CALLED BY NAME
ISAIAH 43: 1-7
LUKE 3: 15-17 & 21-22
January 13, 2019
Those of us who are pet owners get to receive amazing love from God’s creatures who share our homes with us. Well, I am not sure if those of you who own a black skirt tetra or an angelfish truly receive amazing love back from your fish but those pets that are capable of leaning against us and looking up into our eyes somehow have connected with their humans in a special bond perhaps based on the reality that we humans are the source of food and safety more than love but still … come on … our pets truly do love us.
And, we call our pets by name. Fido and Milo … Max and Daisy … and yes, my pets Chelsea and Tyler. Now after all these years of owning pets I have attempted to pick up on what my pets call me but all I get is the purring of Chelsea or her food demanding meows that perhaps include her translation of Dave; “DAVE FEED ME NOW!” If other cats were in the room she just might be “calling me names” to generate cat laughter about her silly human with no hair.
Those of us who are parents carefully choose our children’s names and for the most part all of us accepted the names we were given by our parents. Sometimes with shortcuts … my parents never called me anything but David … well I do remember a David Robert once or twice when I did something wrong; amazing how those middle names get tossed out on such special occasions isn’t it … but because David was the name they gave me that is what I always heard mom and dad call me. Nothing Biblical about it … Davy Crockett was popular at the movies that year. But to all of you and most of my friends I am Dave.
Our names … our identity … some would say personalities are tied to our combination of letters that are then used in our language to create what comes out as the sound of our names … but friends … the God of all Creation knows you for the very person you are. God knows each of us … God loves each human being. And, throughout Scripture we are taught how each of us has been given certain abilities and talents and personal gifts that are uniquely ours … part of how we were formed … our identity that I believe we have within each of us to build up God’s kingdom and to bring others to discover Christ.
We read in the Creation story that humanity … not a specific person nor a privileged group of Homo sapiens but all humanity has been created in God’s own image. In the divine image, God created them, male and female God created them. God blessed them … and God blesses us. We are created in God’s image; the divine image and therefore it makes perfect sense that God is continually calling us to be much more than the world expects..
We sometimes find it easy to disconnect from God’s existence and God’s reality. After all, to the best of my knowledge none of us in this church … actually no one currently living … has walked out into their yards to discover one of their bushes on fire with the voice of God speaking directly to them. It’s easy to hear the morning sounds of a rooster crowing or Alexa saying good morning or an alarm clock buzzing without immediately declaring our love for God. It’s probably easier for most of us to grumble at the alarm than to praise God with our waking breaths, isn’t it?
Even as people of faith … even as people who believe in Jesus Christ … we find it easy to forget what God declares in the Psalms, “I am your God! Every forest animal belongs to me as do the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every mountain bird.”
Jesus in teaching about how the Pharisees had chosen to live in darkness teaches that “not a single sparrow is overlooked by God. And, even the hairs on your head are all counted.” Jesus continues, “Don’t be afraid, You are worth more than many sparrows.”
And, so this morning my friends as we gather here in person or online … it is a good moment; it is a Sunday morning moment … when people like us gather to worship together and to praise God’s name and to remember that even on the days when God is the farthest from our thoughts and actions …. That God is caring for us. That God is watching us. That God is with us. And, that God is calling us by name … we just have to listen; we have to pause in the rush; we need to remember because we are the ones created in the image of God … with a greater purpose than deciding on our breakfast options or whether the minimal snow that has fallen is enough to keep us from even a journey to our day’s planned destinations.
So, this morning I want us to focus just a little bit on that God call. You heard from the prophet Isaiah, “But now says the Lord the one who formed you … don’t fear; for I have redeemed you.”
By the way, have you noticed how frequently in Scripture – God teaches us not to fear … In the Torah, “He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.” And, then there is “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?” And, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Jesus taught, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” And, of course “FEAR NOT for I am with you.”
Yes, it seems that God knew that the world … that other humans … that evil itself would attempt to use fear as a controlling tool to direct us away from God. When the human condition accepts fear as its daily directive then God’s love gets hidden away from the headlines … John writes that there is no fear in perfect love but today’s Scripture is the one I want us to hold onto for a moment and perhaps over lunch you can think about it before the EAGLES play the Saints at 4pm … I want each of us to consider ourselves saints of the church of God … ready to fly on Eagles wings to take on God’s challenges because yes I do believe that each and every day God is calling us by name … you and me … to do amazing things in this world for God’s Kingdom and yes God has a plan for you and me.
If we are in fear … if we are in denial … if we choose to ignore God … oh my I don’t even want to think how frequently I end up ignoring God … but when we are afraid we are forgetting who created us …. When we are pushing away the teachings of Jesus then we are not remembering whose image we are created in … When we ignore God then we are rejecting the obvious because God is evident everywhere we look … even in the snow falling gently from the sky … God is real, God is alive. Can I get an amen to that church?
So, again listen to the words of the prophet because in this Scripture lesson there are words for us to hold onto … “Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”
Jesus Christ my friends … Jesus Christ, remember the baby in the manger? The man who taught … the Son of God baptized by John whom God declared that he deeply loved and found happiness in. Jesus who went from the streets to the cross and out of the empty tomb into heaven … for you and me .. for our salvation .. for the forgiveness of that laundry list of sins we each have committed … that Jesus has redeemed us … we have no reason to fear and God is calling right now because the world needs God’s truth more today than ever ….
God tells the prophet that we are “precious in God’s eyes. We are honored and loved. “ We hear again, “Don’t fear I am with you.” But most importantly … most importantly church … do you remember that quote from Genesis Chapter 1 … do you remember in whose image all of humanity is created … do you remember in whose image you are created … do you remember that God knows the sparrows … he knows the animals in the forest and he knows the hairs on our head … do you recall that church … so most importantly … people of faith there is a call … there is a God who is reaching out to you and to me … there are tasks to be undertaken using the talents and abilities that we each have … no one out there can push us down or make us run or force us into denial when we take on God’s directions … when we allow what we believe in here … church … when we allow what we believe in this building called St. Paul’s … when we allow that belief … our faith … God’s presence in us … Christ in us … the Holy Spirit in us … when we say YES GOD we accept the commandments that matter most to You … then we remember how we are connected with God.
When we love God first and foremost then things begin to change … when our focus is on the messages of God … because the next reality for our lives is that we will stop dissing other people … we will stop hating others because the world tells us that we should hate or fear them … we will stop it because we have heard God and we believe in God’s truth and reality and God has told us what matters to God is to love all of our neighbors and with that love directive from God there is no fear because there is no fear in perfect love.
So, church this morning … the prophet is reminding us again that EVERYONE is CALLED BY GOD’s NAME .. not Pastor Dave’s name or Pastor David’s name … not by your earthly mother or father’s name … not by some king’s name but we are called by GOD’s Holy Name and God tells us that we were created for God’s glory. Formed and made for God in God’s image.
But today God gives us the choice .. the freedom … but don’t you think that God wants us … God’s baptized people to not just revel in the water of our baptism but to accept the Holy Spirit in our lives to be baptized by that Spirit as John taught in our Gospel lesson. Jesus came to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and Fire …
When you hear your name being called by God and answer God then I believe you will sense God finding happiness in what you do for the Kingdom of God. For too long the church has sat back ignoring Jesus teaching … using fear to divide and conquer … and diminishing the possibilities.
Jesus called those disciples by name to become fishers of men … God is calling us by name to bring God’s Light into the world. It’s not easy … it counters the world’s expectations … and it may change your lifestyle but its your name and mine that God is calling out to right now … how will you answer the Creator?
AMEN
Watch a video of today’s worship service: