In the Name of Love

My wife Beth's devotion for our church for the second Sunday of Advent.  

In The Name Of Love

By Beth Stroble

Together we read Luke’s account of the Christmas story, and we witness anew God’s love for humanity as God moved in the lives of ordinary people.  As I listened to Linda’s description of Mary as a common girl to whom a singularly uncommon proclamation and miracle were made true, I thought more about the name of Mary.

Because I grew up in a predominantly Catholic community and now am part of a university community that was Catholic in its origin and identity for much of its history, I have known many Marys. But conventions that favored giving girl babies a name in common with Mary and thus a shared identity seem to have faded. The practice, whether required or not in some parishes, began to disappear in the 1980s when parents preferred names that were not commonly used, seeking unique identities and identifiers, including creative spellings of more traditional names.

Names matter. Care was taken, for example, in the naming of the most recent virus variant to avoid unintended meanings; Omicron was not the sequential letter in the Greek alphabet.  Women named Alexa are reportedly changing their names to avoid confusion with the digital messenger, and incidents that have come from the Karen meme are not all humorous.

The fact that Mary was once a name that was a typical American name as well as a typical American Catholic name gave it a girl next door association and vibe—true to the Biblical Mary as one who could be counted on.  The name, Mary, addresses one who is unassuming when the angel Gabriel, says to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, God is honoring you” (Luke1:30)

This week’s scripture passage from Luke recounts the conversation between Mary and Elizabeth, both blessed with unexpected pregnancies, and their awareness of the miracles of love God was working in their lives.  As Mary greeted her cousin, Elizabeth and the babe in her womb responded from the calling out in love between two women whom God blessed. Mary came in the name of love. God was truly with her.

In this Advent season, let us greet each other with the love and acceptance shared between Mary and Elizabeth.  May we always hear our names called out in love.  And like generations before us, we embrace a bond with Mary, Elizabeth, Zachariah, and so many others with whom God was present—naming ourselves those whom God loves and those who share that blessing with others.

We live in the name of love.

Amen.