What is in a name? Do you know why your parents gave you the name you have? What does your name mean? To reflect on the meaning of the name Jesus we go to Matthew’s gospel where it tells us that the child is to be named Jesus “for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
Jesus received his name because of what it represented. The angels’ message was that a great responsibility came with the name Jesus. As the author of Acts, Luke gives us a powerful response to the question of whether Jesus lived up to his name when he says that there is salvation in Christ and Christ alone. (Acts 4:12)
Whatever our names and whatever they mean, on this first day of 2015, take a moment to pause and ponder how we will respond with our lives in this new year to the grace we received in our baptism. Will we faithfully honour and worship Jesus the Christ, whose name is above every name, confessing that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father?
Lord God, in this new year, help us leave the past behind and begin anew. Let our steps and actions be guided by the name above all names, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — JKU