Feast of the Holy Name
Christmas 2
Rev. Doug Floyd
Exodus 34:1-9, Psalm 8, Romans 1:1-7, Luke 2:15-21

Today the church celebrates the eighth day after the birth of Jesus. On this day, Mary and Joseph took the baby to the Temple for circumcision and to officially name Him Jesus. We pause and reflect on the sacred name of Jesus.

We read and sing the Psalm, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” I have uttered this phrase so often as a breath prayer that I often pray it before even thinking. When I wake up in the night, I often pray, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I never really reflected on this prayer until reflecting on our celebration today, The Feast of the Holy Name. What are we saying when we bless the name of the Lord? What do mean when we call upon the name of Jesus?

To consider the name of Jesus, we might first consider the name of the Lord in the Old Testament. When Israel was camped at Mount Sinai, Moses goes up into the cloud to receive the instruction of the Lord. Before he ascends the people have built a golden calf and worshipping it. Moses throws down the two tablets, breaking them in pieces. This is an image of the covenant that has been broken by the people.

Moses will intercede on behalf of the people for restoration of the covenant. With the covenant restored, the Lord invites Moses to ascend the mountain and to cut two tablets of stone. The Lord promises to write the words that were on the first tablets. After Moses ascends, we read the following:

⁵ The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”^[1]

This sounds a bit puzzling. The Lord is proclaiming the name of the Lord. In one sense, this means the Lord is revealing himself in and through His name. In the next sentence, He declares “the Lord, the Lord.” He is declaring His covenant name Yahweh, Yahweh. Then He proceeds to name attributes that the name expresses: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” These attributes reveal how He is responding to the transgression of Israel.

In spite of their great violation of the covenant, He speaks mercy and grace, steadfast love and faithfulness. He puts His name on this people. In their story, He will reveal Himself. He will reveal the depths of His love and mercy. Sadly, they will rebel again and again. They will embrace idols, abuse the poor, take advantage of others, and fail to live into the reality of His name.

Over a thousand years later, their nation will fall and they will be led away into captivity. In Ezekiel 36, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel, proclaiming why the people were taken into captivity. He explains that the people profaned the land through their sinful behavior. They profaned the Temple through idol worship. In exile, they profaned the name of the Lord. In verse 20 he says, “But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’” ^[2]

When the nation of Israel was sent into exile, it was a judgment of the Lord. The surrounding nations would it interpret it to mean that Marduk, the god of Babylon had defeated Israel’s God. Thus, God’s name was profaned among the nations. The Lord proclaims that He will restore Israel to vindicate His name and reveal that Marduk did not defeat him. Starting in Ezekiel 36:21, we read

’ ²¹ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. ²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ²³ And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

The Lord is going to act for the sake of His holy name. This is not some kind of selfishness. He will act to preserve the name that He is revealing to the nations .He is going to restore Israel, cleanse Israel, bless Israel, and give His people a new heart and new Spirit. In other words, to restore and reveal His name among the nations, He is going to pour out grace, grace, grace upon His people.

They still will fall into sin and disobedience, but He will continue to act on behalf of His name. He will come among them and enter into their brokenness. The angel tells Joseph that Mary is about to bear a baby conceived from the Holy Spirit. The angel says, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”^[3] The name Jesus means Yahweh saves.

Jesus bears the name of the Lord, and He is bear it perfectly. We look at Jesus to understand the way of the Lord. In the name of Jesus, we confess the God who is full of mercy and grace. As we follow Christ, we bear His name and are becoming living images of Jesus. In Galatians 5, Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit. This list almost exactly like the list of the attributes of God’s name in Exodus 34. Let me read both together. First, Exodus 34

⁵ The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”^[4]

Now let me read from Galatians, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.^[5]

We are called to bear the name of Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Paul writes in Colossians 3:17, And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ^[6]  This is a doxological obedience in all aspects of our lives. It does not mean that we cannot enjoy this life or pursue hobbies or interest. We delight in the good things of this life. We enjoy these good blessings in and through Jesus. We bow our hearts and heads to him in thanks for all things.

In Philippians 2:10-11, Paul declares, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ^[7] There is a longstanding of tradition of bowing the head at the name of Jesus to honor this verse.

It is our delight to lift up the name of Jesus, for we are rehearsing the goodness and grace of God. We are resting in the faithfulness of our Lord. Let me end with some excerpts from the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus

Let us pray.

As we venerate the most holy Name of Jesus,
mercifully grant us, Lord,
that, savoring its sweetness in this life,
we may be filled with everlasting joy
in our heavenly homeland.
Through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 34:5–7.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eze 36:20.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 1:21.

^[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 34:5–7.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ga 5:22–23.

^[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:17.

^[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 2:10–11.