Advent… names

Saturday, going up the tube-lift, I got to talking with a four year old who was riding up next to me. I could barely see him as the tube literally swallowed him up. It was his birthday and his dad was taking him tubing. After we chatted for a while. He blurted out, ”My name is Nathan!” And then he turned to his dad and said, “Right Dad? That's my name?”

I smiled.

Then I realized that four-year-old, birthday boy, Nathan just reminded me of something.

He reminded me of names.

Where do we get our name?

Someone gives it to us.

A mother and/or father says… you are Nathan, you are Steve, that’s who you are.

And it defines us.

This Advent… think of Zechariah and Elizabeth and John the Baptist…
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1.13-17)

This Advent… think about Mary and Joseph and Jesus…
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1.31-33)

These are the “big names” I suppose and it’s hard to compare. But I have a name. You have a name. Maybe God stirs in moms and dads all over the world to give the perfect name for their child. And God calls us…

Nathan
Steve
Jennifer

Beloved
Friend
My child
Valued
Cherished
Significant
Beautiful
My delight

Too often, our world has other names for us. Degrading names. Shameful names. Discouraging names.

Worthless.
Faceless.
Needless.
Unworthy.
Below average.
Waste of time.

Advent comes and is filled with names.

Names that God the Father calls us…
… reminding us who we are.
… reminding us what we’re worth
… reminding us of what we can become.

"That’s my name, right Dad?"

"Yes," the Father says. "It certainly is."