Where Nobody is Nobody

WHERE NOBODY IS NOBODY

“…For they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”
Philippians 4:3

There was quite a party going on in the club house of a prestigious Richmond apartment complex. Two men were talking.

“You went to State University?” “Yes.”
“When?”
“Graduated in 1962.”

“Did you play football?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess you played in the Cotton Bowl game.”
“I sure did!”
“Wow! Where were you when Ray Jerome ran that unforgettable seventy-two yard touchdown?”
The man’s face grew tight. He whitened, and without a word turned, left the club house, got into his car, and drove off down the street. The other man, alarmed, went to the fellow’s wife and asked what was wrong.

She said, “Oh, he’s probably just gone home to get his scrapbook.”

Sure enough, within twenty minutes he came back, opened a scrapbook and pulled out a yellowed news clipping with two Cotton Bowl pictures, in color. In the first picture Ray Jerome was running up the middle while number 65 threw a tremendous block on a linebacker. In the second picture Jerome was crossing the goal line for the winning touchdown while number 65 threw another great block. Grinning, the man said, “Now ask me where I was!”

SOME PEOPLE ARE FAMOUS

There’s a little bit of that man in all of us, isn’t there? We all want to be remembered for our contributions. We all want respect and fame. Each of us wants to scratch our names on the walls of history. And let’s face a fact. Some people do become famous. In the text one man stuck out in Paul’s mind enough to receive positive mention. His name was Clement. The letter read, “For they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement.” Now, no one knows for sure who this man was. Perhaps he was an elder in the Philippian church. Maybe he was a teacher or helpful benefactor. We cannot be sure. But one thing is indeed certain. The apostle Paul was far away from a congregation that he dearly loved. And he wanted to write them a letter of encouragement. And as he thought back over the characters, the personalities that he had met there in Philippi, only one name came to his mind in a positive way. And that was Clement. Time had not erased his name from Paul’s memory.

Reader’s Digest carries a monthly chapter titled, “My most unforgettable character.” You might say Clement was that character in this particular church. Every generation seems to elevate a few of its children to some memorable degree of status. Who can ever forget such church heavyweights as Peter, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Billy Graham, or Peter Marshall! And

there are famous sports luminaries like Bart Starr, “Catfish” Hunter, Jimmy Connors, Roger Staubach, Mickey Mantle, and Mark McGuire.

Some people seem to have all the luck, don’t they? They were born in the right place at the right time. God gave them the right face or the right skill. The right connection came and their names are insights. Everyone knows their face. Libraries have books on their shelves about them. Museums collect their papers and belongings. People respect them and stand in awe.

Several years ago the singing group known as the Beatles were riding high with public popularity. Who can ever forget John, Paul, George, and Ringo! Well, it seems that one night the group slept in a New York hotel. Afterwards, the sheets were removed and cut into one inch squares which sold for ten dollars a piece! Now that is real fame! And we ourselves are not as far removed from wanting that sort of fame as we might think. In my first parish a television film crew came to town to do a special on the life of Roosevelt. And many of our local residents tried to get into the act! Sure, we all want to be photographed, remembered, known. And according to the text some of us do gain fame.

MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT FAMOUS

But let’s face another fact. Most of us will not be famous. Since the beginning of recorded history about 30 billion people have been born. Only some 5,000 have done outstanding things meriting historic fame. So, in other words, one out of six million is famous. In the text Paul mentions only Clement in a positive way. The rest of the church members are included in a grab- bag, catchall phrase. Listen to the text once again; “For they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers.” Yes, some of us are memorable; our names get written out. But most of us are very forgettable characters. We belong to the category that is nameless.

Recently there was an article in the newspaper that recalled the time that the Cincinnati Reds traded Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles. It was the last sentence of the article that caught one’s attention. It said, “All the Orioles had given up in exchange for Robinson was pitcher Milt Pappas and a second-string outfielder.” Somehow I found myself wondering in a sympathetic way about that anonymous second-string outfielder. George Santayana once said that nothing required more courage than having to look at one’s own equation written out. Had that unnamed outfielder read this article, too? And how had he reacted to being his equation written out? Wistfully? Bitterly? Resignedly? And perhaps his wife read it and thought to herself, “Oh, well! That’s the man I married. A second-string outfielder—so second-string they don’t even bother to write out his name.” Or perhaps his son read it and thought to himself, not too proudly, “That’s my dad.”

It isn’t as if there was anything really so distinctive about that outfielder’s lot in life. His fate is the fate of most of us. We take our places right alongside him, destined to march in the vast legions of the anonymous. We, too, are forgettable characters.

The tragic thing about our lot in life is that it gives many of us a gnawing sense of omnipotence. We suffer from a sense of “Nobodyness.” We have an inferiority complex. Remember those great days in high school when your annuals came out? You rushed to pick yours up and sat at your desk to see how many times your picture was entered and your name mentioned. Reading your annual was like seeing your equation written out. The people who’d gotten Paul’s letter were no different than you and me. They looked to see if their names were in print. It’s a human need to be wanted, to feel worthwhile, to feel like it matters whether you live or die, that life is more than a seventy-year exercise in futility. The Psalmist prayed, “O Lord, establish Thou the work of our hands; yes, the work of our hands, establish Thou it.” His prayer means, I suppose, “Keep me

from having to feel like it wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t lived.” We all want to feel like our lives are important to someone, that we are not blanks.

Yes, we all keep asking, “Do I matter?” “Is my name mentioned?’ “Am I important?” And all too often the world answers back, “No!” In a Peanuts cartoon, the dog, Snoopy, had his book manuscript returned by the publishers. A letter of explanation was enclosed which read, “Dear Sir: We are returning your manuscript by third class mail. You sent it to us first class. Junk mail may be sent third class.” And there in the last panel was poor Snoopy drooping and feeling inferior in his dog house. We too are rejected. We are the unglamorous, the unheralded.

Think for a moment about all the people who have ever lived and are now dead. No one knows their names. Ninety-nine percent of them are forgotten. And visit the cemetery behind most any church. In an effort to be remembered many of their names and their contributions have been chiseled into granite headstones. But even that hasn’t lasted. The years of rain have worn the writing away. In the words of hymn writer Isaac Watts,

“Time, like an ever rolling stream. Bears all its sons away:
They fly forgotten, as a dream dies. At the opening day.”

Yes, the world can give or withhold its acclaim, its praise. It can make you famous. It can make you feel like a blank, an equation equal to zero. But the good news is this. Listen to it with both ears at the same time! As Christians our self-respect is not in this world. The bedrock of our self-image and respect is in the God who loves us and saved us and will come again for us. The good news of our text is this: even if our names do not register with others they do make an impression on God. Listen to the entire text now. “…For they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.” Paul is saying to them, “Don’t be ashamed if your names are forgotten, if you are not listed in who’s who in the church at Philippi. Remember, your names are recorded in a far more important document than that. They are written in God’s Book of Life!”

WE ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD

Yes, brothers and sisters, we need to face facts. Some are famous and some are not. But you are known to God. You matter. He thinks you are important. Jesus said that God knows even when a sparrow falls from the sky. “And how much more,” said the Master, “Does He care about you!” Jesus said that God knows you so well that even the hairs of your head are numbered. In the Old Testament the Bible teaches that God even knows your name. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine,” God says. And if you look at a cross in a certain way it will look like a plus mark. The world may write your equation out as a minus or a zero. But God counts you as a plus. He says, “There! There on the cross! That’s my son dying for your sins. I count you worthy of this.” In the world you may be a nobody, but in Christ you are a somebody! God loves you. He knows your name. He writes your equation out with a divine plus mark.

An elder was visiting a rest home. One of his members had been confined there for a number of years. And now she was dying. Sick and tired, worn out with the struggle, she was wondering if her life mattered. The elder tried to encourage her, prayed with her, and before leaving asked if she might like to have him read a passage of Scriptures for her. She said, “I’d like for you to read Matthew 1:1-16 for me. The elder turned there and was alarmed to see a long list of genealogy. “Why do you want me to read this?” Asked the man. “Wouldn’t Psalm 23 be of more comfort?” She smiled and said, “Well, I’ve never heard anyone read that passage all the way through without stumbling over the words. I just wanted to see if you could do it.” So the elder began

reading the text and, yes, he faltered and stumbled over many of the strange names on the list. When he finished, the elderly lady looked very peaceful, and said thoughtfully, “you know, if God took down all those forgotten names, surely He must have my name written down on a list, too, somewhere.”

“…For they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”

WHO’S WHO WITH GOD

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor once said, “You know, the best thing about being famous is that in another few years no one will know who I am.” Worldly honor can go as quickly as it comes. Riches take wings. Fame is a vapor. The crowd that cheers you today will curse you tomorrow. But regardless of whether or not we have the world’s honor, we in Christ do have God’s love and respect. And His love for us is eternal.

SUGGESTED PRAYER

Lord, be good to me. The sea is so large and my boat is so small. I put my trust in Jesus. Write my name in your Book. For Christ’s sake. Amen.