“Hearing, telling, and doing”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Luke 2: 15-21(Forward, p. 64) CEV p. 1057
I cannot help but contrast the responses of two differing groups to the news of Jesus’ birth. The scholars—the chief priests and teachers of the Law of Moses—that the magi and Herod the Great consulted knew perfectly well where Jesus was to be born but did nothing about it. (Of that group, only Herod acted, in his own tormented, paranoid, and destructive way!). However, with the shepherds, they immediately decided to go and check out the story of the angels. As they said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” And furthermore, after seeing the Christ child and His parents, they immediately conveyed to all around what they’d seen and heard. The scholars, on the other hand, seemed to keep mum about it.
And Jesus’ parents as well: they too were active. Eight days after Jesus’ birth, they carried out the ceremonies prescribed by the Jewish faith. (Interestingly, Luke describes it as being ‘what the Law of Moses commanded’ whereas it goes back to Abraham and Moses merely reiterated the command.) Actually, Mary and Joseph did two things on that important day. Firstly, they had Jesus circumcised, which was a sign of the covenant between God and His people, and a token and reminder that He belonged to God.
And secondly, they used this occasion to formally give Jesus His name, the name that both Mary and Joseph had been told to name Him by the angel (see Luke 1:31 and Matthew 1:21). (Mary and Joseph are here shown to be people that remembered--and obeyed—two very significant traits for us.)
And contrary to what we might think—the name Jesus has become so very normal and commonplace for us—the name Jesus (Jeshua, Joshua, or Yeshua in the Hebrew) was highly significant for these folks. Firstly, they would remember its antecedent, Joshua, the liberator of the Hebrew Scriptures, the one who succeeded Moses and brought Israel into the Promised Land. And they would be highly attuned to its meaning, “Saviour” or “The Lord Is My Saviour”. And indeed, this is exactly what God had promised (Matthew 1:21) and what Jesus would become. Truly the name matched His character and function, and described the person He would come to be.
To me, all of this is highly appropriate to this day, New Years Day. We have the shepherds, who were wonderfully responsive and obedient to God’s glorious message and news, and who delighted to declare it widely—rather than ‘sit on the news’, as did the scholars, or reject it and try to stifle it, as did Herod. What a wonderful image and example those shepherds are for us: may we too tell forth the Good News.
And we have Mary and Joseph, also very faithful and obedient. Faithful in calling forth Jesus to be a covenant member of God’s people Israel, and faithful in giving Him the name that would precisely call forth His ministry and role in this world. May we too proclaim that Jesus is Saviour—and live it out in our lives. Amen.
Forward notes: “After eight 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” (verse 21).
“One of the things I love about being a Montessori teacher is how we teach grammar to young children. Every part of speech has a symbol and a story. I introduce nouns by telling my students that the word ‘noun’ comes from Latin and means ‘name.’ Nouns are the first words, and we use them to name everything we can see, feel, or think. The word we use to name something—or someone—matters because of its meaning, whether the name is ‘ruler’ or ‘John.’
“Today we commemorate the day Jesus was publicly given his name, chosen by an angel of the Lord. This name is not just any name. This name is above all other names. This name identifies who Jesus is and the meaning of his life: Jehovah is salvation. Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of humankind, God made flesh to live among us and to give us life. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, and blessed be your Holy Name.”
Moving Forward: “What’s in a name? Reflect on the meaning and/or legacy of your name.”
A concluding note: Jehovah is another name for ‘the Lord’, one that has often been used in older texts.