The Wonder of Your Name -- Kari Jobe

 

Could she have been reading from a historical book known as Acts? That would certainly have opened the eyes of anyone who might have looked among its pages and seen what the people who invoked a particular name were doing. Kari Jobe would have seen that “The Wonder of Your Name” was pretty spectacular. Wonders almost became normal when the name of this God-Man was spoken by those who’d seen Him close up, as they told others of His authority. It was around 2012 when Kari was using His name, perhaps in a church in Southlake, Texas (which is in Tarrant County…see its seal here), to remind the people who were listening what it must have been like for her spiritual ancestors to arouse their hearers in a way never before seen. It’s been 2,000 years and still going, but this name still possesses the same potency. It’s not like saying a magical incantation. The power is in the person wearing the name.

 

It happens 19 times in the book we know as Acts, when the Apostles went about spreading the name of Jesus to those who would listen, and consequently creating quite a stir. The first time (Acts 2:38) about 3,000 people responded in a way that probably few or none of them would have thought possible a few days earlier. For them, watching someone die was not uncommon – there had been others who’d claimed to be special, even a Messiah, and then paid the ultimate penalty for doing so – but when this Jesus (a pretty common name at the time) actually came out of a grave alive and was proclaimed by so many witnesses, they found it impossible to treat Him as common. The 13 special messengers He appointed to tell about ‘the Way’ subsequently performed so many signs to heal people of physical disabilities that His name did indeed cause people to believe. That’s what Kari was accessing when she composed her remembrance that spoke of ‘the wonder of your name’, though she hasn’t shared what specifically sparked her lyrical creation. One can imagine Kari or one of her fellow believers reminding a crowd about His resurrection via Peter’s stirring words on Pentecost; or, maybe it was the courage of Peter and John, who refused to wilt before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4) when they ordered them to stop using the name of Jesus. Isn’t it odd and so very sad how even these religious leaders recognized the distinctive nature of His name, and yet refused to acknowledge its worth for themselves? Healings, baptisms, demon exorcisms, changed lives – the breadth of impact which His name and personhood inspired – undeniably testified to those who heard of all that was happening in connection with His name. That’s what Kari was also undoubtedly trying to communicate, and that this phenomenon is not foreign to those who hear the name today. ‘We are remade’ (v.1), Kari’s lyrics declare, as we hear of His name and the divine love that is implicit in its use. A ‘broken heart (is) renewed’ (v.2), once again indicating that His power, while ‘awe(some)’, is not used to devastate the individual; instead, His name and His nature are transformative for those who accept His message. Nevertheless, He can help whole ‘nations find the truth’ (v.2).          

 

Is there any other name that brings what His does? Easy question, right? His name brings ‘wonder’ and ‘awe’, words that Kari repeats for effect throughout, as if to say ‘I don’t want you to forget how we should regard Him’. And, it begins with Him rising from death (v.1), but doesn’t stop there. We who acknowledge Him can ask Him to have the same spiritual effect on us – and eventually the same physical effect, too. ‘Saved from sin’, ‘brought to life again’ are really weighty phrases that Kari uses to sum up why I should call out to Him. Culturally, so many people tragically mis-use His great name today, and that should not only make us cringe and frown, but also ask why that is so commonplace. Stop and think. Perhaps I need to behave more like His influence matters – to respect, serve, love, and yes speak the truth to others in a way that really makes a difference to them daily. That’s how Jesus got them interested. How’s real life going for you today? Jesus would want to know, if He were walking amongst us in 2025 A.D. He’s got you and me to ask others that question. Do it, and then tell ‘em in some opportune moment what Kari says about Him.     

 

Read about the composer here: Kari Jobe - Wikipedia

 

This site indicates the song was released in 2012: MultiTracks.com

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_Tarrant_County,_Texas.png …This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. The image may be found in this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrant_County,_Texas

Dayenu (It Would Have Been Enough) -- Anonymous Jew

 

They were remembering, and they were feeling grateful. That helps sum up what some anonymous Jewish people were doing and how they felt about themselves and the monotheistic God their ancestors had taught them to honor. At the center of this remembrance was something they began to sing to say ‘thank you’, something called the “Dayenu” – “It Would Have Been Enough”. (See here the musical score of the song that has been sung by Jews for over 1,500 years.) They’d been rescued from slavery, and so every Passover meal was an opportunity to reconnect with their own history and renew the faith their people had been practicing for centuries. Re-dig the well, so to speak. How would a people feel about God if others took this song and adapted it for another, so that they added another layer to the story of human-to-God relations? Some believe that’s what the origin of the story is all about – that this Dayenu  is a response to another song. What if the cycle repeats again, so that a third song is then generated? That this has occurred over such a long stretch of time says something about the God who is the object of this phenomenon – He doesn’t grow weary; and, neither should those who follow Him.    

 

The words of the Dayenu are recited in some episodes of the series The Chosen, including by the 12 Apostles in season five’s fourth episode (The Same Coin); and, it is then modified in the same episode by the first female disciples of Jesus, so that they expressed how they felt about Him. The evolution of this song may include something called the Improperia, which one Hebrew scholar (Israel Yuval) believes inspired Jews by the Middle Ages (and probably even before then) to compose the Dayenu in response. The Improperia (also known as Reproaches or Solemn Reproaches) has been used in Catholic liturgy on Good Friday (Jesus’ crucifixion day) to vocalize how Jesus remonstrated the Jews who had brought Him to that ignominious moment. How ungrateful they were, in other words, to crucify the God who’d rescued them from Egypt! Feeling this censure spurred some Jews to compose Dayenu, apparently; its 15 stanzas/verses recount how these rescued Jews were indeed grateful for His redemption from Pharaoh and guidance to Canaan. The first 10 verses/stanzas in particular recount each of the acts of Yahweh in their escape and guardianship, and each verse begins with ‘If’ and ends with the phrase ‘it would have been enough’. The last five of the stanzas/verses recount the other profound gifts He’d bestowed on them – the Shabbat (Sabbath); leading them to Mount Sinai; the Torah that He gave them, beginning at Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments Moses communicated to them; the journey’s end in the Promised Land; and the Temple, the center of their worship life. Movingly, the makers of The Chosen series have the women who follow Jesus compose and recite their own version to say how they feel about Him, in the manner of the Dayenu.  There’s seven ways they express, which I won’t try to describe – but here’s a link so you can watch the women’s Dayenu:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZp9k_ZFgwg

 

What would you say in your own Dayenu to God? If He had chosen to do just one thing that you could not discount, would that be enough for you to worship and follow Him? How about giving you life, beginning in mom’s womb? Or, how about the blessings of a family and home in which you were raised? Maybe it was that first big job after college? (That one’s on my list!) How about having Christian friends to share your ups and downs? Or, living in a land where you and I have so many blessings that they cannot be enumerated? Here’s one we all share: no matter what happens to me physically from this point on, I will be raised anew someday. Yeah! You see, He could have given you and me far less, but just look at how vast are His gifts. Each one of these is worth an Amen, in fact even more than the seven-fold Amens that we sometimes sing, and even 70 times seven wouldn’t come close to covering it either. Just try saying one every day you live. Perhaps that’s what He’s after.  

 

See information on the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayenu

 

See information on a song that might have helped inspire the Dayenu: Improperia - Wikipedia

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dayeinuscore.PNG The following statement is associated with the public domain status of the image: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. The image can be found inside this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayenu