Loving God, you name us as your very own through Jesus, and help us to grow through the power of your Spirit.  Help us to see both ourselves and others as you do, always giving you the glory through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    How many of you actually know what your name means and why you were given the name (or names) that you were?  Names can actually be very important, and you may have noticed that, especially in the Scriptures, every name has a meaning and is given for a specific reason.  Many of us might not think that names matter very much, but what about hurtful, derogatory names?  What about names that you hate, or names that make you cringe when you hear them?  What about when your name is constantly mispronounced or misspelled?  What about hearing your name spoken in a loving and respectful way?  In many instances, names do matter, and today we are invited to reflect not only on our own names, but on two of the names for Jesus.

    It is from the prophet Isaiah that we first hear the name “Immanuel.”  The situation in Isaiah’s time was this: The kings of Israel and Syria had made an alliance and were threatening Jerusalem and Judah.  They wanted to force Judah to join them and then fight with them against the great empire of Assyria.  In our first reading today, we hear about somebody named Ahaz, who is the king of Judah at the time.  And at this time of threat, Isaiah is sent to Ahaz to speak God’s word to him.

    Oddly enough, Ahaz is invited to ask God for a sign (which seems to be a bad thing in other instances).  However, Ahaz, who is trying to sound pious says, “No, no, no.  ‘I will not put the Lord to the test’” (Isa. 7:12).  The real story here is that Ahaz is afraid to trust God.  He is looking to military alliances with foreign nations and everywhere else for help, but does not want to put his trust in God’s help.

    And so, Isaiah speaks a word to Ahaz and to all of the people at that time who were living in fear.  Isaiah tells them that God is going to give them a sign anyways.  He probably points at a young woman who is right there and who is pregnant and says, “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).  In other words, Isaiah is saying, “Look!  God is with us!  Before this child is old enough to make choices between good and evil, those two kings won’t be a threat to you any more.”  – Immanuel -- God is with us. – A word of hope in the midst of fear and foreboding.

    Fastforward then, from Isaiah’s time to the time of Mary and Joseph.  Jesus will also be given the name “Emmanuel,” which still means “God is with us,” but will take on even greater meaning in the birth of God’s Son.  Certainly, God was with the people of Judah back in Isaiah’s time.  Those who trusted in God’s help were not put to shame, and every so often a person came along who was a sign that God was with God’s people.

    However, in Jesus, God comes to be with us in the flesh.  Now, the words of Isaiah apply to Mary – in this case the virgin who will “conceive and bear a son” (Mt. 1:23).  While we might get caught up in differences in wording with our modern ways of thinking, it would not have been an issue in the ancient world.  The Hebrew uses a word that means “young woman,” and the Greek uses a word that means “virgin,” which in the first century meant the same thing.

    And so, Matthew introduces us to Emmanuel, for in Jesus, God will be with us in a way that has never been experienced before.  Jesus will be the only Son of God, come to live among us, and to experience all of the best and the worst of what it means to be human.  In Jesus, God came to be with us in life and in death, and now continues to be with us in a different way through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  One has to wonder if even today there are people who could be given the name Emmanuel – people who are signs that God is with us.  – Just something to think about!

    However, to return to the names for Jesus, we hear in Matthew’s gospel the instructions that are given to Joseph in a dream: “You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).  The name Jesus literally means “Saviour,” or “God saves.”  Normally, a son might be named after his father or some other important relative.  However, in naming the child “Jesus,” Joseph both believes and obeys the angel’s message.  The name, of course, also describes the very important work that Jesus will accomplish.  He will, indeed, save his people from their sins – and us, too!

    For Jesus, his names are of great importance, and tell us quite a bit about who he is and what his life will be all about.  For us, our names might not describe us in quite the same way.  However, what about the names, or shall we say the titles, that God has for us?

    Have you ever had anybody call you “child of God”?  Those of you who have been baptized, I think that you have!  N., child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.  This is one of the names that God gives to us.

    We talk sometimes about people living up to their names.  If we wanted to send ourselves on a guilt trip, we might say, “Are we living up to this name that God has given us?”  However, if we wanted to acknowledge God’s grace and love instead, we might ask God to help us to grow into this exalted position as “child of God.”

    Children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus – just like in many families, wouldn’t we imitate God our Father and Jesus, our elder brother?  Wouldn’t we continue to learn from them, as we strive to grow up in the faith and become the people whom we were always intended to be?  Of course, as we continue on this journey, we are not on our own.  To every child of God is given the Holy Spirit, who continues to teach us and to empower us and to fill our hearts with the love of God.

    And so, as we reflect on the naming of Jesus, and how he would also be given the name, Emmanuel, we are reminded of how God relates to each one of us, and names us as God’s very own.  Jesus the Saviour? – Yes! And he saves each one of us.  Emmanuel - God is with us? – Yes!  And God continues to be with us through Jesus.  Jesus, Son of God?  – Yes!  And because of him we are able to be adopted as God’s children.  Jesus the Messiah? – Yes!  He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, and he anoints us in much the same way.

    God does not come to us with names that degrade us or names that make fun of us or names that make us cringe.  Instead, God gives us exalted titles like “child of God,” or “precious creation,” or “beloved.”  Let us then continue to learn from Jesus, growing in the power of the Holy Spirit, and becoming the people whom God intends us to be.  For perhaps it will be through one of us that people will say, “Look!  Emmanuel! God is with us!”  Amen.

Advent 4(A)                                    Matthew 1:18-25
December 19, 2010                            Isaiah 7:10-16
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved