What's in a name

Today's Scripture

I think that most people, whether they admit it or not, read today's Gospel and say: were they supposed to name Him Jesus or Emmanuel? And then: Did He really fulfill Isaiah's prophecy if His name was not Emmanuel? All good questions. I love questions. Our curiosity about God shows that we are interested and drawn to Him.

I also love answers. I will share what I have (OK, mostly borrowed from the Church Fathers) and you can decide for yourself if your curiosity is satisfied. The name Jesus comes from the original Yeshua in Hebrew, or if we go back further Yehoshua. This name means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation. St. Jerome and St. John Chrysostom both saw Jesus as His personal, given name, but St. Augustine and Origen saw this also as a sign of His mission.

St. Matthew puts these two right together for us: "you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." He is given this particular name because of His mission. That all seems to make sense. But what about Emmanuel? Emmanuel or Immanuel means "God with us". The fathers are more in agreement on this name as describing His nature, and something that people would come to recognize in Him.

It is this second name, or title that I'd like to take just a moment on. It is almost as though Joseph and Mary give Him the name Jesus, but the people will come to give Him the name Emmanuel when they experience who He is. Now I have a question: How have we experienced Him as God with us? Or have we? If the answer to this is 'I don't know', or simply 'no' - that's OK - it just means that you have something amazing to look forward to.

Let's consider how these two names might come together for us. If we don't believe or recognize that He is Emmanuel, then the fact that He saves might not be important or relevant to us. We have to see that He is with US so that we might fully understand that He saves US. If He is not God, then His saving is either ineffective or incomplete. Now is the time to revisit His identity and consider how we have seen God with us, so that we can be fully grateful that He also saves us.