At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father – Philippians 2:10-11
Amidst all the great celebrations occurring around this time; Christmas, feasts of various saints, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, there exists an often-overlooked commemoration, that of the Holy Name of Jesus. The deep significance of this devotion and its history can often be lost on modern people, primarily due to a cultural shift and an ignorance of Biblical history and Israelite culture. To help guide our reflection and discussion is the magnificent sculpture which sits atop the altar piece in the Chiesa del Gesù (Church of Jesus) in Rome, which is the mother church for the Society of Jesus.
The piece was designed by Antonio Sarti around the middle of the 1800s, and features various angelic figures praising the monogram IHS, a symbol for the Holy Name of Jesus. These letters can represent a few things, but primarily they are a Latinised form of the Greek letters ΙΗΣ, which form the first three letters in the name Jesus in Greek ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (Iesous). The three letters could also be interpreted as the Latin phrase Iesus Hominum Salvator; Jesus, the Saviour of Man.
Digging deeper, we understand that the Name of Jesus is holy because it is God’s Name. In Scripture we see countless mentions of God’s Name, either directly or indirectly. While God presents Himself under numerous names and titles in the Old Testament Scriptures, such as I AM, Lord, God of Israel, King, Saviour etc, the name which appears the most is the Hebrew word יהוה (YHWH). This Name has been presented and read in several ways, however the Israelites and early Christians wished to preserve the sacredness of this Name, and so glossed over it, replacing it with ‘Lord’. Even in English translations of the Bible, when you see ‘LORD’, or sometimes ‘GOD’, that is an instance where the Name YHWH appears in the Hebrew text.
However, both Jesus and YHWH are not simply Names for the sake of having a name but point to important aspects of God’s being and identity. In Hebrew culture, a person’s name was a significant part of not only their identity but even their character and purpose. The Name YHWH, which is the name God chose to use in His association with the Israelite people, is directly related to the Hebrew root ‘to be’, which indicates how God is Being itself, the only essential Being. This sheds light on how God presented, or named, Himself to Moses as I Am Who I Am (Ex 3:14).
Turning then to Jesus, the Name of Jesus comes from a root verb in Hebrew and Aramaic meaning ‘to save’. Thus, Jesus means ‘the Lord is salvation’ or ‘the Lord saves’. The Holy Name of Jesus points directly to His saving mission, hence why the angel makes a word play, if the exchange was in Hebrew or Aramaic, when he says to Joseph: you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Mt 1:21).
At this beginning of a new year, let us call upon the Name of the Lord (Joel 2:32, Rm 10:13) and seek to sanctify the Holy Name of Jesus in our lives, especially by studying the Scriptures, to discover what His Name means for our lives.
Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, and what is His Son’s Name? Surely you know! – Proverbs 30:4
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