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Gerry’s Geriatric Glimmerings
by Reverend Gerry Bennett, Assisting Priest, from January
2003 Tidings
The Holy Name of Jesus
There is a feast day of celebration in our Episcopal
Lectionary Calendar that begins the new year. Infrequently it falls on a Sunday, but on
whatever day of the week it falls, it is overshadowed by the Christmas celebration.
It’s the eighth Day of Christmas (. . . Eight Maids ‘a Milking). We should,
however be aware that The Holy Name of Jesus is an important day in itself, for it
recognizes the power inherent in the very name of our Lord. In biblical times a name was
so important that it was believed that to invoke a name is to invoke the reality of all
its power. The Name of Jesus is a way of referring to our Lord in all his greatness and
power. It is in His name that we are baptized, and Acts 4:12 declares, "There is no
other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
We recognize the new beginnings in our religious life brought about by His Name as we
recognize the new beginnings of the fledgling year on January 1 st. How appropriate that these two
celebrations should occur together! Our Scottish Presbyterian friends across the street,
by their Watch Night services at midnight of New Year’s Eve, show the natural
religious inclination to turn to God at new beginnings. As we set aside the old year, we
welcome a new, with all the promise of a newfound friend. The Romans named the month after
Janus, the god with two faces, one facing back, one forward, to remind us of our ties to
the past and our hope for the future.
We also look to our heritage and to our hope, our past and our future. As we teach new
confirmation classes, as we will this month, we anticipate the joy of reviewing our
Anglican heritage, which has led us to this point. When Millie and I visited England a few
years ago, it was as though the whole procession of saints became clear to our eyes. It
brought us into our past and pointed to our future. Hearing the stories about our Anglican
church, seeing the places where major events occurred, bound even tighter the bonds we
have in the church.
But those are in the past — we live in the present, eagerly awaiting the future.
As we walked those hallowed paths where others have walked we were able to put many things
into perspective. We were able to see how often they led the way, allowing us to follow.
We don’t often think of ourselves as great leaders, but perhaps those ancient people
felt the same, seeing themselves as ordinary people set in ordinary times, beginning each
new year with the same hopes for the future and the same thanks for the past. Perhaps each
generation is like another. Too often we think, because of what we perceive to be our
unique circumstances, that we are unlike others, now or in the past. But we are tied to
"those who have gone before" in the Holy Name of Jesus.
As we go about our ways, watching football or the parade, let us remember that festive
day, the Holy Name of Jesus, which deserves a special celebration. And let us resolve,
too, to see new beginnings in our Church, our Diocese and in our Parish. May the Holy Name
of Jesus, as it begins the new year, lead us throughout the year.
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Gerry+
See Father Gerry's Other Messages:
  
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