Feast of the Holy Name

The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

Reading for The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus: Luke 2:15-21
January 1, 2006

The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt

St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA

Every seven years or so, the “Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus” falls on a Sunday. The gospel of Luke tells us that eight days after he was born, “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 name Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew) means “YHWH saves.” YHWH is the Hebrew name for God. Jesus was a common name in first century Palestine and reflected people’s deepest hope that one day, God would raise up a messiah, an anointed one, who would save the Jewish people from oppression.

Today, Christians celebrate this feast day, to reflect on what it means that “God saves us in the person of Jesus.” For me, to be saved means to become whole. It means to be transformed into the person God created me to be by putting on the mind of Christ. For me, Jesus is the Path or the Word which leads me into a deeper relationship with God. If you want to know God’s will for humanity, if you want to become whole, then follow Jesus and obey his words.

The gospel according to St. John begins with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” [Jn. 1] This prologue means two things to me. First, that in the person of Jesus, the Word of God became enfleshed, so that we now know everything about God that is necessary for our salvation, or wholeness. Second, it means that God’s word was spoken from the very beginning of creation; before Jesus was ever born and after Jesus died. This word of God continues to be spoken through the prophets, through faithful people from all traditions, and from those who are committed to justice, peace, compassion, mercy, and righteousness.

Each year on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, I share with the congregation, bits of wisdom that I have collected throughout the year. I believe that these bits of wisdom contain the word of God. How do I make that determination? Using prayerful reason, I test the wisdom spoken by others, against the Christian Scriptures and Tradition. When I hear people talk about striving for peace, justice, mercy, compassion, generosity, faithfulness, righteousness, and the dignity of every human being, I listen very carefully. What follows, is a compilation of a few of my favorite quotes from 2005:

Albert Einstein once said that there are two ways to live in this world. The first is to live as if everything is a miracle. The second is to live as if nothing is a miracle. The gospel presents a third way: Goodness beyond all human understanding waits upon us. We are in one, long, unfolding miracle.” (Forward Day by Day = FDBD)
“There is not one testimony in the Bible about the benefits of worry. It has none. When worry enshrouds our souls, we are like sports cars stuck in rush hour traffic.” (FDBD)
“We live by robbing nature. But our standard of living demands that the robbery shall continue.” (Wendell Berry)
The Church exists so that God has a community in which to save people from meaninglessness, by reminding them who they are and what they are for.” (Douglas Hall)
“Criminal justice asks: Who did it? What law did he break? How are we going to punish him? Restorative justice asks: at harm was done? What is needed to repair the harm? Who is responsible for repairing it?” (Barbara Brown Taylor)
“If you always imagine God in the same way, no matter how true and beautiful it may be, you will not be able to receive the gift of the new ways God has ready for you.” (Carlos Valles)
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into close connection with you.” (St. Augustine)
“A society based on universal compassion is not just our only hope; it is an evolutionary imperative.” (Marc Ian Barasch)
“When life takes unexpected, disappointing turns, the act of keeping our eyes on God, helps us to stay on the road.” (FDBD)
“It is not what you were, but what you are now, and what you want to be, that God beholds with his merciful eyes.” (Pere Lataste)
“How do you tell a scribe from a prophet? The prophets love the people they chastise.” (from Gilead by M. Robinson)
“Our leaders mask the reality of war with abstract words of honor, duty, glory, and the ultimate sacrifice. These words, obscene and empty in the midst of combat, hide the fact that war is venal, brutal, and disgusting.” (Chris Hedge)
“The spiritual can never be real if it ignores the political.” (Sr. Joan Chittester)
“Silence is God’s first language. Everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and rest in God.” (Fr. Thomas Keating)
“As long as there are still needs in the world, we haven’t given enough.” (Howard Hill)
“Self-indulgence is a feast that never satisfies, so more and more is needed. We try harder and harder to satiate ourselves on the outside because we are so hungry, so impoverished on the inside. With Christ as my Shepherd, my cup always overflows.” (FDBD)
“Hope does not function as an opiate that causes people to deny reality. In fact, hope provides the courage to face whatever chaos and trauma life throws at us...Hope assumes the future contains potentialities not visible in the present.” (Andrew Lester)
“Abandoning the language of sin will not make sin go away. It will simply leave us speechless before its effects and increase our denial of its presence in our lives. Sin is a hopeful, helpful, word.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)
"Christian perfection or complete sanctification is ‘pure love reigning in the heart and life.’” (John Wesley)
“Change of heart is necessary for us to choose peace and to discharge our Christian responsibility to God, truth, and humankind.” (Thomas Merton)

Here are a few quotes about the Season of Christmas:

“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it white.” (Bing Crosby)
“If you do not have Christmas in your heart, you will never find it under a tree.” (Roy Smith)
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” (Hamilton Wright Mabie?)

Finally, I want to end this sermon with a few words about the sacred name of Jesus. It has become a habit among many people, to use the Lord’s name in vain. In a moment of anxiety, excitement, or disgust, many people cry out the word “Jesus.” I do not think they are trying to desecrate this holy name. However, I do think that saying the name of “Jesus” inappropriately, is a shallow and unconscious habit that needs to broken. There is not one of us here in this church who would approve of having our name used as a substitute for a swear word or an expletive. So why would we approve of others using the name Jesus in that way? The name Jesus means God saves. To use this name in a disrespectful way, not only demeans the holy, but it also demeans the person who uses it wrongly. So please, teach your children to use another word to communicate excitement, anxiety, or disappointment. Right speech is very important in the journey towards wholeness.

“Eternal Father, you gave to 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, on God, in glory everlasting.” [Collect of the Day BCP 213]

Updated 1/2/06

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