Living to the Name? Jesus did

Yesterday we celebrated the naming of the Christ. He was named Jesus, the name given by the angel Gabriel even before he was conceived as an indication that he was to save the world.

I come from a culture which names a child after eight days. Between the time of birth and naming, very little is done as people await the naming ceremony. Between the time of birth and naming, the parents would consult with elders and other family members to find out which name would be given. After the name has been identified, the child is named and then celebrations start.

The name ceremony is very important in my culture. We all look forward to the day of naming with great expectations. This is because the name will identify the character of the new member of the family. In fact it is expected that the original owner of the name given to the new born would influence and protect the baby from evils attacks and somehow live to fulfill the role of that name. Should s/he fail to live to that name, it would be regarded as disgrace to the original owner of the name. It is this aspect that made naming a sacred event.

In this regard, my culture shares much with the tradition from which Jesus came from. Nobody could be named outside the established norms. To carry the name also meant to fulfill community expectations. Of course, so many people were called Jesus in his time! But this our Jesus was named after the directions of an Angel. In line with his name, he lived his mission of saving the world from all sorts of evils. This mission made him to suffer and die a shameful death but God raised him from the dead. You wonder why he did not give it up? Well, he was the Messiah, the savior, as the Angel Gabriel had said.

How about us, what is our name? We are called Christians because we are followers of the Christ. I wonder whether we are living to the expectations of our name. In the world were injustice is a norm, we should show the world that we children of the living God. In fact we were made children of God by the man named Jesus, the savior of the world. Let us not bring shame on the Lord's name but live our lives worthy of our calling. Happy New Year.