Written on January 11, 2008

[For the January 20, 2008 lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-7 + Psalm 40:1-11+ I Corinthians 1:1-9 + John 1:29-42.]

What Are You Looking For? by Larry Patten

I bet it was the fifth grade when I gave a fellow student a new name. He was overweight and shy (and so was I, but he was a little more of both than me). We usually did school stuff with the same group of friends. As I recall his last name was Repp. For a joke, I started calling him Reptile. And, at least for a few weeks, others did to. Everybody thought it was funny.

Well, not everybody. A kid named Repp wasn't so happy. It was an insult. But hey, it’s what kids do. Right?

I thought about my juvenile insensitivity as I listened to Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin in the last week.

As I tuned into their radio shows, I felt like I was back in elementary school. If that’s the case, why listen to them? Well, I’m intrigued with politics and I am trying to keep informed about the presidential primaries. Yes, it’s easy to grouse about modern elections, but I remain fascinated. And, with Limbaugh and Levin, I wanted to learn how others, with different views than me, were reacting.

Do I have to tell you anything about Limbaugh? My local radio station refers to his show as “the most listened to radio talk show in America.” In the land of labels, I’d call him conservative and me liberal. I suspect there is not too much we would agree on.

I listened to Limbaugh call Hillary Rodham Clinton . . . Hillary Rotten Clinton. And that was one of his more “polite” references. He was demeaning, petulant and arrogant. After a few minutes, I felt like I should take a shower.

Why? Why so insulting? Why so much apparent hatred?

Still tuned to that station, I later listened to someone I’d never heard of (since he doesn’t have the “most listened to show in America”) by the name of Mark Levin. Over a period of a half-hour, he insulted caller after caller. Even if someone agreed with Levin, he found a way to belittle the person. More insults. More arrogance. He lambasted most Republican candidates as hypocrites and was far worse on Democrats.

Why did I listen? On the one hand, I’d rather listen or read people who “agree” with me. But the other hand reminds me I don’t have all the answers. Open the hand. Open the mind. Try to listen and learn.

I Googled the (for me) unknown Mark Levin’s web page. I expected to find more hatred. I did. However, the first thing I found was a dog. Levin, a New York-based radio host, certainly used his site to hurl additional insults towards people, but he was also hyping his book, “Rescuing Sprite.” I’ve now read a few passages from Levin’s book and know it’s a homage to a beloved pet named Sprite. Spewing and brewing hatred and yet also, like me, a dog lover. Go figure.

Name calling. How awful it can be.

What about the “Lamb of God” as a name? In the opening of John’s Gospel, as Jesus is first introduced, John the Baptist refers to the Nazarene as “the Lamb of God.”

I like what writer Frederick Buechner mused in his “Wishful Thinking” about this moment (John 1:29-42):

“If somebody claims that you have to take the Bible literally, word for word, or not at all, ask him if you have to take John the Baptist literally when he calls Jesus the Lamb of God.”

The Baptist was a name-caller. Was Jesus really a wooly creature longing for a nice stretch of grass for an afternoon graze? No, the name was metaphor. The name was theological. The name was uplifting and complimentary.

In the same passage, Jesus also becomes a name-caller. Upon meeting Simon, Jesus immediately refers to him as Cephas. Or Peter. Or, more “literally,” Rock.

Was Jesus’ name-calling an insult? After all, Simon-renamed-Peter would have many dense-as-stone moments. But I think the name was metaphor. Theological. Uplifting.

In the Gospel’s passage with “the Lamb of God,” there was considerable name-calling: lambs, rocks, and rabbis. And there was also a transformative question. As some began to follow Jesus, he turned to ask these new companions, “What are you looking for?”

If I ever run across Mr. Repp, my long-ago fellow fifth grader, I would apologize to him. Sure, it was playground nonsense. But, if only for a few weeks, I gave him a “new” name that was insult.

And people, supposedly grown up, still do that kind of name-calling. But those same people are, like everyone, complex. Insults and invectives create big ratings. Bashing politicians is a blood sport. And yet, a dog is revered. Go figure.

Jesus asked that question . . . what are you looking for?

The names we use to describe others more likely reveal who we are, and will determine what we find on our search.

All metaphors considered, as a grown-up, I’d prefer to look for a lamb.