December 21, 2025 Advent 4 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
On Christmas Eve 30 years ago, my son Cooper was due. Heavy with my first child, everyone
called me the Reverend Mother. I poured over baby name books trying to decide on the perfect
name for my son. You know how fun it is to discover the meaning of a name and think about
family names as well. The name “Cooper” means barrel maker, not my favorite. But it was also
my husband’s mother’s maiden name, and Trey’s maternal grandfather was very important to him.
So Cooper it is!
Isaiah just provided a sign to the people of Judah who were threatened by Assyria. A sign that King
Ahaz would not ask for, but one that promised God’s presence, “a young woman shall conceive and
bear a son and shall call him Immanuel” (14). The name Immanuel means “God is with us”
assuring the people of God’s protective presence. Israel needed protecting in Jesus’ time as well,
because they were oppressed by the Roman Empire. So now let us hear how the birth of Jesus
promises the abiding presence of God and a communal hope. READ Matthew 1:18-25
What difference does a vowel make? Playing Wheel of Fortune, a vowel can make a decisive
difference. This is also true playing Wordle. An “E” is very different than an “I”. So why do we
sometimes see this amazing, promise of God’s presence name, Immanuel, spelled two different
ways? Immanuel, spelled with an I, is the translation of the original Hebrew name into English,
whereas Emmanuel, spelled with an E, comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the
Hebrew Old Testament. Emmanuel with an E is a translation of a translation from Hebrew to Greek
to English. But rest assured they both mean God with us!
Immanuel is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, yet Joseph is told by the angel to name his son
Jesus. Jesus also comes from a Hebrew name, “Yeshua” meaning ‘Yahweh saves’ or ‘God is
salvation.’ (I was surprised to discover this was a fairly common name among Jews.) The name
expressed their wishes and prayers for God’s deliverance from their current calamities, including
oppression by the colonizing empires” (Working Preacher, Eugene Park). I relate to this in a funny
way. I named my dog “Cal” which was short for Calvin, being a good Presbyterian. But also, Cal
was short for California because I was living back east and longed to return to my home state.
Naming my dog Cal helped me hold that hope, my promise to myself that I would return to
California. Names hold meaning, names embrace promise.
Joseph’s name also had meaning. Reading Walking Backwards to Christmas fleshed out Joseph’s
role and helped me to see him as more than the man who did not disgrace Mary. His very name is
reminiscent of Joseph from the Old Testament who interpreted dreams. And what we know about
Joseph, Mary’s husband, is that he too heeded dreams. In a dream, an angel told Joseph to take
Mary as his wife, to name the child Jesus, and Joseph obeyed without objection. Then in two more
dreams Joseph protected his family fleeing Herod’s decree and then returned from Egypt after
Herod’s death. Joseph was a dreamer who followed his dreams and protected his family.
According to Luke, Mary is told to name her son Jesus which means, as we know, God saves
(1:31). But in this account, it was Joseph who named Jesus at the angel’s direction. Joseph the son
of David, Joseph the righteous man who does not protest when God appears to him in a dream.
Joseph who Matthew just listed in the long lineage of Jesus. Have you ever wondered how it is that
Jesus can be Joseph’s son and the Son of God? Because that does not make sense. That is a
question I often get asked. So, let’s unpack that.
We need to start with the first line from Matthew, before all the begats, the generations in Jesus’
lineage. It states, “This is the book of birth of Jesus the Christ, the son of David and the son of
Abraham.” Some translate the “book of birth” as genealogy or it can mean the “Book of Genesis.”
Because in the Greek, birth and genesis are the same word, which can mean origin, beginning, birth,
generation, creation, et cetera. In this light, we see Immanuel God with us demonstrated
throughout the 42 generation of God’s promise and Jesus’ lineage. A lineage that concludes with
Joseph the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born (1:16). To reinforce this lineage, the angel
addresses Joseph as the son of David (20). So how are we to see Joseph as Jesus’ father, but Jesus
also as God’s Son?
My uncle Bob was really into genealogy. He spent years traveling the world to gather the
connections that make up my family history. He was kind enough to put all his work into a book.
Now for you to understand the title, you need to know my maiden name was Heil, HEIL. Yes, it is
German and it means hail, like one would say, “Heil Hitler.” So now you understand why I kept
my married name. Back to the story. My uncle Bob titled the book, One Heil of a Family. We are
back to changing one vowel. Now my siblings and I are named, and my nieces are included. We
are named because my father adopted four children, making this genealogical volume MY family
history.
The angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus, and when he does Joseph adopts Jesus. It is the last
line of our text, and we almost miss it, “and he named him Jesus.” The fact that Jospeh named the
son born of Mary tells us that Joseph adopted Jesus as his son. One commentator writes, “Joseph
gives a name to the child of his wife, and by doing so, he symbolically, if not formally, adopts him
as his own. That is, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is a natural son of God and an adopted son of
Joseph. In that capacity, he is a legitimate “Son of David,” which was a messianic title” (Working
Preacher, Eugene Park). The same way I have a birth father and an adoptive father, Jesus was both
the son of Joseph and the Son of God.
Recently a nurse friend noticed people are not gifting as they have in the past. Fewer plates of
cookies, or token gifts, or holiday cards expressing the love and hope declared in the name
Immanuel, God with us. I am not sure if this is because we are discouraged about the state of
affairs, or less hopeful about our future. I will say I did not send out Christmas cards this year and it
seems like I have received fewer cards. I say this not to cast a shadow, but to declare Immanuel,
God with us, once again. I think we need to be reminded that God is with us, even when we face
challenges, especially then. That God’s promise of Immanuel shines brightly even when things
feel dark.
This week a member was feeling down and made an appointment to speak with me. Intimately
connecting on this level is one of blessings of being a pastor. I offered an open heart and a listening
ear and she shared, among other things, a friend encouragement to look for miracles. It is so
important during this Christmas season. Look for the ways God is working in your life. The
miracles:
the smile in the checkout line, the kiss on the forehead from your beloved, the unexpected call from
an old friend. As well as the miracle of the way Jesus is “pure gift, holy surprise, a fresh act of God,
a new genesis, a new creation” (Robert Smith, Augsburg Commentary p. 36).
Welcome God’s promised miracles into your life!
We have looked at the names of Cooper, Joseph, Heil, Jesus and Immanuel. This begs the question
what’s in a name? Well for the child born of Mary, his two names, Jesus, meaning God saves and
Immanuel, God with us, are both promises from God. Promises that God loves us so much as to
enter into our human lives and create a new beginning. It is the promise of a living expression of the
Incarnation—the miracle of the Son of God becoming human and making His home among US!
Immanuel, God with us!
Immanuel, God with us! In creation, calling the light out of the darkness.
Immanuel, God with us! In the generations from Abraham to Joseph leading to the incarnation of
God in the baby Jesus.
Immanuel, God with us! a powerful declaration of God's intimate, saving presence with His people,
WITH US, culminating in the person of Jesus. May this promise of God bring you peace this
Advent season. Amen.
