Called by Name

It isn’t throwaway ceremonialism when the minister asks for the Christian name of the child being baptized. Naming and baptizing go together. To be baptized is to receive and then bear Christ’s name. Not only do you receive your older brother’s name, He also shares His inheritance of everlasting life with you. In solemnizing the naming our children here in their baptism we not only confess that this child is to be called by the name their parents chose for them, but also that name is now inextricably associated with Christ’s name.

Names are funny things, though, aren’t they? Your child is born not knowing their name, but by little and little they begin to understand that name is theirs. As Leithart observed: “We name our children so that they respond to that name.” Baptism sets Christ’s name upon them. Christian discipleship calls their new name out to them. We call through the Word preached, through catechism lessons, through teaching them to say their prayers, through singing the Psalms, and through a meal of bread and wine. By these means, we call out to them their new name that they might respond in true faith to the name of Christ which they bear.

So welcome our sister to Jesus Christ…