During our last two confirmation classes, we have been learning about God’s commandments. We talked about how the commandments aren’t weapons that God uses against us, but that they create healthy boundaries for our relationships with God and with each other. Anne Marie shared with our youth how the cross reminds us that we are in relationship with God and with each other. We talked about how the vertical beam is the connection between us and God, and the horizontal beam is the connection between all of us as God’s children.
One of the challenges of teaching about faith is that sometimes faith and our religious practices can feel abstract or disconnected from our everyday lives. It can feel like being a Christian is only about having a particular set of beliefs, following specific instructions or rules, or that it’s only part of Sunday morning. But faith is never so compartmented. God is with us in every part of our lives. And faith is never merely intellectual, it is always a matter of the heart, and while it is never private, it is always personal.
Today, the prophet Isaiah makes sure we know that the Lord speaks to each one of us, particularly. And, as the Lord speaks, the language is personal. The Lord is not speaking in vague generalities, but directly to those whom he has created.
The Book of Isaiah is divided into three parts, and our reading is from the second section. These chapters, from 40 to 55, are addressed to Israel as they remain in exile in Babylon and contain hope and encouragement for the people of God.
In the very first verse of our reading, we hear God’s assurance, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (43:1)
Author Madeleine L’Engle
writes this about naming,
“To name is to love. To be Named is to be loved.” [i]
When God says God names us, God names us God’s own - beloved, forgiven, and free. Just as in baptism, at the font, God makes us God’s own children, and adopts us into God’s family, Isaiah says that God names us and we belong to God.
Naming is powerful.
L’Engle tells the story of how her name sometimes was taken from her when an interviewer addressed her by her first name, although they really didn’t know each other. But she also writes warmly of times when her readers would write to her, “Dear Madeleine” because they felt like she had given them the gift of her name through the books she had written.[ii]
We see
the power of naming in Scripture, too:
God
renames Abram and Sarai as Abraham and Sarah when God establishes God’s
covenant with them (Genesis 17);
Jacob
is renamed Israel, “the one who strives with God” when he wrestles with God at
Peniel (Genesis 32:29);
Simon
is renamed Peter by Jesus (John 1:42);
and, of course, Saul encounters Jesus on the Damascus Road and, from then on, is called Paul. (Acts 13)
In the text from Isaiah, our naming and belonging comes with a promise. Twice in our reading today, God commands us, “Do not fear.”
If we do not know who we are or whose we are, we have lots to fear because we cannot know where to place our trust. Every day our news feeds and socials are saturated with opinions about what, or whom, we should fear.
But our
identity as God’s children helps us know who we belong to,
and to
whom we are obedient.
Being a disciple is about learning how to live as a child of God. [iii]
Earlier today we celebrated Ellie’s baptism and welcomed her into the family of God. Her parents and godparents made promises to her, and, as a congregation, we made promises to her, to help her grow and live in the Christian faith and life. As we make those promises, we remember that baptism is only the beginning of a faith-filled life. It is a starting point.
In our
daily lives, we continue to return:
to the
water where we remember our own baptisms;
to Scripture
where we hear the word of God;
to the
table where we are nourished and receive the Lord’s Supper; and,
to this faith community where we live together among God’s faithful people.
The God who created us and names us loves us and redeems us so that we can live as children of God. Not just today, but every day.
Let us
pray…
Good
and Gracious God,
We
give thanks for your abundant love that makes us your precious children.
Give
us confidence that we belong to you.
May we
trust in You and not be afraid.
Help us live in obedience to Your Word and live faithfully as your children.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[i] Madeleine L’Engle. Walking on Water, 130.
[ii] ibid,
126.
[iii] Mike
Breen. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible. 3DM. Kindle Edition.
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