Growing up in my parents’ house, there were a lot of common phrases thrown at me: “Listen to your mother!” “Do your homework!” And my personal favorite—“Because I said so!”
And, there was one specific mantra that my Dad would regularly repeat: “Remember, Mark, you’re representing the Dixon name out there.”
So what was he talking about? I must not be a very good son, because I’m still trying to figuring it out.
Maybe he was saying that our names, our titles, our identities are like a sponge—they soak up everything we do, everything we become over the course of our lives. Consider the sad story of Tiger Woods. His name soaked up all the success of his golf career. The name Tiger Woods reminded us of hard work, excellence, focus. Now, his name has soaked up scandal.
Perhaps my Dad was cautioning me to protect my name, because once something soaks in, it can be tough to wash it out. Dyed in the wool we call it.
Now, we are tempted to think of our names as only what our neighbors know and see. But as Christians we hear that God knows our true and full name. So, for example, if I cheat in a game of Monopoly with my wife, and she doesn’t know it, I might think my Name is still clean! But, God sees even into the dark corners of my heart where my full name is whispered.
This complicates things, doesn’t it? If this were not the case, we might just be able to slip through life convinced that we stayed squeaky clean. I could make ol’ Dad proud. I could stand before God in the throne room without fear, without shame, without guilt, knowing that God would see only what I want to show and judge me based on only that.
But now, since our names, our identities soak up everything, and God sees all our secret stains, it becomes impossible to make it through life in this world with a lily-white Name. Now we stand before God revealed, soiled.
You know, every year we sit in these seats and hear the story of Baby Jesus. Sometimes, it can sound like merely an historical event. What does this Birth have to do with us today? We can understand the importance of Easter—on Easter he died for our sins, and raised us with him to new life. That matters for me today! That’s not just history; that changes my life!
But, Christmas? I mean, it’s good that he was born. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s just an opening act. All the important stuff happens later in his life. Christmas is just a birthday celebration: it’s nice, and people have fun, but it’s not life-changing.
What’s significant about Christ’s birthday for you and me here tonight?
How about this: it’s also his Nameday—the day the world learns His Name! And, to our great surprise, Christ’s Nameday becomes our Nameday!
This Christmas Eve, as we look again to the Greatest Story Ever Told, what do we see? We see a lot of prophecy, and a lot of promises. You might say, I don’t see any promises. Where do we find them? Right in Jesus’ Name.
What’s his name? He is to be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. The angels tell the shepherds that Jesus is born and he is Savior, Messiah, Lord. These names constituted a promise. Jesus is named Savior; that is a promise to save! He is named Everlasting; that is a promise that His mercy won’t run out. He is named Lord; that is a promise that he will have the final say.
Those are the kind of Names that change reality—not his, though—ours! His name not only labels him, it changes our label! My name is Mark, and that is my Label. My Label doesn’t mean anything for Pastor Scott, except that he’s not Mark (one of the many things he’s thankful for this Christmas!)
With Jesus, it’s different. His Name names us! Think of it this way: if he’s our Savior, that must mean we need saving. Jesus’ name “Savior” identifies all of us as SAVED!
Using a pinch of playground wisdom: “I’m Rubber and you’re Glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.”
What does this saying mean? It means that everything attributed to one person is instead transferred to another. This Christmas season, it means that Christ is the Rubber and we are the Glue.
We earn many titles in this life. Some are good: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Husband, Wife. But, some are bad: Liar, Fearful, Proud, Angry. We are Glue! These titles stick to our name! And, Jesus is Rubber. Heaven’s angels and God on high throw all kinds of titles at him: Perfect, Holy, Righteous, and he bounces them all off. Guess where they stick?
If our names are sponges that soak up everything we become, then Jesus’ name is the faucet that pours out everything it has.
So what does he pour out? He pours out Righteousness to wash the Sin from our Name; he pours out Holiness to brush the Fear from our hearts; he pours out His Perfection to blot out our stains as we stand before God.
And, so we gather in on Christmas Eve to hear about a child’s birth from 2000 years ago. And, in hearing the story, we discover again and again our new names, our new identities. This is the ongoing miracle of Christmas. It was miraculous that Jesus, the Son of God, was born to a virgin in Bethlehem; and it is miraculous now that our darkness is named light by virtue of Christ’s Honor.
As we open gifts of little toy fire engines and dolls that can talk, it is a joy to remember that Christ’s gift keeps on giving as often as we hear the Good News! It is a blessing and a burden to know that we can carry this gift to a world that needs to receive it.
Intern Mark Dixon