The Naming of Jesus

Bless my words and our meditations, O Lord our rock and redeemer. Amen

The cosy picture of the new-born child in the clean wooden manger, with ox and ass at a respectful distance is misleading. There was no room, no space except where the animals spent the night, and the worried mother had to use the only space available, a feeding trough. That was where the shepherds found him. They were most likely poor and rough, and may not have even owned the sheep. In Matthew the baby is worshipped by wise men from the East, with their symbolic gifts. Surely God could have rounded up more suitable visitors, than scruffy shepherds? No gifts were forthcoming from the shepherds, but, maybe what they brought was more valuable. They brought wonder, trust, themselves as they were no pretence, no shuffling self-importance. As we worry about our post- Christmas waistlines, we should reflect on who are the chosen ones of the Lord.

In the recent nihilistic generations, secular society has pushed physical stuff into the place of devotion, believing that things can take the place of faith, forgetting that, “when we sow the wind we reap the whirlwind”. Things cannot take the place of believe, of taking time to spend with another person. The occupy protests speak into this, and we note the fear in secular society which manifests itself as violence against protesters when the greedy, avaricious, and arrogant see themselves having to give-up any of the stuff they perceive as essential to their own lives. Surely the only things we need are more and more stuff. I think the shepherd’s presence speaks volumes.

Today we celebrate the feast of the naming of Jesus. Naming a child is important; children are named for past family members, for members of the Royal family, famous people, explorers, and others like actors of stage and screen, and occasionally whole sports teams. This follows the most ancient of customs; name the child for a power that will protect. In the ancient world of Egypt a new born child was named after protective powers with the understanding that once named they were individuals and had an existence in the afterlife, whether they lived for hours, years or many decades. Un-named babies and criminals who had their names taken away had no expectation of an afterlife. We of course have heard of Tutankhamun whose names is a statement; "the living image of Amun".

Names evoke the power of any god’s name which is included within the child’s name. North American Indians and the Haida people in Canada named children after strong animals and birds, or natural forces. They expected some of the power to be transferred to the child, in the same way today, naming a child after a successful sports person brings the expectation the child will excel at sports. Looking back at my family it is interesting to note that during Middle Ages when the plague was rampant, the names John and Mary were used repeatedly. The first child was named Mary or John; the second had a second name and so on. Was this to protect the children from the plague; probably yes it was.

A person's name could be changed under certain and special circumstances. Simon became Peter after his call; Saul met God and became Paul. Name changes show that the whole character of the person has changed.

In a story names can tell us a lot about people’s characters and the roles they play. Writers often give their characters names that tell us something about who they are. Dickens' characters are some of the most memorable in fiction. Characters such as Scrooge (miserly) and Pecksniff (hypocritically affecting benevolence) became defining terms in the vernacular. Bob Sawyer (Pickwick Papers) is a medical student, and f course doctors have been known as “saw-bones”.

In the Harry Potter stories the characters have fun names, and their meanings are none too subtle. Severus is a Latin word for “severe”, and of course Professor Severus Snape is a particularly strict teacher.

We are told in the New Testament that God is the one who gives Jesus his name. And in giving Jesus his name, God is telling us something important about Jesus’ character and the role he will play in the story of God’s love for the world.

Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive and bear a son and that she is to name him Jesus. In naming Jesus, God is telling us something about himself; “Jesus” is a Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” which means “the Lord helps” or “the Lord saves.” When we celebrate the name of Jesus, we are celebrating the one through whom and in whom God saves his people.

It is a rather audacious name to give to a baby. Before his teaching and preaching, before his healings and miracles Jesus is already identified as the one through whom God will save his people. In the naming of a tiny child, we catch a glimpse God’s audacious plan to save the world through the gift of a vulnerable human being.

“After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel.” Circumcision was the act by which he was made a member of the people of God. That Jesus’ parents had him circumcised and named on the eighth day after his birth demonstrates their piety and fidelity to the Law of Moses. The beginning of the story of Jesus is part of the larger, ongoing story of God’s love for God’s people. Jesus’ name tells us about his place in this story.

The Catechism in older versions of the Book of Common Prayer began with the question: “what is your name?” This was followed by the question, “Who gave you this Name?” The answer to this question was: “my sponsors in baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.”

Names can tell us much about people’s characters and the roles they play in a story. Yes, we are vulnerable humans with ordinary names like Ron and Thomas and Sue. But we have also been given names in baptism that identify us as extraordinary participants in the story of God’s love for the world.

Today we celebrate the naming of Jesus. It happened when he was eight days old, when he was circumcised and made a member of the people of God. The angel Gabriel told his parents to name him “Jesus,” which means “the Lord helps” or “the Lord saves.” He is the one through whom God’s love will embrace the whole world. This was an extraordinary name to give a baby. It was, it is an extraordinary plan to save the world through a vulnerable, human being.

Amen.

The Holy Gospel according to St Luke 2:16-21

¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 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.

This is the Gospel of Christ.

A pdf of the above sermon is availablehere.