“What’s In a Name?”

Pineda Presbyterian Church

December 18, 2016

SERMON - “What’s In a Name?”

Luke 1:26-38

“Call me Ishmael.”  They say that’s one of the best known sentences in the English language and certainly in American literature.  That name sets the mood for that first paragraph of Moby Dick, and seamlessly leads us into one of the moist fascinating stories ever told.

My name is James Stewart Crawford.  James was the name of my paternal grandfather.  I’m not sure where the Stewart came from, but it’s spelled the Scottish way with an “ew.” Crawford is my family surname.  Crawford originates from the town of Crawford and Castle Crawford that goes back to 1175.  The town was one of the most strategically placed communities in southern Scotland, a bulwark against English invaders.  In 1215 the Lindsay family inherited the place through the marriage of a Lindsay to the younger daughter of John Crawford who as they say “died without male issue.” And in 1398, the Scottish King Robert II named David Lindsay the first Earl of Crawford.  Just as an aside, Robert II was the first of the Stewart dynasty of Scottish kings.

Had enough?

Well, just a little more.  My grandfather emigrated from Scotland to County Antrim, Northern Ireland to take a job working for Lord Antrim.  Crawford may be the most common surname in County Antrim.  That’s because a lot of Crawford’s joined William of Orange (also known as King William III of England) in crossing over to Ireland at a point which is now in County Antrim to defeat the Roman Catholic forces of the English King James II (aligned with France) in 1690.  William encouraged the Scots who joined him to populate Ireland, and so many Crawford’s stayed on.  And so the “Irish troubles” began.

So, although my father came here from Ireland, the Crawford family name is an ancient Scot’s name. 

Names are important.  In our lesson this morning from Luke we are told three names applied to the son of Mary:  “Jesus,” “Son of the Most High,” and “Son of God.”  In the Matthew lesson which was read earlier he is also called “Messiah” and “Emmanuel.”  If you’re thinking of all those other names that are sung in Handel’s Messiah, they are actually from the Hebrew scripture in the words of the prophet Isaiah:  “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” They’re not found in the New Testament.

Names were very important in the ancient world.  A name was thought to be the strongest descriptor of one’s personality. Moreover, if you named someone, you were thought to have dominion over them.  Hence in Genesis 2 when Adam named all the creatures of the earth he established his dominion over all the earth.  The name of God in Hebrew is a symbolic representation of God and was not to be uttered.  They developed names that referred to “The Name.”

When we approach the birth of Jesus, something changes.  The name of Jesus and the name of God are inextricably linked in the New Testament.  “Jesus,” which the angel says is to be the name of the child, was not an unknown name.  It’s essentially a Greek transliteration of the old name “Joshua.”  The name means “the Lord is salvation,” or “the Lord saves.” “Christ” imply means “the anointed one” and ties Jesus to the royal line of David’s throne. 

The names or titles that directly change things are “Emmanuel,” “Son of God,” and “Son of the Most High.”  Not only are Jesus and God united in these terms, with the name “Emmanuel” we are told that now God is with us.  God is among us.  God is here. 

Some have mistakenly wanted to cling to magic when it comes to the name of Jesus.  We are told over and over to believe in the name of Jesus.  That doesn’t mean that “Jesus” is some magic word.  To believe in the name of someone is to believe in what they do; to believe in their way of life; to want to live as they lived.  Someone’s name was simply the written down or spoken descriptor of who they were and what they did.  It was a descriptor of the person’s essence.  To believe in Jesus or the name of Jesus means that you accept Jesus as the redeemer and messiah and that you too will live as he lived, love as he loved. 

Throughout the New Testament things are said about Jesus that historically and consistently were only said about God.  In the Hebrew scriptures it is not always clear that the presence of God is a blessing.  In Isaiah 7 when the prophet is talking with King Ahaz he gives this prophecy: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [v 14].”  Some scholars feel that was a warning, not a blessing. 

The most vivid description of what it might mean to have the Lord in our midst is Amos’ description of the day of the Lord:  

“Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? [Amos 5.18-20].”

Are you sure you want “God with us?”

We know that in Jesus the God who is with us was not a warning or a curse but rather a blessing.  God has come among us to bring us back to God.  In the end it requires a terrible and mighty sacrifice.  Only God could bring triumph for our sakes from that terrible sacrifice. 

His name is “Emmanuel,” which means God is with us. 

Hopefully this sermon isn’t simply an academic word study.  There’s one more name used in the New Testament that is very important because it describes who you and I are supposed to be.   In Acts 11:26 we read: “… it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.”

We call ourselves “Christians.”  It may be the most common word we use when we talk about one another.  It’s only mentioned 3 times in the New Testament. 

Here’s the thing.  The followers of Jesus didn’t call themselves “Christians.”  Jews wouldn’t have called these followers of Jesus “Christians” because the name implies followers of a Jewish messiah.  That wouldn’t have been acceptable to traditional Jews.  The term was most likely coined by Romans or other pagans to describe this new cult that wasn’t Jewish and also wasn’t following one of the many pagan gods.  It was probably a derogatory name referring to those people who followed that criminal who had been crucified back in Jerusalem. 

Is that the name by which you want to be known?  All of those pretty words and names sound so regal and are so acceptable to us:  “Jesus,” “Son of the Most High,” “Son of God,” “Messiah,” “Emmanuel,” “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace.”

A man from Nazareth crucified as a common criminal. 

That’s who Christians are:  followers of a man from Nazareth crucified as a common criminal. 

In just one more week we shall come together to celebrate the first coming of Jesus, the first arrival of “God with us.”  We want to sing out and praise the person described by all those words from Isaiah and the Gospels.  That’s OK.  That’s more than OK:  that’s an appropriate response to the grace of God that came to us in Jesus our Lord.  But as you sing your hallelujahs and enjoy your festive meals, don’t forget for even a moment that as Paul constantly reminds us we preach a Christ crucified. 

That’s not a downer to remember at Christmas time.  It’s a reminder of the victory that God gave to Jesus and to us for our sakes.  In the eyes of some, just as was the case in that first century, we are fools and worse.  We know better.  We know that in the birth we celebrate and the death and resurrection that follows we have been visited by God.  And we know that in celebrating his birth, we acknowledge and  live in the hope of his return.

God is with us.

Thanks be to God.