The Most Holy Name of Jesus 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

1 John 3:22-4:6

whatever we ask we shall receive,

Since we keep his commands and do what pleases him.  His command is that we believe in the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another, as he has commanded us.  Whoever keeps his commands remains in God and God in him. It is by the Spirit God has given us that we know he lives in us.

 My beloved, do not trust every inspiration. Test the spirits to see whether they come from God, because many false prophets are now in the world. How will you recognize the spirit of God? Any spirit recognizing Jesus as the Christ who has taken our flesh is of God.  

But any spirit that does not recognize Jesus is not from God, it is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard of his coming and even now he is in the world.  You, my dear children, are of God and you have already overcome these people, because the one who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the world.

 They are of the world and the world inspires them and those of the world listen to them.  We are of God and those who know God listen to us, but those who are not of God ignore us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood as well.

 

Ps 2:7bc-8, 10-12a

I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊    

Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to settle down in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.

 In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live by the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans, listen:

 The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone.  From that time on Jesus began to proclaim his message, “Change your ways: the kingdom of heaven is near.”

 Jesus went around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, and curing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.

 The news about him spread through the whole of Syria, and the people brought all their sick to him, and all those who suffered: the possessed, the deranged, the paralyzed, and he healed them all. Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Cities, from Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan.

 

What’s in a Name?

Name matters. In biblical traditions, we find parents carefully choosing names for their children. Mary was instructed to name her child Jesus. Zachariah named his son John, as directed. Jesus renamed Simon. Every name carries a meaning and significance. Perhaps we grow into the full meaning of our names.

Today we celebrate the ‘Holy Name of Jesus.’ His name comes from the Hebrew name Yeshua meaning ‘to deliver,’ ‘to rescue.’That is what he was: Today’s Gospel tells us that he declared open the kingdom of God and went around delivering people from physical and spiritual infirmities.

John tells us that God wants “that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ.” So, what’s in a name? More than we can imagine! Blessed are those whose names have been meaningfully and prayerfully chosen! And blessed is the one who believes in the Name of the Son!