Luke 1:26-38

            {Prayer}

            Finding out that you are having a baby is monumental. It’s a life-changing event. The joy of expecting a baby is often paired with a healthy dose of nervousness. How are we going to afford this? Where was the “having a baby” manual again? Do we get a “how to raise another human” book when the baby is born? What are we thinking?

            Jessica and I decided not to find out what the gender of our two kids were until they were born, many today are having these gender reveal parties. While I firmly believe the gender of your child is about the only thing AI or Google can’t tell you, many expectant parents plan, have a friend or family member plan, or pay a business to plan an organized gender reveal party.

            When it comes to the method of the reveal itself … pink for girls and blue for boys … creativity abounds. Star Wars fanatics can buy a special lightsaber that lights up blue or pink when turned on. Balloons can be filled with blue or pink confetti that flies all over the place when popped. Cakes can be layered with blue or pink icing. Golfers can purchase special golf balls that explode blue or pink when struck with a club. The ideas are endless.

            It turns out that gender reveals were a pretty big deal in the Bible too. To an Egyptian handmaid on the run from Sarai’s harsh treatment, the angel of the LORD said, “Behold, you are with child and will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael” (Genesis 16:11 AMP). To a very elderly man who had been waiting for offspring together with his wife for 25 years, God said, “Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you call his name Isaac” (Genesis 17:19). To the barren wife of Manoah, the angel of the LORD appeared and said, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son” (Judges 13:3). To an elderly priest on duty whose wife was also barren, and angel of the LORD said, “Do not be afraid Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13).

            The Bible’s undisputed and grandest gender reveal of all time would come to a young woman in a small town around 2000 years ago. Luke writes, “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:26-29). The word wondering, or pondering in some Bibles, is in the imperfect tense which means there is this ongoing reflection by Mary. Mary is mulling over this profound greeting asking herself the good Lutheran question … “What does this mean?”. Mary is not doubting, she’s doing what faith does when God speaks something too big to grasp.

            And the angel is there to quickly help her out. He says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). Mary has nothing to fear. She’s the beneficiary of God’s wonderful grace. From here, Gabriel unveils God’s unique plan for her life. “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Hands down this is the greatest gender reveal of all time. You will bear a son. “It’s a boy!” or better yet, “It’s THE boy!” And this revieal is not just for Mary … God means it for you and me as well. This son, this child, this Jesus is for us!

            In these words to young Mary … did you catch how with God there is always something more? The angel didn’t just provide Mary with a gender reveal … He gives her baby a name.

            Being that Jessica and I didn’t do a gender reveal on either of our kids, we had to come up with names for both a boy and a girl. The boy name was easy because we had planned to name our boy Heath after Jessica’s sister Heather, who passed away the year we got married. The girl name was more challenging. We didn’t want to use Heather, we didn’t want to take that away from her kids. So we rearranged the letters and the only thing we could come up with Aretha. We instantly thought of Aretha Franklin and said nope. My sister-in-law did have great faith, thus how Faith got her name.

            When we found out child number two was coming, we talked about names. If the baby was a boy, he would be Heath. Again, the girl name was a struggle. We like Elizabeth being that was Jessica’s mom’s middle name. I threw out Emily Elizabeth. We thought about it some, but there was something with that name that bothered me. I had heard it before. And then it hit me … “Hi! My name is Emily Elizabeth, and this is my big red dog Clifford.” That name was out. Fortunately, we had a boy! If Heath had been a girl, God only knows what name we would have. All of the uncertainty that we and other parents go through shows us just how different Mary’s situation was.

            For Mary … it was all figured out for her. The name of her baby was already picked out for her by God. “You shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31).

We learn from Matthew’s gospel that the angel Gabriel told this to Joseph and also gave him the meaning of the name. Joseph is told, “what is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Jesus means Savior. Mary’s Savior. Joseph’s Savior. Your Savior. My Savior. And far beyond any honor student at Nazareth High, Mary’s child “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33).

We are worshipping here today, on this fourth day of Christmas, not to receive four drummers drumming, but to receive the gift of our newborn Savior. We are here worshipping more than just a sweet baby in a manger … we’re here because we need a Savior. We need a Savior because sin, death, and the devil still claim us.

We are here, worshipping Jesus, who would fulfill the name of Savior by His brutal suffering and death on Good Friday. By the blood shed on the altar of the cross, you and I are saved from sin, death, and the devil. And then on Easter morning, by rising from the grave, we are guaranteed the promise of being resurrected and living with all the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven forever and ever. At the ascension of Jesus and continuing through His reign from above to this day … there is no greater name than that of Jesus, the Son of God, whose kingdom shall never end. Jesus, our Savior, is the name above all other names.

Because Jesus has claimed you with His saving name … you are free! Free to speak, free to love, free to let others know whose you are. My invitation, my challenge for you then is this … boldly and proudly share who Jesus is to you through your words and actions. Let others know that you are a child of God. Don’t keep them wondering like people attending a gender reveal party. Through your words and actions, let them know whose you are, both now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord, now and forever. Amen.