What's in a Name?

As we move through Advent, we tell the stories of how the birth of the Messiah came about. The gospel of Luke not only tells us about the birth of the Messiah, but about the birth of John the Baptist, too! It turns out that the story of John's birth predicts the start of something really big! This sermon by Rev. Alecia Schroedel-Deuble takes a closer look at that story.

Stories are important. Whether they are family stories, church stories, or stories about our country, stories are important. They are important because they are the places where memories live. They are the words that hold the keys to our identity and meaning in the great scheme of things. They tell us who we are and where we came from. Stories are so important that that NPR—National Public Radio created an ongoing project called STORYCORPS. Its mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. Through sharing stories of everyday people, they seek to remind us of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, they are creating an invaluable archive for future generations. When we lose our stories, we lose a little bit of our identity. We lose some of our history and heritage. Don’t you sometimes wish you could call up a deceased grandparent, or aunt, or mom and pop and ask about some of the things that happened in your family’s past? I know there are times I wish a could call my mom and ask about her my grandparents. There are stories that are lost to my family because no one is around that can share them any longer. And how about the stories that tell us who we are as church? I know Nashville UCC has lost quite a few elders this past year. I hope their stories about what Nashville UCC meant to them have been shared in the congregation. The stories of the founding of our country tell us who we are as a people and what our values are. That’s why American history is taught in schools; to pass on that knowledge to the next generation. I even wonder if one of the reasons it has been so painful to not gather for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year is the fact that we didn’t get the chance to once again share our family stories around the table.

The stories of our faith are important also to help form us in our faith; and not just our Christian faith but also our connections to our Jewish ancestors and prophets. That’s why we hear the Christmas stories again each year. Their meaning deepens for us each year. Knowing the “when and where” of Jesus is essential for understanding him. And that’s where Luke starts his story—during the rule of King Herod in the time of Augustus Caesar. It doesn’t mean much to us, but it spoke volumes to the folks Luke was writing to. It’s like when we talk about “The Good Old Days,” we know what that means. We nod knowingly of the days when candy cost a penny, a ticket to the movies was 25 cents, and folks didn’t lock the doors to their homes. Or when someone mentions the mid 60’s, many of us know that was a topsy-turvy time of the Vietnam War, college protests, Kent State shootings, Civil Rights marches, Hippies, Nixon and so much more. I dare say folks in the future will know what it means to set an event in the year 2020. Likewise, Luke’s audience would have known about the time of Herod. It was a time when the people were under the oppressive reign of Rome and Augustus Caesar. They were ruled by the iron-fisted and ruthless King Herod. The name of Herod conjured up fearful memories of a time of political intrigue and threats to life. Herod was hated. He was hated for his taxes, for sponsoring pagan cities, for replacing High Priests with his minions and for his ruthless killing. His lust for power was so great that not only did he kill his enemies—he even killed his own sons and his wife and other family members when he suspected them of plotting against him. This was the kind of world John the Baptist and Jesus were born into.

Next, Luke introduces us not to Mary and Joseph, but to Mary’s elderly cousins, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who represent the older generation, our connection to Israel and the Old Testament, and Jesus’ connection to his past. Zechariah and Elizabeth have interesting names, and their names are part of the message of Christmas. Zechariah’s name in Hebrew translates as “God remembers.” Elizabeth’s name comes from the Hebrew that means, “God keeps promises” which also means God remembers. There is a long history in the Old Testament of remembering covenant promises God has made with humanity. In Genesis, in the flood story, God promises Noah and all humanity, “I will remember the covenant between you and me and every living thing—floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures.” God made covenant promises to Abraham and Sarah that they would be the parents of many nations. God made a covenant promise with King David that someone from David’s line would always sit on David’s throne. Elizabeth reminds us just by her name that God will keep these promises. There are many Psalms and prayers that remind God to remember us, and to remember promises to God’s servants. Jewish Rabbi and scholar Amy-Jill Levine writes that when we feel the absence of God, when we think there is no hope, we call out to our God to remember, because we remember. And we can do that because we know that the covenants are permanent and God keeps his promises.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are both from priestly families. We are told they are righteous; they have been faithful to God and have kept the law to the best of their ability, but despite all that, they carry the shame of being childless. Elizabeth is barren. Here Luke is again calling on our memories. He’s telling us that we’ve heard this kind of story before. Abraham and Sarah were also elderly people with no children. In the Bible when we hear about an elderly couple suffering from infertility, we know that a miraculous and mysterious conception isn’t far behind. With Zechariah and Elizabeth, we are going to hear the story again; but with a new couple, at a new time, with a new message! Like Abraham, Zechariah is visited by a messenger, the Angel Gabriel, who tells him God has heard his prayers and he and Elizabeth will have a son. The angel appearance terrifies Zechariah! This word “terrified” has the sense of saying Zechariah was all shook up! In our slang we might say that The angel appearance is about to rock Zechariah’s world! In fact, he was dumbstruck by the news! Advent and Christmas should be times that shake us up too. I was thinking about how much the COVID virus has shaken up our routines, and lives and world this year. We have been in a kind of Advent shake-up all year long. We wonder how this will all shake out for us. The names of Zechariah and Elizabeth remind us to keep the faith. God remembers and keeps his promises; and that gives us hope for the future.

Then the angel Gabriel told Zechariah to name his son John, a name which in Hebrew means, “God is Gracious.” God was indeed gracious to Zechariah and Elizabeth by giving them a son in their old age. 9 months later, Elizabeth gave birth to a son. Everyone asked what she was going to name him. Elizabeth said he will be named John. Everyone was shocked by this. It was very unusual because no one in their family line had ever been named John. The tradition was to name a child after a parent or a deceased relative to keep that one’s memory and story alive. Remember, in ancient days they didn’t have photographs or movies or even written journals to remember loved ones. The memories were kept alive by passing along the name in the family. I’m sure many of you were named after someone in your family to keep their name and memory alive. I was named Alecia for my dad’s sister who died when she was only five. My name keeps her name and story alive in our family. The people couldn’t accept what Elizabeth told them, so they asked his father Zechariah what his name would be. Zechariah, who was still dumbstruck, wrote out the words, “His name is John.” This new name is the family signifies that this is a new time; this is a new practice; God is doing something new and starting a new chapter. John will be the forerunner of something completely new that God is doing—sending us his Son Jesus—a name that means the deliverer, the rescuer, the Savior.

It’s interesting to note that near the end of Jesus’ life, he chose how he wanted to be remembered. He didn’t want children to be named after him, he didn’t ask for churches to be named after him. He asked that we share a meal of bread and the cup together to remember him. He asked us to keep his command to love one another. He asked us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and clothe the naked in his name. those are how Jesus wants to be remembered and that is how we keep his name and story alive. We do those things in remembrance of him. During this Advent time, we remember, too. We remember the old, old stories and how they have become new again in our lives today through God’s grace. As we watch and wait, may we remember, too; and may our remembrance give birth to a living hope even in the midst of a long, cold winter!