“After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Luke 2:21
In addition to being a ‘Big Day’ (Drin Choo) of celebration in our villages and communities, New Year’s Day is a ‘Big Day’ in the Church calendar. It is the Feast of the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This year, or, more accurately, next year, this Big Day will also be a Sunday. Perhaps that makes it an ENORMOUS Day.
The Holy Name of Jesus is a big thing. Not only is Jesus the name given to both Mary and Joseph by angels, but it is a name that means God’s Salvation. Jesus is God’s salvation.
Bigger still is the realization that the same God who is beyond all human knowing, beyond complete human description, beyond any name, has been given a name. God makes God’s salvation human, a person just like us that we might come to know, understand, love, call upon, turn to, and follow.
It is not just the name of Jesus that makes this day big, it is that God’s holy and mighty salvation has come to us as one of us, and like us, has been given a name: Jesus.
That is a very big thing indeed, and reason to celebrate. You can find worship service bulletins for New Year’s Eve on the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska’s website: Click Here
May the Joy, Hope, and Blessing of God’s Salvation—Jesus Christ Our Lord, greet you on New Year’s Day and abide with you throughout the New Year
