A pastor in the church once told me that occasionally, they receive emails sent in my name, but not from my actual email account. Of course, these messages are quite peculiar and seem to be attempting to lead them into responding, possibly with the intention of deceiving them for financial gain. These mysterious emails manage to reach the pastoral staff because our contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers, is publicly available online.
In fact, I sometimes receive calls from unfamiliar individuals seeking assistance. For instance, someone might claim they have no money to return home and hope that I can provide them with some funds for transportation to get back to work, and so on. Despite having years of pastoral experience, I can’t always determine who genuinely has an urgent need and who is merely trying to scam a bit of money.
Due to these experiences, I’ve been grappling with whether to continue making my personal contact information public. Doing so makes it easy to receive numerous inquiries, but it also puts me at risk, allowing those with impure motives to take advantage. When you reveal your name and other personal details to others, you become easily accessible and identifiable, and they can establish contact with you. Consequently, your personal freedom and privacy are somewhat diminished.
Disclosing your name is the beginning of building a relationship, a form of vulnerability. There’s a comforting feeling when others remember your name.
American Old Testament scholar Terence E. Fretheim, in his work ‘The Suffering of God’, writes that when God’s name is given, it signifies life, uniqueness, specificity, intimacy, accessibility, communication, historicity, identification, and vulnerability (p. 100).
God desires to reveal Himself to humanity, telling Israel His name so that people can call upon Him and draw near. However, once this intimate relationship is established, any misuse or betrayal of His name can lead to deeper harm. Many believers think of the Old Testament God as severe and cruel, while the New Testament God is gracious and loving because Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, cared about human suffering, endured it, and saved us by forgiving our sins. But when we seriously study the Old Testament, particularly the stories of God and His people, we discover that God’s character remains consistent throughout history. He is always willing to communicate with humanity, allowing them to know Him. He speaks His name to His people, willingly risking hurt and suffering to enter into a more committed relationship.
As we enter the season of Lent, we see Jesus Christ concretely demonstrating God’s accessibility. He experiences physical and emotional pain, subjected to extreme punishment by authorities, mistreated by soldiers, betrayed by disciples, and rejected by the people. God does not hide Himself, preventing people from knowing Him. We, too, cannot remain anonymous, isolated from the harm caused by other sinners. Since God does not withdraw from suffering, shouldn’t we also emulate His willingness to endure suffering?
Rev. Chiu