Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Advent: December 22, 2013

Sermon for Advent 4: December 22, 2013

Matthew 1:18-25

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith

“What’s in a name?”

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The website BabyCenter recently released its annual baby name report, including a list of the most unusual names of the year. This year’s list includes, for girls: Blip, Fairy, and Kiwi. For boys, the list contains: Ajax, Cheese, Danish, Egypt, Jag, Panda, and Rocket. That’s right, I said “Cheese”. Someday, there could be a little Senator Cheese or Pastor Cheese or Doctor Cheese in your life.

Oh, but wait: it gets better! On this same website you can search for other unusual names from past years. You can find out, for example, that there have been multiple babies named Swag, Hotdog, Butterbean, Phone, Freak, Poopy, Superman, Mushroom, and Elbow. Actually, in 2009, there were three babies named Elbow. One has to wonder if Elbow had a brother named Kneecap and a sister named Bellybutton. Or, maybe he had a twin named Macaroni…

What’s in a name? Does it matter what we are called? Naming my first son Caleb was easy: his was the only name (and I mean the only name!) Robert and I could agree on. In fact, we joked that if he turned out to be a girl, he would simply have to be Calebina, because we couldn’t imagine agreeing on another name.

Some of you know already how our second child, Zion, was almost (but not quite) named Micah, with our plans thwarted when we got to know our pastor’s son, who was 14 years old and also named Mikah. But I don’t think I’ve mentioned how, once we got around to choosing “Zion” as the alternative, we got stuck on a middle name. This baby was due to be born 2 days after Christmas, so Robert and I thought it should be something Christmas-y. This would have been easier for a girl—you could always go with Noelle, or Holly, or Ivy, or the ever-popular Mary. It was a little harder for a boy, but even so, we were very excited to tell some friends we had decided on… “Emmanuel”. Zion Emmanuel Smith.

To say our friends reacted badly would be an understatement. “Oh, for the love of all that is holy!” they said. “This baby is already growing up as the pastor’s kid. Can you at least give him ONE normal name? Don’t do that to him.”

Yep…And that is how our second child became Zion ROBERT. Also, he was born nearly 3 weeks early, on December 8, which sort of ruined the whole Christmas-cutesy thing anyway.

So, what’s in a name? How much does it matter what we are called? In the birth story of the Messiah that we heard this morning, baby names are everything. The author of the Gospel of Matthew says “This is how the birth of the Messiah happened” and then instead of telling about the labor and the contractions, the story begins with Mary and Joseph’s engagement, some surprising pregnancy news, and then a dream in which an angel gives Joseph baby-naming advice. After suggesting he put “Jesus” at the top of the list, the angel goes on to repeat a prophecy from many centuries before:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God with us.”

“You shall name him Jesus” and “They shall name him Emmanuel.” Have you noticed? In the Bible, no one seems to consult baby name books or websites before bestowing names upon people. Names in Scripture more often come from angels or from dreams. Names are even changed after close encounters with God. In this case, the baby born to Mary and Joseph receives two names: Jesus is the name Mary and Joseph will give him, following the angel’s advice. Emmanuel is the name the world will give him. 

“They shall name him Emmanuel, which means God with us.” Just as “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name, “Emmanuel” isn’t his middle name. “Emmanuel” is rather a description of Jesus’ life and ministry. It’s a title that speaks not only of Jesus as baby in a manger, but Jesus as healer, as itinerant preacher, and as prophet. This moniker, “Emmanuel”, tells us something special about this baby: it reveals that wherever Jesus is, God is present. Jesus is “God with us.”

Remember, the hope of a child being born who would be called “Immanuel, God with us” didn’t begin with this angel’s announcement in Joseph’s, but was spoken through the book of Isaiah long before. This was a hope that carried the people of God through exile and oppression, through times of persecution and famine. To understand how the hope of “God with us” could be so powerful, consider for a moment the value of presence. No, not “presents” like we have wrapped and waiting under the Christmas tree, but presence.

Consider the experience of trying to talk to a customer service representative on the phone or through online chat, and how sometimes you would do anything just to have a real person to look in the eyes and ask your question. Can I get an Amen? Or, consider the modern miracle of Skype and FaceTime and email. These innovations have changed life for those who live or travel or work overseas, because now we can see and hear each other instantly and (nearly) for free. No more Airmail or telegrams or, even worse, weeks with no contact at all. But ask any grandparent whose grandchildren live in another country, or anyone whose spouse is deployed overseas, about the value of “presence”, and they will tell you that the ability to hug and touch and feel a loved one is far better than cyber communication across the miles. Amen?

“God with us” means God is present with us. God keeps company with us. The church-y word for it is “incarnation”. The Gospel of John puts it this way: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The writer Frederick Buechner makes it plainer: “Moses at the burning bush was told to take off his shoes because the ground on which he stood was holy ground (Exodus 3:5), and the incarnation means that all ground is holy ground because God not only made it but walked on it, ate and slept and worked and died on it.” (“Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC” p. 43)

When the angel told Joseph this baby would be called Emmanuel, God with us, it was more than helpful naming advice. This was the announcement that the hope of God’s people was about to be fulfilled: God was coming near. The divine, holy Other would soon have skin on. God, the almighty, creator of all things, would not be living in a land far away or housed in a place or time any more special than this one. The birth of the baby called Emmanuel means that this is a holy place, right here. This is sacred time, right now. This is God’s tabernacle, wherever two or three are gathered in his name.

And sisters and brothers, this is what it means for you that this particular baby, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, is the one who is called Emmanuel, God with us:

If an animal’s feeding trough is a holy enough place for God to hang out, then so is your car, and your living room, your dinner table and your work cubicle.

If an unmarried, teenage girl is holy enough to carry God within her womb and in doing so, change the world, then so are your hands holy enough to do God’s work for the sake of the world.

And if a newborn baby’s body—crying, hungry, wiggly and needy—is honored and respected by God as holy ground, then so is your body to be honored and respected, treated as the holy temple that it is. And, to take it a step further, if the incarnation means that all ground is holy ground, then so too is every body a holy body: Yours and mine. Able and differently abled. Black, white and brown. LGBTQ & A (and every other letter of the alphabet for that matter). “God with us” means God is with all of us, no exceptions.

Dear friends, the next time we gather together, it will be to celebrate what has been spoken by the prophets, revealed in a dream to Joseph, and announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel: That the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ Be not afraid--the king shall come! All earth is hopeful, the Savior comes at last! Mary and Joseph named him Jesus. We call him Savior, our light in the darkness, prince of peace, and our long-expected Jesus, come to set the people free. We call him Emmanuel, God-with-us. Thanks be to God, for the most precious gift of presence. Amen.

January 1, 2012: The Festival of the Name of Jesus

Name of Jesus: January 1, 2012
Luke 2:15-21
Preacher: Pastor Carrie B. Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of the Year of Our Lord, 2012. It’s also the 8th day of Christmas—and therefore, in spite of the Valentine’s Day paraphernalia cropping up around us, it is still completely appropriate to greet one another with a hearty “Merry Christmas!”

Chances are that outside of the famous (and somewhat annoying) song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, you haven’t thought too much about the 8th day of Christmas. But it just so happens that this is also a feast day in the church year—a feast we rarely have the opportunity to celebrate on a Sunday—and it has nothing to do with “eight maids a-milking”! Today, at least in the church, is known as the Festival of the Holy Name of Jesus.

It’s true that the name of Jesus was on our lips last week on Christmas Eve, when we joyfully sang “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.” But in Jewish tradition, a baby boy would not actually have received his name until the 8th day of life. On Christmas Day and for the next seven days, that tiny baby in the manger was known only as the son of Mary and Joseph—until his ritual circumcision, when his parents would speak his name—Jesus—for the first time.

I admit that after the over-the-top celebrations for Christmas and the New Year, it may seem a bit strange to have an entire day set aside to honor the Name of Jesus. But then, names do matter, don’t they?

When I was pregnant with our younger son, we had chosen the name Micah Carlyle—Micah because of my favorite Bible verse, Micah 6:8, and Carlyle for my brother. But in the middle of the pregnancy, Robert started his seminary internship, and it just so happened that the 14 year old son of Robert’s supervisor was also named “Mikah”. Right away, I should say that Mikah Meyer has grown up to be a delightful young man—but at the time, he was a professional 14 year old pastor’s kid! (Use your imagination here.) One day, I came home from church and said to my husband, “I can’t do it. This baby cannot be a Micah! We need to find a new name.” And so it was that Zion Robert was born.

Names matter.

I wonder if Robert Zimmerman would have been the icon that Bob Dylan is? And could Queen Latifah have made it as a successful rapper and actress if she had remained Dana Marie Owens? Names have power, affecting how others see us and even how we see ourselves. This is why parents agonize over naming their children. Women about to be married—or who are going through a divorce—struggle with which surname to use in the future. And this election season, comedians are having a great time with the fact that Americans who struggled over having a president with a name like “Barack Obama” are now choosing between a “Mitt” and a “Newt”!

Names matter.

It matters that this tiny baby, born in Bethlehem in the middle of an occupation to an unmarried girl and laid in a manger, was named Jesus. It matters because this name didn’t come out of a book of “1,001 Things to Name the Savior” or a list of the “Top Ten Jewish Boy Names of the First Century.” Rather, it was the angel Gabriel, appearing to Mary, who announced that his name would be Jesus. In Luke chapter 1, we read how the angel came and said:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

This was more than a suggestion. This was more than a friendly bit of baby-naming advice. In fact, this wasn’t the first time the angel Gabriel had used his baby-naming talents! Just a few verses before this, at the very beginning of the Gospel according to Luke, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and announced that his wife, Elizabeth, already in her old age, would conceive and bear a son named John. And for his hesitation in believing this astounding news, poor Zechariah was struck mute, unable to speak anyone’s name at all, until the baby John was born.

Names matter—and in particular, names matter to the story of the birth of the Messiah, the Lord. The way Luke tells it, it’s clear that this baby is someone special, for his birth was foretold by the prophets. His name was given by an angel. Even more angels announced his birth. From the first sentence to the last, it is understood that this child, named Jesus before he was even conceived in the womb, is a gift from God, the fulfillment of a promise, and the hope of the whole world. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) Amen!

It matters, in a biblical sense, that this baby was named Jesus, as it was foretold to Mary. But does it matter to us today? If a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet, would a savior named Fred be as beautiful?

Or perhaps it can be said in this way: Does it matter which name we give to Jesus?

Consider what it means to celebrate the Name of Jesus on the first day of a new year. As we contemplate how we want to live our lives in the year ahead, many of us are resolving to eat better, to exercise more, to go back to school, or to fulfill long-abandoned dreams and goals. And while many of these lofty goals are soon forgotten (someone recently described New Year’s resolutions as a “To-Do List for the First Week in January!), the process of making them is in itself important. Making resolutions is about fixing our priorities. It’s about naming for ourselves—and often for friends—what and who is important in our lives.

And so here we are, on the first day of this New Year, the first day of living out these new priorities, and the church tells us that today’s priority is the Name of Jesus. Perhaps this is an opportunity. Perhaps our number one resolution this year could be to decide who Jesus is. What would happen if Christians, on this day, resolved to give Jesus a new name?

I’m not suggesting we should re-name him Fred, or Bob, or Cynthia! But if Jesus has, in the past, been known to us as “that guy we hear about on Sunday mornings”, or “a generally good man, someone I can look up to” or even “a mythical character that I really only think about at Christmastime”, then maybe, in the New Year, it’s time for him to receive a new name. What will we call him in the year to come?

Will we call him the Lord of Life and Healer of our Soul?

Do we know him as a good example to follow and a great role model, or do we call him Redeemer and Savior?

Is Jesus just a name we drop at the end of a prayer, or is his the name at the top of our contact list?

And in the New Year, will Jesus be called the chief cornerstone of the church, or will we reserve that name for old habits, stale structures, and “the way it used to be”?

There is power in the name of Jesus.

For St. Paul tells us in Philippians that “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

Again in Romans, we hear that all those “who call upon the name of the Lord” shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

And of course our brother Martin Luther encouraged Christians to practice "pure faith and confidence, and a cheerful meditation of and calling upon His holy Name". (Treatise on Good Works)

Names matter.

And that’s why, today, on this Festival of the Name of Jesus, your name also matters. Hear the Good News: No matter what priority the name of Jesus has had in your life in the past year, your name is always top priority for God. Whether Jesus has been on the mainline this past year—or if he was dropped from your contact list—he is still Emmanuel, God with Us. This is our Christmas joy and our hope for the New Year—that God so loved the world (including you!) that a baby was born in Bethlehem, and was laid in a manger, and his name was Jesus. He is the Messiah, the Lord. He is the light that shines in the darkness. And no matter what we call him, he is the same Christ—yesterday, today, and forever. On this day, the babe in Bethlehem received his name. And because of that gift, you can be confident in your name, which is Beloved Child of God. Amen.