4^th Sunday in Advent at Epiphany on December 23, 2008

Grace, mercy and peace to you through our Savior, Jesus Christ who is with us and saves us. Amen.

Matthew 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. {19} Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. {20} But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. {21} She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." {22} All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: {23} "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." {24} When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. {25} But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

What’s in a name?

Jesus – The Lord saves

Immanuel – God with us

In every age and among every race of people names have always been a matter of great importance. Sometimes we may ask flippantly, “What’s in a name?” If we think about it, though, there may be much in a name, sometimes very much. This past week in Rome , an Italian court ruled that a couple could not name their son “Friday” and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on. The boy’s mother told Reuters, “We named him Friday because we liked the sound of the name. Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her Friday.”

A local tribunal informed the parents they had to change the boy’s name because of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving “ridiculous or shameful” first names to children. The tribunal said it was protecting the child from being the butt of jokes and added that it believed the name would hinder him from developing “serene interpersonal relationships.” “I am livid about this,” the boy’s mother said. “My son was born on Friday, baptized on Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory.”

The choice of a name for a newborn takes a great deal of time, consideration and consultation. You can never be too careful about the selection of a name. You don’t want to regret your choice. You don’t want to name your children Judas, Jezebel, Cain, Napoleon, Adolf, Bathsheba, because of what those names represent. If Shelley and I would have ever been blessed with twin boys, I wanted to name them Zechariah Zephaniah Zarling and Zacchaeus Zebediah Zarling. Maybe that’s why we never had any boys.

Whether a baby is named after a parent or grandparent, celebrity or athlete, saint or day of the week, there is often some meaning or significance behind the name chosen. In the Bible, names were often given to commemorate some event at the birth of the child or the names might express thankfulness and devotion to the Almighty God. Eve’s name means “mother of all the living.” Esau means “red and hairy.” Moses means “drawn out of water.” Samuel means “asked of God.” Michael means “one who is like God”; Abigail means “father’s joy”; Mary, which is a form of Miriam means “bitter.”

This morning, we contemplate the question “what’s in a name.” We examine the significance of the names given to the Son of God. He is Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” and he is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Matthew tells us that when Joseph became aware of Mary’s pregnancy, he could only conclude that she had been unfaithful to him. Yet Joseph was a righteous, God-fearing man and he showed a deep concern for Mary, so he was planning on divorcing her quietly.

But the Lord intervened. He sent an angel to redirect Joseph’s intended course of action. The angel said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” The angel made it clear that they were to remain together as husband and wife. He also made it clear that though Joseph would be the foster parent, this would not be his biological son. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Mary would give birth to a son, and Joseph, as the legal father, was given the duty of naming the child “Jesus.”

What kind of Savior would this be? Would this be a political savior, a military ruler, one would provide his people with security and material gifts in this life? In the past, there have been mighty saviors, deliverers, leaders who were powerful in warfare who have rid their country from oppression and bondage, like Gideon or Samson, or even Washington and Lincoln. The Jews were expecting a Messiah who would be just that kind of savior, who would deliver them from their political enemies and establish their nation again as a national power. Similarly, there are “theologians” today who look to Christ to be a Savior from poverty and oppression. They consider him to be a God who will bestow wealth and health upon his people. There are churches that regard their mission as making the world a better place to live.

But that is not the kind of Savior this child would be. This child would not come to save his people from national, political oppressors, but something far worse. The bondage from which he will deliver his people is from that which causes all the misery, sorrow, and grief in this world. He would defeat that which causes the ruin of mankind’s happiness. He would rescue the world from that which deformed and defiled and disordered the whole universe. He would overcome the vilest thing in existence – something so evil that we have nothing else to compare it. That enemy and oppressor that Jesus would save his people from is sin.

“He will save his people from their sins”. There you have it. Jesus would deliver us from that which causes all the disorder, the dissatisfaction, the dissension, the destruction, the disturbance and distress in God’s perfect creation. Sin, that great enemy of all creation, is what causes you and me to rebel against God, to hate each other, and to war against other peoples. Sin brings a curse and punishment. It dominates and drags us to hell. But, Jesus, Jehovah, our Savior, came to deliver us. Jesus is not someone who came simply to save us from sickness or sorrow or poverty or racism, as some people would have us believe. Jesus came to save us from sin.

Jesus is not only a great teacher who came from God. He is not just a great social worker who wants us all to get along. He is not just a great leader who laid down principles for us to follow. Get rid of such low misconceptions of the Christ-child. Don’t underestimate him. No, he is the Savior, the Great Emancipator from hell, the Great Deliverer from sin. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 )

“He will save his people from their sins,” means that he would come not only to save the children of Israel but the entire world. This is a truth taught clearly and taught often in the Scriptures. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “And for this we labor and strive, that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10) The fact that Christ is the Savior, and the Savior of all people, is important. Jesus didn’t come to save just you or me, just blacks or whites, or Russians or Chinese. He came to save every single person. Every single person is infected with the deadly disease of sin. Jesus came to deliver us from that sin. That is why the angel emphasizes the meaning of Jesus’ name – “the Lord saves”.

What an astounding revelation the angel’s message was for Joseph! His doubts about Mary’s faithfulness were completely removed. In their place Joseph received the amazing good news that he would have the privilege of caring for God’s Son, the promised Messiah, the Redeemer of the world! Joseph was given the responsibility for naming the Savior of the world Jesus. This child would also receive the special name of Immanuel because he would be God with us.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ --which means, ‘God with us.’" Matthew records that all these strange events were taking place in the lives of Joseph and Mary for a reason – “to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet [Isaiah].”

The sign was that “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son.” This would happen only once in all of human history, so the special son of the virgin mother could be positively identified and recognized. This special son was born from a young woman who never had sexual relations with a man. Such a woman was Mary. Such a conception made it possible for Jesus to become man without the normal stain of inherited sin. Christ was born of a virgin not only so his birth would be supernatural and altogether extraordinary, but because he would be born spotless and pure, without the stigma of sin. This was a special birth for a special child.

This special child received the special name of Immanuel, which means “God with us.” The name Immanuel reminds us that God, in the person of his Son, became one of us to solve the problem of sin. This child would be God incarnate, the eternal God visibly among us in human flesh and blood.

“Long hours of boredom punctuated by periods of sheer terror.” That’s how a soldier once described war, but the same description could easily apply to our daily lives. We often endure years of tedium and toil, but then are plunged into times of sheer terror.

The expected Savior would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Why does God use that particular preposition? Why not beside or behind or before or below us? Why not on or in or of? Because the word “with” means more than just the Savior being close to us.

Try this. Hold your two fists in front of you, thumbs up. Put them together so that the fingers touch. Now shove both fists forward. You just made the deaf sign for the word “with.” It feels like strong, doesn’t it?

Jesus would come not just to fill us or to support us. He would come alongside us as our ally to fight for us. He would come as our companion to go forward with us. He would come as our Redeemer to buy us back and to take us home. Even through long hours of boredom punctuated by brief periods of terror, God promises to be with us in Jesus. In the raging of physical warfare, in the hidden torment of a spiritual battle, or in our times of peace and rest, Jesus is “God with us.”

When we look for God in the nature around us, we see a God who is infinitely greater than us. When we look for God in the Law of the Bible, we see a God who is against us because of our sinfulness. But when we look for God in the Gospel of the Bible, we see God as Immanuel – we see Jesus who is God with us. We see a God who is concerned about us, who cares for us, who is interested in us, who became like us. The angel was telling Joseph that this baby who would be born would perform the greatest miracle of love of all time – he would bring God and man together.

For the past two years, a group of local Racine churches have placed a nativity scene in Monument Square in downtown Racine . A group of local atheists were never happy about this. On Wednesday they placed a large white pyramid, called “The Pyramid of Freedom” next to the nativity scene.

Whether it is grumpy old atheists opposing nativities or weak-kneed politicians calling it a “Holiday tree” or politically correct store clerks wishing you a generic “Happy holidays” or nervous public school principals removing Christmas celebrations in favor of winter festivals – don’t get upset by all this. Don’t let it ruin your Christmas. Stand up to it, of course. But also be encouraged by it. Isn’t amazing that after two thousand years, the name of Jesus still strikes fear in the hearts of unbelievers? Isn’t it astounding that the name of Christ still makes heathens shiver, atheists scream, skeptics shake, and “freethinkers” stumble.

It is in the name of Jesus that the sick were healed, demons were dispossessed, and the dead raised. It is in the name of Jesus that you were baptized, confirmed, married, and in his name you will be buried. It is in the name of Jesus that I preach, your teachers teach, and you evangelize. It is in the name of Jesus that your sins are forgiven and that your God is with you. And one more thing …for both believers and unbelievers, Christians and atheists alike, “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of the Father.” Amen.