You Shall Call Him Jesus (Names Post 1 of 3)
“O God, who founded the salvation of the human race on the Incarnation of your Word, give your peoples the mercy they implore, so that all may know there is no other name to be invoked but the Name of your Only Begotten Son.”
-From the Opening prayer of Mass for the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas is filled with so many rich images, characters, and dialogue. One detail that does not get much mention but is crucial in our understanding of the Incarnation is found in Luke 2:21:
“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
A name is a specific word applied to a person, place, or thing that is proper to that creature or place. Names express intelligibility and recognition, and are not determinative. When a name is assigned it reveals, expresses, or recognizes what in truth is already present in nature or by grace.
.
Names can reflect a number of things including family heritage, attributes of the one named, or place of origin. When God names, it is a creative act and is linked to the very identity and essence of what He has created. Thus, when Jesus names Simon as Peter (the rock), he is bestowing upon Peter a core identity to be fulfilled in his vocation as the first Pope and foundational authority of the Church.
.
The significance of names in Sacred Scripture cannot be overstated. The first man Adam, which means “humankind” or “mankind,” was given his name in Genesis 3:17 immediately following the Fall. Further, Adam’s first task in the Garden was to name all the creatures that God had entrusted into his care, indicating the great purpose in meaning of all that God created.
.
There are so many more instances when a name is significant for what God is doing on the earth. Abraham’s name was changed from Abram when God made His covenant with him and promised to make him the father of many nations. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel (meaning he who strives with God) after he wrestled with the unnamed man whom he called Peniel (meaning the Face of God). Judah, which means thanksgiving and praise, was so named because his mother Leah finally placed her affection on the Lord instead of trying to win her husband’s heart by bearing him sons. We also cannot forget the stories of Hannah and Samuel, Ruth and Naomi, or Solomon (which means peacemaker) – all of which exhibit the deep meaning found in names. A study of names could be done just looking at each instance the Old Testament prophets declared a name upon something or took on a name. The list is expansive!
.
Names are significant, and Jesus’ name is most important of all! Paul writes of Jesus’ name in the Letter to the Philippians, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
.
The name of Jesus bears an authority over all of creation. God originally gave authority over creation to the first man Adam, but after the Original Sin and the Fall, man lost his mastery over creation. The fallen and broken relationship between God’s creatures needed mending – it needed a savior! The name Jesus means savior, so it is no arbitrary detail or accident that Jesus was given this name at the Annunciation. Jesus, the New Adam (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45-50), reconciles what is broken in our nature and restores in us what was lost.
.
Saint John writes in his first letter, “Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.” (1 John 3:21-24).
.
We must hold the name of Jesus in highest reverence. Our culture treats names as arbitrary and cheap, and often utters the name of Jesus profanely, as a joke, or as a curse. More than reverence, we learn from John’s Letter that we find our very identity in believing in the name of Jesus. To be obedient to the name is to be obedient to the person. To honor the name is to honor the person. Let us each commit with a renewed devotion to utter the name of Jesus with the full reverence due to his person. Each time we pray one set of mysteries of the Rosary, we will utter the name of Jesus no less than 60 times (more depending on personal prayers added on after the close of the Rosary).
.
We now have a foundation for us to explore more deeply the mystery of the name of Jesus, and the power he has given to us to be under his name, which is the topic of the second post in this series. The third and final post will then examine the threat posed by secularism through the false and tyrannical use of names and language.
.
