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 Eve/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toy with all the latest gadgets, while Woody is old and outdated.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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