Paul Walker, ““I Have Called You By Name”

 As we enter into the unknown of the year 2022, we have been given the perfect word this morning from Isaiah 43.  “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

     God says, “do not fear.” There are 3 things about this passage that I want to say to you in this sermon today; 3 reasons that we have nothing to fear – not now, not ever. The first reason not to fear is that God has called you by name. What does this mean?

     Note that God doesn’t just know your name; He calls you by name. The power of being called by your name is profound. My mentor (DZ’s dad) Paul Zahl was the subject of a 1982 Guideposts article. The story is set in New York City and told by a young woman named Anne Berland, who had moved to New York to teach part time and work on her Ph.D. Although she seemed like she had it all together, she had an eating disorder and was addicted to amphetamines. One evening, before classes started, she was desperate.

     Wearing a thin cotton dress, Anne walked into a gothic church near her apartment. The 6pm communion service was just about to start. “I’m not sure why I was there,” she said, “only that I was desperate for help. I did not call myself a believer, but I had found myself in a situation so extreme that I knew only God – if He existed – could help me.” 

     She pulled a kneeler under her knees and prayed, “I don’t know what I’m doing here, God, I don’t know if You are there, but please, if you are, I’m looking for You…help me.” After the prayer and during the service, she felt nothing – only more desperation and emptiness.

     After the service as Anne tried to make a quick exit, Paul approached her with a smile and said, “Hello – I’m Paul Zahl. I don’t think we’ve met.” She reluctantly shook his hand and gave him her name. Paul welcomed her and invited her back. She only went a few more times, not finding any solace, and leaving before anyone could notice her.

     Things spiraled downward. Her addiction raging and her mental health fragile, Anne had to get on a subway to go to a faculty meeting that she didn’t think she could survive without breaking down. Subways, with their crowds and noise, were torture. She focused on her breathing, a panic attack perhaps moments away. 

     “Suddenly I heard my name called. ‘Anne Berland!’ I must have shot up four feet. I turned to see the minister from the church. ‘How are you?’ Paul Zahl asked. But I only stared at him, amazed that he remembered me. I tried to catch my breath and control my anxiety. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked. ‘No’, I said. Some final resistance had finally given way. ‘No. Something is terribly wrong.’ ‘Can you tell me what it is?’ ‘Yes, but not here.’”

     The story ends with Anne meeting with Paul in his office over the next months and gradually embracing the healing power of our Savior. But the healing began in the subway at the moment Paul called her by name. “Do not fear. I have redeemed you. I have called you by name and you are mine.”

     Anne’s story is a good segue to the next point of this sermon. Anne went through a world of troubles. The scripture says that when we pass through the waters and the rivers and the fires, that God will be with us. It does not say that we will walk across a bridge over the troubled waters. It does not say that we will steer clear of the flame. We are not told that we will skirt trouble. Job says that man was born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. Unbelievably, we didn’t lose power in the storm this past week. Most people did. We usually do. Next time we probably will.

     What waters are you passing through right now? Certainly, the collective raging river is the river of covid. Speaking from the heart here, although I know that precautions are necessary and important, I am so unbelievably tired of living this way. I’m no longer interested in finding silver linings, or to be honest, counting my blessings, which, admittedly, are abundant.  And I’m worried that if we don’t really re-engage in the routines and rituals that give us meaning (like church!), the mental health toll will be incalculable. 

     The scripture does say, however, that we should not fear the water and the flames, because God with us each step of the way.  Nothing could be more important. We shall not be overwhelmed. We shall not be burned. We shall not be consumed. Even in death we shall not be overwhelmed or burned or consumed. This is because God the God who has called us by name and accompanies us through our trials has already secured our victory in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     The final piece of this passage from Isaiah to highlight is this verse: “Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.” Isaiah, is foreshadowing the cross. God did more than give people or nations; because you are precious in His sight, He gave His only begotten Son in exchange for your life. Christ’s life given in exchange for your life. 

     In the end, God called His Son by name – Jesus. Jesus means God is Salvation, or God saves. So do not fear, I have called you by name and you are mine. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior.

     Amen.