The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus | Wednesday 3 January 2023

Today is Wednesday the 3rd of January, the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Juliano Ravanello sings ‘Hino Christológico’; a hymn based on the passage we will hear today from the letter to the Philippians:

Jesus Christ is The Lord
For the Glory of God the Father
Our Lord Jesus Christ
Of divine nature
Did not demand to be treated
in the quality of God
But he stripped himself
Taking the form of a servant

(Lyrics currently unavailable)

Today’s reading is from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 2:1-11

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was* in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,
 did not regard equality with God
 as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
 taking the form of a slave,
 being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
 he humbled himself
 and became obedient to the point of death—
 even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
 and gave him the name
 that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
 every knee should bend,
 in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
 that Jesus Christ is Lord,
 to the glory of God the Father.

He did not exploit his position… he became as a servant… he humbled himself… he was willing to the point of death, even the humiliation of the cross. What in all this stays with you?

Take this humble Jesus with you to scenes in your day-to-day life: the workplace, the kitchen table, the management meeting, the bus, the street, events in the world around you. Give Jesus a space to sit or stand beside you. The scene might look quite different with him there. Does it alter your behaviour? Affirm it? Give you confidence? Quieten your voice? Or perhaps raise it?

As you hear the passage again, picture the scene where every knee bows at the name of Jesus; where every tongue confesses his name. Try and take in just a fraction of it. How does it make you feel?

In these closing moments of prayer, speak to God about whatever has stirred in your heart today. What do you want to say to this Son of God who became human, who chose a humble, suffering path to demonstrate he is one of us?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.