"What's in a Name?"

Dear Friends in Christ,         

                Just over 27 years ago I was given the name Donald Matthew Antor by my parents.  They decided on my first name Donald because it was my paternal grandfather’s middle name, and my middle name Matthew was my great-great uncle’s name.  The names my parents gave me and my brothers all had connections to a previous family member.  A lot of times parents give their children names of a prior family member, like my parents did.  Other times they pick a name based off of the meaning of the name.  As I was preparing this message, I decided to look up what my name means to see if that fits my personality.  Let’s begin with Donald, according to the very trustworthy internet I found out my name comes from a Scottish or Irish background and means “world ruler.”  I don’t really think that describes me.  I really don’t want to rule the world that is way too much power.  Moving on to Matthew, which gets its origins from the Hebrew language and means “God’s gift.”  Now that describes me.   I am a gift from God, along with everybody else.  We all are God’s gift.  The names that we have been given all have special meaning.

                In the Bible names are good adjectives in regards to the person.  Take for example Adam that comes from the Hebrew word that means “ground.”  I ask you where did Adam come from.  He came from the ground.  How about Isaac, does anybody know what that means?  It means laughter, the exact thing that Abraham and Sarah his parents did when the birth of Isaac was prophesied.  Who said that God doesn’t have a sense of humor?  Let’s look at the names of two sons of Isaac’s, Esau and Jacob.  Esau means “hairy” and when he was born it says in Genesis 25:25 that he was hair like a cloak.  His brother Jacob’s name means “holds the heel.”  And that makes sense because he was holding the heel of Esau when they were born.  Also it makes sense because that can be seen as an idiom for pulling somebody’s leg.  Jacob was pretty well known for playing pranks on people.  He tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing that Esau was supposed to receive, and he was known for lying about who Rachel really was.

                God didn’t stop there with special meanings for His children.  In the Gospel Reading for today we hear of another special naming taking place.  This time it’s for our Lord and Savior.  He was given the name Jesus, which is one of the many names that we have for Him.  The name Jesus means, “God’s Salvation” and that is exactly what Jesus is.  Jesus earned the salvation for all people when He sacrificed Himself upon the cross at Calvary.  Another name we have for Jesus is Immanuel.  This name was given to us in the prophet Isaiah when he said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  The name Immanuel means “God with us.”  Another true statement about who Jesus is, because He was God in flesh with His people, and He is still with us to this day.

                This is contrary to how we sometimes feel.  In our lives there are times we feel all alone.  Do you ever feel like you are alone?  We feel there is nobody that can help us deal with the struggles in our lives.  When we lose a loved one that can be very hard for us.  It can seem as if we’re alone on an island millions of miles away from civilization or it might seem that we’re all the way in Timbuktu.  It’s in these times that we turn to things that could be harmful to us or even possible to those around us.  Nobody wants to feel this way.  Last week I talked about how we see a lot of darkness in our lives.  And that is exactly what it feels like when we feel all alone in our lives.

                The devil loves when we feel this way.  He even tries to make that feeling of loneliness the only thing that we feel.  He tells us that nobody knows what we are going through and that we are all alone and God isn’t even there for you.  The devil knows how to attack us in times like these.

                It’s in these times that we need to remember what the name Immanuel means, and that’s “God with us.”  What joy and peace we have knowing Jesus is with us always.  He’s always present with you and me in His power-filled Word and Sacraments.  He is filling our hearts and homes with His love and blessings.  He is our strength, guardian, and guide through the headaches and heartaches of life. 

In my house I have a gift that I feel is very valuable that a member at my vicarage church gave me as a going away present.  In my final sermon there I talked about my favorite poem of all time, “Footprints.”  This couple from the church really appreciated that message and took down from their own wall this wall hanging that has the poem written out on it.  It was truly touching, and it is a great reminder that God is always with me.  Let me read that poem for those of you who have never heard it before.

“Footprints”

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The LORD replied, “My precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”    

I love the imagery of that poem.  I can imagine being the man in the poem, reminiscing about his life.  Picture yourself as the man and what sorrow and disappointment you might be feeling as in the times when you felt most alone you saw only one set of footprints.  You probably feel that God has forsaken His promise to always be with you.  Then you hear the comforting words of God, “My precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”  God is with us in those times when we are feeling most alone.  He is there carrying you and me.

In those times of darkness when we feel alone we wonder how could God ever forgive me for all of the mistakes I have made, because there has been so many.  Once again we can find comfort in the name of Jesus.  Jesus means “God’s Salvation.”  Last week we celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was born to be God’s plan of salvation for all of His children that He loves dearly.  That plan of salvation included Jesus being born in humble circumstances and die on the cross to save us from all of our sins.  When Jesus died He took away all of your sins and my sins.  He knew what sins all of us were going to commit as He sacrificed Himself for us.

Names are important.  They identify who we are.  We all have names, sometimes we even have nicknames that we go by.  God knew the importance of names.  In the Bible so many of the names had a special meaning or describe the person.  There is no greater name then that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  His name Jesus means, “God’s Salvation.”  Jesus was God’s plan of salvation that was promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.    Jesus is also known as Immanuel, which means, “God with us.”  What a comfort it is to know that God is always with us and we are never alone.  As we start a new year with new joys and blessings, there will also be some hardships.  It’s in those hardships that we can remember that God is there carrying us through those difficult times no matter how alone we feel, because God is with you and me. Amen.