SUNDAY, January 10, 1 Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord

Names are important in Sudan. They tell a story that is complex and filled with history and place each person exactly where he needs to be in the community. In many of the tribes, your first name is the one chosen by your parents to honor someone else in the family – a grandparent or aunt or uncle. Your second name is your father's name. Your third name is your grandfather's name. Your fourth name frequently places you with your age-mates, from your time of initiation.

When I meet children on the street, I ask them their names. If I don't know them, I ask for their full names, so that I can figure out to whom they belong. Are you Achol Chol Deng or Achol Garang Akech? Knowing their father's name tells me who they are in the community.

As South Sudan becomes more and more Christian, so too do the names. Now, their "family," their "community," begins with God. My name is Martha ... Joseph ... Moses. It is an amazing realignment of the community, placing them squarely in God's hands.

When God calls us by name, we know to whom we belong and who our community is.

PRAY for the Anglican Communion. Today is Anglican Communion Sunday throughout the world.

Ps 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22