Pundayschool · Episode 37 companion

The Name-Amnesia Handshake: a devotional for anyone who's forgotten a name too long to ask again

A quick devotional for busy people: 3 to 5 minutes, start to finish. Read it or listen to it, whichever fits your morning: a coffee break, a commute, or the two minutes before the rest of the house wakes up. When you reach the bottom, you have done today's devotional.

3 to 5 minutes · read or listen · 3 John 1:15 · goes with the short "The Name-Amnesia Handshake"

Two round white mascots approach each other in a sunlit church hallway, arms about to rise in greeting, a bulletin board and coat rack visible behind them.
Five years of seeing this person every week - about to greet them without ever saying their name. The opening shot of Episode 37, "The Name-Amnesia Handshake."
In short

This devotional, from Pundayschool Episode 37, "The Name-Amnesia Handshake," teaches that generic warmth can quietly stand in for actually knowing someone. Its verse is 3 John 1:15 (NIV): "Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name." Five years of "my friend" really just meant asking would be embarrassing, so we didn't. The friendship we thought we had was actually just a very warm hallway.

Press play: watch the short

"The Name-Amnesia Handshake" is on its way to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @pundayschool. Check back soon, or follow along there so you do not miss it.

Not a warm nickname: reading 3 John 1:15

"Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name."

3 John 1:15, NIV

Prefer to listen?

The same words, read aloud in the King James Version (verse 14 in the KJV's own numbering - short books like 3 John were divided up slightly differently across translations). About 10 seconds.

We've known them five years. Same seat, right side, every week. Their coffee order: memorised. Their kid's name: memorised. Their actual name: gone, and never re-asked, because five years in, asking felt more embarrassing than not knowing.

Close shot: a mascot's arms shoot up in an exaggerated wave, a big forced smile on its face, the other mascot soft-focused in the background.
"Heyyy! My friend! Brother!" Three greetings deep, and still not the right word.

So every greeting becomes an escalating cover: "my friend," "brother," and once, in a panic, "sir." We have never called anyone "sir."

The verse does not ask for a warmer greeting. It says greet the friends there by name - not a placeholder, not a title, not a nickname reached for in a panic. Five years of "my friend" was not closeness. It was a cover, and somewhere underneath the warmth, we already knew it.

A very warm hallway.

The nickname versus the name: honest questions

Not shame, just three quiet questions, between us and God.

Two-shot: one mascot turns to face the other directly, a vulnerable, plain expression, in the middle of asking a question.
The ask, five years overdue: "I've forgotten your name. Tell me again?"

Asking again: a short prayer

Pray it slowly, in these words or your own.

Father, thank you that you never greet me with a placeholder - you call me by name. Forgive me for the names I have been too embarrassed to ask for again, and for the warmth I offered instead of the real thing. Give me the small courage to ask. Thank you that peace, not awkwardness, is what is actually waiting on the other side of the question. Amen.

Warm two-shot: both mascots facing each other, softened expressions, a quiet moment of real connection.
Two names, spoken out loud, for the first time, in that hallway.

Asking again: a step for today

The episode ends with the smallest possible action: one mascot finally asks, and the other one, just as relieved, asks right back.

Name the person you've been covering for with a nickname, and ask for their name again. Not a warmer "my friend." The actual name, said once, today.

If you cannot think of anyone yet, start smaller: notice the next time you reach for "buddy" or "my friend" instead of a name, and ask yourself why.

Full stop

That is the whole devotional. No follow-up task, nothing to sign up for. If one line stuck with you, say it back to God once more before the day picks up speed. The hallway can stay wherever it already is. You have done today's devotional.

More questions

What does 3 John 1:15 mean?

It is the closing greeting of John's shortest letter, where he sends peace and asks that greetings be passed on individually, "by name," rather than as a generic group hello. Even in a two-minute farewell, being known by name mattered enough to write down.

Why would calling someone "my friend" count as avoiding their name?

Warm words are not the problem on their own. The issue in this devotional is when a nickname becomes a permanent substitute for actually knowing someone's name, used specifically to avoid the small discomfort of asking or admitting we forgot.

What if I've genuinely forgotten someone's name after knowing them for years?

It happens to nearly everyone, and it is far more common than it feels in the moment. The fix in this devotional is small on purpose: admit it plainly, ask once, and let the brief awkwardness pass. It is far smaller than five more years of "my friend."

Why did the other mascot not know the narrator's name either?

The episode's twist is that the fear runs both ways. The person being greeted had been covering with their own habitual nickname just as long - a reminder that the awkwardness we are avoiding is usually more mutual than it feels.

Where can I watch The Name-Amnesia Handshake?

Right at the top of this page once it is live, or on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @pundayschool.