Holy Name

At the start of my discernment for Ordination I met with the Reverend Anne Richards who was, at the time, Canon for Ministry in the Diocese of New York. At that meeting she asked me to tell her a brief history of my life and how I gotten to the point where I found myself sitting in her office, discerning the priesthood. I talked and talked and when I was finished, she said something to me that I have never forgotten.

She asked: “In all of that what didn’t you tell me about?” I didn’t know. “Jesus, you never mentioned the name of Jesus.”

“Oh”, I said, “I thought that was self-evident – I mean, it is after all the church, its all about Jesus.”

“No”, she replied. “Its never self evident. As a church leader, its always necessary to talk about Jesus, even when it might seem you don’t need to.”

Today we are celebrating the holy name of Jesus. To put it lightly, the name of Jesus is abused by many people in the world. Inserted into conversation as any other curse word might be. In my view, the use of the name of Jesus on the lips of many Christians is equally problematic. There are plenty of Christians who think that they don’t need to talk about Jesus because who he is and what he means is self evident to those they are speaking (or writing) to. I’m here today to tell you that it is not.

When we celebrate Christmas and the joy of Emanuel (God With Us), we are celebrating Jesus. Our Gospel is about one thing: telling others about Jesus. The angels told the good news of Jesus to the shepherds. The shepherds went and saw Jesus and went out spreading the good news of Jesus to others. Spreading the good news of Jesus didn’t stop there. John the Baptist witnessed to all Judea that Jesus was the Christ. The apostles witnessed Jesus risen from the dead and they spread that good news to others. Saint Paul encountered the risen Lord Jesus and it changed his life and he told everyone he encountered about Jesus, going so far as to write: at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

At the start of this new year, I hope and pray that each of us can boldly proclaim the name of Jesus to those around us. Its never self evident. As a Christian, its always necessary to talk about Jesus, even when it might seem you don’t need to.