+ 7^th Sunday of Easter (Confirmation Sunday) – June 6^th, 2025 +

Series C: Acts 1:12-26; Revelation 22:1-20; John 17:20-26

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

“The Name”

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus prays in John 17, I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

A name is a gift. It isn’t chosen or earned. A name is revealed. Made known. Given. When you name something or someone a gift is given. So your parents did for you when they named you – perhaps a family name or a name that had meaning or beauty. God gave Adam the sacred task of naming the animals brought to him in creation in Eden. Where do we learn this sacred gift of naming? Where does this gift of names come from?

From the one who gave Adam and you your name in the first place. From the Name above all names. The Name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is the great giver of names.

Remember, a name is a gift. It is made known. Given. So it is with God’s name throughout the Scripture. The Lord reveals his name to Moses in the burning bush. YHWH. I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

YHWH places his same revealed name upon the stones that adorned the priests’ vestments in the tabernacle and temple. YHWH places his name at the beginning of the commandments…I AM YHWH who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

When YHWH instructs Moses to build the tabernacle, he promises that in the place where he promises to put his name there he will be present and there he will bless.

So it is when YHWH of the burning bush and the pillar of smoke and fire is incarnate and born of the Virgin Mary. YHWH reveals his name once again. His name is Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins, the angel tells Joseph.

There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are saved, preaches Peter.

YHWH reveals and makes known and gives his name. It is his gift given to you. It’s more than a nametag by which he is known. His name brings his peace. His name is his presence to save and rescue. His name means he dwells with you and for you. His name brims with promise. His name is backed by his authority over death and the grave.

This is the name by which you are saved – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is the name, Jesus prays in John 17, that he has revealed and given to his disciples. But not only his disciples. He reveals and gives his name to you as well.

Jesus is praying for you in this part of his high priestly prayer. And we need this prayer. This word from Jesus. We need his name upon us. Over us. Surrounding us. Because it’s tempting for you and I to go the way of the men of the tower of babel and make a name for ourselves. To confess and exalt and take pride in our name and call upon our own name in the day of trouble. To do what is right in our own eyes.

This is why Jesus must reveal God’s name for us. The Trinity must make himself known to us. God gives us his name like a light into the darkness. Like life from the dead. Like water in the wasteland. And this he delights do to.

I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

What Jesus prays for is what he does for you. YHWH names you. He gives you a name you didn’t earn or deserve or choose or make for yourself. He has made and chosen it for you. For it is his name placed upon your forehead by water and word and the Spirit.

I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is the name he reveals in Scripture and the name he gives you. The Lamb’s name written upon your forehead and heart.

This is the name that you – like our catechumens today – received on the day of your baptism. The name that saves you. The name that you – as they do today – confess the faith in. The name by whose grace you intend to live according to his word and continue steadfast in this confession and suffer even death for his name rather than fall away from it.

Yes, confirmation day is a day for naming things. For receiving gifts in the name of YHWH – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is for you as it was on the day of your baptism. Today you remember whose you are. Whose name belongs to you. Whose name you are baptized in. Whose name you confess. And whose name has written your name in the Lamb’s book of life.

Today, tomorrow, and forever, Jesus reveals his name and makes it known to you and gives you his saving name to live in, to confess, to call upon in prayer, to give you his blessing, promise, and presence…now and always.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.