Dcn Brigid Waszczak
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “… walk before me faithfully and …I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
God said …You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham …I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants.” Genesis 17:1-7
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
God changes Abram to Abraham, giving him a new future including long-hoped for descendants. Elsewhere, God changes Jacob and Simon’s names, too. Why? Because in renaming them God creates new identities with new hopes, beginnings, and blessings. He elevates their self-images by identifying them differently.
Abram meant "high father" yet he was childless. Abraham meant "father of a multitude," the status God promised through this new covenant—a new way of being and living for Abraham.
Changing Jacob, meaning “supplanter,” to Israel, meaning “let God prevail,” lifted him out of his less-than-admirable past—stealing brother Esau’s birthright and blessing, and wrestling with an angel/ God. Jacob’s trickster reputation was replaced with a name that better reflected his willingness to allow God to lead his life.
Simon was a loud and impetuous, rash and impulsive disciple. Despite his tendency toward flakiness, which often got him in trouble, Jesus saw his gifts for leadership,faith, and courage, and renamed him Peter, meaning “rock,” the solid foundation to whom Jesus entrusted his movement.
My childhood nickname was “B,” shortened from Mary Brigid to Mary B, and then to B. Each abridgement reduced who I was.
In college, a blind date tried to guess what B stood for until I reluctantly admitted to Brigid—the name high school boys taunted me with until I blushed bright red. “Then Brigid is what I’ll call you,” he said.
As we continued to date, Brigid became my chosen name. I stopped blushing and grew into this new identity. I liked that Brigid was unique (in that era) and reflected gifts and talents I was newly discovering in my more independent self.
God led me into a new understanding of my identity through the blind date who eventually became my husband. I learned not only to relate to myself differently, but the name change created opportunities to grow in relationship with God.
Our name connects us to who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. Most of the time, our given name suits us well. Sometimes however, we sense our true identity is different from the name we are known by and we rename ourselves. That renaming releases our hidden potential and expands how others see us.
How does your name communicate who God created you to be?
—Dcn Brigid