“What’s in a Name?” – Luke 3:15-17; 21-22 (Year C, Baptism of Jesus)
I’ve been thinking lately about baptism. Specifically, the baptism of Jesus.
The story, of course, is that John – the world’s first Baptist – is doing what Baptists do – baptizing people in the Jordan River. Have any of you been baptized as an adult? How about in a river? Anyone here ever been baptized in the Jordan River? I have. And it was COLD!
Well, John is out by the Jordan River baptizing. Jesus comes along and asks to be baptized. So John plunges Jesus into the frigid cold waters of the Jordan. And as Jesus comes up out of the water, something strange happens. The heavens seem to open up, and a dove descends. It lands on Jesus’ shoulder – a sign of the Holy Spirit. And then comes a voice. A voice from heaven.
Do you remember what the voice from heaven said?
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a “bris” ceremony. The name derives from the Hebrew word “berith” which means “covenant.” For a male Jewish child, this is the ceremony in which he is circumcised and made part of the covenant of Israel – the berith. And one of the truly wonderful elements of the service is that, after appropriate blessings are offered by the grandparents on both sides, the parents of the child give him his name. And the name is always one of special meaning – expressing ancient Jewish traditions as well as contemporary family relationships. The naming of the child is always very special, and the name itself has deep significance.
So it is interesting to me that, when Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth, Joseph and Mary gave him the name “Jesus” as the angel had instructed them. But thirty years later, when Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized, God himself got into the act. As with many of our baptismal traditions today, God used that occasion to name his child.
Do you remember what it was?
It was “Beloved.”
God named him, “The Beloved.”
Do you know what the word “beloved” means? It means “dearly loved”. That’s the name God gave Jesus.
And here’s what I think is so special about this name. When you and I were baptized – some of us as children with waters from a font, some as adults by immersion in a tank, some of us even in the Jordan River itself – when we were baptized, we were baptized into the name of Jesus.
You took upon yourself the NAME of Jesus.
Do you see? The spiritual name God has given you…is…what?
“Beloved”.
In fact, some of you may at one time or another have attended a wedding and heard the congregation welcomed this way, “DEARLY BELOVED, we are gathered together here in the sight of God and in the presence of these witnesses to join together…”
Why did the minister call you that?
Why did he call you “Beloved”?
Because that is what God calls you!
That is your name!
Beloved.
Dearly Loved.
And so when those moments of life come along that make you question your value, or fill you with self doubt, or make you wonder if who you are, what you have done, how you have doubted, or even how you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God disqualifies you from God’s acceptance and love, I hope you’ll remember the most important thing about you.
Your NAME.
The name God gave you.
The Beloved.
Dearly Beloved.
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Previously…
“If…Then” – John 2:1-11 (Year C, Second Sunday after Epiphany)
Read the Lectionary Texts One of the first commands computer programmers learn is the "if/then" statement. It's a very simple but very useful command. Here's an example: "IF Marty is a great guy, THEN [READ MORE]
“What’s in a Name?” – Luke 3:15-17; 21-22 (Year C, Baptism of Jesus)
Read the Lectionary Texts I’ve been thinking lately about baptism. Specifically, the baptism of Jesus. The story, of course, is that John - the world's first Baptist - is doing what Baptists do - [READ MORE]
“Reaching for the Invisible God” – John 1:1-18 (Year A, The Second Sunday after Christmas)
Read the Lectionary Texts The opening lines of Howard Thurman's famous Christmas poem well-describe where we need to find ourselves today - at the start of a new year - and one week after the [READ MORE]
“The Gift of Amazement” – Luke 2:41-52 (Year B, First Sunday after Christmas)
Read the Lectionary Texts True story. A family of three is sitting in the booth of a restaurant, talking about the impending birth of a new baby. The mother is obviously far along in her [READ MORE]
“Wrapped in Swaddling Cloths” – Luke 2:1-7 (Christmas Eve)
Read the Text It was just about midnight on Christmas Eve and everyone was commenting on what a beautiful service it had been – with joyful Christmas carols, the telling of the Christmas story, a [READ MORE]
“Embracing the Holy” – Luke 1:39-56 (Year C, Advent 4)
Read the Lectionary Texts Of all the characters in the Christmas story, my favorite is Mary's kinswoman Elizabeth. We are not sure whether she was Mary's aunt or cousin, but we do know that Elizabeth [READ MORE]
“Snake Handling Religion”, Luke 3:7-18 (Year C, Advent 3)
Read the Lectionary Texts I hate snakes. Always have. Always will. For the life of me, I cannot understand people like the late Steve Irwin, the Australian Crocodile Hunter. Steve traveled all around the world [READ MORE]
“Holy Children”, Luke 3:1-6 (Year C, Advent 2)
Read the Lectionary Texts Christmas is all about children. Mind you, I’m not saying that Christmas is FOR children, which is often the observation of grown-ups whose eyes have lost the Christmas sparkle and whose [READ MORE]
A Higher Hope – Jeremiah 33:14-16 (Year C, Advent 1)
Read the Lectionary Texts Let’s sing a little Christmas song together, just to get ourselves re-energized after an exhausting Thanksgiving holiday. We wish you a merry Christmas! We wish you a merry Christmas! We [READ MORE]
“Always Tomorrow” – a Sermon for Reign of Christ Sunday
Read the Lectionary Texts Today is one of those very special Sundays in the Church Year that usually receive little or no attention. The calendars call it “Reign of Christ Sunday” or “Christ The [READ MORE]