“And His Name Shall Be
Called: The Alpha and Omega”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. The ongoing debate over whether to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy
Holidays” is really quite ironic. Because, of course, the word “holiday”
is a contraction of “holy day.” So, when you say “Happy Holidays” you are
actually saying “Happy Holy Days.” You could say that today we are observing both a “holiday” and a “holy
day.” The secular “holiday” is, of course, New Year’s Day. New
Year’s Day has not traditionally been considered a “holy day” festival of the
Church, mainly because for most of the Christian era there was disagreement
about which date should be considered the first day of the year. At
various points during the Christian era, March 1st, December 25th, March 25th,
and January 1st were all observed as New Year’s Day. Up until 1752 most of
Colonial America still celebrated New Year’s on March 25th, and it wasn’t until
1918 that January 1st became universally accepted as the beginning of the New
Year according to the Christian calendar. To complicate things more, with the ultimate selection of January 1st
as New Year’s Day, the New Year’s “holiday” and an important, traditional
Christian “holy day” coincidently collided. For, the Gospel of Luke tells
us, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.” Since the
Church selected December 25th to observe Christmas, and the eighth day after
December 25th happens to be January 1st, the Church traditionally observes today
as the “holy day” of the Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord. So, today we are coincidentally observing both a “holiday” and a “holy
day.” Not only the secular New Year’s “holiday” but also the
Christian “holy day” of the Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord. For this dual observance today we continue our sermon series for the
Advent and Christmas seasons, “And His Name Shall Be Called.” During the
Advent and Christmas seasons, which will draw to a close next Sunday as we
observe the Epiphany of Our Lord, we have meditated on the meanings of some of
the hundreds of names and titles given in Scripture to the Babe of Bethlehem,
whose birth we are celebrating: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is
given . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty
God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” “This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord
Our Righteousness.” “The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the
Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” “For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he
will save his people from their sins.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us.” Today’s first and second Scripture readings relate to the New Year’s
“holiday” we are observing today, and our meditation for the New Year is based
on today’s First Reading from Revelation. Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and
the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” “And
His Name Shall Be Called: The Alpha and Omega.” The names of the months of the year pre-date Christianity and are
derived from the Romans. “July” is named in honor of Julius Caesar, who
was born that month. “August” is named in honor of Caesar Augustus, who
plays a role in the Christmas story as the Emperor at the time of Christ’s
birth: “There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should
be taxed.” In the old Roman calendar, September, October, November, and December
were the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months, so are simply named after the
Latin numerals septem, octo, novem, decem; seven, eight, nine, ten; September,
October, November, December. But, most of the months were named in honor of pagan false gods and
goddesses. “February” comes from the Etruscan god Februus. “March”
comes from the Roman god of war, Mars. “May” comes from the goddess
Maiesta, “June” from the goddess Juno. And “January”, the month we begin
today, comes from the Roman god Janus. Janus was depicted by the Romans as a head with two faces, one looking
back and the other looking forward. Paul says in Romans, “Since the
creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine
nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”
Scripture tells us that non-Christians also have a Natural Knowledge of God, and
although that knowledge is incomplete and defective and cannot lead to
salvation, it does have some elements of truth. Paul says that one of “God’s invisible qualities” which even pagans
“understood” are “his eternal power and divine nature.” The ancient Romans
understood the eternity and what we call the “omniscience” of God, that he knows
all things. And so they ascribed these qualities to their false god Janus.
He is said to be eternal and omniscient, a timeless god, who looks both backward
over time and forward into the future. In Athens, Paul said to those who worshipped such false gods, “Now what
you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” Janus is
only an imaginary being, who does not truly exist. But, Jesus Christ
really is eternal and omniscient, the only true God. “I am the Alpha and
the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” For the ancient Romans, their belief in a god who knew all things was
not a comfort but a curse. Because that meant he knew all their sins.
You see, Janus looked back over their past sins and failures, and he looked
forward to their future punishment, unless they would appease the gods with
sacrifices and offerings. The bad news is, the true Almighty God does indeed know your sins and
failures. But, the Good News is, he himself sent his own Son to be your
Savior, to appease God’s wrath for you, by life, death and resurrection.
Today’s reading from Revelation puts it so beautifully: “[He] loves us and has
freed us from our sins by his blood.” Like the false God Janus, Jesus, the one true God, really is eternal
and omniscient, the true timeless God, who looks both backward over time and
forward into the future. But, unlike Janus, Jesus does not look backward
with anger, or forward with threats of punishment. John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us.” None of us can claim this past year, or
throughout our lives, to have been without sins, failures, shortcomings.
But, the Good News is, Jesus looks backward with you today over this past year
of your life, and over your entire life, not with anger but with FORGIVENESS.
“[He] loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in us. But, if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just,
will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . . The
blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.” That is what the
Church remembers on the traditional “holy day” observed today, the Circumcision
and Naming of Our Lord: his first shedding of his blood, already as an infant,
for our salvation. As the angel announced to Joseph in today’s Gospel
Reading: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins.” As we begin a new year, Jesus looks backward with you today over the
year now past, and over your entire life, not with anger, but with FORGIVENESS.
And Jesus looks forward with you today over the coming year of your life, and
the rest of your life to come, not with threats of punishment, but with LOVE.
“Lo, I am with you always” Jesus says. The Lord promises, in Isaiah,
“Fear, I am with you; be not dismayed, I am your God. I will strengthen you, I
will help you, I will hold you up with my mighty hand.” Hebrews puts it
this way: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’
So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’” Paul says in Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Janus was thought to be against those who displeased the gods, but Jesus, the
true eternal, omniscient God, is not against you, but for you, on your side,
throughout the coming year of 2018 and beyond. That is why Paul tells us
in Romans, “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those
who love him.” Moses told Joshua as they were about to enter the promised land, “Do
not be terrified; neither be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go.” As you enter the New Year, have confidence that, unlike
the imaginary god Janus, the true God Jesus really does know all things into the
past and the future, and he is working all things together for your good.
“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love
him. . . If God is for us, who can be against us?” “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come,
the Almighty.” “And His Name Shall Be Called: The Alpha and Omega” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
|