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            There is a great old Nichols and May sketch which is about the name-dropping that is done in celebrity interviews.  In it Mike Nichols plays an oily celebrity interviewer, and Elaine May a bubble-headed starlet.  The comedy is found not just in the broad caricature they present, but in the choices of names they drop.  Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Mickey Mantle are rejected in favor of Bernard Baruch, Bertrand Russell, and Albert Schweitzer:

            Nichols: Albert Schweitzer is a very, very good friend of mine.  Al is a lot of laughs.

            May: Well, I’ve never personally dated Al…uh…Schweitzer?.... but those who have say he’s a really nice guy.

 

            Later on Nichols says to May, “The Pope tells me you’re making a new picture,”, to which May replies, “He just can’t keep a secret.”  The fact that the Pope is a “very, very good friend” of a Hollywood celebrity reporter adds a second level of silliness to the piece.  The sketch ends with May telling Nichols that her new picture is a Biblical epic about God.  The punch line is Nichols saying, “It’s interesting that you say that, because God happens to be a very, very good friend of mine.”

            The last election cycle reminds us how easily and cheaply God can be used as a symbol for any side of an argument.  “God,” “faith,” and “values,” are stuck on to any and all candidates like campaign buttons.  I wonder if we sometimes wear the same.

            In Acts 19.14-16 there are 7 sons of a Jewish Priest named Sceva who live in Ephesus and who try to perform exorcisms by using the names “Jesus,” and “Paul.”  One man possessed says to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I recognize Paul, but who are you?!”  Then he proceeds to “leap on,” “subdue,” and “overpower” them.  It is a violent response to using the name of our Lord or his apostle as a talisman.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD, thy God in vain, for the LORD God will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. Exodus 20.7 KJV

            We should take note.  Name dropping is a vain use of God’s name.  Name dropping is not a substitute for relationship.  Talking about God is not the same thing as talking to God, or, more importantly listening to Him. 

            My point is that if we are going to talk about God we must talk about Someone we know.  I am not arguing that we must be silent until we have mastered theology, archaeology, and Biblical languages.  I am saying that relationship with God is essential – personal relationship based upon connection, communication, contact. I am saying that we must never be name droppers.  No one likes a name dropper.  God has demonstrated a willingness to punish name droppers.

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