I’m sure you’ve all heard some variation of the question: “What’s in a name?” Well, I hope to
convince you that the answer to this question is, “Quite a lot!” Many of us have given great
forethought to what we’ll name our own children. There are all kinds of books out there at Border’s
or Barnes and Noble that give the etymology and history of a wide variety of names.
But in today’s readings we have the proclamation of two profoundly important names in human
history. I first want to say that, because of our Fruit-full luncheon and the rehearsal for the
Christmas pageant, my sermon for today has been shortened by about a third (please hold your
applause). So our focus is going to be clear and simple this morning.
We’re going to focus mainly on 2 of the names given to our Savior. These two names are especially
significant because Jesus himself is the fulfillment of what these names declare. The first name
signifies the Lord’s nature, and the second signifies His office.
The first name is Emmanuel. We see it in today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah, and then again in
the Matthew Gospel. Isaiah says, “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, a young woman is
with child and shall bear a son,
and shall name him Immanuel.” And then St. Matthew appropriates this prophecy for Jesus.
Matthew really specialized in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in Jesus of Nazareth. So
after his account of how the angel of the Lord gave instructions to Joseph on what to name their
expected baby, Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord
through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him
Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Now let me clear up one little point of controversy straight away. You’ll notice that the Isaiah reading
refers to the mother of this child simply as a young woman, and Matthew refers to her as a virgin.
The word used in the Hebrew is an unusual word that sort of defies a simple translation. The NRSV
just renders it as “young woman.” This has caused some to feel uneasy. The linguistic explanation
is very complex and involves the process of elimination of other possible words that could have been
used. If I got into all the details we might find ourselves missing our Fruit-full luncheon. So I’ll just
say that the word “virgin” is a good translation of the Hebrew word. Contrary to what some have
said, I believe Isaiah really was prophesying a miraculous birth befitting the nature of the baby to be
born.
And that nature is what I want to address next. Emmanuel means “God with us.” Matthew, a direct
disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness to His glory, is very clear about what this means. “God with us”
refers very plainly to the fact that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Matthew’s saying the Creator
of the universe, who grieved the loss of relationship with his people after we rebelled against Him,
came to the Milky Way galaxy, to this solar system, right to the planet earth, concentrating His
presence in a little baby, miraculously born in a Middle Eastern city, in a stable, because “there was
no room for them in the inn.”
You see, “God is with us” means more than that He’s all around us. It means more than that he
suffuses His creation with His presence. It means that God deliberately came to us in human form to
show us how to live, to teach us His ways, to show us His love, and to pay the ultimate price of death
itself to clean our slate and help us start anew with Him. St. John says that the Word was God
himself who became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Creed we’ll recite in a few moments tells us
what this means. “Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from
God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and
for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate
from the virgin Mary, and was made man.” These are not just words, but from day one they’ve been
a core belief in the Christian faith.
Do you want a strong foundation for your faith and hope? Then just remember in your heart the
truth of our Savior’s divinity. He’s fully God and fully man. All power on heaven and on earth is his,
and no one can pluck you out of his hand.
“God is with us” here and now. We can’t see Him right now, but if we make room for Him in the inn of
our hearts, he’ll make a home with us forever and ever, and one day we will see Him face to face.
The other name of our Lord is of course the name we commonly know him by. Jesus. Y’shua, if you
prefer the Aramaic. St. Matthew writes that the angel told Joseph, “Mary will bear a son, and you are
to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “Savior.”
“God saves.” “God is salvation.” “He will save his people from their sins.”
Bishop J. C. Ryle writes of this powerfully. Listen to his words. “Jesus saves us from the guilt of sin
by washing them in is own atoning blood. He saves us from the dominion of sin by putting in their
hearts the sanctifying Spirit. He saves us from the presence of sin when he takes us out of this
world to rest with him. He will save us from all the consequences of sin when he shall give them a
glorious body at the last day. Blessed and holy are Christ’s people! From sorrow, cross and conflict
they are not saved. But they are saved from sin for evermore. They are cleansed from guilt by
Christ’s blood. They are made meet for heaven by Christ’s Spirit. This is salvation.”
How many times has the Accuser made us feel as if we simply have been too bad to show our faces
at church on Sunday morning. That we’ve had some thought, or said words to someone that are
unforgivable. Maybe that we’ve rumbled into church after having a big argument with a family
member. We don’t feel spiritual at all, and we feel like a complete hypocrite coming to church and
forcing a smile. But the truth is, Jesus died to atone for each and every one of these things, no
matter how wretched they seem. No sin you’ve committed is beyond the salvation and healing that
come from Jesus. No skeleton in your closet is beyond redemption. Nothing can separate you from
the love of Christ! Forgiveness is yours for the asking, and salvation is yours because of the work
of Jesus, that One born in a manger 2000 years ago. Thanks be to God, who is salvation!!
Tomorrow evening we celebrate the Holy Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we prepare the inn of
our hearts for His arrival, may we delight in the words of the angel of the Lord: “I bring you good
tidings of great joy, for unto us a child is born.” This child has two names. They’re names that are
bigger than any mere words can contain. Emmanuel and Jesus. God is with us, and God saves us.
What better tidings can we ever hope to receive than this?
Amen.
convince you that the answer to this question is, “Quite a lot!” Many of us have given great
forethought to what we’ll name our own children. There are all kinds of books out there at Border’s
or Barnes and Noble that give the etymology and history of a wide variety of names.
But in today’s readings we have the proclamation of two profoundly important names in human
history. I first want to say that, because of our Fruit-full luncheon and the rehearsal for the
Christmas pageant, my sermon for today has been shortened by about a third (please hold your
applause). So our focus is going to be clear and simple this morning.
We’re going to focus mainly on 2 of the names given to our Savior. These two names are especially
significant because Jesus himself is the fulfillment of what these names declare. The first name
signifies the Lord’s nature, and the second signifies His office.
The first name is Emmanuel. We see it in today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah, and then again in
the Matthew Gospel. Isaiah says, “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, a young woman is
with child and shall bear a son,
and shall name him Immanuel.” And then St. Matthew appropriates this prophecy for Jesus.
Matthew really specialized in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in Jesus of Nazareth. So
after his account of how the angel of the Lord gave instructions to Joseph on what to name their
expected baby, Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord
through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him
Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Now let me clear up one little point of controversy straight away. You’ll notice that the Isaiah reading
refers to the mother of this child simply as a young woman, and Matthew refers to her as a virgin.
The word used in the Hebrew is an unusual word that sort of defies a simple translation. The NRSV
just renders it as “young woman.” This has caused some to feel uneasy. The linguistic explanation
is very complex and involves the process of elimination of other possible words that could have been
used. If I got into all the details we might find ourselves missing our Fruit-full luncheon. So I’ll just
say that the word “virgin” is a good translation of the Hebrew word. Contrary to what some have
said, I believe Isaiah really was prophesying a miraculous birth befitting the nature of the baby to be
born.
And that nature is what I want to address next. Emmanuel means “God with us.” Matthew, a direct
disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness to His glory, is very clear about what this means. “God with us”
refers very plainly to the fact that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Matthew’s saying the Creator
of the universe, who grieved the loss of relationship with his people after we rebelled against Him,
came to the Milky Way galaxy, to this solar system, right to the planet earth, concentrating His
presence in a little baby, miraculously born in a Middle Eastern city, in a stable, because “there was
no room for them in the inn.”
You see, “God is with us” means more than that He’s all around us. It means more than that he
suffuses His creation with His presence. It means that God deliberately came to us in human form to
show us how to live, to teach us His ways, to show us His love, and to pay the ultimate price of death
itself to clean our slate and help us start anew with Him. St. John says that the Word was God
himself who became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Creed we’ll recite in a few moments tells us
what this means. “Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from
God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and
for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate
from the virgin Mary, and was made man.” These are not just words, but from day one they’ve been
a core belief in the Christian faith.
Do you want a strong foundation for your faith and hope? Then just remember in your heart the
truth of our Savior’s divinity. He’s fully God and fully man. All power on heaven and on earth is his,
and no one can pluck you out of his hand.
“God is with us” here and now. We can’t see Him right now, but if we make room for Him in the inn of
our hearts, he’ll make a home with us forever and ever, and one day we will see Him face to face.
The other name of our Lord is of course the name we commonly know him by. Jesus. Y’shua, if you
prefer the Aramaic. St. Matthew writes that the angel told Joseph, “Mary will bear a son, and you are
to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “Savior.”
“God saves.” “God is salvation.” “He will save his people from their sins.”
Bishop J. C. Ryle writes of this powerfully. Listen to his words. “Jesus saves us from the guilt of sin
by washing them in is own atoning blood. He saves us from the dominion of sin by putting in their
hearts the sanctifying Spirit. He saves us from the presence of sin when he takes us out of this
world to rest with him. He will save us from all the consequences of sin when he shall give them a
glorious body at the last day. Blessed and holy are Christ’s people! From sorrow, cross and conflict
they are not saved. But they are saved from sin for evermore. They are cleansed from guilt by
Christ’s blood. They are made meet for heaven by Christ’s Spirit. This is salvation.”
How many times has the Accuser made us feel as if we simply have been too bad to show our faces
at church on Sunday morning. That we’ve had some thought, or said words to someone that are
unforgivable. Maybe that we’ve rumbled into church after having a big argument with a family
member. We don’t feel spiritual at all, and we feel like a complete hypocrite coming to church and
forcing a smile. But the truth is, Jesus died to atone for each and every one of these things, no
matter how wretched they seem. No sin you’ve committed is beyond the salvation and healing that
come from Jesus. No skeleton in your closet is beyond redemption. Nothing can separate you from
the love of Christ! Forgiveness is yours for the asking, and salvation is yours because of the work
of Jesus, that One born in a manger 2000 years ago. Thanks be to God, who is salvation!!
Tomorrow evening we celebrate the Holy Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we prepare the inn of
our hearts for His arrival, may we delight in the words of the angel of the Lord: “I bring you good
tidings of great joy, for unto us a child is born.” This child has two names. They’re names that are
bigger than any mere words can contain. Emmanuel and Jesus. God is with us, and God saves us.
What better tidings can we ever hope to receive than this?
Amen.
What’s in a Name?
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2007
Fr. Dan Tuton
Fr. Dan Tuton