Yesterday’s sermon was adapted from one we wrote for the latest issue of HOMILETICS, so I won’t be posting the text here (for all you surfing preachers out there, you’ll just have to subscribe!). The audio version, though, can be downloaded from the Park City Community Church web site. It should be posted later today (Monday).
For those who weren’t there, you missed the revelation of my secret identity. I was adopted as an infant (about 2 months old) and I don’t have any knowledge of my birth parents. What I do have, though, is a copy of the adoption decree, which changed my name from "Douglas Alan Crum" to my current moniker. Special thanks to all of you who greeted me as "Dougie" after the service! Maybe that’ll keep me from revealing too much personal nformation in the future…
Seriously, though…I’ve often wondered about that name. Where does it come from? Who is the original Douglas? Where did Alan come from? "Crum," I have learned, is a name with both German and Scottish connections (the German is "Krumm" which means "bent" and the Scottish is a form of the Gaelic Mac Gille Chruim or "son of the servant of the cripple"). Fascinating. That probably explains why bagpipe music really fires me up and why, at the same time, I prefer saeurkraut on bratwurst instead of haggis. There’s a whole history behind that name, though, that is still a mystery to me–one that I hope to unravel someday.
The gist of it all, though, is that our names say something about us…they mark us and mean something to those who know us. In this season of Epiphany, it’s vitally important for us to remember that we bear the name of Jesus and are part of his family–a family with some crazy relatives, yes, but a family nonetheless.
