WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:15-21

New Year’s Day — Name of Jesus; Sunday, January 1, 2023

The Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams

We gather on this first day of the year of our Lord (AD) 2023 to celebrate the 8th day of Christmas. Just as a remember, liturgical seasons always begin in the middle of the night. So .. one second after midnight on Christmas Eve is the beginning not only of Christmas Day but the season of Christmas which lasts twelve days, ending at midnight on January 5. 

The 8th day of Christmas gets one verse in the Gospel of Luke:

After 8 days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb (2:21).

In the life of Jesus, then, the 8th day of his first Christmas was the day of his circumcision. A small detail but one that clearly indicates that Jesus was born into a devout Jewish family. In accordance with the covenant God made with Abraham and ratified at Mount Sinai, all male members of God’s people were to be circumcised on the 8th day after birth. Since baby girls are not circumcised they have a naming ritual usually at the first Torah reading or Sabbath after their birth. 

Eight days after his birth, Mary and Joseph arrange for the circumcision of their son, and Joseph names him Jesus, the name given by the angel Gabriel first to Mary before she conceived (Luke 1:31), and repeated by the angel Gabriel to Joseph in a dream after Mary was found to be pregnant (Matthew 1:21). Again, the fact of the naming may seem like a small detail in the Gospel story. It does point to Mary and Joseph’s spirituality and devotion to God. The angel said, this child’s name will be Jesus, therefore Jesus he is.

We may wonder, why fuss about a name? We may even remember the famous line from Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, where Juliet asks, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Would a rose smell as sweet if it was called cabbage? Our ancestors in faith would answer: no!

Ancient Jewish storytellers noted that when God created the world, God did so by naming things: “Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Later God invited the first human, Adam (whose name being person taken from the adamah/earth) to name all the animals and birds that God created (Genesis 2:19). Adam the earth-person named his partner Eve which means the mother of the living because she had the amazing power to give birth to more human beings (Genesis 3:20). The Jewish tradition rooted in the Bible regards names as prophetic, as telling stories about a person’s potential and mission. A name points to a person’s true self, their essence and core identity. There is even a tradition within Judaism that when a person appears before the throne of God, they are asked, “What is your name? Did you live up to it?

So, what’s in a name? What does the name Jesus tell us about Mary and Joseph’s son, the baby laid in a manger because there was no room for this family anywhere in the town of Bethlehem?

So what does the name Jesus mean? Jesus is the English version of the name Iesous which is  the Greek version of the ancient Hebrew name Yehoshua, which is often shortened to Yeshua or Joshua. It literally means God saves; God is my salvation; God is my helper. Jesus was also given another name, Emmanuel which means “God is with us.”

Does Jesus live up to this name? Certainly the apostle Paul thought so as he explains in his letter to the churches of Galatia:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent [God’s] Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are a children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer slaves but a child, and if a children also an heir (4:4-7)

According to Paul the good news of Jesus’ birth means that every person “born under the law” has been redeemed and adopted as a child of God. No longer are people to be defined by human laws that separate human beings, granting rights and privileges to some and denying them to others. In the previous chapter Paul asserts that in Christ the laws that that define humans ethnically, legally, and by gender are undone. He writes, “ there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female” (Galatians 3:28).  Jesus redeems and releases all people from the limitations that such laws, customs, and rules place upon them. Paul insists that because of Jesus, all people are equally God’s children. The same Spirit that filled Jesus’ heart fills the heart of every person. 

As Professor Elisabeth Johnson asserts about Jesus’ work of redeeming us from slavery to laws, and adopting us as God’s children:

“This is pure gift … God’s gift to us will not be revoked regardless of how well we live up to our own expectations, or the expectations of others." (workingpreacher.org 2012)

That is good news indeed!

The name Jesus that we reflect on today — the 8th day of Christmas — is a promise of good tidings for all people.  There is a Catholic tradition that regards the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as a catechism song for children in which the “8 maids a-milking” represent the 8 beatitudes taught by Jesus. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted (Matthew 5:1-11). 

That fun little segue brings us back to our first scripture reading from Numbers 6 where the Israelites are poised to leave Mt Sinai and begin their journey across the wilderness. God instructs Moses that the priests are to bless the people daily as a reminder of God’s presence with them. Our ancestors in faith understood the act of blessing to be the work of God in giving gifts that promote the physical and spiritual life, health and well-being of individuals and communities. This priestly blessing adds the promises that God will keep you safe and secure, grant grace and mercy, smile upon us, and give us shalom — that all-encompassing peace and harmony in life.

God’s people have been blessed by Jewish and Christian priests and pastors using these words for at least 3000 years. For our Jewish siblings “Lord” points to the name of God. For us “Lord” points to the name of Jesus, God made flesh. When the name of God — when the name of Jesus — is pronounced over God’s people they are urged to wear that name, to behave in ways that enable others to see and trust the God who blesses. In other words, as you are blessed, go and be a blessing.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord’s face shine upon you with grace and mercy.

The Lord’s look upon you with favor and give you peace. 

Amen!