Call on the Name of the Lord #2 | "El Olam"

0:02 Today is the second Sunday in Lent. This Lent, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is studying the names of God as recorded in Scripture and as used down through the centuries by Christians in times of contemplation and prayer. This Lent we are puzzling over, marveling at, and reverently making use of God's evocative names. Last week we began our journey by considering what may be the most important naming story in all of Scripture. A passage from Exodus in which God, from the fiery branches of a burning bush, speaks the divine name to the prophet Moses. We started with the story of the burning bush for a number of reasons.

1:08 First, the name that God whispers from the flaming shrubbery, Yahweh, is the most common name for God found in all the Bible. It occurs 6,828 times in the good book. Comprimands, that number will be on the quiz. Second, the story of the burning bush is important because it is described as an act of God's self-disclosure. In Exodus, God says, this is my name. This is who I am and who I will be to you and your people. finally we talked about the ways in which the name whispered to Moses by the burning bush conveys a promise the promise of God's presence the name Yahweh some translators say means I am the one who will be with you Today, we turn our attention to the other end of the biblical naming spectrum.

2:30 Today, we're going to study a name that occurs only four times in Scripture. And in this case, instead of God naming God's self, we watch as a human being, Abraham, assigns a name to God. How does that change things? Good question. Our search for an answer begins with a passage from Genesis, chapter 21, beginning with the 22nd verse. Listen now for God's word to you. At that time, Abimelech, with Phichol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, God is with you in all that you do. Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, But as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have resided as an alien.

3:46 And Abraham said, I swear it. Therefore, that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. When they had made a covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech with Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, El Olam. and Abraham resided as an alien many days in the land of the Philistines. Our second reading for today comes from Psalm 131. In this short psalm, the very last word, the English word forevermore, is the same word in Hebrew that Abraham used to name God in our first passage, olam.

4:53 Listen again, good people, for God's word to you. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up. My eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother. my soul is like the weaned child that is with me O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore This is the word of God for you, the people of God Thanks be to God Do you like to name things?

5:45 Have you ever named a pet or a place or a child? Have you ever tried to pin a nickname on a friend or a family member or a colleague? Dr. Jackson? My family loves to name things. We name places. We name buildings. We name cars. We have multiple names for our pets. Some are affectionate Fergus Fluffy Paws. Some are a scold pup of shame. Some are evolutions of silly sounds and syllables that for whatever reason have stuck. More often than not, nowadays we call our dog the scuppata. I cannot explain why.

6:40 All I know is that we like to play with names. In scripture, the first task, the very first task that God gives to humankind is naming. This is how Genesis chapter 2 describes it. God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the human to see what he would call them. That's such an interesting verse. Basically, Genesis tells us that God is curious. God wants to see what sort of names people will foist on the rest of creation. Will Adam and Eve use names that have explanatory power? this is an anteater. Will they bestow names that convey fear? This is a murder wasp. Will their names hint at nobility? This is an emperor penguin. Or will they confer judgment?

7:48 This is a sloth. Naming is an exercise of creative power. In our culture, we spend a lot of time arguing over how best to name things. How shall we refer to a person whose visa has expired? Are they an undocumented worker? An illegal alien? An unauthorized immigrant? A dangerous criminal?

8:25 Careful now, the first step in any cultural debate requires that we choose our weapons, I mean our words. What names will I use for these people? These challenges? Here the good book renders an opinion. Scripture thinks that our faith ought to have a role to play when humans start slapping names on the world and on each other. Are the names that we bestow fair? Do they reflect the image of God that has been stamped on every human soul? When we give someone a name, it says something. It says something about us, something about those bestowing the names, something about the condition of our souls. Whenever we assign someone a name, our own hopes, our own fears become clear.

9:33 Naming is a moral and spiritual activity. This is so clear in today's story from Genesis. Genesis 21 describes an encounter between two men, Abraham and Abimelech. Abraham and his family are nomadic shepherds, new arrivals in a foreign land. Abimelech is the leader of a village near the area where Abraham has settled. Abimelech is the established local. Abraham is the new guy. What draws these two men together is a dispute. A dispute over the ownership of a well. Abraham and his family dug the well, a precious thing in that arid land. And some of Abimelech's men have now claimed the well.

10:33 The table has been set for conflict. Who will control this well? When Abimelech shows up at Abraham's doorstep with a military officer at his side, we wince. Uh-oh. Once again, the world's brutal algebra is about to play out. Might is going to make right. But then, no. Genesis pivots. The good book shows us a different way. When Abimelech engages Abraham, he does not employ threats. He does not rattle his sword. He does not throw a tantrum. He speaks to his neighbor with respect. He identifies Abraham, yes, as a foreigner, and then Abimelech praises his new neighbor.

11:28 You, sir, Abimelech observes, have a reputation for being trustworthy in business and faithful to God. After talking sensibly, honorably, and peaceably, such a strange concept, Abraham and Abimelech shake hands. They make an agreement. They swear an oath. They promise to be honest in their dealings with each other. They promise to respect each other's wells. And then they part ways. As Abimelech rides off, Abraham, a relieved Abraham, grateful for this honest and respectful resolution to a dispute, plants a tamarisk tree, a tree known for its ability to thrive in harsh conditions. And then, Genesis tells us, Abraham calls on the name of the Lord, El Olam.

12:40 That's how the story ends. Abraham plants a crazy, tough, survivalist tree in the sand. drops to his knees, gazes up at heaven, and then, well, then he spontaneously blurts out a new name for God. Abraham says, Lord, I think I'm beginning to understand you. I'm starting to trust you. This is who you are to me. You are El Olam. Will you say Abraham's name for God with me? El Olam. Now El Olam is not difficult to translate. El is the generic Hebrew word for God. You hear it in Emmanuel, El Shaddai.

13:36 And olam is the word for everlasting. Basically, Abraham says, you are the eternal God. You, O God, are the everlasting one. A stranger in a strange land, Abraham plants a tamarisk tree and says, God, you sent me here and clearly you've come along for the journey. I sensed you in that conversation that I had with Abimelech. I felt you in the hospitality of that moment. That had to be you, right? Your fingerprints are all over the events of the day, reconciling strangers, helping us forge a fair agreement inviting us to deal with each other in good faith.

14:32 Thank you. You always show up at critical moments in surprising ways. You are unfailing. You are everlasting. You are El Olam. today is confirmation sunday today's a good day to wrap our tongues around the name el olam on confirmation sunday we say to young people it is time it is time for you to take charge of your beliefs. As you become full members of this community, we encourage you to lean into your faith and to lean on your faith. Study it. Deepen it. Like Abraham at the well, let your faith give you perspective in the midst of conflict. Allow it to guide your steps when the waters get choppy. Choppy? What's this choppy preacher?

15:41 On Confirmation Sunday, the larger church does not want to scare the confirmands. Mostly we want to celebrate you. At the same time, we want to be honest with you. Most of the adults in this room know something. Call it one of life's hard truths. and on confirmation Sunday we are trying to prepare you to face this something the hard truth that we know goes like this there will come a time in this life when you will need a robust faith when you will need to lean on the eternal God the one who abides the one who is steadfast, the one who encourages people to plant trees in impossible landscapes, El Olam.

16:44 today's psalm psalm 131 a short and beautiful poem vibrates on this frequency it begins in a humble way oh lord my heart is not lifted up my eyes are not raised too high i do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me and then psalm 131 paints a remarkable image I am like a weaned child, the psalmist writes. I'm no longer utterly dependent on you, God. Still, I lean against you. I lean against you like a child leans against his mother. This is how the psalm puts it. I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother.

17:40 My soul is like the weaned child that is with me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Olam. When I lean against you, the psalmist sings. My soul is comforted in this quiet pose. I hear your heartbeat. I start to relax. I've known that steadfast thrum, thrum. all my life it is well it's the rhythm of eternity you're the mother I can always lean against you're the one who soothes my spirit in this terribly conflicted world your steadfast presence gives me strength and courage and the hope to carry on you are the one who abides you are forever more you are El Olam.

18:41 today my friends I want to conclude the sermon with a with an assignment with a Lenten assignment as the second week of Lent unfolds amid the torrents of chaotic news as we wrestle with war abroad and with challenges much closer to home the assignment goes like this be like Abraham use a new name for God this week I know get out of your rut pray to El Olam start as Abraham did by paying attention to those rare moments in this world when honesty and honor and goodness blossom.

19:38 Lean into these precious occurrences. Be like the psalmist. Picture yourself. Picture others. Picture this whole world being embraced by God. Put your ear to El Olam's warm chest and listen.

19:59 Listen for the thrum. Thrum, thrum. Let the heartbeat of the cosmos calm your soul and guide your steps.