The Names of God

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Isaiah 9:6 (NRSV)

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
'Cause I speak of the pompitous of love

"The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band, 1973

What do you call God? The Presbyterian Church (USA) put out a report a few years ago about what we call God. There's a lot of good biblical rationale for their report and a lot of good pastoral concern to create such a report. But this is the kind of question that people go to war over, especially from the first age of the church well beyond the reformation.

Hundreds of years before his birth, Isaiah gave the world these names for the baby who would be born to Mary. Isaiah is the first to call the Lord Prince of Peace, and he reserved this title for the Christ-child.

Today, there are many names used for the Lord, just like The Joker was called by various names. Frankly, we may not understand them all either. "Pompitous" is a made-up word, it's a creation of Steve Miller's imagination. So what does it mean, well, one day the truth may be known.

Today, we still say Jesus is Lord. What that means to us is still being revealed every day by the Holy Spirit. He is now and always will be the ultimate Space Cowboy--I bet you weren't ready for that. Now that's good news.