Holy Name Day Luke 2:21

Happy New Year, on this first Sunday after Christmas, which this year falls on a day known in many Christian denominations, including ours, as Holy Name Day.

However, that isn’t the name by which January 1st was known for centuries within the Church. Some of us can remember it being called The Feast of the Circumcision, a name by which it was known in the Roman Catholic Church from 1568 to 1960. It is still known as such in Eastern Churches. But things change.

In the 1960s many denominations started calling January 1st Holy Name Day, while in the Roman Catholic Church Holy Name Day moved to January 3rd and January 1st became the Solemnity of Mary. The liturgical calendar can be confusing, to say the least.

But for us, today is Holy Name Day – the day when Jesus received His name at an ancient Jewish ceremony that is still in practice today.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the Child, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

This is the sentence, from our Gospel reading this morning, that caused this day to be recognized by the Church as a holy day. It is Jewish practice that eight days after his birth, a baby boy is circumcised. We might shudder when we hear that word, “circumcision”, but the ceremony is ancient and steeped in tradition. It was and still is a family affair, based on the great importance of the first male child, the heir. While we modern folk have drawn away from the emphasis on the importance of first born male children, in Jesus’ day it was a time for rejoicing.

If you have ever wondered about the ceremony, known as a bris, a ceremony that has remained pretty much unchanged over the centuries, here a few of the non-surgical details.

Before the ceremony, the baby is usually placed on a large pillow and carried into the room where the circumcision will take place. In some families and communities it is considered a great honor to carry a baby to his bris, and parents choose someone (or more than one person) special in their lives for this job.

The baby is handed to the sandek, which is the name given to the person who holds the baby during the circumcision. In ancient times this was one of the baby’s grandfathers, but parents today can also choose to honor other people with the role. When the baby arrives, the mohel–a professional specially trained in circumcision–welcomes him with the words: Baruch Ha-Ba. This means “blessed is the one who has arrived.”

Before the circumcision, the mohel recites a blessing acknowledging that the mitzvah (commandment) of circumcision is about to be fulfilled. And then comes the circumcision. The general concern is the act of circumcision must immediately draw blood. Then - surgery is over. In traditional communities, the father recites a blessing for fulfilling the commandment to bring one’s son into Abraham’s covenant. In modern, liberal, but not orthodox, communities, both parents recite this blessing.

Then all the guests respond: “Just as this child has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into (a life of) Torah, the marriage canopy, and into good deeds.”

The mohel then takes a cup of wine and recites over it a special prayer that announces the baby’s Hebrew name. If the name has been kept secret until this point, this prayer can be an especially poignant part of the bris. After the naming, a drop or two of the wine is placed in the baby’s mouth, the parents drink some of the wine, and the ceremony is over.

Of course, no Jewish celebration is complete without food, so there is a huge celebratory meal after the bris. In case you are wondering what the mother’s role is in the bris – she doesn’t have one, but that’s another story.

What’s in a name? As people did in ancient times, we put a lot of weight on names. Think about the importance that is conveyed when we use our complete name, middles and hyphens and Jr.’s and all, in a vow or an oath. Or the exciting rush when a host at a restaurant calls your name—your table is ready! Or when you hear your name called in a meeting or classroom when you haven’t been paying attention. Oops! How special to us is a nickname—one that reminds of an inside joke, a good memory, or one that only one person, or a few, is allowed to use. Names carry power, emotion, and story, and in ancient times the power they carried was considered to be immense.

Throughout the Bible God uses names to communicate His purposes and to mark His covenant blessings on those who enter into relationship with Him. Abram becomes Abraham, and Sarai (say-rye) becomes Sarah when they embrace the call to become the forbears of many generations of believers. Their son is named Isaac – “laughter” – because when she heard she would become pregnant in her old age, Sarah laughed. After a night-long struggle, the shadowy stranger changes Jacob’s name to Israel because he had wrestled with God. Most amazing of all, in the burning bush at Sinai, God reveals the Divine Name to Moses, establishing an intimate and powerful relationship between God and us humans - a relationship that continues to thus day. God is Yahweh, the Holy One, the great “I Am”.

We too have powerful names. We who follow Jesus, who call ourselves “Christians”, are named when we are baptized. The maker of heaven and earth sees us as no one else does. God knows our name. And we know God’s Name. But we know more than the Name given by God to Moses. We know the Name God took on earth, and that Name, His Name, is all powerful.

Salvation is in the Name of Jesus alone: “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”

Forgiveness of sins is received through the Name of Jesus: “All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name”.

Believers are baptized in the Name of Jesus: “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” Healing and miracles were performed in the Name of Jesus: “By faith in the Name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see”

Jesus teaches believers to pray in His Name; that is, to pray in His authority, the type of prayer that He would pray: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it”

On this day, today, we celebrate the naming of our Lord. He is called “Jesus”, Yeshua in Hebrew, a not uncommon name for that day and age, but one that means He will “rescue,” “deliver,” or “save.” It’s a grand name, given to many Jewish boys even now (we say Joshua), but in Jesus case it was more than a name, it was a description of how he would live and why He would die.

In every way, Jesus lives up to His Name. The name “Jesus” reminds us of the power, Presence, and purpose of the risen Christ. It assures us that God’s gracious intention is to save us. Our Lord Jesus brought God to us, to humanity, and now brings us to God through the salvation He purchased for us.

In the Bible, when people spoke or acted in the Name of Jesus, they did so as the Lord’s representatives with His authority. Our lives are to be lived in the Name of Jesus and by doing so bring glory to God. His Name is to be revered and glorified.

As Paul instructed the Philippians, at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We know the most powerful Name on earth and in heaven. What is more, He knows our names, they are written in His heart, as He is meant to be in ours, that our lives may be lived in intimate relationship with Him, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, an eight day old baby who on this day was named Jesus.

Let us pray:

Jesus, Yours is the Name above all names; we offer you our heartfelt praise and gratitude. Deepen in us an abiding reverence for your Holy Name. Pour out the Holy Spirit upon Your people that our lives may overflow with Your grace, our days be filled with Your love, and all our actions shine with Your light. This we ask, for Your love and mercy’s sake. Amen