Monday 3 January 2022
The Most Holy Name of Jesus
1 John 3:22-4:6. I will give you all the nations for your heritage – Psalm 2:7-8, 10-11. Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25.
The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light
We each know the experience of being called by name. Maybe it’s happened when we’ve been at the shops, or on coming or going from church, or as we approach a friend. Sometimes we may rather duck our head, at other times we may delight in the familiar sound. In any case, we cannot help but feel known.
The Jewish people hold God’s name in such awe that they will not say it. There is something deep in that reverent impulse, holding that experience of the totally other, transcendent. But in the Incarnation, we are invited to recognise God’s immanence. Saying the name of the God who comes among us brings us into relationship with our God; opens out the possibility of intimacy.
We might pray the Jesus prayer, beloved especially in the Eastern churches: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
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