On the eighth day after his birth, according to Jewish custom, Jesus was
circumcised and named. We celebrate this
event as “Holy Name Day” (in former editions of The Book
of Common Prayer, it was called “The
Feast of the Circumcision”). It is inconsequential that it is also the secular
New Year’s Day. Our Roman Catholic
sisters and brothers call this day “Mary, Mother of God,” celebrating Mary’s
role as Theotokos, “mother of God”
(see The Book of Common Prayer, p.
864, the “Chalcedonian Definition.”
The Collect of the Day
Eternal 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.
The First Reading: Numbers 6:22-27
Our first reading
is what is often known as the “Aaronic Blessing.” It is Jewish custom (followed by most
Christian translations of the Bible) not to use the divine name (Yhwh), but instead substitute “the Lord.” (You can tell when this happens when the translation
renders “lord” in small capitals). This
blessing makes it clear that a blessing is primarily a wish for
well-being. What does it mean to “call
down my name on the Israelites?” Names
are important in Hebrew thinking. They
contain the person’s identity and authority.
To “call down the name” is to totally identify with this God and live
under his authority.
6:22 The Lord spoke to Moses,
saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his
sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, 24 The Lord
bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace. 27 So they
shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
Psalm 8
Following
on our first reading, this psalm opens and closes with an invocation of “the
Name.” It is said that this Name
pervades the whole world. God is then praised in particular for the creation
and humankind’s place in it, adorned with glory and honor (which is, of course,
a gift from God).
1 O Lord
our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name
in all the world!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised
above the heavens.
3 You have set up a stronghold against your
adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and
the avenger.
4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your
fingers, *
the moon and the stars
you have set in their courses,
5 What is man that you should be mindful of
him? *
the son of man that you
should seek him out?
6 You have made him but little lower than the
angels; *
you adorn him with glory
and honor;
7 You give him mastery over the works of your
hands; *
you put all things under
his feet:
8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of
the field,
9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in
the paths of the sea.
10 O Lord
our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the
world!
The Second Reading: Galatians 4:4-7
This passage from St. Paul
contains the only direct mention of Jesus’ birth outside of the Gospels. He does not mention Mary’s name (her name
does not appear outside of the Gospels).
“The fullness of time” is a phrase that uses a Greek word for “time”—kairos—which we do not have in English. It is a word that has nothing to do with
“clock time” or “history.” It is more
like “when the time was right.” Abba
is an Aramaic word which is the equivalent of our word “Dad,” or even
“Daddy.” God now has for us a new, more
familiar, name.
4:4 When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, 5 in order to
redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as
children. 6 And because you are
children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba!
Father!” 7 So you are no longer a
slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Or this
The Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11
Paul
quotes to the Philippians what was most likely an early Christian hymn. Jesus shows us how to live in his own
self-emptying (kenosis in Greek) in order to fulfill God’s purpose for
him. One result of this style of life is
the unity in humility that Paul is proclaiming to the Christians of
Philippi. The reference to Jesus’ name
makes this a good reading for this feast.
Despite his self-emptying his name is remembered and highly
exalted. One recalls his own teaching,
“The first will be last and the last will be first.”
2:5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a
slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to
the point of death—even death on a cross. 9 Therefore
God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Holy Gospel: Luke 2:15-21
To tell the story of Jesus’ circumcision and naming requires only one
verse, but we give it context with the latter part of the shepherds’ story and
the “pondering” of Mary. Jesus’
circumcision makes it clear that he was a Jew born of observant Jews. They are also obedient to the angel Gabriel’s
request that the child be named Jesus (actually, in Hebrew, Joshua).
2:15 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.” 16 So they went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what
had been told them about this child; 18 and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart. 20 The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them. 21 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
Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved. The Collect of
the Day and the Psalm translation are from The
Book of Common Prayer. ommentaries
are copyright © 2016, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All rights
reserved.
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