“What’s in a name?”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, January 1, 2023

Luke 2:15-21 (Forward, p. 64) CEV p. 1057

There is something very meaningful, and important, in very dynamic of naming something or someone. Here I am thinking specifically of my two most recent grandchildren, Theo (Theodore, ‘glory of God’) or Mateo (Matthew, ‘gift of God’), how their names call forth both a history and a hope and a promise of something to come. Or I think of how our ancestor Adam was instructed to name the animals, thus inferring an affinity and a relationship to them. Or I think of how our First Nations peoples of Canada are reclaiming their traditional, ancestral names of certain places, drawing forth therefore something of the history and meaning of those places to them and reconnecting them to their roots.

Today’s passage from Luke recounts the naming of Jesus by His parents Mary and Joseph on the occasion of His circumcism eight days after His birth. They named Him ‘Jesus’, just as they had both been previously instructed (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31). This is interesting, and informative, as this name doesn’t appear in the genealogies of either parent. However, it is a name with quite an historical significance and meaning. In Hebrew, it is rendered ‘Joshua’, the great leader and savour of Israel when it entered into the Promised Land. And its meaning is even more significant. It means ‘The Lord our Saviour’ or ‘The Lord will save”. Indeed, Joseph is told explicitly that his newborn son is to be given this name ‘because he will save his people from their sins.’ (The angel Gabriel, in speaking to Joseph, also mentions that Jesus would also be known as ‘Emmanuel’, meaning ‘God with us’, but essentially that is saying the same thing. For God to be our saviour, to save us, He must also be with us.)

So, what a history and a legacy is bound up in this name! The Joshua of Old Testament fame was mightily used by God in bringing Israel into a new land and a new identity, as would Jesus, but in a far different way. And as Joshua knew better than to even ‘try’ to accomplish his task without the presence and help of God, so would Jesus. He was endowed, enabled, equipped, by God’s Holy Spirit, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of all of humankind.

And so, we remember not just who and what Jesus was, and what He has done for us, but also that He is ever with us as well, to help us and sustain us. And, as He was empowered and assisted by the Holy Spirit, so can each of us as we face into this New Year. Amen.

Forward notes: ”And he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (verse 21b).

“Often our first word is some variation on ‘mother’ or ‘father.’ My first word was baba, or father in Chinese. Over the years, I have called my parents other words in other languages. By now, I also have different names or ways of being addressed, depending on relation or how long someone has known me. But there is something about being called by my name by someone who loves me that lets me know that I am seen.

“Today, Christians celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name. This is the day that the Christ Child was formally given the name Jesus. I love Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel. She ponders and treasures everything in her heart. I imagine Mary often revisited the message of the angel Gabriel, that the Holy Name gave Mary comfort during her pregnancy. I imagine her inviting us today to take solace in the name of Jesus, to meditate and pray on the Holy Name with our lives. Who is the Jesus whom you call by name?”

Moving Forward: “Write out the different names you use for Jesus. Try using them in your prayers this week.”