Introducing. . .

Kyren David Brown

"Lord have mercy on your Beloved"

a week ago, we went to the hospital with some concerns. i was admitted for observation within the same timeframe that my grandmother was admitted for 'observation'. observation is a nice way of saying, "there's something wrong with you, we're just not sure what it is." a few days ago my mom told me that during the course of that night and the following days she was too overwhelmed to find the words to pray. she found herself just pleading with God to "have mercy." Have mercy on her mom, her daughter, her son in law, her grandbaby, her other grandbaby, her father, etc.... who were all being affected by this period of observation. she recalled a sermon she once heard preached on this one phrase. "Lord have mercy." ...and how sometimes that's all we can muster to plead in the moment... and that the Holy Spirit fills in the rest on our behalf (Romans 8:26). I could relate to her in this, as i have often, when overwhelmed or burdened, only been able to pray the words "Oh, Lord!" and somehow take great comfort in knowing that He knows my heart, the situation, and the pain, and somehow can take a desperate heart cry and turn it into a sweet prayer. sometimes there just are no words.

As we began to think about a name for our child, we knew we wanted the name to have meaning. But what kind of meaning can you derive from our situation? what kind of name do you give to someone so weak and helpless? can you call him "noble" or "fighter" when you really don't know if he'll be those things? we didn't want to give him a name he may not be able to live up to. i searched and searched through old emails, trying to find the (very short) list of boys' names we had compiled when trying to come up with a name for Christian. One of the names i had liked was Kyren. The root word for it comes from the Latin: Kyrie, meaning "The Lord". Last night, when I searched for it on Google, i found the following. . . and couldn't believe my eyes:

Kýrie is from the Greek word κύριε (kyrie), the vocative case of κύριος (kyrios), meaning O Lord. It is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called Kýrie, eléison which is Greek for Lord, have mercy.

In the Eastern Christianity the phrase Kýrie, eléison (Greek: Κύριε ἐλέησον) or its equivalents in other languages is the most oft-repeated phrase.

The various litanies, popular in Orthodox Christianity, generally have Lord, have mercy as their response, either singly or triply. Some petitions in these litanies will have twelve or even forty repetitions of the phrase as a response.

The phrase is the origin of the Jesus Prayer, beloved of Eastern Christians belonging to the Byzantine rite, and increasingly popular amongst Western Christians today.

The biblical roots of this prayer first appear in 1 Chronicles 16:34

...give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever...

This is a key to fully understanding the Greek Kýrie, eléison, for while Latin is mostly a static language (Lord HAVE mercy!) Greek (in this case particularly) is an active language. Thus, "Lord Have Mercy", the static plea, is more properly translated "The Lord is BEING merciful" in the active Greek. In this respect, the prayer is simultaneously a petition and a prayer of thanksgiving; an acknowledgment of what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will continue to do.

And there you have it! "The Lord is BEING merciful". He is having mercy on us ALL the time!! He knew this was coming. He has helped us through every moment, is helping us, and will help us. And we don't have to have strength, answers, or the right response to everything that comes our way. HE already has those things-- and our only job is to rest in His loving assurance that He hears the cries of our hearts.

I used to fear trials. That God would send something that i just couldn't handle--that would wreck me, bring me to my knees, and that He would do it just to test my faith, or make me suffer. But now, in the midst of one, i am reminded of what i have so easily forgotten in the good times-- that God is NEAR to the broken hearted. His mercy is more closely felt and realized in the darkness, where we are not distracted by all the things we can see and grasp ahold of in this world. we must stop and cling to the Sighted One, or we will not be able to make it another step.

And so, little Kyren, we give you a name that even you can live up to-- one that, regardless of the number of days you have on this earth, will leave a legacy of just what you have brought us: the truth that God is merciful! that we need Him, just like you do, every moment of every day... or we won't make it.

And your middle name? Well, your daddy's name means "Beloved of God". And since you were born practically on his birthday, we thought it only right to bless you with this name. (and personally, i think you look a lot like him!)

But no matter who you end up most "like" on this earth, we want you to know that you are first and foremost created in the image of God, and you are dearly loved by Him! He is your Father, and has loved you from before time. He has knit you together, and is continuing to do so. You are literally "The Lord's Beloved".

We love you, and will continue to pray for you and for us: "Lord, have mercy!"

*The alternative spelling of Kyren (Kieran) means "Little Dark One", which is also quite fitting right now, as he has dark hair, dark skin, and is definitely VERY Little.*