NAME OF JESUS – January 1, 2012
On the day that a girl baby was born to my parents, there was no doubt that her name (my name) would be Eleanor. If a son had been born to them on that day, the name would have been Charles. Whoever was born to Eleanor and Charlie Barney (remember, parents then didn't know the gender of the baby coming), the child would have the name of its mother or father. That's how my parents decided on a name for the baby they expected. In what ways do parents-to-be decide on a name for their baby?
There are lists of names to pore over in books or online. Popular names in 2011 included Liam, Noah, Aidan, Jackson, Caleb for boys; Emma, Sophia, Amelia, Olivia, and Ava for girls. It depends on the list you consult, which are the most popular names. Some parents want their baby to have a unique name... not the same name as twelve others in their graduating class! In one website for unique names I found Alchemy, Calliope, and Pyramid. Then there are names that just sound nice; these could be made-up names that don't mean anything or relate to a family member, entertainer or heroic figure at all.
I read on one website Thursday, "Choosing your baby's name is one of the most important tasks you will do during your pregnancy. Your baby's name will be a reflection of character and identity." How was your name chosen? Is it a reflection of your character and identity? Mary and Joseph did not have a choice about the name of the baby they were expecting. The angel Gabriel told them separately that the name of the child would be Jesus (actually, it would have been Joshua or Yeshua before the stories got written down in Greek). To Joseph Gabriel said that he would be Jesus/Yeshua because "he will save his people from their sins." Yeshua/Joshua means "The Lord saves."
His name – and we'll call it Jesus according to our custom – was mandated before birth by an angel, but the baby received his name when he was eight days old... the age at which all Jewish boys are circumcised and named. Since the eighth day of Christmas is January 1st, [while the world is celebrating New Year's] we celebrate also the naming of our Lord and the name of our Lord.
When did you receive your name? Some of the younger ones among us might have been named when parents learned – from a sonogram before the birth – that they were having a boy or a girl. A baby in the womb might be thought of and spoken of as Owen or Isabelle. Maybe you received your name when the staff at the hospital asked what to put on the birth certificate – not just "Baby Girl Jones" or "Baby Boy Brown." They want to write a name down. We might associate the bestowing of a name with the day of baptism. Jesus' name was given at his circumcision, the ritual that joins all Jewish boys to the family of God (the people of Israel). If not officially named, still each of us had our names spoken at our baptism, the ritual that joins us to the family of God (Christ's body, the church).
When baptisms are called christenings (as they are in some churches), we get another sense of what it is to be named. A christening – for us, a baptism – is our Christ-ization, our Christ-ing, our receiving not the name of our Lord but the title of our Lord, Christ/Messiah/
Anointed One. Now besides the name our parents have given us [wherever that name came from] we have this identification with Jesus the Christ, an identification that – for better or worse – cannot be eradicated.
Whatever our given name, because we have been Christ-ized/baptized, our association with the name and the person of Jesus Christ has a bearing on our lives. If names are a reflection of character (as that Baby Names website claims), now we have even more to live into – the surname of our family, the name given by our parents, and the name of Jesus.
What if your surname is Kennedy of the Massachusetts Kennedys, or Rockefeller of the New York Rockefellers? How do you live with that, embracing or resisting your heritage? How am I doing at being a Barney, a Dugan, a Kane, an Anderson, a Joyce – all surnames in my family? Given names: how am I doing at being an Eleanor (Eleanor Roosevelt [the First Lady of the World], Eleanor the Queen of England and mother of Richard the Lionhearted, Eleanor Kane Barney [my own mother])?
Names are important. If our name means something, if our name comes from the family or the Bible or a well-known figure past or present, it's good to know that. In a recent confirmation class, we talked about names. One student knew that his father's name meant "Gift of God." His father told him, "I am a Gift of God!" One student didn't know that her name meant Conqueror, Winner, but she liked it very much when she was told! On the Name of Jesus, think about your name. If it is not in itself a reflection of character, your life will give character to the name. Live the meaning of your name; give meaning to your name.
As for the character of Jesus Christ, which now has been laid on each one of us, we will certainly fall short of living up to it. But we will aspire to it. Jesus was from the "house and lineage of David;" he was from royalty, destined by his family name for a kind of kingship. He was named Yeshua/Jesus; he would be a savior, a redeemer. He was and is Christ, anointed by God for a holy purpose. His powerful name has been washed over us. Let us resolve, in this New Year, to try (by God's grace) to live more fully into it Amen.