<html><body><div>And now Part 2.</div><div><br></div><div>Continuing blessings!</div><div><br></div><div>Bob</div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>A study published recently talked of research conducted over the naming of people over more than the last hundred and twenty-five years. </span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“‘Names are at the core of our identity and are also related to important legal identities, how we are identified by states and governments,’ says Jane Pilcher, a sociologist at the University of Leicester. ‘They are also part of our social cultural identity. They mark who we are in gender terms, ethnic terms and other ways.’” <sup>2</sup> The writer stopped short of saying, specifically, religious identity and practice. There may be good reason for that. A mother and father give to their children, through the DNA shared, ethnic, racial and gender meaning. It’s not always apparent immediately, however. As children age, as their own genes start to work in specific way, although some things stay the same, children do mature and come out in ways that we may anticipate. Not that there’s anything wrong about this. It simply happens, and once the act of procreation has been begun. But there <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>ARE</u></b> things with which parents attempt to bless their children, yet which remain firmly in the hands of the children, regardless of what the parents may wish. Religious precepts and practices are right up among these, something we ourselves know about.</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We do the best we can. We take our own beliefs, and the reasons why we put them into practice, and we draw our children along within them as closely as we can. We talk about what values matter most to us. We explain why we belong to certain groups and not to others. And we try to ensure that children are aware of the values of respect, of the dignity of humans, even of those with whom we may have disagreements. And we encase these in names, starting with the names we give our children and those whom we love.</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In other words, we do our best to give a specific identity to our children, but we have to pray that they’ll find these practices, these beliefs, this way of life to be important enough that each child will make it her or his own.</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And so with Jesus. Things unfolded in such a strange way since Gabriel and Mary first stared into each other’s eyes. This was not to be an easy road – stress, physical exertion, mental ambiguities, loneliness, questioning – they were all part of the road to the birth of the boy whose name they were asked to speak. And they knew that it wouldn’t stop there. Jesus’ Name was assurance of that. God saves – so many people didn’t want that. So many people would far rather put their trust in what they devise for themselves. Even Jesus Himself wrestled with His Name. How could He save, especially if people had so much trouble understanding Him. How could His Name, as Paul wrote more than fifty years after the birth; how could Jesus’ Name be above every other Name? How could people hold on to Jesus’ Name when they saw that it led to violence, and flight to avoid persecution and pain, and led to so much social disruption? Yet people STILL find in the Name of Jesus, and to their own names given them as sisters and brothers of Jesus; people STILL find hope and salvation in Jesus, no matter what pressures and threats come.</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white;vertical-align:
baseline"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because of Jesus, because of His name, because of the promise that Jesus’ Name brings today, “</span><span style='margin: 0px; color: rgb(10, 10, 10); font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>At several steps on their path to death by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian workers near Aleppo, Syria had the option to leave the area and live. The 12-year-old son of a ministry team leader also could have spared his life by denying Christ…” – they had the opportunity to betray Jesus’ Name, but they could not. </span><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>“‘I asked them to leave, but I gave them the freedom to choose,’ said the ministry director, his voice tremulous as he recalled their horrific deaths. ‘As their leader, I should have insisted that they leave.’</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white;vertical-align:
baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch: inherit;
line-height:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“They stayed because they believed they were called to share Christ with those caught in the crossfire, he said.” <sup>3</sup></span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white;vertical-align:
baseline"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This baby, this innocuous, indistinguishable-from-any-other-baby; this Baby whom we tend to wrap in sentimentality, even in the way that talk of His name – Jesus; this Baby now named “God comes to our help” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>WILL</u></b> take us places which may not always please us. This – or should I say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><u>HE</u></b> – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>HE</u></b> is the photograph of God. And by our own births and baptisms, we too are Photographs of God.</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;
outline: 0px;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch: inherit;line-height:inherit;
font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As the British researcher said, “Names are at the core of our identity and are also related to important legal identities, how we are identified by states and governments.” <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our Name is Christian – with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>ALL</u></b> that that implies, and is a blessing to us as much as to the world. Jesus’ Name, our names, bring tremendous joy and possibilities, and tremendous responsibilities. God bless us. God save us. God deliver us from everything that would take from us our God-given names.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>NOTES</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style='margin: 0px; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'> <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“<span style="background: white; margin: 0px; color: rgb(37, 37, 37);">Photograph God: Creating a Spiritual Blog of Your Life” </span>by Mel Alexenberg. CreateSpace, North Charleston, South Carolina. © 2015<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="background: white; margin: 0px; color: rgb(37, 37, 37);"> </span></span></span><span style='margin: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893" target="_blank"><b><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181);">Photograph God</span></b><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181);">: Creating a Spiritual Blog of Your Life:</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181); text-decoration: none;"> </span><b><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181);">Mel</span></b><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181); text-decoration: none;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(51, 0, 181);">...</span></a> </span><span style='background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(14, 119, 68); font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893"><font color="#0000ff">https://www.amazon.com/Photograph-God-Creating-Spiritual-Blog/dp/1507658893</font></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='background: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: rgb(14, 119, 68); font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>2</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“I</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>n Depth / Psychology Why Millennials are choosing strange baby names” </span></i><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>Unusual and truly unique names are becoming far more common – and the trend reflects some profound shifts in our culture.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>By Tiffanie Wen </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>21 December 2016 </span></span><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><a href="http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=80705606da31caf643e835c621c7f04c6e261f5cc689d6090cfc7d2cf71f56c85d0e7facd530df85"><font color="#0000ff">http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=80705606da31caf643e835c621c7f04c6e261f5cc689d6090cfc7d2cf71f56c85d0e7facd530df85</font></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>3</span></span><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="margin: 0px; color: white;"><a title="Christian Persecution" href="http://archbishopcranmer.com/category/christian-persecution/"><span style="background: rgb(145, 110, 190); margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt windowtext; border-image: none; color: white; text-transform: uppercase; text-decoration: none;">CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION</span></a><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span>“<span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: -0.75pt;">Christian missionaries in Aleppo crucified and beheaded” <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></i><span style="margin: 0px;">October 16, 2016</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='margin: 0px; color: rgb(152, 152, 152); font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><a href="http://archbishopcranmer.com/christian-missionaries-aleppo-crucified-beheaded/"><font color="#0000ff">http://archbishopcranmer.com/christian-missionaries-aleppo-crucified-beheaded/</font></a></span><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style='margin: 0px; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'><span style="margin: 0px;"><br></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><br>Robert P. Morrison</p></div><div>St Alban's Episcopal Church</div><div>PO Box 1556</div><div>Albany, OR., 97321</div><div><br></div><div>541-921-1076</div></body></html>