Our True Name
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
(Originally published for December 28, 2008)
This coming Sunday will be final one of 2008, and the media is predictably saturated with the usual "year in review" pieces covering every area from news to business to entertainment. It's no surprise that Time magazine named Barack Obama their "Man of the Year" for 2008 -- but a glance at the headlines shows that's hardly the only "naming" going on. Indeed, it's been a year of name-calling, from the invective of the election campaign to the recent incident where an Iraqi journalist insulted President Bush by calling him a "dog" and throwing his shoes at Bush (a particularly vile insult in Muslim culture). In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member George Reed examines the idea of naming -- of presenting one's identity to the world -- since it's also a key feature of this week's scripture readings. Psalm 148 exhorts us to "praise the name of the Lord" for the vast wonders of creation, and our gospel passage describes Jesus' presentation at the Temple in which Simeon publicly identifies him (in the Nunc Dimittis) as the long-promised Messiah. Team member Steve McCutchan offers additional thoughts, and suggests that by coming together as the church we can avoid becoming a victim of the world. Hard economic times like we're currently experiencing may bring more people into the church, but it's important to remember that there is an abiding permanence to the Lord's presence, and that whatever fate may bring us, his word and wisdom are with us always. As usual, illustrations (including a few for the new year), worship resources, and a children's sermon are also included.
Our True Name
by George Reed
THE WORLD
Shakespeare has Juliet say: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet..." and yet we know that what people call us means a great deal to us. Let's look at the gospel text (Luke 2:22-40) in particular as we see how some naming has gone on in our world this week. The President of the United States was called a "dog" by an Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at Mr. Bush, Barack Obama has been named Time magazine's "Man of the Year," various people have been named to President-elect Obama's newly forming Cabinet, Ottis Toole has been named the murderer of little Adam Walsh, the remains found in a park that have been identified as Caylee Anthony's, and Bernard Madoff apparently traded on his good name to fleece untold folks out of their money.
We see gang colors all around us, folks decked out in numerous tattoos, and bumper stickers galore telling us for whom and for what causes people will vote. We see churches with names like "Saint Matthew's Fire-Baptized, Pentecostal, Bible-Believing Church of the Truly Saved, Independent." Identity is, of course, very important to us as individuals and as groups. We want to be seen as a certain kind of person. I have yet to serve a church where there wasn't at least one person who attended faithfully and yet would not join because they didn't want their name associated with a denomination that held a belief or social stance that they did not share. I suspect they stayed because they knew that there is probably no organization that doesn't espouse something we disagree with from time to time.
Churches are not immune from this need to find a clear identity. More and more congregations are choosing a name that does not include the word "church," hoping to distance themselves from the stigma some folks have assigned to the name. Congregations and even whole groups leave a denomination because their self-identity is not congruent with what they perceive to be the identity of their old denomination. Pastors and other leaders, both clergy and lay, constantly struggle with members whose identity is built on ideals and beliefs that don't match very well with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So what do we do? As preachers, we turn to the word, of course.
THE WORD
The prophet Isaiah exults in God with his whole being because he understands that it is God who brings salvation and righteousness. It is God who is the prime actor in all creation, and especially among the peoples. It is the very "mouth of the Lord" which gives "a new name." In spite of all that is around them and all that others say about them, it is God who gives identity to the people of Israel.
In Galatians we hear the proclamation that we are adopted by God into the Holy Family. We are God's children, and therefore we have the "Spirit of the Son" in our hearts, who cries with our Savior, "Abba! Father." We are not slaves but children and heirs -- and all this is through the action of God.
In Luke, we find that sometimes that identity given by God is shared with us by another person rather than directly from God. Here Simeon and Anna help to shape Mary and Joseph's understanding of who Jesus is and thereby helping them to shape his self-understanding.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
As we begin to pull together the need to find some identity that makes sense both individually and as congregations, we find the biblical witness giving a very clear understanding that our identity can only be given by our Creator. How to address this will depend on one's understanding of how God is active in creating each individual. One can work from the stance that God creates each and every individual according to the work that God sees needs to be done. One can begin with the idea that God is active in creation and calls forth the best that can be created given the time, place, and genetic pool that is available. Or one can begin with the idea that God created the human species, by whatever means, to have certain characteristics. However we understand it, God has called us into creation and we take our identity from the One who created us.
The preacher can certainly start with the world's desire for identity, and then begin to look at any or all of the scriptures for the day. Those with more Celtic leanings can even use the Psalter reading! It should not be too difficult to connect with people's need to have an identity. Unfortunately, for many pastors it will not be too difficult to connect with a congregation's need to find an identity. For many mainline churches, there is a sense of identity loss that is stifling their very life. Because of the recent past and the place they fit in the society, they became identified with the mainstream of that society. Now that society has moved on, they need to come back to scripture and begin the slow and painful work of finding out who they really are now. The good news is that for many congregations the identity is just below the surface waiting to be raised up again. They have been doing what they needed to do as a congregation of Jesus' disciples, but they have forgotten how to articulate why they do what they do. For those congregations who have lost so much in membership and resources that there is little they still do in the way of ministry, it is more difficult. But this sermon can be the start. And on the bright side, if your people don't like it you can be grateful that this is traditionally a very low attendance Sunday! Don't keep the faith, preachers -- give it away.
ANOTHER VIEW
On Not Being a Victim
by Stephen McCutchan
All the events leading up to the celebration of Christmas are behind us. Even if, for a short time, we were able to focus on the excitement of Christmas and entertain the mystery of the birth of Jesus, now we have to return to the everyday world in which we live.
It's not a pretty world to which we turn our attention. One can assume that the market will report that this has been a fairly dismal Christmas for many businesses. We will hear reports of once solid chains closing and a continuing mortgage crisis, the automobile industry still hangs by its fingernails, a major financial figure has been exposed for bilking both the rich and several charities out of their funds, and the governor of a major state has displayed a crass greed that will likely destroy his political career. Corporate executives may receive expensive settlements, but the ordinary person merely faces an economy that is a wreck and the prospect that he or she might lose his or her job, reasonable health insurance, and/or his or her homes.
Does it feel like the powerful people we counted on to hold this world together have failed us miserably and that the ordinary person is the overlooked victim of their arrogance and incompetence? Before you succumb to an attitude of being a helpless victim in the maelstrom of history, let me remind you of what this Christmas event has been all about. It was while Caesar Augustus and all the others who wielded power in that world were making their big decisions that an event in the lives of two peasants in a third-rate colony of that Roman Empire changed the history and the hope of the world. God seems to like to work through the lives of ordinary people.
In Galatians 4:4-7, we hear Paul tell us how the cosmic event of the incarnation has a very personal impact on us as individuals and on all those who are our neighbors. It is easy to lose sight of our own dignity in the eyes of God and consider our lives as an unimportant collection of atoms in a vast and unfeeling universe. By the incarnation we have been adopted into God's family.
If Jesus is affirmed as God's Son, then by adoption we are made the brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God. By that act, our lives are given a value and a dignity that challenges all who would suggest that we are unimportant. We are invited into the family council by which God discusses how we should best live, and we receive the benefits of being a member of God's family. Feel the truth that you are a member of the most important family in the universe.
Sometimes important families try to use their power to obtain special favors, but our most famous brother, Jesus, declared that the character of God's family is to be one who serves others. The cosmic challenge of the incarnation of Christ is to accept the dignity of one who calls God "Abba" and to live in a way that reflects the love of God for the whole world.
As Christians we are "no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God." If our multifaceted crisis has revealed anything, it is how easily we can become slaves of the economic and political powers that seek to direct our lives. Christians have an important message of good news to declare in this turbulent time. No matter who you are or the condition of your life, you are not a victim dependent on the decisions of others. Rather, you are a child of God and a member of the family of God. You have a worthy inheritance that can be spent in a redemptive way in our world. If the current trauma is to be healed, it will be in the discovery that we belong to each other as part of a worthy family of humanity.
Families often have quarrels and bicker among themselves, but in the best of families, they also know how to stick together when an outside force threatens any member of the family. Consider the vast Christian community that is spread across this world and the impact it could have if, as a family, it realized that the true threat to all of us comes not from doctrinal disputes within but from our failure to live as true children of God.
Reach out and touch someone. They are your brother or sister and they hunger to be loved. In the words of 1 John 4:12: "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."
Now that is a Christmas story worth celebrating.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"What's in a name?" Juliet said, musing on the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. Even if Romeo were of that "other" family, so what? She continues; "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet." Perhaps then there is hope for their love. "Romeo, Romeo, doff thy name and for thy name which is no part of thee, take all myself!" Our hope for the young lovers always beats high no matter how many times we read the story; but in the end the cascading, violent anger of the families brings the children both to their tragic ends. Only then can the elders see the folly of their ways. Thus the Holy Name of Jesus is born to us -- the name that says "Savior" all over it; can the cascading, violent anger of our social order learn from Him? Has it ever? Will it ever?
* * *
A wonderful moment exults inside Handel's Messiah when the chorus sings: "And his Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!" How wonderful. The name of Jesus is a name that is above all other names. And it brings with it wonders, wisdom, power, eternity, and above all else it brings Peace. It is inside that moment when the chorus rejoices: "For unto us a child is born, and the Government shall be upon his shoulder." How fanciful is the scripture hope... or is the fanciful name of Jesus the only name under heaven that will really work?
* * *
It is Christmas... and a cold icy grip has seized much of the nation. Like a frozen mantle, snow has fallen; snow on snow. A tempestuous wind swirls about, piling up the snows into prodigious drifts. And the news we hear of the economy, foreign wars, and domestic threats of terror seize us like a hard, hard winter. Shall we huddle in fear or should we rather gather to sing the songs of a Savior's birth? Can Jesus save us from this mess? We've been singing Christmas music for a long, long time -- and not as a backdrop to shopping frenzies. No, it is best sung when we are gathered together in our holy places, huddled together by candlelight, singing in our sometimes untrained voices of the holy humble child in a manger. When we learn to love one another so; then the Holy Name of Jesus' love can save us all! Sing on, sing on all through our Silent Night!
* * *
One has to look at the importance given to the name of Jesus, the Lord, the Christ. But I wonder if a face isn't nearly as important as a name. Speaking of the first successful face transplant in the US, Dr. Maria Siemionow said, "You need the face to face the world". Indeed, a person with significant facial scarring often becomes isolated... nameless, faceless, person-less. If a face transplant restores physiological functions (smiling and the senses of taste and smell), its rejection "would be a living hell," observed one bioethicist.
Being nameless destroys social function, much as being faceless destroys physical function. And both may consign one to invisibility. Jesus' name, and the names of our Judeo-Christian forebears, by contrast, are attested to be powerful. In addition to social function, they bestow spiritual location.
* *
Following are several categories in which naming is given great importance in scripture. The citations are from the gospels and Acts, plus perhaps the most relevant verse, which is found in Philippians:
* named by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:31)
* named at circumcision (Luke 2:21, the verse preceding this week's text)
* we baptize "in the name of" (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 19:5)
* name changes of significance: Abraham, Sarah, Peter, Barnabas (Acts 4:36), Paul
* in the name of:
-- "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (Mark 9:37; Luke 9:48)
-- "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" (Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; Luke 19:38; John 12:13)
-- "... in your name even the demons submit to us!" and healing (Luke 10:17; Acts 3:6; Acts 16:18)
-- "... repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:12; Acts 10:43)
-- "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13; John 15:16; etc.)
-- "... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name." (John 14:26)
-- "And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong." (Acts 3:16; Acts 4:10)
* bear the name of (Mark 9:41; Revelation 22:4)
* believed in his name (John 1:12; John 2:23; John 3:18)
* called on his name (Acts 2:21; 22:16)
* the name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12)
* die for the name of (Acts 21:13)
* persecuted because of the name:
-- "... you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13; Luke 21:17; John 15:21)
-- "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name." (Luke 21:12)
* God's name is holy (Magnificat), hallowed (Lord's Prayer), glorified (John 12:28)
* God's name:
-- "I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26)
-- at the name, every knee shall bow (Philippians 2:10; also alluded to in Romans 14:11; both based on Isaiah 45:23)
-- "they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads." (Revelation 22:4)
* * *
There's an old Jewish fable about an elderly man who spent all his spare time at the edge of his village, planting fig trees. People would ask him, "Old man, why are you planting fig trees? You're going to die before you can eat any of the fruit!"
But the wise old man replied, "I have spent so many happy hours sitting under fig trees and eating their fruit. Those trees were planted by others. Why shouldn't I make sure that others will know the same enjoyment I have had?" Simeon and Anna are like that. They know they will never see the Messiah in his prime, but one look into his infant eyes is enough.
* * *
Simeon and Anna are remembered in part because they were able to recognize the true identity of the promised One when many in Israel never came close. The famous silent film actor Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest in Monte Carlo. He came in third.
* * *
Too often Christians are silent. For instance, the Catholics in France apologized for their silence when the Nazis were rounding up all the Jews during World War II. They knew that they could have spoken up, but they didn't. As a result, in France some 76,000 Jews, including 12,000 children, were taken away to the concentration camps in Germany. And of those 76,000 French Jews, only about 2,500 came out of those camps alive. Perhaps we could learn from Anna and Simeon, who, instead of standing by silently at Jesus' presentation in the temple, publicly announced the significance of Jesus' mission.
* * *
Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins, it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.
-- Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (Vintage Books, 1989)
* * *
We can summarize the paradoxes of time as follows:
The Paradox of the Future: The future does not exist and never has existed, yet it is our most precious possession because it is all we have left. The future is where we will spend the rest of our lives. Since the future does not exist, it cannot be examined or measured.... It can only be studied by means of ideas based on knowledge from the past.
The Paradox of the Past: The past is the source of all our knowledge, including our knowledge of the future. But, despite everything we know about it and even our personal experience with it, we are powerless to improve the past or change it in any way because, by definition, the past no longer exists.
The Paradox of the Present: The present is the only period of time that exists and in which we can think and act, yet it is merely the boundary between the past and the future without any duration or existence of its own. These paradoxes lie at the center of human existence and shape profound dilemmas in our psychic life. After we recognize that we have made a terrible mistake, we can never alter that the fact that we made it.
-- Edward Cornish, The Futurist, July-August 2001
* * *
Don't fear tomorrow, God is there already.
-- anonymous
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! Praise God from the heavens!
People: Praise God, all you angels, all you hosts!
Leader: Let all creation praise our God,
People: for God commanded and they were created.
Leader: Young men and women, old and young alike,
People: Praise the Lord!
OR
Leader: Once we were no people.
People: But now we are the people of God!
Leader: Once we were without identity.
People: But now God has adopted us as children!
Leader: Once we had no future.
People: But now we are the heirs of God with Christ!
OR
Leader: When people curse us,
People: we will bless them.
Leader: When people call us bad names,
People: we will call them Children of God.
Leader: When people won't associate with us,
People: we will open our hearts and doors to them.
Hymns and Songs
"It Is Well With My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
"I Will Trust In The Lord"
found in:
UMH: 464
AAHH: 391
NNBH: 285
NCH: 416
"Lead Me, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
"How Firm A Foundation"
found in:
UMH: 529
H82: 636, 637
AAHH: 146
NNBH: 48
NCH: 407
CH: 618
LBW: 507
"Be Still, My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
"Filled With The Spirit's Power"
found in:
UMH: 537
NCH: 266
LBW: 160
"The Church's One Foundation"
found in:
UMH: 545, 546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
"In Christ There Is No East Or West"
found in:
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439, 440
AAHH: 398, 399
NCH: 394, 395
CH: 687
LBW: 359
"I Am Thine, O Lord"
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
"Wash, O God, Our Sons And Daughters"
(although meant for infant baptism, this hymn has great identity themes)
found in:
UMH: 605
AAHH: 674
CH: 365
"This Is The Spirit's Entry Now"
(another baptismal hymn, but what better speaks of our identity?)
found in:
UMH: 608
LBW: 195
"Something Beautiful"
found in:
CCB: 84
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
"My Life Is In You, Lord'
on album "Shout to the Lord" (c) Integrity Music
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Children's Sermon Starter
If you have some articles around the house or church that are not readily known by children, put them in a sack and ask the children what they are as you pull them out. (You can skip this if you don't have the items.) Then ask them who they are, what they are called. Ask about nicknames. Then share with them that God calls them "sons and daughters of the Most High." Share with them how important they are because God, who is the most important One of all, thinks they are special.
Visuals
A big, tricked-out name tag would be great for today. Leave it blank or fill it in with all kinds of names. You can wear it or have a really big one on an easel.
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us in your own image: Grant us the courage to accept that our identity is based in you and give us the grace to live out the lofty name you have called us; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
You have called us by our true name, God, and have created us and gifted us with all we need to live up to the name. Help us as we praise your Name and hear your Word that we may accept our identity in you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: God our Creator is the One who knows us and names us. Let us confess to God and before one another how we have accepted as our identity what others say about us.
People: God, we have sinned against you and before our sisters and brothers. We have been given an identity in you that rises us up beyond all creation. We have been adopted by you and called your very own children. You have placed in us the Spirit of Jesus so that he has become our elder brother. And yet we view ourselves as having little worth or we think our worth depends on the things we have done or that we own. We have forgotten that you are our creator and our parent who loves us and calls us by our true name. Forgive our foolish ways, and by the power of your Spirit inspire us to live out our identity in you for all to see, so that they may know they too are your children. Amen.
Leader: You are God's children and God will never abandon you or forsake you. In the Name of Christ, you are forgiven. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, because you are not only the creator of the ends of the universe but also because you have created us. You have made us in your image and given your very own Spirit to us. You are the great One, who comes to claim us as your very own children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
God, we have sinned against you and before our sisters and brothers. We have been given an identity in you that rises us up beyond all creation. We have been adopted by you and called your very own children. You have placed in us the Spirit of Jesus so that he has become our elder brother. And yet we view ourselves as having little worth or we think our worth depends on the things we have done or that we own. We have forgotten that you are our creator and our parent who loves us and calls us by our true name. Forgive our foolish ways, and by the power of your Spirit inspire us to live out our identity in you for all to see, so that they may know they too are your children. Amen.
We give you thanks for all the ways you have blessed us as your children. You have given us a beautiful creation, which supplies our needs and is filled with beauty and wonder that feeds our souls. You have given us the love and care of family and friends. You have given us a place in your Church and made us part of your Holy Family.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer up to your loving care those who are on our hearts today. We are aware that many live without knowing you as God, Creator, Parent, and Friend. We know that many allow themselves to be named by others or by their diseases or by their circumstances. As you move among them and call them by their true name, may we be aware of how we can be your presence and call people The Beloved in your Name.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(Or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The Nunc Dimittis
Luke 2:22-40
Good morning! How many of you go to school? (let them answer) I remember when I was going to school at your age, and as the months passed and it got closer and closer to the day we would be dismissed for summer vacation, I would get more and more anxious for the day to come. When the last day of school finally arrived, I couldn't wait for that final bell to ring so I could begin my summer vacation. Do any of you feel that way when the last day of school arrives? (let them answer)
The gospel tells us about a man who felt like that about seeing Jesus. This man's name was Simeon, and he had been waiting many years to see Jesus. God had told him that he would see the Messiah before he died, and he had been waiting and waiting. When Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus into the temple for a ceremony, Simeon knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one that God had promised would come and save all people. He took the baby in his arms and said, "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace." By that he meant that he was now ready to die because the day he had been waiting for was here. God had promised that he would see Jesus, and now he had seen him and could die in peace. (If your church uses the Nunc Dimittis in a liturgy, you can explain that this is the scripture that has given us these words.)
Christmas was this past week. We celebrated the birth of Jesus and we, like Simeon, are very happy that Jesus has been born and that he is part of our lives too. You are not old and ready to die like Simeon, but are you happy that Jesus was born? (let them answer) Yes, of course we are all very happy. Let's tell God how happy we are.
Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven: We are all, like Simeon, very happy that you sent Jesus into the world to save all of us from our sins. Because of him, we can all depart this world in peace whenever you call us to be with you in heaven. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 28, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
This coming Sunday will be final one of 2008, and the media is predictably saturated with the usual "year in review" pieces covering every area from news to business to entertainment. It's no surprise that Time magazine named Barack Obama their "Man of the Year" for 2008 -- but a glance at the headlines shows that's hardly the only "naming" going on. Indeed, it's been a year of name-calling, from the invective of the election campaign to the recent incident where an Iraqi journalist insulted President Bush by calling him a "dog" and throwing his shoes at Bush (a particularly vile insult in Muslim culture). In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member George Reed examines the idea of naming -- of presenting one's identity to the world -- since it's also a key feature of this week's scripture readings. Psalm 148 exhorts us to "praise the name of the Lord" for the vast wonders of creation, and our gospel passage describes Jesus' presentation at the Temple in which Simeon publicly identifies him (in the Nunc Dimittis) as the long-promised Messiah. Team member Steve McCutchan offers additional thoughts, and suggests that by coming together as the church we can avoid becoming a victim of the world. Hard economic times like we're currently experiencing may bring more people into the church, but it's important to remember that there is an abiding permanence to the Lord's presence, and that whatever fate may bring us, his word and wisdom are with us always. As usual, illustrations (including a few for the new year), worship resources, and a children's sermon are also included.
Our True Name
by George Reed
THE WORLD
Shakespeare has Juliet say: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet..." and yet we know that what people call us means a great deal to us. Let's look at the gospel text (Luke 2:22-40) in particular as we see how some naming has gone on in our world this week. The President of the United States was called a "dog" by an Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at Mr. Bush, Barack Obama has been named Time magazine's "Man of the Year," various people have been named to President-elect Obama's newly forming Cabinet, Ottis Toole has been named the murderer of little Adam Walsh, the remains found in a park that have been identified as Caylee Anthony's, and Bernard Madoff apparently traded on his good name to fleece untold folks out of their money.
We see gang colors all around us, folks decked out in numerous tattoos, and bumper stickers galore telling us for whom and for what causes people will vote. We see churches with names like "Saint Matthew's Fire-Baptized, Pentecostal, Bible-Believing Church of the Truly Saved, Independent." Identity is, of course, very important to us as individuals and as groups. We want to be seen as a certain kind of person. I have yet to serve a church where there wasn't at least one person who attended faithfully and yet would not join because they didn't want their name associated with a denomination that held a belief or social stance that they did not share. I suspect they stayed because they knew that there is probably no organization that doesn't espouse something we disagree with from time to time.
Churches are not immune from this need to find a clear identity. More and more congregations are choosing a name that does not include the word "church," hoping to distance themselves from the stigma some folks have assigned to the name. Congregations and even whole groups leave a denomination because their self-identity is not congruent with what they perceive to be the identity of their old denomination. Pastors and other leaders, both clergy and lay, constantly struggle with members whose identity is built on ideals and beliefs that don't match very well with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So what do we do? As preachers, we turn to the word, of course.
THE WORD
The prophet Isaiah exults in God with his whole being because he understands that it is God who brings salvation and righteousness. It is God who is the prime actor in all creation, and especially among the peoples. It is the very "mouth of the Lord" which gives "a new name." In spite of all that is around them and all that others say about them, it is God who gives identity to the people of Israel.
In Galatians we hear the proclamation that we are adopted by God into the Holy Family. We are God's children, and therefore we have the "Spirit of the Son" in our hearts, who cries with our Savior, "Abba! Father." We are not slaves but children and heirs -- and all this is through the action of God.
In Luke, we find that sometimes that identity given by God is shared with us by another person rather than directly from God. Here Simeon and Anna help to shape Mary and Joseph's understanding of who Jesus is and thereby helping them to shape his self-understanding.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
As we begin to pull together the need to find some identity that makes sense both individually and as congregations, we find the biblical witness giving a very clear understanding that our identity can only be given by our Creator. How to address this will depend on one's understanding of how God is active in creating each individual. One can work from the stance that God creates each and every individual according to the work that God sees needs to be done. One can begin with the idea that God is active in creation and calls forth the best that can be created given the time, place, and genetic pool that is available. Or one can begin with the idea that God created the human species, by whatever means, to have certain characteristics. However we understand it, God has called us into creation and we take our identity from the One who created us.
The preacher can certainly start with the world's desire for identity, and then begin to look at any or all of the scriptures for the day. Those with more Celtic leanings can even use the Psalter reading! It should not be too difficult to connect with people's need to have an identity. Unfortunately, for many pastors it will not be too difficult to connect with a congregation's need to find an identity. For many mainline churches, there is a sense of identity loss that is stifling their very life. Because of the recent past and the place they fit in the society, they became identified with the mainstream of that society. Now that society has moved on, they need to come back to scripture and begin the slow and painful work of finding out who they really are now. The good news is that for many congregations the identity is just below the surface waiting to be raised up again. They have been doing what they needed to do as a congregation of Jesus' disciples, but they have forgotten how to articulate why they do what they do. For those congregations who have lost so much in membership and resources that there is little they still do in the way of ministry, it is more difficult. But this sermon can be the start. And on the bright side, if your people don't like it you can be grateful that this is traditionally a very low attendance Sunday! Don't keep the faith, preachers -- give it away.
ANOTHER VIEW
On Not Being a Victim
by Stephen McCutchan
All the events leading up to the celebration of Christmas are behind us. Even if, for a short time, we were able to focus on the excitement of Christmas and entertain the mystery of the birth of Jesus, now we have to return to the everyday world in which we live.
It's not a pretty world to which we turn our attention. One can assume that the market will report that this has been a fairly dismal Christmas for many businesses. We will hear reports of once solid chains closing and a continuing mortgage crisis, the automobile industry still hangs by its fingernails, a major financial figure has been exposed for bilking both the rich and several charities out of their funds, and the governor of a major state has displayed a crass greed that will likely destroy his political career. Corporate executives may receive expensive settlements, but the ordinary person merely faces an economy that is a wreck and the prospect that he or she might lose his or her job, reasonable health insurance, and/or his or her homes.
Does it feel like the powerful people we counted on to hold this world together have failed us miserably and that the ordinary person is the overlooked victim of their arrogance and incompetence? Before you succumb to an attitude of being a helpless victim in the maelstrom of history, let me remind you of what this Christmas event has been all about. It was while Caesar Augustus and all the others who wielded power in that world were making their big decisions that an event in the lives of two peasants in a third-rate colony of that Roman Empire changed the history and the hope of the world. God seems to like to work through the lives of ordinary people.
In Galatians 4:4-7, we hear Paul tell us how the cosmic event of the incarnation has a very personal impact on us as individuals and on all those who are our neighbors. It is easy to lose sight of our own dignity in the eyes of God and consider our lives as an unimportant collection of atoms in a vast and unfeeling universe. By the incarnation we have been adopted into God's family.
If Jesus is affirmed as God's Son, then by adoption we are made the brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God. By that act, our lives are given a value and a dignity that challenges all who would suggest that we are unimportant. We are invited into the family council by which God discusses how we should best live, and we receive the benefits of being a member of God's family. Feel the truth that you are a member of the most important family in the universe.
Sometimes important families try to use their power to obtain special favors, but our most famous brother, Jesus, declared that the character of God's family is to be one who serves others. The cosmic challenge of the incarnation of Christ is to accept the dignity of one who calls God "Abba" and to live in a way that reflects the love of God for the whole world.
As Christians we are "no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God." If our multifaceted crisis has revealed anything, it is how easily we can become slaves of the economic and political powers that seek to direct our lives. Christians have an important message of good news to declare in this turbulent time. No matter who you are or the condition of your life, you are not a victim dependent on the decisions of others. Rather, you are a child of God and a member of the family of God. You have a worthy inheritance that can be spent in a redemptive way in our world. If the current trauma is to be healed, it will be in the discovery that we belong to each other as part of a worthy family of humanity.
Families often have quarrels and bicker among themselves, but in the best of families, they also know how to stick together when an outside force threatens any member of the family. Consider the vast Christian community that is spread across this world and the impact it could have if, as a family, it realized that the true threat to all of us comes not from doctrinal disputes within but from our failure to live as true children of God.
Reach out and touch someone. They are your brother or sister and they hunger to be loved. In the words of 1 John 4:12: "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."
Now that is a Christmas story worth celebrating.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"What's in a name?" Juliet said, musing on the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. Even if Romeo were of that "other" family, so what? She continues; "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet." Perhaps then there is hope for their love. "Romeo, Romeo, doff thy name and for thy name which is no part of thee, take all myself!" Our hope for the young lovers always beats high no matter how many times we read the story; but in the end the cascading, violent anger of the families brings the children both to their tragic ends. Only then can the elders see the folly of their ways. Thus the Holy Name of Jesus is born to us -- the name that says "Savior" all over it; can the cascading, violent anger of our social order learn from Him? Has it ever? Will it ever?
* * *
A wonderful moment exults inside Handel's Messiah when the chorus sings: "And his Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!" How wonderful. The name of Jesus is a name that is above all other names. And it brings with it wonders, wisdom, power, eternity, and above all else it brings Peace. It is inside that moment when the chorus rejoices: "For unto us a child is born, and the Government shall be upon his shoulder." How fanciful is the scripture hope... or is the fanciful name of Jesus the only name under heaven that will really work?
* * *
It is Christmas... and a cold icy grip has seized much of the nation. Like a frozen mantle, snow has fallen; snow on snow. A tempestuous wind swirls about, piling up the snows into prodigious drifts. And the news we hear of the economy, foreign wars, and domestic threats of terror seize us like a hard, hard winter. Shall we huddle in fear or should we rather gather to sing the songs of a Savior's birth? Can Jesus save us from this mess? We've been singing Christmas music for a long, long time -- and not as a backdrop to shopping frenzies. No, it is best sung when we are gathered together in our holy places, huddled together by candlelight, singing in our sometimes untrained voices of the holy humble child in a manger. When we learn to love one another so; then the Holy Name of Jesus' love can save us all! Sing on, sing on all through our Silent Night!
* * *
One has to look at the importance given to the name of Jesus, the Lord, the Christ. But I wonder if a face isn't nearly as important as a name. Speaking of the first successful face transplant in the US, Dr. Maria Siemionow said, "You need the face to face the world". Indeed, a person with significant facial scarring often becomes isolated... nameless, faceless, person-less. If a face transplant restores physiological functions (smiling and the senses of taste and smell), its rejection "would be a living hell," observed one bioethicist.
Being nameless destroys social function, much as being faceless destroys physical function. And both may consign one to invisibility. Jesus' name, and the names of our Judeo-Christian forebears, by contrast, are attested to be powerful. In addition to social function, they bestow spiritual location.
* *
Following are several categories in which naming is given great importance in scripture. The citations are from the gospels and Acts, plus perhaps the most relevant verse, which is found in Philippians:
* named by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:31)
* named at circumcision (Luke 2:21, the verse preceding this week's text)
* we baptize "in the name of" (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 19:5)
* name changes of significance: Abraham, Sarah, Peter, Barnabas (Acts 4:36), Paul
* in the name of:
-- "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (Mark 9:37; Luke 9:48)
-- "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" (Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; Luke 19:38; John 12:13)
-- "... in your name even the demons submit to us!" and healing (Luke 10:17; Acts 3:6; Acts 16:18)
-- "... repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:12; Acts 10:43)
-- "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13; John 15:16; etc.)
-- "... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name." (John 14:26)
-- "And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong." (Acts 3:16; Acts 4:10)
* bear the name of (Mark 9:41; Revelation 22:4)
* believed in his name (John 1:12; John 2:23; John 3:18)
* called on his name (Acts 2:21; 22:16)
* the name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12)
* die for the name of (Acts 21:13)
* persecuted because of the name:
-- "... you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13; Luke 21:17; John 15:21)
-- "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name." (Luke 21:12)
* God's name is holy (Magnificat), hallowed (Lord's Prayer), glorified (John 12:28)
* God's name:
-- "I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26)
-- at the name, every knee shall bow (Philippians 2:10; also alluded to in Romans 14:11; both based on Isaiah 45:23)
-- "they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads." (Revelation 22:4)
* * *
There's an old Jewish fable about an elderly man who spent all his spare time at the edge of his village, planting fig trees. People would ask him, "Old man, why are you planting fig trees? You're going to die before you can eat any of the fruit!"
But the wise old man replied, "I have spent so many happy hours sitting under fig trees and eating their fruit. Those trees were planted by others. Why shouldn't I make sure that others will know the same enjoyment I have had?" Simeon and Anna are like that. They know they will never see the Messiah in his prime, but one look into his infant eyes is enough.
* * *
Simeon and Anna are remembered in part because they were able to recognize the true identity of the promised One when many in Israel never came close. The famous silent film actor Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest in Monte Carlo. He came in third.
* * *
Too often Christians are silent. For instance, the Catholics in France apologized for their silence when the Nazis were rounding up all the Jews during World War II. They knew that they could have spoken up, but they didn't. As a result, in France some 76,000 Jews, including 12,000 children, were taken away to the concentration camps in Germany. And of those 76,000 French Jews, only about 2,500 came out of those camps alive. Perhaps we could learn from Anna and Simeon, who, instead of standing by silently at Jesus' presentation in the temple, publicly announced the significance of Jesus' mission.
* * *
Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins, it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.
-- Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (Vintage Books, 1989)
* * *
We can summarize the paradoxes of time as follows:
The Paradox of the Future: The future does not exist and never has existed, yet it is our most precious possession because it is all we have left. The future is where we will spend the rest of our lives. Since the future does not exist, it cannot be examined or measured.... It can only be studied by means of ideas based on knowledge from the past.
The Paradox of the Past: The past is the source of all our knowledge, including our knowledge of the future. But, despite everything we know about it and even our personal experience with it, we are powerless to improve the past or change it in any way because, by definition, the past no longer exists.
The Paradox of the Present: The present is the only period of time that exists and in which we can think and act, yet it is merely the boundary between the past and the future without any duration or existence of its own. These paradoxes lie at the center of human existence and shape profound dilemmas in our psychic life. After we recognize that we have made a terrible mistake, we can never alter that the fact that we made it.
-- Edward Cornish, The Futurist, July-August 2001
* * *
Don't fear tomorrow, God is there already.
-- anonymous
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! Praise God from the heavens!
People: Praise God, all you angels, all you hosts!
Leader: Let all creation praise our God,
People: for God commanded and they were created.
Leader: Young men and women, old and young alike,
People: Praise the Lord!
OR
Leader: Once we were no people.
People: But now we are the people of God!
Leader: Once we were without identity.
People: But now God has adopted us as children!
Leader: Once we had no future.
People: But now we are the heirs of God with Christ!
OR
Leader: When people curse us,
People: we will bless them.
Leader: When people call us bad names,
People: we will call them Children of God.
Leader: When people won't associate with us,
People: we will open our hearts and doors to them.
Hymns and Songs
"It Is Well With My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
"I Will Trust In The Lord"
found in:
UMH: 464
AAHH: 391
NNBH: 285
NCH: 416
"Lead Me, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
"How Firm A Foundation"
found in:
UMH: 529
H82: 636, 637
AAHH: 146
NNBH: 48
NCH: 407
CH: 618
LBW: 507
"Be Still, My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
"Filled With The Spirit's Power"
found in:
UMH: 537
NCH: 266
LBW: 160
"The Church's One Foundation"
found in:
UMH: 545, 546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
"In Christ There Is No East Or West"
found in:
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439, 440
AAHH: 398, 399
NCH: 394, 395
CH: 687
LBW: 359
"I Am Thine, O Lord"
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
"Wash, O God, Our Sons And Daughters"
(although meant for infant baptism, this hymn has great identity themes)
found in:
UMH: 605
AAHH: 674
CH: 365
"This Is The Spirit's Entry Now"
(another baptismal hymn, but what better speaks of our identity?)
found in:
UMH: 608
LBW: 195
"Something Beautiful"
found in:
CCB: 84
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
"My Life Is In You, Lord'
on album "Shout to the Lord" (c) Integrity Music
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Children's Sermon Starter
If you have some articles around the house or church that are not readily known by children, put them in a sack and ask the children what they are as you pull them out. (You can skip this if you don't have the items.) Then ask them who they are, what they are called. Ask about nicknames. Then share with them that God calls them "sons and daughters of the Most High." Share with them how important they are because God, who is the most important One of all, thinks they are special.
Visuals
A big, tricked-out name tag would be great for today. Leave it blank or fill it in with all kinds of names. You can wear it or have a really big one on an easel.
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us in your own image: Grant us the courage to accept that our identity is based in you and give us the grace to live out the lofty name you have called us; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
You have called us by our true name, God, and have created us and gifted us with all we need to live up to the name. Help us as we praise your Name and hear your Word that we may accept our identity in you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: God our Creator is the One who knows us and names us. Let us confess to God and before one another how we have accepted as our identity what others say about us.
People: God, we have sinned against you and before our sisters and brothers. We have been given an identity in you that rises us up beyond all creation. We have been adopted by you and called your very own children. You have placed in us the Spirit of Jesus so that he has become our elder brother. And yet we view ourselves as having little worth or we think our worth depends on the things we have done or that we own. We have forgotten that you are our creator and our parent who loves us and calls us by our true name. Forgive our foolish ways, and by the power of your Spirit inspire us to live out our identity in you for all to see, so that they may know they too are your children. Amen.
Leader: You are God's children and God will never abandon you or forsake you. In the Name of Christ, you are forgiven. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, because you are not only the creator of the ends of the universe but also because you have created us. You have made us in your image and given your very own Spirit to us. You are the great One, who comes to claim us as your very own children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
God, we have sinned against you and before our sisters and brothers. We have been given an identity in you that rises us up beyond all creation. We have been adopted by you and called your very own children. You have placed in us the Spirit of Jesus so that he has become our elder brother. And yet we view ourselves as having little worth or we think our worth depends on the things we have done or that we own. We have forgotten that you are our creator and our parent who loves us and calls us by our true name. Forgive our foolish ways, and by the power of your Spirit inspire us to live out our identity in you for all to see, so that they may know they too are your children. Amen.
We give you thanks for all the ways you have blessed us as your children. You have given us a beautiful creation, which supplies our needs and is filled with beauty and wonder that feeds our souls. You have given us the love and care of family and friends. You have given us a place in your Church and made us part of your Holy Family.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer up to your loving care those who are on our hearts today. We are aware that many live without knowing you as God, Creator, Parent, and Friend. We know that many allow themselves to be named by others or by their diseases or by their circumstances. As you move among them and call them by their true name, may we be aware of how we can be your presence and call people The Beloved in your Name.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(Or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The Nunc Dimittis
Luke 2:22-40
Good morning! How many of you go to school? (let them answer) I remember when I was going to school at your age, and as the months passed and it got closer and closer to the day we would be dismissed for summer vacation, I would get more and more anxious for the day to come. When the last day of school finally arrived, I couldn't wait for that final bell to ring so I could begin my summer vacation. Do any of you feel that way when the last day of school arrives? (let them answer)
The gospel tells us about a man who felt like that about seeing Jesus. This man's name was Simeon, and he had been waiting many years to see Jesus. God had told him that he would see the Messiah before he died, and he had been waiting and waiting. When Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus into the temple for a ceremony, Simeon knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one that God had promised would come and save all people. He took the baby in his arms and said, "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace." By that he meant that he was now ready to die because the day he had been waiting for was here. God had promised that he would see Jesus, and now he had seen him and could die in peace. (If your church uses the Nunc Dimittis in a liturgy, you can explain that this is the scripture that has given us these words.)
Christmas was this past week. We celebrated the birth of Jesus and we, like Simeon, are very happy that Jesus has been born and that he is part of our lives too. You are not old and ready to die like Simeon, but are you happy that Jesus was born? (let them answer) Yes, of course we are all very happy. Let's tell God how happy we are.
Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven: We are all, like Simeon, very happy that you sent Jesus into the world to save all of us from our sins. Because of him, we can all depart this world in peace whenever you call us to be with you in heaven. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 28, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
