“Blessed by
the Name of God”— Numbers 6:22-27 New Year’s Day—Jan. 1st, 2012
1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word this New
Year’s Day is taken from Numbers 6:22-27 and is entitled, “Blessed by the Name of God,”
dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. The original Toy Story movie is the story of toys belonging to a boy
named Andy. In the opening of the
movie we see that one toy, a cowboy named Woody, is Andy’s favorite toy. But, for his birthday Andy receives a
spaceman named Buzz Lightyear. Buzz is a
toy with all the latest gadgets, while Woody is old and outdated. Because of this Woody is jealous of Buzz. All the other toys begin to see Buzz as the
most popular toy in the room. Then
something happens that reveals to Woody just how far things have gone: Andy writes his name on the bottom of
Buzz’s foot with permanent marker.
Woody’s foot has the same mark and he knows what that means: Andy is claiming Buzz as his own, marking
him, and giving him a new identity. He’s
not just one of a million other Buzz Lightyears, he’s now Andy’s Buzz
Lightyear. So too, in baptism God
writes His name on our hearts through water and the Word by the power of the
Holy Spirit. He washes all of our
sins away and makes us His own child.
When we are baptized we are blessed to receive the name of God, to be
made a part of His family.
3. But, baptism isn’t the only way that we are blessed with the name of
God. On this day we recognize
that our Savior upon His circumcision publicly receives His name, Jesus, which
means the “the Lord saves.” We
remember how we’re blessed through Him.
In the circumcision of Jesus, all people are circumcised once and for
all, because He represents all humanity.
In the Old Testament the benefits of circumcision included the
forgiveness of sins, justification and being made a part of the people of God. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul speaks
about baptism as a “circumcision made
without hands” and as “the
circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11).
4. Anytime we receive the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we as
God’s people are blessed. This
leads us to Numbers
6:22-27, which says,
“22The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23“Speak to Aaron
and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say
to them,
24The Lord
bless you and keep you;
25the Lord
make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26the Lord
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 27So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel,
and I will bless them.”
5. Here we see that
God gave the priests the words of the Aaronic blessing. Notice how the word Lord
is repeated three times. Here we see a reference to the Trinity. Though we
are limited in our ability to explore the depths of the Trinity, we can
appreciate the truth that the triune God acts on our behalf. As each of the
divine persons carries out his work, the triune God reaches out to bless all those
who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
6. The first phrase refers especially to the work of God the Father. The
blessing from the Father includes all aspects of our life. Wherever we
look, we can see how the Lord blesses us through the possessions that he gives
us. Luther’s explanation to the First Article of the Creed summarizes these
blessings noting that the Lord “gave me
my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my mind and all my abilities
… richly and daily providing clothing and shoes, food and drink, property and
home, spouse and children, land, cattle, and all I own.” We need only look in our homes! Look at the
food and furniture, the children and cars, dishes and dresses, the suits and
sofas, and even the electricity that’s present in the wall sockets. And even more the Lord blesses us with
talents and abilities. With mind and hand, we can make a living. With the same
mind and hands, we serve Him and our neighbor.
7. And what’s more our heavenly Father blesses us as He answers our
requests when we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” How
often the Lord keeps us by preventing dangers from overwhelming us! How eagerly
the Lord works to keep us from going to those places where we’ll be tempted to
sin! And yet, how loving the Lord is when He allows tests to come into our
lives, for He promises that He’ll also make a way of escape and that all things
will work together for good to those who love him. Ultimately the richest way
in which the Lord blesses us is that He keeps us faithful to the gospel to the
end of our lives. It is also His blessing that He’ll deliver us from this
present evil world into the glory in heaven. All these blessings the Lord
gladly includes in the benediction: “The Lord bless you and keep you.”
8. The second phrase of the benediction addresses the fact that human
beings are sinful. By birth man is in rebellion against God. The
only hope for such rebels lies in the fact that God is gracious to us. How
clearly we see God’s love for us in the work of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Using
Luther’s explanation of the Second Article of the Creed, we note that God is
gracious to us in Jesus, who “has
redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins,
from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with
his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. All this he
did that I should be his own, and live under him in his kingdom, and serve him
in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” That’s God’s
grace in Christ. For in Christ, God shows his love to us—a deep, love that
loves us also when we deserve it least because of our sin. In such love God
makes his face shine upon us. Just as the face of a proud, new mother
radiates love, so God looks at us covering all our sins with the perfect
redemption that Christ purchased for us. All these blessings the Lord
gladly includes in the benediction: “The Lord make his face shine upon you and be
gracious to you.”
9. In the third phrase of the benediction, we see the work of the third
person of the Trinity: God the Holy Spirit. The phrase “turn his face toward you” indicates that
the Lord gladly looks upon each of us as individuals. How sad it would be
if God would turn his back on any of us. How wonderful this work of the Holy
Spirit! He turns rebels into his children by leading them to faith in Jesus! He
makes the blind to see by leading them to the light of Christ. As the giver
of life, he gives life to those who are dead in their sins. It is the Holy Spirit who has “called me by the gospel, enlightened me with
his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith” (Luther’s Catechism,
Third Article). In the miracle of conversion, the Holy Spirit gives us peace
because we know that through Christ we are reconciled to God. The believer enjoys a peace that stands up even
in the face of death. What peace there is to know that whether we live or die,
we are the Lord’s. Anchored in this faith, we can exclaim with Saint Paul: “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39). Angels
proclaimed this peace at the first Christmas Eve: “Peace on earth, good will to man.” Jesus promised the peace from
the Holy Spirit when he said, “Peace I
leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27).
10. What great blessings the Lord gives to every believer! His power
and love stand behind each of the words in the benediction: “So they will put my name on the Israelites,
and I will bless them.” The name of God was on the Israelites. In the
New Testament that name is also on us as we claim the name Christian, which really means that we’re followers of Christ.
Of such believers the Lord gladly says, “I
will bless them.” This promise makes the benediction far more than mere
words. The Lord stands behind each word. As the triune God, he gladly grants
these blessings to each of us.
11. To such a benediction, believers in all ages have gladly said, “Amen. So be it.” Amen. So be it! Lord, God the Father,
Creator and Preserver, bless and keep us!
Amen. So be it! Lord, Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord, make your
face shine upon us and be gracious to us!
Amen. So be it! Lord, Holy Spirit, Sanctifier and Counselor, turn
your face toward us and give us peace!
Amen.
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