You Can Call Me Abraham

On a bright October afternoon convert Hari and his friend Jess sit at the solitary outdoor restaurant in their university. Over the last few days the place has become a regular for them. Conversations outdoors are good given the chill of early winter sits so well with the Indian sun.

Recently they have grown quite fond of the small, timid and squinty waiter Gopal. Possessing a lovely smile, when Gopal caters he pauses longer than he needs to. To this the other waiters, and even his master, frequently raise their eyebrows.

Convert Hari and Jess are both young believers. Today a light breeze quietly prevails, while Jess boasts about her “Christian radar”, and she has a strong suspicion that Gopal may be one. Gopal brings food. This time, between the ordinary chat, she slips in “Gopal, are you a Christian?”

He utters a quiet and smiled yes. Spontaneously the two young believers rejoice with resonation. Gopal is a little awkward, but a momentary change of his expression suggests that the faith of the students is no surprise to him.

After a little pause Gopal solemnly stammers in barely legible English. “My name is Gopal, but you can call me Abraham”. Rose and Hari share a suppressed chuckle. Gopal leaves. To this day squinty Gopal’s demand to be called Abraham remains a funny memory to them.

Gopal means shepherd, a title befitting to the Lord. However, in India the name exclusively associates with the deity of Krishna. Gopal was clearly embarrassed to be still bearing that title. What he offered with that alternative was first an apology, then a gentle rebellion, and finally a desire to wear an identity he thought would be acceptable to the Lord.

In the old testament God is vehement against pagan worship. He is strongly displeased by idolatry, by contamination of the gentiles. Not that He isn’t in the new testament, but Christ’s coming alters the composition of God’s community. Earlier the Jews were in, but equally important was that the gentiles were not. Neither were their culture and practices. Or their names. God’s community was set apart in visible and audible ways.

One pagan deity who Israel repeatedly committed idolatry with was Asherah — the Semitic goddess of eros and beauty. Occasion after occasion God’s jealous anger is announced by the pleading prophets. God wants the Asherah poles completely uprooted, her traces eradicated without remnants. Israel’s repeated failure to do so is met with God’s just wrath.

Time passes, religion spreads, pagan goddesses widen their scopes. Asherah gets adopted into the popular Greek pantheon as Aphrodite. This connection, even if contested, doesn’t subtract from the established fact that both Asherah and Aphrodite are promisers of sexual beauty, fertility, ripeness. Devotion to them is at the very least inwardly isomorphic. It is in such a context that we come across a fresh revelation in a rather mundane section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

In Philippians 2:25 Paul presents his disciple “but I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs”. Between the words Paul leaves us something profound.

The literal meaning of the name Epaphroditus is “of Aphrodite”, or equivalently, “of Asherah”. Therefore Epaphroditus is surely a convert — a man whose gentile course was graciously intervened by the Lord. But, to our surprise, Epaphroditus continues to remain Epaphroditus. His name doesn’t prevent him any bit from being a brother of the apostle, and even further, a soldier for the One who uproots the entire substance of his namesake.

Dear Gopal’s innocent gesture is therefore founded on an unnecessary embarrassment. God has redeemed him, but not only him, but also his name. We are told that God shall redeem all things. Gopal fears that his name will recollect the dark memory of iniquity and spiritual adultery. However, by Christ’s good work, to another Christian Gopal’s name can only reflect one thing — like Epaphroditus, like Hari, Jess and everyone else — Gopal was once lost, but now he is found.