Holy Name of Jesus
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
For some people there is great joy in the selection of the name for their child. A boy's name and a girl's name may be selected even before the child is conceived, especially when there is a great desire to have a child. The name of the parents-to-be may be used in some way, or the names of other relatives. Sometimes the name of an admired hero outside the family circle is chosen. Books listing names and their meanings may be scanned. The selection of the name in some way seems to contribute to the actualization of the child; it makes the child more real. It helps the parents and other relatives to get used to the name and to get used to the idea of a new person in the family.
Medical tests can now determine many factors about the developing child long before the day of birth, including whether the child will be female or male. Possibly in some instances medical techniques may make it possible for family planning to include the "ordering" of a particular type of child, with certain characteristics, as is already possible to some extent in adoption situations. Then the name of the child may be selected with greater assurance, to depict that which is expected from the child.
The Matthean and Lukan Gospels, with their heavily theological virgin-birth accounts, provide separate but similar stories, literary dramas, about the selection of the name of Jesus and about how already, in the selection of that name, the expectations of God regarding Jesus were revealed. The name "Jesus" is an indication of the expectation that he would be a savior, for that is the meaning of the name Jesus. It is a vivid expression of the Messianic hopes of the Israelite people that God would act through a specially chosen representative of God to deliver the people from political oppression and to provide appropriate guidance for their lives. The Matthean tradition utilized the media resource of an angel appearing in a dream to Joseph to reveal the name and its significance. The Lukan writer used the most significant angel from the Daniel traditions, Gabriel, to be the bearer of this important message, as we see in Luke 1:26-38 and in Luke 2:21, the Gospel for this day. Before we focus our attention on the Luke 2:21 account, let us look briefly at the various other texts selected for use with Luke 2:21 on this occasion each year.
Common:
Psalm 67
Roman Catholic: Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
Together with the Numbers 6:22-27 First Lesson for this Holy Name of Jesus observance, Psalm 67 emphasizes the desire of the People of God that God would bless them. In antiquity, for God to bless the people signified that good things would come to them. The good word of God prefigured and set into motion the good action of God. In Psalm 67 the good action of God desired was probably a bounteous harvest of grain and of grapes, staple items in that culture. In Luke 1:26-38 and in Luke 2:21 the good action of God desired was obviously deliverance from oppression. For us, the good action of God desired may be similar to that desired in Psalm 67 and
in the Lukan texts. By association with the name of Jesus and the People of God in an inclusive sense at the time of our baptism and in the daily renewal of our baptism, we indicate our desire to benefit from that good action of God each day and especially on this occasion when we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus and begin a new calendar year.
Lutheran: Psalm 8
"Yahweh, our Lord, what splendor your Name has in all the earth!" For the psalmist, and for the Israelites who have used this psaalm, the night sky with its moon and stars brought forth feelings of awe, of appreciation for the Creator, of acclamation of Yahweh, the Lord as the Israelites perceived God. With rich poetic imagery this psalm recognizes the great difference and distance between God and a solitary human figure afraid of enemies in the night, but also the closeness of God to each solitary human figure who has been given great authority and responsibility over the other creatures of the world. The only appropriate response a human being can make is to give glory to the Name of the Lord, ending the psalm of acclamation as it was begun.
Use of this psalm by Christians on the day of the celebration of the Holy Name of Jesus is another indication that in many respects Jesus is for Christians what Yahweh was for the ancient Israelites and is for Jews today. The Name of Jesus is acclaimed among us because Jesus is for us Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, one with God and even as God for us. We too have our being in our great difference and distance from God and in our closeness to God, especially as we perceive that God has come to us in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. And so we give glory to the Name of Jesus, holy for us on this day.
Numbers 6:22-27
It is said in this text that through the use of this great threefold benediction the priests of Israel (Aaron and his sons) were to put the Name of Yahweh upon the people of Israel. Then Yahweh will bless them. The Name is an instrument, a means by which the blessing of the Lord is bestowed.
The triple blessing is of interest here. It is common in the Israelite tradition to repeat a statement, using parallel expressions, for emphasis and effectiveness. Hebrew poetic speech and literature generally follows the pattern of saying many things twice. When we have something expressed three times, as in this great threefold benediction, we are being told, "This is especially important!" It is of the greatest importance that you put the Name of Yahweh upon the people and that Yahweh bless them. This same emphasis upon the importance of putting the Name of God upon us in the Name of Jesus and upon God blessing us in the Name of Jesus is appropriate for us as Christians.
Common, Lutheran: Philippians 2:9-13
The Name that is said in this tremendous Hymn to Christ to have been bestowed upon Jesus the Christ by God as a result of Jesus' emptying himself and becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross is not Jesus; it is not Christ; it is Lord. Our studies of the political situation of the first century are helping us to recognize more fully that Lord is often a highly political designation and not merely a social or a religious one. Paul here in this text was saying that God, in view of Jesus' death in a crucifixion inflicted by the Roman State, had given to Jesus the Christ the social-political-religious title of Lord. Not Caesar, but Jesus the Christ, should for all times, in all places, and by all people (including Caesar) be acclaimed as Lord. To Jesus as Lord every knee shall bend, and Jesus as Lord every tongue shall confess. Surely, therefore, his Name is holy.
Roman Catholic: Galatians 4:4-7
Although there is no explicit mention of the Holy Name of Jesus in Galatians 4:4-7, it is implied in the statement that God sent God's Son with a mission of redemption. By association with Jesus, the followers of Jesus are said to be eligible for adoption as God's special children and heirs of the inheritance that God has prepared for them. Followers of Jesus, therefore, will certainly consider his name to be holy for them.
Common:
Luke 2:15-21
Lutheran, Roman Catholic: Luke 2:21
In Luke 2:15b the "Lord" is Yahweh, who sends messages by means of angel intermediaries. According to the Lukan writer, the most important of these intermediaries, the angel Gabriel, had brought the message to Mary that she would conceive a male child by the power of the Holy Spirit that would come upon her. The angel Gabriel said that Mary should call her male child Jesus, and that he would be called the Son of the Most High. He would be called holy because he would be God's Son and because he would be, as his name indicates, a Savior who, according to Luke 2:11 would be Christ the Lord. Luke 2:21 merely indicates that Mary did what the angel intermediary had commanded. She gave to her eight-day-old son the name of Jesus. Since he would be this Savior figure, certainly his name would be holy to his followers. As his followers today, we continue to declare his name to be holy on this special day, eight days after we have celebrated his birth.
Medical tests can now determine many factors about the developing child long before the day of birth, including whether the child will be female or male. Possibly in some instances medical techniques may make it possible for family planning to include the "ordering" of a particular type of child, with certain characteristics, as is already possible to some extent in adoption situations. Then the name of the child may be selected with greater assurance, to depict that which is expected from the child.
The Matthean and Lukan Gospels, with their heavily theological virgin-birth accounts, provide separate but similar stories, literary dramas, about the selection of the name of Jesus and about how already, in the selection of that name, the expectations of God regarding Jesus were revealed. The name "Jesus" is an indication of the expectation that he would be a savior, for that is the meaning of the name Jesus. It is a vivid expression of the Messianic hopes of the Israelite people that God would act through a specially chosen representative of God to deliver the people from political oppression and to provide appropriate guidance for their lives. The Matthean tradition utilized the media resource of an angel appearing in a dream to Joseph to reveal the name and its significance. The Lukan writer used the most significant angel from the Daniel traditions, Gabriel, to be the bearer of this important message, as we see in Luke 1:26-38 and in Luke 2:21, the Gospel for this day. Before we focus our attention on the Luke 2:21 account, let us look briefly at the various other texts selected for use with Luke 2:21 on this occasion each year.
Common:
Psalm 67
Roman Catholic: Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
Together with the Numbers 6:22-27 First Lesson for this Holy Name of Jesus observance, Psalm 67 emphasizes the desire of the People of God that God would bless them. In antiquity, for God to bless the people signified that good things would come to them. The good word of God prefigured and set into motion the good action of God. In Psalm 67 the good action of God desired was probably a bounteous harvest of grain and of grapes, staple items in that culture. In Luke 1:26-38 and in Luke 2:21 the good action of God desired was obviously deliverance from oppression. For us, the good action of God desired may be similar to that desired in Psalm 67 and
in the Lukan texts. By association with the name of Jesus and the People of God in an inclusive sense at the time of our baptism and in the daily renewal of our baptism, we indicate our desire to benefit from that good action of God each day and especially on this occasion when we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus and begin a new calendar year.
Lutheran: Psalm 8
"Yahweh, our Lord, what splendor your Name has in all the earth!" For the psalmist, and for the Israelites who have used this psaalm, the night sky with its moon and stars brought forth feelings of awe, of appreciation for the Creator, of acclamation of Yahweh, the Lord as the Israelites perceived God. With rich poetic imagery this psalm recognizes the great difference and distance between God and a solitary human figure afraid of enemies in the night, but also the closeness of God to each solitary human figure who has been given great authority and responsibility over the other creatures of the world. The only appropriate response a human being can make is to give glory to the Name of the Lord, ending the psalm of acclamation as it was begun.
Use of this psalm by Christians on the day of the celebration of the Holy Name of Jesus is another indication that in many respects Jesus is for Christians what Yahweh was for the ancient Israelites and is for Jews today. The Name of Jesus is acclaimed among us because Jesus is for us Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, one with God and even as God for us. We too have our being in our great difference and distance from God and in our closeness to God, especially as we perceive that God has come to us in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. And so we give glory to the Name of Jesus, holy for us on this day.
Numbers 6:22-27
It is said in this text that through the use of this great threefold benediction the priests of Israel (Aaron and his sons) were to put the Name of Yahweh upon the people of Israel. Then Yahweh will bless them. The Name is an instrument, a means by which the blessing of the Lord is bestowed.
The triple blessing is of interest here. It is common in the Israelite tradition to repeat a statement, using parallel expressions, for emphasis and effectiveness. Hebrew poetic speech and literature generally follows the pattern of saying many things twice. When we have something expressed three times, as in this great threefold benediction, we are being told, "This is especially important!" It is of the greatest importance that you put the Name of Yahweh upon the people and that Yahweh bless them. This same emphasis upon the importance of putting the Name of God upon us in the Name of Jesus and upon God blessing us in the Name of Jesus is appropriate for us as Christians.
Common, Lutheran: Philippians 2:9-13
The Name that is said in this tremendous Hymn to Christ to have been bestowed upon Jesus the Christ by God as a result of Jesus' emptying himself and becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross is not Jesus; it is not Christ; it is Lord. Our studies of the political situation of the first century are helping us to recognize more fully that Lord is often a highly political designation and not merely a social or a religious one. Paul here in this text was saying that God, in view of Jesus' death in a crucifixion inflicted by the Roman State, had given to Jesus the Christ the social-political-religious title of Lord. Not Caesar, but Jesus the Christ, should for all times, in all places, and by all people (including Caesar) be acclaimed as Lord. To Jesus as Lord every knee shall bend, and Jesus as Lord every tongue shall confess. Surely, therefore, his Name is holy.
Roman Catholic: Galatians 4:4-7
Although there is no explicit mention of the Holy Name of Jesus in Galatians 4:4-7, it is implied in the statement that God sent God's Son with a mission of redemption. By association with Jesus, the followers of Jesus are said to be eligible for adoption as God's special children and heirs of the inheritance that God has prepared for them. Followers of Jesus, therefore, will certainly consider his name to be holy for them.
Common:
Luke 2:15-21
Lutheran, Roman Catholic: Luke 2:21
In Luke 2:15b the "Lord" is Yahweh, who sends messages by means of angel intermediaries. According to the Lukan writer, the most important of these intermediaries, the angel Gabriel, had brought the message to Mary that she would conceive a male child by the power of the Holy Spirit that would come upon her. The angel Gabriel said that Mary should call her male child Jesus, and that he would be called the Son of the Most High. He would be called holy because he would be God's Son and because he would be, as his name indicates, a Savior who, according to Luke 2:11 would be Christ the Lord. Luke 2:21 merely indicates that Mary did what the angel intermediary had commanded. She gave to her eight-day-old son the name of Jesus. Since he would be this Savior figure, certainly his name would be holy to his followers. As his followers today, we continue to declare his name to be holy on this special day, eight days after we have celebrated his birth.
