Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 2010
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Read Matthew 1:18-95 here
How often do you spend thinking about your name? What is your reaction when people say your name? Diane. who said that!? (Jumping with surprise) David... Such a regal sounding name, (you think proudly).
Chester....
Am I the only person in the world who was named for his grandfather, and when his grandfather heard that one of his grandsons had been given his name responded,
“You know, I’ve always hated that name.” I was not very proud of my name growing up, and hated when roll was called in class on the first day of school. Chester Topple... the teacher would say. I would cower, and utter a squeakie, “here” as the other kids snickered.
Our names whether we like them or not, say something about us, they have a real say in our identity, in our self understanding. A few summers ago at Ghost Ranch Youth Week,
I met a kid who called himself Tiki. He had just graduated from High School. He had two brothers and a sister there, all younger, whose names were Joey, Julian, and Jasmin.
So Tiki? What were his folks thinking? Experimental first child? Well it turns out that his name is actually Joel. Check this out: His family- who identifies itself as Mexican-American
moved from El Paso to Nebraska when hurricane Rita swept through. He was going into the ninth grade. Before he started school he decided that instead of being Joel from El Paso, and potentially face discrimination in a place that wasn’t very accustomed to color, he was going to change his name to Tiki from Hawaii. He would go for exotic, and it worked. The kids thought it was awesome to have a Hawaiian kid in their school. Tiki was a confident, talented, funny kid, who loved God and had a great personality. Who would I have met if four years earlier he left his name, Joel?
Think about your names. How they have shaped your identity. What they represent, or mean.
Did you ever ask your parents why they named you what they did? Have you thought about changing what your parents chose? Have any of you looked up your name’s meaning?
What were some?
Looking at our biblical passages for today, the fourth Sunday of Advent - are you ready for Christmas? - Names play a crucial part in the the story.
Now, I’d like to take a little survey of the congregation. There are three options when calling on the name of Mary’s son: Jesus, Christ, and Emmanuel.
Which of the three do you prefer.
How many are in the Jesus camp?
Christ?
How about Emmanuel?
How often do you spend thinking about your name? What is your reaction when people say your name? Diane. who said that!? (Jumping with surprise) David... Such a regal sounding name, (you think proudly).
Chester....
Am I the only person in the world who was named for his grandfather, and when his grandfather heard that one of his grandsons had been given his name responded,
“You know, I’ve always hated that name.” I was not very proud of my name growing up, and hated when roll was called in class on the first day of school. Chester Topple... the teacher would say. I would cower, and utter a squeakie, “here” as the other kids snickered.
Our names whether we like them or not, say something about us, they have a real say in our identity, in our self understanding. A few summers ago at Ghost Ranch Youth Week,
I met a kid who called himself Tiki. He had just graduated from High School. He had two brothers and a sister there, all younger, whose names were Joey, Julian, and Jasmin.
So Tiki? What were his folks thinking? Experimental first child? Well it turns out that his name is actually Joel. Check this out: His family- who identifies itself as Mexican-American
moved from El Paso to Nebraska when hurricane Rita swept through. He was going into the ninth grade. Before he started school he decided that instead of being Joel from El Paso, and potentially face discrimination in a place that wasn’t very accustomed to color, he was going to change his name to Tiki from Hawaii. He would go for exotic, and it worked. The kids thought it was awesome to have a Hawaiian kid in their school. Tiki was a confident, talented, funny kid, who loved God and had a great personality. Who would I have met if four years earlier he left his name, Joel?
Think about your names. How they have shaped your identity. What they represent, or mean.
Did you ever ask your parents why they named you what they did? Have you thought about changing what your parents chose? Have any of you looked up your name’s meaning?
What were some?
Looking at our biblical passages for today, the fourth Sunday of Advent - are you ready for Christmas? - Names play a crucial part in the the story.
Now, I’d like to take a little survey of the congregation. There are three options when calling on the name of Mary’s son: Jesus, Christ, and Emmanuel.
Which of the three do you prefer.
How many are in the Jesus camp?
Christ?
How about Emmanuel?
