On Sunday Minister-Lou preached on Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus: A rich man lives in luxury. Lazarus, covered in sores, sits begging by his gate… They both die… The rich man goes to hell… Lazarus goes to heaven…
Lou noted that Lazarus, the poor beggar, is named; the rich man isn’t. She asked, ‘Why?’
This week I’ve been noting people that are and aren’t named…
…A few days ago there was the stabbing of a teenage girl at the Thorpe St Andrew School near Norwich. Students were told to hide under their desks… the site was locked down…
The girl wasn’t named; I can understand why. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent; he’s not been named for legal reasons…
…This morning, I read the Bible story of Ruth. An ordinary family leave Bethlehem to go to Moab. There’s famine, death and sadness… there’s also faithfulness, hope and love.
All the characters in the story are named – Elimelech and Naomi, Mahlon and Kilion, Orpah and Ruth, Boaz and Obed. As the plot unfolds each are introduced by name.
Yesterday’s Lowestoft Journal told of ‘Salt & Pepper’, a street food trailer on a local retail park, reporting on Facebook:
‘A gentleman came up to the truck, ordered some food, and then quietly asked if he could pay for our entire menu so people could eat for free… He paid for enough food for 20 people… No fuss. No wanting attention. Just a genuinely kind gesture for the people of Lowestoft.
The kind-hearted man chose to remain nameless.
The old words of wisdom from Ecclesiastes start, ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…’
Perhaps there should be a line ‘A time to be named, and a time to remain nameless.’
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Thanks, Graham. It takes both humility and wisdom to know which is which.
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And God will give us all new names! I have a client who is dealing with an awful and greedy relative and she said on Monday she has a hard time not calling him every bad name in the dictionary, I told her to now refer to him as “he who shall remain nameless” She said she loved that. For now she can speak of him without getting a bad taste in her mouth and getting angry.
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I like that. You’re right. By naming someone, it becomes personal. By refusing to name them it can lose that personal-ness.
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How interesting about being named and nameless. You have piqued my curiosity about noticing the same. Thanks, Malcolm.
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Thanks, Wynne. I’ve noticed it on the news this week, Wynne. On a personal level it’s made me think about when I want to be noticed and when I want to remain anonymous.
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