Isaiah 43: 1
** Isaiah 43: 1 **
Viv and I thought long and hard about the names we
should give our children. First of all, since the surname, Gray, has just one
syllable, we wanted the first name to contain more than one syllable. I’m still
not quite sure why, but that’s what we concluded! Then we did not want a name
that could be shortened or lengthened into something that could lead to them
being ridiculed. We would not want our children to forever condemn us for
landing them with that sort of name. Then we did not want a name that would
remind us of someone we wanted to forget! For example, after working as a
school teacher no son of mine would ever be called Rory - a lad of that name
had been a constant plague to me for years! Then we wanted a name that meant
something to us – perhaps because we had known someone whose character we
wanted our child to emulate. Names matter.
One of my biggest fears – and I’m afraid it happens a
lot more often than it should – is that I forget somebody’s name. The times I
do that! There is somebody standing in front of me whom I have known for ages
and their name has just completely gone from my head. Does that happen to you
or is it just my age? The reason we want to use one another’s names in
conversation is because it emphasises our concern for one another as precious
and unique. When we use names, then we are indicating that the other person
matters to us. So we feel bad if we forget the other person’s name.
And we know what it is like when someone forgets our
name, don’t we? Oh dear! Going back to teaching days, after I had been at a
school six or seven years, I once asked a pupil to take a message for me to
another teacher.
“Now, please take this note to Mrs Smith.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You do know who Mrs Smith is, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, sir, I’ve been at this school for
three years!”
She then hesitated. “By the way, sir, who are you?”
She knew how to put me down!
To be known by name indicates a closeness of
relationship which as humans we value. I’d like to remind you of the Easter
story. Mary Magdelene is in the garden weeping near to the empty tomb where the
body of Jesus had been laid. The risen Jesus stands before her, but she does
not realise who it is.
** John 20: 15-16
**
It was hearing her name spoken that made Mary
Magdelene realise that she was in the presence of the risen Jesus. Names
matter.
The Isaiah passage reminds us that God has called each
of us by name. He knows and loves us as individuals, with our own particular
mix of gifts and problems. Each one of us matters to him. He is concerned for
our personal, individual and deepest needs. He will walk with us through the
deepest waters. He will walk with us through the fiercest flames. We worship a
God of personal relationship. Each person has worth, significance and value.
So it is important that we echo that in our ministry
as a church. If the God we serve calls each person by name, so we too need to
express each person’s value through all that we do. Every week our mission
statement appears on our notices and in our pews. It says that the community of
It has been good to hear this morning about the work
of the Benevolent Society, money for which is raised through the singing of the
Carol Choir each Advent and Christmas. I want to give you just one example of
how that has made a difference this year. A person was referred to us who had
moved into a flat in the area who had very few belongings. They were escaping
from a violent, abusive relationship. Through a gift from the Society we were
able to provide a second hand fridge to keep them going. I hope that they felt
they mattered, that they were significant and could make a new start.
It has been good throughout 2009 to support Casa
Alianza. To the countless street children of
I have been impressed by the five core principles on
which Casa Alianza's services to street children are based. Those principles
stress the significance, the worth of the child or young person beyond
everything else. They say this:
Immediacy
Children come to us in crisis. Most have been
abandoned not only materially but also emotionally. When children arrive at
Casa Alianza we don't ask questions - we listen, give them a hot meal, a
shower, clean clothes and medical attention. More importantly we offer them a safe
place away from the streets.
Sanctuary
Children who come to us are generally frightened and
mistrustful. To protect them from the dangers of the street it's essential that
they feel safe and secure. Our street educators and staff offer the children sanctuary
and work hard to build trust. We unconditionally accept any child that comes to
us and never make judgements. We listen to the child's story but are not
intrusive and don't ask unnecessary questions.
Value Communication
Lying, cheating, and stealing are common survival
tools on the street. We teach children, by example, that caring relationships
should be based on trust, respect and honesty. The key values we promote are
respect, honesty, sincerity, solidarity, justice, responsibility and love.
Structure
Children on the street live with uncertainty. Where
will they find their next meal? Where will they sleep? We provide a routine
that gives them stability and helps them focus on the future. The routine also
sets expectations on the children and imposes limits on behaviour helping the
transition from the street.
Choice
We believe that children who have made the difficult
decision to run away and live on the streets are capable of making choices.
However, often they end up in a self defeating cycle of failure, feel powerless
to control their lives and lose hope. We encourage children to believe in
themselves and empower them to make serious choices about their future.
Children must make their own choices - they mustn't be imposed - we help by giving
hope and getting them to think about the long term.
All that says to me, “You matter. You are called by
name.” Fred, it has been good to support Casa Alianza this year and to grow in
our awareness of its work. We will continue to pray for all that you seek to
do.
Later in our service we will hear about the Women’s
Friendship Group for Asylum Seekers and Refugees, our Church Charity for 2010.
That is also doing critical work among a group of people who otherwise would
have to battle on alone in hugely difficult situations. Again, it is a group
that says to vulnerable people, “You matter. You are called by name.”
This week a report was published by the Cross-Party
Group on Balanced Migration. Like a lot of reports it is full of statistics,
quoting numbers in thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and
millions, as it discusses the fluctuating population of this country. And yet
each number it quotes has to be brought right down to its realities in terms of
people’s lives. The Women’s Friendship Group is about saying to individual
people, “We know that you are not just a statistic. You are valued person with
a name and a story (and often a painful one at that), who needs to be listened
to and taken seriously and supported through the trauma that you face. Like our
support for the Benevolent Society and Casa Alianza I hope that taking up the
cause of the Women’s Friendship Group will echo the words of God through the
prophet Isaiah: “I have called you by name.”
When Jesus was baptized, God spoke.
** Luke 3: 22(b) **
In those words God was confirming what had been true
all along – that Jesus was loved by his Father and his life had point and
purpose as he identified with humanity in all our need. Whatever we do to
express to individual people their value and worth in the sight of God, then we
are doing the work of God. Through our actions we are living out the prophetic
word:
** Isaiah 43: 1 **
And one last thing: Do not hear those words as being
spoken to others alone. They are spoken to each and every one of us. You are
called by name. God has a concern, a plan and a purpose for you. Through the
next year he will walk with you as surely as he always has done. Wherever you
find yourself and whatever you find yourself doing, “Fear not… I have called
you by name. You are mine.” Amen.