The Feast of the Holy Name

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 in the womb.
                                                                                                                                                Luke 2:21

 

Sometimes I wish I lived in a world where we could fully embrace all the Holy Days of the Christian Liturgical Year. I know few of us can invest that kind of time and energy in their life of worship. I rarely feel like I can, and I do this for a living. Still, some of the Holy Days that our Protestant ancestors ignored, neglected, or rejected, really do offer us some profound moments to consider our lives of faith and our relationship with God through Christ. The Feast of the Holy Name is one of those.

The feast day is based on a single verse of scripture that reports that Jesus’ family, who were Jewish, observed the ancient Jewish rite of circumcision on the eighth day of his little life. It was customary to save the ceremony of naming until that time too, lest the baby die and his name be lost. Today, many Jewish families ceremonially name their female infants on the eighth day to fold them fully into the ritual life of the descendants of Abraham. For Christians, therefore, this day should be a special reminder of the respect we owe our Jewish cousins who continue in the teachings and traditions that are the roots and companions to our own faith.

This holy day also asks us to consider the power inherent in names. Jesus’ own Aramaic name “Yeshua” means the LORD saves. Jesus’ name alone is the beginning of the Gospel and surely inspired him during his difficult ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. For some, though, given names are not always appropriate. Choosing a family name can be fraught after marriage and especially after divorce. But scripture is scattered with the stories of those whom God gave new names: Abram>Abraham, Sarai>Sarah, Jacob>Israel, Simon>Peter. These moments of renaming both mark and make a transformation in people’s lives so they can live more fully into God’s call.

What does your name mean to you? How does it inform your sense of self? Do you love it, hate it, not care one way or the other? How might you reflect on your name as part of your life of prayer?

In peace,