God is with us

Destiny, Acacia, Lively, Makenna, River – these are baby names that have been pinned recently on defenseless infants. What are the parents thinking?

Many parents want the name to be as special as their child. Celebrities are often good at coming up with unique names for their children. Frank Zappa famously named his daughter Moon Unit and his son Dweezil. Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple. Beyonce and Jay Z gave their daughter the name Blue Ivy. Alicia Silverstone named her son Bear Blu. Tom Cruise has a daughter named Suri, and actor Jason Lee a son named Pilot Inspektor.

Shouldn’t there be a law?

Maybe parents put too much pressure on themselves trying to come up with the perfect name. As Shakespeare famously wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That’s true for flowers, but does it apply to human beings?

Sure, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but new names matter. It is difficult to imagine Marion Morrison as the quintessential cowboy, but his stage name, John Wayne, is just about perfect. Could Reginald Dwight have the popularity of Elton John, or Robert Zimmerman the influence of Bob Dylan?

My wife and I named our son Hamilton Prescott, which are words rooted in olde English. Hamilton means ‘lover of mountains’ and Prescott means ‘lives in the priest’s cottage.’ Turns out the kid does indeed love the mountains and still lives in the priest’s cottage.

New parents Mary and Joseph did not have to come up with a name for the child Mary was carrying. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to name the baby Jesus.

The name Joseph comes from the Hebrew root Yosef, which means, “He will add,” or “God increases.”

When it would have been much easier to separate from Mary and the child she was having, Joseph listened to God and stayed with her. He didn’t take matters into his own hands, but allowed God to work in his life, and the lives of Mary and their child.

At the prompting of God, Joseph names the baby Jesus, takes his family to Egypt when threatened and brings them back when an angel tells him it is safe to do so.

Joseph consistently gets out of the way to make room for God to do God’s work in his life. He allows God to add to him, rather than trying to force his own will, even when God’s plans completely alter the course of his life.

We need to be more like Joseph, someone in whom the presence of God grows large.

Mary’s name is a bit more complicated. If we consider the Egyptian roots of her name, it means “beloved” or “cherished.” In Hebrew, however, her name has a different meaning. The Hebrew word miryam, from which “Mary” comes, means “rebellion.” That may sound cute as the name of an infant, but hardly the name you want for a child in their terrible twos or teens.

In a sense, Mary needs both of those qualities for the work to which she is called. She is the beloved one, cherished of God, who is selected to carry and give birth to the Messiah. When the angel Gabriel first appears to her to tell her about her role in the Christmas story, he calls her “favored one.”

On the other hand, that rebellious streak – the ability to follow her inner voice when others might try to convince her to behave differently – will come in handy throughout her pregnancy.

Her courage allows her to travel to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s when the angel tells her to go. It sustains her through her and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and Jesus’ birth out in a stable. Most importantly, her rebellious nature gives her the ability to say yes to being used by God in this way when she knows the consequences could be dire.

We need to be more like Mary, rebelliously courageous because we know we are loved by God.

While Mary’s pregnancy certainly did not make things easy for her and Joseph, God did take one thing off their plates. They did not have to come up with a name for their child. God gave them the perfect name for him.

You might think God would give this special child a unique name. He could have been named Healer, Teacher, Miracle-Worker, Feeder of Five Thousand, One Who Walks on Water, Forgiver or something like that. Instead, he is given a name that was fairly common among firstcentury Jews.

The angel tells Joseph, “Call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The name Jesus means “he saves” or “he will save us.” As we saw with Joseph’s name, “he will add,” the “he” was usually thought to be God.

First-century Hebrews living under the occupation of Rome named their children Jesus, “he saves,” as a cry to God. It was a way of claiming the promise that God would come and set them free.

In this Jesus, however, the name will take on a new meaning. Jesus will proclaim a new kind of freedom that God is bringing to the whole world. This Jesus is different from the others named “he saves.” He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to save us.

Just to be clear, Jesus’ last name was not and is not “Christ.” Christ is a title, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah.’ He was probably more commonly known as Jesus of Nazareth, as the Roman soldiers put on his cross. Or possibly as Jesus bar Joseph, that is, Jesus son of Joseph. Or, maybe he was known as Jesus the tekton, the handyman or carpenter, as it is sometimes translated.

But, as Peter would later understand in Caesarea Philippi, and as we know today, he is Jesus the Christ. He came to save us from our sins and set us free through our faith and trust in him.

Matthew also gives us another name for Jesus, one we sing throughout the Advent and Christmas season. He tells us that Jesus’ birth fulfills the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”

This title, if not a name, is an important one for us to remember. God was with us in the person of Jesus 2,000 years ago, and God is with us in our lives today. In the midst of our joys and sorrows, we need to remember Immanuel, God is with us.

When naming a baby, parents may stress a little too much, trying to find the perfect name, a unique name or even a stage name.

However, when we come to Christ and give our lives to him, we receive a new name – Christian. There’s much we can learn from the names Joseph, Mary, and Jesus as we seek to live into that title.

• We need to be a little more like Joseph, allowing God to add to our lives by surrendering our will to his.
• We need to be a little more like Mary – perceived as stubborn and rebellious because we know we are a beloved child of God. We need to follow that inner voice of God, calling us to say yes to God’s plan over our own. Let’s remember that Jesus saves us from our sin and offers us true freedom to live life to the fullest as his disciples.

Finally, as we begin the New Year not knowing what the future may hold, let’s remember Immanuel, God is with us. For we never travel alone.