His name was called Jesus

El Greco - The Adoration of the Name of Jesus

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

- Luke 2:15-21

Today we continue the readings from yesterday, and we are given the readings for the celebration of Feast of the Holy Name. In yesterday's reading, we read of the "good tidings of great joy" which were announced to the shepherds in the fields, and the sign given to the shepherds of the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloth, the multitude of angels that appeared to them. See Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! Today's reading for the Feast of the Holy Name continues where yesterday's ended in Luke's Gospel.

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. A note in my study bible tells us that "the lowly shepherds become the first to share the message of salvation with others." I think it's important to reflect on the understanding of the Shepherd (or The Good Shepherd) as one of the many names of Christ. This was an image He chose for Himself quite positively as reported in Scripture. Shepherds, here in Luke's Gospel, figure as the earliest bearers of the good news (besides the angels, the messengers from heaven); in some way, we can consider them the first Evangelists who bring the good news to the community.

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. The shepherds spread the good news to the community, and everyone marvels at the story: the multitude of angels that appeared, glorifying and praising God, the telling of the Sign of the Babe they would find, and the great announcement of good news by the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" These are the "good tidings of great joy" the shepherds cannot contain among themselves, and must share with others. We have so many symbolically represented spiritual realities here, gifts of this child, of grace: glory, peace, joy, good tidings, goodwill toward men. These are all gifts of the Spirit, things precious in our lives, shared with us and among us. This Babe is bearer of each of these things for us and so much more. They are saving qualities that make life worth living, giving life its savor for us, making it sweet, and bringing light as a gift into the darkness, illuminating our lives in the world.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. This powerful poetic turn in the Gospel makes us see the breadth and then the great depth of this news. The shepherds spread the word to the community, bringing it to the world, but Mary "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." The word, the good news, is not just for celebration and the wide world, but it is also there for its tremendous depths in us, in our interior. This word does not only illumine the life of the whole world, but it shines a light deep into our own interior depths, giving meaning not just to community but also to individual, as we are each children of God, our Creator. Mary has served as the great example down the century, the young woman who said yes to all that was given her by God, the mother who cared for this Child come to us all as a Babe. To "keep these things and to ponder them in the heart" is a form of prayer, of union, allowing grace to plant itself and grow within ourselves. We need both - the communal celebration of the good news, and also the relationship to this word in the depth of our hearts. Together they make us complete human beings with all the benefits of the gifts borne by grace to us in this world.

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. They have done their work, as bearers of the great news, and return home "glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as it was told them." The shepherds understand the great grace they've been given, the blessing added to their lives. They form the picture of our community as Christians, those for whom this great news, this experience, is shared, and celebrated in glorifying and praising God for what we have been told. They are a picture of us, we who are fortunate to receive it all, and the joy and beauty therein. It is "marvelous" indeed, that which feeds us life abundantly.

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. My study bible notes: "Because He fulfills the Law, Jesus receives circumcision according to the precepts of the Mosaic Law -- which He follows during His life and ministry. After the Resurrection, baptism replaced circumcision as the universal sacrament of salvation and initiation into the Church. In the Orthodox Church it is an ancient tradition to name a child on the eighth day." Let us consider then the name of Jesus: it means "God is Salvation" and it focuses us on Jesus' saving mission. We read in John 3:17, "For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." This is the powerful message, and the good news contained in this name, given by Gabriel to Mary, and told to Joseph by an angel in a dream.

We return to the shepherds, the sign of the Child born in a cave for domestic animals, and the understanding of the Holy Name. Jesus will call Himself the Good Shepherd - He will teach us that His sheep know His voice. We are given, by God's grace through this child, joy, good news, a saving grace, peace and goodwill. Like the shepherds, we can share in this joy and good news and peace and goodwill. It is our gift which we share with one another, brought into the world through the Babe born into the cave of this world. In the iconic symbolism we discussed in yesterday's reading and commentary, the Babe is born in our world which, without that light, can truly become a tomb for each of us, a place of limitation, and false boundaries and darkness, a kind of hell. The light is born in that darkness, for us -- for our communities and for each of us in our hearts, just as the good news of marvelous portent was pondered in Mary's heart. Grace - in forms such as that voice that comes to each of His sheep - brings us light and joy and peace and goodwill "not as the world gives." This saving light shining in the darkness gives us life, and teaches us what it is to have life abundantly. Today, let us consider the gifts we receive, and the saving reality of this Name in our lives. How many gifts can you count?