Under the Old Testament law, infant boys were commanded to be
circumcised on the 8th day after birth. It was also custom that they would formally
be named at the time of their circumcision.
Because of this, the Church Year observes the Feast of the “Circumcision
and Name of Jesus” on January 1 (or the evening of December 31), which is the 8th
day after we celebrate His birth on Christmas.
In the Gospels, the adult Jesus frequently speaks of those
who trust in Him doing things such as praying, preaching, gathering, and other
actions “in my name,” and the epistles will also speak frequently of the name
of Jesus. In light of this, we English
speakers might hastily jump to the conclusion that there is some spiritual
power to be exercised simply by speaking the syllables of the name Jesus in
these settings.
Jesus, however, is promising something far greater than
this. In the Old Testament we frequently
see the phrase “Name of the Lord”
used. That name is the one given to
Moses at the Burning Bush—YHWH, or as we sometimes see it in English, “I
am.” In light of the commandment not to
misuse the Lord’s name, the people of Israel eventually came to never speak it
out loud and would instead substitute “Adonai” (which means Lord) or “Ha-shem”
(the Hebrew words for “the Name”) when reading it out loud. Later in the New Testament, St. Paul will
proclaim the simple creed, “Jesus is Lord.” In saying that, Paul is not making the
assertion that Jesus is simply our master, but rather that “Jesus is YHWH”,
eternal God with the Father.
So Jesus is promising something far greater than the ability to
use His name as a magical incantation or to assure our prayers are heard simply
because we concluded them with a formula including His name. After all, if this were the case, we would
have the trouble of figuring out whether we should go back to the Hebrew
Yeshua, its English equivalent Joshua, or the Greek Iesus or whether it’s ok to
use the anglicized rendering Jesus.
Instead, Jesus and St. Paul are assuring those who hear and
read these promises that those who rely on Jesus are relying on God Himself,
and those who trust in the promises of Jesus are trusting the promises of the
Triune God Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As a result, those who pray trusting in Jesus
have access to YHWH Himself, and those who gather around the proclamation of Jesus
are proclaiming and receiving the same God who is their creator, who took on
human flesh to be our Savior, and who still comes today in His Word and
Sacraments.
