The Feast of the Holy Name

All Sundays of the year are feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to the dated days above [the seven Principal Feasts, such as Christmas Day], only the following feasts, appointed on fixed days, take precedence of a Sunday:
The Holy Name
The Presentation
The Transfiguration
(from “The Calendar of the Church Year,” BCP p. 16)

At coffee hour, I overheard a conversation between a young man and R., our priest: “I am looking not at what a priest does, but what he is.”

Next Sunday, at the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father does not say what Jesus does or will do, but what he is: “This is my beloved Son.”

As I mentioned in a comment on the blog of Trees of the Field, there are close connections between the Holy Name of Jesus and the LORD, the holiest of Names, made known to Moses at the burning bush: “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14). “The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob... this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (v. 15). The Name is so holy that it is not to be pronounced.

In that Name, God entered into history to redeem his people “with a mighty hand, and a stretched out arm.” The name “LORD” says nothing about what God does, but what he is – he IS, without any conditions or dependencies, uncreated and eternal.

The name Jesus says that he is Salvation, “for he shall save his people from their sins” (St. Matthew 1:21). And that Salvation is not so much what he does, but what he is. The Gospel according to St. John can be read around this theme: “I am the bread of life...” “I am the good Shepherd...” “I am the Resurrection and the Life...” In all of these ways and more, he is our Salvation. And in him, the Name of God is marked upon us, we people of every language, tongue, people and nation, as the LORD's name was upon Israel (cf. Numbers 6:22-27, the Aaronic blessing which was the First Lesson at the Eucharist today: “And they [the priests] shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”)

N., you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism, and marked as Christ's own for ever. (BCP p. 308)

Through this Name, “our life is hid with Christ in God.” Through him, it is no longer what we do that matters – for we are saved by grace, not by the works of the law – but what we are: the children of God.

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (St. Luke 2:19). Doubtless she pondered the Name of Jesus in mystic contemplation as the child grew, adoring it with the love of her heart. We join her, for “at the Name of Jesus every knee [shall] bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).


It seemed good to us on the church staff to combine our normal three Sunday morning Eucharistic services into one, both last Sunday and today. But a number of people did not get the message; several people expecting the normal 8:45 contemporary Eucharist arrived and found themselves in the one service (9:00 am), a Rite One liturgy unfamiliar to many of them. Several others arrived during the subsequent coffee hour, expecting the 11:00 service. It became clear that we should do something, for the number swelled to about a dozen people. Our priest, R., had already departed, but another priest not on duty today, C., was still seated in the church, praying. After some hurried consultation, it was determined that I would lead Ante-Communion (as well as serving as Organist, for we sang all of the appointed hymns), following the order already printed in the church bulletins (which we fished out of the recycling bin, appointing a person to be Usher and distribute them, explaining to people what was going on). Two other people read the Lessons, C. read the Gospel, and the aforementioned young man served as chalice bearer. C. then distributed communion from the Reserved Sacrament, using the form at BCP p. 398-9. It was a good service.

The name “Lord God of hosts,” or “Lord God of Sabaoth,” is uncomfortable for the liberals. They go to considerable lengths to expunge it from the Sanctus, where it has been for centuries (following Isaiah 6), using expedients in some places (not here, thankfully) such as “God of grace and love.” “Master of Armies” would be a possible translation, and points to their discomfort; it is a thoroughly warlike phrase, not compatible with their ideas about God. (An aside: the second lesson in today's Daily Offices, Revelation 19:11-16, connects with this train of thought.)


Unlike any earthly “master of armies,” the Master whom we serve unerringly fits the person to the task and the task to the person, so that it encourages growth in the person and simultaneously gets the work of the Kingdom done in the best possible way, though at the time it may not always seem so to us. Exemplary priest that she is, R. would have stayed and done the service had she known, but the LORD of Sabaoth had something else in mind. Not only did C. and I hopefully serve the dozen people who had come for church, but we ourselves were served; it was unusually clear to both of us that we were instruments, servants doing the Master's bidding. “This is the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).