Eighth Day of Christmas: The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 1)

Above:  Variations of the Name Yeshua in Hebrew

At the Name of Jesus….

JANUARY 1, 2024

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Numbers 6:22-27 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:  Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,

Thus you shall bless the Israelites.  You shall say to them,

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

So they shall put my name on the Israelites, I will bless them.”

Psalm 8 (New Revised Standard Version):

O LORD, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants

you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,

to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Galatians 4:4-7 (New Revised Standard Version):

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,

Abba! Father!

So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

OR

Philippians 2:5-11 (New Revised Standard Version):

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death–

even death on the cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

THEN

Luke 2:15-21 (New Revised Standard Version):

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,

Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.

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

The Collect:

Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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The Law of Moses required the circumcision of a male child eight days after his birth.  This event became a happy occasion, a time for friends and family members of the parents to gather and for the naming of the child.  Joseph and Mary obeyed this commandment.  And so it is no accident that the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus falls on the Eighth Day of Christmas.

In Western Christianity the observation of the Circumcision/Holy Name of Jesus dates to the early centuries of the faith, when Christianity competed with pagan festivities around New Year.  In 567 the Council of Tours established this feast for that purpose.

The Hebrew name “Yeshua,” which comes into English indirectly as Jesus, is literally Joshua, or “Yahweh is salvation.”  This confession lies at the heart of Christian faith, in which my parents raised me and in which I have chosen to remain.  I have made this confession at baptism, confirmation, and two reaffirmations, not to mention numerous baptismal liturgies for others.  And I repeat it here.

KRT

Written on June 6, 2010