{"id":690690,"date":"2025-11-13T15:48:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/?post_type=sermon&#038;p=340690"},"modified":"2026-06-22T21:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T01:43:02","slug":"in-jesus-name-advent-4-a-december-21-2025","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/in-jesus-name-advent-4-a-december-21-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"In Jesus&#8217; Name, Advent 4 (A) \u2013 December 21, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-340690_5f8061-f6 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-340690_5f8061-f6 .kt-divider{border-top-width:2px;border-top-color:#330072;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-340690_5f8061-f6\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=DFMS2942657919&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-340690_099791-8a .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-340690_099791-8a .kt-divider{border-top-width:2px;border-top-color:#330072;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-340690_099791-8a\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[RCL] <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/advent-4a\/\">Isaiah 7:10-17, Psalm 24, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What does the name of Jesus tell us about the mystery of the Incarnation?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A verse from Hymn 489 in The Hymnal 1982 describes this mystery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>He sent him down as sending God; in flesh to us he came<\/em>;<br><em>as one with us he dwelt with us, and bore a human name.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Advent-4A-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-340697\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gospel reading from Matthew tells of the divine origin of Jesus\u2019 name, told to his adopted father, Joseph, in a dream. There are actually two names discussed in this passage. The first is&nbsp;<em>Jesus<\/em>, the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua or Yeshua, which means \u201cGod saves\u201d or \u201cYahweh, help!\u201d This is the name imparted to Joseph by the angelic messenger. The second name is&nbsp;<em>Emmanuel<\/em>, which, we are told by the Evangelist, means \u201cGod with us,\u201d and is from the Book of Isaiah. As if the meanings of these two names weren\u2019t weighty enough for a newborn baby to bear, the Gospel of Matthew opens with Jesus\u2019 genealogy. This genealogy is a long list of forty-two generations of Jesus\u2019 ancestors through Joseph, which demonstrates that Jesus is in the line of David, and illustrates God\u2019s continued activity among the people of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So many names, and we\u2019re not even to Chapter 2 of Matthew\u2019s gospel! Clearly, names, and specifically Jesus\u2019 name, are very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fact that Jesus \u201cbore a human name\u201d speaks of his specificity as a person.&nbsp;Jesus is human, and so he has a human name. One cannot be a generic human being. Every human is an individual, with unique DNA, a specific set of parents, born into a specific historical moment, into a specific culture, and into a specific social class.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus, \u201cthe Word made flesh,\u201d as the Fourth Gospel calls him, was not just human, but a&nbsp;<em>specific individual<\/em>. He had the same challenges that we all have: trying to grow up and thrive in the particular set of circumstances into which he was born. Although we believe that Jesus is co-eternal with God, and so in some sense was present at the creation of the world, he set all that aside when he was born as Mary\u2019s son. Jesus experienced the limitations of being contained in a human body, a mortal body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fact that Jesus has a human name describes his limited human nature.&nbsp;To name something is, in a sense, to define it. In Genesis, Adam names the animals as a sign of the dominion that God has given him over them. Later in Genesis, Jacob wrestles with the divine stranger at Penuel and demands to know his name, but the stranger will not tell him. He won\u2019t let Jacob \u201cgrasp\u201d who he is, physically or conceptually. Instead, the stranger re-names Jacob. Even though it is Jacob who ultimately wins the wrestling match, it is the heavenly stranger who has the power to name. Jacob has become Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That God became flesh and bore a human name means that he became \u201cgraspable\u201d by us:&nbsp;accessible, not abstract or distant, but present and reachable. We have a claim on Jesus; we can call on the name of the Lord and be saved. To have a human name is to be able to be known, in part if not fully. We know Jesus through our prayers, through calling on his name. We have some power, some claim, over all-powerful God, because God has revealed God\u2019s name to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Matthew dwells on the meaning of these two names, Jesus and Emmanuel, because they contain a&nbsp;<em>paradox<\/em>.Jesus is born to a human mother, born into poverty and into circumstances of political oppression that he did not create. But his&nbsp;<em>name<\/em>&nbsp;is given to him by God. It is an expression of his connection with God and proclaims that his coming is the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus\u2019 name means that God is now dwelling with humankind in a new way. It reflects that Jesus is the one sent by God to free us from our human limitations. God accepted the limitations of human life in order to free us from these same limitations and to bring us the&nbsp;<em>eternal<\/em>&nbsp;kind of life&nbsp;<em>now<\/em>. This is God\u2019s salvation, God\u2019s indwelling in human nature expressed in the person of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>He sent him down as sending God; in flesh to us he came;<\/em><br><em>as one with us he dwelt with us; and bore a human name.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Christmastide, may we all come to know and to call upon the One who took on human flesh and human nature and even a human name. May we be freed from our all-too-human failings, as we are reconciled to God with joy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O Come Emmanuel, be born in our hearts this week and always. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The Reverend Dr. Regina Walton&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><em>is a poet, scholar, and teacher. Her poetry collection&nbsp;<\/em>The Yearning Life<em>&nbsp;won the Phyllis Tickle Poetry Prize and was published by Paraclete Press in 2016. An Episcopal priest, she is Denominational Counselor for Anglican\/Episcopal and Lutheran students and a Lecturer at&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/hds.harvard.edu\/people\/regina-walton\"><em>Harvard Divinity School<\/em><\/a><em>. She serves as the Editor and Content Developer for the Center for Episcopal Discipleship and Renewal at Forward Movement.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-196ea9d3-899b-4762-b52a-a663273647ea\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Advent-4A-Sermon.docx\">Word &#8211; Advent 4A Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Advent-4A-Sermon.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-196ea9d3-899b-4762-b52a-a663273647ea\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-101f1e19-6741-4102-88ee-4574ab6e6ba5\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Advent-4A-Sermon.pdf\">PDF &#8211; Advent 4A Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Advent-4A-Sermon.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-101f1e19-6741-4102-88ee-4574ab6e6ba5\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Isaiah 7:10-17, Psalm 24, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25 What does the name of Jesus tell us about the mystery of the Incarnation?&nbsp; A verse from Hymn 489 in The Hymnal 1982 describes this mystery: He sent him down as sending God; in flesh to us he came;as one with us he dwelt with us,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,43,52,3],"tags":[156],"class_list":["post-690690","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","category-advent","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-advent-4a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":10,"label":"Advent"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":156,"label":"Advent 4A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/690690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/690690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":948036,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/690690\/revisions\/948036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}