Our House Name

Understanding our true name as Christians

06/09/2024

Mk 3:20-35 Jesus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

When I meet people for the first time, they naturally ask me my name. I always reply, “My name is Fr. John Antony.” But then they often follow up with, “Yes, but what is your last name?” I answer again, “I just told you, my last name is Antony.” Most people think that “Antony” is my middle name. And then I explain that in India the father gives his first name to his children as their last name. For example, if I had gotten married and had children in India, their last name would all have been “John”. I know that’s a little confusing.

What people here in the U.S. usually mean by “last name” is what we Indians call our “house name.” What does that mean? Well, a house name includes everyone who lives under the same roof: not only the immediate blood relatives like the parents and children, but also cousins, uncles, aunts, and even people who work as maids and gardeners. They all share the same house name.

So, if you were really smart, when you greet someone from India for the first time, you would ask him or her, “What is your house name?” rather than “What is your last name?” And if you had asked me that question, I would have answered, “My house name is Konuparampil.” And I would have said that with a slight jiggle of the head, like a bobble head doll.

In the gospel today, Jesus also speaks about belonging to a family like we Indians talk about belonging to a house. The gospel of Mark presents Jesus in two seemingly distinct and unrelated scenes, but if you look closely, they are tightly connected. First, Jesus speaks to the scribes who accuse him of being possessed. But he warns them that a “house divided cannot stand.”

Then in the next scene Jesus’ family come to talk to him and he surprisingly answers, “Here are my mother, and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” In other words, Jesus is saying the only “house” that will not be divided will be the House (or the Kingdom) that he builds. And those who belong to that House and that Kingdom will not be related by blood but by the will of God.

Put differently, if you were to meet Jesus for the first time, it would do no good to ask, “What is your last name?” Why not? Well, because “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, and “H” is not his middle initial. It is much more true to say “Christ” is really our Lord’s house name. Why? Well, because “christos” in Greek (or messiah in Hebrew) means “anointed one.” And all who belong to that “house of Christ” carry that name of “christos” and therefore are called “Christian” because each member is anointed to do God’s will. In other words, what unites all Christians is not the same blood, but the same anointing to do God’s will. Our house name is “Christian.”

Now I am going to say something that may sound a little unpatriotic or even un-American, but that is not my intention. You be the judge. I believe the United States of America is a great nation, and my family has been enormously blessed by living here. Nonetheless, I am convinced that this nation will not last forever, just like every other nation in history has come and gone.

Jesus said in Mt 16:18 the gates of Hades would not prevail against his Church, his House, his Kingdom. He made no such guarantee for the United States or any other country, kingdom, or empire. And human history is replete with people who belonged to great civilizations that today are but rubble, relics, and tourist attractions we visit while on vacation.

That is, do not put all your eggs in the basket of this country because as Jesus taught: a house divided cannot stand. And every human house is eventually divided and conquered. Instead, strive to belong to the House that our Lord built on the rock of St. Peter. The floods, rains, and winds will buffet that House but it will never fall. If someone asks you, “What is your name? You should answer, “Well, my house name is Christian.” And you can jiggle your head like a bobble-head doll when you say that.

Bishop Robert Barron shared this beautiful story in his book Catholicism. He wrote: “In April of 2005 the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI came onto the front loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to bless the crowds. Gathered around him on the adjoining balconies there appeared all the cardinals who had just chosen him. The news camera caught the remarkably pensive expression on the face of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. When the cardinal returned home, reporters asked him what he was thinking about at that moment.

Here is what he said, “I was gazing over toward the Circus Maximus, toward the Palatine Hill where the Roman Emperors once resided and reigned and looked down upon the persecution of Christians, and I thought, “Where are their successors? Where is the successor of Caesar Augustus? Where is the successor of Marcus Aurelius? And finally, who cares? But if you want to see the successor of St. Peter, he is right next to me, smiling and waving at the crowds.” In other words, human houses are inevitably divided and destroyed; only God’s House remains standing forever.

Praised be Jesus Christ!