Swan Song

(by Lorie Codispoti)

John & I have almost finished reading through the entire bible. While we’ve read it on our own, we’ve never read from start to finish, out loud, together.

Revelation, likely written by the Apostle John, has never been a book either of us has been excited about reading or studying. And for a handful of reasons we’ve pretty much avoided it. We’ve missed out on a special blessing reserved for those who read this book aloud as well as to those who hear the reading (Rev.1:3). We're fixing that now.

Some consider this apocalyptic book to be John’s “swan song” (his last & finest work). It’s where he provides hope to persecuted Christians. Others would cite his later works (John 1,2,3) which were written closer to the end of his life. In these letters he centers on the truth that Jesus is the Son of God & encourages believers to imitate His nature by loving one another. I can’t answer which work was John’s last, but I can say that both are beauty-full signature books.

What is a “swan song”?

Ancient Greek mythology tells the legend of a mute swan whose final act before dying was to rise up with his final breath, find his voice, & sing the most beautifully enchanting song his life was intended to emulate. While this may be a romantic example of folklore at its finest, it is a myth. The legend has been embellished & retold for centuries. Some zoologists believe the story originates with the whooper swan. They have large windpipes that enable them to produce loud whooping honks. When this swan is dying its lungs collapse & they “make a series of long, drawn-out notes. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the sound as a “clarinet when blown by a novice.”(That hardly sounds like a melodic masterpiece.)

Figuratively speaking, a swan song is an idiom that expresses someone’s final accomplishment, project, or last performance of a person before they die. It’s thought of as their finest work.

While a swan song may be more mythical than factual, Scripture does link the idea to several bible characters.

For example: the seemingly insignificant Simeon of Luke 2:25-38.

This old man (Some say he was an centenarian.) was part of the entourage of nobodies God used in His redemptive plan to save mankind. We don’t know a lot about him, but what we do know is that he was a significant somebody. In our culture the spotlight tends to focus on the young, but Simeon’s Light is projected from within as God spotlights His goodness through him at the appointed time.

Simeon’s name means “God has heard” & he models a faithful, patient, righteous, & devout man who was filled with the Holy Spirit, who promised him that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. On the day that Mary & Joseph brought their Newborn to the temple for dedication the Spirit revealed to him that his heart’s desire had finally come to pass as he held & gazed into the eyes of the long awaited Salvation. His spontaneous praise was both retrospective & prophetic as he anticipated what this meant moving forward. Both Mary & Joseph “marveled” at what was spoken.

So much can be said about Simeon’s prophetic “swan song,” found in Luke 2:29-35. If we are listening we will hear a few ways we can apply his finest work to our own lives.

~ Simeon waited & lived well.

The text (Lk.2:25) tells us that he was waiting & looking for the Messiah. And because of the Holy Spirit’s promise Simeon was looking for Him to show up on the scene in his lifetime.

What are we looking for, & how are we waiting?

Simeon was not waiting passively; he was living in the Hope of what was promised. It says that he was “just & devout.” Are we actively looking for the return of the King & living our lives in such a way that the Light within us draws others to Him? Are we following the leading of the Holy Spirit by being “just & devout” as we steward our days? Our answers will determine if we are waiting & living well.

~ Simeon departed this life in peace.

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word…” (Lk.2:29).

Simeon knew that he was a part of God’s plan. The moment he laid eyes on the baby Jesus he knew that his mission had been fulfilled. Like an athlete who is aware that he is aging out of the sport, but also knows the game is not over, Simeon knew that the old must make way for the new. He had done his part to remain faithful & was overjoyed when he recognized that the New had come to fulfill God’s redemptive plan.

As we age out of our mission have we been purposeful to pass the baton to the next generation? Will the annals of time show that we acknowledged that God’s purposes are much bigger than us & our lifetime? When we too have seen & testify that they eyes of our spirit “have seen Your Salvation” (Lk2:30) then we will be able to depart this life in peace, having a settled confidence that God will fulfill His plan.

Like Simeon, we can trust all of God’s promises & be filled with & follow the leading of His Spirit. We can wait with active faith while we look for & anticipate Christ’s return. And the hope of knowing that we will one day “see Him as He is” will fill us with the kind of peace that only God can give.

In the meantime, what will your swan song be? Part of mine will be that we read the whole bible together, aloud. And we were blessed to finish with Revelation.

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What's In A Name?

(by Lorie Codispoti)

What’s in a name?

I thoroughly enjoy everything that goes with the art of naming (onomastics).

I remember sitting at my desk in grade school, doodling my name in multiple styles. Being named after both of my grandmothers was a gift, & there remains a sense of connection & belonging associated each time I hear my name. I feel the same way about my maiden & married names.

While I may not be able to recall every critter, flower, or tree I’ve named over the years, I have a vivid memory of when the hobby of naming things began. I was in the second grade, writing my first & only fiction story. I needed a name for the protagonist, & while I remember little about the story, his name remains in my memory because it was a portmanteau (my favorite technique of blending parts of two or more words).

Have you ever heard of name-signaling - what names say about ethnicity, religion, social sphere, and socioeconomic background? The thought is that names signal a lasting impression based on the information that has been purposefully conveyed.

Today’s parents would be wise to consider carefully the long-term effects of naming their children. (Proverbs 22:1) Names label & identify us. For a child their name is linked to who they are & their sense of belonging. While names represent the experiences & values of the parents, & are influenced by multiple factors, they also have the power to shape (positively & negatively) how a child views themselves. Culturally speaking, names create a bond between you & your people group.

Naming children in Scripture was about more than identity though. There was significant spiritual intent attached to naming a child. It was a time for celebration, as the new little life was welcomed into the covenant community of Israel. The act of naming was also a prophetic signal that spoke of a projected character & destiny for that child. Typically there was a ceremony, & for boys it was connected to circumcision at the age of 8 weeks. (Can you imagine not naming your child for 8 weeks?)

I find it interesting that in the Bible it was mostly the women who named the children. The first example that comes to my mind is the sad story of Jacob & Rachel (Gen.35). She died giving birth to Benjamin & her last recorded words are of her giving him the name Ben-Oni (son of my sorrow/pain). Perhaps Jacob renamed him Benjamin (son of my right hand/good fortune) because he did not want his son’s name to be a regular reminder of his wife’s painful death, and didn't want that stigma to follow his son. Symbolically, maybe Jacob wants to shift his son’s path from sorrow to future hope & good fortune.

One of the things I’ve learned about this story, however, is that while Ben-Oni reflects Rachel’s pain, “Oni” also means “strength.” One name with intertwined meanings. Ben-Oni was the son of her struggle AND her strength. Rachel’s entire life was filled with struggles, but what if what she was saying on her deathbed was that those very struggles are what gave her the strength to press on? What if that is what she wanted to communicate to her son & it was meant to be an encouragement, not a curse? Perhaps both of Benjamin’s parents wanted the very best for him. Personally, I like the idea of combining those ideas & calling him Ben-Oni-Jamin. (Portmanteau anyone?)

I am likely one of the few people who reads through biblical geneologies slowly - in order to try & pronounce them correctly (which I’m sure I get wrong), but also because they challenge me to see how each one fits into the story within the main story (meta narrative) of Scripture. The more I learn the more I realize that everything points to Christ.

By the way, if you’ve ever read Pilgrim’s Progress you may recall that the main character, Christian, started out with another name (Graceless). Like us, his identity changed when he left the City of Destruction & assumed a new name.

In his book about heaven, Randy Alcorn points out that while believers will be known by the names we used here on Earth, God is going to give us new names, known only to us & God, on the New Earth (Isa.65:15, Rev.2:17). Does that imply that God not only gave us a new identity when we came to Christ (“christians”), but that He will continue to add identifying marks to our personhood for all eternity? I love it! (And I will now no longer be jealous of the Catholics who get to pick a new name when confirmed. )

I close with the question I opened with: What’s in a name?

Answer: Everything!

“What can be more a man’s own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him? And what shall we take this secrecy to mean? Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can.” (C.S.Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

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