Isaiah 43:1-7 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Psalm 29

“Thus says the Lord…: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1

To carry these words with us into and throughout this new year is truly the best and most important resolution we could make.  God’s words, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

None of us can recall the first time we were called by name.  Those who named us and first called us by name were our first caregivers.  Along with the privilege of naming someone or something comes responsibility and control.

When God created the world, he named the light Day and the darkness Night.  God takes control of the light and darkness in our lives, remaining present, continuing to call us by name, throughout the sunny days and the dark nights.

Names are important; being called by name is significant to our wellbeing.  Most of the time, being among those who know our name and call us by name is comforting, assuring us that we are at home and welcomed.

Names are significant, even to our pets.  Last week our family endured the trauma of a lost dog.  Our daughter and her husband who are in the process of moving back to his hometown with baby in tow and new job opportunities to be considered, decided to slip away for a few days of much-needed vacation.  A friend agreed to keep Bodie, our daughter’s four-year-old mixed retriever.  Things began to go downhill when, a few hours from home, their truck began acting up and had to go in the shop for repairs.  That evening, stranded in a hotel in Sumpter, SC, they received a call that Bodie had lifted the latch on the friend’s fence gate and set himself free.  Hours of searching had been unsuccessful.  Laura, unable to return, taped herself calling his name so that friends and family could drive around the neighborhoods in hopes Bodie would hear his name being called by her familiar voice.  Nearby friends with homes and dogs with whom Bodie was familiar hung some of Laura’s clothing on the porch in hopes he would come there thinking he had found her.  Days and cold nights passed.  Laura returned, staying overnight with friends and continuing to drive the neighborhood calling Bodie’s name.  Finally, at midnight on the third day, he showed up, a joyful return for all.

Whether we are near or far, whether we consider ourselves lost or found, the Lord is forever calling us by name.  What a joy for God when we acknowledge his calling and follow his voice in awareness of his presence. 

These words of God from Isaiah’s prophecy are echoed in a favorite anecdote that I want to share again and again: 

While praying one day a woman asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

He answered, “I AM.”

“But who is I AM?” she said.

And He replied, “I AM Love, I AM Peace,

I AM Grace, I AM Joy,

I AM the Way, Truth, and the Light…

I AM the Comforter.

I AM Strength, I AM Safety,

I AM Shelter, I AM Power, I AM the Creator,

I AM the Beginning and the End,

I AM the Most High,

The girl with tears in her eyes looked toward heaven and said,

“Now I understand. But Lord, who am I?”

Then God tenderly wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered,

“YOU ARE MINE.”

“I have called you by name; you are mine, says the Lord.”  The Lord calls us by name even before our birth.  And, very importantly, we are called by name when we are baptized – formally and visibly redeemed and initiated into the Body of Christ by water and the Holy Spirit, marked as Christ’s own forever.  

Today, we celebrate our own baptisms, and specifically the baptism of Jesus.  This first Sunday after the Epiphany on January 6 is celebrated each year as the Baptism of our Lord.  We read of John, knowing he is in the presence of the Messiah, baptizing Jesus.  That visual is beyond imagination.  Luke gives us few details.  We know only that all were coming to be baptized and that Jesus was among them.   As Luke concludes his brief account, he tells us that Jesus is praying as the voice from heaven sounds.  God speaks, naming Jesus, “my Son, the Beloved,” affirming God’s pleasure in the calling of his Son.

Many of us can relate to the joy and relief of finding a lost pet.  For a window into God’s joy, when we respond to his calling our name and our return from times of estrangement, we will need to magnify that joy immeasurably.  

Through our baptism into the Body of Christ we, too, are named the Beloved.   In God’s words through Isaiah’s prophecy, we read, “… you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”  Each of us as God’s beloved, are to take the words of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah into our hearts; the words are addressed to us; they are intended for our comfort and consolation, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”