ChristmasReading2022A - Flipbook - Page 18
DAY Eight: December 05 - Monday
His Name
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, be
He will save His people from their sins.
Ma hew 1:21
How many mes do you say the name Jesus during the day?
Frederick Buechner, who passed away earlier this year, wrote an
interes ng observa on about the importance of a person’s name in
“Whistling in the Dark.”
It is not merely a
way to differentiate
one person from
another, it carries
the significance of
His life.
Buechner is my name. It is
pronounced Beek-ner. If
somebody mispronounces it in
some foolish way, I have the
feeling that what’s foolish is me. If
somebody forgets it, I feel that it’s
I who am forgo en…If my name
were di erent, I would be
di erent.
The pronuncia on of the name Jesus in His day was more like Yeshua
or Y’shua. It’s a name that means “salva on” or more pointedly, “God’s
salva on.” This is indeed the angel’s point when he speaks to Joseph in
a dream—the baby Mary carries in her womb will be the One who
brings God’s salva on to His people.
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Joseph will not choose Jesus’ name; the angel tells him what to name
his Son. Later, when the aged Simeon lays eyes on the infant Jesus at
the Temple, he takes the baby into his arms and declares: “For my eyes
have seen your salva on, which you have prepared in the sight of all
na ons: a light for revela on to the Gen les, and the glory of your
people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32). It’s as if Simeon already knows His name.
Anna, too, saw in this child and spoke about it to all who were looking
forward to the redemp on of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)