Prefer to listen to this post? You can at the new 2 Penny Blog Podcast!
“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9)
On January 1, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Name of Jesus as recorded in Luke 2:15-21. On the eighth day after our Lord’s birth, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple as prescribed by Mosaic Law. There, he would be circumcised, a sign that he belonged to the ancient covenant between God and Abraham. Circumcision was an initiation for males into the Jewish tribes, but more importantly, into all of God’s plans and promises. The Jewish people had been chosen and set apart to glorify God and bless the world. It was also at this time that Jesus formally received the name the angel had given him. In ancient Hebrew, his name was Joshua. In the Greek of the New Testament, his name is translated as Jesus. In any language, his name means “God is salvation.” Through the Jewish people, the world’s hope had become manifest.
Perhaps it is appropriate to hear and remember his name in its many forms. Jésus (French), Jesús (Spanish), Jézus (Hungarian), Yexus (Hmong Daw), İsa (Azerbaijani), Tsisa (Cherokee), and many more variations exist in the more than 6,500 languages of our world. For “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law” – all peoples of the Earth – “so that we might receive adoption as children” (Galatians 4:4-5). God’s plan was never to limit love to the Jewish people but to spread love throughout the earth and into our individual hearts.
No matter our genetic heritage, whatever our family name, through our faith and baptism, we are claimed and gifted with a new name; that of “Christian.” The ancient name Christian means “Christ bearer.” Much like our siblings of the Jewish faith, we are grafted into their ancient, shared call, and wrapped in God’s promises and glory. As we start this new year, our lectionary reminds us that we “are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God” (Galatians 4:4-7). We are now part of God’s family – never forgotten, never alone. We are allowed to know and claim God as Abba, Father.
What wonderous news to begin our year with! God calls our individual names in love. God’s word shapes us into community. Together with all God’s peoples, we share a sacred purpose – God’s purpose. This means that in good times or times of suffering, every moment of our life matters to God, and Christ will somehow be made known. For wherever this year leads us, Jesus walks with us. He will never forget our names, those whom he lived, suffered, and died for. He will never reject us and will always speak love to us.
Like you, I cannot tell what the future will bring in detail, but I know this, Jesus is Lord. Nothing can truly harm us, not even death. He has called us by name. So let us lift up our heads and look for God’s presence. God is here and now. God is waiting to welcome us into the future. God is our salvation. For we have been declared and made God’s own, and he will never forget our names. In fact, God love us so much that God has inscribed our names in the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16). Our names remain before God’s eyes and in God’s heart forever.
Happy New Year, dear Church! I look forward to what God will do.
Originally published in the January 2022 newsletter of Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations for this post are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation.
© 2022 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author.
2pennyblog 