that risk in the hopes of saving his own skin. And
then, when he is all alone with his thoughts, God shows up to wrestle with him.
Jacob is, bluntly, a rogue and a scoundrel. He is deceitful, greedy, and cowardly. But he is still
the one that God chose to bear the promise given to Abraham. Jacob is still the one God picks to
father a nation that will be known as God's people. Jacob is a punk, but that is who God has
chosen, so it is up to God to make something of him.
That, I think, is what the wrestling match is about. Before Jacob crosses the river and goes
home, he has got to be changed, and so God steps in. It is a fascinating picture of God. We see
here in the very first book of the Bible that God is willing to show up in the flesh to do what
needs to be done. If you're paying attention in the Old Testament, Jesus coming as God in the

flesh should not be a surprise. God comes to Jacob in the fleshin a tangible body that can be
wrestled with. God engages Jacob. Jacob has to work for the change that is coming, and God is
right there in it with him.
The most interesting thing to me in this passage is the report from the divine wrestler that Jacob
has "wrestled with God and won." Won? How do you beat God? I think the answer is that God
is not interested in giving Jacob a humiliating defeat. The purpose of the wrestling match is to
change Jacob's attitude and direction, not to squash him. God does leave Jacob with a limp that
will be a reminder for the rest of his days. But God grants Jacob a victory and, with a new name,
calls Jacob to a new life. Jacob is no longer "heel-grabber" but "Israel," which means "God
rules."
Jacob won the wrestling match not in the way you win a game or a war, but in the way that you
win the summit of a mountain. The mountain has not lost, but by your struggle with a worthy
opponent, you have gained. The match proved to Jacob that God was not going to be a pushover
like his brother Esau and that Jacob would not be able to run from God like he had run from his
Uncle Laban. Jacob gains a new understanding of God, and a new understanding of his own
place in God's plan. Soon Jacob's 12 sons will go on to become the 12 tribes of Israel. Heelgrabber has birthed a nation, and those sons will bring him both great joy and great sorrow
victory and a limp.
A similar thing happens to Simon in the New Testament. Simon is not the scoundrel that Jacob
is, but he does get a new name that does not yet fit. Jesus calls him Peter, which means "rock."
Well, in the weeks tha follow, Peter is anything but a rock. He is a coward that denies even
knowng Jesus when the going gets rough. When Jesus is in his greatest need, one of his nearest

and dearest sayswithin earshot of Jesusthat he doesn't know the man, and as Jesus dies on
the Cross, the "rock" is nowhere to be found. Why would Jesus call Simon a rock? Why would
God make Heel-grabber the father of a nation?
The name for this is "grace." God gives us a gift when we don't deserve it, and that gift calls us
through struggle to a new and better life. That's one of the reasons that in earlier days a person
was given a new namea "Christian" nameat baptism. No matter what the circumstances of
our birth, no matter what our personality, faults, or disabilities, when we are claimed by Christ,
we are given a new name. Not a name that fits us yet, but a name to grow intoa name that
represents our calling and God's hopes and dreams for us.
It doesn't matter what the rest of the world has called us. In God's kingdom we are not
humiliated. We are honored with God's presence and called to engage the struggle to become the
person God has named us. Jacob's calling was to be the father of the twelve tribes which now
4,000 years laterstill bear his new name. Israel. Peter, a simple fisherman with a tendency to
leap before he looked, was to be the founder of the church. They weren't the most likely people
to get the job, but God gave them those names anyway. And so it is with us.
When I was 14 years old, God called me "minister." By the time I was ready to go to seminary at
age 33, life had taken some pretty sour turns and there were those who told me that I should
forget ministry because my life had not been clean enough. But God did not revoke the name
that was given to me in that moment of grace, and I took that new name, undeserving as I was
and am. I have wrestled, and I go through life with the limp of my past and the blessing of a new
name.

God offers the same to each of you as individuals and to all of us as a church. There is a calling
and a new name waiting for you. You will have to wrestle with it before you can cross the river
and go to your true home, but we are all given the grace of God to get us through.
These days we are not generally given a new legal name at our baptism, but we are all given the
name of "Christian," the name of Christ. That doesn't mean we've attained the perfection of
Jesus, but it means we are called to grow in that direction. It is a call to a wrestling matchGod
with us and us with God. If you haven't wrestled yet, you willnot with doctrines or dogmas,
but with God's claim on your life. We wrestle with who has control over our livesus or God.
We wrestle with bringing our desires in line with God's desires and with learning to love the
heel-grabbers of the world, who have not yet recognized their new name.
If you have been baptized, you have a name that calls younot to an hour of church on a
Sunday, not to a certain set of doctrines, but to a way of life that is modeled on the life of Jesus.
If you have not been baptized, God is simply waiting by the river for you to decide whether you
will engage the wrestler and take the name.
Perhaps, like Jacob, you have run off far from home, trying to escape a past that wasn't pretty.
Perhaps you are considering going back home, but you know that across the river is your enemy,
waiting with 400 armed men. It will be a struggle to go back home, and you may come back into
your own lands with a limp. But if you are willing to openly wrestle with the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacobif you are willing to stare God in the face and realize who it is that is among
you, you will come back home with a new name and God will say of you, "She has wrestled with
Godhe has wrestled with Godand won." Amen.

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed
him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob;
your name will be Israel." (Genesis 35:9, 10).

Why did some people's name change in the

Bible?
Through the course of interaction with His people, God occasionally changed someone's name. It
was generally done to establish a new identity that God wished them to embody.
The practice wasn't limited to Jews. Royalty from Assyria to Judah to Ancient Egypt to China
often took different, public, names when they took the throne. It is tradition for a new Pope to
take the name of a former pope whom he wishes to emulateever since Mercurius was named
pope and thought it bad form for a Catholic pope to have the name of a Roman god. English
royalty occasionally go by their middle names.
Most of the changed names in the Bible were changed by God. Here is a partial list:
Abram Abraham: high father father of many. At the time, Abram wasn't father of anyone
directly, although he was the patriarch and acting father of his clan. God changed his name as a
sign of His promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations. (Genesis 17:5)
Sarai Sarah: my princess mother of nations. Despite Sarah's doubts, God intended her to be
the mother of many nations as well. (Genesis 17:15)
Jacob Israel: supplanter he who has the power of God. Jacob rose to position by manipulating
his brother into giving him his firstborn birthright and then tricking his father, Isaac, into giving
him the firstborn blessing. God wanted to make it clear that it was He who gave Israel power and
position, not his own conniving ways. (Genesis 32:28)
Simon Peter: God has heard rock. On his own Peter was not a rock. He ran hot and cold
depending on the circumstances. With the Holy Spirit, however, Peter became the stabilizing
influence for the new church. (John 1:42)
There were also a few characters who went through a name change that was not ordained
specifically by God.
Naomi Mara: beautiful bitter (Ruth 1:20). After her husband and sons died, Naomi attempted
to change her name to Mara, or bitterness, to reflect her hard circumstances. Neither history nor
her daughter-in-law Ruth indulged her, and before long, God again blessed her with a family.
Saul Paul: Some think that God changed Saul's name to Paul after his conversion, but this isn't
true. "Paul" is Greek for the Jewish "Saul." Since Paul was a Roman citizen and witnessed to the
Greek-speaking world, it was reasonable for him to take a more familiar form of his own name.

(Acts 13:9)
Joseph Zaphenath-Paneah: When the Hebrew Joseph came into the service of the Pharaoh, he
was given a new Egyptian name. (Genesis 41:45)
Daniel Belteshazzar: When Daniel was taken into captivity to Babylon, and then taken to the
court of Nebuchadnezzar, he was given a Persian name to replace his Hebrew name. See also
Hananiah/Shadrach, Mishael/Meshach, and Azariah/Abednego. (Daniel 1:7)
Hadassah Esther: The Jewess girl Hadassah (Myrtle) was also given a new name, Esther (star),
when she was taken to be in Xerxes court. Incidentally, the name of the king, Ahasuerus, is a
Jewish name, given in honor for Xerxes's decision to save the Jews. (Esther 2:7)
Finally, there is a name change for all believers: God says, "To the one who conquers I will give
some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the
stone that no one knows except the one who receives it" (Revelation 2:17). When we reach
heaven, God will also change our names. Perhaps it will represent our own changed identity as
we transition from sinful to holy.
Maybe you said those things to yourself growing up. Maybe you shouted them back at someone
else. Maybe you taught them to your child as you looked at the pain on his face or the tears in her
eyes. Heres the irony. The fact that we know these sayings, use them, and teach them to our kids
doesnt negate but only highlights and points to the power of names and name calling.
Think about the many names you carry, whether good or bad, desired or unwanted, accurate or
not. For some I am Fr. Marsh, Fr. Mike, or just plain Mike. I am Dad. I am Son. A dear friend
calls me Brother and another, Mikey. And for one particular lady I am Baby Doll! Those arent,
however, my only names. There are others. Sometimes I am Loser or Idiot. Other times I am
known by names that should not be said here (or anywhere else for that matter).
Names are more than just a label. They have the power to create and the power to destroy. Thats
why names and name changes are so significant. They can describe relationships, ones qualities
or characteristics, a destiny, or a change in direction.
We see that today when a woman and sometimes a man take the name of the one they are
marrying. It signifies a change in status and relationship. Monks and nuns receive a new name
when they take vows. Adopted children often take the last name of the parents, showing that they
now belong and have a place in the family. All those signify becoming a different person and
entering a new life.
Name changes are found throughout scripture and they are always significant. Abram is changed
to Abraham. Sarai is changed to Sarah. These changes represent a new relationship with God and
a calling to be the parents through whom the nations will be blessed. Simon became Peter, the
rock on whom Christ will build his church. Saul, the persecutor of the church, became Paul, the
apostle to the gentiles.

Jacob Wrestling by Alexander Louis Leloir, 1865 (source)

Despite all the names we carry and live with there is for each one of us another name. It is a
secret name given and known only by God (Is. 62:2; Rev. 2:17). We discover and learn that name
in the night of wrestling with all our other names. Thats what Jacob is doing (Genesis 32:22-31;
Proper 24C). He is wrestling with himself, his demons, and ultimately with God.
The name Jacob means the supplanter, the usurper, heel grabber, trickster, or the deceiver. He
has certainly lived up to his name. He came out of his mothers womb grabbing at his twin
brothers heel. He finagled his brother Esaus birthright for a bowl of soup. He deceived his blind
father and stole the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau as the firstborn. Now he is a man on
the run. He is running from an angry brother who wants to kill him. He is running from his past.
Mostly though he is running from himself.
Maybe you know what thats like. Maybe youve been there. Maybe thats where you are today.
At some time or another we all spend the night wrestling with our past, our words and actions,
our identity, and the names that have shaped and defined us. Jacobs name fits him well but God
knows that is not his true name.
The man with whom Jacob is wrestling asks, What is your name? The man is not asking for
information but for a confession. Jacob will never know who he can become until he first
acknowledges who he is. In confessing his name Jacob offers himself into the hands of God. He
cannot finagle, deceive, or steal his way this time. His confessing becomes his prevailing.
The Lord gives Jacob a new name, a new identity, and a new life. He is now Israel, the one who
has striven with God and with humans and has prevailed. He is a new person. He is more
authentically himself, the one God has always known him to be.

We all live with multiple names. Some names have been given us by others. Other names we
have given ourselves. Some are life giving and nurturing. Others cut deep, leaving us wounded
or dying. Names define us in the eyes of others and ourselves. But what about that other name?
What about the name that defines us in the eyes of God? That is our truest name. It is the name
we long to hear and to be called. It is the name God longs to tell us and to call us. It is the name
that comes in the night wrestling.
Who are you? What is your name? What names do others call you? What names do you call
yourself? What names do you cringe at hearing or can barely say? Unfaithful, unworthy,
unloveable? Fraud, hypocrite, cheater? Alcoholic or addict? Divorced, widow, orphan,
unwanted? Failure, lazy, stupid? Coward, weakling? Crazy, worthless, ugly? Abused or abuser?
Defective, deficient, disappointing? Every one us could add to that list. We know our names
well, too well, and we have trusted them for too long.
In the nighttime of wrestling God asks each one of us, What is your name? He does so with the
promise to change our name, to make us a new person, and give us a new life. Its a hard
question we might rather avoid. It can leave us feeling scared, ashamed, and vulnerable. Dare to
answer his question. Dont keep quiet. Dont back down. Dont walk away. Hold on for the
blessing. Speak the names you carry. Confess them. Shout them. Whisper them. Then listen and
prevail. Listen for God to say, You shall no longer be called that. Thats not who you are. You
are Beloved Son. You are Beloved Daughter. You are Forgiven and Redeemed. You are Beautiful,
Holy, Precious. Then God speaks that one name that is known only to him, the name that is for
your ears only, and says, This is who you are. Become what you have heard.