TITLE: “His Name is Jesus”

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Our text is the birth of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel lesson from Matthew, particularly the words of the angel, And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

It must have been hard for Joseph.  Here he is, a betrothed man, and before their marriage is consummated, Joseph discovers that his wife-to-be, Mary, is pregnant!  What must have gone through his head?  What thoughts of treachery and adultery did he accuse Mary of that day?  Betrayal.  Evil.  Falsehood.  It was unthinkable.  And yet through it all, Joseph did not want to see Mary harmed or shamed.  He sought to put her away privately, so that she would not bear this public shame.

But while He thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said that this child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he was to call this son Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.  Joseph had assumed the worst, and yet as a righteous man did not want to see Mary put away and shamed.

How often do we do this to others, or even to God Himself?  Things happen.  Tragedies, heartaches, loss of family or friends.  Medical problems, problems at work or at school or home.  We, like Joseph and others, assume the worst.  We assume that someone is out to get me, or even that God is the stern judge who uses the things which happen to me in this life are the result of my sinfulness.

But this is the very mystery of Christmas, my friends.  What does Jesus’ name mean?  He shall save His people from their sins.  What did things look like to Joseph?  They looked like he was marrying and adulteress, who had forsaken her vows to him.  But what was the truth?  The truth was that this young betrothed girl, no more than 13 or 14 years old, was going to give birth to the Savior of the world.

That is how God works, my friends.  Our Lord in His mercy takes the backward, the lowly, the downtrodden, and lifts them up to the highest heaven.  He took Mary, a poor peasant girl, and made her the mother of God.  He took Joseph and gave him the honor of being the foster father of Jesus Christ.  The shepherds became preachers.  The very earth itself cries out that God now dwells with His people in mercy and love.

It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?  Joseph couldn’t see with the eyes of faith until the angel had announced the news to him.  But once Joseph’s eyes were opened, he could see that this child would be the salvation of all Israel, indeed, of the whole world.  And so it is with Mary, the mother of God.  She couldn’t know what was happening to her without the voice of the angel tell her that she would bear the Son of God.  It’s all about perspective.  Without the eyes of faith, these events appear as trifles, or worse yet, as a scandal for everyone to mock and deride.  But with faith, ah, with the faith of a child you can see things that the angels in heaven long to see.

He shall save His people from their sins.  Jesus.  The name.  It is a name that rolls off everyone’s tongue this time of year, but few understand the depth and richness of this great word.  Savior.  From what?  From my sins.  Jesus comes to save me from the blindness that will not let me see God as He is: the one who loves, the one who gives Himself for my life and salvation.

Jesus.  Years ago a man named Joseph gave his foster son the name Jesus.  It was not a common name, but it was His name, because it fit so well with what He came to be and to do.

You see, this child, this Jesus, was the Son of God and the Son of Mary.  Fully human, fully God.  He came to bridge the gap between heaven and earth.  He came to heal your soul, to lift you up out of the muck of your life.  He came to save your from the devil and the world, and he came to save you from Himself.  Now He didn’t come to do this as a judge or avenger. He came as a lowly babe.  He didn’t come in the midst of pomp and circumstance, no, He came the son of a poor girl from Nazareth, a backwards town from up in the hills of Galilee.

Jesus came to save you from your sins by becoming one with you.  He takes on your pain, your hurts, your sorrow.  He gives you His life, His joy, His very divine nature is now yours by faith.  With the eyes of faith you can see yourself as you truly are before God: kings and queens.  You are God’s royal family, adopted into His line by the blood of Jesus Christ.

We are not talking about a one-time event from long ago, though.  Jesus continues to come and be with his people in Word and Meal.  He comes and He saves us by the power of His life which is now yours by Holy Waters.  His life is your life.  By faith we receive everything Jesus Christ accomplished for us here on earth.

So come home.  Come and join in the journey of faith.  Come to the Table and refresh your soul.  And like Joseph, with the eyes of faith we can look on these holy things with laughter.  Why?  Because we know that the world doesn’t get it.  They cannot know the wonders.  They cannot know the joy of hearing anew the words of God Himself in the flesh.  But you do.  You have the faith that only God can give.  You have the gift of eternal life running through your veins.  Come, join the angels in heaven in singing His praises!  Join in the victory of eternal life through a little baby.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.