"Called by Name" (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there is a character named – well, he doesn’t really have a name, at least not at the beginning of the movie.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the movie for you. But I want you to imagine what it must be like, to have no name.

What must it be like, to have never had anyone care enough to give you a name.

Having never been given a name means you aren’t even human. You’re an object. A thing. A tool to be used.

Instead of a name, he was referred to as FN-2187. He was a stormtrooper. He was raised to be a storm trooper. He was well trained; every moment of his life had been spent in training. But for what? At one point in the movie, he says: “I was raised to do one thing... but I've got nothing to fight for.”

Apparently, the First Order fed and sheltered him. But never was there love. Never was he cared for as a human being. He had value only because he was a storm trooper.

But that was it. If he ever failed at being a storm trooper, if he ever made a mistake – well, there would be no one to stand by his side, no one to rush to his defense, no one to console him, no one to tell him everything would be okay, no one to say to him, “You’ll do better tomorrow.”

There was no affection at all, no attachment, no love. He was a person with no name.

But things change for FN-2187. Over the course of the movie he meets people who see him as more than just a tool to be used. They see him as an ally. A friend. A human being.

One of them even gives him a name.

He’s overcome by it all. He’d never known friendship before. He’d never had anyone care for him; before, people only cared about what he could do for them. They had never cared… for him.

For me, the most memorable line of the movie is when he says to one of his new friends: “You look at me like no one else does.”

Imagine what that must feel like. To have someone look at you, and for the first time in your life, they.. see… you. Not what you can do for them. They just see you. A person worth caring for. A person worth loving. A person to call by name.

When Jesus was born, he was given a name. In the first century, the name “Jesus” was a rather common, ordinary name, highlighting the fact that, in Jesus, God became a common, ordinary human.

This was the name he was known by. He was Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary. He had a name, he had parents who loved him, and the way people talked about him reflected this love. As soon as Jesus began his ministry and began preaching about the kingdom of God, people said: “This is Joseph’s son, is it not?” [Luke 4:22]. He was the son of a father who loved him.

When Jesus was baptized, he affirmed a new identity. In the waters of baptism, he submitted himself to the will and work of his heavenly Father. In return, God said, “You are my Son, my Beloved.”

In addition to being Jesus, son of Joseph, he was also Jesus, son of God. And also, “Beloved.”

The fact that baptism involves water… and the fact that God pronounces new names for Jesus… should make you think of Isaiah 43. That is certainly the gospel writer’s intention. Luke wants you to think of Isaiah 43 when you read this passage.

What happens in Isaiah 43? Isaiah 43 was written after the people of Israel had been through a terrible ordeal. They had been taken captive by Babylon… taken to a land that was not theirs… and there, they had their identity stripped away from them. With their identity stripped away, it was as if Israel was no longer Israel. Their name had been taken away. It was as if Israel had been forgotten by God, or that God no longer recognized the people he had once claimed as his own, that God, when looking at Israel, would stutter: “um, do I know you? I don’t recognize you. I don’t know your name.”

That’s what it felt like to Israel.

But the promise of Isaiah 43 is this:

“Thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel…”

What’s this? God is calling the people by name?

Not just one name, but two names! Jacob. Israel.

“Thus says the Lord… Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name. You are mine.”

Isaiah is saying that Israel is not forgotten, that Israel is now being called by name, that Israel is loved.

Isaiah goes on…

“Thus says the Lord: when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”

To get back to their home, the people would have to pass through the waters of the Jordan River. There isn’t always a whole lot of water in the Jordan River, but if it’s the rainy season, the river could swell and become a dangerous. Think of the people who sometimes get swept away in the L.A. River during a big rainstorm. There isn’t always much water in the L.A. River, but when there is… look out!

Of course, the first time the people had to cross the Jordan River, many generations back, was when Moses and Joshua first led them to the promised land, to start a new nation. It was a new birth for the people, a new life.

All this, in turn, reminds us of the flood, which Noah and his family endured. That is also an example of new life emerging out of the water.

And in the creation story itself, the earth was formless, with nothing but a watery chaos; and from that watery chaos, God created all that is.

The symbolism here is very deep. It goes way back.

But no matter how deep it is, the water will not overwhelm you. That is the promise of Isaiah 43.

After all, God is with you… the God who calls you by name.

And, a few verses later, God declares that you are precious in his sight, and honored, and loved.

Hearing this from Isaiah, from God, Israel could very well have replied to God, “You look at us like no one else does.”

God looks at Israel, calls Israel by name, and says “you are precious and honored and loved.” The nations of the world had treated Israel like rubbish, like a nation with no name. But not God. God looks at Israel with respect, affection, and love. “You are precious and honored and loved.”

In the same way, after Jesus emerges from the water of the Jordan River, God looks at Jesus and says “You are my son, my beloved.”

Passing through the water remains an important ritual in the church. When you are baptized, God declares to you what has always been true: that you are a child of God. God calls you by name. God calls you beloved. God calls you precious.

And in that naming, and in the water, there is new life. When FN-2187 is given a new name, a real name, a new life begins for him. He learns to understand that there is a purpose and a meaning to his life. And he commits himself to that higher purpose.

When we are baptized, we recognize the affirmation that comes from God. We are God’s children. From the moment we are baptized, people look at us and recognize the connection. They see you and say, “This is God’s child, is it not?”

God calls you by name, and bestows upon you a new name: beloved child.

And with that new name comes a purpose and meaning to life. In choosing to be baptized, we commit ourselves to that higher purpose.

The story of FN-2187 is not over. Disney has more Star Wars movies to make and a lot more money to earn. I don’t know how the story will end.

I also don’t know how my story will end. I don’t know how your story will end. But I hear again the echoes of Isaiah 43, and the promises made there:

The waters shall not overwhelm you.

The flame will not consume you.

Do not fear, for I am with you.

Look! I am about to do a new thing: I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

For I am the God who created you, formed you, and who calls you by name. You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.