The Name - our identity and call

THE WORD AND THE FEAST 

January 3, 2024: The Most Holy Name of Jesus
1 John 2:29 - 3:6; John 1: 29-34

"There is no other name under heaven...by which we must be saved," says Acts of the Apostles (4:12). Names, in the Biblical tradition, are not merely nominative, they are descriptive and definitive! Abraham, Moses, were names that redefined the history of the person; Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, are names that define the very role of the angels who bear them; John was given the name even before he was conceived, just like JESUS the Saviour, Emmanuel the God-with-us! Although this feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is a long standing tradition, it has not sustained its fervour down the centuries. We need to rediscover the importance and significance of this feast in our faith expression.

The true purpose of Incarnation was not to demonstrate the grandeur and the omnipotence of God, but the closeness of God with those whom God loved. Emmanuel, is the title that explains best the love that God has for us...For God so loved the world, that God gave up everything even God's own Son; and the Son of God gave up even his Godhead and came to be one among us! The Word became flesh and dwells among us. 

The Word today, brings to us another indispensable dimension of this name - the name that is imposed on us, through the greatest name of all - the name and identity as "Christ-ians". We see that the Holy Spirit, in the form of the dove testified on behalf of Jesus that he was the Son of God. We are made the children of God and the same Spirit waits to testify for us. We would be identified as children of God if and only if we resemble God, says John in the first reading today. 

Resembling God, would mean being loving, beyond all petty differences and being generous, beyond all calculations. Resembling God would mean remaining with the Lord - in every thought, word and deed. Resembling God would mean knowing the name imposed on us and its significance, and realising our call and daring to embark on that journey, of growing every day in our resemblance to our maker.