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Nicknames as terms of divine affection

We get so much spam in our e-mail it is hard to give the worthwhile stuff the attention it deserves. In any event, I was skimming the Fortnightly Newsletter of the Diocese of the Holy Cross recently and was much taken with a meditation on nicknames by The Rt. Rev. Paul Hewett SSC, the diocese’s Bishop Ordinary. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. GPH✠

On the First Sunday after the Epiphany we find Jesus in the Temple with Mary and Joseph. Jesus is manifested in His Father’s house as the Wisdom of God. After the great Finding, Jesus returns to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, and is subject to them there, in the Holy Family. And so sometimes this Sunday is observed as the Feast of the Holy Family.

One of the Lessons for this Feast is Colossians 3:12ff, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a complaint against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts …”

Here is a description of the Holy House in Nazareth, where Jesus lived in obscurity with Mary and Joseph for the first 30 years of His earthly life. Of course, this is a Jewish family, with ardor for God and warm piety in the observance of His Law, and devotion to His prophets, and delight in the Psalms of Israel, all leading to a great capacity for joy and for delight, and yes, even for mirth and merriment.

Close-knit families eventually fall upon a nickname as a term of endearment for one or another of its members, or pets, or farm animals. We do not know what nick-names might have been used in the Holy Family, but we do know that when our Lord began His ministry, and called His twelve apostles, he gave nick-names to all three in the innermost circle.

Simon becomes Peter, the Rock, or “Rocky.” James and John become Boanerges, or “Sons of Thunder.” (Mark 3:17) Jesus used, as a nickname for His Father, Abba, which translates as “Papa.”

The central theme of the Gospel is the good news that we are beloved of God, and endeared to Him, and have boldness of access to His throne of grace, through the precious Blood of His dear Son, in whom we now live forevermore, free from sin, and free for a life in exuberant love with God, and with one-another-in-God.

As the Family of God, bought with Jesus’ Blood, we have accumulated many nicknames over the millennia. In this amazing Family we are free to show our devotion and affection for the great milestones we all celebrate.

The nickname we have been using of late is “Merry Christmas”. Merry, derived from mirth, can mean jolly, cheerful, or delightful. Christmas is the Mass of Christ, and Mass is a nickname that could have come from the Deacon’s dismissal, Ite, missa est, or “Go, it is sent,” “it” meaning the Church.

Mass may also have connotations with the word “mess,” or food, as in “mess hall.” In Christ, God has made Himself our food!

Before long we will begin Lent, another nickname, from the old English “lengthen,” for the days which get longer before Easter. Maundy is a nickname for Thursday in Holy Week, when, during the foot washing, we remember our Lord’s commandment, or mandatum, to love one another.

Calling Friday “good” is a brilliant theological “handle,” for the Day that the heavenly Father will, in the Holy Spirit, turn the absolute worst into the absolute best, through the sacrifice of His Son. Easter probably comes from the German, auferstehen, (the German word for resurrection) which became erstehen, “first standing,” in old English.

Just before Ascension Day we have “Rogationtide,” from the Latin, rogare, as in “interrogate,” or ask—a time of asking for God’s blessing on the crops being planted, and of the ultimate asking, for the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost was known to our Christian ancestors in England as Whitsunday, from whit, which could mean either the color white, or, more likely, wit, meaning wisdom, or wits, the crown of the seven-fold Gifts.

Four times a year we have the Ember Days, and ember is probably an Anglicization of the French, quatre temps, or four times, when we pray for those preparing for Holy Orders. English Christians take a mischievous delight in sticking with Anglicized French words … all in the Family!

It could be said that Lord and Lady are nicknames, as in “Our Lord” and “Our Lady.” Lord and lady are today quite solemn or dignified words, but they have a homespun origin, from old English, from the period following the Viking invasions. Curiously, they bear no relation to their counterparts in other Germanic languages, Herr and Frau in German or Herre and Fru in Scandinavian.

Lord and Lady are both contractions of little phrases descriptive of men’s and women’s roles as understood in Scripture. Lady comes from hlaefknidige, Scandinavian for hlaef, or loaf, as in “loaf of bread.” Knidige is old Scandinavian for knead, as in “knead the loaf.” Hlaefknidige was shortened to Hlaefdige, which was contracted further to Lady: “she who kneads the loaf.”

Lord comes from hlaef, loaf, and ward, Scandinavian for “warden” or “protector.” Hlaefward becomes Lord, he who is the loaf-ward or loaf protector. The lady kneads the bread and the lord is the husband, the band of protection around the house, to let the lady get on with the homemaking.

There is no doubt any number of other nicknames used throughout the Church, terms of endearment, ways of being at home in the household of Faith.

One of the pleasant surprises of Heaven may be the new nicknames we discover from distant parts of the Church. We will all be given a new name there (Rev. 2.17) And perhaps, for those who do not now have one, our Lord will even give a nickname.

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