The cemetery has been around for about 100 years. Old names filled the headstones. Grace. Pearl. Myrtle. Frederick. Some of them had two or three first names with lots of German sounds. They were all names from another generation. But then I saw one that caught my eye. It really wasn’t a headstone but a piece of cement with a name scrawled into the top with a finger, or a stick - BABY. No date, no mention of parents and No Name. You wonder who he or she was, what happened and even what they called their baby. At least in that cemetery that child has no name.

Names are important. Your name was chosen especially for you. You may be named after some relative or friend, or someone who was famous at the time. (Maybe George Heyliger was named after his contemporary George Washington! Just kidding!!) On this day when we hear much about Baptism – Christ’s and ours we see that names are crucial.

But we live in a world where names are replaced with numbers, where things have become way too impersonal. And because of this we treasure someone actually knowing and speaking our name, remembering who we are, placing great importance on us as the individual. Isaiah speaks God’s Word to us and says, “But now, this is what the Lord says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel; ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned (called) you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

In the late service today we sang a song in the pregame that says, “I have a Maker, He formed my heart. Before even time began, my life was in His hand. He knows my name, He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call.”

It would be terrible to be nameless, to think that we didn’t have a particular and unique personality or to think that not one person knew us or cared for us or that we made a difference in the world in which we live. But I think that quite a few people think that they are nameless or inconsequential. Recently parents of Arapahoe High School students received a letter telling them that over the Christmas break two students ended their own lives. Sometimes people who decide to end life think that it won’t matter, it won’t be a big deal – but for the friends and family of these two they are not nameless or unimportant – to them and to the One who created and formed them, who redeemed them and called them by name.

Names are important, ask Eldrick Tont Woods (Aka ‘Tiger’ Woods). His name meant strength, being able to do astonishing things, a name that was known all over the world. And his name was worth something. I believe that he made about 100 million dollars last year. 90% of it came because his name was famous. Major companies wanted to put their name and his name together. But that has changed over the last few months and advertisers are putting some distance between them and him. His name has been damaged and they don’t want his with theirs.

If ever you or I think that we are unimportant, insignificant, of no matter – nameless - we must remember that God has placed His name upon us. “I have called you by name, you are Mine.” When Christ was baptized heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove, and God the Father spoke the words, “This is My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) In our baptism we receive the same Spirit and we can hear the same words. God is doing His great work for us, He is making us His own child – He is giving us a new name. We are His baptized; His washed; His children; the ones who are made His own. Nameless? God has said that we are His sons and daughters!!

Because we are claimed by Him and connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus in our Baptism we are saved. The name we have is “Christian!!” And we, in this naming, are treasured. In Luther’s Works he offers a commentary on these verses. He says some amazing words. Commenting on the worth God gives to His people, Luther writes, “Because you are precious. Where? In My eyes. Who says that? The world does not say this. No, to the contrary, even in your own eyes you seem cast off. But in My eyes you are a noble jewel and emerald. Although in supreme trials you seem nothing in your own eyes and are condemned as one cast off from the world, in My eyes you are glorious. Therefore you may be vile in your own eyes, in the eyes of the world, and even in those of your brothers. Fear not. In My eyes I regard you as a precious jewel.”

This section which contains great words of grace tells us of our redemption and the truth that God has fashioned us wonderfully in our creation. It also tells us wonderfully what God will do for us when we live life facing life. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:2-3a) His name is not weak or ineffective. It is strong and saving. His name will make our name constant to the task.

The picture that Isaiah gives is the picture of the great and mighty things that God does. When God sent the Flood the waters did not sweep over Noah and his family, the eight that God chose to begin life anew in the world. They were offered a great protection from the hand of God. They passed through the waters. When Israel left Egypt and then were pursued by Pharaoh and his armies God opened the Red Sea and the people of Israel went through on dry ground with a wall of water on both sides of them. They passed through the rivers and it did need sweep over them.

That is the name that we call on. That is the name of our strength. “When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Later in Israel’s history three men would be put in the Fiery Furnace for not bowing their knees to an idol. And they spent a night there only to come out with neither a hair singed or the smell of fire on their clothes.

Some people don’t name God. He is simply a higher power. Faceless. Nameless. That isn’t our God. He is the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. He is our Triune God. This is our Savior Jesus who washed us clean in His blood and calls us to trust in Him for everlasting life.

We are not nameless but rather named, precious in God’s eyes and we are folks who witness daily the strong and wonderful actions of God in our lives. We also are given a great purpose. During the Christmas season Southwest Airlines had an advertisement that showed a variety of workers doing their jobs but then showed them doing something for others - volunteering their time. Each would say, “This is what I do. This is who I am.” One man who was a mechanic by trade was also a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House helping a young girl who had cancer. “This is what I do. This is what I am.”

That must be true for us!! “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned (called) you by name; you are Mine.” This is what I am – I am His!! Do not define yourself solely by your employment, or your family connections, or by a hobby or interest or what you own. What I am, who I am is that I am God’s precious possession. I’m His. My life is His. My heart is His. My feet, my hands, my mind, my thoughts are all His. He called me by my name: I call Him by His. Father, Savior, God, Lord, Friend.

The little one buried in that cemetery didn’t have a name. At least we didn’t know it. But that little one was known by our great God. Our great God is not nameless, nor am I!! Amen!!