From the Pastor

“… an angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:20-21.

Why are you named the way you are named? Are you named after one of your parents as I am? My father is named James. My son, Jakob, didn’t fall far from the tree. Jakob and James are really the same name; James is the English form of the Hebrew name Jakob.

There’s probably a story in your name somewhere. This is certainly true when it comes to names in the Bible. Take the name Jacob, for example. It means one who comes on the heal or a usurper. That’s the story in a nutshell. Jacob is a twin who is born grasping the heal of his brother Esau. He eventually tricks his elder brother out of his birthright, and his father’s blessing. Later on, Jacob will wrestle a messenger of God for a blessing, and he will receive a new name, Israel (the one who strives with God). You can read the whole story in the book of Genesis, starting at chapter 25.

What’s the story behind your name?

Names are much more active things than we would first imagine. We think of names as being proper nouns. But in reality, and certainly in scripture, names are more like verbs, action words. The name speaks what the named does. This is especially true of the cryptic self-revelation of God’s own name that we find in Exodus 3:13-22.

Here Moses asks God what name he should give if the Israelites ask who has sent him. God says “I AM WHO I AM.” Other readings may be “I AM WHAT I AM” or “I AM WHAT I WILL BE.” Later on we read that God will be called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. This God who called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery is the same God who called Abraham with mission and promise. A promise God revealed in Isaac and continued in Jacob, a promise now to be fulfilled through the escape from Egypt, the giving of the Law and the dwelling in the land of God’s giving. Because of this, God’s name is a verb. God is known by what God has done, is doing and will do in human history.

The same is true in Jesus, which means the LORD saves. In Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses; the God who freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt; has acted again for the sake of the whole world. In Jesus, God saves God’s people from their sins, and when this God raises Jesus from the dead, God turns death into life.

The season of Advent (from now, until Christmas) is especially suited to calling to our mind, the great things God has done and still is doing for the sake of the world God loves so much. During this time, we will hear a lot of names for what God is doing: Jesus, Emmanuel (God with us), and so on. This is also a way to invite friends and family members, neighbors and co-workers into deeper relationship with this God who is made known by what God does for us.

May God bless your month, and may God reveal in your hearts and lives the true meaning of the name Jesus.