Name-dropping

Part of a series based on photos taken in Kaua'i

We have a family friend named “Sylvester,” so when we spotted a St. Sylvester’s Church on the northeast shore of Kaua’i, I made sure I took a picture to show him.  The name “Sylvester” means “from the wood,” and it identified four popes of early Catholic church history. They held the posts long ago: in 314-335, 999-1003, two months in 1045, and 1105-111. One was connected with a healing that church leaders deemed miraculous, so later gained “St.” in front of his name.

 

The Bible gives a different criteria for the word “saint.” In writing up “creeds” (statements of Christian belief), early church leaders spoke of the “communion of saints,” referring to any set apart for their belief in Christ. Old Testament writers used three similar Hebrew words for “saints,” all suggesting “set-apart-ness.” They included:

Chasid (19x): kind, pious, as in Psalm 31:23: “O Love the LORD, all ye his saints.”
Qadosh (11x), qaddish (6x), and qodesh (1x): set apart, separate, holy, as in “Fear the LORD, ye his saints” (Psalm 34:9).

The New Testament’s Greek word for “saint,” hagios, is used sixty-two times and frequently means “set apart, separate, holy.”  The apostle Paul addressed his letters to “the saints” of such-and-such location.

One “saints” passage I find especially meaningful comes from Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. It concludes: …giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:12).  We’re not outsiders having to work our ways into God’s favor or into some “respect” list. Out of His generous love, He has conferred the title and responsibility of “saint,” set-apart one.

We bear the name of a God who wants us to bear His image to the world, imperfect as we are. There’s a story sometimes told about Alexander the Great—whether it’s true or not, scholars aren’t sure—that underscores behaving to honor the one you represent. As one version goes, a young, errant soldier (in various versions he’s AWOL, sleeping on duty, or has stolen a horse) was brought to Alexander for discipline. Something softened the great commander’s heart until he asked the lad his name. “Alexander, sir,” the young man said. The great conqueror’s demeanor hardened and he shouted, “Change your name or charge your conduct!” 

Interestingly, “saint” is an anagram of “stain.” Like the soldier, we may stain our testimony with failures. But First John 1:9 gives hope in failure: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.”