A New Year a New Name

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)

Names are important. They often tell a story about our family, have a meaning behind what our parents hope for us to be, or offer a source of belonging to “our people.” 

Today is the Eve of the Feast of The Holy Name, as well as New Year’s Eve! On this day in which we remember the naming of Jesus, we remember the breaking down of tribes, kinship, race, ethnicity , and any other wall of segregating that the world may try to place upon us. Instead, under the name of Christ we have been made one family and one Body bonded not in whose family we come from, but  in the God who has saved us all. 

As we count down the clock to end 2020, may we also leave behind the walls that seek to separate us. May we begin this new year with resolutions of love, union, and care for all our brothers and sisters. If 2020 has taught us anything, we could use a year filled with love, harmony, and care. May 2021 be that year for us my brothers and sisters. 

-Reverend Michael Sahdev

Let us pray…

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.